National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I come to the floor to honor Washington State's finest, Spokane native and Washington State University Cougar Steve Gleason. I know my Senate colleagues will be here later this afternoon to do the same. My colleagues from Louisiana and Washington have introduced legislation to award Steve the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest honor. I look forward to seeing this legislation pass later today by unanimous consent.

Many Washingtonians remember Steve as a standout student athlete whose dedication in the classroom earned him repeated academic honors and whose dominance on the football field and baseball diamond set records and dazzled fans. Everybody back home is pulling for Steve.

Instead of Steve going to the Seahawks, he signed with the New Orleans Saints. He quickly became a fan favorite for his work ethic and the joy he brought to the game.

In his first game back under the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, he blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. It is a play I know Saints' fans around the country still remember fondly.

It is not Steve's athletic feats at Washington State University or in the Superdome that make him worth recognition, it is his perseverance, determination, his unbreakable spirit in the face of ALS, and his dogged advocacy for people who have been impacted by this disease.

That is why Steve is such an inspiration to the people of Spokane, throughout the State of Washington, and across the United States. Through his public advocacy and collaboration with Congress, Steve helped pass the Steve Gleason Act, which ensures that people with ALS and other degenerative diseases can access speech-generating devices, whether at home or in a health facility.

His leadership with the Gleason Initiative Foundation brought together the largest ALS research project in the world, and his work has helped us improve the lives of countless individuals who have been impacted by this disease.

We could not be more proud of him, and that is why we are here today, to make sure this legislation gives that appropriate recognition. Steve Gleason said: ``Our potential is not contained in our physical bodies, but rather in our mind and in our spirit.''

I so appreciate all he has done to help fight this disease. He has been such a leader in communicating the needs of those with ALS and showing the progress we all can make. I thank the Presiding Officer.

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