[Senate Document 113-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON
Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. Doc. 113-8
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
1993-2013
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2014
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
ix
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
32
Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland...............
27
Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
21
Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
3
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
12
Cornyn, John, of Texas.........................
17
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
20
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
10, 23
Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota...................
31
Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
3
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
26
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
21, 24
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
13
Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland..............
4, 6
Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska.....................
29
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
23
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
33
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
23
Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
Tributes by Representatives:
Poe, Ted, of Texas.............................
35
BIOGRAPHY
Kay Bailey Hutchison was born in Galveston, TX, on July
22, 1943. She attended public schools in La Marque, TX,
and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and
the University of Texas Law School in 1967.
Her early career included work as a TV reporter; a
member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1972 to
1976; vice chair of the National Transportation Board from
1976 to 1978; bank executive and general counsel;
businesswoman; Texas State treasurer from 1990 to 1993;
and temporary cochair of the Republican National
Convention in 1992.
She was elected to the U.S. Senate on June 5, 1993, in a
special election to fill the remainder of the term
following the resignation of Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. She is
the only woman elected to represent the State. She was
reelected in 1994, 2000, and 2006, and served until
January 3, 2013.
She served in the Senate leadership, having first been
elected vice chairman of the Republican Conference and
later elected chairman of the Republican Policy Committee,
the fourth-highest ranking Republican Senator.
She served as ranking member on the Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the
Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and
Science. She was chairman of the Military Construction
Appropriations Subcommittee and served on the Defense
Appropriations Subcommittee. She was a member of the
Republican National Hispanic Assembly Advisory Committee
and was elected several times to chair the Board of
Visitors at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Senator Hutchison consistently championed tax relief for
working families. She led the fight to provide relief from
the marriage income tax penalty and to reestablish the
deduction for State and local sales taxes. She worked to
reduce marginal income tax rates, eliminate the death tax,
and lower taxes on capital gains. Early in her career she
was the lead sponsor of a bill to create the new Homemaker
IRA, which allows spouses who do not work outside the home
to save for retirement through an IRA. The bill became law
in 1996, and in 2013, was named the Kay Bailey Hutchison
Spousal IRA.
She has a well-earned reputation as a national leader on
defense issues and as a tireless advocate for U.S.
military forces, helping to ensure they had adequate
resources and proper training necessary to defend the
Nation. She fought hard to improve the quality of life for
U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans by
improving health benefits and education opportunities and
modernizing and upgrading military facilities and family
housing. She introduced and passed legislation creating an
Overseas Basing Commission, which conducted a
comprehensive review of the U.S. military's global
footprint to help ensure that U.S. Armed Forces are
prepared to meet 21st century threats.
Senator Hutchison was instrumental in helping enact the
National Intelligence Reform Act, which included
provisions she wrote to ensure better screening of cargo
and instruct the Transportation Security Administration to
establish a database of known shippers, develop facility
security plans, and mandate the use of worker
identification cards. She secured funding for additional
border patrol agents to strengthen enforcement of
immigration laws. During her term as chair of the Commerce
Committee's Subcommittee on Aviation she played a major
role in drafting the airline security bill enacted by
Congress after the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Since first elected to the Senate in 1993, she has been
a leading advocate for science, technology, education, and
competitiveness. She cosponsored the America COMPETES Act
in 2007, and when it was reauthorized in 2010, introduced
a provision in the bill enabling colleges and universities
to allow more students who major in science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics (STEM) to become concurrently
certified as elementary and secondary school teachers.
Because studies have shown that some students learn better
in a single-gender environment she also sponsored and
passed legislation allowing public schools to offer
single-sex education. During her time in the Senate, Texas
moved to third in the Nation in receipt of Federal
research and development expenditures for higher education
research institutions.
She was instrumental in establishing the Academy of
Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas to provide
broader recognition of Texas' top achievers in these
fields and to build a strong identity for Texas as a
center of achievement for medicine, engineering, and
science.
Senator Hutchison joined with Senator Bill Nelson to
pass the NASA reauthorization bill in 2010 that bolsters
America's human space flight capabilities for the next
steps in deep-science exploration, while moving forward
with development of a new commercial space industry.
She introduced legislation in the 112th Congress to
reverse some of the effects of President Obama's health
care law. Her Patients' Freedom to Choose legislation was
focused on repealing provisions that restrict health
savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.
In 2008 Senator Hutchison authored an amicus curiae
brief for the Supreme Court case DC v. Heller to affirm an
individual's right to keep and bear arms. Her brief was
signed by the Vice President and by more Members of
Congress than any other brief in U.S. history. The Supreme
Court, in a landmark decision, affirmed the individual's
Second Amendment rights.
Senator Hutchison lives in Dallas with her husband, Ray,
and their two children, Bailey and Houston.
Farewell to the Senate
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to address
this Chamber for possibly the last time as the senior
Senator from the great State of Texas.
I have to say it is an ironic note that if I had given
my farewell address last week, there would have been so
much joy in the halls of the Capitol, ringing with the
laughter and the anticipation of our season's happiest
time. But in just one weekend, a sadness has set in with
the news of a massacre of innocent children in Newtown,
CT, followed by the loss of our wonderful colleague,
Senator Danny Inouye.
So I will leave this extraordinary institution and
experience with a heavy heart for those who have been lost
in the last few days.
I want to thank the people of Texas for asking me to
represent them in Washington. I want to thank the many
people who have served on my staff for almost 20 years. I
have to say I am touched that both benches on both sides
of this room are filled with my staff members who have
been so hard working and so loyal and have produced so
much in 20 years for our State and Nation, and I thank
them.
I want to thank my colleagues and all the people who
work here, the Senators, but also those who work behind
the scenes to make our lives as good as they can be with
the hard hours we all have; those who keep our buildings
safe and clean, who work in the libraries, the shops, the
cafeterias, and who guide tens of thousands of tourists
through our Nation's beautiful Capitol each year.
I want to thank my husband Ray and our two children,
Bailey and Houston. They are 11 years old now, and so many
of my colleagues who were here when I started bringing my
children as babies have watched them grow up. The Senate
isn't easy on families. They have sacrificed so I could
serve the people of Texas, and I am grateful for their
patience and generosity. They have loved coming to the
Capitol--11 years for the children and 20 for my husband
Ray. I know my children's fondest memory, if I ask them
what do they remember most about visits to the Capitol, is
playing soccer in the Russell Building's hallways in the
evenings when the coast is clear.
I would not be here today if it were not for my parents
who gave me the gifts of strong values, unwavering
support, and education to be whatever I wanted to be. I
must say that my parents were surprised when they saw what
I wanted to be. They would never have thought that their
daughter, growing up in LaMarque, TX--a town of 15,000
good people--would think she could be a U.S. Senator. We
had a wonderful public school system, and I am proud to
say I am a product of public education. My public schools
in LaMarque--which were excellent--and my University of
Texas and University of Texas Law School prepared me to be
what I could be.
It has been a privilege to walk these halls in the
Capitol of the world's greatest and longest serving
democracy.
I think back to the days that stand out in our memories.
September 11, 2001, of course, is the one none of us will
ever forget. We know exactly where we were the minute we
knew there was a terrorist attack on America. Though we
suffered a horrific attack, the strength, resilience, and
extraordinary acts of kindness of the American people
showed the world that attempts to destroy our way of life
would never succeed. On that day, no one could get in or
out of Washington and many communications networks were
inoperable. So when the Pentagon was hit and the Capitol
was evacuated, my staff and I walked one block to my home
on Capitol Hill. Just as an example, the husband of my
office manager worked in the section of the Pentagon that
had been hit, so we were on the one phone that we had to
hospitals, the police, anyone we thought might be able to
tell us if he was safe. Thankfully, he was fine. But there
were so many who waited for hours, who called hospitals,
to hear from their loved ones. Sometimes the news was a
relief and sometimes they waited in vain for good news.
I have to say it was an incredible moment when the
Senators who could find each other, wherever they had gone
from the Capitol, finally gathered late afternoon in the
Capitol Police headquarters to talk to our leaders who had
been taken to an undisclosed location. They said, We don't
want anyone to come, but we were going to the steps of the
Capitol to hold a press conference. We don't want anyone
there because we don't know if it is safe, but we want to
tell the press that we are going to open for business
tomorrow and do the Nation's business, even though there
was suspicion that the Capitol had been on the terrorists'
list of targets.
Every single one of the Senators--and I think there were
60 to 70 who had made it to the Capitol Police
headquarters--did come to the Capitol steps, as did
Members of the House of Representatives. After the press
conference was held by the leaders, all of the several
hundred who had gathered spontaneously broke out singing
``God Bless America.'' That was a time that said this is
the strength of our country and we will not be defeated.
As I exit the Senate, I am aware that we are divided as
a legislative body and as a country. I do not think we
have different goals--not here, and not in America--but we
do have different ways of reaching them. Congress suffers
a great deal of criticism for partisan acrimony. But while
we may disagree politically and air our opposition in this
Chamber, it is the conversation behind the scenes that
cements and defines our relationships. I will leave the
Senate knowing I have worked with men and women of great
patriotism, intellect, and heart on both sides of the
aisle.
I wish to thank my colleagues, Democrat and Republican,
for the many wonderful years working together. We seconded
one another at times and engaged in rigorous debate in
others. Yet the American people should know that either
way, we are collegial and we all understand that our
States have different needs and there will be differences
in priorities. In the Senate, an adversary today will be
an ally tomorrow. It is a rare occasion for acrimony to
turn personal.
It would be my parting hope that this collegiality will
not be lost. Protecting the rights of the minority has
assured that every Senator's voice is heard and every
State represented is heard, as intended by our
Constitution. Open debate and open amendments are what
differentiate the Senate from the House.
When our committees function, we pass bills in vigorous
markups, we put the bills in shape for floor debate. If
they don't go through committees and are not allowed floor
amendments, the quality of the legislation suffers and
mistakes are often made.
Let me give you some examples of how relationships can
produce results.
During the anthrax scare, the Hart Building was closed
for a month, which made it very difficult, of course, for
Senators based there to do their work. So Senator Dianne
Feinstein's staff joined in my offices in the Russell
Building. My chief of staff at the time gave them full
access. One of Senator Feinstein's staff members commented
on that: A Republican office giving Democrats free rein?
But my chief of staff said, ``They had full access because
we trusted them.''
Senator Feinstein and I have teamed up to pass important
legislation--the Hutchison-Feinstein Overseas Basing
Commission--that studied the training capabilities and
costs of overseas military bases to determine their value
compared to American bases. This resulted in consolidation
and closures that brought thousands of troops back to the
United States where training and rapid deployment were
superior. We passed the Feinstein-Hutchison Breast Cancer
Research Stamp bill that, through voluntary purchase, has
raised $72 million for breast cancer research. That was
Senator Feinstein's idea. Senator Feinstein and I took the
AMBER Alert for abducted children nationwide, which has
accounted for rescuing almost 600 children since its
passage.
I remember when Senator Hillary Clinton stopped by with
her chief of staff to wish me happy birthday the first
year she was in the Senate. It was just a few months after
she had arrived, and my staff was surprised--and possibly
a bit star struck--to see the former First Lady walk into
the room. We went on to work together on Vital Voices, a
global partnership dedicated to supporting and empowering
women leaders and social entrepreneurs in emerging
economies. We also teamed up with Senators Mikulski and
Collins to assure public schools had the option to offer
single-sex schools and classes, after I visited with
Secretary of Education Rod Paige and the Young Women's
Leadership Academy in the Harlem area of New York City--
one of the first and most successful pilot projects for
girls' public schools, with which I know the Presiding
Officer is very familiar.
I remember the time I invited Senator Barbara Mikulski
to Texas, because she and I have worked together
supporting NASA for so many years, and this year she had
been chair and I ranking member of the Appropriations
subcommittee funding NASA. We went to visit the Johnson
Space Center because I wanted her to see the great work
they are doing there. Then I took her to the Houston rodeo
because I wanted her to see the Texas culture. Well, I am
not sure the Senator who grew up in the inner city of
Baltimore knew exactly how people would dress at the
rodeo, but suffice it to say there were a lot of
rhinestones and cowboy boots and big hair and big hats.
Senator Mikulski whispered to me during this time, ``Kay,
if we were here Monday and we went to the chamber of
commerce, would these people look like this?'' I said,
``Yeah, pretty much.''
Senator Mikulski and I also teamed up to pass the
Homemaker IRA, to make sure our stay-at-home moms and dads
would have the same opportunity for retirement security
savings that those who work outside the home have, and it
has been a huge success. We also cosponsored the National
Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. She is
a skilled legislator and a dear friend.
Senator Jay Rockefeller has been an outstanding chairman
of the Commerce Committee. We don't always agree, but as
the lead Democrat and Republican we have worked hard to
reach consensus, and we have gotten things done--the FAA
bill started the planning for the next generation of air
traffic control systems; the highway bill; the NASA
reauthorization that ensured we would keep the focus on
our space program that has been instrumental in our
national security and economic development, with
tremendous help from Senator Bill Nelson, who is the only
one among us today who has actually been into space.
In a Congress that has been marked by little progress,
we have found a way forward. For some, that might not be
something to take pride in. But we have served the
American people by passing legislation that keeps the
country running, and I am very proud of what we have been
able to accomplish. Our Commerce Committee has been one of
the most productive in the whole Congress. And I count him
as a friend.
Leader Mitch McConnell has guided our party and our
conference through the past 6 years. He is a gifted leader
and one whom I have witnessed time and time again come up
with strategies that have gotten things done in the right
way.
Senator Jon Kyl and I have worked on immigration and
death tax relief. Senator Lamar Alexander and I have
championed the America COMPETES Act, so we would continue
the priority of scientific research and that we would
never fail to invest in research because it is the sequel
for our economy.
I am very pleased that the distinguished ranking member
of the Judiciary Committee and the Finance Committee--
Finance Committee now and Judiciary before--is also on the
Senate floor. He has been a wonderful friend to me,
helping me in my very first election when he was the rock
star at my fundraisers in Texas. I thank Senator Orrin
Hatch for his long membership in this body.
I have had the wonderful, good fortune to serve with two
colleagues from my home State. First, Senator Phil Gramm,
who was a wonderful mentor and colleague. They broke the
mold after Senator Gramm. We always enjoyed our school
rivalry--he being a Texas Aggie and me being a University
of Texas alum--they like to call them hopeless Tea-sips,
but we are proud Longhorns.
I have had a great relationship with my other Senator,
who is soon going to be the senior Senator from Texas,
John Cornyn. John Cornyn, I am very pleased to say, is
going to get the opportunity that I have had all these
years when people trip up and introduce me as the senior
citizen of Texas. I turn that mantle over to my colleague,
Senator Cornyn.
I am very proud he is going to be the deputy Republican
leader in the next Congress. I know he is going to be a
steady hand at the wheel as we try to steer the ship of
state in the right direction. He has proven time and again
that his steady leadership is the one that rises to the
top. I thank him for being on the floor as well today.
In fact, I want to praise our entire Texas congressional
delegation. We call it Team Texas. It is a spirit that
holds our delegation together, Republicans and Democrats.
I have noted that there are those in Washington who think
Texans are a little too loud, and we have a little too
much fun, but I can assure everyone that Team Texas'
hearts are as big as our mouths.
It has been a long and wonderful 19-plus years. We hit
the ground running, and we have never stopped. When I was
first elected in a special election in 1993, we had two--
actually four full planeloads of people flying up for my
swearing in. Because it was a special election, we filled
the entire gallery. Those rowdy Texans were so happy to
watch my little swearing in ceremony. It was a great day
for me, as well as my wonderful and loyal friends and
supporters.
I started having weekly constituent coffees that first
year because there were so many visitors from Texas and I
wanted to make sure at least there was one time every week
that any Texan who was here who wanted to see me could
come and visit and was welcome. So every Thursday morning
around 9 or 9:30 we would have a coffee. The person in
charge of this first effort was the wife of a three-star
general who volunteered her time in our offices. I think
it was as much her handling of the event as the idea
itself that has led many other Senators to take up this
practice and get a chance to always visit with their
constituents at least once a week if they were otherwise
going to committee meetings or having to do their work and
were not able to see everyone. I want to thank Gert Clark
for putting her stamp on our Senate hospitality.
Some of the most powerful moments that will stay with me
forever were spent with our members of the military.
Visiting with them where they are in harm's way across the
world is one of the most moving of all experiences. I will
never forget the first time, in the early 1990s, flying
into Sarajevo in an undercover C-130 that was disguised as
a Red Cross delivery of peas--2,000 pounds of peas that we
actually had on the C-130--and I have to say my good
friend, Danny Inouye, was on that trip with us, as I look
over at his empty desk with the white flowers, as was
Senator Ted Stevens. We flew in to see our troops in
Bosnia.
Later I went back to Bosnia to spend Easter with our
troops where we had the most beautiful Easter sunrise
service I have ever attended or ever will. It was in an
open-air hangar with our service men and women who were
deployed there. For the first time it was a Texas Guard
unit that was in command of the base, and it was the first
time since the Korean war that we had a Guard unit in
command of an operation overseas. They did a great job,
which led to many Guard units from other States also to
take command of bases and operations.
I flew out of Baghdad--this was in the last few years--
in another C-130 when there were no lights on the plane
and no lights on the runway to make sure there was no clue
to the enemy that we were leaving when they were firing
missiles around the airport. Or the times I had visited
Afghanistan, where the first time I visited with Senator
McCain, our troops were sleeping on cots. There were
probably 600 or 700 cots in an old Russian-built aircraft
hangar, before anything had been brought in for living
quarters for our troops. All of their belongings were
under their cots, and that was all they had for that first
mission into Afghanistan.
I have always been one who has such great respect and
gratitude for our men and women in uniform. They put their
lives on the line and pledge to give their all for our
freedom. The power to wage war is an enormous one, and the
weight of its responsibility should rest heavy on our
shoulders.
I leave this Chamber proud to have worked to assure our
men and women in uniform have the best training, the best
equipment, and the quality of life to do the job we are
asking them to do. Because of my deep respect for our
Armed Forces, my first choice of committees when I came in
1993 was Armed Services, and I was honored to be the first
woman in 20 years to chair a subcommittee on Armed
Services. The woman before me was Margaret Chase Smith. As
the only woman to chair the Senate Republican Policy
Committee, I was pleased to be a part of Republican
leadership for many years--again, the first since Margaret
Chase Smith.
When I was first running for office I said I wanted to
make things better for our sons and open for our
daughters. I leave the Senate knowing that January will
see the greatest number of female Senators in our Nation's
history. I know the torch will be carried on by the next
generation.
It is no secret that Texans have a particular sense of
State pride. I am no exception. I have deep Texas roots.
The Senate seat that I hold first belonged to Thomas
Jefferson Rusk, my great-great-grandfather's law partner
and good friend. They both signed the Texas Declaration of
Independence from Mexico in 1836. That history reminds me
every day that we must protect the freedom that so many of
our ancestors fought to produce and retain. My colleague
sitting on the Senate floor is in the Sam Houston line,
and that is a proud line too. Thomas Jefferson Rusk and
Sam Houston were the commander in chief and secretary of
war of the Texas army when we fought for independence. It
is so fitting that those two were our first two selected
Senators when Texas became a State in 1845.
Each summer I take a week to tour one part of Texas on a
bus. It has been so much fun. We did the first one, which
was the El Camino Real de los Tejas that we had just
passed a bill to designate as a national historic trail,
and we went from the Louisiana border to the Mexican
border. It took us a week on the bus. It was so great that
we have done it every year since in a different part of
Texas. It is my State staff's favorite week of the year as
well.
I am one of the few to have had the opportunity and the
absolute pleasure to visit all 254 counties in Texas. I
have met Texans from all walks of life who have opened
their homes, their businesses, and shared their stories.
I will be sad to leave, but it is time. I believe
strongly that we should keep the lifeblood of Congress
pumping. It is good to have new waves of legislators come
in with fresh ideas and perspectives after every election.
But while I believe that new generations should invigorate
Congress, I also want to say a few words of praise for
experience.
Knowing the history of an issue is essential to monitor
progress. Knowing what an agency should be doing, knowing
what was put in law and why allows for better oversight.
The expertise of our longer serving Members is an
essential part of good governance.
I hope some of the priorities I have championed will
continue. Investment in science, technology, and higher
education, and encouraging more young people to study
science, technology, engineering, and math, known as STEM,
will make sure we are bringing forward those young minds
with the creativity and the engineering background to
create the economies for the future. It is so important.
This has been the lifeblood of our economy, and it must
continue.
Saving the manned space exploration program and ensuring
the long-term future of NASA is an essential generator for
our economy. Ensuring that stay-at-home moms and dads who
worked so hard raising children and contributing to the
community have Spousal IRAs to save for retirement, and
easing the marriage penalty by doubling the standard
deduction--these are a few of the things I hope will
continue to be championed as I leave.
It has been such an honor to serve in the Senate. I
leave with the hope that the values that built America
into the greatest nation on Earth will be protected so
that future generations will have the same opportunities
we have had in this great country, opportunities for which
our forebears sacrificed so much.
I yield the floor.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague
from Texas [Mrs. Hutchison] for her leadership on this and
so many other issues that we have worked on over the
years. One of my regrets in leaving the Senate is that I
will not be able to work with her, and she has said the
same thing about me. We will be off doing something else,
but we are not going to give up on some of the fights we
have been engaged in during these years. ...
Monday, December 10, 2012
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, last week I came to the
floor and was honored to give tributes to some of our
departing colleagues. Tonight I am going to take advantage
of this time to pay tribute to two other outstanding
Senators, colleagues and friends of mine whom I will miss
greatly. They are Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Senator
Scott Brown.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is
recognized.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, in her marvelous book
entitled American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped
Our Country, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison wrote the
following: ``No history can be written appropriately
without acknowledging the part women have played in
building the greatness of our country.''
As my valued colleague and good friend begins a new
chapter in her life, I hope she finds the time to add a
new chapter to her own book, one that will be fascinating,
inspiring--and autobiographical.
Like the women Kay celebrates as an author, from Amelia
Earhart to Sally Ride, from Clara Barton to Condoleezza
Rice, Kay Bailey Hutchison is a pioneer, a breaker of
barriers. In the special election in 1993, the people of
Texas made her the first woman to represent them in the
Senate. In the three regular elections since then, they
have confirmed their trust in her by ever-increasing
margins. As the leader of the Senate Commerce Committee,
Kay has been a strong voice for transportation systems
that are efficient, safe, and secure. In my own work on
the Homeland Security Committee, I am well aware of the
major role she played in drafting the airline security
bill that Congress passed after the attacks on 9/11/01.
She has also worked successfully to include more effective
air cargo screening.
From the America COMPETES Act to her steadfast support
for NASA, Kay is determined our country will not cede its
position as the world's leader in science, technology, and
space exploration. When the NASA rover Curiosity thrilled
all of us with its perfect landing on Mars this past
August, the hands of Kay's legislative leadership were on
the controls. Working with Kay as a member of the
Appropriations Committee, I know how dedicated she is to
ensuring that taxpayers' dollars are spent wisely and
efficiently. She is a champion for our small business
owners and for policies that promote free enterprise and
job creation.
Her complete commitment to the men and women of our
Armed Forces is reflected in her years of service on the
Armed Services Committee as well as the Military
Construction Subcommittee on Appropriations, and her
unanimous election this year to serve as chairman of the
Board of Visitors at West Point.
In the afterword to her book, Kay wrote that as a young
girl growing up in Texas she was so inspired by the lives
of great Americans that by the sixth grade she had
exhausted all of the biographies on the school library
shelf and had to turn elsewhere for book report material.
I am sure the story of her own contributions and
accomplishments will be avidly read by generations of
girls and boys to come.
I wish her all the best as she turns a new page in what
has truly been a remarkable life of public service.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce
legislation to rename the section of the Tax Code that is
currently known as the Spousal IRA so that it carries the
name of its champion--my friend and colleague from Texas--
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Senator Hutchison has been an excellent partner to work
with on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee
watching over the Nation's checkbook for investments in
research, discovery, innovation, and law enforcement. We
have sought to find the sensible center in addressing
issues like cancer research, building a balanced space
program at NASA, and most recently--on legislation to stop
inmates from using cell phones in prison.
Senator Hutchison must be recognized for her long-
standing advocacy for women. Her advocacy has been
steadfast. We have worked together on the women's health
agenda. We have mammogram standards in this country
because of the Hutchison-Mikulski amendment. We have
helped with breast cancer research funding because we have
worked together, and I could give example after example.
But what I rise to discuss today is the very first issue
that Senator Hutchison and I took on together--expanding
the availability of individual retirement accounts, IRAs,
for spouses who work at home. Along with Senator Kay
Bailey Hutchison, I am the author of the Spousal IRA bill.
I have always said that one of my principles is to
listen to the people and the stories of their lives. My
best ideas come from the people. The Spousal IRA bill was
one of those kinds of ideas. This bill was a product of
Senator Hutchison's personal experience before joining the
Senate. After putting aside money for her retirement as a
single working woman, Senator Hutchison found that she
could only put aside several hundred dollars in an IRA
once she married her husband.
This kind of policy, that discouraged women from saving
for retirement, was completely backward. Women tend to
live longer than men. Women are more likely to take years
off of work outside of the home because of family
responsibilities. And women are more likely to work in
jobs that don't have a pension.
When Senator Hutchison joined the Senate in 1993, she
came to me to sign on as the lead Democratic sponsor for
her idea to help women save for retirement. Together we
worked to build support for this bill and after 3 years
and 62 cosponsors, the Spousal IRA bill became the law of
the land.
Suddenly, women weren't limited to a small amount; they
could put away $2,000. All women--single, married, working
outside the home, or working at home--could set aside the
same amount for retirement. Over time, that amount has
grown, and so it is not $2,000, but it can be $2,500, or
$3,000, or $5,000, depending on a woman's age.
This law is important because it reflects the values of
our Nation, it rewards good parenting and families, and it
recognizes that not all work is done in the marketplace.
American families feel the pressure from all sides, paying
for their children's education, their homes, taking care
of elderly parents, and being prepared for unforeseen
emergency medical care costs. What the Spousal IRA law
finally said was, ``Moms and dads are struggling to do the
right thing for their family, and they should not be
penalized for staying at home.''
Earlier this year, an interviewer on PBS asked Senator
Hutchison what she's most proud of in her Senate career,
and she said the Spousal IRA. Senator Hutchison has a lot
to be proud of, but we must recognize her work in fixing
Federal policy to help women save for retirement. We
should amend the Tax Code so that women in America know
that they're benefiting from the Kay Bailey Hutchison
Spousal IRA.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise during this
morning business hour to speak--particularly during this
time of tension as we are looking at the fiscal cliff--to
really use a few minutes to pay a tribute to two
wonderful, outstanding Senators with whom I have served
and who will be leaving us at the end of this term. They
are wonderful women named Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine
and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, dear friends
across the aisle. Although they were on the other side of
the aisle, there was no great divide between us. We have
known each other for many years....
Then there is my good friend Kay Bailey Hutchison, who
has just come to the floor. I am glad she is going to be
here to hear what I am going to say about her. I hold her
in such enormously high esteem.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is known for her
competence, her strong character, and being an outstanding
champion for Texas, an advocate for women, and a real
patriot dedicated to serving our Nation. I too know her as
a dear friend, someone deeply committed to creating that
zone of civility among the women in the Senate.
When Senator Hutchison arrived in the Senate in 1983,
there were prickly politics beginning to emerge. She came
from the Texas Legislature and knew the dynamics of a
rough-and-tumble legislative body. As we worked together
on something called the Homemaker IRA, we said, ``Why
don't we just get together to see if we can create a zone
of civility?'' That was when we brought the women together
for those monthly dinners. The rules were no staff, no
leaks, and no memos. We talked about everything from
hairdos to the hair-raising and how we could stop the
Global War on Terror and fight the deadly scourge against
breast cancer. We worked together, again across the aisle.
In 1992 we also worked to hold these power workshops to
make sure every woman would know how to get started in the
Senate, and we worked together on that.
The other thing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and I
helped establish was that we could disagree without being
disagreeable. We, the women of the Senate, do not have a
caucus because we represent States. That is what the
Constitution says is our job--we are here to represent
States. We also have different philosophies and viewpoints
on governance.
A story I like to tell is that during debate on the
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Senator Hutchison and I
agreed on absolutely the same goal: equal pay for equal or
comparable work for women. However, we disagreed on the
means. Senator Hutchison had about nine amendments, and we
duked it out here. We went earring-to-earring in terms of
our debate, and the Senate commented on what intellectual
rigor it had, what a sense of comity and exchanging of
ideas. At the end of the day, we not only passed the
legislation, but we did it in a way where everybody could
feel proud of the process. Why can't we do that every day?
Gee, I wish we could.
Then working with Senator Hutchison--and this is how we
got started, was on the Homemaker IRA. This was Senator
Hutchison's idea. She came to me and she said, ``You know,
Senator Barb, they are stay-at-home moms, and they are
limited to several hundred dollars that they can
contribute to an IRA. If they have the money and if they
have the will and the wallet, we should give them the same
tax opportunities as if they were working in the
marketplace because their work at home should be valued as
well.''
Absolutely. We changed that legislation. I have pending
here legislation to permanently change the name of that
Homemaker IRA to the Hutchison IRA because she really did
lead the way. I was an able ally, and we made a
difference.
So I could go through item after item--the way we have
worked on breast cancer together, the way we have worked
on appropriations. She was my ranking member on Commerce-
Justice-Science. We have worked together on the space
program. We have worked together to keep our areas safe.
From the start, we shared a personal commitment that
technology and space could help America remain
exceptional, a belief in supporting research and science,
leading to new ideas that would be not only new areas that
we would explore but new technologies for new products and
new jobs. Yes, I visited her down at mission control, and
I have been there during the great research we were able
to see being done in that area.
Remember, the home of the Komen Foundation is in Texas.
Senator Hutchison was very clear that she wanted to be
sure that she too was an advocate for women's health. We
worked together on mammogram quality standards. Were you
aware that in the early days--and I know that sometimes we
sound like we built the Pyramids together when I tell
these stories; it is both ancient history and a recent
reality. If you went into a doctor's office 10, 12 years
ago for a mammogram, you might have gotten a chest x ray
and they would have called it a mammogram. It was often
given by untrained technicians. There were no standards
for the equipment that it would really work the way it was
supposed to work, and it was often uncalibrated and
ineffectual.
Senator Hutchison and I worked using sound science,
thorough hearings, working with the Institute of Medicine,
FDA, and the National Institute of Standards. Now if you
go into your doctor's office for that mammogram, you will
see a certificate from your government that says this is a
place where you know the technology will work and the
people who will be giving it will be trained. You know,
once again, this is early detection and screening, saving
lives a million at a time. Isn't that fantastic? Again,
across the aisle, we were able to do that.
We also did a book together. She was the leader in
helping us publish our famous book, Nine and Counting.
Maybe there will be time for another book, but when the
chapter of the history of the Senate is written, we want
to be sure that the chapter really includes a big
statement to the work of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Again, in this institution it is the personal
relationships built often on policy. I went to Texas to
tour the space program with Senator Hutchison. That is
where we heard about the National Space Biomedical
Research Institute at Baylor. When I was there, I met
Senator Hutchison's brother, who faced the same blood
cancer disease Geraldine Ferraro faced. Gerry and her
brother became fast friends, so Kay and Barb teamed up.
Again, we pushed research at NIH. Cancer knows no party.
It knows no ZIP Code. It knows no ideology. But it knows
that we need to work together to be able to do it. On that
wonderful day of friendship, we learned the best ideas
will come out of our work in the space program to deal
with the dread cancer word. The kinds of things that we
study in space will help us be more effective here on
Earth.
Kay invited me to the Houston livestock show and rodeo.
Now, I grew up in Baltimore, and you have been there many
times yourself. You know it is a city known for its row
houses, not for its rodeos.
Kay invited me to come to the rodeo in the Astrodome. I
showed up, to her surprise. I had little boots, a cowboy
hat, and a vest. She put me in a buckboard, and, to ``Deep
in the Heart of Texas,'' we circled the Astrodome
together. I was in a buckboard, and she was on a palomino
next to me. The American flags were waving, and so was I,
yelling ``giddy up, little dogie.'' At the end of the
evening, I was there munching on barbecue, affectionately
called Buckboard Barb--and I have the pictures to show it.
They are locked up. I don't widely distribute them. But it
was a heck of an evening.
I say that because, again, out of that comes great
friendships that also lead to paving the way to where we
put our heads together to solve our national problems and
to do it in a way where we get the best ideas from a
variety of government approaches. At the end of the day,
we feel better, and America is better off.
I am pretty emotional, actually, when I think about Kay
and Olympia. We have been together a long time. We welcome
the Acting President pro tempore and your generation, but
for those of us who maybe didn't build the Pyramids--and I
hope Senator Hutchison can say the same--there is a lot of
meaning in a Latin phrase I learned in Catholic girls
school many years ago: Exegi monumentum aere perennius: We
will build a monument more lasting than bronze.
When Senator Hutchison returns to Texas again to find a
new way to serve the people of this country, she will know
that here in this institution, along with Senator Olympia
Snowe, they built monuments to last far longer than any
statues made of bronze. They made a difference in the
lives of people, and they have done it in a way they can
be proud of and for which we can all be grateful.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from
Texas.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. I am so touched by the comments of my
colleague Senator Mikulski about myself and Olympia
[Snowe]. I appreciate so much that she has singled us out
because Senator Mikulski is a pioneer. She didn't build
the Pyramids, I might say, but it was close. She was in
the House first and then came to the Senate. She is our
longest serving woman Senator and she will probably be
dean of all the Senate at some point because she is a
legend. She is a legend in the Senate, she is a legend in
Maryland, and she is a legend in our country.
I think back now on the things we have been able to
accomplish--and it was not just because we were women--
here in this deliberative body where we have 100 people
representing 50 very different States. It is not that the
men were against anything we have teamed up to do, but it
is because of our experiences that we brought to the
table. Sometimes it wasn't thought of before Senator
Mikulski and other women came.
I will point out a couple of things and embellish a
little on what the Senator said. When we wrote the book
Nine and Counting, there were nine women in the Senate at
the time. But it came from something much bigger. It came
from a meeting Senator Mikulski pulled together of the
women of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was the
Catholics and the Protestants who were trying to probe the
women Senators, the nine of us who were here, about how
they could be effective in making peace in Northern
Ireland.
When we started telling our stories to them, to
encourage them that they could make a difference in
Northern Ireland, Barbara Mikulski and I looked at each
other and we said: You know, there is a book here. There
is a book about the obstacles women have faced getting to
the U.S. Senate and a book that can encourage our girls
and young women to play a part in settling the major
issues of our country.
From that background, we contacted Bob Barnett, who was
an agent of Senators and House Members who write books,
and also Cabinet members and Presidents, and we said we
would like to get together and write a book. He
immediately got to work. It was Claire Wachtel at
HarperCollins who said: ``Oh, I love this. I love it.''
She got a writer who went to each of us and interviewed us
and then wrote our stories, which were in our own words.
Afterward, we got together and decided to give all of
the proceeds to the Girl Scouts of America, which was a
common organization that had affected almost every one of
the women at the time. The Girl Scouts were giving
leadership capabilities to the girls in our country. I had
been a Girl Scout and so had Barbara. Our book is still in
print and it has raised tens of thousands, if not hundreds
of thousands, of dollars for the Girl Scouts to continue
their leadership programs. And it all came from something
we learned about each other.
I think the multiple myeloma disease, which my brother
has, and which Geraldine Ferraro had, was another area
where Barbara and I bonded. I bonded with Geraldine
Ferraro too, who was a champion for women up and coming in
our political system. She encouraged me a lot.
Together with Barbara Mikulski, who was a dear friend of
Geraldine Ferraro's, and who spoke at her funeral--we both
went to that funeral--we were able to pass legislation
that provided funding for research and education for
multiple myeloma. We named it the Geraldine Ferraro
Multiple Myeloma Education Program so that more could be
learned about this very rare disease.
Gerry was a fighter and she only died a year and a half
ago. My brother is a fighter and he is still doing great.
Now, because of our research, we are maintaining and we
are letting people live a quality life because we teamed
up.
Barbara told the story, but I will tell the other side--
the rest of the story--about the Houston rodeo, because
they still talk about Buckboard Barb. She came to the
rodeo from her ethnic background in Baltimore, and she was
such a great sport. I was riding my horse in the grand
entry and Barb was in the buckboard. She was waving and
having the best time, and of course all of us were in our
rodeo attire, which was sort of foreign to Barb, I have to
say. But she was right in there with her boots and her big
cowgirl hairdo. Barbara leaned over to me at one of the
rodeo events and she said, ``OK, Kay, if we were here
Monday morning and we went to a chamber of commerce
meeting, would these people look like this?''
I still tell that story in Houston, TX, which they love,
and, of course, I said, ``Oh, yeah,'' which wasn't true. I
loved it. She was the best sport, and they still talk
about her. They did give her a cowboy hat that was to die
for.
Let me mention one other thing. I know Senator Akaka is
here, so I won't take up much more time. We teamed up on
the issue of single-sex schools. The Senator from Maryland
mentioned her Catholic girls school upbringing. Well,
Hillary Clinton, Barbara Mikulski, Susan Collins, and
myself teamed up to ensure that every girl in this country
has the opportunity, if their school board decides to
offer it as an option, to go to a girls school. Likewise,
for every boy whose school board decides that it would be
better for boys--in middle school especially and high
school. We teamed up after about 15 years of trying,
starting with Jack Danforth from Missouri. He started the
effort to allow single-sex schools in our public entities
in America. When I came here in 1993, we finally passed it
with our coalition saying: We know this can be better for
some girls and some boys. Not all.
I will say to the distinguished Acting President pro
tempore that it was the Young Women's Leadership Academy
in Harlem, NY, that gave us the courage to say this can be
done, because they fought all the efforts to not allow it;
all the lawsuits. They stood up. Hillary Clinton went to
visit the Young Women's Leadership Academy, and I took Rod
Paige, the Secretary of Education, right there to New York
and I said, ``Secretary Paige, we can do this for all
Americans. We can.'' Hillary and I and Barbara and Susan
said, ``We are going to do it.'' We did, and it was a
great accomplishment.
I just want to end by saying that I so appreciate
Barbara Mikulski and John Cornyn introducing the bill to
name the Homemaker IRA for me. It means so much to me,
because I experienced as a young single woman starting an
IRA, getting married, and being told I couldn't provide
any more for my own retirement security. I knew there were
so many women who, through divorce or the death of a
husband, had gone in and out of the workforce or never
been in the outside workforce, couldn't save for their own
retirement security. When I went to Barbara, I said,
``Barbara, it is a Democratic Senate, so I will make this
bill the Mikulski-Hutchison bill to get it passed.''
Senator Mikulski said, ``Not on your life, it will be
Hutchison-Mikulski because it is your idea.'' And she
worked just as hard as if it were the reverse. That says
more about the Senator from Maryland than anything I could
say. So thank you, Barbara, for introducing the bill that
would name it for me because I know it will help women
long after I leave.
I yield the floor.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my
colleague, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who will be
leaving the Senate at the end of this term. Senator
Hutchison has represented the State of Texas in the Senate
since her election in 1993.
Senator Hutchison has deep Texas roots, with her great-
great-grandfather signing the Texas Declaration of
Independence in 1836. Growing up in La Marque, TX, Senator
Hutchison has represented her State as only a true Texan
could. Senator Hutchison attended the University of Texas
at Austin, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree. She
then went on to earn her J.D. from the University of Texas
Law School in 1967. Senator Hutchison began her career as
a political and legal reporter for KPRC in Houston.
In 1972 Senator Hutchison began her long career of
public service by twice being elected to represent Houston
in the Texas House of Representatives. In 1990 she was
elected Texas State treasurer. In 1993 Senator Hutchison
won a special election, becoming the first and only woman
to date to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. She has
continued to represent Texas for almost 20 years in the
Senate, repeatedly winning her seat by overwhelming
margins, including her reelection in 2000 with more votes
than any statewide candidate in Texas history.
Throughout her Senate career Senator Hutchison has been
known as a strong leader on defense issues. In 1993
Senator Hutchison became the first woman to serve on the
Senate Armed Services Committee since 1974. In 2003
Senator Hutchison introduced the legislation creating an
overseas basing commission, which ensured our forces were
capable of meeting the threats we face in the 21st
century. Following the September 11 attacks Senator
Hutchison was instrumental in securing provisions to
increase air cargo screening as part of the National
Intelligence Reform Act.
Senator Hutchison has also been a champion of education
during her time in the Senate. She has used her firm
belief that every child is deserving of a quality
education to advocate for increased investments in
science, technology, and education.
Senator Hutchison has served the people of the State of
Texas with integrity. I wish her success in whatever she
chooses to do in the next chapter of her life.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay
tribute to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who will be
retiring at the end of the year. Senator Hutchison has
been a dear friend and colleague for a long time. She has
always been ready to offer wise counsel, and I have
usually listened.
It is truly bittersweet saying goodbye to Kay. On the
one hand, I understand her desire to spend more time with
Bailey and Houston; we are all glad she will now be able
to cheer from the sidelines at their soccer games. On the
other hand, we will miss seeing them practice their corner
kicks on the second floor of the Russell Building.
By the way, if you have ever been with Kay on one of her
early morning power walks, you know where her kids get
their energy. I am told Kay has worn out multiple Members
of Congress, several staffers, and quite a few others on
those walks. It is a fitting metaphor for her career.
There are so many talents in the Senate, it is easy to
forget what remarkable stories many of them have. Senator
Hutchison's is without question one of the most
impressive.
Raised in an era when women were a rarity in politics,
Kay forged her own path, kicking open the door of
opportunity wherever she went. In the process, she has
come to personify Texan independence; which is entirely
fitting, since one of Kay's great-great-grandfathers
signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Kay's many successes in life are a testament to her
personal toughness and determination in the face of what
would have seemed like insurmountable obstacles to many
lesser talents. Though she was ``brought up,'' as she once
put it, ``to be a lady, to have good manners--and to be
ready to get married,'' she always excelled in school. She
was one of just a handful of women, out of a class of
hundreds, to graduate from her University of Texas Law
School class in 1967.
Kay hit what she called her ``first brick wall'' after
graduation. Law firms in Texas just were not hiring women
back then, so she turned to an industry that would give
her a chance, becoming Houston's first female news
reporter. Indeed, thanks to Kay's success, two competing
Houston networks hired female reporters within 6 months of
her arrival at KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate, in 1967.
Appropriately, Kay was assigned to cover the Texas
Legislature, and she gave it her all.
Having inherited her dad's work ethic, she was soon
being encouraged to run for office herself. At the time,
few women served in the Texas Legislature, and not a
single female Republican had ever been elected to the
State house. But Kay had an idea: if those law firms were
not going to let her interpret the law, she might as well
ask her neighbors if they would elect her to make the law.
So, at the age of 28, Kay ran for the Texas House. She
dispatched her male opponents with ease, becoming 1 of
just 13 Republicans elected that year to the 150-member
Texas House. It was a tough transition. Kay says that as a
cheerleader at UT, she was not really prepared for the
combat of politics. As a cheerleader, she said, she wanted
everybody to like her. But she overcame that too. Kay has
engaged in a lot of tough battles over the years, and she
has won most of them.
One story along those lines relates to Kay's office over
in Russell. Anybody who has ever been there knows that it
is at the end of a dead-end hallway, and that at the very
end stands a very large flag of Texas. Apparently, when
Kay put the flag out, the staff director of the Rules
Committee did not like it. He thought it violated a rule,
so he mentioned it to his boss, Senator John Warner.
Legend has it that Senator Warner nodded gravely at the
young man and told him he was free to approach Senator
Hutchison, but that he had no intention of taking on the
mission himself. She is tough.
Following her service in the State legislature, Kay
worked as a businesswoman before winning election as State
treasurer in 1990. Three years later, when Senator Lloyd
Bentsen accepted an offer to become President Clinton's
Treasury Secretary, Kay jumped into the race to replace
him. Once again, she bested another all-male field to
advance to a runoff against Bentsen's appointed successor,
trouncing the incumbent Democrat with nearly 70 percent of
the vote, and becoming the first woman to represent the
Nation's second-largest State in the U.S. Senate.
Kay came to Washington ready to work. She established
herself early on as a leader on transportation and NASA,
and as a fighter for lower taxes, and smaller, smarter
government. Kay won acclaim as an advocate for science and
competitiveness, helped secure bipartisan support for the
landmark America COMPETES Act, and she became known
throughout the State for the close attention she paid to
constituents.
Shortly after her election to the Senate, Kay began a
tradition--imitated by many others since--of holding
weekly constituent meetings over coffee whenever the
Senate is in session. The groups usually range in size
from about 100 to 150, and at any given coffee you might
come across families in Bermuda shorts, bankers in
pinstripes, or college football players. Over the years,
Kay has hosted about 50,000 people in her office through
these coffees, but her attention to constituent service
goes well beyond that. Back home, she is one of few
politicians in Texas who have actually visited all 254
counties, some of which are home to more cattle than
people. During Kay's tenure, her office has helped broker
the rescue of a Texan from atop Mt. Everest, evacuated an
oil worker and students during a revolution in Albania,
evacuated tourists from Machu Picchu after a flood, and
helped evacuate workers and missionaries from Haiti after
the devastating hurricanes of 2008.
All of us are grateful to Senator Hutchison for her work
in finally recognizing the hundreds of female Army Air
Force pilots, or WASPs, who flew noncombat missions in
World War II, so male pilots would be free for combat
missions. Thirty-eight of these women lost their lives
performing their duties. We thank Senator Hutchison for
raising awareness of their service and their sacrifice and
honoring their memory. Senator Hutchison's thoughts are
never far from our men and women in uniform. Her office
walls are filled with photos of her visits with our troops
in Bosnia, Iraq, and elsewhere. In the runup to the Budget
Control Act, she authored a bill to assure service men and
women would be paid in the event of a government shutdown,
recruiting more than 80 cosponsors. She served as chair
and ranking member of the Military Construction
Subcommittee on Appropriations. She was a tenacious
advocate for Texas during a series of BRACs, and the
results speak for themselves: Today, one out of five Army
and Air Force personnel are stationed at military
installations in Texas, many of which were once considered
likely candidates for closing.
Throughout her Senate career, Kay has worked hard to
develop and maintain close relationships with fellow
female Senators from both parties. As a result of those
friendships, Kay helped coauthor the book Nine and
Counting: The Women of the Senate in 2000, teamed up with
Senator Feinstein to create the AMBER Alert System, and
coauthored legislation with Senator Mikulski to provide
stay-at-home moms with the same tax credit opportunities
as working women. One of her proudest achievements was to
lead the successful fight to lessen the marriage penalties
in our Tax Code.
As the ranking member on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, Kay has wielded outsize influence, partly
due to her strong working relationship with Chairman
Rockefeller, who sometimes refers to her as his
cochairperson. I can say for myself that having Kay at the
leadership table has been a tremendous asset as I have
navigated challenges over the years.
A truly gifted politician, Kay secured reelection by
wide margins in 1994, 2000, and 2006, and still holds the
record for most votes in Texas history. One reason is she
will work with anyone--even those with whom she might not
typically agree--if it helps Texas.
While I know many are sorry to see this giant of Texas
politics leave the arena in Washington, I am sure every
one of them admires the spirit in which she returns to Ray
and the kids and their busy Dallas home. Kay, on behalf of
the entire Senate, thank you for your extraordinary
service and for your friendship.
I know you won't miss having to answer to that buzzer
anymore, but we will miss you. It has been a privilege to
serve with you. On behalf of the entire Senate family, I
wish you all the very best.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, Texans have a profound
sense of history, and it is only appropriate that Senator
Hutchison should mention the fact [in her farewell
address] that we both come from long lines of Texans,
starting with Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who first held her
Senate seat, and Sam Houston, who held the Senate seat I
hold. I will never forget Senator Hutchison coming to the
floor of the Senate every March 2, Texas Independence Day,
and regaling the Chamber with Travis' letter from the
Alamo, reminding everyone about another important event in
Texas history, a tradition which she carried on after
Senator John Tower did for so many years when he served
here.
This is a historic moment for many reasons. First,
because we are paying tribute to an extraordinary woman
who has made history by being the first Texas female U.S.
Senator and someone who has spent the last two decades
fighting for commonsense values in our Nation's Capital.
While it is hard to summarize Senator Hutchinson's great
work in just a few short minutes, I am going to try. I am
going to try to highlight some of her signature
achievements and explain why she enjoys such outstanding
support from her constituents back in our great State.
To start with, I cannot think of any Senator serving in
this Chamber who works harder than Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Sometimes I affectionately refer to her as the Energizer
Bunny of the Texas delegation. She is tireless and she is
relentless in her pursuit of what she believes is in the
best interests of the constituents in our State.
As she mentioned, she has been a tireless advocate for
Texas military families. We take great pride in the fact
that 1 out of every 10 individuals who wears the uniform
of the U.S. military calls Texas home. Of course, some of
the most powerful tributes to Kay's legacy are what I have
heard from our men and women in uniform.
It is no exaggeration to say every military base in
Texas has felt the impact of her work on various Senate
committees. I know how deeply proud Kay is of the work she
has done to help the troops stationed in Texas from Fort
Bliss in the west to the Red River Army Depot in the
east--which I dare say she pretty much singlehandedly
saved from being BRACed the last time that occurred--from
Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls to the Naval Air
Force Base in Corpus Christi in the south. Not only has
Kay worked to provide our troops with the resources they
need, she has done a whole lot to help returning veterans
and, of course, their families.
We always talk about supporting our troops when they are
deployed overseas, but we spend less time--indeed not
enough time--discussing ways to help them assimilate back
into civilian life. As the son of a U.S. Air Force veteran
who spent 31 years in the Air Force, I am acutely aware,
as Kay is, it is not just those who wear the uniform who
serve but their families as well.
Many returning vets and their families encounter a whole
range of social and economic hardships that can be hard to
overcome. Most notably, the unemployment rate among our
returning vets from Afghanistan and Iraq is significantly
higher than for the general population, something I know
Kay has worked on extensively. She has also worked to get
our veterans the medical assistance, the job training, and
the financial support they need. Indeed, I don't know of
any Senator who has done more to help America's heroes
adjust to life after the military. That is just one of the
reasons why she will be sorely missed.
Here is another reason Kay will be missed. She has
fought time and time again to promote tax relief for hard-
working Texas families. In the mid-1990s, as she alluded,
she helped to create the so-called Homemaker IRA to make
sure stay-at-home moms and dads were able to save for
their retirement on an equal basis with their counterparts
who worked outside the home. I know it is one of her
proudest achievements, and I am proud to join with the
Senator from Maryland, Ms. Barbara Mikulski, in attempting
to rename this IRA the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA in
her honor. I hope we can join together and honor Senator
Hutchison by getting that done before we close out our
business this year.
Kay, of course, has always championed the State sales
tax deduction, which may not seem like a big deal to
others in this Chamber, but it is a big deal back home in
Texas as a matter of fundamental fairness because we don't
have a State income tax. I daresay we never will have a
State income tax as long as I draw a breath. However, we
do pay State sales taxes, and it is only fair that Texas
enjoys the same sort of deductibility for the State sales
tax that other States have enjoyed for the State income
taxes.
Kay has also worked to reduce the marriage penalty tax.
She has been a strong defender of taxpayer interests, and
her efforts have made the Tax Code less hostile to saving
and to families.
She alluded to her great work with NASA. She is one of
the Senate's leading supporters of NASA and human space
flight. NASA has contributed historical technological
breakthroughs that have benefited all Americans. Kay
appreciates the vital importance of basic scientific
research, long-term American prosperity, and the role NASA
has played in fostering innovation. She has long said and
advocated for support for NASA because she believes that
when we support NASA, we are supporting technologies and
the jobs of the future. That is why Kay has done so much
to help the Johnson Space Center and our universities to
promote Texas as a research State.
Her beloved University of Texas is grateful for her
support over the years, which is one reason they will soon
launch the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Latin American
Law.
Kay has also crafted legislation that has benefited some
of the most vulnerable Americans. Her work on behalf of
missing and exploited children includes the national AMBER
Alert Network, which she introduced back in 2003. As she
said earlier, this law has helped to rescue about 600
abducted children who would not have benefited but for her
work. That is a remarkable achievement, and it is more
than just a number when we count the human lives that have
been so dramatically affected by her work.
A final note. As I said, Senator Hutchison has made
history serving as the first woman to serve the great
State of Texas in the Senate. Kay has always been a
pioneer of sorts. As a father of two daughters, that means
a lot to me. I am used to being surrounded at home by
strong, intelligent women, but having served with Kay, I
have also been a partner with a strong, intelligent Texas
woman. Kay has been a role model for so many young women,
not just in Texas but throughout the United States. I am
honored to be her colleague and I am proud to be her
friend.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison leaves behind a tremendous
legacy of which she, Ray, and her children can be proud.
She has a legacy that will long be celebrated by Texans
from El Paso to Caddo Lake and from Amarillo to
Brownsville. Everyone in this Chamber will miss her, and I
know I speak for all my colleagues when I wish her the
very best in the next exciting chapter of her life.
I join with my colleagues in saying to the Senator, vaya
con Dios.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to join everyone here
in thanking Kay for her great service in the Senate. I
have worked closely with her on a wide variety of issues.
I have to say she is a fierce advocate. In fact, I have to
say all our women Senators have been fierce advocates, and
we have benefited from them being here.
Kay has paved the way for Senators--both male and
female--to truly become better Senators and in many cases
great Senators. Kay Bailey Hutchison is a great Senator.
She worked her guts out the whole time she was here. She
is still here, but she is going to retire at this time and
she has represented Texas well.
All I can say is she has been my friend all this time.
When I needed help from her, she was always there. I tried
to be there for her when she needed help as well. She has
not only been a delightful person to be around but a very
intelligent lawyer. She fought for what she believed--most
of which I believed in--in a way nobody could truly ever
get mad at Kay Bailey Hutchison.
She is a wonderful person, wonderful mother, and we are
going to miss her terribly. This is a body where we could
use a few more women Senators--maybe a lot more than a
few. They are very good people who work very hard and not
the least of whom is Kay Bailey Hutchison.
I remember at times when I had difficulties with the
BRAC system and difficulties with special NASA problems,
and so forth, we always worked together. We could always
count on her to come up with intelligent solutions to some
of the problems that should not have existed but did.
I have personally appreciated her very much during those
times and in so many other ways as we worked together on
legislation to help this country and as we worked to
represent our respective States. I have so much respect
for Texas, the people of Texas, and what they stand for. I
have great respect for these Texan Senators who are two of
the best we have ever had in the Senate.
Senator Hutchison has been an exemplary Senator, not
just for women but for all of us. She has also set some
standards that I think both women and male Senators are
going to have to try to emulate.
I just want to say to the Senator that we love her, we
appreciate her, and we wish her the very best. We are
going to miss her. This is one Senator who will miss her
greatly, and I want her to know that. All I can say is God
be with her.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my
colleagues in commending and congratulating our
distinguished colleague from Texas. Her service in the
Senate has truly been outstanding, and she has made an
impact in our Committee on Appropriations. We have
deliberated about the funding of all the Federal agencies
and departments of the Federal Government. She has been
very careful. She is very serious about her
responsibilities, and I am glad to be here today to wish
her well in the years ahead and compliment her on a very
distinguished career in the Senate.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, Michigan and Texas have much
in common, despite the fact they are North versus South,
cowboy boots versus snowshoes, mesquite versus pine.
One of the things we have in common is water. Our States
are, economically, historically, and culturally tied to
great waters: Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, Michigan to the
Great Lakes. This shared interest has afforded me the
pleasure of working alongside Senator Kay Bailey
Hutchison, a true Texas pioneer.
As the lead cosponsor of the Harbor Maintenance Act,
Senator Hutchison has been an invaluable ally in the
effort to ensure that America's harbors receive the
maintenance funding they need to help our economy grow.
Her efforts were instrumental in recruiting 37 cosponsors
on our bill and in securing language regarding harbor
maintenance for the first time in a transportation bill.
Her efforts have made a significant difference in the
lives of the thousands of American workers whose jobs are
directly tied to well-maintained harbors, from the Port of
Galveston to the scores of ports dotting Michigan's
shoreline.
Senator Hutchison has shown important leadership on
other transportation issues, such as a more equitable
formula for Federal surface transportation funding, and
for adequate funding for State maritime academies,
including academies in Texas and Michigan, that help meet
the needs of our commercial shipping industry as well as
the Department of Defense.
She has been an able and dedicated advocate for our
Nation's veterans. She pioneered the concept of the
Homemaker IRA, which helped millions of American women
achieve greater retirement security. She has energetically
pushed for stronger science and educational programs,
including the establishment of a groundbreaking medicine,
engineering, and science academy in her State.
We shouldn't be surprised at these and other successes.
When she first graduated from the University of Texas Law
School, she bumped up against the misguided tendencies of
the law firms at the time to dismiss female candidates, no
matter how talented. Undaunted, she walked into a local TV
station and asked for a job as a reporter and became the
State's first female TV reporter. She took a detour, but
her experience covering politics led to the Texas House of
Representatives, the State treasurer's office, and
eventually to become the first Texan woman elected to the
U.S. Senate.
The Senate will miss her dedication, her quiet
effectiveness, her ability to seek practical, bipartisan
solutions. She has made a habit of making history, and I
wish her the best in whatever historymaking endeavors she
turns to next.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise also to congratulate
and thank a terrific Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and to
wish her much success in her further efforts. I know she
will provide great leadership in whatever she is doing. It
has been wonderful to watch over the years, seeing the
pictures of Bailey and Houston and how they have grown,
celebrating and going to baby showers. On top of all the
other accolades today, Senator Hutchison is a devoted and
wonderful mother to two beautiful children.
As everyone has said, she is the first and only woman to
represent Texas in the Senate and will always have that
distinction of opening doors and barriers. I know she
agrees with me that once the doors open, we want to make
sure more women are able to walk through those doors as
well.
I wish to congratulate her for all she has done. We have
come together to fight for opportunities for women around
the world at the Senate Women's Caucus on Burma and other
efforts she has led. I am very supportive of adding her
name to the Spousal IRA law. I think that is a very
fitting tribute, and I am hopeful we can get that done as
well.
I just want to congratulate her.
I do want to have the opportunity to talk about
something else, but I see my friend wanting to say a few
words.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, if the Senator would
yield for just a moment to let me say thank you to all the
wonderful Senators who have spoken and said nice things.
It is one of the few times Senators sort of pause and wish
someone well, as they are leaving. It has truly been very
touching, and I appreciate the kind words of the Senator
from Michigan. It has been a distinct pleasure to have
colleagues on both sides of the aisle feel we have done so
much together. My hope is that as I am going out the door,
the collegiality of the Senate will never change.
Thank you.
I yield the floor.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mr. REED. Madam President, at this time, I wish to take
a few minutes to salute my colleagues who are retiring at
the end of this year with the conclusion of the 112th
Congress: Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New
Mexico, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kent Conrad of North
Dakota, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Kay Bailey Hutchison
of Texas, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Jon Kyl of Arizona,
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Richard Lugar of Indiana,
Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Jim
Webb of Virginia. They have all worked ceaselessly to give
their constituents the best representation and give the
country the benefit of their views, their wisdom, and
their experience. They are men and women who are committed
to the Nation, and they have every day in different ways
contributed to this Senate and to our great country.
I wish to thank them personally for their service, and,
in so many cases, their personal kindness to me; for
listening to my points and for, together, hopefully,
serving this Senate and this Nation in a more positive and
progressive way.
In particular, let me say a few words about some of the
Members with whom I have had the privilege to work more
closely. ...
I have had the honor of serving with Kay Bailey
Hutchison on the West Point Board of Visitors, and I am
also grateful that she joined with me on a bill to improve
care for children who survive cancer. ...
I could go on with all of my colleagues, just thanking
them for their friendship, for their camaraderie, and for
their commitment to the Nation and the Senate. As they
depart, they have left an extraordinary legacy. Now it is
our responsibility to carry on in so many different ways,
and I hope we measure up to what they have done. If we do,
then we can go forward confidently.
With that, I yield the floor.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, now that the campaigns are
over, the elections have been held, and the Senate is
winding down its current session, I appreciate having this
opportunity to express my great appreciation to those
Senators who have had a great impact on me and our work
together in the Senate. Such an individual is Kay Bailey
Hutchison, who has had a remarkable career as the Senator
from the great State of Texas.
Senator Hutchison and I go back quite a way--in fact, we
go back to the days before I was elected to the Senate.
That was when I had just beat the odds and managed to
receive the nomination of my party to the Senate. A great
part of the reason for my success had to do with the
support I received from my family and the enthusiasm we
put into everything we did that year. It really had an
impact throughout the State during the primary season. Now
that the primary was over, however, the real battle was
about to begin.
I knew, as soon as I was nominated, that I had a
problem. I was running against a very strong candidate, a
woman with a wealth of experience in politics who had
already waged and won a statewide race. I had no doubts
that we could still win, but I wasn't kidding myself that
it would be easy, either.
Fortunately, I had a secret weapon--Kay Bailey
Hutchison. She agreed to come to Wyoming and campaign with
me. That was a tremendous blessing because she had a
natural feel for politics and she more than made up for my
lack of experience in running a statewide campaign. She
gave me a lot of good advice and we took it all. Then we
set out on the campaign trail and that is where she really
proved to be an asset.
Each stop we made Senator Hutchison showed that she was
a natural politician. People responded to her and the way
she spoke during our events. She made it clear that she
was a hard worker who said what she meant and meant what
she said. Her Texas style played well in Wyoming and it
really made a difference for me.
Then, when I came to Washington to begin my work in the
Senate, I watched her take on some pretty difficult
issues. She had a talent for seeing the best solutions to
those complicated problems and that helped her to make a
difference in her home State and here in Washington.
What most impressed me was her ability to see a problem
as it was developing and then formulate a strategy to deal
with it before it became any more difficult. She was very
focused on the needs of her home State and what she could
do here in the Senate to make sure that the issues of most
concern to the people of Texas were addressed.
Back home, Senator Hutchison has always been concerned
about our young people and what she could do to ensure
they realize they can be anything they want to be if they
are willing to work hard to succeed. That is why the young
women of Texas look up to her and see her as a model of
what they can also hope to someday achieve. That led her
to publish a collection of stories about successful women.
Senator Hutchison knows that a good biography is more than
a source of inspiration, it is a very specific ``how to''
manual that young women all across the country can look to
for inspiration, guidance, and direction on how they can
hope to achieve the same kind of success in their own
lives.
Senator Hutchison has a remarkable family and I know
that she is very proud of them. Not too long ago, she and
her husband decided to adopt a child. They wound up
adopting not one, but two children who are blessed to have
two such special parents. It's just another example of the
way Senator Hutchison has been reaching out to help those
who need her in so many ways over the years.
Senator Hutchison has blazed a trail in so many ways
during her career in public service. She was the first
woman ever elected to the Senate from Texas, and during
her service she has helped young women all across her home
State of Texas to realize that there are no limits to
their future. They can be anything they want to be if they
are willing to do whatever it takes to succeed, just as
Senator Hutchison has done. She is not just a role model,
she is an example of what is possible for everyone to
achieve.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when the 112th Congress
adjourns, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will retire, having
been the 22d woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. With
nearly 20 years of service to this Chamber, Senator
Hutchison has been a pioneer in her home State of Texas.
The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from that
State, her record of public service began long before she
came to Washington.
Senator Hutchison's dedication to her constituents, and
to the advancement of the Nation, has been easy to see.
When she helped to establish the Academy of Medicine,
Engineering & Science of Texas, TAMEST, in 2004, she put a
spotlight on the importance of encouraging advancements in
science and of supporting research and development. She
has understood that protecting our Nation's ability to
innovate is as vital to our economic security as anything
else.
I am proud to have worked with Senator Hutchison on a
variety of pieces of legislation over the years, having
served with her on several subcommittees of the Senate
Appropriations Committee. Among our greatest achievements,
I believe was our partnership on Federal AMBER Alert
legislation, which won unanimous support in the Senate and
which was enacted in 2003. The AMBER Alert Act was a
signature achievement, and an example of what can be done
when partisanship is cast aside, and we work together.
Senator Hutchison has worked tirelessly to advocate for
her State and for the good of the Nation. I wish her and
her family all the best.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute
to the Senators who will not be returning when the 113th
Congress commences next month. I have already spoken about
Senator Kyl and about Senator Inouye, one of the truly
great Americans and giants of this institution. At the
time of his death, Senator Inouye was just a few weeks
short of celebrating 50 years of Senate service. Only
Senator Byrd served in this institution longer.
Turnover is a natural occurrence, but it's important to
acknowledge that the Senators who are departing have
served in the Senate for a combined total of 237 years, or
nearly 20 years per Senator, on average. Add Senator
Inouye, and the total is close to 300 years. That service
represents an enormous amount of expertise on issues
ranging from national defense and foreign affairs to the
Federal budget to energy policy. The departing Senators
will also take with them vast institutional knowledge and
bipartisan friendships and working relationships that will
leave a void we will need to fill. ...
Mr. President, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been
shattering glass ceilings her entire life in a career that
has spanned law, banking, TV news reporting, small
business ownership, and politics. She was one of five
women in her University of Texas Law School class. She was
the first Republican woman elected to the Texas House of
Representatives. In 1990 she became State treasurer--the
first Texas Republican woman elected to statewide office.
Her 1993 special election victory to succeed Senator Lloyd
Bentsen made her the first--and only--woman to represent
Texas in the Senate. She was reelected in 1994, 2000, and
2006, receiving over 60 percent of the popular vote in
each instance. In 2001 she was named 1 of the 30 most
powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal.
Senator Hutchison was the Senate architect of our
military forces' transformation from cold war forward
basing, with extensive overseas infrastructure, to a
strategically balanced approach that emphasizes rapidly
deployable military forces based at large, modern,
centrally located U.S. military installations. As chair of
the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, she
has played a crucial role in developing larger, soldier-
and family-friendly U.S. installations and improving the
quality of life and the quality of health care for our
service men and women and their families. As ranking
member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Hutchison
authored major legislation in 2005 and 2010 to create a
balanced, bipartisan blueprint for America's post-Shuttle
space program. She also protected $100 billion science and
research investment in the International Space Station by
paving way for commercial crews. Senator Hutchison is one
of the Senate's leading advocates for bolstering the
Nation's science and technology education and
competitiveness. In 2007 she cosponsored the America
COMPETES Act, which included her legislation to allow
college students majoring in science, technology,
engineering, or mathematics, STEM, to be concurrently
certified as elementary and secondary school teachers.
Senator Hutchison has been a strong voice for women's
economic empowerment and family-supporting tax policies.
She joined with my colleague, Senator Mikulski, in
sponsoring the Homemaker IRA legislation, which was
enacted in 1997 and allows affected spouses to make equal,
$2,000, fully deductible contributions to individual
retirement accounts, IRAs. She also successfully advocated
for elimination of the marriage tax penalty. In 1975,
while she was serving in the Texas House of
Representatives, she sponsored pioneering legislation to
protect rape victims by redefining consent and shielding
them from invasive personal questions that implied
``blaming the victim.'' The Texas law became the national
model for State laws to protect rape victims. In 2003 here
in the Senate she won passage of a bill that created the
national AMBER Alert. About 600 abducted children have
since been reunited with their parents.
Senator Hutchison is also an accomplished author. In
2000, she and other women Senators coauthored Nine and
Counting: The Women of the Senate. In 2004, she wrote
American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our
Country, which was followed in 2007 by the bestselling
book, Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers. I'm not sure,
but I believe she is the only sitting U.S. Senator to have
appeared on an episode of ``Walker, Texas Ranger'' with
Chuck Norris!
Senator Hutchison has a solid conservative voting record
and outlook. She is thoughtful, accessible, and
collaborative. These qualities and her hard work have made
her an outstanding Senator. We will miss her. ...
Mr. President, these men and women who will be leaving
the Senate soon have made extraordinary sacrifices to
serve our Nation. We are fortunate that they have chosen
to spend significant parts of their lives in public
service. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude. Those
of us who will be in the Senate next month when the 113th
Congress convenes can best honor the legacy of our
departing colleagues by reaching across the aisle as they
have done so many times to forge bipartisan consensus and
solutions to our Nation's most vexing problems. The men
and women who will be leaving the Senate at the end of
this Congress understand that compromise isn't a dirty
word; it is the genius at the heart of our political
system. We will miss them.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my
colleague and friend from the State of Texas, Senator Kay
Bailey Hutchison, as she prepares to retire from the
Senate after almost 20 years serving her beloved State. I
have been honored to serve with Senator Hutchison and will
truly miss her presence and the guidance she has shared
over the last 10 years.
Senator Hutchison is a Texan through and through. She is
the descendant of Texas pioneers, which might account for
the fighting spirit she has displayed here in the Senate.
She is a trailblazer, and in finding her own path broke
barriers and overcame the challenges she faced early in
her career. She was one of several women in a class of
nearly 400 who graduated from the University of Texas Law
School in 1967. After graduating, she faced a harsh
reality of the time as no law firm in Houston would hire a
woman; however she did not let this break her spirits. In
1972 she became the first Republican woman elected to the
Texas State House, where she learned the value of
bipartisanship, working across the aisle to address the
inequities and stigma that rape victims faced in the legal
system--and carried legislation which would become a model
for States across the country. This is one of the many
reasons I have come to respect and admire the senior
Senator from Texas--her ability to bring people together
to benefit those we serve.
After being elected Texas State treasurer in 1990, she
again made history in 1993 by becoming the first, and
only, woman to be elected to the Senate from Texas. Here
in the Senate, she has been a champion for our military
forces, serving on the Intelligence and Armed Services
Committees, and as chairman and ranking member of the
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations
Subcommittee. In those roles she has worked to ensure our
servicemembers and their families have the support they
need. She has also made major contributions through her
work to expand science and education, consistently
advocating for needed improvements so that our students
stay competitive. Her commitment to education has led her
to play a role in creating a program at the National
Science Foundation which will expand training for math and
science teachers of tomorrow, and she was a driving force
in establishing the Academy of Medicine, Engineering &
Science of Texas.
In addition to her legislative accomplishments, Senator
Hutchison is to be recognized for her efforts to keep the
Senate schedule workable for families. Kay's children are
now 11 years old and many of us have watched as they have
grown. One of my favorite pictures is of Senator
Hutchison, the only woman in a sea of men, holding the
hands of Bailey and Houston as toddlers. Whether it was
late nights or flights to catch, Kay reminded the leaders
that we have an obligation to our families as well.
Throughout her career Senator Hutchison has tackled
challenges with grace, resilience, and perseverance. As a
tireless advocate for her State, we can learn a lot from
Senator Hutchison's example of what a public servant
should be, and she certainly leaves an impressive legacy
here in the Senate. In her book, American Heroines, which
chronicles some of the first American women trailblazers,
she wrote that she believes America is the best place on
Earth to be a woman--that the opportunities are endless.
These opportunities are due to Senator Hutchison and women
like her, women whose independence and integrity have set
an example for those who will follow in their footsteps. I
thank Senator Hutchison for her leadership and her
friendship, and wish her the best.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to recognize my
colleague Kay Bailey Hutchison for her many years of
distinguished service and leadership on behalf of our
country and the great State of Texas.
Over the course of her 19 years in the Senate, Kay has
earned a reputation for being one of Washington's hardest-
working and most masterful policymakers. I've seen this
first hand, while working with her on a number of
different issues over the years.
During the debate over Wall Street reform, Kay and I
teamed up on legislation that helped keep the lights on at
over 600 community banks in Minnesota and over 2,000 in
the State of Texas. We also worked together to update and
improve our Federal antistalking laws, making it easier
for law enforcement to crack down on high-tech predators
using devices like spyware and video surveillance. In both
cases, I was impressed with Kay's ability to reach across
the aisle and find commonsense solutions.
No matter what the issue, Kay has always stood up for
the people of her State. She has been a strong and
consistent voice for the people of Texas, but I also think
it's important to recognize her role as a pioneer for
women.
I will never forget a story Kay once told me, about how
she was one of several women in her law school class and
couldn't find a job at any of the all-male Houston law
firms when she graduated. So instead, she took a job
covering the Texas State Legislature for a local TV
station.
Kay clearly caught the political bug, because it was
just a few years later that she ran for a seat in the
Texas House of Representatives. When she won, she became
the first Republican woman ever elected to that body. She
shattered another glass ceiling in 1993 when she became
the first woman to represent Texas in the Senate. It was a
milestone for women everywhere from the Lone Star State to
the North Star State.
When I was running for the Senate in Minnesota in 2006,
only two women had run before me and both of them had
lost. This came up during my campaign when reporters would
ask me, ``Can a woman win in Minnesota?'' My response?
``Of course. A woman won in Texas.''
So even before I knew Kay personally, I was inspired by
her story and by everything she had accomplished. Senator,
thank you for all of the friendship, wisdom, and support
you have shown me over the years. You will be missed, but
I know that even in retirement you will continue to find
ways to improve our great country and give back to the
people of the State you love so much.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute
to my colleagues, Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and
Olympia Snowe.
We have served together in the Senate for two decades
and I will dearly miss their grace and their friendship. I
know that whatever the next chapter brings, both Senator
Hutchison and Senator Snowe will leave a lasting and
important legacy.
Both of these Senators are true pioneers. When she first
entered Congress, Senator Snowe was the youngest
Republican woman ever to serve in the House of
Representatives. Senator Hutchison graduated law school in
1967 as one of several women in a class of 445 men. When
she arrived in the Senate in 1993, she became the first
woman to represent Texas in this Chamber. ...
Senator Hutchison was a strong and passionate voice for
the issues important to her beloved State of Texas.
She played a critical role in so many of the important
issues facing our country over the years, from her work
ensuring the safety of our Nation as a senior member of
the Senate Armed Services Committee to her leadership on
the Senate Commerce Committee.
We worked together to promote safety and security for
Afghan women and girls, and she played such a key role
during consideration of the transportation bill. I am so
grateful for Senator Hutchison's bipartisan efforts to
preserve and protect our critical transportation
infrastructure.
Senator Hutchison has always noted that we women
Senators have repeatedly come together across party lines
to achieve action on women's issues: things like pay
inequality and creating tax-free individual retirement
accounts for spouses who work at home.
I will miss my colleagues, both on the Senate floor and
at our monthly women Senators dinners.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
there be printed as a Senate document a compilation of
materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to the
retiring Members of the 112th Congress.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Kay Bailey Hutchison has
been a fighter for the State of Texas long before she came
to the U.S. Senate. As a graduate of the University of
Texas and the University of Texas Law School, she first
served in Austin, TX, in the house of representatives. She
then served as State treasurer, and then she made up her
mind to become the first woman to ever represent the great
State of Texas in the U.S. Senate.
Texans have been fortunate to have Kay as a feisty
advocate for them. She's been a leader here in the Senate
for almost 20 years. My grandmother always used to say
that there's nothing more powerful than a woman who has
made up her mind. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is one of
those women. She is a leader and a role model for all of
us. She will be missed.
Thank you, Kay, for your service to the great State of
Texas and the United States.
And that's just the way it is.