[Senate Document 115-23]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Luther Strange
U.S. SENATOR FROM ALABAMA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
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TRIBUTES TO HON. LUTHER STRANGE
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Luther Strange
S.doc.115-23
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Luther Strange
United States Senator
2017-2018
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2021
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
vii
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
6
Flake, Jeff, of Arizona........................
7
Manchin, Joe, III, of West Virginia............
3
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky
...............................................
3, 7, 10
Roberts, Pat, of Kansas........................
4
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
9
Biography
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Luther Strange served
as the attorney general of Alabama for 6 years before his
appointment to the U.S. Senate. While attorney general,
Luther established a reputation for fighting public
corruption, following the facts wherever they led. The
professional investigations team he pulled together had
the best record in the country, with more than two dozen
convictions during his tenure.
Luther joined other Republican attorneys general across
the country to hold Washington, DC, accountable to the
rule of law and stop Federal Government regulatory
overreach. A constitutional conservative and pro-life
Christian, Luther fought to protect the First and Second
Amendment rights of Alabamians. In 2014, he successfully
argued the 1st Amendment case Lane v. Franks before the
U.S. Supreme Court.
In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,
Luther was the court-appointed coordinating counsel for
the Gulf Coast States. Under his leadership, Alabama
received compensation for economic and environmental
damages in a landmark settlement.
Before being elected as attorney general, Luther
practiced law in Birmingham. His firm was awarded a first-
tier ``Best Law Firm'' ranking by U.S. News and World
Report in 2010, and was also named by Southern Business &
Development magazine as one of the ``Top Ten Law Firms
that Understand Economic Development.'' While in private
practice, Luther was also named ``Best of the Bar'' by the
Birmingham Business Journal, recognized in Best Lawyers in
America, and called one of the ``Best Lawyers'' in Alabama
by Birmingham magazine.
Because of his background in Boy Scouts and the impact
that organization had on his life, Luther actively
encouraged young people to explore opportunities to become
involved in public service. He served on the advisory
board of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and as a
trustee of Talladega College, Alabama's oldest
historically black college. An Eagle Scout by age 13,
Luther was named in 2011 as a recipient of the
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of
America.
After attending Tulane University on a basketball
scholarship, Luther went on to earn his law degree from
Tulane Law School. He was inducted into the Tulane Law
School Hall of Fame in 2016.
Luther served on four committees in the U.S. Senate
which have a direct impact on the people and industries of
Alabama--the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry; Armed Services; Budget; and Energy and
Natural Resources.
Luther lives in Birmingham with his wife of 34 years,
Melissa. They are the proud parents of two sons, and have
one young grandson.
Farewell to the Senate
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Mr. STRANGE. Mr. President, I rise today to address my
colleagues for the last time. After nearly a year in this
Chamber, I am both its newest Member and the next to
depart. As such, I have both the optimism of a young
student and the battle scars of a man in the arena. Today
I would like to offer my colleagues some observations from
the perspective of my unique circumstances.
My fellow Senators and I come from different places. We
were raised differently, and we have lived differently. In
coming to serve in the world's greatest deliberative body,
we have carried and tested different notions of America.
There is, however, one reality that transcends our
individual experiences. In this Chamber, we are each
humbled by history. The Senate has been a forum for some
of the great debates of our Republic. It has shaped--and
has been shaped by--citizen legislators from every State
in the Union. We are awed by the strength of an
institution that has weathered great challenges and the
wisdom of those who first envisioned it.
As I rise today in that spirit, I would like to shed
some light on a page of Senate history that bears great
significance in our current political climate. As we know,
across the aisle behind us is a space known as the Marble
Room. In a building that is home to so many breathtaking
historic sites, this alcove has a singular beauty and a
story worth telling.
As part of the 1850s expansion of the Senate's Chambers,
the Marble Room began as a public gathering place and has
been frequented over the decades by politicians and
protesters alike. When the Union Army camped on the
grounds of the Capitol, soldiers even used its fireplaces
for cooking.
For over 60 years, the Marble Room was steeped in the
life of the American citizen. It hosted meetings with
advocates, constituents, and the free press. It became a
very tangible example of our Nation's experiment in
representative government. In March 1921, it took on a
new, equally important purpose. The space was reserved by
the Committee on Rules as an escape for Senators from the
crowded halls of the Capitol and the windowless, smoke-
filled rooms where they often had to gather off the floor.
It became the place where Senators of all stripes would
come to catch their breath and take their armor off. Some
would nap, some would eat lunch, some would read the
newspapers, and all would end up forming bonds that rose
above politics.
Today the Marble Room is almost always empty. This
emptiness symbolizes something that worries me about
today's politics. It is likely both a symptom and a cause
of the partisan gridlock that often dominates this
Chamber.
But the story of that room--the interplay between
citizens and institution, between pragmatism and
principle--is the story of the Senate and in some ways the
story of republican government in America.
What was once an incubator for collegiality and
bipartisanship has become a glaring reminder of the
divisions that we have allowed to distract us from the
business of the American people. We each remain humbled by
the history of the Marble Room. We stand in awe of the
traditions of this hallowed body, but too often we fail to
let this history be our guide through today's political
challenges.
My time in the Senate has reinforced for me what it
means to balance principle and pragmatism and to serve the
people of my State honorably, and it has taught me how to
navigate the turbulent waters of Washington. I imagine
that our predecessors who spent time together in the
Marble Room wrestled with similar questions.
After all, the issues we face today are not all that
different. This body has been strained before--it has bent
but has not broken. Finding lasting solutions to our
Nation's problems does not require reinventing the wheel.
Our forefathers have done it before, and they have done it
right across the hall.
I spent my early years growing up in Sylacauga,
Alabama--familiar to my friend the senior Senator--about
40 miles outside of Birmingham. My first hometown is known
as the Marble City for the swath of high-quality stone it
sits upon, 32 miles long and as much as 600 feet deep.
Sylacauga marble is recognized for its pure white color
and its fine texture. Here in the Nation's Capital, we are
surrounded by it. It is set into the ceiling of the
Lincoln Memorial and the halls of the Supreme Court, and
it was used by renowned sculptor Gutzon Borglum to create
the bust of Abraham Lincoln that is on display in the
crypt downstairs.
Sylacauga marble is used in places infused with
tradition and deep history. It is used to enshrine
important landmarks. It ensures that memories of the past
will stand the test of time to inform the decisions of the
future.
In a small house in the Marble City, I was raised by a
family that instilled in me a deep and abiding reverence
for history and tradition. My father was a Navy veteran
and my only uncle, a West Point graduate killed in service
to our country in World War II, was, ironically, born on
the Fourth of July.
As you can imagine, I didn't need to observe parades,
flags, and fireworks to understand the sacrifice people
have made to preserve our freedom. I just had to look in
my mother's eyes on her only brother's birthday to
remember that sacrifice. Forged in service and sacrifice,
my family understood the blessing of living in America and
the price of passing its freedoms on to the next
generation.
Thanks to this generation before me, the Greatest
Generation, I grew up strong in Alabama. At a young age, I
was introduced to the Boy Scouts of America, as many of my
colleagues were. From volunteer troop leaders to the older
Scouts I looked up to, the Boy Scouts created an
environment of selfless service. As a Scout, I learned to
appreciate the institutions of American society and my
role as a citizen. By the age of 13, I was an Eagle Scout
traveling to Washington, DC, on a school trip to see this
great experiment in representative government up close. As
I tell every young person who comes to see me, that made
an enduring difference in my life.
I often wonder, if we all approached our duties here
with the wide-eyed wonder of a young student on a field
trip, whether we couldn't accomplish a little more in
Congress.
Of course, the strength of this body and the remarkable
foresight of our Founding Fathers run deeper than an
elementary school civics class or a trip to Washington.
For me, the next pivotal moment came as an undergraduate
student at Tulane University in spring and summer 1973.
I know many of my colleagues will not be surprised to
know that I played basketball in college, and there is a
reason why. I am the tallest Senator in history, as I have
come to understand it. In between practice and part-time
jobs, I did find time to watch the newly formed Senate
Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities begin
its investigation of the Watergate scandal.
In that moment, our Nation stepped into uncharted
territory. The strength of our Constitution was tested
like never before. Would the pursuit of justice overcome
politics? Would the institution of the Presidency be
forever changed? What are the responsibilities of citizens
in the Republic when the Republic's institutions are
tested?
It was during that spring semester of 1973 that I began
to understand the tremendous power of the rule of law. It
is guarded by representatives who swear to protect,
preserve, and defend the Constitution of the United
States.
When my basketball playing years ran out, it was this
realization that led me to go to law school. My new game
would be learning the ins and outs of this system that
ensured the rights our Founders envisioned. My new team
would be my fellow classmates and students who would go on
to practice law and serve our Nation at all levels of
government.
As so many of our colleagues know, the path from
practicing law to writing it is well traveled. I was
fortunate to travel it with the help of some of Alabama's
finest public servants. As a young attorney, I first met
one of them for breakfast in the cafeteria at the
Department of Justice. In those days, you could go to the
Department of Justice without having to show an ID, and I
quickly discovered, after I had gotten my breakfast, that
I had forgotten my wallet. So Jeff Sessions had to pay for
my meal. He has continued to pay it forward to this day,
as a dear friend and mentor, and, of course, he is now the
Attorney General of the United States of America.
Jeff Sessions is a gracious statesman and a man of
principle, and it is not farfetched, in my opinion, to say
that some of his temperament rubbed off on him from our
State's senior Senator and my dear friend, Senator Richard
Shelby. I so appreciate his presence here in the Chamber
today.
Over 30 years ago, I was introduced to then-Congressman
Shelby by my friend, former Secretary of the Senate Joe
Stewart, a person who revered this institution. As a young
lawyer, I learned from a man fast becoming a legendary
legislator. He would become one of my most treasured
friends, sharing many days hunting together in the fields
of Alabama and elsewhere and many more stories shared here
in the halls of the Capitol.
Together, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby represent the
finest Alabama has to offer to our Nation. Following in
their footsteps here in the Senate is an honor I will
forever treasure.
The example of these men inspired me to get involved in
public service. As the attorney general of Alabama, Jeff
Sessions set an example. As the most influential, revered
Senator in our State's history, Richard Shelby has guided
the way, each with an unparalleled reverence for the rule
of law.
I spoke earlier about the balance of pragmatism and
principle. In doing so, I had my friends in mind. When I
was elected attorney general for the State of Alabama in
2010, I drew heavily on their examples of principled
conservative leadership.
In this body we are too often convinced that standing
for deeply held principles is incompatible with
pragmatism. In the 6 years I have served as attorney
general, I learned that this could not be further from the
truth.
Serving my State in that capacity required balance above
all else, as the Presiding Officer [Mr. Sullivan], having
been an attorney general himself, would understand. I had
an obligation to the people of Alabama who elected me to
fight for the conservative victories they were counting
on, but I also had a solemn duty to rise above politics
and follow the law and truth wherever it led.
Make no mistake, during my two terms as attorney
general, I took every opportunity to defend the
Constitution and the people of Alabama against Federal
Government overreach--in other words, defending the rule
of law, the oath that we take.
Together with other State attorneys general, I worked to
protect farmers and ranchers from an EPA rule that would
turn puddles in their fields into federally regulated
ecosystems. We stood up against threats to religious
liberty and the Second Amendment, and we took the fight
over illegal executive amnesty all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court. On these and many other issues, we stood
for the rule of law, and we won.
I don't have to prove my commitment to conservative
principles. At the same time, I have a record of upholding
the rule of law even when my own party goes astray. I have
the scars to show for it, believe me. Over my 6 years in
the State capitol of Montgomery, I assembled a nationally
renowned team of prosecutors behind a common goal: to root
out public corruption.
This pursuit led to the convictions of several corrupt
public officials in the State of Alabama, including a
county sheriff complicit in human trafficking--the first
successful prosecution of its kind in decades.
My team took on Alabama's Republican speaker of the
house for ethics violations, leading to his removal from
office and a prison sentence. As you might imagine, we
didn't make any friends in the political establishment by
doing so, but we shored up public trust in our
representative government.
For their commitment to fighting public corruption, my
team has been recognized by the National Association of
Attorneys General as a gold standard. I personally had the
opportunity to address my former colleagues from both
sides of the aisle who are focusing on the same goal in
their States. More than any fleeting partisan achievement,
it is work like this of which I am the most proud.
When faced with crises, we rose to a calling higher than
politics. After the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil spill of
2010 decimated communities and ecosystems along the gulf
coast, I was appointed by the court as coordinating
counsel for the Gulf Coast States in that historic
litigation. Our team, working together with others, won
the trial and negotiated a multibillion-dollar settlement
for our State and other coastal States.
Our work on that spill case built consensus, and it
found common ground. It brought together the interests of
fiscal conservatives and environmental advocates, and we
delivered results because it was the right thing to do.
While the victims of the Alaska oil spill, which the
Presiding Officer is well familiar with, had to wait many
years for a resolution, we were able to deliver justice
and set a gold standard for responding quickly and
effectively to the needs of our coastal communities.
After all, the institutions our Founders laid out in the
Constitution are only as strong as the people's belief in
their strength. When America no longer trusts that its
representatives are remaining true to their oaths, the
entire system loses its value.
As the most recent Senator to take that oath, I remember
the feeling of the Bible under my left hand. I remember
reflecting on a verse it contains that has brought me
peace in times of challenge. Proverbs 19:21, which I keep
by my bedside, says: ``Many are the plans in a person's
heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.''
I remember raising my right hand here in the well, where
so many others have gone before--many of whom likely found
it difficult to discern exactly what the Lord's purpose
was in that moment. Each of them came to this body in the
face of significant national challenges. Some faced
violent conflict, others an economic crisis. Our forebears
would not be surprised by the issues before this body
today, but I do believe they would be surprised and
discouraged by the emptiness of the Marble Room.
Mr. President, the policy challenges we face are not new
ones. This body debates a budget resolution every single
year. Many years, it also faces questions of war and
conflict overseas. At least once a decade, it seems, we
face some tectonic shift of the economy.
As a lifelong student of history, I am reassured by
stories of the grave crises that have been addressed on
this very floor. In this Chamber, the post-Civil War
Senate ensured that the Nation stayed the course of
healing and reunification. In this very Chamber, the
Senate put politics aside to defeat the rise of fascism in
Europe and guided the creation of a new 20th-century world
order. On this floor, long-overdue support for civil
rights was won, vote by vote.
This civil rights struggle is held vividly in the memory
of my home State. In the early 1960s, my elementary school
in Birmingham, Alabama, was segregated. By 1971, I was
taking the court with three young Black men--my teammates,
my classmates, and my friends--to play for the State
basketball championship.
As our Nation evolves, the traditions and history of the
Senate demand that this institution meet each new
challenge, armed with the will of the American people.
As I watched with the rest of the country, it was on
this floor that the Senate restored faith in our
institutions by delivering justice after Watergate. It was
a real pleasure for me as a lawyer later in life to get to
meet Fred Thompson, who served in this great body and was
the counsel for the minority on the Watergate Committee,
to see the example he set as a Senator and to call him a
friend.
The idea that the chaos and upheaval we see today are
unique falls flat in the face of this monumental history.
Pundits and politicians alike are too quick and easy to
talk in superlatives, but chaos and change are nothing new
to this country. The Senate was designed to endure, and
rooms of marble are built to last.
Studying that Senate history puts the issues of today in
perspective for us, but it also sheds light on the true
challenge of our generation--a newer, more serious threat
to the future of this institution and its traditions.
You see, the Senate was designed to accommodate conflict
and profound disagreement. It was not, however, designed
to tolerate the entrenched factionalism that dominates
today's proceedings. It was not designed for the people's
representatives to hunker down in private rooms, emerging
only long enough to come to the Chamber and cast votes.
There are 100 seats in this Chamber. Each one was
contested and hard-earned, but they are rarely all
occupied. The less time we spend in the same room, the
easier it becomes to view our colleagues on the other side
of the aisle as obstacles instead of opportunities.
What do I mean by opportunities? Mr. President, I
believe our generation of leaders will be judged by
history on whether we strove to heal the divisions of this
body and our Nation. In pursuit of that goal, every Member
of this body has an opportunity to grow in understanding.
Yet it seems to me that ``compromise'' has become a
dirty word in American politics, and that is a serious
threat to our hopes of advancing meaningful policy, in my
view.
It seems that reasonable Americans understand what we
are called to do better than we do. I see the chairman of
the Committee on Agriculture here, who is a dear friend
and maybe can put this better than I can. As he knows, a
wise farmer in Alabama once told me: When my wife sends me
to the store to buy a dozen eggs and there are only half a
dozen left, I come home with a half-dozen.
I believe we have the power to bring home half a dozen
here in the Senate and maybe even bring home a dozen for
the American people. We have the power to be a profound
force for good.
After all, compromise was baked into the Founders'
design of this institution. At the heart of our system of
checks and balances is an understanding that no one branch
and certainly no one partisan faction will get all it
wants, all the time.
From the very beginning, compromise allowed our Nation
to embrace both the republicanism of Thomas Jefferson and
the federalism of Alexander Hamilton. The very structure
of this body is the result of the Connecticut Compromise
of 1787, which accommodated proponents of both equal and
proportional representation.
The authors of this very pragmatic solution, Roger
Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, are depicted on the wall
right outside the Senate Chamber, not far from the Marble
Room, where their example of finding common ground would
be practiced for decades to come.
Mr. President, in the shadow of these founding debates,
political voices today are arguing louder and louder about
smaller and smaller things. It is easy for those outside
this Chamber to insist that they know what should be done,
and as long as we remain so deeply divided, those outside
voices will always win.
When I leave the Senate, I hope to have lived up to the
words of a different voice, familiar to those of us in the
Chamber. On April 23, 1910, in a time of great change in
this country, as the United States was coming to define a
new world order, President Teddy Roosevelt delivered a now
famous passage that bears repeating:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points
out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of
deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to
the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred
by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who
errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no
effort without error and shortcoming; but who does
actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great
enthusiasm, the great devotions; who spends himself in a
worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph
of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall
never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat.
Here today, our Nation faces challenges like it did
during Watergate 43 years ago and like it did in the time
of Roosevelt 107 years ago. When we have each left this
great body, I know we would like to be remembered as men
and women in the arena--as people who spent themselves in
worthy causes.
I am convinced the worthiest cause we can join today is
a return to the collegiality, the pragmatism, and, yes,
dare I say, the compromise of the Marble Room.
So, Mr. President, as I leave the Senate, I am indebted
to so many--to those who have helped me become the man I
am today, to the colleagues who have welcomed me as a
partner in the people's business and who are so kind to
take time to be here today in the Chamber, and to the
great State of Alabama, which I have had the immense honor
to serve.
I thank God every day for the blessing of my wife,
Melissa, and my children and grandchildren who are here
with us today. Greeting every day assured by their love
and support has made my work here and throughout my life
possible.
I thank my staff in Alabama and here in Washington, many
of whom are here joining us, who have risen to the task of
serving our great State through troubling times. Their
tireless dedication reminds me there is a very bright
future ahead for my State and for this institution.
I thank the staff of the Senate serving here on the
floor and in the Cloakrooms, the U.S. Capitol Police, and
all of those who preserve, protect, and defend this
hallowed institution.
I thank each of my colleagues for the privilege of
joining them in service. The friends and working partners
I have found here in the Senate give me great hope that,
in the right hands, this experiment in representative
government will long endure.
I thank the men of principle who have served Alabama
with honor for years before me. I especially thank my
friend Richard Shelby for his friendship and his guidance
during my time here in the Senate.
Finally, I thank the people of my State. Alabama is a
beautiful place with millions of hard-working, good people
who call it home. As I look back on my career, I am most
proud of the last 7 years I have spent working on their
behalf, both in Montgomery and here in Washington.
Mr. President, in preparing my remarks today, I spent a
lot of time in the Marble Room. I reflected on the stone
that built it and the bedrock of my hometown. I thought
about the lawmakers who frequented it years ago. I thought
about the challenges they faced, their own principled
stands and pragmatic negotiations. Most important, I
thought about the common ground they found there.
Off the record and away from the cameras, this space
represents an opportunity to once again find balance.
Balance between principle and pragmatism in the Senate
would reflect the very spirit of America, which is defined
by balance.
The zeal for adventure that won the West and put human
footsteps on the face of the Moon is balanced by a
reverence for tradition and our founding principles--
individual liberty, the rule of law, and the pursuit of
happiness. The entrepreneurial drive that built great
cities and today drives innovators to ask ``what's next?''
is balanced by a solemn remembrance of the struggle and
sacrifice that have paved the way.
The Senate is a sacred place that was designed to
embrace the spirit of America. To lose the art of balance
and compromise in this body is to lose something
essentially American. If we cannot find shared cause,
shared purpose, in the quiet corners of the space across
the hall, then we may never find it here on the floor of
the Senate, where the critics are so quick to point out
how the doers of deeds could have done them better.
As I prepare to leave this esteemed body, I urge my
colleagues, who will face many more challenges ahead, to
take these words to heart. For the sake of our Nation, I
urge them to return to the Marble Room.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
a
Farewell to the Senate
Monday, December 11, 2017
Mr. STRANGE. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize
the remarkable staff that has worked this year in my
Senate offices. Individually, they bring expertise and
professionalism to their tireless efforts on behalf of our
State. Together, they have united in honorable service to
the people of Alabama. It is with pride and admiration
that I recognize Virginia Amason, Will Batson, Morgan
Blankenship, Brent Blevins, Melissa Clarke, Paula Cox,
David Daniels, Valerie Day, Avis DuBose, Jon Foltz, Jacob
Gattman, Jordan Howard, Taylor Jetmundsen, John Little,
Sandy Luff, Shanderla McMillian, Cecelia Meeks, Nick
Moore, Maria Olson, Jake Proctor, Duncan Rankin, June
Reeves-Weir, Cody Sanders, Jeff Sommer, Drew Tatum, Shana
Teehan, Susan Thompson, Kevin Turner, Brookley Valencia,
Dylan Vorbach, and Zandra Wilson.
As they continue their careers of public service, this
staff bears the esteem of a grateful State and my utmost
gratitude for a job well done.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
LUTHER STRANGE
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on behalf of all of our
colleagues, I want to thank the junior Senator from
Alabama for an extraordinary farewell. Due to the unusual
circumstances of his arrival, his service here regretfully
is limited to roughly a year, but I know all of our
colleagues share the view that the Senator from Alabama
has made an extraordinary difference for Alabama and for
the Nation during his time here. I know I also express the
views of all of our colleagues that we will miss him
greatly.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise as a Member of this
great body to say thank you to our good friend from
Alabama for serving. It is such a shame that we have so
many good people in this body and some really great people
in this body who are here for such a short period of time,
and to have a person like Senator Strange come before us
and be part and try to make a difference.
I truly enjoyed his speech based on bipartisanship,
which is what we are all here for, and seeing how we have
digressed to the point where there is very little
bipartisanship that goes on and then knowing that we can
make that change and make a difference.
I want to thank the Senator. It has always been a joy to
be around him. He has such a way and such a demeanor about
him--his congeniality, his camaraderie and wanting to make
this place work the way it is supposed to work and the way
they have told us it did work.
With that I would say, Senator, I am grateful I got to
know you. I am grateful that you have passed through these
doors for all of us to call you our friend. I am sad that
you are not staying.
I know there are bigger things in store for you. I know
your life is going to be blessed, and with that, you
blessed us by being part of us for a period of time.
Thank you, Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I have had the unique
privilege of knowing Senator Strange in that I have the
privilege of being the chairman of the all-powerful--
sometimes-powerful--Senate Committee on Agriculture.
I hope every Senator will read your comments, sir. I
think, perhaps, every Senator in their heart wishes, as
you do, that we could get along better. For better or for
worse, I think we represent the Balkanization in this
country, but we come here with the hope that, yes, through
compromise, and, yes, that in working together, we can
represent our people in a much better fashion. Your
remarks, I think, really hit the nail on the head in terms
of what we should be doing.
We do that on the Committee on Agriculture. When Luther
first came to the Senate and asked to be on the Committee
on Agriculture, I knew right then he was a special person
and would be a special Senator. A lot of people get
sentenced to the Committee on Agriculture. It is a
pleasant sentence, really, when you do that work. I have
been privileged to be the chairman in the House and in the
Senate for quite a few years. We will not get into that.
The Senator asked to be on the Ag Committee, and so,
when we try to put together a farm bill, it is our
responsibility--both the distinguished Ranking Member
Stabenow and myself--to travel to various States. We have
sat on the wagon with the farmer, the rancher, the grower,
and said, ``What do you think?'' We listen to the farmer
first, knowing that if you are fair to the farmer--they
are the backbone of the Nation and underappreciated in our
society today.
So I have been going to Kansas, Michigan, and Montana,
and I said: I haven't been down South, I am going to
Alabama. I am going to go down there with our newest
Member who wants to be on the Ag Committee and has already
demonstrated his affection, not only for the committee but
his commitment to represent farmers and growers and
ranchers in Alabama. So we planned an event. We were going
to listen to every commodity group, every farm
organization, and any farmer who wanted to come in and
talk to the chairman and the new member of the Ag
Committee.
This was a special day for me and, as sometimes happens,
planes don't fly. Planes fly to Atlanta, but they don't
fly from there, which was the case when we were going down
the night before, before we had this opportunity to visit
with a lot of folks in Alabama. If you try to find a
rental car that time of night, it is difficult. So we
finally found a rental car after the third or fourth
rental car opportunity, and then we drove to Montgomery.
Now, if you drive from Atlanta to Montgomery--people
don't usually recommend doing that, but I will tell you,
from about 1:30 in the morning to about 4 a.m., it is an
easy drive. Then you get to Montgomery, and you get to
that square they have there in Montgomery where they have
a statue of Hank Williams. So the first person to welcome
me in Montgomery, Alabama, was Hank Williams. Of course,
being a country and western aficionado--or at least fan--I
thought that was very special. So we went down and saw
Hank. I saluted him.
Then we went off to the hotel. Of course, the hotel had
given up our hotel reservations. So that posed a little
bit of a problem. They finally made some accommodations
for me, at least, but it didn't have a bed. It was an
office room. Then I finally figured out it was a wall bed,
and I pulled the wall bed down, but there were no sheets
and pillows. I just sort of slept in my wardrobe, so to
speak. Then I said, ``I can't sleep.'' It was getting to
be 5:30, 6:30 a.m., and we were starting off about 7 in
the morning.
I came down the elevator, and as happened, the elevator
door opened up. Across from me was Luther. He said, ``How
did you sleep, Mr. Chairman?'' I said, ``As well as could
be expected.'' Finally, I told him what happened.
After all of that, I had probably one of the best days
in my service in the Senate, visiting a State I had not
visited before. I talked to every commodity group, every
farm organization representative. We went out to many
different farms. I learned first hand that a big export
factor to China is peanuts. If we are going to be making
friends with China--or at least getting to a situation
where we have a better relationship with any country--as
you know, agriculture can be a tool for peace. It is a
stabilizing factor. It becomes a national security
situation. We talked about this at length.
I must say I was very impressed with the folks I met
there and the respect they had for you, Luther, for
wanting to be on the Ag Committee, obviously, and for your
record as attorney general and your public service. To a
person, they were committed to you and thanking you for
your service on the Committee on Agriculture.
So wherever you go, whatever you do, I know you are an
Aggie. I know you will continue to fight for your farmers,
and, as you know, we are going through a pretty rough
patch.
Personally, I want to thank you for your friendship,
and, personally, I want to thank you for the message you
gave to all Senators here, which I think should be
mandatory in our quest to see if we can't achieve a better
situation in working together to find solutions. The
Senator from West Virginia and I feel the same way, and I
know whatever you are going to do, you will do so with
dignity and with respect and with strong leadership.
Thank you, my friend.
Mr. STRANGE. Thank you.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell
and to express my gratitude to Senator Luther Strange as
he leaves the U.S. Senate. During his too-brief tenure
here, he established an admirable reputation for hard
work, dedication to his State of Alabama and our Nation,
and a commitment to principles.
Senator Strange was appointed to the Senate last
February to fill the vacancy created when Senator Jeff
Sessions became Attorney General of the United States.
From the start, it was clear that Senator Strange's pride
in his home State was matched only by his humility at
being selected to represent the State he loves.
Building on the reputation he earned as attorney general
for Alabama, Senator Strange established himself here as a
determined advocate for the rule of law and defender of
our Constitution. From preserving the Senate traditions
that foster full and open debate to supporting our
veterans and strengthening our national security and our
economy, Senator Strange has worked on a number of
important initiatives.
Senator Strange has met the obligations of his office
with energy and dedication, and it has been an honor to
serve with him in the U.S. Senate. I wish him and Melissa
all the best in the years to come and look forward to many
more contributions and accomplishments from this
distinguished American.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I just want to say on the
record how much I have enjoyed serving with the Senator
from Alabama. He has meant a great deal to this
institution, to this body during his short time here, and
it is sad to see him go.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a completely different
matter, I would like to say a few words in tribute to a
fine colleague whose all-too-brief time in the Senate will
soon draw to a close.
Senator Luther Strange of Alabama is the newest Member
of this body, having been sworn in just this past
February, but he did not waste any time in making an
impact. In this historic year for the Senate, Luther
quickly emerged as a strong voice on policy and an
important vote on landmark legislation.
On a personal level, it didn't take anyone long to
realize that this newcomer would rank among the most
diligent, dedicated, and public-spirited Members of this
institution. At first, we even wondered whether Luther
might be a little too diligent.
Upon his arriving in Washington, the Senator dived into
the task of meeting his colleagues with the friendly
earnestness that is his calling card. The first time
Luther passed Senator Roberts in a Capitol hallway, he
stopped to introduce himself and share his excitement to
be joining the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry. There was nothing unusual there, but I have it
on good authority that the very next day, when Luther
found himself sharing an elevator with Senator Roberts,
the junior Senator from Alabama introduced himself all
over again. Not long after, a chance meeting on the train
occasioned yet a third introduction. Pat Roberts had to
put a stop to it.
``Yes, Luther,'' he broke in. ``I think we've met
before--and we're sure glad to have you here, too.'' We
certainly were glad as well.
Luther came to the Senate with a national reputation for
integrity and excellence in public service. That started
young. The proud son of a Navy veteran turned college
professor, this Birmingham paperboy made Eagle Scout at
age 13--an accomplishment that still shows up on his lapel
from time to time.
He received his bachelor's from Tulane, where--and I
know this may come as a shock--the man the Senate
historian has apparently verified as the tallest Senator
in history played scholarship basketball.
After graduation, to save for law school, he spent a
year on a boat that supplied oil rigs in the North Sea. He
pitched in on everything--did whatever it took to help the
team--and helped the crew navigate the ship through choppy
waters.
These qualities will sound familiar to everyone who has
worked with Luther since.
He built a sterling reputation as an up-and-coming
lawyer in private practice. He then set it aside to serve
the people of the State he loves, as Alabama's attorney
general.
In the fine Alabama tradition of public servants, like
his friends and mentors Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby,
he combined a steel spine with a servant's heart. Whenever
the people of the State needed defending--their
businesses, their religious liberties, their Second
Amendment rights--their attorney general was there for
them.
Then as now, he fought fiercely when times required it
and his principles demanded it, but no matter how
important the issue at hand, from the Supreme Court to the
Senate floor, Luther never loses his good humor or his
conviction that we serve in order to help our
constituents, not to aggrandize ourselves.
Luther Strange reminds us that character counts. He
reminds us that deeply held conservative values do not in
any way stand opposed to collegiality and common decency.
To the contrary, our values require these things.
He reminds us that the American people need not choose
between leaders who share their principles and leaders who
dignify public service. They should hold their elected
officials to a high standard and demand that we do too.
If you cannot tell, Luther's colleagues look up to him
in more ways than one. We are sorry to see him go.
In the farewell speech that Senator Strange delivered on
this floor, he challenged his colleagues to revive greater
comity in this body. He implored us not to give up on
bipartisanship or on building friendships that run deeper
than policy disagreements. He reminded us that the
Senate's Marble Room, across the hallway from this
Chamber, used to be a popular gathering place. Senators
from both parties would relax and get to know one another
above and beyond the specific disputes of the day. Today,
Luther pointed out, this room often sits empty.
His advice is well taken, and I have an idea how we
could begin to put it into practice. All of us on both
sides of the aisle could try to approach our work with
more of the optimism, can-do spirit, and reverence for
this great institution that Luther Strange has brought to
work every single day.
Of course, the Senate's loss will be a happy gain for
Luther's beloved family.
Despite the fact that his bright idea for a first date
with Melissa was a trip to the Talladega Superspeedway to
take in the Talladega 500, he convinced her to marry him
anyway. Their loving partnership has now spanned 36 years
and counting. They have raised two sons. I hear that Luke
is just an inch shy of his dad's height and that Keehn is
an inch taller. In recent years, Luther and Melissa have
become the proud grandparents of two young boys.
I have it on good authority that a certain black Lab
named Sophie might be the most excited of all the Stranges
to welcome the Senator back home to Birmingham.
Wherever Luther's distinguished career takes him next, I
know he is glad it will involve more time with the people
he loves most.
He has served with distinction in the Senate during a
year of historic achievements. On behalf of Alabamians, he
has made vital contributions on the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the Committee on
Armed Services; the Committee on the Budget; and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. He has cast
votes to help middle-class families and set America on a
brighter trajectory for years to come.
We thank him and wish him every success in his future
endeavors, and we salute him for the dedicated service he
has rendered to his country and to the people of the great
State of Alabama.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, today I wish to honor my good
friend and colleague from Alabama, Senator Luther Strange,
prior to his departure from the U.S. Senate.
While Luther and I have worked closely together in the
Senate, our friendship dates back nearly four decades.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of not only
getting to know Luther, but also getting to know his wife,
Melissa, and his two sons, Luke and Keehn.
Even before Luther was appointed to the U.S. Senate, he
and I worked alongside each other throughout much of our
careers. When Luther was sworn in to fill Attorney General
Sessions' seat, I was pleased to have him just down the
hall from my office.
As soon as Luther was sworn into the Senate, he hit the
ground running. His camaraderie, integrity, and great
attitude did not go unnoticed. Another thing we all
quickly observed about Luther in the Senate was his
willingness to help in any situation. He was always the
first to volunteer, whether the task be big or small.
Luther is admired by Members on both sides of the aisle,
which is rare in Washington. He has made a lot of friends
in the Senate and has worked in a bipartisan fashion.
In addition to his work ethic and great attitude, Luther
was able to accomplish an incredible amount legislatively
in a short period of time. His successes include his work
on the final National Defense Authorization Act conference
negotiations, securing three littoral combat ships, his
help in achieving the 51 votes needed to pass a once-in-a-
generation tax reform package, and helping repeal
Obamacare.
Luther's time in the Senate was cut too short. I would
be remiss not to mention how much I, along with my Senate
colleagues, have enjoyed his company.
I thank Senator Strange for his time and service both to
Alabama and our Nation here in the Senate. I wish him all
the best in his future endeavors, and I look forward to
continuing our close friendship.
Thank you.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENTS
Mr. McCONNELL. 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
retiring Members of the 115th Congress, and that Members
have until Friday, December 21, to submit such tributes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.