[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4805-S4806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING DIANNE FEINSTEIN

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Patty Murray 
for bringing us all together today. It is a privilege to be on the 
floor of the U.S. Senate; it is a privilege to serve in the Senate; and 
it was a privilege to serve with someone as extraordinary as Senator 
Dianne Feinstein. People know me as a Senator who cares deeply about 
women's rights, about LGBT equality, about children, family, safety. 
And anything that I have ever cared about, Dianne was fighting for, 
long before I was ever in public service.
  When we talk about public servants who leave legacies and when we 
talk about the giants on whose shoulders we stand, for me, that is 
Dianne. She was unlike any Senator I met when I first got here in 2009. 
She had a really incredible combination of elegance, brilliance, 
stature, certainty, toughness, and kindness.
  When I first got to the U.S. Senate, I didn't know anything. I was 
appointed. I hadn't just run a long election where I was telling the 
constituents of New York why I wanted to serve and what my vision for 
the State was. I was really, really new. I had been a House Member for 
2 years. Dianne asked me to lunch. She said: How can I help you, 
Kirsten? What would be most useful, for you, for me to do for you?
  And I said: Well, could you just tell me a little bit about what is 
it like to be a Senator for a State of 60 million people. I have a 
State of 20 million people, so it is a lot, but I would love to hear 
how you have navigated this enormous job that you have.
  And she just went through it. She took me step-by-step, everything 
that she did to manage her office. She would get a memo every week from 
her staff about where her legislation sat, what was happening, who were 
her bipartisan cosponsors.
  She had a memo about how many calls her office had received, what the 
calls were about, what people wanted to talk to her about, what their 
concerns were. And that was extremely meaningful to me because she 
said: I have a copy of this memo, and I will give it to you. It is very 
confidential. It is just for me from my staff, but perhaps you can use 
it to model what you need from your staff every week to know if your 
office is working well, to make sure all the things you need your staff 
to be doing are happening.
  It was just a small thing, but it was such a big thing to me at that 
time in my Senate career. And every step of the way, Dianne always 
reached out. She always said--just as you said, Maggie--how are you 
doing? How are those boys of yours? Tell me how your struggle is. I 
never had to raise children while being a Senator. Tell me how that is.
  She always cared. She always bothered. She always stopped. I have had 
many dinners with Dianne. We had dinners together with our spouses. She 
would take me to her favorite restaurant in Georgetown. She would 
introduce me to her other favorite women who are public servants. And 
she always had something meaningful to talk about, a challenge, an 
issue, a crisis. At the first dinner, she wanted to talk about how the 
military was using nuclear weapons in a much more strategic way and 
changing the entire framework of what nuclear defense meant. She had 
that conversation with me and the then-chairwoman of Armed Services, of 
one of the key subcommittees in the House.

  She always asked: What do you think? How are you going to challenge 
that problem?
  Our most recent meeting was a glass of wine in her hideaway a week 
ago. We talked about what issues could we work on together. We agreed 
two of the biggest issues facing her State and my State were 
homelessness and affordable housing, and we decided we would start 
working on legislation together.
  She didn't stop working when she was here just because she had health 
issues. She never stopped being insightful in the Intelligence 
Committee, asking the right question at the right time.
  Dianne's legacy is extraordinary. She is an icon for women's 
politics--the first female Mayor of San Francisco; first of the two 
women ever elected to the Senate in California.
  There will be a lot of speeches about her, and so I am not going to 
talk about just her bio. But one of the areas where she really was a 
role model for me was in LGBTQ rights. She became a champion in the 
`60s. Sadly, she found Harvey Milk's body after he was assassinated. 
But she channeled that tragedy into her public service and made sure 
that while she was mayor of San Francisco that she made a difference 
for that community in her city and in her State.
  During the AIDS epidemic, she helped create the global standard for 
AIDS health in San Francisco. When she ran for California Governor and 
became the first woman in her State to win a major party's 
Gubernatorial nomination, despite losing that race, she went on to run 
for Senate to win. And we have seen her champion all those issues for 
same-sex marriage; reproductive rights; she helped pass the first 
assault weapons ban to keep our communities safe. These are all issues 
that I have always cared about and built on her record. If she didn't 
fight for those things, we wouldn't have been able to repeal don't ask, 
don't tell. We wouldn't have been able to make sure transgender 
servicemembers could still serve in the U.S. military. Without her hard 
work, we would not have been able to guarantee marriage equality at the 
U.S. Supreme Court.
  This body is less because Dianne's not here--that grace, that 
courage, that keen intelligence. She will be missed by me and by all 
our colleagues.
  I brought the last gift Dianne gave to me, a beautiful pencil 
drawing; again,

[[Page S4806]]

just part of her kindness. And I am wearing Dianne Feinstein's famous 
red lipstick.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada is recognized.
  Ms. CORTEZ MASTO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
able to display this poster on the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection.

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