Volume 167, No. 99, covering the 1st Session of the 117th Congress (2021 – 2022), was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO ERIC KING” mentioning Mitch McConnell was published in the Senate section on pages S3982-S3983 on June 8.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators’ salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO ERIC KING
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, during a year of unprecedented challenges, students, staff, and faculty at the University of Kentucky have been fortunate to have Eric King as their tireless advocate and supporter. As UK’s executive director of federal relations, Eric has made lasting contributions to Kentucky’s students, professors, and administrators. In recognition of that hard work, Eric was honored last month by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities with the Jennifer Poulakidas Outstanding Achievement Award. Today, I, too, would like to recognize Eric for his strong advocacy on behalf of the University of Kentucky community and our State as a whole.
Eric has been making contributions to Kentucky higher education since he was an undergrad, serving as the student body president of Murray State University. Since then, he has dedicated his career to helping Kentuckians. Fresh out of college, Eric served as a legislative correspondent in my office and was later promoted to a legislative assistant focused on energy, agriculture, and environmental policy. He contributed to the passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014, which delivered major wins for Kentucky farmers and their families.
Eric also served as the director of government and community affairs at the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, KAEC. There, he advocated for a statewide association of 24 consumer-owned electric distribution utilities that collectively serve nearly 2 million Kentuckians. I know that Eric’s work at that organization had a real and lasting impact on Kentucky families.
Now, Eric has taken his advocacy skills to the University of Kentucky, working closely with President Eli Capilouto to promote the well-being of more than 30,000 students, 12,000 staff, and 2,000 faculty. When the coronavirus pandemic threatened to shut down colleges and universities across the country, Eric stepped up and fought to include vital funding for higher education in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, CARES, Act. Because of advocacy like Eric’s, the CARES Act included the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, providing millions of dollars to colleges and universities to overcome the challenges imposed by the pandemic. Thousands of Kentucky students and graduates benefited from Eric’s leadership.
Eric has been described by his colleagues as a man with “unmatched integrity” and a “can-do attitude” who has made “incredible contributions” to our Nation’s system of public and land-grant universities. As Eric’s former boss, I can confirm that these superlatives are correct. His hard work during the coronavirus pandemic provided vital protection to our colleges and universities, both in Kentucky and nationwide.
Kentuckians–and especially Wildcats–are grateful for Eric’s tireless dedication to our State’s public university system. On behalf of the Senate, I would like to express my congratulations to Eric for receiving this award and my thanks for his service and leadership amid a time of incredible hardship.
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