Thomas Daschle: “just before Congress left for the August recess, we suffered a staggering loss in our ``Capitol Hill family''--the…”

“just before Congress left for the August recess, we suffered a staggering loss in our ``Capitol Hill family''--the deaths of Detective John Gibson and Officer J.J. Chestnut. Today, as we returned to our work here, we learned that we have suffered another loss in our family. This past Saturday morning, Kent Hall died in his sleep. Kent was chief of staff for my colleague and friend, Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota. Outside of Congress, his beloved family, and his many friends, it's likely that few Americans ever heard Kent's name. But millions of Americans benefited from his years of hard and conscientious work in this body. Kent Hall was a rare man--a Renaissance man. He held a doctorate in economics and philosophy. He loved ideas. But he also loved the nitty-gritty of politics, and policy. And he loved this institution, this Senate. He was honored to work here. And we were honored to have him. He first came to the Hill to work for Tom Harkin. He joined Senator Conrad's staff as agriculture advisor in 1987, the year Senator Conrad came to the Senate. He later went on to serve as Senator Conrad's legislative director and eventually as his chief of staff. One of Kent's great passions was the federal budget. He believed America's budget should be balanced not only economically, but morally as well.”