{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-coons-leads-tribute-to-vp-biden-on-senate-floor-youve-never-forgotten-from-where-you-came-or-for-whom-youre-fighting", "Senator Coons leads tribute to VP Biden on Senate floor: “You’ve never forgotten from where you came or for whom you’re fighting”", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "DE", "Christopher Coons", "C001088", "www.coons.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.07.16\n\t\t\t Senator Coons leads tribute to VP Biden on Senate floor: \u201cYou\u2019ve never forgotten from where you came or for whom you\u2019re fighting\u201d \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\r\nWASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today led a series of bipartisan tributes on the Senate floor to honor Vice President Joe Biden. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and others are also delivering tributes over the next hour.\u00a0\r\nSenator Coons\u2019 remarks are below:\r\nThank you, Mr. President, \u00a0and it does bring me some joy to call you Mr. President. I\u2019m honored to be here today with so many of our colleagues, and I am grateful to Majority Leader McConnell and Leader Reid for their enthusiasm in pulling together this bipartisan tribute. I\u2019m honored to be joined by my senior Senator from Delaware, Tom Carper, who will make the closing remarks this afternoon\u2026\r\nMr. President, in a place known these days for some disagreements, my colleagues, our colleagues -- Republicans, Democrats, and Independents -- are all here today because we agree on one powerful and simple thing: our deep gratitude for the difference that you\u2019ve made in your decades in public service.\r\nThe greatest honor of my life is to serve in the seat that you held for 36 years \u2013 and not just literally this seat in the Senate, but also a seat on the 7:15 Amtrak train down from Wilmington every morning.\u00a0 You logged over two million miles on Amtrak and millions more traveling around the world fighting for our country, and as long as I have the privilege of representing our state in the Senate, I\u2019ll be humbled by the challenge of living up to your legacy of fighting for and making a real difference for the people of our shared home.\r\nLike so many Americans, I\u2019ve long been inspired by your loyalty to your family, and I\u2019m so glad to see so many familiar faces in the gallery today. This job requires a strong partner and a teammate, and to Dr. Biden, to Jill, your unwavering support for your family, for Delaware, and your country is something for which we\u2019re all deeply grateful.\u00a0\r\nMr. President, as a son of Delaware, and of Catherine Eugenia and Joe Senior, you\u2019ve never forgotten from where you came or for whom you\u2019re fighting. Even as Vice President, our fellow Delawareans have the blessing of a surprise visit week in and week out, to see you at the Columbus Day breakfast or Return Day or the St. Anthony\u2019s Procession.\u00a0\r\nWhether meeting personally with world leaders you\u2019ve known for decades, whether chairing the Judiciary or Foreign Relations committees, or just stopping by in a Claymont diner, there is universal agreement about what you\u2019ve brought to this work: your passion, your heart, your character, and your integrity. \u00a0That\u2019s because you genuinely listen to people.\u00a0 You ask them questions, and then you lift them up. We know that when you give us your word as a Biden, you mean it, and you\u2019ll keep it.\u00a0\r\nYour service as a Senator stands a model for all of our colleagues and for me. Through challenging times you always worked across the aisle, through eight presidents, you were willing to reach across to anyone willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work for the American people.\r\nMr. President, so many families across Delaware and this country, and I myself, as we\u2019ve struggled with loss -- maybe the loss of a job, or loss of hope, or the impending loss of a loved one -- have experienced the incredible personal comfort and power of a call from you.\r\nWhen it comes to providing advice and inspiration that touches our hearts and makes a real difference, no one, no one is better than you. We know you will share our challenges, you will give us meaningful comfort and encourage us, and that you will fight for us.\r\nAs we look ahead to next year and beyond, I know you and Jill have so much more great, good work to do, starting with the fight to cure cancer through the Cancer Moonshot.\r\nThis next chapter will be every bit as exciting and meaningful as the life of service you\u2019ve led for 44 years. What an honor to see you in the chair earlier this week as the Majority Leader led the Senate in a unanimous vote to rename a title of the 21st Century Cures cancer initiative after Beau. That bill, which we passed finally just an hour ago, would not have happened without your leadership.\u00a0\r\nNow, Mr. President, let me close with a line that you know all too well, a line you shared with me and many others countless times in this chamber, sometimes from this very desk.\r\nAs the Irish poet Seamus Heaney once wrote, \u2018History says, don\u2019t hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime, the longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up, and hope and history rhyme.\u2019\u00a0\r\nNo one, sir, no one has done more to make hope and history rhyme than you.\r\nThank you, Mr. President, for your service, your counsel, your advice, your friendship, and your leadership.\r\n\u00a0\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tSean Coit at 202-224-5042 or Sean_Coit@coons.senate.gov", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.coons.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senator-coons-leads-tribute-to-vp-biden-on-senate-floor-youve-never-forgotten-from-where-you-came-or-for-whom-youre-fighting"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8165719918906689, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}