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Floor Speech

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Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague Senator Klobuchar, who knew and loved and worked closely with Melissa for so many years. I know that this is a personal moment for her, to think about the loss that we experience every day not having Melissa with us but also just being able to capture who she was as a person.

And this really is a somber day for us. It is almost exactly a year since Melissa and Mark were assassinated at their home, along with the loss of their dog Gilbert, the same night that John and Yvette Hoffman were also shot and, thank God, survived.

You probably can relate to this because I know every party and every State has a big party dinner, and it was kind of incredible for us because Melissa and Mark were shot in the wee hours after our big party dinner. And so we had all been together just hours before we lost them.

And it was a horrifying act of targeted political violence that shocked our State and also transfixed the Nation as law enforcement searched for the perpetrator of this horror. And we collectively searched for meaning in these senseless acts.

And it is 1 year later, and in most ways this loss still feels so fresh to all of us. This solemn anniversary, I know, will probably bring a fresh wave of opinions and think pieces trying to answer the questions of what Melissa's death means and where we go from here, what this says about the state of American politics or what it might reveal about our frayed democracy.

And I have to tell you, honestly, that I don't have answers to those weighty questions, but what I know is that, today, I want to remember my friend Melissa and how she really exemplified what it should mean to be in public service, to be a public servant.

I love that Amy read that quote from St. Francis because that was all about the value of being a servant in the cause of helping people's lives be better. Melissa was born in Fridley, MN, which is a suburb of the Twin Cities. She was gifted. She was smart. She excelled because she worked really hard, not because anything was ever handed to her. And she really pretty much thought that any job that was worth doing was worth doing right. And that is the mantra that she carried with her, whether it was her first job making burritos to her last job leading Minnesota's House through a dramatic and consequential legislative session.

She felt a deep responsibility to put her talents to work in the cause of service. And, you know, it is interesting. She started in public service as an intern in this very body. We have interns here on the floor today. So think about that, where this woman's life took her.

She was an intern for Senator Al Gore and then Senator John Kerry and then she decided to go to law school. And there she served the cause of justice in the State courts and as a prosecutor where she fought against housing discrimination, and she won those cases.

And then she decided to get involved in local politics. After volunteering on campaigns, she decided to run herself. And she actually ran for office twice before winning. So she was tenacious. She was not afraid to persevere, even when she faced some headwinds because she really believed that she had something to offer, yes, but that she also had a responsibility to help.

Melissa and I got to know each other well when I was chief of staff to the Governor of Minnesota and she was coming into leadership in the State house.

And, you know, we all know well in this body that writing and passing legislation is an incredibly rewarding activity, but it also can be tiresome and frustrating, and it takes a really long time. It is inconvenient, and it can be pretty annoying too.

So when you are in those moments--as Senator Klobuchar was saying-- and you are trying to hash it out and work it out and get people to the table, you need somebody like Melissa there because she knows how to get the job done. She would always be ready with a fresh idea about, like, what is it going to take to deliver a result here.

And she also was really funny. She was quick with a quip and a funny joke to keep the process moving and to keep people focused on taking what they were doing seriously without taking themselves too seriously.

I can tell you from personal experience that she also was pretty fun if you wanted to get together after all that work for a margarita.

As a legislator and eventually as speaker of the Minnesota House, Melissa approached her work in this way: by leading with compassion and respect, always staying in touch with our shared humanity. And, of course, she was unafraid to demand the same respect in return, both for herself and for others.

She was a woman leader, a leader who was a woman in a time when, sometimes even to this day, women are sort of not paid as much attention to as they deserve.

And Amy was referring to this. Once on the house floor, Melissa called out a group of male legislators who were playing cards in a back room rather than paying attention to women legislators that were speaking on the floor about how a criminal justice bill was going to impact their communities.

And so Melissa called them out. And, I mean, they were pretty pissed. They were unaccustomed to being confronted by their rude behavior, and they actually demanded an apology. And Melissa's response was characteristically honest and simple. She said, ``I'm really tired of watching women of color, in particular, being ignored. So [I will not apologize].''

And this became kind of a thing. The next day, all over the Minnesota State Capitol, people were wearing T-shirts that said, ``I will not apologize.'' It was quite--it was quite a moment.

Melissa stood up for others. She spoke truth to power, and she insisted that we treat each other with dignity and respect because public service should be--you know, even in a climate like we are in today, public service is serious business, unlike some of the nonserious activities that we see every day here in Washington.

So here is Melissa's true legacy: Millions of Minnesotans are better off because Melissa Hortman did the work that she did.

They have healthier drinking water because Melissa secured the funding that will eliminate lead water service lines in Minnesota.

Minnesotan schoolchildren will be able to focus on their learning. They won't be hungry because Melissa helped pass free breakfast and lunch for all Minnesota families with their kids in school.

Starting this year, Minnesotans will have access to paid leave. Every Minnesotan will have access to paid medical and family leave to care for their new babies, to take care of a loved one who might be ill because Melissa never gave up on that project and believed that that should be something that everybody has.

One year after her death, I still can't quite believe that she is gone. We had our big party dinner just last Friday night, and I kept looking around and wondering--forgetting that she wasn't there.

And I know this summer, this fall, when I am out door-knocking, that I and a lot of people will be thinking about how she was always out there, doing the organizing of politics.

But, today, I am really focused on what Melissa and Mark meant to me and to all of us who had the privilege to know them. And my heart is with their family and their friends and especially their children Sophie and Colin. I know that they are comforted by the fact that so many people loved Mark and Melissa so much.

And I think that we would all do well to follow the advice of their children Sophie and Colin. And when they were asked so many times in the days after Melissa and Mark were killed, what people could do to help, this is what they told us. They said:

If you would like to honor the memory of Mark and Melissa, please consider the following: Plant a tree. Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail. Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do. Tell your loved one a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it. Bake something--bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone. Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something [new]. Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.

That is a good inspiration for all of us every single day.
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