[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 185 (Wednesday, December 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S10859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO SENATORS


                              Chuck Hagel

  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise tonight to recognize 
and pay tribute to my colleague from Nebraska, Senator Chuck Hagel, who 
is retiring from the Senate. When I entered this body nearly 8 years 
ago, Senator Hagel welcomed me, and since then we have worked together 
on a number of important issues for the good of our great State and our 
country. We teamed up to seek Federal assistance to help Nebraskans 
recover from natural disasters, such as floods, ice storms, and 
drought; to win congressional approval for naming the new FBI building 
in Omaha after our esteemed late colleague, Senator J. James Exon, and 
on numerous other Nebraska projects.
  Like me, Chuck Hagel grew up in small communities in Nebraska. It is 
a special experience to be raised among Nebraskans under the wide open 
skies of the Great Plains. Helping hands are always nearby and 
opportunities seem limitless. From our families, friends, and 
neighbors, we both learned the bedrock values of love, of community, of 
faith, responsibility to others, and devotion to country. These values 
have been evident during Senator Hagel's tenure in this body.
  Also evident has been an important perspective he shared, one only a 
few Senators know firsthand, about the reality of war, gained as a 
decorated U.S. Army sergeant on violent battlefields in the Vietnam war 
and later as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Veterans' Administration 
during the Reagan administration.
  Here in the Senate, he represented the people of Nebraska and the 
United States well as a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, the 
Banking Committee, the Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the 
Intelligence Committee, and the Rules Committee. He will long be 
remembered as one of our most outspoken and candid Members, as a 
patriot, and as one who took seriously his duties. Particularly through 
expressing his views on foreign policy, he fiercely advocated the 
constitutional principle that the legislative, executive, and judicial 
branches of government are equal partners.
  I take this opportunity to commend him for his honorable service to 
our State and Nation over these many years. And whatever path Chuck 
Hagel embarks on next, I wish him and his wife Lilibet, daughter Allyn, 
and son Ziller only the best in their lives. It has been an honor to 
serve with him.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cantwell). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Are we in a period of morning business or has it been 
closed?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes, The Senate is in morning business.

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