[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2306-S2308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Maiden Speech

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, it is an honor to speak on the

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floor of the Senate today for the first time. I really want to say a 
thank you to my colleagues here in the Senate for the warm welcome, 
especially Senator Alexander, for the friendship, advice, and counsel 
he supplies to each and every one of us, especially to me.
  I am really humbled to be here as the first female elected from 
Tennessee to serve in the Senate. I just have to note that a few 
decades ago, neither the Presiding Officer, who is the first woman from 
West Virginia, nor I could have been here in this Chamber speaking 
because women would not have been allowed. Yet our suffragists took 
care of that with women getting the right to vote.
  I love this quote by Susan B. Anthony. I think it is so good and 
appropriate for us: ``I declare to you that woman must not depend upon 
the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there 
I take my stand.''
  Women have always been fierce defenders of freedom and freedom's 
cause. Many times people will say to me: Why do you choose to serve? 
For me, it really is more or less a calling to public service. In that 
calling, I find it important to defeat the narrative that still exists 
to this day that conservative women should be seen but not heard. Here 
in this Chamber and in my role, I will continue to fight against a 
media that chooses to empower women on one side of the political aisle 
and denigrate those of us on the other side of the aisle. I am going to 
make certain that conservative women do have a strong voice in the 
Senate.
  I am here because, throughout my history--my family's history, as I 
have researched our history--there were so many who chose to serve in 
the military. There are others, like my family, who have chosen to 
serve our communities and our neighbors in our schools, in our 
churches, and in community activities. I regard my public service as a 
civic duty and a way to give back to the country that has given me so 
many blessings.
  What I have found from Tennesseans is that many of them are just like 
me. They have grown up in a rural area. They have worked hard, and they 
have built their version of the American dream. I am very typical of 
that. I grew up on a farm, attended college, married, had children, two 
grandchildren, and really appreciate the opportunities I have been 
given to work hard, to build a business, and to share in the benefits 
of hard work.
  Politically, I fought the establishment of both parties in Tennessee 
when I was in the State senate. There, thousands of Tennesseans joined 
me in opposing a massive, job-killing State income tax. We won that 
fight.
  Ever since, I have been focused on fighting high taxes and fighting 
wasteful spending because I know the money we appropriate and that gets 
spent is not Washington's money; it is the taxpayers' hard-earned 
money. Government ought not have the first right of refusal on your 
paycheck, but it does. It is part of our duty as public servants to be 
responsible stewards of the taxpayers' money and to be aggressive in 
rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.
  I think we should heed the 2010 warning of the then-Chairman of the 
Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, when he said: ``The most significant 
threat to our national security is our debt.''
  Our debt today is a staggering $22 trillion. Now, think about this. 
When George Bush left office, that debt was at $10.7 trillion. It is 
$22 trillion today. For our children and for our grandchildren, I think 
it is immoral to pass on this kind of debt.
  I am also here because I am pro-life, and I will protect those who 
cannot protect themselves. I will tell you it is astounding to me that 
this body could not pass legislation that would protect babies who are 
born alive as a result of botched abortions. It is a disgrace. Big 
Abortion must be held accountable because its actions are a stain on 
the moral fabric of our country.
  Just as I promised Tennesseans, I promise my colleagues that I am 
going to work hard and will stand strong for what I believe in because 
I know I am working for freedom, free people, and free markets. As 
Frederick Douglass said, ``I would unite with anybody to do right and 
with nobody to do wrong.'' I invite all of my colleagues to join me in 
protecting what I term to be the ``big five''--faith, family, freedom, 
hope, and opportunity, especially freedom.
  Washington needs to be reminded of just how precious the core value 
of freedom is, not only for Tennesseans but for all Americans. Every 
community and every church in Tennessee is filled with veterans and 
families who have sacrificed and who cherish that hard-won gift of 
freedom. They talk about it regularly. They have parades. When the 
troops come home, they celebrate our freedom. In Tennessee, we have 
470,000 veterans who call Tennessee home, and it is such an honor to 
come to this body and stand with them because of the work they have 
done for us.
  I serve on the Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs Committees. We 
know our military has to have the resources it needs to fight our 21st 
century adversaries. Our veterans deserve not only our thanks but the 
benefits that have been offered to them. So, last month, I introduced 
the Gold Star Family Fellowship Program Act. This will establish a 
fellowship for those Gold Star families in our Senate offices. I have 
also joined Senator Tester in the Hello Girls Congressional Gold Medal 
Act to honor our women soldiers from World War I.
  I am here to make certain our Nation is a nation of legal immigrants, 
not of illegal immigrants. The chaos at the border should embarrass 
each and every one of us as it has been decades in the making. This 
crisis is something we ought to work together on solving--drug 
trafficking, sex trafficking, human trafficking, and gangs. We must 
solve it rather than allow it to be a political issue for a campaign.
  I am here to work to protect your right to privacy--the physical and 
the virtual space. Yesterday Senator Klobuchar and I sent a letter to 
the FTC that focuses on how we protect Americans from what I call the 
data pirates at Google and Facebook. Your privacy is important, and I 
believe you and I have the right to send notes to our friends without 
having the entire stories of our lives sold to the highest online 
bidder.
  We are finishing our work on the BROWSER Act. I introduced this when 
I was in the House, and we are going to introduce it here because I 
believe it is imperative to give you the tools to protect yourselves 
online. I believe we need one set of privacy rules for the entire 
internet ecosystem. This is what you call fairness.
  Our family has always believed we have a responsibility to leave a 
place in better shape than we found it. It is, more or less, our family 
mantra.
  I will say that changing the rules of the Senate to allow for the 
confirmations of judges and to proceed on the Executive Calendar are 
exactly the right moves. You can call it the nuclear option or whatever 
you want to call it. In the press, I have heard it called many things 
in the last few days, but obstruction tactics do absolutely nothing to 
leave this Chamber or the country in better shape. Maybe it makes for 
good political rhetoric, but our country deserves better.
  I agree with Leader McConnell. This is a key way to help our Nation 
and our Chamber function fully and better. As a member of the Judiciary 
Committee, I am going to work to confirm those qualified judges who 
will respect and uphold the Constitution.
  In January, it was an honor to be sworn in by Justice Brett Kavanaugh 
and to join Senator Ernst as being the first Republican women on the 
Judiciary Committee. Being the first woman ever elected to the Senate 
from Tennessee and being a conservative woman are things that are not 
lost on me. Indeed, conservative women have quite a track record in 
leading the fight for freedom in our Nation's history.

  At the top of that record is fighting and winning the right for women 
to vote. Next year, we are going to celebrate the 100th anniversary of 
the ratification of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to 
vote. You may not be aware, but Tennessee was the 36th and the decisive 
State to ratify this amendment. It was the suffragists who fought and 
led that charge, and I am honored to join so many of our female 
colleagues in this Chamber in drafting legislation to honor that 
anniversary. Indeed, I am going to provide all of our colleagues the 
opportunity to cosponsor and participate in one of those bills that 
will have a commemorative coin for the event.

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  Howard Baker--a great Tennessean and the former majority leader of 
this body--once remarked about the nature of the Senate: ``[And] if we 
cannot be civil to one another, and if we stop dealing with those with 
whom we disagree, or that we don't like, we would soon stop functioning 
altogether.''
  With that in mind, my time in the Senate is going to be focused on 
action and accomplishment--things that will lead to positive change.
  Many times, people have asked me: What is one of your strengths? What 
do you think helps you in the political process?
  I have repeatedly said: I am a pretty good change agent.
  That is something we need to do to fully function and to serve our 
Nation.
  Tennessee has constituencies across every sector of our Nation's 
economy, and they are wanting change. They want fair and free markets, 
less regulation, less taxation, and less litigation. Our industries are 
in agriculture, energy production, financial services, national 
security installations, veterans hospitals, world-class universities, 
healthcare, manufacturing, technology, entertainment, and 
communications.
  In Tennessee, we are a logistics hub, with great networks and 
intermodal facilities. As a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation Committee, I am going to work with them to make certain 
that when the Federal Government shows up, it is there to be a help and 
not a hindrance.
  Tennessee is a cultural leader and is the Nation's center for music, 
songwriting, and religion. The people want protection of the works they 
create and of the sermons they preach.
  Tennesseans also tell me that as their Senator, they want me to be 
aware they are concerned about the future of the Nation. It is 
unimaginable to Tennesseans that nearly three decades after the end of 
the Cold War, there is a debate in Washington about, are you for 
socialism or are you for freedom? They cannot believe this is 
happening. They want to make certain we are going to continue to push 
forward and protect this Nation and protect our freedoms that we have. 
We will continue to do that and to push back.
  We have a lot of challenges we are going to face. Tennesseans want to 
make certain that we are going to be there to focus on prosperity and 
leadership for future generations. This is going to require our paying 
attention to technology. My colleagues will find that I am going to 
work to push for 5G and next-generation technologies for both our 
commercial and military space.
  Senator Baldwin and I are introducing bipartisan legislation to 
advance rural broadband, and I have joined Senators Gardner and Cortez 
Masto on the ACCESS BROADBAND Act to make resources available to rural 
communities. Technology is not only enabled by freedom, it enhances 
freedom.
  Make no mistake, our technology and our power are being challenged by 
all of our adversaries. Primary among them is Communist China, which is 
a threat to our country because it steals our technology, our 
innovations, and in its unfair trading practices and monetary policy. 
We should all be united in taking on the Chinese. Our Tennesseans talk 
to me regularly about their concerns about some of the theft that takes 
place by China. We have other enemies as well--from Maduro in Venezuela 
to the Ayatollahs in Iran, to Kim Jong Un in North Korea. We must stand 
together as Americans if we are to advance the cause of freedom.
  Tennesseans have been clear in what they want and in what they expect 
from their U.S. Senator. They want somebody who is going to listen to 
them and be concerned about the stories of their lives, not the DC 
story of the day. Tennesseans are ready for bold ideas on how the 
Federal Government should spend their taxpayer dollars.
  They don't want tweaks around the edges of bills; they want something 
bold. They are concerned about how we are going to fund the military. 
They are concerned about what we are going to do to further our 
presence in this land.
  Tennesseans want a Senator who will respect freedom and the rule of 
law. It is a beautiful and diverse State. It represents the best of 
what this Nation has to offer. Our history reflects a common set of 
values that are based on faith, family freedom, hope, and opportunity, 
and I look forward to working with my colleagues to preserve these 
values and to fight back against those who would attempt to undermine 
them.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). The majority leader.