[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5366]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         REMEMBERING JOHN HEINZ

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, on April 4, we marked 25 years since 
Pennsylvania Senator John Heinz died in a plane crash. I am honored to 
serve in the Senate seat he held from 1977 to 1991.
  Five years ago, I paid tribute to Senator Heinz for his public 
service as a Senator. Today, I am going to focus on his leadership on 
the Special Committee on Aging. Senator Heinz served as chairman of 
that committee from 1981 to 1987. Pennsylvania is one of the oldest 
States in the country, and through this position, Senator Heinz was a 
strong advocate for seniors. During his chairmanship, the Special 
Committee on Aging held 34 hearings in Washington, DC, and countless 
more around the Nation. The committee also produced over 60 reports and 
papers. Senator Heinz would often use what he learned through these 
investigations and reports to inform his work as a member of the 
Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Social Security and 
Medicare programs.
  John Heinz once said, ``Working together, we can lay the groundwork 
for a society that respects age and the elderly and that truly realizes 
the benefits of the experience, wisdom, and judgement of older 
Americans.'' As chairman of the Aging Committee, his first 
responsibility was not to party or partisanship, but to older Americans 
whose interests the committee was created to support and protect. Frank 
McArdle, a member of Senator Heinz's staff once commented:

       What Heinz brought to many issues . . . was a sense of 
     outrage. He could channel that anger toward public policy 
     that would correct the injustices that hurt vulnerable 
     populations. When he seized upon a situation like that, he 
     wouldn't let go. His outrage over what was happening to 
     defenseless people gave him an energy and a commitment to see 
     it through.

  As chairman, Senator Heinz took on the powerful in defense of the 
powerless.
  Senator Heinz was an honorable public servant for our Commonwealth 
and our Nation. He focused intensively on the challenges facing our 
seniors and worked tirelessly to find solutions to their problems. We 
continue to be inspired by his distinguished service on behalf of the 
older citizens of Pennsylvania.
  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

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