[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 169 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8498-S8504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTES TO DEPARTING SENATORS

  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.


                              Daniel Akaka

  Mr. President, Daniel Akaka was born on September 11, 1924 just 4 
days after Senator Inouye and, like Senator Inouye, he overcame the 
prejudice and hostility directed at Asian Americans following the 
attack on Pearl Harbor to serve with distinction in the U.S. Army 
during World War II. Senator Akaka was a civilian worker in the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1945. Then, he was on Active Duty 
in the Army from 1945 to 1947.
  After Senator Akaka finished his military service, he devoted his 
career to education, first as a teacher and then as a principal and 
later as an official in the State of Hawaii Department of Education. He 
was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1976 and then 
appointed to the Senate in 1990 upon the death of former Senator Spark 
Matsunaga. He won an election that November with nearly 54 percent of 
the vote, and was re-elected to the Senate in 1994, 2000, and 2006, 
twice receiving over 70 percent of the popular vote and never dropping 
below 61 percent.
  Senator Akaka is America's first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry, 
and the only Chinese-American Member of the Senate. He chairs the 
Indian Affairs Committee and, like Senator Inouye, he has been a 
stalwart supporter of Native Americans, Native Alaskans, Pacific 
Islanders, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians. One of his highest 
priorities has been to secure passage of the Native Hawaiian Government 
Reorganization Act, S. 675. That bill was just placed on the 
legislative calendar and hotlined, we need to get it across the finish 
line in the waning days of the 112th Congress. It's the right thing to 
do.
  I have been privileged to work with Senator Akaka on efforts to 
protect the Federal workforce. Federal employees have no greater 
champion than Senator Akaka, who has chaired the Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 
Management. Senator Akaka is committed to making the Federal government 
an employer of choice capable of attracting and retaining the best and 
the brightest. In 2009, he introduced the Telework Enhancement Act, 
which became law in 2010 and expands telework opportunities at 
executive agencies. Senator Akaka has also fought to create a culture 
of transparency and fairness in the Federal Government, authoring the 
Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which I was proud to 
cosponsor. President Obama signed that bill into law last month. And 
Senator Akaka has been a civil rights champion, partnering with 
Senators Lieberman, Collins, me, and others to support domestic partner 
benefits.
  I also appreciate Senator Akaka's determined advocacy for financial 
literacy and consumer protections. His Credit Card Minimum Payment 
Warning Act was included in the 2009 Credit CARD Act. Now, thanks to 
Senator Akaka, credit card bills must include a disclosure box to show 
consumers how long it will take to repay their entire balance if they 
only make minimum monthly payments. The so-called ``Akaka Box'' also 
lets consumers know how much it will cost to pay off their outstanding 
balance within 36 months, which is a typical length of a debt 
management plan. Senator Akaka was also an author of portions of the 
Dodd-Frank Act addressing financial literacy (establishing the Office 
of Financial Education within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) 
and investor protections.
  Throughout Senator Akaka's long and distinguished career in Congress, 
he has also been an ardent environmentalist. As a former chairman of 
the

[[Page S8499]]

Subcommittee on National Parks, legislation he authored has created, 
expanded, or otherwise improved each of Hawaii's national parks. His 
Hawaii Tropical Forest Recovery Act established the Hawaii Experimental 
Tropical Forest in order to promote the recovery of tropical forests in 
Hawaii and undertake needed research to better protect tropical forests 
around the world.
  A hallmark of Senator Akaka, like Senator Inouye, is his soft-spoken 
and courteous manner. The Senators from Hawaii have always treated the 
rest of us with respect and graciousness. They have reached across the 
aisle to foster bipartisan cooperation. And they have exhibited a rare 
and calming serenity when partisan tempers have boiled over. I will 
miss the warm and gentle and friendly personalities of Senators Akaka 
and Inouye, their wise counsel, and their service here in the United 
States Senate on behalf of Hawaiians and all Americans.


                             Jeff Bingaman

  Mr. President, Jeff Bingaman is another Senator whose quiet demeanor 
belies his tremendous skill and effectiveness as a legislator. Senator 
Bingaman and I were born 2 days apart October 3 and October 5, 1943, 
respectively. Both of Senator Bingaman's parents were teachers, which 
may help explain his interest and involvement in educational policy. He 
graduated from a public school in a small town in New Mexico and then 
went to Harvard for his bachelor of arts degree and Stanford for his 
law degree. From 1968 to 1974, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve and 
in 1978, he was elected attorney general of New Mexico. Senator 
Bingaman was first elected to the Senate in 1982 and then won 
reelection four times, only once dipping below receiving at least 61 
percent of the popular vote.
  Senator Bingaman has worked on everything from drop-out prevention in 
schools with low student achievement and graduation rates to phasing 
out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for 
Medicare benefits and to eliminate it for people with life-threatening 
conditions to the establishment of ARPA-E the Advanced Research 
Projects Agency at the Department of Energy.
  Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration, EIA, 
reported that with improved efficiency of energy use and a shift away 
from the most carbon-intensive fuels, U.S. energy-related carbon 
dioxide, CO2, emissions are likely to remain more than 5 
percent below their 2005 level through 2040. Emissions from motor 
gasoline will decline as a result of the adoption of fuel economy 
standards, biofuel mandates, and shifts in consumer behavior. Emissions 
from coal used in the generation of electricity will decline as power 
generation shifts from coal to lower-carbon fuels, including natural 
gas and renewables. These are all significant accomplishments, made 
possible largely by Senator Bingaman's steady hand at the helm of the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he has helped to shape 
and pass all of the major energy bills for over the past decade.
  In 2009, Senator Bingaman shepherded the Omnibus Public Land 
Management Act to passage. That legislation added wilderness protection 
to over 2 million acres, designated 1,100 miles of wild and scenic 
rivers, and added more than 2,800 miles to the national trail system. I 
believe it was the biggest wildness bill Congress has ever enacted 
after the original Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Alaska National 
Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980. The epitaph on the stone 
plaque where the great English architect Sir Christopher Wren is buried 
reads, ``If you seek his monument, look around you.'' The same could be 
said for Senator Bingaman with regard to the preservation of our 
natural world.
  Two weeks ago, Senator Bingaman gave his farewell speech to the 
Senate and I would like to quote from the beginning of that speech. He 
remarked,

       In 1981, in his first inaugural address, President Reagan 
     said, ``Government is not the solution to our problem; 
     government is the problem.''
       I came to the Senate two years later in 1983 with the firm 
     belief that in most cases his statement was wrong.
       I believed then and I believe now that the Federal 
     Government can be a constructive force for good; in 
     protecting and maintaining the civil liberties of all 
     Americans, in maintaining and strengthening our economy, in 
     protecting our environment and in helping Americans live 
     productive and fulfilling lives.

  I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Bingaman and am grateful that for 
the past 30 years in public service, he has lived by those words and 
beliefs.


                              Scott Brown

  Mr. President, Senator Brown shook the political establishment when 
he won a special election in 2010 to replace the late Senator Ted 
Kennedy. Senator Brown was the first Republican to win a Senate race in 
Massachusetts since Senator Edward Brooke won re-election in 1972. 
Senator Brown previously served in the Massachusetts State House of 
Representatives from 1998 to 2004 and then in the State Senate from 
2004-2010.
  Senator Brown has been here just a short time, but he has been in the 
``thick of things'', given his willingness to reach across the aisle. 
According to Congressional Quarterly, he has the second-most bipartisan 
voting record in the Senate, and helped the majority pass the Stop 
Trading on Congressional Knowledge, STOCK, Act, which he co-authored; 
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which 
was passed with exactly 60 votes; the repeal of the Department of 
Defense's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy; the Hiring Incentives to 
Restore Employment, HIRE, Act, and the New START Treaty. In the wake of 
the horrific shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, 
Connecticut, Senator Brown was one of the first Republicans to express 
his support for reinstating the assault weapons ban. On a more 
parochial note, I would note that 9 months ago he started serving as an 
active member of the Maryland National Guard, and we are grateful for 
his service.


                              Kent Conrad

  Mr. President, few, if any, other Senators have devoted as much time 
and energy as Senator Kent Conrad has to trying to balance the Federal 
budget. There are few more important--or difficult--tasks. The Senate 
will miss his steady hand as chairman of the Budget Committee and his 
expertise on budgetary and fiscal matters as a former tax commissioner 
for the State of North Dakota.
  As Senator Conrad likes to note, he was 16 years old when he sat in 
the visitors gallery to this Chamber, listened to former Senator Hubert 
Humphrey speak on the Civil Rights Act, and decided that he wanted to 
be a United States Senator. Not only did he make that decision, he 
committed himself to running for a Senate seat in 1986 or 1988. After 
Senator Conrad received degrees from Stanford University and George 
Washington University, he worked as an assistant to our former 
colleague, Byron Dorgan, who was the North Dakota Tax Commissioner from 
1969 to 1980. He succeeded Senator Dorgan as tax commissioner but beat 
him to the Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Andrews, who had 
represented North Dakota as a Representative or Senator since 1963. 
Senator Conrad won that election in 1986. As he remarked in his 
farewell speech, ``That is the power of a plan.''
  Senator Conrad pledged that he would not seek re-election in 1992 if 
the Federal budget deficit had not declined by the end of his term. He 
honored that pledge. But North Dakotans, to their credit, encouraged 
him to run in a special election that year to fill the remainder of 
Senator Quentin Burdick's term. Senator Burdick, the State's senior 
Senator at the time, had died in September 1992. Byron Dorgan was 
elected to replace Senator Conrad, and Senator Conrad was elected to 
replace Senator Burdick. He was re-elected three times, with 58 
percent, 61 percent, and nearly 69 percent of the vote, respectively. 
This is an extraordinary political accomplishment in a largely 
Republican State and a testament to Senator Conrad and the discernment 
of North Dakota voters.
  Agriculture is the single biggest component of the North Dakota 
economy. Senator Conrad has successfully fought to make sure farm 
programs benefit North Dakota's farmers and ranchers, from winning 
formula fights on drought legislation in his first term to leading the 
charge for disaster assistance in the late 1990s and playing a leading 
role in writing the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. North Dakota receives far 
more farm program benefits, on a per

[[Page S8500]]

capita basis, than any other State, and they have helped produce 
prosperity in farm country. Senator Conrad has also brought hundreds of 
millions of dollars to North Dakota to develop water supply and flood 
protection projects. Key victories include passage of the Dakota Water 
Resources Act to bring Federal legislation in line with North Dakota's 
contemporary water needs, ensuring Federal help to protect Fargo 
against record spring flooding, and securing over $1 billion to rebuild 
Grand Forks and build new flood controls following the 1997 flood, an 
additional $1 billion to respond to the ongoing, devastating flooding 
in the Devils Lake basin, and a final $1 billion to respond to the 
record breaking 2011 flooding in Minot.
  While Senator Conrad has been a leader on farm and energy policies, 
he has been the leader on budget policies as chairman of the Budget 
Committee and a senior member of the Finance Committee. Six years ago, 
he teamed with former Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire to 
propose a bipartisan commission to tackle the debt. That idea 
ultimately prompted President Barack Obama to create the National 
Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as the 
Bowles-Simpson (or Simpson-Bowles) Commission after its co-chairs, 
former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming and former White 
House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, in 2010. Senator Conrad was 
appointed to the Commission and has subsequently served in the 
bipartisan ``Gang of Six'' and ``Gang of Eight'' groups of Senators 
attempting to find a budget compromise that would forestall the tax 
increases and automatic spending cuts scheduled to commence on January 
1, 2013.
  Senator Conrad has been indefatigable in his pursuit of sound 
budgetary and fiscal policies. He has brought a soberness to the 
subject, along with his trademark patience and extraordinary ability to 
discuss complex budget issues and large numbers in a way that is 
accessible to everyone accompanied, of course, by his myriad charts! 
Senator Conrad has always promoted a balanced approach to addressing 
our budget deficits that includes higher revenues, spending cuts, and 
appropriate entitlement reform. The Bowles-Simpson Commission's report, 
which he helped draft, should serve as a blueprint for Congressional 
action.
  No matter how arduous the budget negotiations become, Senator Conrad 
is eternally optimistic. As he noted in his farewell speech,

       I think we all know our country needs a plan now, and we 
     know plans have worked before. I was here in 1993 when we had 
     just come off the largest deficit in the history of the 
     United States. The country was in the doldrums. The economy 
     was just plugging along, not doing very well, we had a weak 
     recovery from a deep recession, and we passed a plan to get 
     the country back on track. We did it the old-fashioned way. 
     We made tough decisions, some that were unpopular, but it was 
     the right thing to do and it worked. We balanced the budget. 
     We had the longest period of uninterrupted economic growth in 
     the Nation's history. Twenty-three million jobs were created, 
     and we were actually paying down the debt of the United 
     States at the end of the Clinton administration.

  I share Senator Conrad's fervent hope that his farewell speech won't 
be his final Senate speech; he indicated that he will take to the floor 
again if we reach agreements in the next few days on the 2012 farm bill 
and the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations. If we do find a way 
forward, Senator Conrad will have played a key role in both instances. 
It has been my honor to serve on the Budget Committee under Senator 
Conrad's leadership.


                          Kay bailey Hutchison

  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, owning a small business, 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 re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 
2006, receiving over 60 percent of the popular vote in each instance. 
In 2001, she was named one 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-based 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 servicemen 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 Senate's 
leading advocates for bolstering the Nation's science and technology 
education and competitiveness. In 2007, she co-sponsored 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 
bill that created the national Amber Alert; more than 550 abducted 
children have since been reunited with their parents.
  Senator Hutchison is also an accomplished author. In 2000, she and 
other woman Senators co-authored 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.


                               Herb Kohl

  Mr. President, Senator Herb Kohl embodies the American dream. His 
parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia who started a 
chain of grocery and department stores. Senator Kohl earned a Bachelor 
of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1956 and a Master of 
Business Administration, MBA, degree from Harvard Business School in 
1958. Between 1958 and 1964, Senator Kohl was a member of the United 
States Army Reserve. Senator Kohl had a highly successful business 
career before he was elected to the Senate in 1988 with 52 percent of 
the vote. In each successive re-election effort, his share of the 
popular vote rose, all the way up to more than 67 percent in 2006.
  I have served with Senator Kohl on the Judiciary Committee and have 
seen firsthand his commitment to ensuring the fairness of our legal 
system.
  Senator Kohl introduced legislation to create a tax credit for 
employer-provided child care after Congress passed the welfare reform 
bill in 1996, to help families move from welfare to work. The credit 
was codified in section 45F of the Internal Revenue Code as part of the 
package of tax cuts passed in 2001. Section 45F offers a tax credit for 
25 percent of what it costs a business to

[[Page S8501]]

build and maintain an on-site child care facility and 10 percent of 
their expenses for child care resource and referral services. It is 
capped at $150,000 a year per company to target the benefit to small 
businesses.
  Throughout his career, Senator Kohl has championed the National 
Institute of Standards & Technology's Manufacturing Extension 
Partnership Program, MEP, a public-private partnership that provides 
technical support to small and medium manufacturers. Since MEP arrived 
in Wisconsin in 1998, its two centers have created or retained over 
13,000 high quality manufacturing jobs with almost $2 billion in 
economic impact throughout the State. In 2007 and 2010, Senator Kohl 
introduced bipartisan legislation to authorize appropriations for MEP 
and, in both instances, those bills became public law: the former as 
part of the America COMPETES Act of 2007; the latter as part of the 
American COMPETES Reauthorization of 2010. For over a decade, and 
despite budgetary pressures, MEP has received the resources it needs to 
continue to help small manufacturers in Wisconsin and across the 
nation, prompting the American Small Manufacturers Coalition to name 
Senator Kohl a ``champion for small manufacturers.''
  Senator Kohl's quiet but effective contributions to our Nation aren't 
limited to his service here in the Senate. He is a committed 
philanthropist, too. For instance, he donated $25 million to the 
University of Wisconsin at Madison for the construction of its new 
sports arena. It was the largest single donation in University's 
history. In 1990, he established the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation 
Achievement Award Program, which provides annual grants totaling 
$100,000 to 100 graduating seniors, 100 teachers, and 100 schools 
throughout Wisconsin. And he is much beloved in his hometown for 
purchasing the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team in 1985 to prevent the 
team from being moved to another city.


                             Joe Lieberman

  Mr. President, few Senators have struck as independent a path in 
recent years as Senator Joe Lieberman. He was the first prominent 
Democrat to chastise then-President Bill Clinton for his affair with 
Monica Lewinsky but did not support removing the President from office. 
He was the Democratic Party's nominee to be Vice President in 2000--the 
first Jewish candidate on a national party ticket in American history. 
Senator Lieberman has confounded people because he has been willing to 
follow his conscience and to place principle over party loyalty.
  Senator Lieberman is a proud son of Connecticut. His parents ran a 
liquor store in Stamford; both his paternal and maternal grandparents 
were immigrants from Poland and Austria, respectively. He graduated 
from Yale University--the first member of his family to graduate from 
college--and then received his law degree from Yale Law School. In 
1970, when Senator Lieberman was just 28, he was elected to the 
Connecticut State Senate as a ``reform Democrat''. He served in the 
State senate for 10 years, including six as majority leader. In 1982, 
he won the first of two terms as Connecticut's Attorney General, and 
was immensely popular for championing environmental and consumer 
protection.
  Senator Lieberman pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the 1988 
election cycle when he defeated incumbent Republican Senator Lowell 
Weicker in a close race, winning by just 10,000 votes. But 6 years 
later, when Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress, Senator 
Lieberman won re-election with over 67 percent of the vote. In 2000, 
while he simultaneously ran for Vice President, he received over 63 
percent of the vote for the Senate seat he held.
  Here in the Senate, Senator Lieberman has been a strong advocate of 
recruiting, training, and equipping a 21st century fighting force and 
using it to defend America's security, values, and interests. Senator 
Lieberman was one of five Democrats to co-sponsor S.J. Res. 2, which 
authorized the use of force in the first Gulf War in 1991. He partnered 
with Senator McCain to push for U.S. intervention in the Balkans in the 
1990s, and he was a proponent of former President George W. Bush's 
``surge'' strategy in Iraq.
  Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Senator 
Lieberman led the charge to establish the 9/11 Commission, whose 
mission was to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances 
surrounding the attacks. Then, in response to the Commission's 
recommendations, Senator Lieberman worked with Senator Susan Collins to 
implement the largest reorganization of the intelligence community in 
over half a century. As Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, 
Senator Lieberman led Congressional efforts to establish the Department 
of Homeland Security, which integrated all or part of 22 different 
Federal departments and agencies. He has since continued to oversee the 
Department's work in his position as ranking member of the Committee 
between 2003 and 2006 and as Chairman again since 2007.
  Senator Lieberman is a committed environmentalist. He played a key 
role in drafting and passing the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which 
established the sulfur dioxide ``cap and trade'' program to combat acid 
rain, one of the most successful programs in history. He has introduced 
every major climate change bill in the Senate, and every bill that has 
been brought to the floor for a vote. In 1994, Senator Lieberman worked 
with then-representative Nancy Johnson, a Republican, to secure Wild 
and Scenic River status for the Upper Farmington River, the first in 
the State of Connecticut. He has led several successful filibusters 
against legislation that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge, ANWR, to oil and gas exploration; he also has introduced 
legislation every two years to protect ANWR permanently.
  In 1994, Senator Lieberman introduced the Video Game Ratings Act, 
held hearings on violence in video games, and played an important role 
in establishing a rating system and restricting sales of mature games 
to minors. In the wake of the terrible tragedy at the Sandy Hook 
Elementary School in Newtown, CT, he has called for the creation of a 
national commission to study gun violence in a comprehensive way. In 
1998, Senator Lieberman introduced and helped pass the Charter School 
Expansion Act, which expanded the number of high-quality charter 
schools available to children across the United States. Three years 
later, he was a lead sponsor of the No Child Left Behind legislation, 
NCLB. Because of his involvement, he was invited to join the NCLB 
conference committee despite not serving on the committee of 
jurisdiction. In 2007, Senator Lieberman was a lead sponsor of the 
National Innovation Act and the National Innovation Education Act. 
These were underlying pieces of the final American COMPETES Act, 
intended to spur innovation and ensure that our workforce has the 
education and skills necessary to compete in a global economy. In 2010, 
Senator Lieberman led the successful fight to repeal the Department of 
Defense's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy. He also has introduced 
legislation to provide domestic partnership benefits to federal 
employees, and was an original cosponsor of the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act.
  Senator Lieberman is a highly accomplished Senator because he has put 
pragmatism above ideology and because he has been willing to forge 
bipartisan alliances and compromises. He is a deeply religious man 
whose motto might well be the prophet Isaiah's plaintive cry, ``Come 
now, and let us reason together'' (Isaiah 1:18). The Senate will miss 
his devotion to public service, cheerfulness, and optimism.


                             Richard Lugar

  Mr. President, Senator Richard Lugar isn't just one of our leading 
Senators; he's one of the Nation's greatest statesmen over the past 
quarter-century. We have been fortunate indeed to have Senator Lugar at 
the helm of the Foreign Relations Committee, either as chairman or 
ranking member, for so many years. He is quite literally a gentleman 
and a scholar. After graduating first in his class from high school and 
from Denison University, he attended Pembroke College at Oxford as a 
Rhodes Scholar, where he earned a second bachelor's degree and a 
master's degree in 1956. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1960, 
earning the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. While he was in the Navy, 
he was an intelligence briefer for Admiral Arleigh Burke.

[[Page S8502]]

  To this day, Senator Lugar shows his fifth generation Hoosier roots, 
managing the family's 600-acre corn, soybean, and tree farm. When he 
was just 35, he was elected Mayor of Indianapolis and served two highly 
successful terms and was elected President of the National League of 
Cities in 1971. Senator Lugar defeated incumbent Senator Vance Hartke 
in 1976 with 60 percent of the vote in a year when the Democratic 
candidate for president, Jimmy Carter, won the election. He was re-
elected five times. On three of those occasions, he received well over 
60 percent of the vote. In 2006, he received over 87 percent of the 
vote while Democrats were recapturing control of Congress for the first 
time in 12 years.
  Before Senator Lugar chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, he 
chaired the Agriculture Committee, during which time he authored the 
1996 Farm bill. He established a biofuels research program to help 
increase U.S. utilization of ethanol and combustion fuels, and led 
initiatives to streamline the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reform 
the Food Stamp Program, and preserve the Federal school lunch program. 
Over the course of his career, he has been deeply involved in food 
security issues, both domestically and around the globe.
  Senator Lugar generally holds conservative economic views, but he 
supports President Obama's DREAM Act and certain restrictions on gun 
ownership. He was the first Republican Senator to announce his support 
for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, U.S. Circuit Court 
of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor. He also voted in favor of President 
Obama's second Supreme Court nominee, Solicitor General Elena Kagan. I 
was proud and privileged to work with Senator Lugar on an extractive 
industries transparency provision that we are able to include in the 
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act. And I have 
learned so much from Senator Lugar serving on the Foreign Relations 
Committee.
  In a long career of dazzling accomplishments, Senator Lugar has made 
his greatest mark with respect to foreign affairs. In 2006, Time 
magazine rated him as one of America's 10 Best Senators in an article 
entitled ``The Wise Man''. According to the article, Senator Lugar's 
``thinking has often proved to be ahead of the curve.'' He pushed for 
democratic governments in the Philippines and South Africa and the 
development of alternative fuels to reduce our reliance on foreign 
supplies of oil in the 1980s. He has been influential in gaining Senate 
ratification of treaties to reduce the world's use, production, and 
stockpiling of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. In 1991, he 
collaborated with then-Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat from Georgia and 
chairman of the Armed Service Committee, to eliminate latent weapons of 
mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn-Lugar 
Cooperative Threat Reduction Program has deactivated more than 7,500 
nuclear warheads. Three months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist 
attacks on the United States, Senator Lugar enunciated the ``Lugar 
Doctrine'', which commits the United States to use ``all of its 
military, diplomatic and economic power--without question--to ensure 
that life threatening weapons of mass destruction everywhere are 
accounted, contained and destroyed'' and which ``asserts that the U.S. 
should encourage democratic institutions and decrease dependence on 
foreign energy sources.'' Few, if any, people have done more than 
Senator Lugar over the past 36 years to ensure security, promote 
freedom and peace, and reduce the threat of war.
  In 2008, Senator Lugar received the Paul H. Douglas Ethics in 
Government Award, which is awarded by the University of Illinois 
Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He gave a profound speech 
on the nature of bipartisanship when he received that award. I think 
the speech perfectly exemplifies Senator Lugar and his approach to 
governance, and I would exhort everyone to read it and take it to 
heart. This is part of what he said:

       Too often bipartisanship is misrepresented as the byproduct 
     of moderate political views or the willingness to strike 
     deals. We should be clear that bipartisanship is not 
     centrism, and it is more than just compromise. It is a way of 
     approaching one's duties as a public servant that requires 
     self-reflection, discipline of study, and faith in the good 
     will of others.
       I believe this type of independent self reflection and 
     discipline of thought is at the core of any politician's 
     attempt to be truly bipartisan. In today's political 
     environment, politicians are bombarded by demands from our 
     respective parties and loyalist groups to adopt certain 
     orthodox positions. To some extent this is a necessary 
     element of a two-party system. But when positions are adopted 
     purely on the basis of partisan advantage or strategic 
     opposition to the other party, our system begins to break 
     down. Some members may genuinely agree with their party 50 
     percent of the time, others may genuinely agree with their 
     party 99 percent of the time. The question is whether a 
     politician arrives at those conclusions through honest 
     reflection and careful study of the issue or whether they 
     arrive there because they have adopted an ``us-versus-them'' 
     mentality. Increasingly at all levels of American politics, 
     capable leaders are succumbing to the temptation to put 
     politics first. . .
       Particularly destructive is the misperception in some 
     quarters that governing with one vote more than 50 percent is 
     just as good or better than governing with 60 or 70 percent 
     support. Under this theory, the compromises necessary to 
     achieve greater consensus among the American people and 
     Congress merely dilutes the strength of one's partisan 
     accomplishments.
       The problem with this thinking is that whatever is won 
     today through division is usually lost tomorrow. The 
     relationships that are destroyed and the ill will that is 
     created make subsequent achievements that much more 
     difficult. If the minority is not a participant, it begins to 
     see its job as frustrating the majority, rather than as 
     trying to advance its ideas or contributing to good 
     legislation. A 51 percent mentality deepens cynicism, 
     sharpens political vendettas, and depletes the national 
     reserve of good will that is critical to our survival in hard 
     times. Leaders should not content themselves with 51 percent 
     if they can expand a working majority through outreach, 
     judicious rhetoric, bipartisan alliances, and thoughtful 
     argumentation. National unity is not simply a civic nicety; 
     it counts in real policy terms. . . .

  Senator Lugar concluded his speech by remarking that former Senator 
Paul Douglas' life ``provides us with an extraordinary example of what 
can be achieved through thoughtful dedication to public service.'' The 
same can be said for Senator Lugar.


                               Ben Nelson

  Mr. President, Senator Ben Nelson is a native Nebraskan who earned 
his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska at 
Lincoln. He embarked on a highly successful career in the insurance 
industry, working for Central National Insurance Group of Omaha. In 
1975, he became Nebraska's State insurance director before going back 
to work for Central National Insurance first as an executive vice 
president, and then as president.
  With regard to politics, Senator Nelson decided to start at the top. 
In 1990, in his first run for office, he was elected as Governor of 
Nebraska. In 1994, he was re-elected with 74 percent of the vote. 
During his tenure, he cut spending relative to the previous 
administration by 64 percent, promoted legislation to cut crime through 
the Safe Streets Act & Juvenile Crime Bill, advocated for low-income 
families through the Kids Connection health care system, enacted 
welfare reforms, and cut taxes for over 400,000 middle income Nebraska 
families. He was forced to step down because of term limits, but then 
he successfully ran for the Senate seat vacated by Senator Bob Kerrey. 
While that race was close, he was re-elected in 2006 with just under 64 
percent of the vote.
  Senator Nelson is a moderate to conservative Democrat, which is 
fitting given the conservative tilt of Nebraska voters. For the past 12 
years, he has frequently reached out to Republicans to try to get 
things done. For instance, he was a member of the co-called ``Gang of 
14'' that helped to resolve the judicial nominations controversy in 
2005. He has worked hard to protect and promote the State's 
agricultural interests, becoming a champion of ethanol and farm-based 
alternative energy sources. He is a member of the Armed Services 
Committee and has been at the center of shaping our Nation's defense 
policies, securing a new headquarters for STRATCOM, and a new Veterans 
Administration hospital for Nebraska's veterans.
  Senator Nelson has always been true to his beliefs and true to his 
word, and it has been a pleasure to work with him. His desire to seek 
bipartisan compromise is a noble one. He likes to quote Henry Ford, who 
said, ``Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. 
Working together is

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success''. Senator Nelson has always heeded those words; we would be 
well-served to do likewise in his absence.


                             Olympia Snowe

  Mr. President, few people have faced the personal adversity Senator 
Olympia Snowe has overcome on her way to becoming the youngest 
Republican woman ever elected to the United States House of 
Representatives; the first woman to have served in both houses of a 
state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress, and the first 
Greek-American congresswoman. Senator Snowe, a first-generation 
American, was orphaned at a young age and then her uncle, who was 
raising her with his family, died a few years later. Her first husband 
was killed in a car accident when she was just 26 and, later, her 20-
year-old stepson died from a heart ailment. And yet, Senator Snowe 
didn't just persevere. She ran for her late husband's seat in the Maine 
House of Representatives at the age of 26 and won. She was re-elected 
to the State House in 1974 and, in 1976, won election to the Maine 
Senate. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, 
and represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District from 1979 to 1995.
  Senator Snowe successfully ran for the seat vacated by former Senate 
Majority Leader George Mitchell in 1994, winning 60 percent of the 
vote. She was re-elected in 2000 and 2006, winning 69 percent and 74 
percent of the vote, respectively. In nearly 40 years of holding 
elective office, Senator Snowe has never lost an election.
  During her time in office, Senator Snowe has been a quintessential 
Yankee Republican, putting her constituents and the Nation ahead of 
political party. While she served in the House, she was a member of the 
moderate wing of the Republican Party known as Gypsy Moths, working 
with southern Democrats known as Boll Weevils to forge bipartisan 
budgets. Here in the Senate, she was a member of the Gang of 14. Prior 
to that, during the Senate's 1999 impeachment trial of then-President 
Bill Clinton, she worked with her Maine colleague, Senator Susan 
Collins, to find a middle ground approach, drafting a motion that would 
have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the 
remedy a ``finding of fact'' resolution. When the motion failed, 
Senator Snowe and Senator Collins demonstrated the courage of their 
convictions by voting to acquit the President on the grounds that his 
actions didn't warrant his removal from office.
  During consideration of the 2001 tax cuts, Senator Snowe worked with 
former Senator Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat from Arkansas, to increase 
the amount of the child tax credit and make it refundable, so that low 
income families who don't earn enough to pay federal taxes could still 
benefit from the credit, ensuring that it would assist an additional 13 
million more children and lift 500,000 of those children out of 
poverty. But 2 years later, she joined Senators Lincoln Chafee and John 
McCain as the only Republicans to oppose the 2003 tax cuts. Pragmatism, 
not fealty to a rigid political ideology, has been her guiding 
principle.
  Senator Snowe was one of eight Republican Senators to vote to repeal 
the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy. Although she represents a largely 
rural, pro-hunting State, she has supported sensible gun control 
measures. She teamed with our former colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy, to 
co-author the landmark Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, which prevents 
insurance companies and employers from denying or dropping coverage 
based on genetic tests. I have been proud to work with Senator Snowe on 
a number of small business initiatives, including our legislation to 
increase the cap on surety bonds.
  Senator Snowe has stated repeatedly that she inherited a legacy of 
bipartisanship and independence from former Maine Senator Margaret 
Chase Smith, who delivered her seminal ``Declaration of Conscience'' 
speech against the bullying tactics, smear campaigns, and intimidation 
of former Senator Joe McCarthy. As Senator Snowe remarked in her 
``farewell'' speech the other day, Senator Smith's stand demonstrated 
truly uncommon courage and principled independence. Senator Snowe has 
been a worthy heir and guardian of Senator Smith's legacy. We will miss 
her common sense, her pragmatic approach to governing, and her ability 
to promote bipartisan consensus.


                                Jim Webb

  Mr. President, Senator James Webb is a highly decorated combat 
veteran of the Vietnam War, the first Naval Academy graduate to serve 
as a civilian Secretary of the Navy, lawyer, and accomplished author. 
Senator Webb grew up in a military family and noted in his 2004 book, 
Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, that his ancestors 
fought in every major American war. Senator Webb's father, a career 
officer in the U.S. Air Force, flew B-17s and B-29s during World War 
II, and dropped cargo during the Berlin Airlift. After Senator Webb 
graduated from Annapolis, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 
the U.S. Marine Corps. As a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War he 
served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th 
Marines. He earned a Navy Cross, the second highest decoration in the 
Navy and Marine Corps for heroism in Vietnam. He also earned the Silver 
Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. Senator Webb's son Jimmy 
has continued the Webb family's long, proud record of military service 
to our Nation as a rifleman and Marine Corps Sergeant, served a tour of 
duty in Iraq with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion 6th Marines.
  Senator Webb has served just one term but he has made it a productive 
one, passing the 21st Century GI Bill to provide the same educational 
benefits to post-9/11 veterans that the World War II ``Greatest 
Generation'' received. He introduced the bill his first day in office, 
and saw it enacted into law. More than 800,000 veterans have since 
received educational benefits through the program. What a wonderful 
legacy for Senator Webb to have.
  Senator Webb also dedicated his time in office to refocusing and 
rebalancing our relationships in East Asia. He has long argued that 
getting mired in Iraq and Afghanistan was a strategic mistake, and that 
our long-term interests lie with Asia. As chair of the Senate Foreign 
Relations East Asia Subcommittee, he visited nearly every country in 
the region, focusing particularly on the countries of mainland 
southeast Asia and our treaty allies. His 2009 trip to Burma was the 
first by a U.S. leader in 10 years; the visit is widely credited as the 
beginning of efforts to change our relationship with that country. 
Senator Webb remains the only U.S. leader to have met with Than Shwe, 
the former junta leader, and he also met with Aung San Suu Kyi while 
she was under house arrest. Senator Webb has also worked continuously 
to resolve the basing issues with our main ally in the region, Japan, 
and to help pass a trade agreement with South Korea.
  A hallmark of Senator Webb's lifelong service to our Nation is his 
willingness to tackle the tough, unglamorous issues. Here in the 
Senate, he led an effort to reform our criminal justice system, 
introducing legislation to establish a commission of experts to review 
the entire spectrum of the American criminal justice system from drug 
laws to sentencing, prison conditions, recidivism, and judicial reform.
  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.


                            Joseph Lieberman

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, at the end of each session of Congress, the 
Senate takes a moment to acknowledge and express our appreciation for 
the service of those retiring Members who will not be a part of the 
next Congress when we reconvene in January. We offer each of them our 
thanks for a job well done. Joe Lieberman is such an individual, and he 
has brought so much to our

[[Page S8504]]

work in the Senate over the years. We will miss him.
  Ever since he arrived here in the Senate Joe has always seen our 
deliberations as not so much a matter of party so much as it has been 
about each issue taken individually. That is why we see him as such a 
thoughtful legislator. He examines every matter that comes before the 
Senate, taking stock of how it will impact his home State of 
Connecticut and the future of our Nation, and then he makes a decision 
on the best course of action for the Congress to take. His ability to 
sort through each issue focused more on policy than politics has helped 
him to work with Senators on both sides of the aisle--and bring 
something important to each discussion. That is why the people of 
Connecticut kept hiring him back on for another term. Simply put, they 
saw him in action in the Senate and visited with him when he would 
return to Connecticut and they liked what they saw.
  I got to know Joe as we worked together during a trip to South Korea. 
The Kyoto Conference had concluded and South Korea was in the midst of 
a series of problems. The outlook was troublesome and action needed to 
be taken on a priority basis. The problems were magnified by the 
election that was going on and the monetary crisis that was being 
played out in the midst of all of that political campaigning and 
posturing.
  In an effort to be of assistance, the International Monetary Fund had 
stepped in and was willing to provide the support that was needed in 
exchange for South Korea's willingness to take certain steps that they 
believed were essential if any additional elements of the crisis were 
to be avoided.
  The International Monetary Fund asked us to meet with the candidates 
who were running in South Korea and make them aware of the importance 
of the current problem and the need to work with the International 
Monetary Fund toward the solution that had been proposed. It was not 
going to be enough for them to privately state that they were open to 
the idea. We needed them to go public with their support for the 
proposal so that all the candidates would be on the record as being on 
board with the plan. That would help to strengthen and stabilize the 
economy and put South Korea on a track toward a long term solution to 
their financial problems.
  We were so ``effective'' with our assignment that, after meeting with 
us, each of the candidates took to the airwaves the next day to make it 
clear that if they were elected they would rewrite the whole deal.
  As soon as they made it clear they were not interested in the 
proposal that had been made, the value of their currency began to sink 
like a rock. It hit the maximum loss for three days. That was enough to 
teach each candidate that they had no alternative but to move in the 
direction the International Monetary Fund had recommended.
  As soon as that realization became clear, each of the candidates went 
back on the airwaves and said that they would comply with the 
International Monetary Fund's recommendations and pursue the policies 
that would place the nation on firmer ground. When there is only one 
viable alternative it makes taking a position on an issue like this a 
lot easier.
  I learned a great deal about Joe on that trip--and from him, too. It 
was in every sense time well spent both for me and Joe--and for the 
government of South Korea as well. That experience has been with me 
ever since and I have never forgotten it.
  Joe is completing his fourth term and through it all he has been a 
good representative of the people of Connecticut. He has been a part of 
many difficult and complex issues during those four terms. Each day, 
strengthened by his faith and guided by his strong sense of values and 
principles, he has taken on each challenge that has come before us and 
done some very important work for the Nation.
  Thanks, Joe, for your willingness to serve. You have compiled a 
record during your years of service on the State and national level of 
which you can be very proud. As I thank you for your service, I also 
want to thank you for your friendship. I have enjoyed having the chance 
to come to know you and I hope you will continue to keep in touch with 
us in the months to come.

                          ____________________