On the recordDecember 3, 2019
it is an honor to rise and speak in tribute to my dear friend and trusted colleague, Johnny Isakson of Georgia. To follow the junior Senator from the State of Georgia, something remarkable happened just before this session on the floor of the Senate. There was a bipartisan lunch in which virtually every currently serving Senator--nearly 100--gathered, not just because there was tasty barbecue, but because we were there to thank our friend and colleague Johnny Isakson for his decade of public service, for his dedication to this body, and for the ways in which he has been the glue that has helped hold so many of us together. You just heard it again here on the floor, his passion and his commitment to working across the aisle. Johnny Isakson has been an effective, capable, and powerful Senator because he is never worried about who gets the credit for the work he does. He has kept his word. He has a great sense of humor. He is easy to be with. He is persuasive. He is persistent, and he is principled. Let me just start by saying to Dianne, to John and Julie and Kevin and the grandkids: Thank you. Thank you for sharing Johnny with the State of Georgia and with our Nation for decades. When I first got elected to the Senate back in 2010--which was a somewhat unexpected election, I got seated right after a special election--a respected senior realtor from my hometown, Dick Christopher, came and told me I should look up a guy named Johnny Isakson from Georgia.…
