Bob Graham was a colleague, good friend, and devoted Floridian whose almost 50 years of service to his beloved dwelling state and to our nation have made America a safer and stronger nation.
Bob selected a lifetime of service, working his method up from state legislator, to governor, senator, and presidential candidate. He and I served collectively within the U.S. Senate, as respective chairs of the Intelligence and Overseas Relations committees within the wake of 9/11, working to heal a shattered nation and to guard America in a altering world. Bob stood on precept towards the Iraq Battle. He cosponsored my landmark Violence Towards Girls Act, reworking the way in which our nation responds to home abuse and sexual assault. He was dedicated to training and to the setting, persevering with work that he’d begun as governor to help public faculties and universities, and to guard the water provide, wetlands, and wildlife of Florida’s iconic Everglades. He was filled with humor and humanity, and I’m grateful for the help that he gave me over time.
Bob liked folks, and he knew that politics at its core is about studying from and serving others. That’s why he spent greater than 400 “workdays” on the job with constituents, doing every thing from choosing tomatoes, to dealing with baggage, to patrolling the streets with police. He knew it issues to stroll a mile in folks’ sneakers. Lately, he sought to instill that very same ethic and empathy in a brand new era of public servants by his middle in Gainesville, and by working to require civics courses in public faculties. He impressed his personal daughter, Gwen, to serve in Congress as properly; and I’m proud to have her in my Administration immediately, as an Assistant Secretary of Schooling. Bob was so proud, too.
Our hearts immediately are with Bob’s beloved spouse of 65 years, Adele; with their 4 daughters, Gwen, Cissy, Suzanne, and Kendall; with their grandchildren and buddies; and with the folks of Florida, whom Bob served so properly in so some ways for thus lengthy.
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