[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7709-S7710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO DEPARTING REPUBLICAN SENATE COLLEAGUES

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to my friends 
and colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle who are departing 
the Senate at the conclusion of this Congress. Although we might not 
have always seen eye-to-eye on every issue, I am proud to have worked 
with them on finding solutions to the many challenges facing the 
American people.
  On January 3, when the new Congress is sworn in, we will be missing 
among our ranks a stalwart advocate for the people of Wyoming who has 
valiantly served in the U.S. Senate for 23 years, Mike Enzi. Senator 
Enzi's service to this body has been defined both by a commitment to 
principle and a willingness to find common ground. Mike believed fully 
that our focus in Washington must always be on crafting legislation, 
not making headlines. He took a low-ego approach to lawmaking and 
prized delivering results over fomenting conflict. On many occasions, 
he extended a hand to those working on the other side of the aisle, 
including the late great Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, with whom he 
collaborated in crafting the bipartisan Sarbanes-Oxley Act. I was 
privileged to serve with Senator Enzi on the Senate Budget Committee, 
and despite our differences, he always made an effort to treat me and 
others on the committee with kindness, as a true professional and a 
gentleman. His infamous ``80 percent tool''--the notion that all of us 
can agree on 80 percent of the issues 80 percent of the time--will 
continue to remind us on Capitol Hill of the capacity for Congress to 
come together on the issues that matter. I wish him the best in the 
years to come.
  I am also sad to say goodbye to my neighbor in the Senate Hart 
Building and a veteran of this Chamber, Senator Pat Roberts, who is 
retiring after four decades serving his home State of Kansas in the 
U.S. Congress. Although Senator Roberts has had a storied career in 
Washington, all of us know that his first love was the U.S. Marine 
Corps. Pat Roberts took what he learned in the Armed Forces of 
humility, friendship, and cooperation and brought those values with him 
to Washington. As a lawmaker, Senator Roberts has led with good humor 
and grace. I was honored to serve with him on the Senate Agriculture 
Committee, where we worked together on the 2018 farm bill to enhance 
provisions to help farmers clean up the Chesapeake Bay, correct an 
inequity in how our 1890 HBCUs spend Federal funds, and support our 
Nation's minority and veteran farmers. I was also pleased that he 
joined me in introducing a bill that would fully fund the IDEA in order 
to support our schools and ensure a first-rate education for children 
with disabilities. His tireless commitment to promoting comity and 
camaraderie in this body demonstrated that kindness often precedes 
compromise. I salute the years of service he has given in the defense 
of our Nation and the promotion of the common good. And I say directly 
to my colleague and friend, Pat Roberts: semper fi and Godspeed.
  But of those departing the Congress this year, few rival the 
erudition, warmth, and spirit of Senator Lamar Alexander. He is a true 
renaissance man, who excelled in the academy as president of the 
University of Tennessee, served our country first as Governor, then as 
Senator, and has entertained scores of captivated listeners with his 
skills at a piano. Those of us in the U.S. Senate who have had the 
distinct pleasure of working with Lamar Alexander recognize his talent 
for building consensus and reaching across the aisle to hammer out real 
solutions to the problems facing the American people. I am particularly 
grateful for his work on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources, leading the charge to publish a report on our Nation's 
competitiveness in science and technology. That report, ``Rising Above 
the Gathering Storm,'' produced findings that have been vital to the 
promotion of increased funding for science and STEM education in my

[[Page S7710]]

State of Maryland and across the country. And his leadership in 
shepherding through the Great American Outdoors Act has allowed for 
serious investments in our Nation's public lands, our conservation 
efforts, and our outdoor economy. Senator Alexander's commitment to 
bridge-building presents a model for how the U.S. Congress can come 
together, despite the nature of these divisive times. He will be dearly 
missed.
  Lastly, I would like to extend a warm farewell to my colleague 
Senator Cory Gardner from the great State of Colorado. Cory Gardner and 
I first met in the House of Representatives in 2011. I had just started 
my fifth term representing Maryland in the House, and then-Congressman 
Gardner was being sworn in for the first time as the Member from 
Colorado's fourth. We got to know each other even better in 2017, when 
I joined the U.S. Senate and served as the chair of the Democratic 
Senatorial Campaign Committee opposite Senator Gardner, who was 
chairing the National Republican Senatorial Committee. We didn't always 
agree on how best to move our country forward, but I have no doubt in 
my mind that Senator Gardner has served our country with unceasing 
optimism and love for his State. He possesses a profound and deep 
respect for our Nation's history and institutions. I send my best to 
him and his family.

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