[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 177 (Thursday, December 8, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6879-S6880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTES TO DEPARTING SENATORS

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know it is always difficult to come to 
the floor and talk about the departure of our good friends and valued 
colleagues. The word I have heard mentioned the most this week is 
``bittersweet''--people looking forward to the next chapter of their 
lives but regretting the fact that good friends and valued colleagues 
are moving on to the next chapter of their lives. But every other 
December, we find ourselves bidding farewell to some of our most 
admired and respected Members. Today I wish to speak briefly about four 
of them, starting with our good friend from New Hampshire, Senator 
Ayotte.


                              Kelly Ayotte

  Mr. President, Senator Ayotte and I have more in common than may meet 
the eye, so let me explain. Our hometowns are 2,000 miles away, so it 
doesn't seem obvious. She served as attorney general of the State of 
New Hampshire and holds the distinction of being New Hampshire's first 
and only female attorney general. She was first appointed to that 
position by a Republican Governor, and she did such an outstanding job 
serving the people that she was reappointed to that position by a 
Democratic Governor.
  Everybody who knows Kelly Ayotte knows that she epitomizes the spirit 
of bipartisanship and comradery that makes a good public servant a 
great one. That has been evident in her work she has done here in the 
U.S. Senate. From the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to 
multiple national security issues, Senator Ayotte has been eager to 
work with Members on both sides of the aisle when it comes down to 
doing what is best for the people of her State and for the United 
States.
  Senator Ayotte and I both come from military families. My dad flew in 
the Army Air Corps in World War II, with the 303rd Bomb Group of the 
Air Force. Her grandfather also served in World War II. And, as many of 
us know, Joe, her husband, served in the Air Force and the Air National 
Guard, and he flew combat missions in Bosnia and Iraq. Senator Ayotte's 
firsthand knowledge of the military has been a great help to us, 
particularly in her role on the Armed Services Committee.
  Kelly will tell us that she does her best to listen first, to take in 
the concerns and priorities of her fellow Granite Staters, discuss the 
merits of each side's policy position, and only then carefully and 
methodically reach a well-considered decision. That patience and 
willingness to listen and consider all views has served her well during 
her tenure in the U.S. Senate. It is a lesson we all should take to 
heart and learn from by her good example.
  I want to add my thanks to our friend, Senator Kelly Ayotte, for her 
years of service on behalf of the people of New Hampshire. I also thank 
her husband Joe Daley and their two children, Katherine and Jacob, for 
their steadfast support of Joe's wife and their children's mom over 
these past years.
  I don't know in what capacity Kelly will continue to serve her 
community and her State and her Nation, but I know we will be hearing 
and seeing her more in some capacity of service, and I look forward to 
seeing where and in what capacity she finally decides to serve next.


                               Dan Coats

  Mr. President, next I wish to recognize our friend, Senator Dan 
Coats. Senator Coats is a well-known commodity not just in Hoosier 
country but across the United States. He has earned the reputation of a 
distinguished statesman who genuinely doesn't need an introduction 
because his sterling reputation precedes him.
  We know his impressive resume. After serving the country as a soldier 
in the Army, he decided he wanted to continue in public service, so he 
worked as a congressional staffer for then-Congressman Dan Quayle. When 
his boss decided to run for the Senate and won, Senator Coats took his 
boss's congressional seat to serve in the House of Representatives. And 
when Senator Quayle became Vice President Quayle, Representative Coats 
became Senator Coats, following on in his example.
  He broke that pattern of following in the footsteps of the former 
Vice President when he was appointed Ambassador to Germany. In the 
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, he was an instrumental diplomat, working 
with our allies in Europe as we responded and as the world responded to 
the worst terror attack on our country in our history.
  I know I speak for every Member here when I say that we are grateful 
Senator Coats came out of retirement and came back to the Senate in 
2010. We have come to know that he is a warrior when it comes to 
wasteful Washington spending, and every week he comes to the floor to 
talk about his waste of the week. It is a service to all of us, really, 
to remind us that we have a lot of work to do in that area but also to 
point out how we can save taxpayers' dollars and use them more 
efficiently.
  Many folks wouldn't know that he regularly attends the weekly Prayer 
Breakfast we have here in the Senate as well, which is a great time for 
Senators to come together and to support one another. It reflects Dan's 
commitment to faithfully encourage his colleagues day in and day out.
  My colleagues know that Senator Coats is also a big fan of getting 
things done during votes, and he knows how to work a room. He has been 
on

[[Page S6880]]

the deputy whip team and helped consult with and helped inform our 
colleagues in a way that has helped us to actually get legislation 
passed by unifying us.
  Suffice it to say Senator Coats is a true diplomat wherever he goes, 
and this Chamber has been a better, more civil place with him in it.
  I know Dan would be the first to tell us that his decades of public 
service were made possible because of the equal partner he has in his 
wife Marsha. They met in college. They have been married more than 50 
years, and they are a great example to all of us. So thanks to Marsha 
and their children and grandchildren for sharing Dan all these years.
  I have a suspicion that Senator Coats doesn't have it in him to step 
totally away from public service, and there has been some news and 
discussion as to whether he might be in the running for another 
important position, perhaps in the next administration. I know we all 
look forward to seeing where he goes next to serve our country, which 
we know is so important to him.


                              David Vitter

  Mr. President, I would also like to say a few words about the senior 
Senator from Louisiana, David Vitter. Back in the 113th Congress, in 
2013, I began my tenure as the Republican whip, and at the same time I 
invited Senator Vitter to serve the conference as a deputy whip. One 
thing we always know about David Vitter, whether you are a colleague, a 
staffer, or a constituent, is that no matter what, he is going to have 
thought carefully about the issue in ways that perhaps surprise many of 
us, and when he has something to say about an issue, it is always 
something worth listening to. I can't say that about all of us, but 
certainly Senator Vitter adds to the value of our deliberations every 
time he speaks.
  But, of course, nothing is closer to his heart than the people of 
Louisiana, and what he has done diligently and faithfully here is serve 
the people of his State. I have had the pleasure of working with him on 
issues we share in common, like coastal protection issues that affect 
both of our States with our gulf coast.
  Senator Vitter was sworn into office the same year Hurricane Katrina 
struck New Orleans. As a matter of fact, for a time, he and his family 
literally lived outside the Houston area because of the devastation 
wrought by that terrible hurricane--a storm that FEMA called the 
``single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history.'' Katrina 
did billions of dollars' worth of damage, killed almost 2,000 people, 
left thousands without a roof over their heads, and cut the population 
of New Orleans in half. About 100,000 of those, I am told, made 
permanent residence in Texas, having had their homes destroyed.
  I know Senator Vitter took this devastation as a personal challenge. 
He hit the ground running. When the people of Louisiana needed him 
most, he worked at every level of government to bring them together and 
get the help they needed. Of course, just a few years after Katrina, 
Hurricane Ike pummeled its way through the Gulf Coast of Mexico before 
making landfall on the Texas coast. So I have had a number of 
opportunities to work with Senator Vitter not only on recovery efforts 
for our States but to make sure our communities along the coast stand 
ready to help each other and particularly as we prepare for future 
storms.
  I wish him and his wife Wendy and their entire family well as they 
look to more adventures and more opportunities to serve. I have no 
doubt he will continue to take his passion for helping the people of 
Louisiana with him wherever the future may lead.


                               Mark Kirk

  Finally, Mr. President, I wish to recognize the senior Senator from 
Illinois, Mark Kirk. If my colleagues have noticed Senator Kirk's 
interests on the floor, they will notice a trend. In addition to 
supporting measures that help the people of Illinois, he is laser-
focused on keeping America safe. He provides us a declassified 
situation map that shows us where the U.S. military is engaged in 
fighting the War on Terror in the Middle East and in Africa.
  He is a former member of the U.S. Navy, and so he has worked long and 
hard to strengthen our military at every turn. He has been a thoughtful 
and vocal critic of some of our Nation's biggest adversaries, like 
North Korea and Iran. Mark has never been one to shy away from more 
sanctions or steeper penalties for those countries if it means the 
United States will be safer as a result. To put it simply, Mark Kirk is 
a great patriot.
  We all know his personal story of overcoming a stroke and his great 
perseverance and fortitude. It really has been an inspiration to watch 
Mark as he has recovered from that devastating stroke and continued to 
be an enormously productive Senator on behalf of the State of Illinois.
  It has been a joy to see him turn that difficult circumstance into a 
rallying cry to help others get the best care and rehabilitation 
available today.
  So I am personally grateful to Senator Kirk for many things, but in 
particular I want to mention his strong support of anti-human 
trafficking legislation. I joined him in Chicago a few years ago to 
speak with law enforcement about the connections between organized 
crime and sex trafficking. Mark has never wavered from his support for 
important legislation that we passed here this last year called the 
Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. He understood right from the 
beginning that human trafficking was essentially modern-day slavery, 
targeting, as it did, vulnerable children--typically a child of 12 to 
14 years old who has run away from home, only to find themselves unable 
to leave because they have become a victim of slavery. So I am thankful 
to Senator Kirk for standing up for the victims of human trafficking 
and taking care of and prioritizing our veterans and service men and 
women.
  Let me close by saying thank you again to our friends Senator Kirk, 
Senator Vitter, Senator Coats, and Senator Ayotte for the indelible 
mark and contributions they made to the Senate and my sincere 
appreciation for how they have faithfully served our country. I am 
grateful for their friendship and wish them and their families well as 
they tackle new ventures ahead.
  I will just close by saying we have another colleague who has been 
nominated to serve as Attorney General, who still has to go through the 
process of confirmation and advice and consent by the Senate. That, of 
course, would be the senior Senator from Alabama, Mr. Sessions--not to 
jinx him; I will wait until that process is concluded, but I will be 
back here speaking about him at the appropriate time.
  With that, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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