[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 8, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7249-S7250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Martha McSally

  Madam President, I didn't get as much time as I would have liked to 
work with Martha McSally. She spent just 2 years with us here in the 
Senate, but she made the most of them.
  Martha's record is well known: 26 years in the Air Force, multiple 
deployments to the Middle East and Afghanistan, the first woman in U.S. 
history to fly a fighter jet in combat, the first woman in U.S. history 
to command a fighter squadron in combat, the Bronze Star, six Air 
Medals, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. And the list goes 
on.
  I am a longtime runner, basketball player, sports fan, so I am pretty 
committed to exercise, and one of the places I got to know Martha after 
she came to the Senate was in the Senate gym. Martha was a regular 
there.
  I have always believed that you can tell a lot about somebody by the 
work ethic that they bring when they are approaching physical exercise, 
something I saw growing up with my dad. He was a World War II fighter 
pilot who embodied the humility and quiet service that characterized 
the ``greatest generation,'' and those traits carried over in his 
approach to sports. He was a basketball and track coach when I was 
growing up and, prior to that, the most valuable player for the 
University of Minnesota basketball team back in 1941.
  He approached everything with humility and service. Those were the 
values that he emphasized the most. Your job as a member of the team 
was to make the team better, not to make yourself look good. And if the 
team needed you to make the basket, then great, but if the team needed 
you to make that extra pass so that someone else could make the shot, 
then that is what you did.
  That is the way that my dad taught us, the way that he coached us, 
and I have always said and believed that you can tell a lot about 
someone by how they approach physical exercise and sporting events and 
that sort of thing.

[[Page S7250]]

I can tell you that Martha attacked it just like she does everything 
else. She approaches that with the same determination and intensity 
that she does in every other aspect of her life.
  She pushes herself to her limits, and those are the qualities that 
she has displayed throughout her career, whether she was breaking glass 
ceilings in the military or fighting here in Congress to protect the A-
10 Warthog.
  She has made the most of her 2 years in the Senate, tying for the 
most bills signed into law during her first year. And Arizona has 
benefited from her tenacity and commitment.
  Martha is tough and determined, but she is also kind and generous, 
all traits that were displayed in her farewell speech last week. There 
was a lot to admire in that speech. I was particularly struck by the 
gratitude that she displayed. A lesser person might have betrayed some 
bitterness at the brevity of her time here. Martha was just grateful--
grateful for the opportunity to serve, grateful for the team who worked 
with her, grateful for what she was able to accomplish for Arizona.
  I am grateful not only to have served with her but to have had her as 
a part of the whip team here in this Congress. Unsurprisingly, she was 
a dedicated and effective deputy whip, and I will miss having her on 
the team.
  At the end of her farewell address, Martha said:

       Today represents a change in seasons for me. I don't yet 
     have clarity on what my next mission will be, but I do know 
     who is the author and finisher of my faith and that He 
     created each of us with a purpose.

  I am confident that the author of our faith has more great missions 
in mind for Martha McSally, and I look forward to seeing her take them 
on.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.