Cloture Motion

Floor Speech

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Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I just want to make a few comments in memory of President George Herbert Walker Bush, whose funeral we attended today.

Losing a parent or a grandparent is never easy. I know I speak for the people in Louisiana when I offer my heartfelt sympathies to the entire Bush family in their time of grief. I want them to know their loss echoes in the hearts of all Americans this week. I also want them to know their family is in our thoughts and in our prayers as we mourn together.

At an age when most kids are trying to figure out what kind of smart phones they want to buy, President George H.W. Bush thought of nothing except answering the call of duty. He really was a part of the ``greatest generation.'' I believe he was a hero and a patriot, not because he made the choices that he made to fight for his country but because he got up and continued to make the choice to serve the American people every single day of his life as a Navy aviator, as a Congressman, as an Ambassador, as CIA Director, as Vice President of the United States, and, ultimately, as Commander in Chief.

President Bush, very simply, was a great American, not just because he served his country during some of the darkest days in world history--although he did, and he did courageously--but because he embodied so many of the values that distinguish the American spirit. Traits like bravery, selflessness, faith, and kindness are things we don't have enough of in the village of Washington anymore and seem to be in short supply, but President Bush had them in spades. He was smart as a whip. He was a patriot, but he was also a person who deeply believed in the importance of working together to try to build a better world.

Upon leaving office, President Bush started the Points of Light foundation. Points of Light is a charity whose mission is based on a fairly simple premise--that there is nothing more transformative than an individual's choosing to be generous with his or her time, gifts, and talents. This idea has resonated with millions of Americans across the world.

Since its founding in 1990, Points of Light has electrified the American spirit of volunteerism, and each year the foundation supports more than 20 million hours of community service--what an extraordinary legacy.

President Bush understood that at its core public service is about-- this is going to sound strange--loving your neighbor. The Points of Light foundation is a fitting legacy for this fine American who loved his country and his family to the fullest, and he devoted every day of his life to serving all 350 million of his neighbors. Without a doubt, he was one of the brightest of those thousand points of light, and our loss is Heaven's gain.

A smart person once told me that people don't really care how much you know until they know how much you care. President George Herbert Walker Bush knew a lot, but he cared a lot too.

America weeps, both in joy for his life and in sadness because his soul is in a better place but not with us. America and the world have lost a favorite son.

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