[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1909-S1911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Maiden Speech

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, today I am honored to stand on this 
hallowed Senate floor and share my gratitude for and the priorities of 
the people of Kansas.
  I want to start by thanking the people of Kansas who believed in me 
and sent me here to represent them. It is an honor of a lifetime to 
follow in the steps of heroic Kansans who preceded me in this 
legislative body. That includes sharing this tour of duty with my long-
time friend whom I have admired for decades and now my senior Senator, 
Jerry Moran, as well as legends of this Chamber, my mentors Bob Dole 
and Pat Roberts.
  But before I continue, I want to say a special word of gratitude to 
my family for all of their support. I would not be here today without 
the support of my wife of 37 years now, Laina, our four children and 
their spouses, our three grandchildren, as well as my parents, brother, 
sister, and extended family, who in so many ways have contributed to 
our campaigns and the work we have done in Congress. I am grateful for 
their understanding, their unwavering support, and sacrifice of privacy 
and family time, but, mostly, I am grateful for the values they passed 
on to me.
  I am grateful for the many teachers, coaches, pastors, and personal 
friends who inspired me and gave me a solid foundation of values that 
have seen us through tough times. These values provided the foundation 
for me, a fifth-generation farm kid, to become a first-generation 
college student and live my American dream as a physician in rural 
America.
  And these values have become pillars, the sturdiest of which in my 
life are faith, family, community, education, and hard work--a faith 
that you live in your heart, not wear on your shirt sleeves; a family 
that loves and stands beside you no matter what; a community where 
everyone looks out for each other; an education that is the great 
equalizer, leveling the playing field for all; and, finally, a belief 
in hard work that paves the way to achieve your American dream.
  As I traveled Kansas this past year, I carried these pillars with me 
while I heard from people all over the State, and they gave three very 
clear priorities: No. 1, provide for their safety, health, and 
security; No. 2, to bring back our jobs and economy; and, No. 3, to 
protect our values and our God-given, inalienable rights.
  I am here in the Senate to do just that, to fight for the people of 
Kansas,

[[Page S1910]]

for all Americans. But more than anyone else, I am here to fight for 
our children and grandchildren. And like another great Kansan, the 34th 
President of the United States, Dwight David Eisenhower, the decisions 
I make will be most guided by the impact they will have on future 
generations, not by tonight's news or the simultaneous tweet that goes 
out as I raise my thumb up or down. History will be the judge of my 
decisions, not social media.
  The motto of the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, the Big Red 
One, housed in my home State of Kansas is ``No Mission Too Difficult. 
No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First!''
  It is with this fighting attitude I intend to fully fund our 
military; secure our borders; as the son and brother of veterans, and 
as a veteran myself, honor our commitment to those who protected our 
freedoms and values; and as the son of a police chief, fully support 
our law enforcement.
  I am so grateful for all law enforcement officers, including those 
here at the U.S. Capitol. They put their lives on the line every day, 
and we join the entire Nation in mourning those heroic officers who 
have made the ultimate sacrifice keeping us safe.
  While we too often hear calls to defund the police and weaken our 
military readiness, we are still a nation of law and order, and we must 
advance President Reagan's philosophy of peace through strength.
  Pre-COVID, we had the strongest economy in my lifetime, thanks to 
Republican-led policies put into place over the last 4 years. Lower 
taxes and deregulation resulted in historically low unemployment rates, 
as well as American energy independence and affordable energy costs. 
With agriculture being responsible for 40 percent of the Kansas 
economy, these policies, along with strong trade agreements, provided 
the tools necessary to ensure our farmers, ranchers, and producers 
remain profitable and our rural communities prosperous.
  But here is what concerns me today. Like my grandma often told me at 
the family supper table, there are three things you can count on from 
the current majority party: They will spend a lot of your money. They 
will raise your taxes. And they will increase regulations. Just like my 
grandma warned, within the first 3 months of this new administration, 
we have seen an onslaught of harmful redtape, proposed tax increases, 
and an unprecedented spending spree.
  Fighting government redtape and working to ensure Kansans keep more 
of their hard-earned money as a means to harness job growth and help 
our economy recover will be what I work for each day.
  Lastly and most importantly, as this is what is keeping me up late at 
night, I was sent here to protect the Kansas values I was raised on. 
These values are still held by the majority of Americans, and many of 
us are tired of being canceled, censured, and lectured to.
  I acknowledge we all need to be woke up sometimes--woke up for church 
on Sundays, woke as a child to help milk the cows on my grandparents' 
farm--but we certainly don't need the woke mob to shake us out of bed 
every day.
  Like all nations of people, we make plenty of mistakes and we have 
room to grow, but we Kansans are still proud of our American history. 
Rather than cancel it, we should embrace it. America has accomplished 
incredible things and defeated enemies of freedom. We should be proud 
of our history, hang onto it, and learn from it.
  God has given our Nation enormous bounty and blessings to help feed 
the world, maintain peace, and protect human rights. America has been 
called upon to be the salt of the Earth and remain a bright, burning 
candle, not hidden under a bushel.
  I believe our country will not fall from another military giant, nor 
will it succumb to economic failure created from foreign lands. Our 
greatest risk of failure comes from falling under our own weight if we 
continue to ignore the self-evident values our forefathers taught us.
  Indeed, if we continue paying too much attention to silly hyperbole, 
social media hype, and political correctness, this Nation will struggle 
and not be the leader of the free world we were intended to be.
  Before I leave the subject of values, I want to share how important 
and personal the sanctity of life is to me. I had the honor, as an 
obstetrician, to deliver over 5,000 babies, and I promise I will work 
as hard in this Chamber to protect the lives of the unborn and our 
children as I did in the delivery room all those years. I will always 
lead on this issue and protect our values.
  Leadership is the quality I most remember my dad looking for and 
praising in others, and I have always tried to study and emulate great 
leaders. To this end, as I sometimes wander the Capitol looking for 
solitude and inspiration, I am struck by one of my favorite paintings 
hanging in the Capitol Rotunda.
  In this portrait, the artist depicts General George Washington, 
shortly after the Revolutionary War, surrendering his commission as an 
officer. And behind Washington, resting on an otherwise empty King's 
throne, are the robes of a King, the robes he declined.
  The leadership lesson is that great leaders don't seize more power 
when they see the opportunity. Three months into this 117th Congress, 
it appears that the power grab General Washington declined is now the 
majority's primary modus operandi. We have seen a record number of 
Executive orders, the first partisan COVID relief bill, steps to grant 
DC statehood to tip the scales of power, an attempt to federalize 
elections and destroy election integrity with H.R. 1, and now a 
commission to study expanding the Supreme Court.
  Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz watching the grains of sand dropping 
through the hourglass, additional partisan priorities remain on standby 
while the timing of dropping the ultimate power grab--the elimination 
of the filibuster--is carefully weighed.
  The filibuster is meant to force both parties to work together to 
come up with long-lasting policies which help Americans. Without it, we 
will see tax laws and many other policies go up and down like a roller 
coaster, creating uncertainty and making it impossible for long-term 
planning.
  We are witnessing what may be the most blatantly hypocritical policy 
switch we have ever seen, as most all Senators and the President have 
been on record previously in support of the filibuster. This flip-flop 
appears to be all in the name of greed and power.
  So while I come to the Senate intent on fighting against efforts to 
weaken our security, harm our economy, and diminish our American 
values, I also want to discuss what I am for.
  My favorite memories of growing up were spent in the great outdoors 
with the people I love the most: my friends and family. Make no 
mistake, I will do everything in my power to leave this world cleaner, 
safer, and healthier than I found it, and this can be accomplished 
while at the same time maintaining affordable energy.
  Whether it is environmental policy or economic policy, we need to 
level the playing field, both at home and abroad. We must prioritize 
jobs for Americans, secure our supply chains, and continue to develop 
fair and reciprocal trade agreements. We must lower the cost of quality 
healthcare for all Americans. We must stop intellectual property theft, 
along with economic coercion, forced technology transfer, and cyber 
espionage.
  We must stop counterfeit products and illicit drugs from entering our 
Nation. In addition, we must stop all censorship, especially the 
censorship of conservative thought that is under attack.
  For our grandchildren's sake, we must modernize our policies 
surrounding Big Tech and social media before they engulf our society.
  So this Nation, still very young in the scheme of world history, we 
have our challenges, but as long as we stay true to our American 
values, we will get more right than we get wrong. But we have to learn 
to forgive our pasts and forgive each other.
  Over this Easter break, one of my sons told me something that made my 
heart go pitter-patter. He said:

       Dad, capitalism keeps America at the tip of the spear.

  Capitalism keeps America at the tip of the spear. You know, he was 
spot on. American innovation, our pioneer spirit, and hard work will 
always lead the way and bring victory over totalitarianism and singular 
thought and rule.
  Each and every American youth and young adult has their own story to 
write, and my job here is to ensure everyone has their shot at 
happiness and

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their shot at their American dream. While we cannot guarantee happiness 
for any of them, those of us in this Chamber can pave the way with an 
abundance of opportunity.
  As the dreams and stories of so many Americans are interweaved, this 
American portrait--this tapestry of blues and grays, of pastels and 
earth tones--will keep this Republic in good shape. It is our diversity 
that makes us great. As long as we pass on our American values that 
have seen this Nation through so many dark nights, we will succeed 
through current and future trials and conflicts.
  May God bless this great Republic.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip.