Dick Durbin: “I want to add my voice to the well- deserved chorus of congratulations for our colleague and friend from Vermont. Of the…”

“I want to add my voice to the well- deserved chorus of congratulations for our colleague and friend from Vermont. Of the 1,963 men and women who have ever served in the U.S. Senate, only six have the distinction of casting 15,000 votes. And of those august six, only Patrick Leahy continues to serve in this body today. The only other members of the 15,000-vote league are Senators Robert C. Byrd, Strom Thurmond, Daniel Inouye, Ted Kennedy, and Ted Stevens. More important than the number of votes Senator Leahy has cast, however, is the wisdom and courage reflected in his votes. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974--part of an historic group of new Senators known as the ``Watergate Babies.'' He has voted time and again to uphold the values of our Constitution--even when it contained some political risk. His very first vote in this Senate was to authorize the Church Committee--the precursor to today's Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. The Church Committee was created to investigate possible illegalities by the CIA, the FBI, and the National Security Agency--and it resulted in major reforms. As you may know, Senator Leahy is a major Batman fan. In fact, he has made several cameo appearances in Batman movies. His affinity for the Caped Crusader makes sense. You see, Batman is one of the few superheroes with no superhuman powers. He is simply a man with unusual courage and determination to fight wrongdoing. That is Patrick Leahy, too.…”