On the recordDecember 21, 2017
you heard in Senator Franken's closing words the passion he has for all of the work that he has done in this Chamber and for the people of our State. You saw the love that he has for his family--for Franni--and the love that he has for his staff. They are not good staff; they are wonderful staff. I think about all of the legacies that Al will leave. One of them is his staff, to whom he has been so devoted. Another is all of the work he has done for veterans, the work he has done for healthcare with the medical loss ratio--one of the major achievements in the Affordable Care Act. One is the work he has done, way ahead of his time, for the LGBTQ community, and another is the work he has done for our Tribal communities. That was his No. 1 ask when he arrived in the Senate--to be on the Indian Affairs Committee. That is not what other people ask for. He did that. Another is the work he did on bullying in schools. For the kids who had no voice, he gave them a voice. Another is the work he did in carrying on Paul Wellstone's work for those with mental illness. When I think about what I will miss about Al, I will miss, first of all, how he defied expectations when he got elected. I think about all of those headlines that he mentions in his book. No matter what he did in the first few years he was in office, they would read with things like: Al Franken passes a bill. That's no joke. Al Franken gets reelected. That's no joke.…
