Political Quotes

“I rise today to give due recognition to a colleague whose tragic passing is still fresh in our thoughts. Senator Paul Wellstone served 12 honorable years in the Senate for the State of Minnesota before suddenly perishing with his dear wife, Sheila, their daughter, Marcia, three of his staffers, and two pilots in a plane crash last October. The bill I am proposing today seeks to rename the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN, after Paul Wellstone. His distinguished record of service for veterans clearly demands such distinction. Indeed last October, just weeks before the crash that took his life, Senator Wellstone proclaimed on the Senate floor, "It has been a labor of love for me working with veterans." Paul Wellstone served our Nation's veterans with passion and commitment as a distinguished member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. His legacy includes the many veterans today whose lives have been turned around due to his unyielding service on their behalf, such as veterans who are or have been homeless; veterans who are now receiving treatment for their service-related disabilities from exposure to radiation from atomic and nuclear weapons testing; and veterans who suffer from symptoms associated with Persian Gulf War Syndrome. Year after year, Senator Wellstone rose in this very chamber to try to increase the VA health care budget.”