[Senate Document 113-37]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. MARK UDALL
Mark Udall
U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. DOC. 113-37
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Mark Udall
United States Congressman
1999-2009
United States Senator
2009-2015
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2015
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
vii
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Bennet, Michael F., of Colorado................
7
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
19
Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania.........
17
Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
6
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
5
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
17
Hirono, Mazie K., of Hawaii....................
18
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
16
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
5
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
4
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
14
Shaheen, Jeanne, of New Hampshire..............
18
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
20
Udall, Mark, of Colorado.......................
4
Udall, Tom, of New Mexico......................
12
Wyden, Ron, of Oregon..........................
3
BIOGRAPHY
The people of Colorado elected Mark Udall to the U.S.
Senate in 2008. Before that he represented the State's
Second Congressional District for five terms (1999-2009).
He also served one term in the Colorado State Legislature
as a member of the General Assembly (1997-1999),
representing the 13th District, which encompassed the
community of Longmont and parts of southern Boulder
County.
In the U.S. Senate, Mark served on three committees:
Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, and the
Select Committee on Intelligence. Reinforcing his priority
of protecting our Western lands, Mark chaired the National
Parks Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee. He was also proud to serve as the chairman of
the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. In that role, Mark
had oversight responsibility for all U.S. military space,
intelligence, and cyberdefense efforts, and our ballistic
missile defense and nuclear weapons programs. Mark's
committee assignments gave him a platform to address many
issues important to Colorado, including national security,
energy, the economy, clean energy jobs, and natural
resources.
Farewell to the Senate
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam President, it is humbling
to stand here to speak one final time with my colleagues
as a U.S. Senator.
As a lifelong mountain climber, I have learned far more
from the mountains I did not summit, than those I did.
Every climb, I have found, offers a chance to look back
and reflect, and standing here today gives me a unique
opportunity to appreciate just how far we have come.
For the past 18 years, my most rewarding challenge has
been exercising the power lent to me by the people of
Colorado to fight on their behalf, first in the State
house and then in the U.S. Congress. Throughout my career
in public service--my 6 years in the U.S. Senate being but
one chapter--I have always been guided by the rugged
independence, strength, and cooperative spirit that
defines who we are as Coloradans and as Westerners.
That spirit helped me craft solutions to long-standing
problems in my home State of Colorado. From my very first
week in the U.S. Senate, I worked at resolving the
decades-long impasse between southern Colorado ranchers
and the U.S. Army, which uses the land surrounding Pinon
Canyon to train soldiers for deployment into war zones.
After 5 years of listening and lots of hard work, we
reached a deal that protects the property rights of
landowners while ensuring our troops are prepared to
defend our Nation. It was a teamwork-oriented approach
that reflected Colorado's best problem-solving traditions.
I have said for years that Coloradans pull together come
hell or high water. Little did I know that this saying
would prove itself to be true during my time in the U.S.
Senate, from wildfires that left thousands homeless to a
biblical flood in 2013 that swept over much of the Front
Range. Despite the partisan Federal Government shutdown of
2013, we delivered more than $770 million in emergency
flood support and marshaled nearly $2.5 billion in
additional Federal assistance so that Colorado could
rebuild better and stronger than before. This disaster
relief work includes conservation easements and watershed
protection funds to ward off future floods and a series of
next-generation air tankers to help us fight fires for
decades to come. This is in addition to the more immediate
support needed to rebuild roads, bridges, and the
infrastructure that our communities depend on.
Our uniquely Western perspective holds that compromise
is not capitulation, and that we are stronger when every
member of the community has a seat at the table--not just
the privileged. This is a cause that my family has
championed for generations and it is a creed that should
continue to drive all Coloradans who answer the call to
serve.
At this point in our politics, Americans are rightly
impatient with the willful, partisan gridlock and
dysfunction in Washington. Yet, in Colorado, we know that
by working together we have been able to keep our State
moving forward and do our part to overcome Washington
silliness for the good of the Nation.
But even as we keep our eyes on the horizon and the work
we still have to do, it is also important that we protect
our special way of life--and safeguard our land, water,
and air for future generations. I strongly believe that we
do not inherit the Earth from our parents--we borrow it
from our children. That is why I have championed efforts
to preserve our public lands and the special places and
natural wonders that define Colorado. Those efforts
include creating new wilderness areas around James Peak,
ensuring that future generations can experience the beauty
of the Great Sand Dunes and Chimney Rock, and turning
Rocky Flats--a former nuclear weapons facility--into a
wildlife refuge. I will continue working hard to protect
Brown's Canyon, which I hope to see designated as a
national monument in the days ahead.
Protecting these special places along with our clean air
and water is just part of the larger fight to confront the
challenges and opportunities posed by climate change.
Colorado has long led the Nation's pursuit of a balanced,
forward-thinking energy strategy. Much of the progress
Colorado has made came after I fought alongside Republican
Speaker of the Colorado House Lola Spradley in 2004 to
pass our State's first renewable electricity standard.
This was the Nation's first democratically passed
renewable energy policy, and one which has actually been
strengthened and added to since it was created. Since
then, Colorado's renewable electricity standard has
increased from its start at 10 percent to the 30 percent
it is today. It has become a model for the Nation in how
to create good-paying clean energy jobs while fighting the
causes of climate change.
I built on this effort in the U.S. Senate by
successfully pushing to extend the production tax credit
for wind energy. This has been a years-long, bipartisan
effort that I am proud to have led alongside Senator
Grassley from Iowa. From coming to the floor more than two
dozen times to explain the importance of wind State-by-
State and to demand an extension in 2012, to fighting to
extend the wind tax credit again this year, I have never
given up on Colorado's thriving wind-energy industry and
the more than 5,000 jobs it supports across the State.
This is the sort of commonsense, bipartisan policy that
helps hard-working American families today but is also
part of implementing a clean energy future for generations
to come.
As a Nation, over the past few years, we have persevered
through difficult times to continue building toward a more
perfect union. When our country was faced with the
possibility of another Great Depression, we took decisive
action--avoiding financial collapse, supporting 6 straight
years of job growth in private industry, and making smart
investments in everything from repairing our crumbling
roads to reinvigorating Denver's historic Union Station.
That is something to be proud of. There's a lot more to be
done--but it is important to pause and note the successful
milestones we have already reached on the road to
recovery.
Despite a flawed rollout, the Nation's health care law
has increased access to quality health coverage for more
than 400,000 Coloradans, helped families lower expenses
and plan their future with free contraceptive care, and
kept costs down for the first time in decades. This is
helping to keep families out of bankruptcy and making sure
that all Americans--not just the wealthiest among us--
receive the care they and their families deserve.
Thomas Jefferson once said that a true patriot loves her
country not just for what it is ... but for what it can
be. I think a country where every family can rest easy
knowing that they will never be left in the cold again
when it comes to accessing health care is a cause worth
fighting for, and I could not be more grateful to those
who have fought alongside me to make that a reality. At
the same time, we must also continue to monitor closely
its implementation to ensure we identify and correct any
unexpected and uneven impacts on Coloradans and Americans.
While protecting Americans from the abuses of an out-of-
control health care system is an achievement we should all
celebrate, I have been equally as passionate about
upholding the Bill of Rights and protecting our freedom
and right to equality. We still have a way to go, but I am
proud to have followed in the footsteps of so many great
leaders, including many in my own family, who fought to
make sure America lives up to the values enshrined in our
Constitution.
Many of you may recall that my father, Mo, helped to
integrate the University of Arizona, when it was beset by
racial divisions. My grandfather, Levi, issued a famous
court decision that recognized Native Americans'
constitutionally protected right to vote in our elections.
My Uncle Stewart challenged discrimination in our Nation's
Capital when he confronted the Washington football team to
demand they allow Black athletes to play alongside white
athletes. It has been these examples among so many others
that inspired me to take action when I felt we were not
living up to our constitutional ideals.
That includes leading the successful fight to repeal the
military's discriminatory ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy
that had so shamefully kept gay and lesbian Americans from
openly serving their country in the Armed Forces. It
includes passing landmark hate crimes prevention
legislation and a law to make it easier for women to fight
wage discrimination.
While there is much work left to be done to protect our
constitutional rights, I am proud to have led the effort
to reconcile the enormous power of our Nation's
intelligence agencies with the bedrock principles of our
democracy. We have proven that the choice between ensuring
our security and protecting our privacy is a false choice,
and that we can keep faith with our Nation's founding
principles while also safeguarding our communities. So
when the CIA tortured people in the name of the Americans
it was supposed to serve, we were strong enough as a
Nation to admit our mistakes and commit to learning from
this dark period in our Nation's history. That is why I
led the fight on the Intelligence Committee to declassify
the findings of our landmark report on the CIA's Detention
and Interrogation Program, to make sure that future
Presidents and intelligence community leaders do not
violate the principles that make America so exceptional.
These are all important accomplishments--but I would be
remiss if I did not acknowledge that true leadership is a
team sport. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by many
people whose insights, counsel and contributions have made
me a stronger and more effective advocate for Colorado. In
particular, I want to point out that former Colorado U.S.
Senator Gary Hart has been a key, trusted advisor and a
dear friend throughout my 18 years of public service. I
want to thank my chief of staff, Michael Sozan, who has
guided my Senate office with a steady hand for the last 6
years ... and my State director, Jen Rokala, who I have
had the pleasure of working with over the past 15 years as
we served the people of Colorado. I also want to thank Joe
Britton, my deputy chief of staff; Jake Swanton, my
legislative director; John Fossum, my administrative
director; and Mike Saccone, my communications director,
for ably guiding me and my office.
Even before coming to the Senate, I had the pleasure of
working with many dedicated people who put everything on
the line to better serve Colorado. I want to thank Alan
Salazar, my former chief of staff, along with Laura Davis,
Lisa Carpenter, Stan Sloss, Doug Young, Cookab Hashemi,
and Tara Trujillo for their guidance, patience, and good
humor. I also want to thank two staffers who have been
with me from the start: Jennifer Barrett, one of my most
trusted advisers, and Carter Ellison, my constituent
services director. The list of talented and driven people
who have worked with me over the years is too long to read
but their commitment to serving Colorado and our Nation
fills me with awe. I will miss my team greatly.
It also has been my honor to serve as a member of the
Senate Armed Services Committee for the last 6 years--and
on the House Armed Services Committee before that. During
that time, I had the privilege of working on behalf of the
tremendous men and women who defend our Nation. I have
witnessed their great courage, professionalism and
commitment in performing dangerous missions in Iraq,
Afghanistan, Djibouti, and other places around the world.
I have been humbled by the indomitable spirit of our
wounded warriors recovering at Walter Reed, Bethesda, and
in Colorado. I have mourned our fallen. Their sacrifice,
and the loss that is borne by their families and a
grateful Nation, is never far from my mind. To all those
who have served, and to all their loved ones, I offer my
deepest thanks and my never-ending gratitude.
When I first came to the U.S. Senate, I told my
colleagues that we were not elected to solve Democratic or
Republican problems, but to find uniquely American
solutions to our toughest challenges. Just like mountain
climbers who are all on the same rope, we know that we are
all in this together--and that we are only truly
successful when we all succeed together.
The great writer Wallace Stegner challenged us to build
communities to match our scenery. In a narrow sense, that
means that we should strive to make our society as
beautiful and thriving as the natural landscape that
surrounds us. But in a broader sense, it also means that
our communities should bring out the best in us, and that
we should never stop building on the uniquely independent
yet cooperative spirit that makes Colorado great.
That is the spirit that has guided me throughout my time
in public service, and it is the spirit that will continue
to guide me as I find new ways to keep Colorado and our
country moving forward.
It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be a
U.S. Senator from Colorado and I will be forever grateful
for having had the challenge and the opportunity to serve
our great country.
TRIBUTES
TO
MARK UDALL
Proceedings in the Senate
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mr. WYDEN. I close with just a word about our friend and
colleague Senator Mark Udall of Colorado. I have had the
pleasure of serving with Senator Udall on the Intelligence
Committee and have admired his commitment to American
security and core American values. Many in the Senate
would not know this because all of those intelligence
meetings are behind closed doors, but Mark Udall is not a
Senator who is afraid to stand alone. He is not afraid to
fight for what he believes in. When the fight to
declassify this report [on the CIA's Detention and
Interrogation Program] got bumpy--and let me tell you it
did a lot of times. I think some of you heard this weekend
we had an 11th-hour objection to the report getting out.
People asked me what I thought, and I said it was not
particularly surprising because there were objections
practically every hour on the hour for months and months.
Yet when the fight to declassify the report got very
difficult, some people said: This is going to get buried
forever. That is what happens when you try to get
accountability and transparency. Senator Mark Udall made
it clear that wasn't going to be allowed to happen on Mark
Udall's watch.
I am going to wrap up by saying to Senator Udall, I
remember when we started this battle together and we got a
handful of votes, sometimes like 13 to 2 or whatever. We
thought it was going to be a long time before there was
reform. We went from those days to eventually getting up
to 15 or 20 votes. Colleagues, today, to a great extent
because of Senator Udall, in the last vote for real
surveillance reform, we were up to 58 votes--58 votes for
real surveillance reform. That, to a great extent, is
possible because of the extraordinary service of my good
friend Senator Mark Udall from Colorado. We Westerners
always make sure we stay in touch, and you know that is
going to be the case with this particular friend from the
West, a wonderful Senator, Mr. Mark Udall.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, today is a
historic day, as Senator Wyden made clear, Senator
Feinstein, Senator Rockefeller, and many other Senators to
follow.
Before I talk about my involvement in the efforts that
were put forth to reach this day, I want to say to Senator
Wyden, my good friend, you honor me with those comments. I
want to acknowledge that when you are in a fight, it
matters whom you are in the fight with. It has been my
privilege and honor to fight on the side of transparency,
on the side of protecting the Bill of Rights, and this has
been a righteous cause. We are going to continue to work
to find the right balance between privacy and security. As
Ben Franklin famously implied, we can have both, but we
don't end up with both if we set aside the Bill of Rights
and those fundamental principles that are enshrined into
the Bill of Rights. It has been my privilege to fight
alongside you, and I wish you all the best. Yes, we
westerners will stay in touch. ...
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take a few
minutes to salute my colleagues who are departing the
Senate at the end of this year with the conclusion of the
113th Congress: Mark Begich of Alaska, Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Kay Hagan of North
Carolina, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mike Johanns of Nebraska,
Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Carl Levin of Michigan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jay
Rockefeller of West Virginia, Mark Udall of Colorado, and
John Walsh of Montana.
They have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their
energy and considerable time and service to their
constituents, to their home States and to our country. I
want to thank them for their service and for their
kindness to me over many years in so many cases. In
particular, I want to say a few words about these
colleagues. ...
Mark Udall and I served together on the Armed Services
Committee. I am grateful to have traveled with him to
Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2011. He is committed to our
troops, committed to our national security, committed to
his home State. He has been an advocate for clean energy,
for natural resources, for things that will be a legacy
for generations to come in Colorado and throughout the
United States. ...
Along with all of my other colleagues who are leaving us
at the conclusion of the 113th Congress, let me thank them
for their service, their dedication to improving the lives
of Americans, and on a very personal level for their
friendship. I wish them all well.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Mr. LEVIN. ... I will yield to the Senator from Colorado
[Mr. Udall], but first I wish to thank him for the great
contribution he has made to our committee. I think he is
planning on speaking on a different subject. He has played
a major role on the Intelligence Committee. I look forward
to reading, if not hearing, his remarks on the subject on
which I know he has spent a good deal of time. Although he
has had perhaps more visibility in terms of the
Intelligence Committee, he has been a major contributor on
the Armed Services Committee. I can't say we will miss him
because I will not be here, but they will miss the Senator
from Colorado.
Mr. DURBIN. I have some tributes here for my colleagues
who are retiring, leaving the Senate. It is a lengthy list
of tributes. ...
Mark Udall, my friend from Colorado and the Presiding
Officer's colleague. As I said last night, I served with
his dad. His dad may have been the funniest public servant
I ever served with. What a wit, what a sense of humor. He
once said, ``If you have politics in your bloodstream,
only embalming fluid will replace it.''
Thank goodness the Udalls have politics in their
bloodstream. Mo Udall served in the House of
Representatives, candidate for President; Mark Udall's
uncle, Stewart Udall, was Secretary of Interior under
President John Kennedy; Tom Udall, Mark's cousin, the son
of Stewart Udall, serves as Senator of New Mexico; Mark
Udall himself, what a great person.
I can remember so many things about his public service,
but I remembered, especially last night, when he lost his
brother and came before our caucus lunch and talked about
the love he had for that man and what that loss meant to
him. It touched the heart of everyone in the room. It gave
us an insight into the heart of Mark Udall as a person.
He was committed to a number of causes. His wife Maggie
and he have given so much time to the environment and
preserving our national heritage, but he also showed great
courage when it came to his service on the Senate
Intelligence Committee. Even as a new member of that
committee, he stepped up for principles and values, and I
am glad he did, preserving our rights and liberties as
American citizens and fully supporting the disclosure that
Senator Feinstein made yesterday with her report.
Mark has fought to protect Americans' privacy rights
with thoughtful reforms of the NSA and the PATRIOT Act.
In keeping with his family's tradition, he has made
protecting our environment and our precious natural
resources a top priority. He has been a leader in
addressing climate change as a growing threat to our
national security. He organized support in the Senate for
legislation that would require 15 percent of electricity
to be generated from renewable sources by 2021.
In the 2013 Defense Authorization Act, Mark Udall led
the effort to allow the Pentagon to continue to develop
and use renewable energy.
During his one term, Mark Udall made more dauntless
decisions and achieved more good for America than many
Senators who have served far longer.
He supported a recovery act that helped turn the tide
against the worst economic downturn since the Great
Depression. He voted for the most far-reaching financial
reform since the Great Depression and he supported one of
the biggest investments in college affordability since the
GI bill. Millions of Americans are back at work and
millions of Americans know the security that comes with
affordable health care, in part, because of his courage.
The famed explorer Edmund Hillary once said, ``Human
life is far more important than just getting to the top of
a mountain.''
For Mark Udall, being a U.S. Senator has been about
something more important than acquiring power. It has been
about using that power to preserve our precious natural
treasures and make life better for others.
Mo Udall would be proud of the U.S. Senator his son has
become, and I am certainly proud to have worked with him.
I have been in the Senate now for 18 years, and I have
seen many come and go. But we have lost, sadly, in this
departure of these Members some of our best.
Mr. COONS. ... As I close, I would also like to thank
those of our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate
after the New Year.
It is an incredible privilege to work in this Chamber
and to represent the people. Every day I am awed by the
dedication and talent of many of my colleagues, public
servants who come to work to fight for their States and
their government.
To those who are ending their service in the Senate,
know that I value your friendship and partnership. It has
been an honor to work with you, and I thank you for all
you have done for our Nation.
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
Mr. BENNET. I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to
retiring Senators be printed as a Senate document and that
Senators be permitted to submit tributes until December
23, 2014.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Mr. BENNET. Madam President, I wish to take a moment
today to speak about my friend Mark Udall, who is soon
going to be finishing his term. Mark's sister Doty
describes him as an OK politician but an extraordinary
public servant. I think it is fair to say that Mark could
never reduce his role as a representative of the people of
Colorado to just politics. It is not in his DNA.
It is with a very heavy heart that I see him leave the
Senate, because he is my friend. But it is especially sad
at a time when Mark's kind of leadership and constructive
engagement is exactly what this place needs.
``Udall'' is a name that is synonymous with the West,
and Mark and the collective service of the Udall family
have come to represent the very best of our Western way of
life. They have embodied that pioneering and
entrepreneurial spirit dating back to the days when
Americans were building entirely new lives on the
frontier. They have a historic love for the beauty and
majesty of the West. They have spent lifetimes protecting
it.
Mo and Stu Udall, Mark's uncle and father, both served
our country during World War II. Stu was elected to serve
the Second District of Arizona. When President Kennedy
asked Stu to serve as the Secretary of Interior, Mo won
Stu's seat in Congress.
Unlike his son Mark, Mo never ran for the Senate. He
explained why. He said:
I told the Arizona Press Club with [Barry] Goldwater
present that there were three reasons I was not running
for the Senate: 1) I love the House. 2) My wife and family
are against it. 3) I have taken a poll and you are going
to beat the hell out of me.
Although he did run for President. The New Republic
reported on that:
The Arizona Congressman, Morris Udall liked to tell a
story about a response he got at a barber shop in Maine:
He looked in at the door and, meaning to introduce
himself, said ``Mo Udall, running for president.''
``Yeah,'' the barber said, ``we were just laughing about
it this morning.''
It is not hard to know where Mark acquired his self-
deprecating approach to the world, just as it is not hard
to know where he inherited his commitment to civil rights,
to conservation, and to good government.
Mark has said it was during this time that his political
views were formed. He himself went on to seek office.
In 2008, when Mark was elected to represent Colorado in
the Senate, his cousin Tom--Stu's son--was elected to
serve the State of New Mexico and is one of our colleagues
today.
Mark Udall's connection to the West and to public
service comes from both sides of his family. Mo Udall, a
man of many talents, met Patricia Emory, Mark's mother,
while playing baseball in Colorado. Patricia or ``Sam''
Udall was a sharpshooter, pilot, Peace Corps volunteer at
the age of 56. She was a native Coloradan and the person
Mark credits most for his passion for the outdoors, for
backpacking, and climbing.
Today in the 21st century we face a profound set of
challenges and a dramatic test of our democratic
institution. Can what Mark Udall often calls this glorious
experiment in self-government continue to thrive into the
next century and beyond?
Mark has carried on the tradition of his family by
serving as a moral forward-pointing compass. Throughout
his career he has defended personal freedom and liberty,
and he has built a legacy of conservation and
preservation. As a member of the Colorado General Assembly
representing Longmont and parts of Boulder County, Mark
toughened the laws against poaching big game as trophy
animals. As a Member of the House of Representatives, he
worked across the aisle to establish the Rocky Flats
Wildlife Refuge, cleaning up the former nuclear site and
preserving 4,000 acres of wild land near Denver. He
established the James Peak Wilderness Area, protecting
14,000 acres of some of our most scenic land in Gilpin and
Grand Counties. He passed the Rocky Mountain National Park
Wilderness Act to designate nearly 250,000 acres within
the park as wilderness, including Longs Peak, which is
actually a 14er that I have climbed. Mark Udall has
climbed all of them in Colorado, every single 14er we
have, because they are included in the tallest 100
mountains that we have, each one of which has been
summitted by Mark Udall. These are lands that will be
protected long after any of our political careers are over
and long after they remember who it was who protected
those lands to begin with. But if anybody cares to check,
they are going to know that it was Mark Udall.
Mark has been vocal, active, and effective in his fight
against climate change and in his promotion of renewable
energy. He was the statewide cochair of the successful
2004 campaign to pass Colorado's Amendment 37. This
measure required Colorado's power companies to generate
most of their electricity from renewable sources. Colorado
was the first State in the Union to take the issue to the
voters. Amendment 37 passed. Mark Udall was the driving
force behind that effort. After his victory in the State,
Mark took this issue to the House of Representatives. The
House has twice passed the national renewable electricity
standard championed by Mark.
During his time in the Senate, he has continued to push
for a national policy, and his doggedness in standing up
for Colorado's wind energy production saved thousands of
good-paying jobs across the State and ensured that we will
continue to lead the Nation in developing our clean energy
economy.
The same is true for our ski areas, which have expanded
recreation activities and summertime job opportunities
thanks to a law Mark passed in this Senate.
Colorado's aerospace industry is thriving in part thanks
to Mark Udall. His work on space policy also dates back to
his time in the House of Representatives as ranking member
on the Space Subcommittee. Mark helped revitalize
aeronautics and aviation research and development at NASA
and ensured that the Hubble space telescope received
service and funding.
In the Senate, Mark helped lead the Colorado delegation
opposition to a proposal that would have canceled the
Orion Program, costing the State 1,000 jobs. The
administration backed off. Last week, with a shuttle and
rocket--both built by companies based in Colorado--NASA
launched a successful test flight of the Orion vehicle. We
will again carry astronauts into space, traveling deeper
than ever before and eventually maybe even visit Mars.
As everybody in this Chamber knows, Mark has been a
staunch defender of the rights and freedoms we cherish as
Westerners. As a member of the Senate Armed Services and
Intelligence Committees, Mark fought every single day he
was here to protect the security of the American people
and the Bill of Rights. He has taken on NSA and CIA when
they violated our constitutional values.
In 2011 he worked on a classified level to pressure
intelligence officials to dismantle a massive email
collection program that affected American privacy.
Administration officials were unable to provide evidence
that the program was effective. It was shut down. It only
became public information when the New York Times reported
on it in July 2013.
Well before Edward Snowden made headlines in 2013, Mark
warned of the NSA's overreach. In 2012, on this Senate
floor, he warned the American people that they would be
shocked to learn about what the NSA was doing in secret.
He introduced landmark, bipartisan surveillance reform
legislation with Senators Ron Wyden, Richard Blumenthal,
and Rand Paul. It became the basis for the USA FREEDOM
Act, which received 58 votes just a few weeks ago. There
was a time, before the relentless use of the filibuster,
when a majority of votes in the Senate would have been
enough to ensure passage of that bill.
Earlier this week the Intelligence Committee released
the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence
Committee's study of the CIA's Detention and Interrogation
Program. Nobody in this place fought harder than Mark
Udall to shed light on these tactics. His goal from day
one has been holding the CIA accountable, shedding light
on this dark chapter of our history, and ensuring that
neither the CIA nor any other agency or future
administration would make the grievous mistakes that were
made here. He accomplished his goals with respect to the
process without leaking classified information but by
applying pressure both politically and privately until the
report was finally released. He has been effective because
he has stood on consistent principle on every issue we
have faced.
He voted against the PATRIOT Act. He opposed the war in
Iraq. He helped lead the fight to end ``don't ask, don't
tell.''
Mark truly is the very best of what it means to be a
public servant: independent, responsible, tough, focused
on the future, and possessing an abiding can-do spirit.
His calm presence, his unassuming nature, and his ability
to see pure good in those around him are exactly what we
so desperately need in our process today.
Simply put, Mark Udall has fought for Colorado families
in the most constructive way possible--by pushing
thoughtful commonsense solutions--but has never ever
fought to achieve a partisan political fleece.
When Colorado was struck with a series of natural
disasters, from wildfires to floods, Mark was at his very
best, standing up for our State and our families to lead
the efforts to ensure that our communities had the support
they needed to recover and better prepare for the threats
we faced next. He has strengthened the way we respond to
the growing threat of wildfire by emphasizing preservation
efforts that will save lives, property, and tax dollars.
We would expect nothing else from a man who has dedicated
himself and his career to standing up for Colorado
families, the middle class, and the values of the American
West.
As a Senator, a Representative, a State legislator,
director of the Colorado Outward Bound School, Mark has
been a model public servant. He has lived up to and
exceeded the high standards his family has set for more
than a century. Throughout all of his work, Mark has
always fought against the dysfunction that persists in
Washington.
It is true, however, that Mark cannot take full credit
for the work. His wife and partner Maggie Fox shares his
commitment to leaving more opportunity for the next
generation. She has worked as a teacher and community
organizer on the Navajo and Hopi reservations of Arizona
and New Mexico, and for the Colorado, North Carolina, and
Northwest Outward Bound Schools. She has become a leading
voice in many efforts to protect our land, our air, and
our water. Their partnership is a genuine one. It has made
Mark's work possible.
Mark's staff has been among the finest, most
professional, and most effective in the Senate. It has
been a pleasure for me and for my staff to work alongside
them on behalf of the people of Colorado.
Over the past few years I have learned that really there
are two broad categories of people in Washington: There
are those who embrace and add to the dysfunction because
it serves their ideological convictions or gives them an
opportunity to star on the cable news or both. Then there
are the people who are actually trying to save the place.
They are looking for areas of compromise to break the
gridlock and to move us forward.
Mark is one of the good ones, and I have no doubt he
will continue to make profound contributions to Colorado
and to our Nation in a variety of ways, but we are
diminished by his loss. Every one of us, for the sake of
this institution, would do well to live up to the example
Mark Udall has set.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Madam President, I thank
Senator Grassley for allowing me this time to talk about
my cousin, Mark Udall. First, let me say to Senator
Bennet, I know that Mark feels he could not have had a
better partner, a better friend, and someone to work with
on Colorado issues and the great national issues than
Senator Bennet.
Senator Bennet spoke eloquently of Mark's incredible
record in public service. Two years in the Colorado
Legislature, 10 years in the House of Representatives, and
6 years here in the U.S. Senate. I served with Mark in the
House, and here in the Senate. He is not only my cousin.
He is not only an extraordinary public servant. He has
been a great ally, as we have worked on the issues
together.
Mark has been--and will continue to be--a champion, for
the environment, for civil liberties, and for a government
that is as open and good as the people we are privileged
to represent.
Mark has been a courageous and outspoken leader in the
fight against climate change. He knows that global warming
is not just a threat to our environment, but to our
national security and our economy. He and I have worked on
this issue throughout our time in public service, pushing
to expand clean energy production and for commonsense
steps to reduce pollution. He and I introduced, and got
passed, a renewable electricity standard when we were both
in the House to increase the use of renewable energy and
create jobs across the country. When the Senate passes a
similar RES, which I believe it eventually will, Mark you
will share in that victory, for all your determination and
hard work to make it happen.
Our dads loved the land. They taught us to love it as
well. Mark doesn't just climb mountains. He protects them,
so that generations to come will enjoy this legacy of
natural treasures. Together we have fought for full
funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and for
wilderness preservation. He has accomplished so much that
will live on, long after we all are gone.
Mark has also been a true leader on the Senate
Intelligence Committee and the Armed Services Committee.
He is absolutely fearless, and undaunted, in defense of
our Nation, and in defense of our liberties. We both
opposed the original PATRIOT Act, as well as its
reauthorization. Mark has been eloquent and tenacious in
warning of over-reaching surveillance, and secret
interrogations. The Intelligence Committee released its
study of the CIA's secret program this week. No one fought
harder to hold our government to account, in insisting
that we must not only be secure, but we must honor the
values that define us. We can and must do both. History
will remember his invaluable role in making it possible
for the American people to have this great and necessary
debate.
Madam President, my dad once said that, in the end, it
is not the awards you receive, it is not the trophies in
the garage, or the honors on the shelf, it is what the
people who know you best really think of you. To those of
us who know Mark--in our family, here in Washington, and
in his beloved State of Colorado--he is the real deal.
I remember when Mark's dad, Mo, ran for President in
1976. Mo lost the nomination to Jimmy Carter. In his
concession speech, he recalled the words of Will Rogers,
``Live your life so that whenever you lose, you are
ahead.'' Mo went on to say:
And I am ahead. I'm ahead in staff people who love me
and believed in me. And I'm ahead because I have love,
respect, and admiration for all of you in this room.
That was true of Mo. It is equally true of Mark. In his
years of public service, and in the years to come, that
will always be said of Mark. Whatever the task, whatever
the challenge, he meets it head on. In the Congress, and
in his day-to-day life, he is practical, independent, and
always generous of himself.
Mark, wherever you go, wherever you are, win or lose,
you are ahead--and we all are ahead whenever you are in
the room. Or I might say whenever you are on the trail, or
the mountainside. We find you out on the trail as likely
as anywhere else.
But, then, that has always been the case with Mark, and
with all our family. If you are a Udall, you spend a lot
of time outdoors, and gladly so. We never know when we
will run into each other. A number of years ago, I was
hiking up a mountain in Argentina. All of a sudden, there
on the trail at 16,000 feet, was Mark, coming back from
the summit. So, I never know when I'm going to run into
him, but Madam President, let me say, I am always glad
when I do.
Mark, for me, you have always set an example. You have
always been true to the legacy of our family. I know that
will never change, whatever your endeavors. So, to you,
and Maggie, and Jed and Tess, Jill and I wish you all the
best in this new chapter in your lives.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Mr. REID. Mr. President, the famous English poet William
Blake once said, ``Great things are done when men and
mountains meet.'' There could be nothing more apt when
talking about Mark Udall than when we talk about men and
mountains. He knows mountains. He has climbed nine
Himalayan peaks. He has climbed Mount McKinley. He has
climbed 99 of the highest summits in Colorado, and that is
the place where we have the great Rockies. Those are big
mountains. He once attempted to scale Mount Everest but
was stopped by a severe storm. While we were waiting to
finish our work on Saturday, someone told me they were
hoping to go skiing on Sunday.
I said, ``Where are you going to go skiing?''
``I don't know the name of the place.''
``How high is that place?''
``Eight hundred feet.''
In the Sierra Nevada Mountains where I am from, and the
Rockies, that is not a mountain. We have mountains in
Colorado and Nevada.
Mark Udall once attempted to scale Mount Everest and was
nearly there when one of the most violent storms came.
Using good sense, he decided they shouldn't do it, and it
was the right thing to do. People die by saying they are
stronger than nature. He understands his limitations, and
his limitations are not very much. Mark is a tremendous
athlete. He could do anything athletically. He has the
genes of his dad, Morris Udall, whom I had the good
fortune of serving with in the House of Representatives.
Morris Udall is the only person to have played
professional basketball being blind in one eye, couldn't
see, but he was able to adjust his perceptive qualities
with a basketball hoop to play professional basketball.
We all felt Mark's loss when his brother Randy was found
dead in the place he loved more than anyplace else, the
Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. That is where Randy loved
to go. That is where Mark loves to go. People told Randy
he shouldn't go alone, but he went alone, and it appears
maybe he had a heart attack while he was out there. They
found him dead several weeks later in the mountains he
loved. It was real tough for Mark, who looked up so much
to his brother. Mark, though, has met many mountains and
done many great things.
He served in the House of Representatives where he was
stellar. But it is the work in the Senate where his
greatest feats have been accomplished. In 2013 there were
storms in Colorado and there was catastrophic flooding. It
was very bad. Lives were lost, homes washed away. The
people of Colorado needed help, and Mark would not stop.
He held up legislation until the people of Colorado got
what they deserved. He helped secure nearly $1 billion in
Federal assistance for the people of his State, money to
rebuild homes, bridges, roads, and reestablish lives.
While he dedicated himself to protecting the people of
Colorado, he also was committed to safeguarding the
constitutional rights of all Americans. Who has done more
in exposing what has been going on with the invasion of
people's privacy? No one has done more than Mark. He has
done this in a number of different ways. But as a member
of the Intelligence Committee, his work sounded the alarm
about the National Security Administration's bulk data
collection program. He fought to end the CIA's Detention
and Interrogation Program, and together with Senator
Feinstein has pushed to make public the committee's study
of the CIA's torture program.
People have said: Perhaps if Mark had not been so
concerned about individual rights, about the bulk data
collection, about the torture, maybe he would have been
reelected. But that is not Mark Udall. He comes from a
family with a long tradition of public service, as I have
indicated. His Uncle Stewart was Secretary of the
Interior, after having served in Congress for many years
representing the State of Arizona, as did his dad Mo
Udall. Mo Udall was one of the most recognizable
Congressmen in the entire 20th century, having run for
President, and he had a sense of humor that was really
quite remarkable.
Here in the Senate Mark has cousins. It has been
interesting. During the last few years, we have had a lot
of cousins: Mark, Tom, Mike Lee, Gordon Smith--all
cousins, first cousins. How did that come about? Mark
would, as he did just a day or two ago, look and kind of
smile and say, ``It could have been polygamy.'' And it
was. But they are a very close family.
In spite of the closeness of Tom and Mark--two brothers
could not be closer than these two men. They climb
mountains together. I have talked to them about putting on
crampons, these spikes you put on your shoes to climb the
ice. These are adventurers.
So we are going to miss Mark. But he has forged his own
path and his own legacy.
Now, as his time in the Senate draws to a close, he will
carry that legacy to other endeavors.
I wish Mark all the best. It has been such a privilege
to serve with him. He will be deeply missed.
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, for nearly 20 years in
Congress, Mark Udall has represented the people of
Colorado with commitment and courage. He is a dedicated
public servant, whose drive and responsibility to the
people of Colorado will not wane with his retirement.
An experienced mountaineer and proud environmentalist,
Senator Udall has spent weekends exploring and enjoying
the great outdoors, and his weekdays protecting them. He
has authored legislation to create wildlife refuges and
preserve wilderness in Colorado. He is also a leader in
renewable energy, helping his home State adopt a renewable
electricity standard and working to bring a similar
innovation to the national stage.
Senator Udall has worked hard to bridge the partisan
divide during a period of unprecedented polarization. Many
of the bills he has authored have enjoyed wide bipartisan
support, including proposals to reauthorize NASA and to
protect public lands. He was one of the Senate's newest
Members when he successfully called on Republicans and
Democrats to sit together in a show of national unity at
the 2011 State of the Union, following the tragic
shootings in Tucson, AZ.
Senator Udall has been a tireless advocate for the
protection of civil liberties. His work on the Senate
Intelligence Committee has been focused on protecting the
privacy and civil liberties of all Americans, a commitment
that I strongly share. His departure will be a loss to the
work of the Intelligence Committee.
Mark Udall comes from a family with an uncommon history
of public service. Though Senator Udall is retiring from
the Senate, I know this service will continue. I wish him,
his wife Maggie, their children and their entire family
all best wishes as they begin their next chapter.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we wind down the final days
of the 113th Congress, it is a good time both to reflect
on the past and to look toward the future. I have been
very moved as I listened to the farewell speeches of our
departing Senators, and I wish I had time to pay tribute
to each one of them. They have all been wonderful
colleagues, and I enjoyed working with and getting to know
every one of them. I wish them all the very best in all
their future endeavors. They will most certainly be
missed. ...
Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, before this Congress ends, I
wanted to pay tribute to several of my colleagues who will
not be here when we convene next year. Some chose not to
run again, and others unfortunately lost their reelection
campaigns, but we will miss them all next year. I begin in
order of seniority. ...
Mr. President, Senator Mark Udall's family has served
the United States for decades. His cousin Tom has served
beside him in the Senate for the past 6 years. His father
Morris ``Mo'' Udall was a Member of the U.S. House of
Representatives for 30 years and also ran for President.
His Uncle Stewart served as Interior Secretary under
Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson in the
1960s.
Before being elected to the Senate in 2008, Mark served
in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Colorado
State Legislature. Through his position on the Energy and
Natural Resources Committee, Mark has continued his
family's commitment to our public lands and resources,
chairing the National Parks Subcommittee.
Senator Udall has also worked hard to help the U.S.
Government get its fiscal house in order, pushing his
colleagues to make tough choices today to help create a
better tomorrow. As a member of the Armed Services and
Select Intelligence Committees, Mark has advocated for
more transparent detention and drone policies and pushed
to make public the ``Committee Study of the Central
Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation
Program.'' ...
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to take a moment to
thank my friend and colleague Senator Mark Udall for his
dedicated service to the people of Colorado and our
Nation.
As many of my colleagues are aware, long before Senator
Udall was climbing the steps to Capitol Hill he was hiking
the mountains of Colorado as a course director and
educator with Outward Bound, an organization he would
eventually lead as executive director. However, as a
member of the Udall family, headed by his father
Congressman Morris ``Mo'' Udall, who served in the House
of Representatives for 30 years, elected office was never
far from Senator Udall's mind. After 20 years with Outward
Bound, Senator Udall left to pursue a career in public
service.
After serving a term in the Colorado State Legislature,
Senator Udall ran successfully to represent Colorado's
Second Congressional District in the House of
Representatives, a seat he held for five consecutive
terms. When we arrived at the Senate in 2008, Senator
Udall and I found common cause in our work on both the
Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources. Senator Udall's
commitment to working across the aisle to confront the
difficult issues facing our Nation was appreciated by many
in the Senate, and I know his presence will be missed.
I wish the very best to Senator Udall and thank him for
his service.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I would like to say a few
words about my colleague, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado,
who will be ending his 6-year tenure in the Senate at the
end of this Congress.
Senator Udall has served in public office for 18 years,
serving in the Colorado House of Representatives for 2
years before being elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives, where he served for 10 years. He was
elected in 2008 to the Senate.
For Mark, public service is a family affair. His father,
Arizona Representative Mo Udall, served in Congress for 30
years. His father ran for the U.S. Presidency. His uncle,
Stewart Udall, served as President Kennedy's Secretary of
the Interior. And his cousin, Tom Udall, serves as one of
New Mexico's U.S. Senators.
This legacy, coupled with Mark's love of the outdoors,
give him a unique perspective on public service. Before
running for office, Mark worked as an educator and
executive director of the Colorado Outward Bound School.
As an avid mountaineer and educator, Mark understands the
value of America's open spaces, smart policies for
conservation and economic growth, and finding practical
solutions to our shared challenges.
Mark Udall is a champion for the environment. His
efforts to support progressive renewable energy policies
as a State legislator and Member of Congress have helped
Colorado become a frontrunner in clean, sustainable energy
to prepare for a more sustainable future. He has also
fought hard to expand the National Park Service, saying
the Earth is borrowed from our children, not inherited
from our parents, and that we must work to preserve these
public lands to ensure their existence for future
generations.
I have had the privilege of serving with Mark in the
House and on the Senate Armed Services Committee to
support the men and women who defend our country. We have
worked together to focus on making our military more
energy efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels.
Mark has climbed some of the most daunting peaks in the
world. The kind of self-reliance and focus required to
meet those kinds of challenges mark his work in public
service. His decency and integrity in fighting for the
middle class, for our environment, for transparency in
government, inspire us to continue his work.
It has been a privilege to serve with Mark.
Aloha Mark and Maggie and a hui hou, ``until we meet
again.''
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate and thank
the 13 outgoing Senators who have worked tirelessly to
represent their home States in the Senate: Senator Mark
Begich, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Tom Coburn,
Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Mike
Johanns, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator Mary Landrieu,
Senator Carl Levin, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Jay
Rockefeller, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator John Walsh.
I have worked side by side with these men and women for
years--some for decades--and witnessed first hand their
extraordinary commitment to public service and to the
people they so proudly represent.
Even when we didn't see eye to eye on every issue, I
always deeply respected and admired their service to our
Nation and their dedication to fight for what they believe
in.
It has been a privilege to serve alongside each and
every one of these extraordinary colleagues. I will miss
their leadership and their friendship, and I wish them all
the best as they embark on the next chapter.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I wish to express my
gratitude to a dear colleague and friend who has been a
champion for our national parks and for preserving the
natural splendor of our Western lands: Senator Mark Udall.
Just as the Great Lakes are part of my DNA, the Rocky
Mountains are part of Senator Udall's. He likes to quote
the saying that we did not inherit this Earth from our
parents but that we are borrowing it from our children--
and that is the perspective that has guided him as chair
of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee.
He has worked to expand national parks and to
revitalize our natural resources. Recognizing that our
dependence on fossil fuels poses a threat to our land,
water, and wildlife, Senator Udall has been a leader in
pushing for investments in renewable energy. I know how
proud he was that Colorado was the first State to pass a
voter-approved renewable energy policy. A key to making it
happen was Senator Udall teaming up in a bipartisan way
with the Speaker of the Colorado House.
When Colorado was struck by floods, forest fires, and
beetle infestations, Senator Udall fought to make sure the
State had the Federal resources to contain the damage and
aid the recovery.
We learn a lot about our leaders during a time of
crisis, and time and again, Senator Udall has proven the
strength of his character and his convictions.
In the wake of the mass shooting in Aurora, CO, Senator
Udall threw his support behind a ban on combat weapons, as
well as an amendment to expand background searches for gun
purchases. It was a bold position to take politically, but
the Udall family has a long tradition of taking bold
positions whose wisdom is borne out by history: His
grandfather issued a court decision that recognized Native
Americans' right to vote; his uncle challenged
discrimination by Washington's football team; and his
father helped integrate the University of Arizona.
It is fitting that in Senator Udall's last full week
with the Senate he gave a stirring speech on the floor,
demanding transparency in the way that our Nation treats
suspected terrorists. Senator Udall has also been one of
the Senate's most vocal advocates for civil liberties,
arguing passionately that our government's conduct must
always respect both our values and the Constitution.
Personally, I have had the honor of working alongside
Senator Udall as cochair of the Congressional Caucus on
Parkinson's Disease, teaming up on behalf of the National
MS and Parkinson's Disease Registries Act. This past month
we joined forces on an amendment that ensures women in the
military will have access to quality health services, with
a specific focus on maternity and preventive care.
I will miss our talks and our collaborations. But
leaving the Senate will allow Senator Udall to become an
even more avid outdoorsman. While he has already climbed
Mt. Everest and the 100 tallest peaks in his home State of
Colorado, I have no doubt that he will soon conquer new
and exciting challenges in the great outdoors.
From listening to his farewell address, it is already
apparent to me that Senator Udall has achieved a clarity
that will serve him forever after. ``As a lifelong
mountain climber,'' he said, ``I have learned far more
from the mountains I did not summit, than those I did.''
I know I speak for many of us here when I say that I
have learned a great deal from Senator Udall, and I thank
him for serving Colorado and our Nation in the U.S.
Senate--and for being a great friend. Happy trails,
Senator.