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Rep. Eliot L. Engel

Mr. Speaker, tonight, when we listen to the President give his State of the Union speech, one of our colleagues, unfortunately, will not be here, and that is Senator Mark Kirk, who served in this body as a Member of Congress for many years and, before that, was a staffer on the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mark, Senator Kirk, as we all know, is fighting against a terrible stroke that he had just yesterday. I want him and his family to know that all of our thoughts and prayers are with him as he battles this stroke, and hopefully he will make a full recovery.

I just was devastated when I heard about it because anyone who knows Mark knows what a terrific Senator he is, what a great colleague he is, someone who has always reached across the aisle in a bipartisan way and someone that I have just tremendous respect for. When he was sworn in as a Senator, I was very pleased that he invited me to stand with him on the Senate floor when he was sworn in.

So, again, I just want Mark and his family and friends, of which I am one, to know that our thoughts and prayers are with him as he battles this stroke. We have confidence that he is in good hands with the doctors and will make a full recovery.

Mark, again, is the kind of person who epitomizes what bipartisanship is all about, what Americanism is all about. Mark was a cochair, when he was in this body, of the Albanian Issues Caucus with me, has been a strong supporter of the State of Israel, and we've worked together on a number of these issues.

So, Mark, we're with you. We're going to be watching, and we have confidence that you will recover fully and come back to this body. America needs you, and we're thinking of you.