Joe Donnelly: “this is a speech I hoped to never give and one I give with an incredibly heavy heart. I wish to speak about a young man…”

“this is a speech I hoped to never give and one I give with an incredibly heavy heart. I wish to speak about a young man from my home State of Indiana, Abdul-Rahman Kassig, known to many who loved him as Peter or Pete. He was a Hoosier, a son of Indiana, and we could not feel more proud of him or lucky about the fact that he was one of us. Abdul-Rahman was a son of the United States of America who served our country and also served the world. He was a man of peace and healing and caring. Abdul-Rahman was with us for 26 years, and what he gave us during his life is so much greater and so much more important than how he died. The intensity and focus and desire to make a difference was the hallmark of Peter's life, and it stands in stark contrast to the cruelty and disdain for human life of the ISIL terrorists who took Peter from us. Every one of us is heartbroken for his parents Paula and Ed, who have lost their son in the most nightmarish of circumstances and have been the most extraordinary people during this whole situation. The world mourns the loss of Abdul-Rahman along with us. His life is one to be admired.…”