Evan Bayh: “It is with a sense of melancholy but also gratitude that I rise today to celebrate the life of Frank O'Bannon. He died…”

“It is with a sense of melancholy but also gratitude that I rise today to celebrate the life of Frank O'Bannon. He died as he lived, in service to the people of the State of Indiana. Frank O'Bannon was my friend and spent the best years of his life in public service: 18 years following in the footsteps of his father in the Indiana State Senate where he served as the leader of the Democratic Party; 8 years as lieutenant governor where we enjoyed a seamless partnership working on behalf of the people of our State, always a source of wise counsel, support, and encouragement; in these last 7 years, working on behalf of the people as Governor of the State of Indiana. His accomplishments were many and will be everlasting in memory. His devotion to education was second to none. He fought for higher academic standards, a system of assessments to determine how children are doing toward meeting those standards, and taking aggressive steps to ensure that every child across our State would have access to the skills necessary to make the most of their God-given abilities.”