Nomination of Jacob J. Lew, of New York, to Be United States Governor of the International Monetary Fund; United States Governor of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; United States Governor of the Inter-American Development Bank; United States Governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, as we all know, today is Senator CHIESA's last day in the Senate.

And while the Senator has only been here four months, it has been an interesting few months to say the least. He has found himself right in the middle of everything from the farm bill to the immigration bill, to the debate over Syria, to an October I am sure he will not soon forget.

He has had to work out of a temporary office, complete with vinyl siding and plastic chairs. He was here for less than an hour before having to take his first vote. He has had to deal with 99 Senators pronouncing his name 99 different ways. And one of our colleagues from Arizona threatened to quote ``waterboard'' the Senator if he didn't support a particular bill. I haven't asked how that situation ended up working out, but I see the Senator from New Jersey is still here.

Bottom line: Senator CHIESA is going to have quite a few stories for his family--for his wife Jenny and his kids, Al and Hannah. I know he is eager to get back home to see them--and catch up on some Notre Dame football--too. Even though he tells us his rank is ``fourth'' out of four in the family pecking order.

Well, that is at least better than 100th out of 100. But Senator CHIESA has not let his lack of Senate seniority stand in the way of pushing important issues.

Human trafficking was his focus as Attorney General, and it has been his focus here too. He has helped convene committee hearings about it, he has raised the issue with administration officials, he has embarked on a series of school visits to educate young folks on the issue, and he has worked with the Junior Senator from Ohio to advance awareness through the Caucus to End Human Trafficking. His determination is something we all admire. I know a lot of it comes from his strong Catholic faith. Much of it must come from his upbringing too: this is a Senator who lost his father and was forced to become the man of the house when he was just 8 years old.

Last year, Senator CHIESA said this:

If someone had ever said 20 years from now you'd be the attorney general of New Jersey, I would have laughed ..... I didn't think I'd even have met the attorney general by the age of 46.

Well, he has done more than that. He can add Senator to his résumé too--a Senator who has made the most of his time here, who has done good work, who we have all enjoyed getting to know. So, Senator CHIESA can be proud of his service. We thank him for it, and we look forward to welcoming our newest colleague from New Jersey.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source