[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H6914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING RETIRING SENATOR PAT ROBERTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, this month, after 40 years of service as a 
Member of Congress, our senior Senator of Kansas will be moving his 
belongings out of his office in the Hart Senate Office Building to a 
private library.
  To best honor him, I would like to share some of his original wit, 
some of the quips for which he is most famous. Number one:

       Take your job seriously, but not yourself.
       There are no self-made men or women in public service. It 
     is your family, friends, and staff who have made you what you 
     are.

  Another couple of favorites:

       You are only as good as your staff.
       It isn't the best possible bill; it is the best bill 
     possible.

  In reference to an opponent who sometimes disagrees with you, he 
suggested:

       Go smother them with the milk of human kindness.

  On his commitment to agriculture, he said:

       We live in a troubled and hungry world.
       Food security is national security.

  When asked about why we need agriculture programs, the Senator once 
said:

       You can't eat a shoe.

  On life, when asked about making a mistake, he suggested that:

       You go hunker down and take it like a donkey in a 
     hailstorm.

  He once said:

       Remember, when you roll around with pigs, you both get 
     dirty, but only one of you enjoys it.

  On sports, at football games, he often said:

       Throw the ball to the tight end. He was wide open.

  And, of course, as we all know, the Senator was the unofficial tight 
end coach for the ever-optimistic and fighting Kansas State Wildcats.
  At a townhall, when a rabid constituent gave a forceful opposing 
opinion, he once replied:

       I'll mark you down as undecided.

  I loved when he referred to Kansas University as that school over by 
Baker.
  The Senator, once a marine, was always a marine. He was often quoted 
saying ``take the hill'' and ``semper fi.''
  But my personal favorite:

       There are lots of cactuses in the world, but you don't have 
     to go sit on every one.

  When I first meet successful, influential people, people who I have 
read about or know of, I have often asked myself: Is there any 
substance to this person? Is there character and integrity? What is 
truly important to them?
  I would like to share, as we have gotten to know Senator Roberts and 
his wife, Franki, I have found that their footprints are larger than 
their shadows, their hearts are bigger than their words, their love of 
this country, their love of Kansas, more than any words I can find to 
describe.
  Personally, I cannot imagine any memory of Senator Roberts without 
thinking of his bride, his South Carolina magnolia blossom, as he often 
called her, whom he married some 51 years ago. She is absolutely his 
rock, the person I always see standing beside him with adoring eyes. 
While occasionally she gives him a gentle nudge, everyone knows she 
always has his back.
  Laina and I want to personally thank Senator Roberts and Franki, who 
have embraced us with hospitality and kindness since arriving ourselves 
in Washington, D.C., some 4 years ago. They have shown us what it is to 
be an ambassador for our State. From Christmas gatherings at the White 
House to farm bill hearings in a barn, they have shown what servant 
leadership looks like, representing our State with dignity and grace.
  Senator Roberts is the only person in American history to have his 
portrait in both the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate 
Agriculture Committee hearing rooms.
  Senator Roberts has had a hand in writing eight farm bills. He has 
been on a Federal congressional agriculture committee for 40 years 
running. Some of his greatest accomplishments include those eight farm 
bills, and I am going to reference two of them.
  The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, which he 
was the primary author and chairman, this became known as the Freedom 
to Farm bill.
  Chairman Roberts has often told the story--I have heard this maybe 
once or twice--of sitting on the tongue of the wagon of a farmer in 
Dodge City, Kansas, with all of his farm experts, and his good friend, 
Leon Torline said: Pat, we all need freedom to farm.
  Sure enough, this agriculture policy gave producers the freedom to 
plant crops based on market indicators, not Federal Government set-
aside policies.
  Next, I will reference the first farm bill I participated in, the 
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, on which he was the primary author 
as chairman. Probably most notably, this farm bill received more votes 
than any farm bill in modern history, with 87 in favor.
  I would like to also mention the 2016 National Bioengineered Food 
Disclosure Act. This Federal legislation created standards for labeling 
food with ingredients derived from biotechnology.
  Then his 2000 Agriculture Risk Protection Act reformed national crop 
insurance and led to its widespread use today.
  Finally, I will mention Senator Roberts was always the leader in bio-
agro security legislation. As chairman of the Senate Armed Services 
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, Senator Roberts 
chaired the first Senate hearing on the threat to our Nation's food 
supply.
  I will close with this. Though Senator Roberts will always be known 
for his wit, being an entertaining speaker, and a great interview, his 
actions and his accomplishments will always speak louder than any of 
his words.
  He and Franki have been tremendous ambassadors for agriculture, for 
Kansas, and for America. They have climbed many mountains, and they 
have planted the flag.
  Senator Roberts, semper fi. May God richly bless you, Franki, and 
your family.

                          ____________________