[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7854-S7855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DEPARTING SENATORS

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to salute my 
colleagues who are departing the Senate at the conclusion of the 115th 
Congress: Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Orrin Hatch 
of Utah, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Dean Heller of Nevada, Joe 
Donnelly of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Bill Nelson of 
Florida, and Jon Kyl of Arizona. All of these Members have dedicated 
themselves to serving their constituents, their States, and our 
country. The institution of the Senate and the Nation as a whole are 
stronger because of their service and commitment.
  I have been privileged to serve with each and every one of them and 
want to spend a few moments thanking each of them for the wisdom and 
experience they brought to their work and for their friendship.
  Bob Corker and I worked on many foreign policy matters together, 
given my role as ranking member on the Armed Services Committee and his 
as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. I have appreciated 
Bob's willingness to reach across the aisle in an attempt to remove 
barriers to gaining bipartisan cooperation on bills and other policy 
matters. I also appreciate how much Bob was willing to speak his mind 
and stand up to administrations of his party and of my party over the 
last several years, particularly with respect to his very astute 
analysis of the situation with Russia and other major issues 
confronting the United States today.
  He has long focused on international development and human rights, 
causes I have been glad to support alongside him, including a joint 
resolution, Supporting a Diplomatic Solution in Yemen and Condemning 
the Murder of Jamal Khashoggi; for promoting economic growth in 
developing countries through U.S. business investment in the recently 
enacted BUILD Act; and consistently fighting to end modern slavery.
  We also served together on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
Committee. Here, too, he spent his time reaching across the aisle, 
trying to find constructive solutions, and informing our work on issues 
ranging from financial system reforms to housing finance.
  We will miss his bipartisan spirit, and I wish Bob only the best as 
he leaves the Senate.
  I have also had the privilege and pleasure to join with Jeff Flake in 
many moments; last week, we were at an event together honoring the late 
Senator John McCain. He reminisced about the times he worked with John 
on key policies that aimed to put our country over party politics.
  He worked hard to resolve tough issues like immigration reform and 
protecting the special counsel investigation, and his preferred route 
to addressing these challenges was not to increase the heated rhetoric 
but to turn down the volume of the debate, so all sides could be heard 
and so the Senate could try to move forward in a rational and 
bipartisan way.
  Just as with Bob Corker, Jeff's approach will be missed in this body. 
I hope others on both sides of the aisle will recognize what they have 
done and take up their mantle.
  Orrin Hatch has long served the people of Utah with distinction as 
chairman of three committees: Finance, Judiciary and what was once 
called the Labor Committee but is now the HELP Committee. He worked 
across the aisle to pass landmark laws, often with his friend Senator 
Ted Kennedy. He was instrumental in passing critical laws, like 
expanding access to healthcare for children through the CHIP program 
and providing help to those suffering with HIV/AIDS through the Ryan 
White CARE Act.
  I was pleased to have the opportunity to work with him in 2005, 2010, 
and 2015 to reauthorize the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act, to 
build upon and improve the National Marrow Donor Program and the 
National Cord Blood Inventory to better treat diseases and expand 
access to lifesaving therapies.
  Most recently, he helped enact the Music Modernization Act, which I 
know meant a lot to him, given his own musical interests and talents.
  He ends his service here as the Senate's President pro tempore. I 
wish him health and happiness in his retirement. I think his retirement 
will be just as active as his days in the U.S. Senate, given his 
personality and also given his determination to serve wherever he is.
  Heidi Heitkamp, as she put it ``beat the odds'' to get here. A breast 
cancer survivor, the lesson she learned from that experience is to use 
the time she has been given for ``good and noble purposes.'' She 
``chose for good or for bad to come to the United States Senate'' and 
has served a noble purpose with noble action.
  We are so grateful that she did. Heidi has been a tireless champion 
of North Dakota throughout her time in the Senate. She worked hard to 
advance opportunities for Native Americans and veterans, to boost 
funding for flood protection, and to secure the northern border, to 
name just a few.
  She and I worked together on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
Committee. Most recently, I was particularly appreciative of her 
insight on proxy access and her support for my legislation on this 
matter, S. 3614, the Corporate Governance Fairness Act.
  Heidi has also been a relentless advocate for a functioning Export-
Import Bank, an issue critical to many North Dakotans. Her voice and 
insight will be missed on this issue and so many others that come 
before the banking committee.
  In addition, over the last 2 years, Heidi has taken on the issue of 
maternal mortality rates in our country. More women in the United 
States die from pregnancy-related complications than in most developed 
nations, and the number is increasing. This has impacted so many 
families in North Dakota and across the country, and Heidi has worked 
across the aisle to put forth solutions. In the coming days, we expect 
President Trump to sign into law her legislation, which I was 
privileged to cosponsor, to help address this issue. I salute her and 
wish her the best.
  Dean Heller and I worked together with a great deal of energy and 
commitment when both of our States and our Nation were in deep crisis 
in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Nevada and Rhode Island took 
turns having the sad distinction of the highest

[[Page S7855]]

unemployment levels in the country. We worked to ensure extensions of 
emergency unemployment assistance in order to provide relief to 
Americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
  Our work together was of great importance, and I wish him the best in 
all of his future endeavors.
  I want to turn my attention to three Members I had the privilege to 
work with and serve with on the Armed Services Committee.
  Joe Donnelly has been the ranking member of the Strategic Forces 
Subcommittee. He chose this position because of the Navy's installation 
in Indiana called the Naval Surface Warfare Center--Crane. This 
installation serves as the primary engineering center for the Navy's 
Strategic Systems Program, which manages our fleet of ballistic missile 
weapons systems. I had the chance to join Joe on a visit, and I was 
most impressed with their capabilities but more impressed with his 
tireless efforts to ensure that this facility--and indeed all of 
Indiana--had the very best.
  In addition to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the 
resources and tools they need--like those manufactured in Crane--Joe 
has always been concerned about caring for veterans and is a well-known 
advocate for suicide prevention programs. Indeed, it was his 
legislation, more than any others, that helped establish a program to 
assist veterans and to assist Active-Duty personnel who are coping with 
suicidal tendencies. That was something Joe did with great passion and 
great commitment and great success.
  Joe assumed the seat that Senator Richard Lugar previously held and 
carried on the legacy of Senator Lugar's Cooperative Threat Reduction 
Program into the future, which today continues to secure stocks of 
nuclear, chemical, and biological agents around the world. His work on 
reducing stockpiles of these dangerous weapons is a critical component 
of making the world safer for generations to come.
  Joe Donnelly has done great work here, and I wish him well. He is a 
gentleman and someone I admire and respect immensely.
  I have also been extremely proud to serve alongside Claire McCaskill 
on the Armed Services Committee. Claire has been a leader of the Senate 
effort to prevent and respond to sexual assault in our military. She 
was a principal cosponsor of the Victims Protection Act, a bipartisan 
package of reforms that represent a substantial leap forward in 
preventing and responding to sexual assaults in the military. It is a 
testament to Claire's determination and hard work that these laws are 
in place, but, also, she was the first to recognize that our work is 
not done. She was continually involved in ensuring that whatever 
legislative initiatives we passed were actually implemented. That work 
is ongoing, and Claire's efforts have given us a strong foundation to 
continue those efforts.
  In addition to the Victims Protection Act, Claire led the effort to 
reform management of Arlington National Cemetery to address significant 
problems with the burials of servicemembers and helped to establish a 
single agency responsible for POW-MIA recovery and accounting efforts.
  Claire has also worked tirelessly to end wasteful wartime contracting 
practices, following in the footsteps of another Missouri Senator and 
one of her political heroes, President Harry S. Truman. Claire has been 
a steadfast advocate for oversight throughout her career, and her work 
to root out waste and strengthen accountability has made a difference 
in how effectively the government works for the American people.
  Again, I wish her well in the future and know it will be a future 
that is also committed to service to others.
  Bill Nelson has been a close and valued colleague for many years in 
the Armed Services Committee. He is the only Senator to have flown in 
space and, as a result, has been our acknowledged expert, to both 
Republicans and Democrats, on matters pertaining to space. His 
knowledge of military and civilian space issues was particularly 
important during our debate on replacing the Russian RD-180 rocket 
engine, which is used in a number of national security launches, with a 
U.S. variant. That debate, along with his leadership on NASA 
reauthorization legislation, has introduced competition for space 
launch to a wide array of new companies. As a nation, we are much 
better off for his efforts. Because of Senator Nelson's leadership, we 
now have a vibrant and entrepreneurial launch and satellite industry 
that reaches well outside the traditional national security realm and 
is lowering the cost of access to space.
  Recently, he took on the cyber mission as the ranking member on the 
Cybersecurity Subcommittee. His steady hand was integral in guiding 
this new subcommittee during a time in which we face countless cyber 
threats. We will miss his knowledge and leadership as we debate 
pressing issues of our national security in the next Congress and 
Congresses to come.
  He has also done able work as the lead Democrat on the Commerce 
Committee, fighting for consumers. And, as a strong advocate for 
stricter gun control legislation, we worked together on the 3D Printed 
Gun Safety Act of 2018 and on the Extreme Risk Protection Order and 
Violence Prevention Act.
  I also want to thank him for his leadership in enacting the Military 
Lending Act in 2006, which caps the annual interest rate for an 
extension of consumer credit to a servicemember or his or her 
dependents at 36 percent. Because of his efforts, servicemembers and 
their families have strong consumer protections that defend them 
against unscrupulous lenders who unpatriotically prey upon them while 
they are selflessly and courageously defending our Nation. He has done 
a remarkable job because this legislation truly does protect our 
protectors--those men and women who serve overseas--so they are not 
taken advantage of here, back at home.
  I enjoyed our time serving together and wish him the best as he goes 
forward. He is a great American.
  Finally, I would like to recognize Senator Jon Kyl. I thank Jon for 
his willingness to serve again following the passing of Senator John 
McCain.
  I had the privilege of serving with him in his prior stint in this 
body. He served for many years in Republican leadership, including as 
minority whip. He was also a longstanding member of the Finance 
Committee. I was not on this committee, but given my advocacy for 
extending unemployment insurance--for which there was a critical need 
at the time--I did have a chance to serve with him on the Conference 
Committee for the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.
  It was a pleasure to serve with him. He is a man of principle, a man 
of great decency and dignity, someone who has honored the Senate with 
his service, honored Arizona with his service, and makes us all very 
proud to know him. It was indeed a pleasure to serve, all too briefly, 
with him as a member of the Armed Services Committee.
  I would like to thank him for his service and wish him well as he 
leaves this body once more. To all my colleagues, I give them my 
greatest respect and admiration for their service to their States, to 
the Senate, and to the United States of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. My friend from Nebraska, Senator Sasse, tells me he has 
remarks that will take approximately 2 minutes. I have remarks that 
will follow that will take somewhat longer than 2 minutes.
  I ask unanimous consent that Senator Sasse be allowed to speak before 
me and that I might speak afterward for such time as I will consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Nebraska.

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