Capitol Words a project of the Sunlight Foundation

Rep. Robert Dold

Madam Speaker, this morning we learned that Senator Mark Kirk suffered a stroke over the weekend. I know all of my colleagues here in the House join me in expressing our thoughts and prayers not only to Senator Kirk but to his family, his friends, and his staff for a quick and speedy recovery.

As many of you know, I succeeded Mark in this body. He served here for 10 years before moving on to the Senate. He has been a friend and a mentor and still is to this day.

One thing that I know about Mark is that Mark is a fighter. Mark fought for 10 years to represent the people of the 10th District of Illinois, battling human rights violations around the globe, battling for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, battling for the environment, battling for hardworking American taxpayers. As a Senator, he's doing that for the people of Illinois.

As a commander in the United States Navy, he's fought to protect our borders and our way of life. Today he is fighting to make sure that he can come back to the United States Senate to work on the things that he holds dear.

I join with all of my colleagues in hopes that he will be back here shortly, and I welcome the opportunity to walk across the aisle down here across the Capitol and welcome my friend back.