Minnesota Senators honor Melissa and Mark Hortman in Senate floor tribute

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U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith delivered remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, honoring the life and legacy of Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman.

Transcript

00:00Mr. President, Senator from Minnesota, Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague

00:15from Minnesota, Senator Smith, to honor two Minnesotans who were friends of ours who were

00:22taken from us this weekend in a shocking act of political violence. Representative Melissa

00:28Hortman, our former Speaker of the House, and her husband, Mark Hortman. They were great

00:36neighbors, wonderful friends, and great parents to their beloved children, Sophie and Colin.

00:42Melissa is someone that I wish the whole Senate and the whole nation knew. We treasured her

00:49in Minnesota. She was the epitome of what you want in a public servant. She, like her husband,

00:57Mark, who you see here, who also was accomplished in business and a kind, kind person. They

01:06were compassionate, and they were smart, and they were just nice to everyone. And I can't

01:12believe they are gone. Here they are with their kids. The polarization in our country, the divisions,

01:19the online hate, needs to stop. Violence has absolutely no place in our democracy. We need

01:25to come together and bring down the rhetoric we must be united in the face of this attack.

01:32It was simply un-American. That's why the entire Minnesota delegation, Democrats and Republicans,

01:39including Senator Smith, including Congressman Emmer, came together over the weekend to call

01:45this violence out. We spoke with one voice to condemn it. And in our state, Melissa's colleagues

01:52on both sides of the aisle have done the same. We need to recognize the reality that there

01:58are unbalanced people out there who read things online. They believe them. They act on them.

02:03We have seen this too many times. There are many things we can do as a body to fix this

02:09problem, and I'm sure in the days to come we will offer legislation on security and all

02:14kinds of things. But we don't need to pass a law for people to turn down the rhetoric,

02:19to treat each other with decency and respect, to act a little more like Melissa and Mark.

02:25Mr. President, Melissa and Mark Hortman were the best of us. I am shattered to have lost

02:30them, but eternally grateful to have known them.

02:36Senator for Minnesota.

02:38Millions, millions of Minnesotans are better off because of the work that she did. Her record

02:46of accomplishment is so extensive, it's hard to capture it all in just a few short minutes. And

02:52so it is so bitter to realize that she was only 55. She had so many more contributions to make,

02:58so much as Melissa would say, don't get carried away. I was just going to do my work. I was going

03:03to work as hard as I could. And so it is bitter for us that her life was taken in this way. And it

03:10will now be up to all of us to carry on these fights. And I will miss her leadership and her

03:15friendship as our state navigates these uncertain times. May the memory of Melissa and Mark be a

03:23blessing to all who knew and loved them. And may John and Yvette have a speedy recovery. And may we

03:29all find a way to recover and be better after these terrible attacks. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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