[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 193 (Thursday, December 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7324-S7325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO BOB CORKER

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this is that time at the end of a 
Congress when inevitably some of our Members go on to something else 
and leave this body. I want to take this opportunity this morning to 
pay tribute to another distinguished Member of the Senate who is 
leaving us at the end of this year.
  Senator Bob Corker is one of the most hard-working and, frankly, 
relentless Members of this body. He is a builder by trade and a fixer 
by nature. Senator Corker is always a man on a mission. Our 
distinguished colleague hails from a State with a long history of 
impressive Senators. Tennesseans such as Howard Baker, Al Gore, Bill 
Frist, and, of course, our colleague Lamar Alexander all developed 
national reputations as leaders. But after 12 years of working with 
Bob, I could not feel more comfortable saying that he himself will now 
become a part of that great Tennessee legacy. He has met that high bar, 
and he set it high himself.
  No sooner could any Senator turn his or her attention to some 
important but stalled initiative--some dead-end negotiation, some 
thorny national problem--then you would see Bob Corker diving into the 
fray and attacking the problem with everything he had.
  The limitless work ethic, the entrepreneurial drive--these things 
have defined Bob Corker since long before he was sworn in as a Senator. 
He started working odd jobs at age 13. At 25, he had saved up enough 
money to cofound his own construction company--25 years old--and strike 
out for himself. That firm grew from an $8,000 lark into a major 
operation that spanned more than a dozen States.
  Bob was a natural. He was constantly sniffing out opportunities and 
tackling them with vigor. Along the way, he picked up what some close 
to him now joke is an addiction to the feeling of a closing handshake--
that sign that needs were met, a deal was done, and both parties would 
walk away happy.
  The term ``workaholic'' might be putting it mildly. I am told that 
after one particularly hairy negotiation ended in success, Bob 
exclaimed, ``I'd sell it back to him--if I could turn around and buy it 
again!''
  Unlike many of his colleagues, Bob did not necessarily always aspire 
to public service.
  In fact, it took a direct appeal to his builder's instincts to set 
this political career in motion.
  Bob saw a message in a church bulletin. They needed volunteers with 
construction experience to help a mission in Haiti. Bob went along, 
along with his father, and he came back with the drive to keep doing 
real good for real people.
  That conviction eventually took him to city hall in Chattanooga, 
where people still talk about the transformative wave of education 
reform, economic development, and public improvements that was 
unleashed during his time as mayor.
  Tennesseans liked what they saw. They decided the next chapters of 
Bob Corker's serial success story should be written right here on their 
behalf in the U.S. Senate.
  So if I even tried to relate a comprehensive catalog of everything 
Bob Corker has gotten accomplished in the Senate, this speech would be 
our last act of business before New Year's, but a few highlights stand 
out especially.
  It was early in Senator Corker's first term when the financial crisis 
threw our economy into chaos, but this fired-up freshman immediately 
started working with committee chairs and new friends across the aisle. 
He became a pivotal player, putting his private sector acumen to great 
use in helping craft policies to begin restoring stability.

[[Page S7325]]

  He has been a leading voice on housing reform, of course, and the 
combination of his background with his post on the Foreign Relations 
Committee has led to some unique Bob Corker accomplishments. Just this 
year, he has been hard at work on the BUILD Act to overhaul how America 
makes loans to new projects in the developing world.
  He was also a key champion of the electrify Africa bill that became 
law in 2016, laying groundwork for a more stable power grid across that 
continent.
  There are also other subtler ways he has remained the consummate 
businessman. Tennesseans know that many of the good things their junior 
Senator has achieved for his home State didn't even involve 
legislation. Every bit the former mayor, Bob has continued to hustle to 
convince every new job and new investment in sight why his home State 
is the place for them--phone call by phone call, meeting by meeting.
  So the Senate is preparing to say goodbye to one of our most 
energetic and accomplished Members. We will miss his enthusiasm and his 
expertise, but we will also miss his famous generosity and the great 
kindness everyone close to Bob jumps at the chance to describe.
  He is thoughtful to those he knows well and to those he has just met. 
I have it on good authority that on at least one occasion, Bob met a 
promising young man working in a checkout line and signed him up right 
there on the spot for a job interview with his chief of staff.
  Most recently, we know Bob Corker as the brilliant chairman of the 
Foreign Relations Committee. He has traveled constantly. He has engaged 
issues around the world with an enormous degree of skill and capacity. 
He is a powerful voice for American interests and those of our allies 
and a forceful, influential thorn in the side of those who might wish 
us harm.
  He has also used that position to champion vulnerable people around 
the world. His spearheading of the End Modern Slavery Initiative Act, 
focusing resources and attention on a humanitarian crisis affecting 
literally millions, will be a core piece of that legacy.
  I know Bob prides himself on bringing more regular order back to the 
committee and getting it back to basics--legislation, treaties. Under 
his leadership, the committee passed the first authorization bill for 
the State Department--listen to this--in 14 years.
  Predictably, that Bob Corker work ethic is on full display when he is 
traveling the world on our Nation's behalf. I hear that when Bob was 
leading a trip to Israel and Palestine a few years ago, he heard about 
smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza and decided to go see them 
himself.
  So the way I heard it, he arranged for ground transportation to Gaza, 
examined the system, and was back in Tel Aviv later that day to discuss 
the situation with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
  I will admit, though, that I am plenty excited to see what this 
hugely accomplished individual will get into next, and there is plenty 
of talk about what mission is next in the queue.
  I have heard his name is in the hat for an opportunity envied by many 
in this Chamber, and that is the chance to spend a lot more time with 
family. I am sure Elizabeth and the family will oblige with a smooth 
confirmation process.
  I have to admit, whatever comes next, I really doubt we will be able 
to call it a retirement in any ordinary sense of the word. You see, I 
have heard what happens when Bob Corker tries to relax.
  Apparently, there was one summer when he endeavored to take up 
waterskiing. You know--nice, lazy days; soak in the sunshine. Well, 
that didn't last very long. Bob went all in. He practiced and practiced 
and kept at it all summer, and soon he was a masterful but somewhat 
exhausted and burned-out water-skier. Once the challenge was gone, on 
to the next thing, on to the next deal, on to the next construction 
project.
  So, Bob, we will miss you a lot. The Senate and the great State of 
Tennessee will miss your service, but we just simply can't wait to see 
what you build next.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as if 
in morning business.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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