HONORING CARL KUNASEK

On 2026-07-23, Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ-4) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING CARL KUNASEK" in the House.

HONORING CARL KUNASEK

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 121 (Thursday, July 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 121 (Thursday, July 23, 2026)] [House] [Page H5189] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING CARL KUNASEK (Mr. STANTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. STANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Carl Kunasek, a devoted Arizonan who passed away this week at the age of 94. Carl, an Air Force veteran, came to Arizona in 1959. He opened a pharmacy in Mesa. When his families couldn't afford medicine for a sick child, he let them sign the book, and he would have them pay him later. To the people who lived there, he was a hero. That same spirit carried him into public service. He served in the Arizona House, Arizona Senate, and on the Corporation Commission. He helped design AHCCCS, our State's Medicaid program, finding a made-in- Arizona solution to make sure lower income families could get the care they needed. As Arizona Senate president, he presided over the difficult impeachment trial of a Governor of his own party. He did not want that duty, but he believed the Constitution left him no choice, and he did it with fairness. It cost him his seat, but he did it anyway. Carl Kunasek did not see party first. He saw people. We would do well to remember his example. My thoughts are with his wife, Karen, and his children, both of whom followed him into public service actions. ____________________