Floor SpeechUrgent2026-05-20

GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025

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Context

On 2026-05-20, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) delivered a floor speech titled "GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025" in the Senate.

Full Text

GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S2397-S2398] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent to complete a unanimous consent request. Tomorrow, it will be 1 year since we lost Congressman Gerry Connolly. I first met Gerry Connolly when he was a rising supervisor on the Fairfax County Board in the late eighties. Jerry took great pains to never forget his Irishness, the famous St. Patrick's Day party. He was a fighter. He was kind and funny; but boy, you did not want to get on the wrong side of Gerry Connolly because sometimes that fighting spirit would show itself in his relentless--relentless--efforts. Getting in an argument with Gerry was not something anybody ever looked forward to. So it was a great loss that we lost him. Literally tomorrow will be a year. But beyond the personal loss to his family and to folks like me and my friend from Virginia as well Tim Kaine, both considered him a longtime friend. And frankly to communities in Northern Virginia and beyond, Federal employees lost a leader who never, ever stopped fighting for them, never stopped fighting for their rights, never stopped fighting for their due process, and never stopped making the case to [[Page S2398]] Americans the value Federal workers bring to our everyday lives. And in his final days, Gerry continued to center Federal employees in his work. Two days before he died, he introduced H.R. 3490, which will direct the Government Accountability Office to report on esophageal cancer in Federal employees. The bill directs GAO to help us understand the landscape of esophageal cancer among Federal employees and retirees, particularly access to early screening and early treatment. For some folks, they have a precancerous condition that if treated early, can help prevent esophageal cancer completely. This bill is simple. It would ask GAO to study if Federal employees who are at high risk are getting screened as early as possible to help them make sure they get the care they need as early as possible. The bill was passed unanimously, 42 to nothing in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and then passed by a voice vote on the floor. In a moment, I am going to ask unanimous consent that we pass this bill here on the Senate floor, but before I make that request, I want to defer and yield my time to the Senator--fellow Senator from Virginia Senator Kaine. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia. Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am so pleased to be with my colleague Senator Warner to talk about Gerry Connolly prior to offering a unanimous consent motion on this bill. If you met Gerry once, you would remember a very, very fun and colorful guy. He studied for the priesthood to be a Maryknoll priest and then left the priesthood to marry his wife ``Smitty'' who studied to be a nun and then left her order. His first job after he left the seminary was a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and then he went onto this wonderful career, as Mark described, on the Fairfax Board of Supervisors before eventually becoming chairman of that board and then coming to Congress. Gerry personified a pride in Irish Catholicism. As Mark said, his St. Patrick's Day parties were absolutely legendary in Virginia, and he was a tireless advocate for so many. The point that Mark made about esophageal cancer and its effect and its growing effect in this country is important to underline. This was the condition that claimed Gerry's life, but how powerful not even 2 days before died, he was trying to advance our understanding of this. Esophageal cancer is the fastest growing cancer among men in the United States. We are not exactly sure why, but we can get more data and do more analysis of this and then provide options for care should this resolution pass. That is why I am so glad to stand with my friend Senator Warner to honor a great public servant, a great American Gerry Connolly. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, as if in legislation session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3490 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 3490) to require the Government Accountability Office to produce a report on esophageal cancer, and for other purposes. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill (H.R. 3490) was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR3490

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GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025 Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S2397-S2398] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] GERALD E. CONNOLLY ESOPHAGEAL CANCER AWARENESS ACT OF 2025 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to ask unanimous consent to complete a unanimous consent request. Tomorrow, it will be 1 year since we lost Congressman Gerry Connolly. I first met Gerry Connolly when he was a rising supervisor on the Fairfax County Board in the late eighties. Jerry took great pains to never forget his Irishness, the famous St. Patrick's Day party. He was a fighter. He was kind and funny; but boy, you did not want to get on the wrong side of Gerry Connolly because sometimes that fighting spirit would show itself in his relentless--relentless--efforts. Getting in an argument with Gerry was not something anybody ever looked forward to. So it was a great loss that we lost him. Literally tomorrow will be a year. But beyond the personal loss to his family and to folks like me and my friend from Virginia as well Tim Kaine, both considered him a longtime friend. And frankly to communities in Northern Virginia and beyond, Federal employees lost a leader who never, ever stopped fighting for them, never stopped fighting for their rights, never stopped fighting for their due process, and never stopped making the case to [[Page S2398]] Americans the value Federal workers bring to our everyday lives. And in his final days, Gerry continued to center Federal employees in his work. Two days before he died, he introduced H.R. 3490, which will direct the Government Accountability Office to report on esophageal cancer in Federal employees. The bill directs GAO to help us understand the landscape of esophageal cancer among Federal employees and retirees, particularly access to early screening and early treatment. For some folks, they have a precancerous condition that if treated early, can help prevent esophageal cancer completely. This bill is simple. It would ask GAO to study if Federal employees who are at high risk are getting screened as early as possible to help them make sure they get the care they need as early as possible. The bill was passed unanimously, 42 to nothing in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and then passed by a voice vote on the floor. In a moment, I am going to ask unanimous consent that we pass this bill here on the Senate floor, but before I make that request, I want to defer and yield my time to the Senator--fellow Senator from Virginia Senator Kaine. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia. Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am so pleased to be with my colleague Senator Warner to talk about Gerry Connolly prior to offering a unanimous consent motion on this bill. If you met Gerry once, you would remember a very, very fun and colorful guy. He studied for the priesthood to be a Maryknoll priest and then left the priesthood to marry his wife ``Smitty'' who studied to be a nun and then left her order. His first job after he left the seminary was a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and then he went onto this wonderful career, as Mark described, on the Fairfax Board of Supervisors before eventually becoming chairman of that board and then coming to Congress. Gerry personified a pride in Irish Catholicism. As Mark said, his St. Patrick's Day parties were absolutely legendary in Virginia, and he was a tireless advocate for so many. The point that Mark made about esophageal cancer and its effect and its growing effect in this country is important to underline. This was the condition that claimed Gerry's life, but how powerful not even 2 days before died, he was trying to advance our understanding of this. Esophageal cancer is the fastest growing cancer among men in the United States. We are not exactly sure why, but we can get more data and do more analysis of this and then provide options for care should this resolution pass. That is why I am so glad to stand with my friend Senator Warner to honor a great public servant, a great American Gerry Connolly. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, as if in legislation session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 3490 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (H.R. 3490) to require the Government Accountability Office to produce a report on esophageal cancer, and for other purposes. There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill. Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill (H.R. 3490) was ordered to a third reading, was read the third time, and passed. Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas. ____________________ Referenced legislation: HR3490