[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 201 (Thursday, November 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S8439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SAM BROWNBACK

  Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Madam President, it is an honor to pay tribute to my 
fellow public servant Sam Brownback of Kansas. During his service both 
as Governor of Kansas and as a U.S. Senator, he advocated tirelessly 
for the right to life. More recently, during the last administration, 
he served as the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious 
Freedom, fighting for the free exercise of religion abroad.
  After a couple years in the House of Representatives, Ambassador 
Brown-
back represented Kansas in the Senate from 1996 to 2011. He came to the 
Capitol with a background similar to mine. I served as the Mississippi 
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce prior to coming to the Senate, 
and Ambassador Brownback served as Kansas's Secretary of Agriculture 
before coming to DC.
  Upon joining the Senate, Ambassador Brownback consistently supported 
pro-life legislation and voted in defense of the sanctity of life. 
Through his 15 years in the Senate, he supported pro-life legislation 
including the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, the Born Alive Infants 
Protection Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, the Partial Birth 
Abortion Ban Act, and the Hyde amendment.
  This support for unborn life continued when the people of Kansas 
elected Sam Brownback to be their Governor, a position in which he 
served from 2011 to 2018. As Governor, he signed numerous laws 
protecting unborn human life, including a measure that made Kansas the 
first State to ban dismemberment abortions. Furthermore, during his 
tenure, Kansas passed laws restricting funding to abortion providers 
and banning sex-selective abortions, among many others.
  Sam Brownback's steadfast efforts paid off. By the time he became an 
Ambassador in 2018, Kansas had become the second most pro-life State in 
the Nation, as ranked by the Americans United for Life. In fact, the 
number of abortions in Kansas dropped by nearly 30 percent, a testimony 
to the success of his policies promoting a culture of life.
  But his efforts did not stop there. Upon his confirmation in 2018 as 
the U.S. Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, he 
continued the fight to protect life and stand up against injustice 
abroad. He worked hand-in-hand with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 
condemning the Chinese Communist Party for its regime of forced 
abortions and sterilizations.
  Throughout his long and commendable career in public service, 
Ambassador Brownback has shown a remarkable commitment to the sanctity 
of life. As the Supreme Court prepares to hear the Dobbs v. Jackson 
Women's Health Organization case, I am pleased to rise to recognize 
leaders in the pro-life movement who have advanced the cause to this 
point. Ambassador Brownback is definitely among those leaders for his 
many years as a champion for life.

                          ____________________