[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7483-S7484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to Cory Gardner

  Mr. President, Senator Gardner. Senator Gardner and I served together 
on the Commerce Committee, and throughout his tenure as a Member of 
Congress, he has been a champion of public lands, and, of course, with 
the beautiful, beautiful national parks in Colorado, I think you 
couldn't be doing your job for your State if you weren't such a leader 
on lands.
  He worked tirelessly to pass the very important Great American 
Outdoors Act--historic legislation that invests in our commitment to 
ensuring our Nation's trails, public lands, parks, and open spaces 
remain protected and accessible for generations while also permanently 
funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I was proud to cosponsor 
this legislation, which, as you all know, was signed into law in 
August.
  We have also worked together on the Commerce Committee on travel and 
tourism, hit especially hard during this pandemic. He may have a little 
bigger ski hills than we have in Minnesota, maybe some higher mountains 
than we have, but we both share not only a love for the outdoors but 
also an understanding of how much tourism contributes to our economy.
  Together, we worked, along with Senator Blunt and Senator Cortez 
Masto, to reauthorize the bipartisan Brand USA bill, which was also 
signed into law. Since 2013, Brand USA has generated a total economic 
impact of nearly $48 billion by allowing our country to pair up with 
the private sector to reach out to visitors, to get them to come to 
America, whether it is the Rocky Mountains in Colorado or whether it is 
the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. Last year, Brand USA generated 
$4.1 billion in incremental visitor spending, resulting in a marketing 
return on investment of 32 to 1.
  I also have fond memories of getting to know Senator Gardner and his 
wife, both at the last inauguration, at the lunch, which I will just 
share--not every detail, but let's say it was a memorable lunch that we 
had. Then, also, we, one time, got to do a humor speech together when 
there was a last-minute cancellation, and I had 3 hours to fill in for 
the Winter Gridiron Dinner, and Senator Gardner did not find out until 
I got there and had to quickly change his jokes from Senator Warner/
Toomey. The jokes about billionaires didn't really fit my fiscal 
situation--or millionaires. Senator Gardner was great, and we had a lot 
of fun that night as well.
  We are going to miss him and miss all of these Senators. One of the 
reasons I wanted to do this all at once was that I think we have to 
remember that this Senate and this institution is bigger than 
ourselves, that people do come and go, and they all make their marks. 
You don't necessarily remember the names of everyone--nor does everyone 
in your State--who is there late at night either passing the Great 
Outdoors Act or the one who is willing to work with a freshman 
Democratic Senator to get a bill passed on paramedics or to be willing 
to take that little bit of a risk and work on some issues that maybe 
aren't popular in your own political party. All of these Senators in 
their own way have shown that courage, whether it is Doug Jones giving 
his first speech on gun safety or whether it is Senator Tom Udall, who 
had a decision to make in what he knew would be his last 2 years: Was 
he going to be the ranking member of the Rules Committee or the Indians 
Affairs Committee? He chose Indian Affairs because he knew that that 
mattered and that this was a group of people who had been so long 
overlooked, and he was going to spend his last 2 years helping them.
  I will miss all of these Senators. I know that they know their work 
will live on, but it is just a reminder to all of us that maybe in 100 
years they won't remember who we are, but people will be benefiting for 
generations to come from their work.
  I yield the floor.

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