On the recordMay 31, 2015
I also regret that we are where we are. Remembering Beau Biden I would also like to defer for just a moment, before I make my remarks that I came to the floor to make, to add my condolences to Vice President Biden, his wife, and his family. I just learned the tragic news this morning. Some may have known that Beau was dealing with a form of cancer. I did not know that. It came as a shock to hear that information. Having served with the current Vice President in the U.S. Senate and having gotten to know him and his family, establishing a relationship-- a professional relationship as well as a friendship--I still cannot begin to comprehend the grief that comes from the loss of a child. I know there are Members in this body who have experienced that. I am fortunate that Marsha and I have not experienced that. But any parent's perhaps deepest fear is that they will outlive their children. That is not the natural order of things. It is not how we think. And the grief that comes from the death of a child, the death of a son or a daughter, is truly deep and has significant impact. It was impossible not to feel the emotion and shed tears early this morning in our home in Indianapolis when we heard the news. Our condolences and deep sharing of grief that we can't even begin to fully comprehend because we haven't had to deal with it--all of that comes across.…
