[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 217 (Sunday, December 20, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7873-S7876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO DEPARTING SENATORS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, the end of a Congress is a bittersweet 
time. We reflect with pride on our accomplishments but have a sense of 
wistfulness with respect to the things we have been unable to do. We 
look forward to the holidays, spending more time with our families, and 
having a bit of a respite. But we have to say good-bye to several 
colleagues. I would like to take a few moments to pay tribute to 
Senators who will not be returning when the 117th Congress convenes. 
They are my friends as well as my colleagues and I will miss them and 
the unique attributes, skill, and devotion to public service they have 
brought to the Senate.
  Senator Cory Gardner is a fifth generation Coloradan firmly rooted in 
the State's Eastern Plains whose family has been in the farm implement 
business for over one century. He received his undergraduate degree 
from Colorado State University, where he graduated summa cum laude, and 
his Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
  While Senator Gardner has only been in the Senate since 2015, the 
expression ``got it in one'' certainly applies to him. Perhaps that is 
because he previously worked in the Senate for then-Senator Wayne 
Allard, quickly rising to become Senator Allard's legislative director. 
He served for 6 years in the Colorado House of Representatives and 
another 4 years in the U.S. House of Representatives before being 
elected to the Senate in 2014.
  Here in the Senate, Senator Gardner has been a serious legislator but 
with a cheerful and affable and civil manner. He has worked to bridge 
partisan divides, particularly on energy policy, where he has been one 
of the Republicans' leading advocates of renewable energy. This year, 
the esteemed Lugar Center ranked Senator Gardner as the third most 
bipartisan Senator.
  I have had the opportunity to work with Senator Gardner on the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee as he led the effort to impose sanctions 
against North Korea in his role as chairman of the Foreign Relations 
Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity 
Policy. Through the committee, we also worked together to introduce 
legislation to enhance American maritime capacity and leadership and 
increase support to our allies in the Asia-Pacific region, the Asia-
Pacific Maritime Security Initiative Act of 2016. I was also pleased to 
work with Senator Gardner in 2019 to introduce the Wildlife Refuge 
System Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to provide legal 
authority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--USFWS--to seek 
damages for injury or harm on National Wildlife Refuges, National Fish 
Hatcheries, and other USFWS lands and waters.
  My wife Myrna and I have traveled with Senator Gardner and his wife 
Jaime to promote human rights abroad. His commitment to global human 
rights was crystal clear to Myrna and me. I will miss Senator Gardner 
and his pleasant demeanor, but he is still a young man so I am 
confident he will find new ways to continue serving all Americans, but 
especially the Coloradans he has represented with distinction for the 
past 16 years. I wish him, Jaime, and their children Alyson, Thatcher, 
and Caitlyn all the best.
  Senator Martha McSally has only been in the Senate for 2 years, but 
it is impossible not to be in awe of her true

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grit and determination, perhaps stemming from being the youngest of 
five children. Her father died when she was just 12, leaving her mother 
to raise and support her family. Perhaps it was the example her mother 
set--Senator McSally was determined to let nothing stand in her way. 
She was the valedictorian of her high school and earned an appointment 
to the United States Air Force Academy, where she received a bachelor's 
of science in biology. I am privileged to represent the U.S. Naval 
Academy in Annapolis, MD. I have served on the board of visitors, and 
my staff and I interview the hundreds of young applicants across 
Maryland who aspire to enroll in one of our service academies each 
year. I am not sure most Americans are aware of how intensely 
competitive these positions are and what a tremendous honor earning an 
appointment is. Meeting these applicants, reviewing their extraordinary 
accomplishments at such a young age, and seeing their commitment to 
service--willing to put their lives on the line, if necessary--restores 
one's faith in the boundless future of our Nation.
  Senator McSally certainly put her life on the line for us and 
shattered gender barriers along the way. She became the first woman in 
American history to fly a fighter jet in combat and the first woman to 
command a fighter squadron in combat. She deployed six times to the 
Middle East. She helped lead and execute the initial air campaign in 
Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and she supervised combat 
search and rescue operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In total, she 
flew 325 combat hours and earned a Bronze Star and six air medals. She 
served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years, retiring as a full colonel.
  Senator McSally has never been one to rest on her laurels. She earned 
masters' degrees from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of 
Government and the U.S. Air War College, graduating first in her class 
of 261 senior military officers. She ran for the House of 
Representatives, first unsuccessfully by a narrow margin in 2012 but 
then successfully--again by a narrow margin--in 2014, becoming the 
first Republican woman to represent Arizona in Congress. She was 
reelected in 2016. She lost a tough race to Senator Sinema in 2018, but 
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey appointed her to finish the unexpired term 
of another war hero, our late friend Senator John McCain.
  Unfortunately, I had little opportunity to work with Senator McSally 
during her 2 years here in the Senate, although I did travel with her 
to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, and I saw firsthand her 
commitment to America's service men and women--especially military 
sexual assault survivors--to veterans, and to military families. 
Senator McSally is an inspiration to all of us, but especially to women 
and girls, for her devotion to duty and the incredible odds she has 
overcome and the barriers she has broken in her life. Senator McSally 
has said, ``There's always more that unites us than divides us.'' I 
agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. She is a fighter who will 
continue to fight for our county, and I am grateful for that.
  Senator Doug Jones is a native Alabaman, a steelworker's son, who 
grew up during the great struggle for civil rights and desegregation in 
the South. He has been involved in that struggle all of his life, 
active in campus affairs at the University of Alabama, where he earned 
his bachelor's degree in 1976, and in trying to modernize Alabama's 
court system.
  Senator Jones has the distinction of working, being confirmed by, and 
being elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. After he graduated from 
Cumberland Law School at Samford University in 1979, he worked as a 
staff counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee for then-Senator Howell 
Heflin. Senator Jones served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1980 to 
1984. After he worked in private practice for several years, President 
Clinton nominated him to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern 
District of Alabama, and the Senate confirmed his nomination in 1997.
  While Senator Jones was the U.S. Attorney, he successfully prosecuted 
two of the four men who were responsible for the heinous bombing of the 
16th Street Baptist Church in 1963, an attack that killed four young 
Black girls between the ages of 11 and 14 and shocked the conscience of 
our Nation. He prosecuted other domestic terrorists, including the Ku 
Klux Klan and Eric Rudolph. He won a hard-fought special election to 
the Senate in December 2017 and has served with honor, distinction, and 
a commitment to finding bipartisan solutions to our Nation's most-
pressing problems.
  Senator Jones has fought to protect healthcare and to create equal 
opportunities for all Americans. He led the passage of the bipartisan 
FUTURE Act into law last year, legislation that I strongly supported to 
provide permanent funding for historically Black colleges and 
universities and minority-serving institutions. He has also championed 
minority-serving financial institutions and minority-owned banks, 
supporting the efforts to add additional funds for these institutions 
through the Paycheck Protection Program. I was proud to work with 
Senator Jones on the successful passage of our legislation to extend 
the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act this year, which extends 
until 2030 duty-free access for certain textile goods from 23 Caribbean 
countries that are made with U.S. yarns, fabrics, and threads until 
2030.
  Senator Jones is equally committed to civility and civil rights. As 
the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so famously said, ``The arc 
or the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'' Thanks to 
Senator Jones' abiding faith and ceaseless efforts, that arc is bending 
faster. I wish him, his wife Louise, their children Carson, 
Christopher, and Courtney, and their two grandchildren all the best 
moving forward. I know he will continue to serve our country, and I am 
hopeful it will be as a member of the incoming administration of 
President-Elect Joe Biden.
  Senator Tom Udall comes from an illustrious extended family with a 
long history of distinguished public service, including his father 
Stewart, who served as Secretary of the Interior under President John 
F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson from 1961 to 1969. His uncle 
Morris ``Mo'' K. Udall was one of the most accomplished and beloved 
Congressmen in U.S. history, representing Arizona's Second District for 
30 years. While Senator Udall was born in Tucson, he has deep roots in 
New Mexico, starting with his grandmother Luna, who was born in New 
Mexico Territory.
  Senator Udall earned his undergraduate degree from Prescott College, 
a bachelor of laws degree from Cambridge, and J.D. from the University 
of New Mexico in 1977. And then joining the family tradition, he began 
his public service by clerking for the Honorable Oliver Seth, chief 
justice of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Later, he 
became a Federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's criminal division 
and chief counsel to the New Mexico Department of Health and 
Environment.
  Senator Udall was elected New Mexico Attorney General in 1990 and 
reelected in 1994. He made his mark in several areas, but especially in 
government transparency and ethics, a quest he would continue in the 
U.S. House of Representatives, where he served five highly productive 
terms, even though he was in the minority for four of them, passing 
legislation to establish a national renewable energy standard.
  Here in the Senate, Senator Udall has continued his distinguished 
service for two terms in his low-key, quiet, understated, and effective 
manner. Just this year, he led the passage of the Great American 
Outdoors Act to fund our national parks and Federal land agencies. He 
has championed environmental justice and has devoted himself to 
rectifying the injustices our Nation has perpetrated against Indian 
Nations and Tribes. Senator Udall has remained steadfast in his 
commitment to good and transparent government as the lead Senate 
sponsor of the For the People Act.
  I have been privileged to work closely with Senator Udall on the 
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the 
U.S. Helsinki Commission, and on the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee. We have focused on strengthening our relationships with our 
allies, which President Trump has put to the test, promoting American 
values around the world, and

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fostering human rights and international development and conservation 
efforts.
  I will greatly miss Senator Udall here in the Senate but feel 
fortunate to have served with him these last 12 years in the Senate and 
for 8 years together in the House of Representatives before that. New 
Mexicans and all Americans have benefited greatly from his 30 years in 
elected office and lifetime of public service. He has honorably and 
effectively continued his family's noble tradition of stewardship in 
all regards. My wife Myrna and Senator Udall's wife Jill, a tireless 
advocate on behalf of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American 
Indian, have become good friends, and Myrna and I will miss both of 
them. I wish them and their daughter Amanda all the best.
  Senator Mike Enzi was born in Bremerton, WA, where his father was 
working in the naval shipyard during World War II. He grew up in 
Thermopolis, WY. He came to Washington, DC, for college, earning his 
bachelor's degree in accounting from George Washington University in 
1966. He began his public service in the Wyoming Air National Guard 
from 1967 to 1973. Later, he worked in the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, earned a master's degree from the University of Denver, ran 
his father's show business, and became mayor of Gillette, WY, when he 
was just 30.
  Senator Enzi served in the Wyoming House of Representatives for 4 
years and in the Wyoming Senate for 6 years before being elected to the 
U.S. Senate in 1996 with 54 percent of the vote. That was the closest 
election he has had; he garnered over 70 percent of the vote each time 
he sought reelection.
  Senator Enzi is one of the most conservative members of the Senate 
but that has not prevented him from reaching across the aisle. He is 
quiet but his accomplishments speak volumes. While he chaired the 
Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, it reported 37 
bills, 23 of which the Senate passed. As he likes to say, ``People can 
agree on 80 percent of the issues 80 percent of the time, and if they 
leave the other 20 percent out they can get a lot done.'' He has 
authored more than 100 bills that Presidents of both parties have 
signed into law.
  Senator Enzi and I have served on the Senate Finance Committee 
together since the 112th Congress, and on the Subcommittee on Health 
Care, where we have worked together to find bipartisan solutions to 
expand access to affordable, quality healthcare. We have also worked 
together to ensure the stability and health of pension funds, including 
recent efforts related to the multiemployer union pension crisis, and 
to bolster financial literacy. I have also been pleased to work with 
Senator Enzi on legislation to ensure prompt payments to small 
businesses working as Federal contractors across the Department of 
Defense, and on our Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, to help 
student groups with collegiate housing costs.
  Senator Enzi's grandfatherly mien and calm disposition have helped 
steer the Senate through rocky times, and I will miss his steady hand 
on our rudder. My wife Myrna will miss his wife of 51 years, Diana, an 
active member of the Senate Spouses Club, who also works to provide 
specially trained dogs and handlers to countries infested with 
landmines. Senator Enzi is an avid hunter and fly fisherman, and I know 
he will enjoy the opportunity to spend more time with Diana; their 
children Amy, Emily, and Brad; and their four grandchildren.
  Senator Pat Roberts is a native Kansan from Topeka and a 
quintessential plainspoken Midwesterner and ex-marine. He is a fourth 
generation Kansan, whose great-grandfather, J.W. Roberts, founded the 
``Oskaloosa Independent,'' the State's second oldest newspaper. Senator 
Roberts has journalism and public service coursing though his blood. He 
earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Kansas State University 
and then served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 4 years before working as 
a reporter and then editor of several newspapers in Arizona. In 1967, 
Senator Roberts worked for then-U.S. Senator Frank Carlson. In 1969, he 
became administrative assistant to then-U.S. Representative Keith 
Sibelius, who represented the First District.
  Senator Roberts went on to represent the First District himself for 
16 years before being elected to the Senate in 1996, where he has 
continued to serve with distinction for four terms. Senator Roberts has 
a well-earned reputation as a national leader on agriculture, defense, 
and healthcare issues. He has the distinction of being the first person 
in history to have chaired both the House and Senate Committees on 
Agriculture and to author and pass bipartisan farm bills in both 
Chambers. He led the passage of the overwhelmingly bipartisan 2018 farm 
bill, which benefited farmers in my home State of Maryland and around 
the Nation. As cochairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, Senator 
Roberts has sought to address the challenges that rural communities 
face in terms of access to high-quality healthcare.
  While Senator Roberts chaired the Senate Select Committee on 
Intelligence, he conducted one of the most thorough reviews of U.S. 
intelligence gathering and analysis in the wake of the faulty 
intelligence leading to the war in Iraq. The committee unanimously 
issued the bipartisan report, which frankly and forthrightly revealed 
systemic failures and provided numerous recommendations included in the 
9/11 Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.
  Senator Roberts has played a pivotal role in the creation of two 
wonderful monuments, one here in Washington, DC, and the other in his 
beloved Kansas. He served as Chairman of the Dwight David Eisenhower 
Memorial Commission--and that fine memorial on Independence Avenue to 
Kansas's favorite son was dedicated earlier this year--a fitting 
capstone to Senator Roberts' 40 years as an elected official. Back in 
Kansas, he helped to establish the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, one of 
the most beautiful and majestic places in America. Tallgrass prairie 
once stretched from Canada to Mexico, covering more than 170 million 
acres. Today, less than 4 percent of it remains intact, mostly in the 
Kansas Flint Hills, largely thanks to the efforts of Senator Roberts.
  I have had the opportunity to work with Senator Roberts on 
agricultural and healthcare issues, and legislation to encourage 
retirement savings by fostering the growth of S corporations owned by 
Employee Stock Ownership Plans--``S-ESOPS''. I will miss working with 
him and his Semper Fi, ``can-do'' approach to problem-solving, but I 
know he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife Franki; 
their three children, David, Ashleigh, and Anne-Wesley; and their seven 
grandchildren.
  Senator Lamar Alexander has had a career in public service as long, 
varied, and distinguished as just about any other American, working or 
serving in all three branches of the Federal Government. He is a 
seventh generation east Tennessean whose father was an elementary 
school principal and mother was a pre-school teacher--thus began 
Senator Alexander's lifelong interest in education. He graduated from 
Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in 1962 and was elected to Phi Beta 
Kappa. He earned his J.D. from New York University in 1965, was editor 
of the law review, and a Root-Tilden Scholar.
  Senator Alexander began his public service as a clerk for the 
Honorable John Minor Wisdom on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth 
Circuit. He worked on the staff of then-U.S. Senator Howard Baker and 
as staff assistant to then-President Richard Nixon. In 1978, he walked 
1,022 miles across Tennessee, spent the night with 73 different 
families, and won election as Governor. As Governor, he helped to bring 
the auto industry to the State. He was reelected in 1982 and served as 
chair of the National Governors' Association from 1985 to 1986. He was 
president of the University of Tennessee from 1988 to 1991, then-
President George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993, 
and a Professor of Practice in Public Service at Harvard the Kennedy 
School of Government from 2001 to 2003. Somehow, he has also found the 
time to cofound a law firm and two successful businesses, be a 
classical and country pianist who has performed on the Grand Old Opry 
and with symphony orchestras, and author seven books.
  While Senator Alexander chaired the HELP Committee, it reported 45

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bills that became law, most of which he authored. He sponsored the 
America Competes Act of 2007; the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 
greatly benefitting students in my home State of Maryland and 
nationwide; the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016; and the Opioid Crisis 
Response Act of 2018. He also authored legislation to modernize how 
songwriters are compensated for their works. The list goes on and on.
  Senator Alexander has been a champion of higher education reform, 
seeking to simplify the process of applying for financial aid and to 
increase access for all students. I have been proud to work with him to 
support and strengthen historically Black colleges and universities and 
minority serving institutions. On the environmental front, I had the 
opportunity to work with Senator Alexander on legislation to end the 
dumping of mining waste into streams, the Appalachia Restoration Act of 
2009.
  Senator Alexander is always courteous, an ``eloquent listener,'' and 
always eager to forge bipartisan solutions to our Nation's problems. 
Just a few days ago, I know Senators and staff were delighted to listen 
to him play Christmas carols and hymns on the piano in the Hart atrium. 
We will greatly miss his calm and dignified presence in the Senate, but 
he has certainly earned the opportunity to spend more time with his 
beloved wife of 51 years, Honey; their children Leslee, Kathryn, 
Andrew, and William; and their nine grandchildren.
  Senators Enzi, Roberts, and Alexander have served in this institution 
for 66 years combined. Senator Udall has served 12 years, and Senator 
Gardner has served 6 years. Senators Jones and McSally did not have an 
opportunity to serve a full term, but all told, we are losing close to 
90 years of dedicated service to the institution, our colleagues, their 
constituents, and all Americans. There is a tradition for departing 
Senators to give a farewell address, and most use the opportunity to 
bemoan the fact that the Senate has become less collegial and more 
partisan. I share that discontent and sadness. I think the best way we 
can pay appropriate tribute to the fine Members who are leaving at the 
end of this Congress is by rededicating ourselves to preserving and 
expanding on their legacy of bipartisanship. I want to express my deep 
admiration of and appreciation to Senators Alexander, Enzi, Gardner, 
Jones, McSally, Roberts, and Udall. I am grateful for the opportunity 
to serve with and learn from them, and I cherish our friendships

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