[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16600]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  LONGEST SERVING SENATOR FROM VERMONT

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, first of all, it is very unusual to have one 
of the most senior Members of the Senate presiding and especially at 
this time of the day. I would say to my friend, this is how the Senator 
has conducted himself all the time he has been in the Senate. We had a 
little emergency here today. The Senator who was expected to be here 
was unable to make it due to the fog we have around the eastern part of 
the United States, and so the Senator from Vermont agreed to preside.
  I say to everyone, the people of Vermont are so fortunate to have the 
longest serving Senator from Vermont, a man of such quality. Those of 
us who work with the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Senator Leahy 
of Vermont, consider it an honor to be able to talk to him--speaking 
for myself, but I am sure we all feel this way--and to learn from him. 
I am the majority leader in the Senate, but I talk to my friend from 
Vermont often to get ideas as to how we handle the difficult issues of 
the day.
  For me, as a person, I will always remember, as long as I am on this 
Earth, the kindness Senator Leahy and his lovely wife Marcelle extended 
to my wife. As most of my colleagues know, she was in a violent car 
accident. Her neck was broken in a couple places and her back was 
broken and so she had a lot of surgery. When that was over, she learned 
she had breast cancer, and so she has been fighting that. Marcelle, who 
is a nurse, has been so thoughtful and kind to my wife, calling her 
often to help her work through the sickness that comes with breast 
cancer. So this is an opportunity for me to say something about my 
friend from Vermont.
  I can still remember the first day we met, the first night we met in 
Florida. He was running for reelection and I was running for the 
Senate. I want the Record spread with the fact that I have so much 
confidence and appreciation for this good man who, on a minute's 
notice, came over to make the Senate work again. I thank our Acting 
President pro tempore very much.

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