[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 74 (Tuesday, April 30, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3069-S3070]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to Bill Samuel

  Finally, Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to recognize 
Bill Samuel of the AFL-CIO, a man who has spent his career fighting for 
America's working men and women.
  So many of us in this Chamber--on both sides of the aisle--have 
worked closely with Bill over the decades, and

[[Page S3070]]

we will certainly miss him as he steps down from his longtime post as 
director of government affairs for the AFL-CIO.
  Ever since his early days in the labor movement, when he worked for 
the National Treasury Employees Union, the American Federation of 
Government Employees, and the United Mine Workers, Bill has been at the 
forefront of improving working conditions. He continued that fight 
while serving at the Department of Labor and on the staff of former 
Vice President Al Gore.
  In 2001, after the AFL-CIO President, John Sweeney, hired Bill to 
lead his congressional efforts, Bill quickly got to work, organizing 
lobbying and grassroots efforts, communicating with Senators, Members 
of Congress, the administration, and AFL-CIO union members. Bill 
quickly gained the trust of members through his candor, his dedication, 
and his pragmatism. Through his partnership with the AFL-CIO's next 
president, Rich Trumka, Bill brought the labor movement's legislative 
efforts to new heights.
  Bill was a tireless advocate, working closely with us on critically 
important issues such as the Employee Free Choice Act, the Affordable 
Care Act, the Border Security Care Act of 2013--man, our country would 
have been better off had that bill passed the House--the pensions bill, 
Chips, Infrastructure, the Inflation Reduction Act, and so much more.
  We may not have won every battle, but we were always there fighting 
to improve the lives of working men and women.
  I wish Bill the best as he moves on to new challenges, and I am 
comforted in knowing he will still be involved in the fight for 
progress.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.