[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 156 (Friday, January 2, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6937-S6939]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTES TO DEPARTING SENATORS


                              TIM JOHNSON

 Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I also wish to pay tribute to a 
man I have admired throughout my career in this Chamber, Senator Tim 
Johnson of South Dakota. I am proud to call Tim my friend.
  Long before Senator Johnson and I crossed paths in the Senate, we 
were both studying at Michigan State University--I was an undergrad 
while Senator Johnson was doing postgraduate studies. In fact, his 
parents retired in the East Lansing area. I know that Senator Johnson 
considers the University of South Dakota to be his alma mater, but I 
will always think of him as a fellow Spartan.
  All of us here are committed to public service, to defending the 
Constitution and to protecting our Nation against foreign threats, but 
few of us have had our commitment tested as Senator Johnson has.
  In 2004 Senator Johnson learned that he had prostate cancer, but he 
was determined to beat it and to continue representing the people of 
South Dakota. ``I wish this was something that wasn't happening to 
me,'' he said. ``But I will deal with it head on,'' and he did. He had 
surgery, then he made a full recovery, and was soon back to work.
  In 2006 we were all shocked to learn that Senator Johnson suffered a 
brain hemorrhage--and for weeks we hoped and prayed for him and his 
family. Incredibly, he again made a full recovery--and he again came 
back to work.
  That is commitment. That is a Senator with a deep appreciation for 
the privilege of serving the people of South Dakota. That is Tim 
Johnson
  Despite the personal health issues Senator Johnson experienced, he 
succeeded in leading passage of the Safe and Fair Deposit Insurance Act 
of 2005, a law that 3 years later was critical to keeping America's 
deposits safe during a time of great economic turmoil. As chair of the 
Senate banking committee we have relied on his leadership and judgment 
in reducing risk in the financial sector and in ensuring that Dodd-
Frank reforms were implemented effectively.
  I will miss our work together to improve the health care of American 
veterans, and I will miss the opportunity I have had through the years 
to work with Senator Johnson on empowering small family farms to 
compete in the modern marketplace and to help ethanol producers expand 
their place in our Nation's renewable energy future.
  Knowing how important it was for ranchers to be able to tell 
consumers their meat products came from the U.S.A., Senator Johnson has 
been a champion of country of origin labeling since going back to the 
2002 farm bill, and since then he has helped to strengthen and fully 
implement the law, a mission that carried over to the 2014 farm bill 
that I authored as chair of the agriculture committee.
  In addition, Senator Johnson has been a forceful advocate for the 
Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration rules that 
ensure that family farmers and ranchers are able to compete on a level 
playing field.
  I know how much Senator Johnson has loved policymaking, so I know he 
must have agonized over this decision. But I also know that the love 
and devotion he has for his family comes first, and now he will be able 
to spend more time with his wife Barbara, his two sons, his daughter, 
and all his grandchildren.
  Tim, thank you for being such a strong, resilient, and resourceful 
partner and friend through the years. I wish you a happy and successful 
retirement with your family.


                             Mary Landrieu

  Mr. President, at the end of this session of Congress, the Senate 
will be bidding farewell to my colleague and dear friend, Senator Mary 
Landrieu, who has served the people of Louisiana with such devotion 
over the last 18 years.
   I don't think it is possible to overstate the magnitude of the 
challenges that she has faced on behalf of her constituents. Hurricane 
Katrina may have been the most horrible natural disaster our country 
has ever experienced--and Senator Landrieu's native city of New Orleans 
was ground zero.
  No one was more engaged in the recovery effort that followed that 
calamity. Senator Landrieu fought tenaciously to secure the funds it 
would take to repair and revitalize the gulf coast with infrastructure 
improvements that would protect the coast against another major event.
  In the 10 years since Katrina, Senator Landrieu has been a champion 
for homeowners who were struggling to afford flood insurance, most 
recently by winning passage of the Homeowner Flood Insurance 
Affordability Act, this past March.
  Of course, just as the gulf coast appeared close to making a full 
recovery, it was struck by another disaster--the Deepwater Horizon 
oilspill. Again, Senator Landrieu was on the vanguard of that recovery, 
winning passage of the RESTORE Act so that the vast majority of the 
fines collected by the U.S. Government would go back to the gulf coast 
to help pay for the cleanup. It is the single biggest investment in 
environmental restoration in American history.
  These were the moments when the people of Louisiana needed Mary 
Landrieu most--and she delivered as only she can.
  At the same time, Senator Landrieu has always understood that the oil 
and gas industry is vital to her State's economy, and so it was a major 
milestone when she became the first woman to chair the Senate energy 
committee.
   She fights so hard for Louisiana, but over the years of working with 
her, I have learned how much she is driven by a deep feeling of 
compassion, not just

[[Page S6938]]

for those displaced by hurricanes or those whose livelihood was 
jeopardized by the Deepwater Horizon but for the children of her State 
and our country who were given up for adoption or placed in foster 
care.
   Senator Landrieu knows the joys of adopting firsthand, having 
adopted her two children, Connor and Mary Shannon, and she wants other 
parents to feel that joy. So she sympathizes with parents who wish to 
adopt a child but who are struggling to do so--especially since she 
knows there are children desperate for parents but who remain wards of 
the State. By matching those parents with that child, she knows that 
she can create a true family.
  So she has led the efforts in the Senate to improve child welfare 
systems internationally and to make it easier for American parents to 
adopt children in other countries. She has pushed for Federal funds to 
create foster care mentoring programs, so that children who are in the 
foster system have better guidance during the most critical years of 
their social development.
   I know I speak for other Members of this Chamber when I say that we 
will do our very best to continue the momentum that Senator Landrieu 
has created for finding a permanent, loving home for every American 
child.
   I will deeply miss having her with us but I have absolutely no doubt 
that Mary Landrieu will find new ways to express her devotion to the 
people of Louisiana and our country. It is not just a tradition in her 
family; it is her singular passion. I thank her for her amazing service 
here and I look forward to all the great achievements that are in her 
future.


                               Mark Udall

  Mr. President, I wish to express my gratitude to a dear colleague and 
friend who has been a champion for our national parks and for 
preserving the natural splendor of our Western lands: Senator Mark 
Udall.
   Just as the Great Lakes are part of my DNA, the Rocky Mountains are 
part of Senator Udall's. He likes to quote the saying that we did not 
inherit this earth from our parents but that we are borrowing it from 
our children--and that is the perspective that has guided him as Chair 
of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee.
   He has worked to expand national parks and to revitalize our natural 
resources. Recognizing that our dependence on fossil fuels poses a 
threat to our land, water and wildlife, Senator Udall has been a leader 
in pushing for investments in renewable energy. I know how proud he was 
that Colorado was the first State to pass a voter-approved renewable 
energy policy. A key to making it happen was Senator Udall teaming up 
in a bipartisan way with the speaker of the Colorado House.
   When Colorado was struck by floods, forest fires, and beetle 
infestations, Senator Udall fought to make sure the State had the 
Federal resources to contain the damage and aid the recovery.
   We learn a lot about our leaders during a time of crisis, and time 
and again, Senator Udall has proven the strength of his character and 
his convictions.
   In the wake of the mass shooting in Aurora, CO, Senator Udall threw 
his support behind a ban on combat weapons, as well as an amendment to 
expand background searches for gun purchases. It was a bold position to 
take politically, but the Udall family has a long tradition of taking 
bold positions whose wisdom is borne out by history: His grandfather 
issued a court decision that recognized Native Americans' right to 
vote; his uncle challenged discrimination by Washington's football 
team; and his father helped integrate the University of Arizona.
   It is fitting that in Senator Udall's last full week with the Senate 
he gave a stirring speech on the floor, demanding transparency in the 
way that our Nation treats suspected terrorists. Senator Udall has also 
been one of the Senate's most vocal advocates for civil liberties, 
arguing passionately that our government's conduct must always respect 
both our values and the Constitution.
   Personally, I have had the honor of working alongside Senator Udall 
as co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Parkinson's Disease, teaming 
up on behalf of the National MS and Parkinson's Disease Registries Act. 
This past month we joined forces on an amendment that ensures women in 
the military will have access to quality health services, with a 
specific focus on maternity and preventive care.
   I will miss our talks and our collaborations. But leaving the Senate 
will allow Senator Udall to become an even more avid outdoorsman. While 
he has already climbed Mt. Everest and the 100 tallest peaks in his 
home State of Colorado, I have no doubt that he will soon conquer new 
and exciting challenges in the great outdoors.
   And from listening to his farewell address, it is already apparent 
to me that Senator Udall has achieved a clarity that will serve him 
forever after. ``As a lifelong mountain climber,'' he said, ``I have 
learned far more from the mountains I did not summit, than those that I 
did.''
   I know I speak for many of us here when I say that I have learned a 
great deal from Senator Udall, and I thank him for serving Colorado and 
our Nation in the U.S. Senate--and for being a great friend. Happy 
trails, Senator.


                               kay hagan

  Mr. President, I also wish to pay tribute to my dear friend and 
colleague, Senator Kay Hagan from North Carolina.
  Kay Hagan has quite a collection of hats. There is the hat she wore 
as a lawyer in Greensboro. She wore one hat as a banker, another as a 
State legislator helping to write North Carolina's State budget. And 
when she excelled in each of these roles, the voters of North Carolina 
gave her another hat to wear, as their U.S. Senator.
  Kay Hagan joined us in January 2009, which was a difficult time for 
our Nation's economy. With her background in the banking sector and her 
knowledge of the housing finance system, she got right to work on 
rebuilding our economy, with a stronger foundation.
  At the same time, she never allowed herself to be distracted from the 
needs specific to her North Carolina constituents. She recognized that 
North Carolina workers and small businesses were being threatened by 
unfair trade practices abroad, and she sought to address it.
  She recognizes how vital military bases are to North Carolina's 
economy and to its culture, so she worked to protect them from cuts and 
closures. She was a leader for military families who care for disabled 
children, seeking to provide payments for them from the Survivor 
Benefit Plan. And it was Senator Hagan who stepped up to help families 
at Camp Lejeune get access to health care, following one of the worst 
cases of water contamination in American history.
  With two daughters of her own, Senator Hagan knows about the demands 
of balancing child care with a career, and as Chair of the Senate 
Subcommittee on Children and Families, she called attention to the need 
for paid leave. Senator Hagan and I share important health care 
priorities: She cosponsored a bill to improve the care of mothers and 
babies by establishing higher quality standards for maternity care 
through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. And she 
has been a valuable ally on the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act, which would 
help doctors detect this disease earlier and provide more support for 
those taking care of a family member with Alzheimer's.
  I had the distinct honor of teaming up with Senator Hagan earlier 
this year to help pork farmers get disaster assistance after a deadly 
virus devastated their livestock. And we worked together to sound the 
alarm on student loan debt and to try to stop interest rates on Federal 
loans from rising.
   We both come from States where hunting, fishing, and wildlife are 
important components to residents' quality of life. So I was pleased 
this past year to help Senator Hagan push for her Bipartisan 
Sportsmen's Act, which sought to expand access to Federal lands while 
taking significant steps toward conserving the land we use for 
recreation.
  I deeply regret that I will not be able to work with Senator Hagan in 
the next Congress. But knowing how dear public service is to her, and 
how deeply that tradition is established in her family, I have no doubt 
that she will find new ways to serve the people of her beloved home 
State, and our Nation.

[[Page S6939]]

  Senator Hagan, thank you for your service and thank you for being a 
wonderful friend. I wish you the very best of luck in all your future 
endeavors.


                             Mary Landrieu

 Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the many 
accomplishments of my friend, Senator Mary Landrieu, my colleague from 
Louisiana, during her 18 years here in the U.S. Senate.
  Senator Landrieu was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. Prior to 
serving in the Senate, she had already served the people of her State 
for 16 years--first as a State legislator, and later as a State 
treasurer. Altogether Senator Landrieu's service to the people of 
Louisiana has spanned nearly 34 years of commitment to the people of 
Louisiana.
  Mary served her constituents with utter conviction, dedication, and 
persistence--qualities that her colleagues in the U.S. Senate use to 
describe her.
  However, Senator Landrieu's dedication can be described in other ways 
as well.
  In her farewell remarks last week, Senator Landrieu discussed how 
faith and family helped drive her. She draws tremendous strength from 
her faith, and also her large and supportive family--a family that 
knows a thing or two about the ups and downs of politics.
  Her father, Moon Landrieu, served as a judge, State representative, 
New Orleans city councilman and Secretary of the U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. Her brother, Mitch Landrieu, was 
Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor, and both her father and brother have 
served as mayors of New Orleans--her father during an era of renewal, 
and her brother during an era of rebuilding.
  Mary has clearly stepped up to the plate during the devastation of 
Hurricane Katrina and the horrendous BP oil spill. Those are the kinds 
of challenges that none of us expect when we enter public life--but 
they are the challenges which show our communities what we are made of.
  Senator Landrieu rose to both challenges. She has worked as hard as 
any Senator has ever worked to see that her constituents were taken 
care of. She has pushed hard on Federal agencies to help rebuild, and 
passed legislation to help with Gulf restoration. She has also fought 
to see that flood insurance rates remain affordable--not just for those 
in Louisiana, but across the country.
  Her efforts have earned the respect of everyone she has worked with, 
and she earned the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Senate Energy 
and Natural Resources Committee as well as the Senate Small Business 
and Entrepreneurship Committee. I know that the issues she championed 
on these two committees were important to her constituents and I admire 
her advocacy for jobs in her State and more opportunities for small 
businesses.
  Of course, Senator Landrieu's work extended beyond these two 
committees. For years, she worked on adoption, education, conservation, 
and other issues that were near and dear to her heart.
  All of us will miss Mary's drive, tenacity, and willingness to work 
with others to get things done. She will continue to be a tough and 
relentless fighter for Louisiana no matter what her next challenge will 
be.
  Aloha, Mary, a hui hou, ``until we meet again.''


                               MARK PRYOR

  Mr. President, I wish to say a few words about my colleague, Senator 
Mark Pryor of Arkansas, who will be ending his tenure in the Senate at 
the end of this Congress.
  The Pryor name is synonymous with public service in Arkansas. Mark's 
father, David, served Arkansas in the U.S. House, as Governor, and in 
the U.S. Senate. In fact, Mark succeeded his father in the U.S. Senate 
after serving in the State legislature and as attorney general.
  Throughout his two terms in the Senate, Mark has been a workhorse and 
not a showhorse. As he noted in his farewell remarks, he is not one to 
attend many press conferences. But he certainly has done a lot of work 
on behalf of the people of Arkansas. In 12 years in the Senate he has 
worked to get 70 laws passed--many on a bipartisan basis.
  His work improves the lives of Americans and our youth each day--from 
his work in consumer product safety, access to health care, veterans 
issues, and more. He has fought to protect Medicare, and to support 
Arkansas' farmers, small businesses, and middle class families.
  That may be why in his 2008 reelection to the Senate he earned more 
votes than any statewide elected official in Arkansas history.
  Senator Pryor told us in his farewell to look inside our desks and 
see the names written in the drawer, to see the predecessors who have 
come before us. These names can serve as a reminder of what we all are 
here for and what large shoes we must fill, as well as how we must 
collaborate to get things done.
  Mark has spoken about the fact that politics is about people--both 
the people we serve and the people we serve with.
  While there are many good people serving here, we will all miss the 
work ethic, warmth, and charm that Mark brought to the Senate during 
his service.
  It has been an honor serving as his colleague.
  Aloha, Mark, a hui hou, ``until we meet again.''

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