[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 72 (Thursday, May 2, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Bruce D. Benson

  Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, today I come to the floor to celebrate 
the life and career of Bruce Davey Benson or, as so many people know, 
Bruce D. Benson or, to all of us, just Bruce.
  I first met Bruce Benson in 1994. Now, he will not remember this at 
all, but I remember that I was a young college student at Colorado 
State University. We were in the parking lot before a game. I had the 
incredible honor of being one of the chosen ones to take the ram, our 
mascot, around the football team at the football game before sporting 
events throughout Colorado State University.
  I remember, in 1994, when the campaign for Governor began, Bruce 
Benson threw his hat in the ring to run against Roy Romer. He was 
working the crowd at this Colorado State football game, and he came up 
to those of us who were the ram handlers that were with the mascot, 
shook our hands, and introduced himself. So from that moment, the first 
chance I got to meet Bruce Benson in 1994, I knew it was going to be an 
incredible opportunity and relationship that would lead into years of 
public service for myself because of how incredible his public service 
had been to the State of Colorado and the legacy he built.
  This July, Bruce will be retiring as the president of the University 
of Colorado system, which currently oversees four campuses in Colorado: 
the University of Colorado Denver, CU Colorado Springs, the University 
of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and the CU Boulder campus--the 
campus where I earned my law degree.
  He has a long history of bettering the lives of Coloradoans. Prior to 
his appointment as president of the University of Colorado, Bruce 
established himself in business, philanthropy, politics, and education.
  Bruce graduated from the University of Colorado in 1964 with a 
bachelor of arts in geology and founded the Benson Mineral Group. This 
is a great story of somebody pulling themselves up by their own 
bootstraps--taking the education he was able to earn himself and using 
it to build an incredible life of opportunity for his family and the 
people of Colorado. What started out as a $6,000 drilling rig on the 
back of his truck turned into a hugely successful operation, with a 
reach extending into banking, real estate, and even cable television.
  Bruce prioritized his community and the education of others within 
it. Over the next 20 years, he would serve on the Colorado Commission 
of Higher Education, the board of trustees for the Metro State College 
of Denver, P-20 Education Coordinating Council, and the Governor's Blue 
Ribbon Panel for Higher Education for the 21st Century, all of which he 
chaired at one point.
  He was involved in Colorado politics, serving as the chair for the 
Colorado Republican Party, helping to identify candidates and being an 
instrumental part in candidates' campaigns over many decades.
  Bruce was appointed to the board of directors for the National Park 
Foundation and served on the National Endowment for the Humanities--a 
position that required his confirmation right here in front of the U.S. 
Senate.
  I remember the work he did on education issues--lobbying other 
Senators, fighting for Colorado dollars, fighting for policies that 
would help better Children's Hospital in Colorado, and fighting for 
more funding for children's healthcare. After nearly 45 years in 
business in Colorado, Bruce was inducted into the Colorado Business 
Hall of Fame in 2009.
  There is a saying about President Franklin Roosevelt, FDR. One time 
when somebody was asked if they knew President Roosevelt, they said no, 
but they felt President Roosevelt knew them. I think that saying can be 
applied to Bruce Benson because even if you didn't know him or don't 
know him in Colorado, odds are, if you are a Coloradan, he has had a 
positive impact on your life. He welcomed diversity in the classroom, 
not only in background but also in thought. He never wanted the 
university to teach people what to think; he wanted the university to 
teach them how to think. Bruce learned long ago that he didn't know 
everything, but if you surround yourself with the best, the rest will 
follow.
  A lot has changed over the last 10 years of his leadership, and so 
has the university and the State we both call home. We don't know where 
we would be today without Bruce's fierce work ethic and drive to 
educate those around him, but we know the future wouldn't be nearly as 
bright. For all this and so much more, we owe him a great many thanks.
  To President Benson, thank you for your service to our great State of 
Colorado, and thank you for your friendship.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all post cloture 
time is expired.
  The question is, Will the Senate advise and consent to the Ruiz 
nomination?
  Mr. GARDNER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Colorado (Mr. Bennet) 
and the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Booker) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. (Mr. Scott of Florida). Are there any other 
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 90, nays 8, as follows:

                       [Rollcall Vote No. 91 Ex.]

                                YEAS--90

     Alexander
     Baldwin
     Barrasso
     Blackburn
     Blumenthal
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Braun
     Brown
     Burr
     Cantwell
     Capito
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Cassidy
     Collins
     Coons
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Cramer
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Feinstein
     Fischer
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Harris
     Hassan
     Hawley
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Hoeven
     Hyde-Smith
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Jones
     Kaine
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Leahy
     Lee
     Manchin
     McConnell
     McSally
     Menendez
     Merkley
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Murphy
     Murray
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Reed
     Risch
     Roberts
     Romney
     Rosen
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Schatz
     Scott (FL)
     Scott (SC)
     Shaheen
     Shelby
     Sinema
     Smith
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Toomey
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warner
     Whitehouse
     Wicker
     Wyden
     Young

                                NAYS--8

     Gillibrand
     Klobuchar
     Markey
     Peters
     Sanders
     Schumer
     Stabenow
     Warren

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Bennet
     Booker
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the motion to 
reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table, and the 
President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.