[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16561-16562]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the service of a 
former colleague and our current Vice President, Joe Biden.
  Joe was born in Pennsylvania but moved with his family to Delaware 
when he was 13. He left Delaware for brief stints at St. Helena School 
and Syracuse University Law School, but he has always returned to 
Delaware, including the daily trips he made home during his Senate 
career and the regular trips he makes home to this day.
  Because of his devotion to Delaware, Joe quickly got his start in 
politics, first on the New Castle County Council and then in the U.S. 
Senate, where he became the fifth youngest U.S. Senator in history in 
1972. He also has the distinction of being Delaware's longest serving 
Senator.
  I worked with Joe on many different issues during his time in the 
Senate and served on the Foreign Relations Committee when he was our 
chairman. Joe is known as a foreign affairs expert, and he has many 
reasons to be proud of the work he has done in that area. One of those 
things that we worked on together was the President's Emergency Plan 
for AIDS Relief.
  I remember being at the 2003 State of the Union speech when President 
Bush said, ``We're going to put $15 billion into an AIDS effort.'' That 
shocked all of us who were there. It was a lot of money. But we worked 
together to develop a bill that passed the House and Senate 
unanimously.

[[Page 16562]]

  Joe managed the floor when we reauthorized that program in 2008, and 
we worked with Senators Coburn, Burr, and Lugar to develop that 
reauthorization. At the time, Joe suggested historians will regard 
PEPFAR as President Bush's ``single finest hour,'' and I tend to agree. 
A few years ago I visited the Kasisi Orphanage in Zambia. We were told 
that, before PEPFAR, they had to bury 18 kids a month that died of 
AIDS, but because of PEPFAR, they got that down to one a month. I know 
Joe shares my pride in the difference that program is making.
  We were all a little sad to see Joe move to the White House in 2009, 
when he became our 47th Vice President. Lucky for us, he has been able 
to keep his ties to the Senate in his role as President of this body, 
and I think he has been one of our best partners in the administration.
  All of us were glad to be able to recognize Joe and his son, Beau 
Biden, by naming the cancer section of 21st Century Cures Act after 
Beau. I expect Joe will continue to be a voice for ending cancer, and I 
hope to work with him towards that cause.
  Joe, Diana and I send our best to you, Jill, and your family. You 
have served the people of Delaware and the people of the United States 
with distinction.

                          ____________________