[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 209 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                       TRIBUTE TO LAMAR ALEXANDER

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when Lamar Alexander came to the Senate in 
2002, he brought with him a wealth of experience and years of service 
to the State of Tennessee. As a Senator, he has remained a strong 
advocate for his State and its citizens, and as a colleague, he has 
shown a willingness to work across the aisle for the good of his 
constituents, of the Senate, and of the Nation. Our partnership is one 
that I will miss when he leaves the Senate.
  Throughout his career--as Governor of Tennessee, as president of the 
University of Tennessee, and as the Secretary of Education for 
President George H.W. Bush, and as a U.S. Senator--Lamar has dedicated 
himself to improving education quality and access for Tennesseans and 
all Americans alike. He has continued and advanced that work as the 
chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
Committee. Senator Alexander has a proven record of working across the 
aisle to develop solutions to our country's most pressing healthcare 
and education challenge, and we know there are many.
  I have had the privilege of working with Senator Alexander for many 
years on the Appropriations Committee. Senator Alexander has been a 
trusted partner on the committee, striving to reach bipartisan 
compromise, which I believe has long been the hallmark of the 
Appropriations Committee. His work as the current chairman of the 
Energy and Water Subcommittee has helped make investments in clean and 
renewable energy initiatives, which in turn have brought about economic 
development and investment. I have long appreciated the work he has 
done to support agencies, programs, and initiatives that improve the 
lives of all Americans.
  In a body as divisive as the Senate has come to be in recent times, 
Lamar has become more than a fellow Senator; he has become a friend. 
Lamar, Honey, and their children and grandchildren deserve all the best 
that the coming years have in store for them.

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