[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2850-S2851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Welcoming Senator Hawley of Missouri

  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. President, I am glad to be joined by my good colleague 
Senator Hawley. He brings incredible depth to the issues we talked 
about. He grew up in Lexington, MO, I understand, in smalltown America. 
He was educated in some of the best schools in our country and had the 
great good fortune to be assigned as a John Roberts law clerk in the 
office of another John Roberts law clerk and the good judgment to 
convince her to marry him. He and Erin are a valuable asset to our 
State. They have two wonderful little boys. I have enjoyed the time we 
have had together and look forward to more time with Josh and his 
family. He clearly thinks deeply about the issues that affect the 
country. He is focused on not only the present but the future. Those 
are all good things.

  We have jointly had the opportunity to represent a State that is as 
diverse as any State in the country. I think a week, a month, a year in 
Missouri is probably the closest thing to that same period of time if 
you could somehow condense the entire United States into one place, 
where sometimes St. Louis is seen as the westernmost eastern city and 
Kansas City may be more like Denver than St. Louis. Northern Missouri 
is more like Iowa.
  I would state to Senator Grassley that when crossing the border 
there, you certainly can't tell when you cross from Missouri farmland 
into Iowa farmland and the small cities and small towns. The Bootheel, 
Delta South in character where Josh and I live in Springfield has that 
northwest Arkansas-Oklahoma vitality that is different from anywhere 
else in our State. As we travel actively around our State, as we both 
do, I think we have a great sense of so much of what happens in the 
country. It is still the population center of America, if not the exact 
geographic center. Missouri is where the country comes together.
  Josh had an opportunity last year to talk to tens of thousands of 
Missourians about that and to communicate in other ways with millions 
of Missourians about that. I am glad he is here and glad to welcome him 
to the work we will be doing together. We won't agree every single day 
because if we did, I guess we could have just one Senator and give him 
two votes. But it gives us a chance to talk about the issues we face 
and what that means for our State but also what it means to the 
country.
  I am delighted he has committed himself to public service. 
Missourians have now elected him to two statewide offices in less than 
3 years, and they have expressed that confidence in him.
  With great frequency, I run into students both Josh and Erin had when 
they were both teaching at the Law School at the University of 
Missouri, and they always tell me Erin was the best teacher they ever 
had and often tell me Joshua was the best teacher they ever had. They 
must not have had a class with Erin yet. But I am delighted that they 
are both part of the discussion that will lead America forward. I look 
forward to engaging in that discussion with them and partnering in the 
things we can find to do together and getting a chance to represent our 
strong, unique State that I think is ready to merge into a greater 
future, whether that is with all the healthcare and ag research we see 
happening, the GEOINT focus that is coming into our State because of 
the new NGA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency facility being 
built there.
  This is a time of great opportunity. I am glad to have the chance to 
share part of that opportunity and look at that future with my 
colleague Josh Hawley and certainly want to join others in welcoming 
him officially to the Senate today as he makes his maiden speech to the 
Senate.
  I yield back.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I want to join with my colleague, the 
senior Senator from Missouri, and congratulate the junior Senator from 
Missouri on some wonderful remarks.
  I came into the Congress with Senator Blunt from the House of 
Representatives over 20 years ago, which I guess makes us the old guys 
around here, but it warms my heart and gives me great hope for the 
future to see the caliber and the quality of people who are entering 
public life in the form of people like Senator Hawley.
  He is somebody who not only brings great intellect, great passion, 
and great conviction, but he is a principled leader who is here for the 
right reasons and profoundly wants to make a difference for the future 
of this country. In his remarks, he touched upon the genius of our 
Founders, and that is that average Americans--working men and women in 
this country--have an opportunity to make a difference with their 
voices and with their votes by entering the public arena and being a 
part of our democracy. That is really what this is all about. That is 
what our work should be about every day, is empowering them to do a 
better job in raising their families and serving their communities.
  I certainly look forward to continuing our work with the new Senator 
from Missouri and with the rest of our colleagues here as we embark 
upon that task. I hope we can be successful in restoring that vision 
our Founders had for what this country should be and in each day waking 
up and thinking about the fact that it is not about us; it is about 
what we do to secure a better and brighter future consistent with that 
brilliant past we have been so blessed by because of those who have 
come before and have been willing to enter public life and make a 
difference.
  So thank you and congratulations to Senator Hawley. It is a great 
honor to

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serve with you, and we look forward to working with you in the days and 
weeks and months ahead to serve the very people you talked about in 
your remarks.