[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 29, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             TRIBUTE TO SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON

  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, on what is her final day as Secretary of 
State, I would like to express my admiration and gratitude to Hillary 
Rodham Clinton for the extraordinary job she has done over the last 4 
years. I agree wholeheartedly with President Obama who said she has 
been one of the finest Secretaries of State in our Nation's history.
  When she took on this responsibility in January 2009, Hillary Clinton 
was already one of the most celebrated and accomplished women in the 
world. Certainly her reputation and renown have been tremendous assets 
as she worked to restore America's standing in the world.
  Over the last 4 years, Hillary Clinton has been the ultimate 
workhorse public servant as opposed to the showhorse. This comes as no 
surprise to me and other former colleagues in the Senate. We know she 
is a leader of extraordinary substance and a talent with an amazing 
work ethic.
  Secretary of State Clinton has set records as the most traveled 
Secretary for time in office, visiting some 42 countries just in the 
last year alone. She will be remembered for her tireless efforts to 
promote the empowerment of women worldwide and for her many 
demonstrations that ``smart power'' and assertive diplomacy can be far 
more effective than so-called ``hard power'' and military 
interventions.
  I am especially grateful to Secretary of State Clinton for insisting 
on robust assistance to Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake 
of 2010. In addition, following my visit to Vietnam in 2010, and just 
prior to her own visit, we talked and I had urged her to pledge 
America's commitment to helping Vietnam clean up the sites contaminated 
by Agent Orange. She agreed wholeheartedly, and this is one way she has 
been very successful in repairing the breach with our former adversary 
and doing what is right and just for the victims of Agent Orange in 
Vietnam.
  I have many fond memories of Hillary Clinton's 8 years here in the 
Senate. During that entire tenure, we served together on the Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. In that role, as in her 
previous role as First Lady, she was an outspoken advocate for health 
care reform, fighting tirelessly to secure quality affordable health 
care for all Americans. Although she was no longer in the Senate when 
the Affordable Care Act passed and was signed into law, she shares 
enormous credit for laying the groundwork of that historic achievement.
  Hillary Clinton has been a wonderful friend to my wife Ruth and to 
me, and, of course, from her many campaigns in my State, she has so 
many friends all across the State of Iowa. So she is retiring from the 
Department of State, but we all know that by no means is she a retiring 
person. There are many vivid chapters yet to be written in the story of 
Hillary Rodham Clinton. I wish her a richly deserved rest and much 
success and happiness in the years ahead.

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