Barbara Boxer: “I wish to associate myself with the eloquent remarks made by my colleague Senator Durbin, Senator Reid, and all those…”

“I wish to associate myself with the eloquent remarks made by my colleague Senator Durbin, Senator Reid, and all those who have come to praise a one-of-a-kind Senator and extraordinary human being, my friend Dan's Inouye. I was telling Senator Lieberman that when the Senate put on a little retirement dinner for our retiring Senators--including Senator Lieberman--there was Senator Inouye. When we look back, it was only 2 weeks ago. We know he could not have been strong, he was not well, but he came to that dinner and sat at that table because of the love and respect for the individual Senators and for this institution. As for me, I will miss Danny's sonorous voice, his big heart, his self-effacing manner, his integrity, and his patriotism. Over the years, so many of us have worked together on so many issues with Dan. I worked on bringing a state-of-the-art, first ever comprehensive casualty care center to my State to take care of the wounded vets who were coming home without their limbs, post-traumatic stress, and all the problems they had. There was no such place on the west coast, and with Dan's help--and we worked with Senator Stevens--we got it done. Now that facility really stands as a tribute to Dan's Inouye. In 2010 I had a very difficult campaign, as most of us did at that time, and Dan's said: I am going to come out there and help you. I was under fierce attack, and we had an event for veterans. Dan's was a speaker, and I was a speaker.…”