[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 100 (Thursday, June 8, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              SENATE PAGES

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I am grateful for the respect with which 
you said those two words, ``New Jersey.'' It is an extraordinary State, 
and I know you recognize and respect it, sir.
  I want to stand at this moment, as we are about to close out the 
Senate, to recognize perhaps one of the most unrecognized elements of 
the functioning of the U.S. Senate. There are extraordinary people who 
work in this institution--people who have dedicated their careers to it 
and support not just Senators but really this incredible, august body. 
But, today, I want to mark that this is the last day of a class of 
pages that is serving today. They are the youngest people on the Senate 
floor--15, 16 years old--but they have served on the frontlines of 
history over the last months.
  I have seen a lot of young people pass through here, and this class 
of pages is the least funny pages I have seen.
  (Laughter.)
  I have asked them for jokes. They have given me things that could be 
called a joke, but they did not have their intended purpose. I am 
disappointed. I stand in judgment of them.
  (Laughter.)
  But despite their lack of humor, what they did show was an abundance 
of commitment to country, to service, to patriotism.
  Most of America doesn't realize what these pages go through to be 
here. They have an extraordinary challenging time. They actually wake 
up at 4 or 5 in the morning. They do their homework, they do their 
class work, and then they come and work a full-time job, often into the 
evening when the Senate goes on to 8 and 9, getting closer to 10. Ten 
is a wonderful, wonderful time because if they get past 10, they don't 
have to go to class in the morning. Is that it? They have no class. 
Now, I am not saying that they are classless people. I am not saying 
that if they go past 10 p.m., they have no class.
  (Laughter.)
  But think about this: They are waking up at 5 in the morning, they 
are going until 8 or 9, and they start it all over again. It is a 
difficult job, it is demanding, but yet they have done it with 
distinction.
  Tomorrow, they will graduate, and they will go back to their lives 
all across the country. It is extraordinary. These young folks come 
from the North, the South, the East, the West, and they will go back, 
having had a unique experience. But although they leave this 
institution, they also leave their spirit, their energy, and their 
contributions.
  I want to say to all of the pages--because I won't have a chance to 
say goodbye to them at the graduation--I want to say, on behalf of 
myself and also 99 others, it was an honor to serve with you in the 
U.S. Senate.
  I hope as you continue your careers of service to country, of being 
the calling of a nation that needs its young people more than ever--
people full of hope, people full of dreams, people full of commitment--
that you consider coming back to this body. There are extraordinary 
people who serve here who were former pages, everyone from 
Parliamentarians, all the way to Senators themselves.
  But on this day, on behalf of this body, I want to conclude by simply 
saying thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Wyden). I say to my colleague, you speak 
for all of us.

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