Executive Session

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, we will vote today on the confirmation of Ryan Bounds to the Ninth Circuit. He has been nominated to fill the vacancy left by Judge O'Scannlain. Mr. Bounds once served as a law clerk to Ninth Circuit Judge O'Scannlain.

Mr. Bounds is highly qualified to serve on the Ninth Circuit. A native of Oregon, he attended Stanford University and Yale Law School. He has dedicated his career to public service and has served in government for the past 14 years. The last 8 years were as an assistant U.S. attorney in Oregon.

I have listened to my colleagues on the other side voice their opposition to Mr. Bounds. Interestingly, none of them cite anything Mr. Bounds has done in his legal career as a reason for opposing his nomination. Instead, they focus on two things. First, they say we shouldn't confirm Mr. Bounds because his home State Senators didn't return their blue slips. Second, they say some of Mr. Bounds' college writings were insensitive. So I am going to start with point No. 1 on which they base their opposition to him.

As I have explained so many times on the floor of the U.S. Senate and in the Senate Judiciary Committee--and I don't know how many times to the multitudes of journalists who are on the Hill--my blue-slip policy is the same as all but 2 of my 18 predecessors who were chairmen of the Judiciary Committee over the 100-year history of blue slips. Like Chairmen Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, and Orrin Hatch, I will hold hearings for circuit court nominees who have negative or unreported blue slips if the White House has consulted with the home State Senators, and I will not allow Senators to abuse the blue-slip courtesy for political or ideological reasons.

In the case of Mr. Bounds, the White House sought the Oregon Senators' input, seriously considered the one candidate suggested by the Oregon Senators, and waited several months for the Senators from Oregon to establish their judicial selection committee, which is quite a tradition in that State. The selection committee itself even recommended Mr. Bounds. Yet the Oregon Senators still didn't return their blue slips.

They say it was because Mr. Bounds didn't disclose some of his college writings to the selection committee. There is a very good reason he didn't--the selection committee never asked for his college writings. In fact, Senator Wyden's staff instructed Mr. Bounds not to disclose them. Moreover, the Oregon Senators refused to ever meet with Mr. Bounds during this whole process.

It has been misleadingly said this will be the first time in modern history we will have confirmed a judge without there having been at least one positive blue slip from the two State Senators. My Democratic colleagues have only themselves to blame. The way the blue slip used to be enforced was through the 60-vote filibuster, and that was done away with in November 2013, led by the then-Democratic majority and Senator Reid.

For example, Chairman Hatch held hearings for five nominees in 2003 and 2004, despite there being the lack of a positive blue slip from either home State Senator. These nominees were voted out of committee. Then Senate Democrats blocked these nominees on the floor by using the 60-vote filibuster. But my Democratic colleagues abolished that filibuster, as I said, in 2013 for the reason that they needed the votes and the freedom to pack the DC Circuit with liberal judges who would uphold Obama's regulatory schemes.

Leading this effort was none other than Senator Merkley of Oregon, who argued that 41 Senators shouldn't be able to block a Senate majority from confirming judges. Now they have a different point of view. Now he argues that he alone should have the right to block Mr. Bounds from even getting a hearing in the Judiciary Committee.

In November of 2013, I told my Democratic colleagues that they would regret abolishing the filibuster just to stack the DC Circuit Court of Appeals with their friends. Now, obviously, today, as they consider the Bounds nomination, they know they made a mistake.

Turning to the only other criticism my colleagues have made about Mr. Bounds, which is in regard to his college writings, I don't believe that misguided statements made in a college newspaper 25 years ago should disqualify Mr. Bounds. I hope we don't live in a world where controversial things that we write in college end our careers forever. This is especially true with our kids and grandkids now in the era of social media.

For example, a few years ago, just when the same thing came up on Justice Wright going to the Minnesota District Court, I voted and supported her despite very controversial writings she had in law school. We shouldn't assume that views expressed years ago during college and law school represent the nominee today.

Mr. Bounds testified that he regretted much of what he wrote in those op-eds.

We received numerous letters in support of Mr. Bounds' nomination from people who have known him personally throughout his life. We received a letter from some of his classmates at Stanford. And before I quote, it is kind of like--these sound like they were his friends in the dormitories. I never was a dormitory student, but I imagine you really get acquainted with people there. This is what they had to say about Mr. Bounds:

We have become aware of a handful of controversial op-eds and articles Ryan wrote for The Stanford Review during that time. None of us believes that these writings reflect Ryan's character, either then or now. All of us remember our dorm- mate fondly.

We are a diverse bunch. Yet Ryan never failed to treat all of us with courtesy, respect, and civility, regardless of our respective genders, sexual orientations, skin colors, religions, ethnicity, or any other characteristics.

There is not, and never has been, a racist, sexist, homophobic, or bigoted bone in Ryan Bounds's body.

Mr. Bounds has also been a community leader, promoting diversity and equality. As a member of the Multnomah Bar Association's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, Mr. Bounds spearheaded programs to expose underprivileged young people to the legal profession. He mentored young scholarship recipients and helped those same people navigate law school admissions and law school. He expanded low-cost CLE offerings and organized anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training.

Mr. Bounds is imminently qualified to serve on the Ninth Circuit. His college writings do not represent who he is today. His professional accomplishments and exemplary public service speak much more loudly to his character and integrity.

I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support Mr. Bounds' confirmation today. Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

Madam President, I would like to say one thing about another nomination issue. I understand that so far, no Senate Democrat has met with Judge Kavanaugh. They are apparently awaiting their marching orders from the minority leader. Well, the American people elected each one of those Democratic Senators to represent them, not the minority leader. And when Senate Democrats have largely already made up their minds to vote against Judge Kavanaugh and none of them have even met with him, their demand for a paper chase beyond relevant material sounds more and more like a demand for a taxpayer-funded fishing expedition. Remembering Governor Bob Ray

Now, Madam President, I would like to address my colleagues in the U.S. Senate on the life and death of Governor Bob Ray, a wonderful Governor for the State of Iowa over a long period of time. I wish to honor him in this way.

I wish to pay tribute to my good friend and an exceptional Iowan whose life and legacy will be remembered in my home State for generations to come. As the people of Iowa mourn the loss of our 38th Governor, I would like to share about a few ways that Robert D. Ray made Iowa a better place to grow. Looking back at his lifetime of service, it seems nearly impossible that one person could wear so many hats and reach the highest rungs of distinguished service in both his private life and in the public sector.

After graduating from high school in 1946, Bob enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve his country that way. He returned from service and earned undergraduate and law degrees at Drake University in Des Moines, IA. He married the love of his life, Billie, and together they raised three daughters.

In addition to serving 14 years as our State's chief executive from 1969 to 1983, Governor Ray also served as our State party chairman at the age of 35, chairman of the National Governors Association, interim mayor of Des Moines, 11th president of Drake University, U.S. delegate to the United Nations Conference on Refugees, and CEO and board member to a number of nonprofit and for-profit corporations.

Reading such an outstanding resume, one might come to the conclusion that this Iowan must have an outsized ego to match. To that, I can personally affirm that Bob Ray was a humble leader driven by a servant's heart. He brought honesty, dignity, and integrity to the campaign trail and, in turn, to State government.

His policy achievements as our 38th Governor made government work better for the people by reorganizing State government, such as the creation of the department of transportation, and modernizing the National Guard. Those are just a few of the reorganizations. But through doing this, he strengthened rock-solid Iowa values in education, conservation, good government, and fiscal stewardship. It was Governor Ray who signed Iowa's--we call it the bottle bill. You get a redemption for a can you return instead of throwing it in the dump. He signed it into law to keep our roadways clean and our State looking beautiful.

Arguably, the lasting measure of his governorship is defined by moral leadership, and particularly as evidenced after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

As a result of the ending of the Vietnam war, Governor Ray's actions transcended the riverbanks of America's heartland to reach thousands of refugees across the world. Those refugees were fleeing communism in Southeast Asia. Governor Ray persuaded President Ford to allow Iowa to welcome the Tai Dam to Iowa, allowing this close-knit ethnic group to stay intact and to resettle in Iowa.

In 1978, we had another wave of Southeast Asians who were desperate to escape communism in South Vietnam. They became known as the boat people who put their lives in peril for the pearl of freedom that we offer in America. Bob Ray put his political life on the line to open Iowa's homes and hearts to rescue them from suffering and death. In so doing, he saved the lives of thousands of people, including generations of new Iowans yet to be born.

Yet again, Governor Ray responded in 1979 to another humanitarian crisis going on in Southeast Asia by launching the Iowa SHARES Program. The acronym ``SHARES'' stands for Iowa ``Sends Help to Aid Refugees and End Starvation.'' That very first year, the program raised more than $600,000 in less than 1 month--small donations to send food and medicine to starving people on the Cambodian border. Volunteer nurses and doctors from Iowa also went to save these people, who suffered under the harsh Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot.

When one of those members of the boat people first learned of Governor Ray's passing, she was moved to tears. Now a wife and mother of five children, she prayed for Governor Ray, in fact referring to him as ``Saint Bob Ray.'' She attributed his courage and generosity to saving thousands of people just like her.

At his funeral, Senator Ernst and I saw a whole part of the church filled with these Southeast Asians who very much wanted to express their appreciation for Governor Ray's leadership by being there at that funeral.

In 2005, Governor Ray received Iowa's highest civilian honor, the Iowan Award. It is a well-deserved honor for this legendary man of honor. He is a statesman, a humanitarian hero, and, of course, to those who loved him the most, he was a husband, dad, and grandpa.

Years after Governor Ray left the Governor's mansion, called Terrace Hill, he launched the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University. That center's mission is dedicated to improving civility and developing ethical leaders at home and throughout the world. And for all of us, we know that in a society less civil now than it has been throughout most of the history of our country, that center is going to serve a very needed purpose. For those who know the story of Bob Ray, his ray of light connected with the center will inspire generations of leaders for years to come.

Barbara and I join our fellow Iowans in extending our condolences to Billie and the entire Ray family. We will miss this extraordinary Iowan. Our State benefited in countless ways because he shared his gift so generously to make Iowa an even better place to grow for generations to come.

These eulogies are from David Oman, who served as chief of staff to Governor Ray; Ken Quinn, a former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia who worked on the refugee resettlement as a member of the Ray administration and today serves as president of the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines; and the third is from Scott Raecker, who serves as director of the Robert D. and Billie Ray Center at Drake University. I hope my colleagues will read these eulogies because there is no way that anything I say today can do justice to what they said in their separate eulogies.

Ray Eulogy David Oman One more time, for the last time, Bob Ray has done what he did so often in life--bring people together, in this church, at the Capitol last evening, on social media, and in conversations. Lessons from his life have been learned and re-learned this week, none better than the simple reminder that a keen mind, warm heart, and a bias for action--by one person--can cause great change, and uncork goodwill among so many. Gov. Ray's life ended without regrets and remorse. Embracing his example, we're better able to live our lives with renewal and resolve. Yesterday, a motorcade brought the Ray family past many touchpoints in Bob's and Billie's lives--Terrace Hill, Drake University, and Theodore Roosevelt High School. President Roosevelt, in 1910, a year after leaving the White House, spoke in Paris about leadership, and making a difference. He said, `above all stands character, a man's force and courage, his good faith and sense of honor . . . self- restraint, common sense, the power of individual responsibility, and acting in conjunction with others.' TR didn't know it, but he previewed the life of Robert D. Ray, or as we called him, RDR. Another President Roosevelt, Franklin, died at the end of World War II. FDR and RDR had something in common--a very real human touch. During FDR's funeral, an aging African American man wept inconsolably on a Pennsylvania Ave. sidewalk. A reporter approached timidly and asked, `Did you know the President?' The man said, `No . . . but he knew me.' Good leaders, good people, know, in a broad sense--and in the moment--what other people feel and need. Bob Ray had that quality. He knew Iowans, or as he liked to say `our Iowans.' People who had a two-minute phone call or 20 minute meeting, or just a handshake at the Fair, felt they mattered and were the most important person to Gov. Ray at the time . . . and they were. Sometimes, Bob Ray wasn't aware of his impact. Two years ago, at Wesley Acres, Gov. Ray wasn't in room 146, nor physical therapy or the lunch room. A nurse and I couldn't find him. It turned out he was in P.T.; he told us we'd been lost. Then the nurse said to me `Gov. Ray changed my life . . .' I asked her to tell me more. It seems her late teen life was not good in 1969; she doubted herself. Then she listened to Gov. Ray's first Inaugural Address on the radio. She added, `He talked about the future. He said the future was going to better and brighter. I felt he was talking about me and my life. He gave me hope. My life turned out alright, and now, I get to help him.' Gov. Ray spoke with thousands of Iowans through four of his campaigns in seven years, ending the two-year term era. Iowans quickly got to know his openness and decency . . . civility and sincerity . . . humanity and humor. And who didn't love his smile? That genuine persona stood in stark contrast to the erosion of trust in a Washington awash in Watergate. In '74, Bob Ray stood against the tide. He won 59% of the vote when nine other GOP governors were swept away. He acquired more momentum, if not a mandate. Governor Ray knew how to campaign. He knew how to govern. And, he knew the difference. The late Lt. Gov. Arthur Neu said, `Ray would take his time making decisions, but when his mind was made up, he was a tough as nails.' The other evening, I wrote down Ray policy initiatives and stopped at 30. Some were ahead of their time, some were copied by other states. They covered tax policy, streamlined government, education, conservation, human services, human rights, public safety, agriculture and transportation.

I can't list them all today. As they say about baseball stats . . . `you can look `em up.' The Gov. would at times borrow or co-opt good ideas from Democrats. They didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he always gave them credit. Gov. Ray looked beyond the next year or cycle. He paired with Gov. Culver's father, Sen. Culver, to set up the Iowa 2000 project. In his first term, Gov. Vilsack cloned it with Iowa 2010.

In 1978, Gov. Ray came up with a new theme `progress with stability' as part of a larger effort throughout his administration to better connect Iowa's cities and towns with rural Iowa.

In small towns he would nudge with nuance `stability with progress.' Bob Ray communicated deftly. He was transparent with and respected the press. He helped define modern Iowa and did define the modern Iowa governorship. With Billie Ray and three active daughters, the five defined the modern Iowa First Family. We thank you for supporting him, and for your sacrifice. A governor's work is never easy. Gov. Ray's four successors, all with us today, have said privately and publicly, over time and this week, how much they respected him and his leadership. Bill Clinton was the 32 year-old Gov.-elect of Arkansas when he met Bob Ray, then 50, at the NGA `new governors school' in November '78. The two hit it off. It was Ray `charisma' and Clinton `charisma on steroids.' Clinton credited Ray with mentoring him on how to be a good governor. When he would come to Des Moines as President in the 90s; he would often ask about Bob Ray and word would get back to us. Wednesday, President Clinton tweeted a heartfelt remembrance of his mentor and friend. Ray met one Pope . . . but worked with seven Presidents. There is apparently no public record of what Richard Nixon thought of him. The tape recorders must have been turned off. President Ford said, `I relied heavily on Bob's good advice.' President Reagan: `The success you experienced was the product of good ideas, hard work, a whole lot of follow through--just what you'd expect to find in Iowa.' President George H. W. Bush said this well, `He never turned his back on the Party, but somehow transcended Party and made public service better.' Like Bush 41 and Jimmy Carter with their post- Presidencies, Bob Ray also defined the role of `former' governor. His ongoing service as CEO, mayor, and Drake president was exemplary. Ray backed countless charities and good works. Once I told him `you've supported about everything except `Iowans for Term Limits.' To close, in the years ahead, governors and perhaps Presidents like Ronald Reagan was, will be in Room 9 of the Capitol. Gov. Branstad fittingly designated it the `Robert D. Ray Conference Room.' Governors have made many important decisions in that room, including Ray's to re-locate and welcome legal political refugees to Iowa. Future governors will see a large, wonderful oil painting of Gov. Ray. That portrait is behind me. It returns to the Governor's Office today. Next year, or 2028, or 2046 (Iowa's Bicentennial year) or any year, governors will sit in the Ray Conference Room-- coping with complicated, controversial, even morality laden decisions. Our Iowans and future Iowans can hope those governors pause, in deliberative, decisive moments, look up at the portrait, and think . . . What would Robert D. Ray do? How would he lead? ____ Eulogy for Governor Robert D. Ray Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn One of the first refugees Governor Ray rescued and resettled in Iowa was a young man who was trapped in one of the most treacherous and threatening environments on earth-- Washington, D.C. That person he rescued was me. He brought me and my wife Le Son and our children home to Iowa where we became part of Governor Ray's extended family. For 4 years, I worked closely with the Governor on many of his humanitarian endeavors. A few weeks ago, I was with Governor and Mrs. Ray recalling many of these experiences--and a flood of memories came back about when we were together, including: --In the winter of 1975, at the celebration for the Tai Dam refugees from Laos, whom he had rescued and resettled together in Iowa in order to preserve their culture, language and kinship. The Tai Dam had written to every Governor in America, but Robert Ray was the only Governor to answer their plea. He convinced President Ford to permit all of the Tai Dam to come to Iowa. They have been here ever since. --Or, on a cold January night in 1979, while he and I watched the video of a boat filled with Vietnamese ``boat people'' refugees, who had escaped from Communist oppression only to be pushed back out to sea by local officials fearful of being inundated because no country in the world, including the United States, was accepting any more refugees from Indochina. We watched in horror as their boat broke up in the waves, with the refugees drowning before our eyes. This so impacted Governor Ray that he wrote late that very night to the President, saying that Iowa would double the number of refugees it had resettled if only the President would reopen America's doors. His letter and lobbying in Washington worked! America's doors were reopened. --Six months later, in June 1979 we were together in Geneva, Switzerland, at the UN conference on the Boat People, where Vice President Walter Mondale announced that America would accept 168,000 new refugees each year. This led to over 1,000,000 refugees from Indochina eventually being resettled in the United States. The assembled diplomatic delegations gave a spontaneous standing ovation to America's humanitarian leadership, a leadership that began when Robert D. Ray became the first governing official anywhere in the world to say he would accept the Boat People refugees. --A few months later in October 1979, I was with Governor Ray at Living History Farm in Des Moines, as Pope John Paul II appeared before 350,000 people. Among those bringing the gifts to the Pope to celebrate Mass were Vietnamese Catholic refugees in their colorful native dress. --Two weeks later the Governor and Mrs. Ray and I were at a place called Sa Kaew in Thailand where 30,000 victims of the Cambodian genocide were lying strewn across a field. Emaciated, starving and beset with disease, they were dying at the rate of 50-100 a day, with their bodies being bulldozed into mass graves. --This scene of incredible human suffering led Governor Ray to create Iowa SHARES. Iowa Sends Help to Aid Refugees and End Starvation. With contributions by Iowans across the state, we rushed food and medicine that arrived on Christmas Day, to feed people who had been eating insects to survive. This was followed by volunteer Iowa doctors and nurses. Together this saved thousands of lives. --On that same trip, we were in Nong Khai in Thailand, where the Tai Dam, Lao and Hmong refugees were waiting uncertain about their fate. These refugees said they wanted to show us their ``symbol of hope.'' They took us across a muddy field to a thatched hut. Beckoning us to look inside, they said ``there is our symbol.'' Tacked on the wall was the Iowa Department of Transportation highway map. Governor Robert Ray had made the shape of our state a symbol of hope for people languishing in a refugee camp 12,000 miles from Iowa. --There was one other event where neither the Governor nor I were present but which has great meaning for today. In 2004, the Catholic Bishop of Des Moines visited a very ill Pope John Paul II. When the Bishop reminded the Pontiff of his visit to Living History Farms, the Pope heard ``Iowa''-- in a halting voice the frail Pope said--``Iowa . . . Farms . . . Refugees.'' The man who put the words Iowa and Refugees on the lips of a dying Pope, and who made the shape of Iowa a symbol of hope around the world, was Governor Robert D. Ray. The common thread in all of these experiences was that Governor Ray was driven by moral impulses planted deep inside him by his parents, the educational institutions he attended, and his religion, and nurtured by his wife Billie and his children. When confronted by scenes of human suffering, Robert Ray responded, not as a political candidate doing an electoral calculation, but as a Christian following a moral imperative from the parable of the Good Samaritan. --Robert D. Ray saw that his obligation was to his fellow human beings who were suffering and dying, even if the color of their skin, the language they spoke, and the religion they followed were all different from his own; --Or, even if they were thousands and thousands of miles away on the other side of our planet, or adrift in the ocean. Through his actions, Governor Robert Ray answered the eternal question--``Am I my brother's keeper?'' Even though the impact of Robert Ray's leadership would often occur far from Iowa; The one story that most poignantly captures Robert Ray's humanitarian legacy and his place in the pantheon of Iowa's greatest heroes took place about 10 years ago, not in the Governor's office or far from Iowa, but in a supermarket in West Des Moines. As Governor Ray described it to me, he and Mrs. Ray were shopping for groceries, pushing their cart down the aisle, when, as can happen, they almost bumped into a cart being pushed by another shopper--in this case, an Asian man. When he saw it was Governor Ray, the man stopped; walked over to the Governor and extending his hand, said ``you saved my life. I just want to say thank you.'' Today thousands of Tai Dam, Lao, Hmong, Cambodians and Vietnamese who live in Iowa just want to say thank you. In a very real sense, Governor Robert Ray saved them all. And all of us, whom he made so proud to say we are Iowans--we just want to say thank you. Governor Ray uplifted my life. He uplifted all of our lives. And his legacy will uplift countless, thousands and thousands of others far into the future. ____ Governor Robert D. Ray--Family Eulogy J. Scott Raecker

On behalf of Mrs. Ray and the entire Ray family I want to express their sincere appreciation for the outpouring of love, support and prayers at this time. They have asked for me to share that following the service there will be a reception at The Robert D. and Billie Ray Center on the Drake campus--which is walking distance from the church.

So here we are Mrs. Ray, back at First Christian Church where your lifelong love story with Governor Ray started 73 years ago. You met through this church and church camp where you were elected King and Queen. You became high school sweethearts--you the smart looking girl with the car and Governor Ray the shy school-boy athlete.

Together we've looked at the pictures of the two of you in those early years--you and Governor Ray had a youthful twinkle in your eyes and a shining smile that said--`I'm in love'--and that's one thing that did not change over all these years.

Recently you told me that in the last several months it was just nice to sit and hold hands and tell each other `I love you'--and as I observed these moments, I saw that same twinkle and shining smile in both of you--and, oh my heavens, it still radiated--`I'm so in love.'

You also shared that you never had a fight--and I believe you. However, with all due respect, it has come to my attention through an un-named grandchild that there were a few disagreements--mostly over ice cream at McDonalds, and they were resolved with another Diet Coke and a loving grandpa slipping a dollar under the table to a very happy granddaughter.

In your understated way you told me he was a `special person'--which he was--and together you were spectacular . . . you were always his beloved Billie Lee--and you most certainly were his beloved soul mate.

Mrs. Ray, here is the message for the rest of us today--if there is an aspect of Governor Ray's life that should inspire us, and we should seek to emulate, it should be this--his excellence as a man devoted to his family--and that passion was rooted deeply in his faith, his love for you and his desire to serve others in love.

It's no secret that Governor Ray's favorite titles in life were husband, father and grandfather--and he took them seriously--and with good humor.

It has been said that you can tell what kind of parent you are by how your grandchildren turn out--and how your children care for you as you age. And by all measures Mrs. Ray--you and the Governor were an extreme success.

Randi, Lu Ann and Vicki, he loved you girls-- unconditionally. And, a gift he gave you . . . is that you all know that fact.

Whether singing out to you as his `Miss America' or, telling you at a time you needed to hear it the most, that `you are always beautiful in my eyes'--he loved you in actions that reflected his words.

And even when some boundaries needed to be set (you know what I'm talking about), that was also done in love, sometimes frustratingly so for you as he always wanted to talk things out and think through the best resolutions and consequences.

He was your hero, he was patient and calm, and even in the darkest moments he looked for the positive. He was inclusive as reflected best in his love for you son-in-laws.

And one of the things I have heard, and seen from you as daughters, and the grandchildren as well, is this--his admonition to ``Do more, speak less--and if you have to speak, think before you speak.''

Now for you grandchildren, Robert, Jeffrey, Billie Ray, John, Michael, Emma, Leah and Sadie--he absolutely adored and cherished you--he was so proud of each of you. He talked more about you than anything else. And, he loved taking pictures of you.

I've watched you grow up directly, or through his stories, and see so many traits of him in each of you. In fact, you shared with me the traits you possess that you saw in your grandpa. And here they are, listen closely . . .

Empathy, kindness, humor, humility, honesty, sense of justice, respect, compassion, considerate, loyalty, self- confident, attention to detail, positive, caring, adventurous spirit, modest, selfless, charisma, perseverance, appreciation for other cultures, a good and sometimes slow decision-maker, a genuine and good hearted person, never mad, peace-seeking and relationship centered.

And of course, love of ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.

You also shared that one of the qualities you admired most about him was that he was always `more interested in your opinion than telling you his opinion.' A good lesson for all of us.

And I loved this trait you shared--`he adored my grandma-- and so do I.'

Think of this list for a minute--these are the traits that emanate from you--that is what a lasting legacy looks like. And each of you grandchildren will continue to make your lives, and the world, a better place because of these traits.

And, for the rest of us, these are qualities we also saw in your grandpa that continue to shape our lives.

When you unpack the list and look deeply into the character qualities you share with your grandpa--there is something that resonates clearly--and for your grandpa it was developed in this church early in his life.

They are called `fruits of the Spirit'--they are found in Galatians 5 and they define your grandfather's life--they are ``love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.''

Of these fruits of Governor Ray's spirit, love was first and foremost--and the fruits of his spirit were these words . . . in action.

Mrs. Ray, Randi, Lu Ann, Vicki, grandchildren, and the entire family--Governor Ray's family legacy lives on in you and is a lesson for all of us.

His faith driven love served us all--and while most directly to you the family--he also served those of us who were blessed to call him a friend.

Governor Ray loved quotes and we shared many over the years. One that I gave him that he liked was from Richard Bach who said:

``The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.''

I thought of this quote as I spoke with Tai Dam refugee and family friend, Som Baccam, this week when she referred to Governor Ray as her `savior'--and he literally was.

Savior is a strong and powerful word, and when I reflect on times Governor Ray used that word in our discussions about faith--he talked about how his Savior demonstrated unconditional love--sacrificial love--service love--so that we could love others and know our eternal home.

Governor Ray has left our earthly home and created a void in our lives . . . and that hurts, however, I would challenge us to think that the real void would be if we had never had his presence in our lives.

Governor Ray set the standard for how to treat people . . . and we can all be better people if we look to Governor Ray as a model.

For me, and I hope for each of you, I want to be a better person each day because of Governor Ray and his presence in my life. I've felt that way since the day I met him . . . and I will for the rest of my life.

The inspiration of Governor Ray's life is that we shine our light in the lives of others when we demonstrate love--and we must remember to shine that light first and foremost with our family and friends.

I challenge us all to honor his legacy by aspiring to be better people--by shining our light in our homes, with our family--and with our friends.

Letting our light shine may be his most important lesson.

One more time--Governor Ray leading the way. Remembering Eugene Sukup

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I wish to recognize a friend, an agricultural innovator, an inventor with I think about 80 patents. His name is Eugene Sukup.

If you travel around the Midwest, you will see there are grain operations on a lot of family farms. If you go to Haiti, as a result of the catastrophe down there a few years ago, you will see how smaller buildings that we would call grain storage facilities in Iowa serve as homes for homeless people. That resulted from that catastrophe.

Eugene Sukup is a quintessential bootstrap American success story. After settling in Iowa during the Dust Bowl and serving his Nation as a sergeant in the National Guard, Eugene made his living as a farmer, earning the title of ``Franklin County Outstanding Farmer'' in his younger years, in 1962.

While working on his farm, like a lot of farmers, he tried to think of easier ways to do things. He observed that pockets of grain-- particularly corn--housed in storage bins could overheat and, as a result, spoil. Understanding the depth and breadth of the problem for farmers across the country, he was determined to find a solution, and he did. Through trial and error, along with gritty determination and ingenuity, Eugene came up with something he entitled the ``Stirway Stirring Machine.'' The innovative technology automated the process of stirring stored grain and corn and became an instant success among his fellow farmers. Eugene patented his invention and founded the Sukup Manufacturing Company in 1963.

Through my years holding annual meetings in each of Iowa's 99 counties, Sukup Manufacturing from time to time has hosted the meetings I have in Franklin County. After a tour of the factory, I always enjoyed Eugene's allowing his employees to have an open Q&A session with me so that I could hear what is on the minds of my constituents, because these constituents can't afford to leave their jobs and come to the courthouse to ask me questions. I try to go to people like them to make the process of a representative government work, and the best way to do that is face-to-face with your constituents.

Getting back to Sukup Manufacturing, by words and deeds, it is very clear that Sukup Manufacturing is a great place to work and a devoted contributor to the local community and global philanthropy. Fifty-five years later, the Sukup Manufacturing Company--which was the idea of a small family farmer--holds over 80 patents and sells its products in more than 85 countries. It remains the largest family-owned, full-line grain system manufacturer, employing more than 700 employees in the community of Sheffield, IA, and if I had to guess its population, I would say it is around 1,500.

Eugene's pioneering invention contributed to the success of tens of thousands of farming operations, allowing farmers to safely store their grain on their farms to capture the best market price. We have Sukup grain bins on my own family farm near Waterloo, IA; more specifically, the little village in New Hartford, IA. His ingenuity is a perfect example of the opportunity America's economic system gives people with ideas and drive.

Eugene's legacy spans Iowa's landscape from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River and reaches beyond the borders of our State and the borders of the United States. Sukup Manufacturing stepped up to reconfigure grain bins into housing units, as I previously said, for hurricane-ravaged Haiti. The units withstand 140-mile-per-hour winds, providing a safe habitat for residents.

In 2006, Eugene was inducted into Iowa's Inventors Hall of Fame and received the Outstanding Innovation Award by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. He was inducted into Iowa's Business Hall of Fame in 2011 and was named a Legend in Manufacturing by Elevate Advanced Manufacturing in 2015.

Through Eugene and its leaders, the Sukup family business has been a constant voice for job creation and opportunity. His contribution to manufacturing, agriculture, and the entire rural community and our economy will be an asset to farmers and the agriculture community for generations to come. It is amazing to think of what can happen in rural and small towns throughout our country thanks to the successful enterprise that Eugene Sukup represents.

Throughout our decades-long friendship, I have admired his relentless work ethic and unwavering commitment to community and family. His civil, political, and community leadership sets a very high bar for the rest of us in America.

Eugene was an American inventor, innovator, and a great friend. He will be greatly missed. May God bless him and his beloved family.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source