[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 78 (Monday, May 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to John McCain

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I had an opportunity yesterday to visit 
our friend John McCain. It was in a beautiful location, Sedona. It is 
about a 2-hour drive from Phoenix.
  John and Cindy and I had a chance to sit on the back porch and 
reminisce about our friendship and all we had shared over the last 30 
years. We had some laughs. We mainly reminisced about the battles. 
Sometimes we were on the same side, and sometimes we were not. Yet one 
thing about our colleague John McCain is you would rather be on his 
side than not. For 10 years, we had a very vigorous debate about an 
issue he and I both cared about, and we were on opposite sides. It 
ended up going all the way to the Supreme Court. He won and I lost, and 
we worked hard to establish a new relationship after that vigorous 
battle of a decade.
  We all know his story all too well--that of a genuine American hero. 
We admire the tenacity and the grit it took to survive those 5\1/2\ 
years in the Hanoi Hilton and the way he refused to go home early, as 
he certainly could have, given the prominence of his father's position 
in the Navy. It is pretty hard to think of any serious issues that face 
our Nation without recalling the role John played in so many things 
that are important to our country.
  Over the last few years, I am sure the Presiding Officer would agree 
with me that we saw him as the shadow Secretary of State during the 
Obama years as he traveled the world--sometimes on a long weekend--to 
some of the least desirable places to visit. I avoided those trips, but 
for those who took them, it was a little bit like the Bataan Death 
March. Junkets they were not. He was an important foreign policy and 
defense voice for our country. He was also passionate in working to 
take better care of our veterans. No one, with the possible exception 
of Senator Isakson, spent more time working on veterans' issues and 
trying to take care of them, as they richly deserve, than John McCain.
  At this point in his life, he, obviously, has a little time to sit 
and rest and reflect under the desert sky and to simply take in the 
beautiful, peaceful Nation he has worked so hard and so long to protect 
and pass on to all of our children.
  One thing we all know about John--and it remains the case today--is 
that he doesn't have a relaxed bone in his body. He still has plenty to 
say about work, I assure you. He misses his colleagues, and he would 
rather be here. I told him we miss him, too--all the great jokes, the 
smart-alecky comments. He was a joy to be around.
  I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell him how much his 
friendship has meant to me, so that is why I was out there this 
weekend. While I was there, I said I was confident I was speaking for 
everybody in the Senate in conveying our deepest respect to him for all 
he has done for this country during a truly extraordinary life.
  Mr. KING. Will the Senator yield for a comment?
  Mr. McCONNELL. Yes.
  Mr. KING. Mr. President, I join in thanking the majority leader for, 
No. 1, going to see Senator McCain and, No. 2, for the comments he 
made. I came here 5\1/2\ years ago and had never met John McCain, but I 
have gotten to know him over that period by serving on his Armed 
Services Committee and by traveling with him.
  Over the weekend, I told some friends in Maine that traveling with 
John McCain is like a long march with Paul McCartney. You work hard, 
and everyone in the world knows it. He is an extraordinary leader and 
one of the most principled people I have ever met. I was speaking to a 
college graduation in far northern Maine and characterized him, almost 
spontaneously, as a person whom I consider to be the greatest living 
American. The audience broke into spontaneous applause because, I 
think, they agreed.
  I thank the Senator for the time he has taken to acknowledge this 
great American today, and I join my comments with his in recognizing 
one of the most extraordinary careers in American history. I thank the 
Senator for his comments.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I thank my friend from Maine.


   70th Anniversary of Israel's Independence and the Opening of the 
                     American Embassy in Jerusalem

  Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, today marks 70 years 
since Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948. Ever since, 
this brave nation has shown as a beacon of democracy in a troubled 
region and has stood as a valued friend of the United States.
  It is fitting that another historic event took place just today. This 
morning, an American delegation, including top administration officials 
and several of our own colleagues, were on hand in Jerusalem, Israel's 
capital, to officially open the new American Embassy in that city.
  I am proud the administration sent this clear signal on behalf of all 
Americans. We recognize the fact that Jerusalem is Israel's capital, 
plain and simple. That is where our Embassy belongs. Now, thanks to the 
President's decision, that is where it will be.