president, jerry coonahan first came to capitol hill as a member of senator john mccain's staff. he later left the senate for a brief time, but returned in 1997 as a tour guide in the capitol building where he truly excelled. in fact, jerry made a bit of history himself. he gave the first public tour following the fatal shaofgt two -- shooting of two capitol police officers in 1998. when the capitol reopened following the attacks of september 11, 2001, jerry again led the first tour of the capitol. four years ago, sadly, jerry was the victim of a violent crime and sustained very grave injuries. he spent over four weeks at the national rehabilitation hospital. it was a long and courageous struggle to learn to walk and speak again, but jerry persevered and succeeded. unfortunately, jerry was not able to return to his job as a tour guide because of his injuries. but he was hired to work as one of our elevator operators. that's where i and so many other senators have had the pleasure of meeting him and enjoying his company in recent years. i can't tell you how many times during late-