[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16546-16547]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO MARK KIRK

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to the junior Senator 
from Illinois, my good friend Mark Kirk. I know I speak for all of my 
colleagues in expressing gratitude of his service on behalf of our 
Nation. When he leaves us in January, we will miss him dearly.
  Senator Kirk was born in Champaign, IL, in 1959 and attended Cornell 
University, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in 
history. He would later earn a master's degree from the London School 
of Economics and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law 
Center. His academic background in law and history prepared him for a 
life in public service.
  Senator Kirk first came to Capitol Hill as a staffer, working for 
Congressman John Porter of Illinois. He quickly rose through the staff 
ranks to become Congressman Porter's chief of staff before leaving to 
take a post at the World Bank and, later, at the State Department.
  While still working on Capitol Hill, Mark also pursued military 
service, joining the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1989 as an intelligence 
officer. He was an active member of the Navy Reserve for the next 24 
years, retiring from the military with the rank of commander. As a Navy 
officer, Mark's duties took him to conflict zones across the

[[Page 16547]]

world--from the forests of former Yugoslavia to the deserts of Iraq and 
the mountains of Afghanistan. For more than a decade, Mark continued 
military service while simultaneously working as a Congressman in the 
House of Representatives.
  While in the House of Representatives, Mark distinguished himself as 
a prudent member of the Appropriations Committee and an expert on 
foreign policy issues. In 2010, he was elected to the Senate and 
quickly set to work the following year championing infrastructure 
reform that was critical to his home State of Illinois. In 2012, Mark 
faced perhaps his most significant challenge yet when he unexpectedly 
suffered a stroke that nearly took his life and left the left side of 
his body severely impaired. Rather than be defeated, Mark channeled all 
of his energies in working towards recovery, spending countless hours 
working with physical therapists to regain his ability to walk.
  What motivated Mark most during this difficult period was the desire 
to continue serving the people of Illinois. Thanks to Mark's 
unrelenting efforts and the heartfelt prayers of family and friends--
including all of his colleagues in the Senate--Mark miraculously 
recovered and was able to return to his work in the Senate, where he 
has served out the remainder of his term with the utmost honor and 
distinction. Senator Kirk offers all of us an unparalleled example of 
courage amid hardship and grace amid suffering.
  Through his decades of dedicated service to our Nation, both here in 
Congress and in the military, Senator Kirk represents the very best 
this Nation has to offer. His integrity, determination, and fortitude 
in the face of adversity embody the very pinnacle of American virtue. 
Today I would like to thank him for his courage, his commitment, and 
his sacrifice. I wish Mark and his family all the best, and I hope that 
he will continue his service to our Nation in the years to come. 

                          ____________________