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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I am sure some people who are tuned into C-SPAN think they are watching an alternative universe because all of these Democrats have come to the floor to say something nice about a Republican, but it is Rob Portman--a special Republican and a special friend.

(Laughter.)

We have worked on many things together over the years, but I really think the highlight of it has been the work that we have done together in the past year as cochairs of the Ukrainian Caucus.

I know that you have been there more often than I have, but I also know that your commitment to this issue goes way beyond anything political. It is personal. It is real. It is human. You can feel it.

Rob is the type of person, the type of Senator, who takes his job so very seriously. He put me to shame with the maps that he brought to the floor of the Senate on a regular basis to chart the course of the bravery and courage of the people of Ukraine as they fight for their freedom and their future and resist the invasion of Vladimir Putin and his thugs.

I know that you have been there to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy, who heads up the Ukrainian effort. I know, as we met this week and many weeks before, that when the Ukrainian Parliamentarians come to town, they look forward to meeting our caucus and particularly meeting the Senator from Ohio because they know that he understands their plight and that he is a voice for them.

It must be difficult to be a native of a small country--so distant from the United States--that is under constant attack, where people are leaving, their lives are being turned upside down, where innocent people are being killed every day, and you are counting on your friends in other parts of the world--the NATO alliance and particularly the United States of America. They find their way here to this Capitol Building with their Ambassador. We sit down, and we talk about the state of the war in Ukraine.

So many times, they look to you, Rob, and they look to our caucus for the kind of message to take back home--a message of hope that they are not in this alone.

Of all of the causes that I have worked on in the course of my senatorial career, this is one that means a lot to me. My mother was born in Lithuania, as I have probably mentioned to you. My feelings about freedom and my feelings about the oppression by the Russians and the Soviets over the years are very strong. That is being played out today in the course of the war in Ukraine.

I thank President Biden for his leadership, but I thank you, Rob, for making this bipartisan. Honest to goodness, that is why it is strong; that is why it is credible; that is why it is a cause that many of us in the Senate take so very seriously. You have made that commitment.

I would like to mention one other issue. I know that you take pride in your legislative legacy--and you should--but back in 2013, you made an announcement that sent shock waves throughout Washington. You became the only sitting Republican Senator to endorse marriage equality. At the time, you attributed your position to a member of your family who was part of the LGBTQ community. You said that your son's courage ``allowed me to think about this issue from a new perspective, and that's as a dad who loves his son'' so very much.

Well, that evolution came full circle when you joined 11 of your Republican colleagues in supporting the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects marriage equality under Federal law. It was one of your final votes in the Chamber and a fitting coating to your proud legislative career.

Loretta and I wish you and your wife, Jane, and your three children all the best as you say farewell to Washington and welcome to Cincinnati or wherever your life may take you next. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve with you.

Thank you, Rob.

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