>> [inaudible] >> would you consider her for vp still? spirit the senate is back at 2:15 eastern time and it 2:30 senator joni erickson will consider a farewell speech. mitch mcconnell earlier spoke about the life and career of senator isaacson. >> the senate has set aside today to honor our distinguished colleagues the distinguished senator from georgia, johnny isakson. it's been about three months that johnny announced he would

ttire at the end of december. since then i think we have all been taking stock of everything our dear friend has accomplished and everything he means to so many people. i have long said if the senate were to hold a secret ballot cpulation contest johnny isakson would win in a bipartisan landside quite possibly in a unanimous vote. he commands bipartisan respect and affection to a degree that is truly remarkable. but if you think about it, and ikke sense for a man whose personal mantra goes like this -- this is what he said -- only two kinds of people, friends and future friends. for most people p that might bea noble aspiration but unrealistic

but for johnny isakson it's a statement of fact. nobody is an enemy and nobody is a stranger but just friends and future friends. that is it. with a model like that it is no wonder that johnny's first career was a successful stint in real estate. the field in which relationships are everything. it strikes me there are two ways you could thrive in a business or friendships and connections matter so much. you could be either good at faking a smile, at feigning interest in others or you could genuinely love meeting everybody and learning how you might help them. that second kind of person is exactly who ed and julie

isaacson brought up in atlanta, georgia. warm, honest, forthright, incredibly kind, no wonder johnny's neighbors jumped at the chance to hire him to be there state representative. then there state senator. then their congressman. then they are united states senator. his retirement this month will cap a 45 year career in public service, packed with one significant compliment after another. one after the other. first and foremost in johnny's long legacy is his work for our nation's veterans. he spent six years in the georgia air national guard as a

young man. he spent half a century since then as one of his fellow veterans best friends at any level of government. under johnny's chairmanship the veteran affairs committee test scores of the bills, more accountability at the va, mora education benefits e, better community care programs, better procedures for when veterans appeal a determination, and updated g.i. bill with no more expiration date. of course, johnny's landmark built the v8 mission act is now law provided many of the most insignificant reforms in the history of the va. taking power away from bureaucrats and giving it back and yet somehow, in the midst of

compiling this singular record for our nation's veterans, johnny racked up legislative successes that impact literally every american. from securing root protections to ensuring education policy, to combating the hunger worldwide. one look at thes list of the las and you'd be forgiven for thinking he never had a problem he cannot solve. alas, every senator sometimes encounters requests for back home that he cannot deliver. sometimes you have constituents onso both sides of an issue and sometimes a request might conflict with your principles. whatever the reason everybody in

office eventually disappoints somebody. johnny's staff marbles of the fact that even when origins, peer to meet with them and unfortunately go away disappointed they still walk out of the meeting amy with praise for their senator. can you believe, johnny? he's the greatest guy ever. what a senator? these are the people he just said no to. the same traits explained why he is just as popular under this dome as he is back home. i don't mean just his fellow members, johnny isakson is practically an honorary member of every other member staff in an honorary elevator operator and capital police officer and honorary member of the team and on and on.

he knows and values absolutely everybody. i can't count, times i would hear a peal of laughter from out in my staff of bullpen and realized johnny isakson had dropped by, not to see me, but to chat with my team and ask yafter their families and maybe check up on a couple of georgia priorities while he was there. there is classic story that distills this man character. most people who hung around johnny and his team long enough to know the famous tale of the gin and tonic in the laundry room. the gin and tonic in the laundry room. here is the deal. back in 2006 johnny was still a new senator and we were tackling some pension issues and

thousands of georgians stood to be affected if things did not get hammered out. this freshman senator dies in and goes toe to go with ted kennedy in the house and did not get a seat on the conference committee but basically appointed himself an honorary member and johnny worked like crazy and sleuth out where they would be meeting and spoke to everyone where because it's johnny were talking about we know how this ends. he delivered for georgia and "after words" the atlanta journal-constitution wanted to hear how this freshman senator had pulled off this victory and among other things where he had celebrated and where he cleared out the champagne and some

beltway steakhouse and here is what he said -- this is a direct quote, madam president. isaacson said after the vote he went straight back to his capitol hill area apartment and is celebrated. by doing his laundry. he did not want to leave dirty clothes behind for a month so he said further sopu i was put putting coins in the machine and i had agent and tonic in the laundry room. this anecdote is almost the perfect encapsulation of johnny isakson. it starts with tenacity and a can do spirit fell forward by charisma, smarts and stubborn patients and enters ends with a

win for georgians. one celebrity cocktail while wrist deep in laundry detergent. but there is one of the story i think reflects this remarkable leader even more perfectly and starts with one in name, kate eyusy. in 2009 johnny was reading innn his local paper and found an obituary for a young lady from northern georgia who had been in africa with the peace corps and was just 24. johnny did not know kate and did not know her family but he felt called to attend her funeral. he sat quietly in the very back and listened to her friends. her friends, her peace corps colleagues, and he invited the

family to stay in touch if he could ever do anything and only later did they relay what wasn't in the obituary that kate had been murdered in the dark of night after sounding the alarm on child abuse in her village in the african country of benin. johnny isakson was only on the case c from that day forward. c not only was he a fixture on the foreign relations committee but in key member of the africa subcommittee so he put a framed photo of kate on his desk and leapt into action. senator isaacson flew to benin to personally lean on the president and that with peace corps officials and built a legislative coalition for reforms to better protect volunteers and like i said

earlier because this is johnny isakson we are talking about we know how the story ends with results. he helped kate's parents pursue justice in just a couple of years after johnny sat down at the few at the -- >> we leave the last couple of minutes for the leaders marks for the returning senator but you can watch all the programs online at c-span .org and the senate is catalina back in. continuing work on judicial nominations.