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Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly spoke on the senate floor promoting provisions to the opioid crisis legislation

Joe Donnelly Says Farewell, Calls For Senate Unity

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In the 34-minute-long speech, in which the democratic senator recounted several personal anecdotes, the central theme of senator Donnelly’s speech was a call to unity in the senate to meet the challenges facing the country.

Donnelly recounted some of his accomplishments, during his four year term in the Senate.

The outgoing Democratic Senator also talked about his big advocacy role with then-president Barack Obama. Donnelly recounted helping to save Kokomo’s Chrysler transmission plant, back when Donnelly was representative of Indiana’s second congressional district.

Donnelly devoted parts of his speech yesterday on the Senate floor, to support the Affordable Care Act, Veteran’s Affairs, and combating the national opioid epidemic. Donnelly criticized what he called a lack of effort to deal with the federal budget deficit. He further criticized President Donald Trump’s tax cuts which were signed into law late last year. Donnelly says those measures exacerbate the national deficit.

Donnelly called on his senate colleagues to do their best to address the significant challenges facing the nation.

Donnelly’s call, to put partisanship aside for the sake of the nation, was echoed in a letter published in the Washington Post today. The letter is written by 44 former U.S. Senators, including Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh and Republican Richard Lugar.

In the opinion piece, addressed to current members of the Senate, the authors described the current political climate as a ‘critical juncture in history.’ The 44 former senators letter draw attention to two political developments in particular: Firstly, the culmination of FBI Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe into  suspected Russian government interference in the 2016 presidential election. And Secondly, The former Senators also note the importance Democrats control of the House of Representatives’, in possibly launching an investigation into impeaching the President.

Part of the letter reads,  “At other critical moments in our history, when constitutional crises have threatened our foundations, it has been the Senate that has stood in defense of our democracy. Today is once again such a time.”

The letter ends with a plea for current and future senators to ensure that partisanship or self-interest does not replace national interest. The letter’s authors include include 32 democrats, 10 republicans and 2 independents.

Donnelly ended his address on the Senate floor by thanking his colleagues, his family and Hoosiers for giving him the opportunity to represent them in the nation’s senate.

Donnelly’s term ends in January. He is replaced by Freshman Republican Senator Mike Braun.

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