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Floor Speech

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Mr. KING. Mr. President, I will be brief because I am set to relieve you in the chair, so my time is very limited.

There are two aspects to Jon's life that I would like to comment on. I experienced both. One was as a legislator and a Senator, and the other was as a friend.

And he was a master legislator. The PACT Act would not have happened without Jon Tester. That is just a fact. And there are thousands, millions of veterans across the country here who are going to benefit from that act of legislative work that it took to get that across the finish line.

I remember being here, and there were some procedural votes. We fell back; Jon stayed at it; we got it done. Many of the comments today have been about Jon as a legislator, as a Senator, as a model Senator, but I also want to comment on Jon as a friend.

Jon is one of the best human beings I have ever met. Not necessarily one of the best--I am not saying legislator, public servant, school teacher. I am talking human being. I am talking about a person who is real. My wife is Jewish. She would call him a mensch; that is somebody who steps up. He has been a friend to me throughout.

We have had innumerable dinners together. I don't think he has ever paid for one, but we have spent so much time together. And I have learned so much from Jon about commitment, about honesty, about integrity, about serving the public; and I just want to say we are losing a great human being here as well as a great legislator.

And I want to echo Cory Booker: I love you, man. We are going to miss you.

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