[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 10 (Friday, January 16, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S635-S639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I thank the Chair, the distinguished 
Senator from Rhode Island. I thank my great friend the majority leader, 
Senator Reid, for his inspiration and for his leadership of this body 
and his love for this Nation. I think our journey together in many ways 
has been a similar journey because if you think about a man from 
Searchlight, NV, raised in the house where he was raised, raised in the 
circumstances in which he was raised, working in the mines and being 
essentially part of the poorest part of Nevada, and yet today he is 
serving in the Senate as majority leader, that is a pathway that 
illustrates the opportunity and promise of America.
  For his support and his leadership, I will be forever grateful, and 
for the support from his family, Landra and Rory and all of his 
children as well. I admire him and admire them. I appreciate the 
comments that were so heartfelt from him, and I appreciate the comments 
as well from Senator McConnell.
  I thank my colleagues who are here this morning. I know almost 
everybody took off last night, so the Chamber is not exactly full this 
morning, but I see both Democrats and Republicans who came to hear me 
say the last few words I will say from this desk in the U.S. Senate.
  Let me start out first by giving tribute to my family. My wonderful 
wife Hope, and my daughter Melinda, who is at Stanford, my daughter 
Andrea and my granddaughter who are in Denver today watching us on the 
Senate floor, they truly are the bedrock of my life. Without them I 
would not be here, and without them I would not have traveled the 64 
counties of my great State of Colorado probably 20 times in the last 10 
years because they were always there at my side since they were little, 
holding up balloons and walking parades and doing all the rest of the 
things it takes to become part of an elected office in such a large 
geographic area of Colorado. So today I say thank you, and I love you 
all very much.
  I wish to pay tribute as well to my father Henry. As Senator Reid 
described his history, it is a very true history. He was born into 
poverty and lived through a lot of sacrifice but always remembered the 
two most important things in his life, as my brother Congressman 
Salazar often says: No. 1, family; and No. 2, love for country. I think 
those two values guided him to achieve what he still at the end of his 
life considered to be his greatest success, and that is that all eight 
of his children--all eight of his children--became first generation 
college graduates. So of my father Henry who taught me so many things 
about life, I will always be forever proud.
  Within his family, as well as within my mother's family, if you look 
at the genealogy, which I will insert for the Record, we started back 
with Juan de Salazar who was born in 1520 and Juan de Salazar born in 
1555, who became one of the original founders of the City of Sante Fe--
the City of Holy Faith--NM, and then Jose Bernardo de Salazar. It goes 
on to the point where I am a 12th generation son of the southwest of 
New Mexico and Colorado. It is a history I am very proud of. It is a 
history that I hope is not forgotten. It is a history that for a long 
time was essentially shoved beneath the dust and was not given the 
illumination of its reality. I hope in some small part my role here in 
the Senate has been to give credence as well as to celebrate that 
history that makes us such a wonderful and diverse America. So I 
appreciate everything I received from my father's side. Yes, he was a 
proud soldier in World War II. He was a tough master as we grew up. He 
made us understand the importance of hard work. He had a strong sense 
of pride, a strong sense of community and giving back, and a strong 
sense of love for his family.
  My mother Emma likewise in so many ways was a strong spiritual person 
whom I still today call Saint Emma. I call her Saint Emma because 
nothing can even shake her from her roots. She is who she is. She has a 
great faith. She is not afraid to live or die. I remember many times in 
my life, including the death of my oldest brother Leandro, my mother 
was the one who held the family together after a tragic accident on our 
ranch back in 1992. To her selfless--completely selfless--love which 
she has taught the world and has taught my family, I thank her from the 
bottom of my heart.
  I often have asked my mother: Is there a single person in the world 
you do not like, or is there a single person in the world you hate? My 
mother will think about it for a minute, and she will say no. She says: 
I love everybody. Just as she loves everybody, everybody loves her. So 
I thank her for her faith and all that she has taught us.
  To my brothers and sisters--there are seven of us still left. My 
oldest brother Leandro, who passed away, taught us a lot about history 
and about the culture of our community. I remember his days working 
with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers and then coming back to 
the ranch and farming and working with us for so long. He is and always 
will be my hero. I miss him.
  To all the rest of my brothers and to my sisters, they have all been 
the bedrock also of my successes. Today, here on the floor of the 
Senate, as I give my farewell address, I have the honor of being joined 
by Congressman John Salazar, who is a Congressman for the Third 
Congressional District which covers about 65 percent of the State of 
Colorado. Congressman Salazar, in his own way, is a personification of 
many things that my family stands for. If you look at his history and 
his profile, he is a farmer, he is a soldier and veteran, he is a 
businessman. He knows issues such as water. He knows and has taught me 
so much. As he and I have grown up together, being here in Washington 
with him has been one of the highlights of my entire life.
  I wish to also thank all of my colleagues here, and I will say just a 
few specific words about them in a few minutes.
  In early February, the Senate selects a Member to perform its oldest 
nonlegislative tradition, the reader of George Washington's Farewell 
Address on the floor of the Senate. In 2006, Senator Harry Reid, the 
majority leader, gave me the honor of doing that reading. I think 
Washington's famous words are important for us to remember at this time 
of transformation in America. In his farewell to public life in 1796, 
Washington warned us of the dangers of partisanship, of geographic 
sectionalism, and the politics of division. Washington said:

       We are one Nation. With slight shades of differences you 
     have the same religion, manners, habits, and political 
     principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed 
     together; the independence and liberty you possess are the 
     work of joint counsels and joint efforts of common dangers, 
     sufferings, and successes.

  Washington's Farewell Address is a message to be reborn today. In 
this moment, in this time, with the inauguration next Tuesday, with 
this body in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, there is a 
new hope, with a growing sense that we are all in this together, and we 
are again becoming the one Nation the first President of the United 
States of America imagined.
  Our next President, Barack Obama, embodies this historic change. He 
is asking us not to think of ourselves first as red States and blue 
States but as Americans first, with obligations of service to one 
another. We can solve our problems, no matter how difficult they are. 
We can reach the horizon of human possibilities no matter how difficult 
it might seem, but in order to do that, we must all work together. It 
is in this spirit of collaboration--of Nation before party, of 
compromise, of results-driven government--that Americans believe we can 
get it done this time.
  I owe a debt of gratitude to all of you in this Chamber who have 
guided me in our work over the last several years. I wish to comment 
specifically just on four or five areas I am very proud of that we have 
worked on together in the Senate.

[[Page S636]]

  The first is about the forgotten America and the work we have done 
together to make sure the rural part of America that has so often been 
forgotten is no longer forgotten. When you look at the United States of 
America, the fact is, there are about 3,000 counties. About 1,700 of 
those counties are characterized as rural, and in each of those 
counties, we have significant unemployment. We have income disparities 
of some $10,000 per capita between people who live in those rural 
counties and the people who don't live in those rural counties. So it 
has been important for us to address the issues and needs of rural 
America. We have done that in some significant ways. The passage of the 
farm bill, which we ultimately had to pass out of this Senate, I think, 
on three or four different occasions during the last year, was a 
culmination of that promise to the forgotten America.
  I wish to thank Senator Reid for making sure we kept our feet to the 
fire to get that bill done. I wish to thank the people who were 
involved in that legislation, including the chairman of the committee, 
Senator Tom Harkin; our ranking member, the great Senator from Georgia, 
Saxby Chambliss; as well as Kent Conrad and others who were involved in 
that historic effort, including all of the members of the Agriculture 
Committee.
  Secondly, the creation of a new energy frontier. There were many of 
us, including some of us who are on the Senate floor this morning, who 
set about some 4 years ago with a vision that we could set America 
free; that we could deal with the reality of the inescapable forces of 
our time of national security and economic opportunity at home and 
environmental security for our planet; and that we could set America 
free from our addiction to foreign oil. Under the leadership of Senator 
Bingaman from New Mexico as chairman of the committee, and the work of 
Senator Pete Domenici and other members of the Senate Energy Committee, 
I believe we have taken some steps in that direction which are very 
significant. There is much more we must do, and we are absolutely 
committed to making sure we take the moon shot to energy independence 
in the years ahead. Of this I am confident: this time we will not fail. 
We cannot afford to fail in the energy imperative for our Nation.
  I thank all of my colleagues with whom I have worked on the Senate 
Energy Committee. I also wish to thank every Member of this Chamber who 
has worked to make sure America's defenses remain strong and that we 
protect America at home through homeland security efforts and the 
implementation and recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, and the 
efforts we have worked on together in this Chamber to give the United 
States of America a new direction with respect to the war in Iraq.
  It is because of the debates that have taken place in this Chamber 
that today we are on a new pathway and new plan in Iraq. As divisive as 
those debates have been, I am confident that the people who worked on 
that issue had the best interests of the United States of America in 
mind.
  It is in that vein that I enjoyed very much the work I did with many 
Senate Democrats and Republicans in trying to craft the legislation 
that implemented the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. Sixteen 
Members of the Senate joined us in that legislation. Because that 
legislation really created the roadmap for where we are in Iraq today, 
I am pleased with the work I was able to do in that effort.
  I will never forget the fact that Senator Levin, Senator Warner, and 
Senator Reid were among the first people who took me to that place in 
the Middle East, places I had never traveled to before, right into 
Baghdad, to places around that country. It was information I gleaned 
from those trips that helped me participate in one of the debates of 
our time that characterizes the last 4 or 5 years in America.
  I wish to make a quick comment about health care. There are many 
people who have worked on this issue over time. I do think that what we 
were able to do with the Children's Health Insurance Program and the 
passage of that bill last year demonstrates how Republicans and 
Democrats can come together. When I see an Orrin Hatch and a Max Baucus 
working together to move forward with legislation that is so enormously 
important for the children of America, it is the right step for us as 
we try to deal with this enormous domestic problem that faces all of 
us. And there have been so many people who have been involved in those 
efforts.
  Finally, I have spent a lot of time in this Chamber at this desk and 
my other desk working on the issue of immigration. It is an issue 
which, frankly, still continues to call out in a very clarion and clear 
voice that we must get to a resolution with respect to this issue 
because it affects so much. It affects our national security, it 
affects whether we really are a Nation of laws, and it affects the 
reality of 12 million people who live in the shadows of America today. 
I am hopeful that with President Obama's leadership, the leadership of 
the Senate, and the leadership of the House of Representatives, 
Republicans and Democrats coming together, this is an issue we will 
finally resolve in the year ahead.
  As I conclude, I want to make one more tribute to Senator Harry Reid. 
We both are men of faith, and we often share our faith together. He 
encouraged me, along with Senator Mark Pryor, to be a part of the 
Wednesday Prayer Breakfast in the Senate. I was proud to chair that 
breakfast with Mark Pryor over the last several years and with my 
colleague, Senator Mike Enzi.
  I appreciate the fact that among those of us who attended that Prayer 
Breakfast, I am certain that among the 100 Members of the Senate, there 
is a great common sense that the possibilities of humanity are somehow 
achievable to all of us, that it is we as human beings who somehow 
stand in the way of finding what those human possibilities are for all 
of humanity.
  I think back to a story some of you have heard of my grandmother who 
lost five of her eight children before those children reached the age 
of 5 years old. I always ask myself: What is it that kept her going? At 
the end of the day, my answer to my question has been that what kept 
her going was the fact that she had a faith in the future, that somehow 
around the corner, in a future she could not see, the world would be 
much better for her children and for her grandchildren. For sure she 
could not have seen that the eight surviving children of her only son 
would all graduate from high school. I am sure she could not foresee 
that one would become a U.S. Senator, another a member of the U.S. 
House of Representatives. What she could see was the world would be 
better for humanity. It is a common bond for Members of this august, 
wonderful Chamber of the U.S. Senate.
  As I close, I want to share the prayer that I have shared with 
Senator Reid and many of my colleagues in this Chamber before. It is a 
prayer that my brother, Leandro, the oldest in the family, learned when 
he worked with Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers of 
America. In many ways, I believe this prayer embodies what we do in 
public service.
  The prayer is as follows:

     Show me the suffering of the most miserable;
     So I will know my people's plight.
     Free me to pray for others;
     For you are present in every person.
     Help me take responsibility for my own life;
     So that I can be free at last.
     Grant me courage to serve others;
     For in service there is true life.
     Give me honesty and patience;
     So that the Spirit will be alive among us.
     Let the spirit flourish and grow;
     So that we will never tire of the struggle.
     Let us remember those who have died for justice;
     For they have given us life.
     Help us love even those who hate us;
     So we can change the world.

  Mr. President, one thing I forgot to say. The 5 million people of the 
State of Colorado have give me a great honor to serve as their attorney 
general and to serve on their behalf. I will submit for the Record some 
of the work we have done in the representation of all of the 5 million 
people of the State of Colorado. No matter where they were from, no 
matter what their economic circumstance, they knew we were working on 
their behalf.
  I am elated that Senator Mark Udall has joined us in the Senate 
because I am absolutely confident he will become one of the stellar 
Senators of this body.

[[Page S637]]

  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the genealogy chart of my family and a list of the wonderful DC and 
Colorado staff.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                 Descendants of Capitan Juan de Salazar

       Juan de Salazar, Conquistador, born 1520, became a Noble in 
     1543,
       Juan de Salazar, Conquistador and founder of Santa Fe, born 
     1559. Jose Bernardo de Salazar, born in 1595. Francisco de 
     Salazar, born in 1630. Jose Juan de Salazar, born 1670. 
     Enrique de Salazar, born 1700. Demetrio de Salazar, born 
     1750.
       Julian de Salazar, born 1780; Maria de las Mercedes de 
     Sandoval.
       Francisco Esteban de Salazar y de Sandoval, born 1800; 
     Maria del Carmen Valdez.
       Eusebio Salazar, born March 9, 1849; Amade Garcia, born 
     1859.
       Juan Bautista Salazar, born June 24, 1894; Antonia Cantu, 
     born 1884.
       Henry S. Salazar, born March 10, 1916; Emma M. Montoya, 
     born April 23, 1922.
       Leandro, LeRoy, John, Ken, Elaine, Margaret, Elliott, and 
     June.
                                  ____



                                dc Staff

       Black, Steve, Leg Counsel; Dunham, Ian, Leg Aide; Ibarra, 
     Beatriz, Leg Counsel; Johnson, Aya, Leg Aide; Koehler, Jim, 
     Legislative Asst; Lane, Jeff, Chief of Staff; Leahy, Andrew, 
     Leg Aide; Lee-Ashley, Matt, Communications Dir; Leslie, 
     Grant, Legislative Dir; Mitchell, Sam, Legislative Asst; 
     Nieters Su, Piper, Leg Counsel; Olsen, Tommy, Deputy Press 
     Sec; Padilla, Joan, Scheduler; Paladino, Emily, Legislative 
     Asst; Perko, Mary, Administrative Dir; Phillips, Jeffrey, 
     Spec Asst for Const Ser; Plumb, John, Legislative Asst; Reis, 
     Ariane, Legislative Aide; Scott, Denise, Spec Asst for Const 
     Ser; Squarrell, Elena, Asst Scheduler; Terry, Anne, Systems 
     Admin; Ulrich, Elaine, Legislative Fellow.


                             COLORADO STAFF

       Amodeo, Michael, Press Secretary; Bobicki, Charlotte, 
     Regional Rep/Ala; Brown, Ann, Regional Dir/Dur; Giron, 
     Angela, Regional Rep/CS; Corwin, Meg, Regional Dir/FtC; 
     Fagan, Renny, State Director; Fetcher, Jay, Regional Rep/GJ; 
     Gardner, Dwight, Regional Dir/PU; Joslyn, Angela, Regional 
     Rep/CS; Kareus, Trudy, Regional Dir/GJ; Kessler, Zane, 
     Community Liaison/Den; Lane, Ken, Senior Counsel; McGraw, 
     Mac, Regional Rep/FtM; See, Randy, Regional Rep/GJ; Milliner, 
     Bennie, Community Liaison/Den; Montoya, Pres, replacemn 
     Regional Rep/FtC; Oatman-Gardner, Annie, Regional Dir/CS; 
     Otero, Jerry, Regional Rep/GJ; Pacheco, Romaine, Statewide 
     Dir/Constit Ser; Schwantes, Lisa, Regional Rep/DU; Serenil, 
     Eva, Community Liaison/Den; Sepulveda, Catherine, Staff Asst/
     CS; Sweeney, Betty, Community Liaison/Den; Tesky, Jonathan, 
     Staff Asst/Den; Wallick, Velina, Scheduler/Den.

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I thank my wonderful staff, many of whom 
are here today, some of whom are watching back in Colorado, for having 
made this possible. Without their great effort, frankly, we would not 
be able to do what we have done. I thank them.
  I thank my good friend, the Presiding Officer. I look forward to our 
continuing to work together.
  I yield the floor.
  (Applause, Senators rising.)
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut is 
recognized.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise simply to say a few words of 
personal tribute to our dear friend, the distinguished Senator from 
Colorado, who has just spoken so beautifully.
  We are going to miss this man. He has only been here 4 years, but he 
has made an extraordinary contribution to the Senate and to our 
country. I first got to know Ken Salazar in 2000 when I had the honor 
to be the Vice Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party and went 
to Colorado. I could see at the first meeting at which I met him--I had 
an instantaneous reaction to him--that this was a person of strength, 
of warmth, of character, of purpose. Every day I have known Senator 
Salazar since then has only deepened those feelings about him. You can 
feel all his strength and all of his purpose and all of his faith and 
all of his passion and all of his humility as you listen to this final 
statement he just made on the Senate floor.
  I love the fact that one of the last items Senator Salazar asked was 
unanimous consent to print in the Record his family genealogy because 
it speaks not only to his extraordinary history and greatness but to 
the greatness of our country.
  It is, obviously, a fact that the Hispanic-American population has 
grown and is growing significantly in our country. I have been with Ken 
on a few occasions, I say to Senator Reid, when people have said: You 
are Mexican-American. When did your family come to this country? And 
they are expecting to hear 20 years ago, 50 years ago, maybe 90 years 
ago. And Ken will say with that quiet strength: My family came here in 
the 16th century. The 16th century, before the Pilgrims came. It 
reminds us of a history which, as Senator Salazar said, was for a long 
time suppressed. But the Hispanic, Mexican-American contribution to 
America is long, it is deep, it is proud, it is strong, and it will 
continue to grow.
  Senator Salazar was raised in a tradition, like so many of us, where 
we were told by our parents that to be a good American, you don't have 
to assimilate or homogenize. You contribute to our country by being who 
you are and what you are. In the diversity of this great country, we 
gain more strength. That has certainly been true of the Mexican-
American community, and it is particularly true of this great American.
  Senator Salazar talked about his faith, about his family, about the 
love of country he learned from his parents. This man is, in so many 
ways, the quintessential American. He brings this unique cultural 
heritage of his roots, family roots, way back in Mexico, but he 
combines those with the values we associate with the American West, the 
love of the land, individualism, a sense of honor, a sense of 
confidence that has become so much a part of the American character. 
And he added to that, which is where it all begins, as he believes and 
I believe and most of us believe, with faith, that we are here for a 
purpose, that our existence here is not an accident, and that we have a 
series of values that come from our faith which are expressed in the 
founding American documents and lead us forward.
  Senator Salazar served our Nation brilliantly in this 4 years he has 
been in the Senate. What a thrill to have met Ken in 2000 and to have 
played some small part in having him come here and then to have him as 
a colleague--as Senator Reid said so well, to watch the role he has 
played. He is a doer. He did not come to make speeches. He makes a very 
good speech, as we just heard. He came to get things done for the 
people of Colorado and for the people of America, and he has done that 
over and over again.
  In the so-called nuclear option, I always viewed it as the integrity 
of the Supreme Court selection process. Senator Reid referred to my own 
recent situation. Senator Salazar came forward, a dear friend, 
incredible across the entire Senate--in this case, the Senate 
Democratic caucus--and just on my behalf and on behalf of what he 
thought was right, created a path forward that made me feel great--I 
can say that personally--but I hope also and I believe facilitated a 
path forward and reconciliation within the Democratic caucus. 
Obviously, it would not have happened without Senator Reid. That was 
extremely constructive.
  It was a tough decision for Senator Salazar to leave the Senate. It 
is a tough one for us to see him go because he is unique here. But he 
has responded to the call to serve our country. He will play an 
extraordinarily important role as a true American environmentalist, a 
lover of the land, in preserving all that the Interior Department 
oversees that is America's great natural gift from God--the land. He 
will also, in a very thoughtful way, play a central role in one of the 
most significant transformations American Government has made in a long 
time, which is to turn us toward energy independence and a cleaner, 
more reliable source of American energy.
  I wish him well. The only comfort in seeing him leave the Senate is 
that he is only going down the street a bit. We know he will be here to 
work with us.
  I cannot think of a better way to end this simple tribute to a dear 
friend and a great American than to say that over the years we have 
come to know each other, both greeted each other and at moments of 
challenge said a particular two words to one another and then said 
goodbye to each other with these two words in which we have joined our 
respective ethnic heritages. And the two words that I say to you, dear 
friend, fellow colleague, as you leave the Senate to serve our country 
as Secretary of the Interior, and with my confidence that will not be 
the end of your service

[[Page S638]]

to our country but will go on, in my opinion, higher and higher, those 
two words bringing our two ethnic heritages together are ``Viva 
chutzpah.'' God bless you.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island is 
recognized.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I, too, rise to commend and thank the 
Senator from Colorado for his extraordinary service to the Senate, to 
the people of Colorado, and to the United States of America. He is a 
consummate gentleman. He brought to this Chamber great judgment and 
great passion to provide opportunity for all our citizens. He also 
brought the distinctive values of his State of Colorado--a rough sense 
of individuality, coupled with a commitment to building community; not 
just an isolated group of people but a community of citizens--and these 
values have been extraordinarily important to us. His friendship and 
his leadership have been extraordinarily important to all of us.
  I see the Presiding Officer is my colleague and friend from Rhode 
Island, and as he pointed out a few days ago, they were both attorneys 
general together: Senator Whitehouse of Rhode Island, of course, and 
Senator Salazar for the State of Colorado. But we were all together in 
Rhode Island, and I was reflecting, Ken, I don't know what the 
Department of the Interior has to do with Rhode Island. OK, the Outer 
Continental Shelf. There is a reason for my tribute.
  But we were there together at an event, and Senator Pell, our dear 
colleague, came. He was frail and ailing, but immediately Senator 
Salazar rushed over to him to say: Thank you, Senator Pell. Because as 
he told us, the fact is he and his brother, now in the Congress, and 
other family members were able to go to college because of the Pell 
grant. That spirit of opportunity, of giving Americans a chance, and 
then standing back and letting them do remarkable things, embodied the 
Pell grant and so many other programs. That is what not only prepared 
you for the Senate but gave you the vision to do all you have done to 
help your constituents and the people of this country to see the 
opportunity which is America.
  You and your family have been in Colorado for five generations. I 
feel like a recent arrival. My folks got here from Ireland in 1850. So 
from a new American, a new American to an old established family: Thank 
you for your service; thank you for your friendship. Good luck, Mr. 
Secretary.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I didn't intend to say anything about our 
friend, Ken Salazar today, but in listening to his remarks and knowing 
the contribution he has made around here in 4 short years, I couldn't 
resist. I am sure the Presiding Officer, if he wasn't presiding, would 
come down and do the same thing.
  I first met Senator Salazar before he was a Senator; in fact, as we 
were getting sworn in as attorneys general together, probably in 
December of 1998, if I remember correctly. We both had been elected to 
our offices of attorney general in November of 1998, and we went to a 
National Association of Attorneys General meeting. We immediately 
bonded. It was very clear and very evident to everyone there that he 
had the right stuff to be a great attorney general. It turned out he 
was a great attorney general for the State of Colorado.
  I encouraged him to come to the Senate when Senator Campbell 
announced his retirement, and I think it was probably the best thing I 
have done since I have been in the Senate was to try to get Ken Salazar 
to come here.
  You know, when I think back about our Founding Fathers and how they 
designed the Senate and how I think they envisioned the Senate should 
work, they had in mind a person such as Ken Salazar to be in this body. 
They probably couldn't even imagine that Colorado would become a State. 
I mean, they probably couldn't even fathom the way this country would 
grow and change over the decades and centuries. But I think when they 
set up the Senate, they wanted people with intelligence, work ethic, 
character, and people who could put their personal views aside for the 
greater good. That is what we have in Ken Salazar. He is all those 
things.
  He has been a Senator's Senator for the last 4 years he has been in 
Washington. I know his brother John is here. I know John is very proud 
of him, and I know the State of Colorado is very proud of the work he 
has done. And they should be because there is a lot to be proud about 
with Senator Ken Salazar.
  I know all 100 of us couldn't be here today. We have some committee 
hearings going on, and we also have the inauguration coming Tuesday, so 
people are kind of bracing themselves and preparing for all of that. 
But if all 100 were here, I think you would have 99 people stand up and 
basically say what some of us have already said; that he has been an 
extraordinary Senator, an extraordinary person, and he has had a great 
impact in his short time in the Senate.
  One last thing, on a personal note. One of the things I love about 
Ken Salazar as a person is his deep and very serious faith. I asked him 
to come in and chair the Senate Prayer Breakfast, which he took to new 
heights. He expanded the number of people who were coming to that. He 
was great. He chaired the National Prayer Breakfast for a year, and I 
think they probably set a record that year for attendance and in the 
quality of the speakers they had that year. So he has had not just a 
political and governmental influence but an even broader and deeper 
influence.
  Senator Salazar, we are going to miss you very much. We all love you, 
and we all know you are going to do great things at Interior. We know 
there are a lot of challenges America is facing right now, but we know 
you are part of the solution. God has called you to be where you are 
going right now. So thank you for your service, and we are going to 
dearly miss you in this body.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Pryor). The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, may I, first, thank you for your 
courtesy in volunteering to take over the duties of Presiding Officer 
for a moment so I could be relieved of those duties and come to my desk 
and have the chance to say something about a very dear friend whom we 
will miss enormously. I know we have something very important happening 
in a few minutes, so I will speak very briefly, but I don't want to let 
this opportunity pass.
  We had an energetic group of freshmen Senators come in 2 years ago, 
and we found Ken was feeling kind of lonely because his class had been 
sort of a bit smaller than ours. So we sort of adopted him into our 
group. He has been kind of a big brother to all of us. I have had the 
privilege of knowing him as an attorney general, and I will not belabor 
the point, but what people have said about him as a peacemaker, about 
him as a friend, and about him as somebody who cares deeply about the 
duty of public service, I can attest to firsthand from many years of 
experience.
  So I will only say we will miss you very deeply. We are enormously 
confident in you. The Department of the Interior is lucky to have you, 
President-elect Obama is fortunate to have you join his Cabinet, and we 
wish you Godspeed, my friend.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota is 
recognized.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am so honored to be here with my 
friend, Ken Salazar. When I think about Ken Salazar, I think about Ken 
Salazar in Colorado in his beautiful mountains, and I think of the idea 
of him going to be the head of the Department of the Interior is 
something that is a gift to this country.
  But I wish to tell one story about Ken. He and I were in Colorado 
together, out there for Barack Obama, and they had a big RV with the 
President-elect's picture on it. And Ken Salazar is the only Senator 
who would insist on driving the RV on his own. He did it in style, with 
his big cowboy hat on. There we were, in the middle of the mountains on 
this winding road, when all of a sudden we see flashing lights behind 
us. Sure enough, we were being

[[Page S639]]

pulled over. There were 20 people in this RV and a caravan of media 
behind us. Ken was as calm as he could be. He pulled over to the side 
of the road, the deputy comes up--with his big cowboy hat on--and Ken 
rolls down the window and says: Can I help you?
  Of course, we think he is getting a ticket for speeding, and he was 
ready to accept whatever this was. But the deputy says: Sir, your 
license tabs are in the wrong corner.
  And so Ken said: Oh, so sorry. And he gets out with this deputy 
looking on and with the caravan of media behind with all the cameras, 
and a press guy yelling: This is off the record.
  So Ken's picture is there in the Denver Post trying to change his 
license tabs around the corners.
  But it was Ken Salazar who wanted to have that moment and that 
freedom of driving through the mountains of Colorado at whatever the 
cost, and he will be a true tribute to his home State and to this 
country.
  I am taking over the Prayer Breakfast from Ken, and I have seen 
firsthand his great faith in God but also the faith he has in his 
family, whom I see here, and the people of this country. We are all 
very lucky to have him, though we will miss him as a mentor and friend 
in the Senate.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my 
colleagues to strongly support my friend and colleague, Senator Ken 
Salazar, as President-elect Obama's choice to lead the Department of 
the Interior.
  For reasons I will explain shortly, I believe this man--a fifth 
generation son of the West whose ancestors settled Santa Fe before 
America gained independence--is uniquely qualified and experienced to 
lead the U.S. Department of the Interior.
  I am very proud to have served the State of Colorado with him. He is 
an outstanding public servant and he will make an outstanding Secretary 
of the Interior.
  Our colleagues in the Senate are well aware of Senator Salazar's 
excellent record of leadership here--he has worked across the aisle and 
with diverse stakeholders on many issues ranging from health care to 
national security.
  As a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Ken has 
worked to extend critical renewable energy tax credits, protect our 
natural resources and encourage environmentally responsible development 
of domestic energy sources. I've been proud to work with him on a wide 
range of issues, including protection of our public lands and water 
resources in Colorado. I'm especially proud of our work together to 
pass legislation that allowed a lovely older woman, Betty Dick, to pass 
her final days in peace on land she treasured at the Rocky Mountain 
National Park.
  Ken, I think Betty would be proud of you today too.
  Even before his time in the Senate, Ken has been a recognized leader 
in the West. As a farmer and rancher, Ken has always had a close 
relationship with the land and with rural communities. He has spoken 
eloquently about what he calls ``the forgotten America'' and he has 
been a steadfast champion of the land, water and people of the West.
  As the executive director of Colorado's Department of Natural 
Resources, Ken used his unique background and experience to protect the 
environment and Colorado's communities, educate youth about our natural 
resources, and defend Colorado's water.
  He helped create Great Outdoors Colorado, GOCO, and led it to become 
one of the most successful land conservation programs in the country.
  While serving as Colorado's Attorney General, Ken worked to make our 
communities safer and address gang violence. He also led efforts to 
preserve open space during his two terms as Attorney General, where he 
was well-known as a champion of the natural environment.
  Ken will bring his rural values--hard work, honesty, and integrity--
to the Department of Interior and help address the many challenges 
facing this Department. From addressing Interior's ethical lapses to 
tackling our country's lack of transmission infrastructure, Ken will 
work hard to put the Department of the Interior back on the right 
track.
  I would be remiss if I did not mention Senator Salazar's family and, 
in particular, his mother, Emma. Like her sons, she is a remarkable 
Coloradan. I had the opportunity to visit her at the Salazar ranch, Los 
Rincones, last year.
  And if her son, Ken, demonstrates the same indomitable spirit, 
strength of character and wisdom of his mother--and I believe he will 
he should be an outstanding Secretary of the Interior.
  I urge my colleagues to swiftly confirm Senator Salazar as the 
Secretary of the Interior.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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