[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 144 (Tuesday, August 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5967-S5969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Remembering John McCain

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I come to the floor to speak in honor, in 
memory, of our colleague Senator John Sidney McCain III. I asked myself 
a series of questions as I was trying to prepare for today's comments.
  First, who was he? Who was John McCain? John was a man deeply in love 
with his country and its promise, a man optimistic that tomorrow would 
be better than today, and a man grateful for the chance to serve a 
cause greater than himself. His humor was rooted in that hopefulness, 
the sometimes sharp sting of his words in debate rooted in his passion 
for his cause and his love of the fight, and his restlessness rooted in 
impatience to get on with it, to get busy defending liberty or making a 
difference in the world to help soften the burdens of millions not yet 
free. John was both a romantic and a cynic, as some of have said, in 
love with and passionate about the causes he fought for, yet clear-eyed 
about the long odds he often faced in a world hostile to our ideals.
  In trying to summarize John, just reviewing a few of his titles 
barely captures the sweep and complexity of this man--naval aviator, 
POW, captain, Congressman, Senator, chairman of the Commerce Committee, 
chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Presidential nominee of his 
party, statesman, hero.
  John also treasured, deeply, two titles rarely mentioned here--
husband and father. He clearly loved his family and was every bit as 
privately passionate about them as he was publicly passionate about the 
causes he fought for here and around the world.
  To Cindy and to all of John's family, thank you so much for sharing 
him with us, for sustaining him in his service over 60 years of his 
remarkable service to our Nation.
  I was so honored to get to know John first as a colleague and then as 
a traveling companion and mentor and, in recent years, to be able to 
count him as a friend. We didn't always agree, or even often agree, on 
a very wide range of policy and political issues. On one thing in 
particular, I deeply admired and followed his lead as best I could. 
John was convinced what makes America great, what has always made 
America great, is its values, its principles; that we stand for 
something in the world, not the example of our power but the power of 
our example; that only when we fight for those values, when we fight 
for the values that define us apart from other powerful nations--for 
human rights, for freedom of speech and religious expression, for a 
free press, an independent judiciary, open and fair elections, for the 
very foundations of democracy as guarantors of human liberty--only then 
do we best use our power to act in the world.
  What impact did John McCain have on those of us in the Senate and on 
our country? John commanded this Chamber when he spoke like few others 
I have ever known, and he commanded it precisely because he called us 
to our better selves, to put down the tools of petty partisanship so 
often on display here and to work together to fashion better solutions 
to the problems of our day.
  It was a great honor to be his cosponsor on his last immigration 
reform bill earlier this year--a bill which offered not partisan 
promises but a way forward to fix our immigration system, which has, 
for far too long, been badly broken.
  Indeed, from immigration to healthcare, national security to foreign 
relations, John challenged us, pushed us to act in ways more worthy of 
this place and its history as the greatest deliberative body on Earth, 
as a full equal to the Executive, our President, as a group elected and 
empowered over longer terms to know each other, to respect each other, 
and engage with each other in the real and hard and good work of 
advancing America's values at home and abroad.
  What impact did John McCain have on me, the junior Senator from 
Delaware? First, my predecessor, former Senator and Vice President Joe 
Biden, let me know, from my first day here, that John was a treasure 
and a challenge and that I would, in serving alongside him, have a 
unique opportunity to learn from someone whose scope of experience was, 
in many ways, unmatched among our current Senate colleagues.
  I had the honor of traveling with John, of seeing him at his absolute 
best, of seeing him show compassion for Syrian refugees at a camp in 
Jordan, hearing him confront corrupt foreign leaders and encourage our 
men and women in harm's way, and, most memorably, visiting Vietnam to 
see the genuine warmth with which the Vietnamese people and their 
leaders regarded him.
  I first encountered John overseas on my first codel, or congressional 
delegation trip, just a few months into my first term, early in 2011. I 
was traveling with Senators Manchin, Corker, and Sanders, and we had 
visited Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Israel. It was quite a group 
and a memorable trip at a time of great conflict, particularly in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was our last day in Israel before 
returning home. I spotted former Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut 
at dinner at the David Citadel Hotel, and he waved me over. He and 
McCain had just finished a long dinner, and Lieberman asked me to sit 
down and talk about our trip, our experiences, and recent developments 
in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  McCain barely acknowledged my presence with a gruff grunt and seemed 
genuinely distracted and even annoyed as I was answering Joe 
Lieberman's questions, McCain looking around the room and barely paying 
any attention. After 10 minutes, John snapped to and asked me three 
pointed and challenging questions, testing my observations and my 
conclusions. Rattled and intimidated, I defended as best I could my 
insights before his withering questioning. McCain grunted and stormed 
off, and in the silence of his wake he left behind him, Joe Lieberman 
leaned over and said: I think he really likes you.
  I said: How can you tell?
  To which Lieberman responded: He wouldn't have bothered asking you 
those questions or waiting for your answers if he didn't think you had 
something to say.
  There followed invitations to travel, which I accepted less often 
than I should have, but three trips were especially memorable. While 
visiting a refugee camp in Jordan where hundreds of Syrians had 
literally just arrived, fleeing the butchery of Assad's troops, John 
wept with compassion for women who recounted their husbands being 
murdered before them and their children being taken from them. John 
promised to fight for them and their cause relentlessly, and he did.

  Just after inauguration last year at the North Atlantic Regional 
Security Conference in Halifax, Canada, I got to see John command 
respect across the board from political and military leaders from a 
dozen countries, and I heard as leaders from allies and partners across 
Europe--from the Baltics to the Balkins--pressed him for reassurance 
that we would keep our commitments, defend our values, and stand by 
their young democracies in the face of Russian aggression.
  During that trip, too, Senator McCain, once again, reiterated his 
principled, unequivocal stand against the use of torture. His 
unwavering commitment on that issue at that critical time was just one 
of the many ways John nudged us ever closer to our ideals.
  Finally, on an unforgettable trip to Vietnam just last June, I got to 
visit the Hanoi Hilton with John to hear his indescribable description 
of the deep deprivations of his long captivity and torture and then got 
to see in person

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the high regard the people and leaders of Vietnam had for him as a 
warrior and a peacemaker, a statesman, and healer of the wounds of that 
war.
  We admired John for all these things, but working with him in the 
Senate, traveling with him, many of us got to know him as not just a 
war hero and statesman but a colleague, even a friend. John's temper 
was quick and fierce. On more than one occasion, I swear he peeled the 
paint off the wall behind me with a fiery stream of profanity-laced 
invective, but he also, more often than not, later apologized, came 
around, listened, even considered. He was that breed of Senator--too 
rare today--who knew how to fight passionately, yet not make it 
personal; whom I could respect, even when I thought he was deeply 
wrong; who pushed me relentlessly to defend and explain my own 
positions and votes.
  He showed unusual kindness to my children, my father and stepmother 
when they visited, and I was struck by the delight John took in 
visiting with schoolchildren and seniors, with people of all kinds of 
backgrounds when they visited this Capitol he loved.
  He also took wicked delight in teasing, and testing and working with 
journalists, always letting them in on the joke or giving them a heads-
up when good trouble was brewing.
  Most importantly, Senator John McCain was genuinely humble, not the 
false modesty of a popular politician who knows he should feign 
indifference to the cheers of a crowd. No, John's humility was real, a 
demonstrated humility of one who knows he is a flawed and fallen human, 
as are we all, and then sets about being open and accountable for his 
shortcomings.
  John, remarkably, for a modern politician, wrote and spoke about and 
acted on the ways in which he fell short. In an excellent recent HBO 
biography of him, ``For Whom the Bell Tolls,'' McCain subjected himself 
to accountability for chapters in his life I am certain he would have 
rather left forgotten in history.
  In talking about the 2000 Presidential primaries, rather than simply 
blaming his opponents and their dirty tricks for his loss, John took 
responsibility for his failure to stand up in South Carolina against 
the practice of flying the Confederate flag over their State capitol.
  John, even more strikingly, directly addressed his association with 
the Keating Five scandal. John McCain was cleared, but he viewed that 
scandal as part of the larger and growing problem of campaign finance 
that has threatened the ethics of all who serve here. Rather than 
moving past it, he owned it and acted on it, angering leaders in both 
parties by working relentlessly with Senator Feingold until they passed 
the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill.
  John also used his hardest personal experience to make some of his 
most important contributions. Having himself survived imprisonment and 
torture at the hands of his Vietnamese captors, Captain McCain could 
easily have returned home after those 5\1/2\ harrowing years in 
captivity to serve out his time and retire in comfort. Instead, he 
continued his cause of serving our Nation and, while here, worked 
tirelessly to champion those unjustly imprisoned around the world. 
Dissidents and activists who spoke up for freedom and against dictators 
knew no more dedicated friend than Senator McCain, and we on the Senate 
Human Rights Caucus intend to carry forward that work.
  After 9/11, when our own country was engaged in enhanced 
interrogation techniques that could only be called torture, Senator 
McCain was irate and insisted we end a practice he knew was both of 
limited value and that demeans both tortured and torturer.

  John's passion on this point wasn't just the pain of one who had 
experienced it himself, it was the pain of someone who loved his 
country and felt deeply the shame of episodes like Abu Ghraib and then 
worked to address them.
  What will it mean to have Senator McCain no longer here with us? My 
fear and concern is, we will not soon see another Member of John's 
stature join us, a stature John earned over decades of service and a 
demonstrated willingness to put country over party and cause over self.
  Senator McCain earned his ``Maverick'' title. It would serve all of 
us well to remember that even as his principled stands cost him the 
support of many in his party and even home State, he won the accolades 
of many more here and millions abroad who were delighted to see someone 
willing to risk reaching across the aisle and around the world from 
those hoping we will continue to fight for the values that best define 
America.
  What should we do? What should we do to honor the memory and legacy 
of Senator McCain? First, fight the dreaded disease that took him from 
us, as it did my dear friend Beau Biden, beloved son of my predecessor 
Joe--Beau was taken too young--and Senator Ted Kennedy, another great 
lion of this Senate who was lost at a time he was needed most. Brain 
cancer has robbed us of our best and brightest, and we must work harder 
to cure and end this disease.
  As has been proposed, I believe we should rename the great Senate 
building in which John served for decades, that we might keep his 
memory alive for future generations.
  I also think we should strengthen and invest in national service, an 
expectation that all young Americans will serve their country in some 
way, military or civilian, which will take effort and investment, but 
service as a young man helped John fall in love with our Nation. At a 
time of great division, I can think of nothing greater to remind us of 
the spirit of service in which John lived his life than to make it 
possible for the hundreds of thousands of young Americans who want to 
serve--whether in Teach For America or Habitat for Humanity, the Peace 
Corps or our military--by expanding those opportunities for them to 
learn skills, commit themselves to our community and country, and earn 
tuition funds for college through service.
  We must stay engaged internationally and lead by the power of our 
example. John would say this requires us to advance not just America's 
cherished values, but our interests--to stand against authoritarian 
leaders from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, and to stand with 
our democratic partners and allies like those in NATO.
  Last, we have to continue in John's spirit of working across the 
aisle. I was struck, while hearing his remarkable speech in 
Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center, where my predecessor, 
Vice President Biden, spoke movingly in introducing him, and Senator 
McCain's acceptance of that award. It should be mandatory viewing at 
every high school in America. It was clear these two men, who served 
decades alongside each other, genuinely knew each other, knew each 
other's families, knew each other's values, respected each other, even 
though they rarely, if ever, agreed. We must do that too.
  We have to demonstrate that we can work together and, like John, be 
cheerful and grateful in our service.
  I caught my breath as I walked into this Chamber yesterday, seeing 
John's desk draped in black velvet and with white flowers rather than 
seeing his remarkable stature, hearing his punctuated speech and his 
dramatic call to action that so often rang through this space.
  John, I will not soon meet another man like you, and I only hope to 
someday deserve the friendship you extended to a young and 
inexperienced Senator and to follow your example of genuine humility, 
dedication, and passion in tirelessly serving the greatest Nation on 
Earth and the best hope for freedom in our world.
  Rest well, dear friend. May God Himself hold you in the palm of His 
hand and give peace to you and your family.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be able to 
complete my remarks here today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an American hero, 
a powerful leader, and a dear friend, Senator John McCain. After 
decades of dedicated service to this Nation, John was taken from us 
over the weekend. The good Senator from Arizona fought his battle with 
brain cancer as he did every battle in his life, with toughness and 
tenacity, with grit, and with grace. This week, I join millions in 
mourning the passing of a beloved patriot. Over a

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lifetime of selfless service, John came to embody the very pinnacle of 
American virtue, courage, commitment, integrity, and sacrifice. These 
are the precepts he lived by and by which he will always be remembered.
  No one is more worthy of the word ``hero'' than John McCain. The 
Senate--indeed, I should say, the Nation--will miss the steady, guiding 
presence of a singular statesman.
  By now, the biographical details of Senator McCain's life have been 
covered at length. The son of a four-star Navy admiral, John knew great 
expectations from an early age. He was to forgo the comforts of 
civilian life and fight for freedom, which he did.
  What is exceptional about John McCain is that he not only met the 
heavy expectations placed upon him, he far exceeded them. Few have ever 
risen to the positions of influence that John McCain did. Fewer still 
have done so and kept their character intact, but Senator John McCain 
did. Indeed, he never parted from it. As a prisoner of war in Vietnam, 
John was offered release on multiple occasions. Yet he refused each 
offer until the POWs incarcerated before him were also released.
  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for 
his country, for his friends. John possessed such love, proving time 
and again his willingness to lay down his life for his brothers in 
uniform. As a captive, John McCain personified selfless sacrifice, 
offering himself as a bargaining chip to secure the freedom of his 
fellow countrymen.
  Each day, for more than 2,000 days, he endured horrors that few of us 
could ever imagine: solitary confinement, forced starvation, repeated 
beatings, and the constant threat of death. Yet he stayed the course, 
finding strength in the love he felt for his fellow servicemen--and 
most of all, the love he felt for his beloved country.
  When John was eventually released in the spring of 1973, he came home 
a living scar of Vietnam. The cartilage in his knees was all but gone, 
the bones in his body broken by endless beatings. He was a walking 
testament to the brutalities of torture and the depths of human 
depravity, but the hell of war was not enough to stop John McCain from 
being a happy warrior. Upon his return, he continued the same mission 
he started in Vietnam: looking out for the safety and welfare of his 
fellow sailors.
  Few remember that the time before John was elected to Congress, he 
was the Navy's Senate liaison. It was in this capacity that he and I 
first became friends. Even then, John impressed me with his sense of 
mission, going to incredible lengths to ensure that our service men and 
women had the resources they needed to keep us safe. He would carry 
that same commitment with him when he was elected to the House of 
Representatives in 1982 and 5 years later when he joined us in the 
Senate.
  The Pentagon had no closer ally than John McCain. They also had no 
fiercer critic. Like an admiral who demanded only the very best of his 
sailors, John wanted to ensure that our servicemen were living to their 
full potential, and so he held our Armed Forces to the highest 
standard, never hesitating to call out bureaucratic complacency and 
runaway spending in military ranks. Our men and women in uniform were 
stronger and our Nation more safe because of his efforts. No one 
commanded more respect than John McCain as the chairman of the Senate 
Armed Services Committee.
  John constantly put others before himself as a prisoner of war, and 
he did the same as a Senator. He was the kind of a friend you could 
count on for help when you needed it most.

  Nearly 20 years ago, Governor Mitt Romney--who at the time had been 
tasked with salvaging the Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games--came to me 
with a pressing problem: With only months to go before the opening 
ceremony, Utah lacked the Federal funding it desperately needed to pull 
off the Olympic Games.
  In our moment of need, we turned to Senator McCain. I took Mitt over 
to see him. The two of us marched up to Senator McCain's office in the 
Russell Building. Even though we came unannounced, Senator McCain 
gladly received us. Together, Mitt and I made the case for emergency 
funding. Within days, we had secured the resources we needed to move 
forward with the games, all thanks to Senator John McCain. Were it not 
for John's quick action, I can honestly say the 2002 Winter Olympics 
would not have been a success. In fact, it would have been an 
embarrassment. He was not excited about putting up Federal funds 
either, but all I had to do was ask, and he said fine.
  So esteemed was John by his Republican colleagues that we didn't 
hesitate to throw our support behind him in the 2008 Presidential 
election. Senator McCain mounted an admirable campaign, refusing to 
stoop to the political mudslinging that all too often defines 
Presidential contests. I agree with the assessment of the late Charles 
Krauthammer:

       McCain ran a valiant race against impossible odds. He will 
     be--he should be--remembered as the most worthy Presidential 
     nominee ever to be denied the prize.

  That was a wonderful quote.
  We will remember John for many things--for his courage as a sailor, 
for his dedication as a Senator, and for his principle as a statesman. 
We will also remember how he embodied the best in us. John McCain was a 
man for all seasons--a voice of temperance in intemperate times and a 
model of civility and reason. The tragedy of his passing is that we 
need men like John McCain now more than ever before.
  I consider myself incredibly lucky to have known John and even 
luckier to have called him friend. Here in the Senate and across the 
Nation, we will miss him dearly.
  John, thank you for blessing us with your service and your sacrifice.
  Today, my prayers are with the people of Arizona and the McCain 
family. I differed with John from time to time, but we never had any 
acrimony between us. He was always open. He would come across and help 
me when I needed the help here in the Senate, as I would do for him. It 
was a privilege to serve with him. I feel very deeply about John 
McCain, and I am very pleased that I can stand here as one of his 
friends who knew him well and praise him--maybe not as good as I really 
feel but good enough.