[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING BOB BENNETT

  Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, I wish to talk about a friend, a 
mentor, a public servant, a husband, father, and son of Ohio, Bob 
Bennett, who passed away at his home in Cleveland last Saturday. I was 
sorry to miss the funeral service in Ohio today for Bob because we are 
still in session, but I did want to pay tribute to him in a lasting way 
through the Congressional Record.
  Bob was a lawyer and a CPA, a man who loved sailing and giving back 
to the people of Ohio through his many charitable works such as his 
time serving on the Board of University Hospitals in Cleveland. He was 
a legend in Ohio and a giant of Ohio politics. He became chairman of 
the Ohio Republican Party in 1988 and remained actively involved in 
politics until his death last week. He was one of the longest serving 
State chairs of either party, was viewed as a true professional, and 
gained the respect of political leaders in both parties.
  He was certainly successful in the world of politics. When he was 
first elected chairman, there were no statewide Republican office 
holders in Ohio. He went to work with the passion, the dedication, the 
commitment that would become his trademark. He was a happy warrior, 
beloved by those in his party and respected by his political rivals. He 
had a vision not only for what the Republican Party could become but 
for what it could accomplish for the people of Ohio.
  Within a decade, under his leadership, Republicans controlled all 
three branches of State government, from the Governor's mansion, to the 
statehouse, to the supreme court.
  He never stopped working. The day before he died, he was on the phone 
with me, talking about 2016, giving me advice. He never let his illness 
hold him back, and he never stopped accomplishing things for the Ohio 
GOP. No one was more responsible for bringing the 2016 Republican 
National Convention to Cleveland than Bob Bennett. Like so many times 
before, he had a vision, and he made it happen. It will be his lasting 
legacy, and I only wish he could be there to see yet another of his 
dreams become reality.
  That is the public story of Bob Bennett's life, and what a story it 
is. But those of us who knew him, who worked with him, who were 
inspired by him, we know that what made Bob Bennett great goes far 
beyond what he accomplished on the political stage. The number of 
people who he helped with advice, with guidance, or even just a kind 
word--the number of people who loved Bob Bennett as a close friend--
could fill this Chamber.
  It has been said that we can measure a man's life by the friends he 
makes, by the other lives he touches, by the people whose own journey 
on this Earth is made better because of him. By that measure, the 
measure that he would have cared about the most, Bob Bennett was a 
great man, indeed.
  He will be missed, but he won't be forgotten.

                          ____________________