[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14937-14938]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CARR

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise not to talk about ObamaCare, not 
to talk about a shutdown, not to talk about the debate we have been 
going through the last couple of days but, rather, I rise to talk about 
a man by the name of Chris Carr, who is my chief of staff and has been 
my chief of staff since I have been in the Senate.
  Chris will be leaving my office on November 1 to become the 
commissioner of economic development in the State of Georgia. It is a 
tremendous opportunity for him and my State. While it is a loss for me 
personally, it is a continuation of economic development in my State, 
where my fingerprint still lies because he will be replacing my former 
State director, Chris Cummiskey, who has been the commissioner of 
economic development in the State of Georgia, which means I will still 
have that fingerprint there.

[[Page 14938]]

  Chris is a very special person who deserves a tribute on the floor of 
the Senate for all he has done for me, not just as a Member of the 
Senate or as my chief of staff but as a deep and abiding personal 
friend.
  Chris joined me in 2003 when I announced I was going to run to 
replace Zell Miller, who retired as a Senator from Georgia. Before 
that, Chris had been an attorney at Alston & Bird for what he always 
refers to as a 15-minute brief time of period. But he went on from 
there to be an adviser to the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, and a 
dear friend of ours by the name of T. Rogers Wade, who, by the way, was 
the executive director for Herman Talmadge and chief of staff years ago 
in the Senate.
  Chris joined me in 2003 for a great adventure--my race for the 
Senate. He guided us through a primary a lot of people said I couldn't 
win and a lot of people said I would never win without a runoff. My two 
opponents were a former Congressmen from the State of Georgia and 
Herman Cain, who everybody knows later ran for President of the United 
States.
  Georgia is a primary State that requires 50 percent plus 1 in terms 
of votes. So we had to get 50 percent plus 1 in a Republican primary. 
We did that without a runoff because of Chris's leadership, his 
dynamics, and his hard work in how he guided that campaign.
  We won the general election by 58.8 percent. I brought Chris to 
Washington, DC, to be my chief of staff in my office, and he has done a 
phenomenal job. He has traveled with me to Africa--as the Presiding 
Officer knows because he has been with us on some of these trips. He 
has guided me through difficult times in my journey from the Foreign 
Relations Committee to the Finance Committee to the Commerce Committee. 
He has been a great guiding hand.
  Most important, he brought together a staff that has been loyal, 
dedicated, and gotten the job done for the people of the State of 
Georgia.
  Chris is a great Georgian. He is what we refer to in our State as a 
``double dawg.'' He graduated with his undergraduate degree from the 
University of Georgia--which I might add beat LSU very handily last 
Saturday--and then went to law school at the University of Georgia to 
get his second degree, a bachelor of law degree from the University of 
Georgia.
  After that he went on, as I said, to Austin & Bird, and then to the 
Public Policy Foundation, but he has been with me ever since--almost a 
decade. During that period of time, he has served me as chief of staff. 
My deputy chief of staff, Joan Kirchner, will be replacing him as chief 
of staff, so we will have a continuity of service in our office.
  I know I would not be where I am today if it weren't for Chris Carr. 
I know the State of Georgia is going to go places it never thought it 
would go because of his guiding leadership as commissioner of economic 
development.
  So for a brief minute on the floor of the Senate, I wish to pay 
tribute to a friend, a chief of staff, a leader, someone who has had a 
positive influence on my life but, most importantly has had a positive 
influence on his country, the United States America.
  I am thankful to Chris Carr for his support and thankful for all he 
has done for my State, my country, and our office.
  I yield back my time and defer to the Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. SANDERS. I thank the Senator from Georgia for yielding, and I ask 
unanimous consent to address the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Vermont.

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