[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4315-S4323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WELCOMING THE GUEST CHAPLAIN
Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise to say a few words about the
tradition of spiritual leadership of the Chaplains of the Senate, a
decades-old--a centuries-old, actually--tradition of this body, rooted
in the fact that those who were the Framers of our Constitution and the
Founders of our Nation understood that, although we are a nation
committed to the separation of church and State, we are also a nation
that is guided--that is guided by spiritual force, by deep beliefs, by
diversity of religions, but also by a profound humility on the part of
those of us who serve.
Our Chaplain, RADM Barry Black, has served for many, many years, and
I have had the great blessing of hearing from him at Bible study and at
the weekly Prayer Breakfast in a way that has helped bring Senators
together and that has made a difference in the functioning and the
foundation of this important body in our constitutional order.
Today, we have a guest Chaplain from my home church, First & Central
Presbyterian in Wilmington, DE. She is my home pastor. Pastor Laura has
served our congregation since July, 2 years ago.
A native of Arkansas, raised in Texas in the Disciples of Christ,
Pastor Laura felt a calling to the ministry at the very earliest age
but told God to just hold that thought for a moment. Two decades later,
he called Pastor Laura again, more forcefully this time, and through my
denomination, the Presbyterian Church, United States of America--or
PCUSA.
After completing seminary in Iowa and serving three other ministry
calls, Pastor Laura is now at our faith community in downtown
Wilmington, doing God's work at a church without walls that welcomes
without limits. Her humor, her hermeneutics, her exegesis, her
homiletics--all the good stuff that a pastor does--help hold us
together and inspire us to mission at a time that is almost uniquely
challenging in my life.
I am so grateful for her wisdom and guidance at home in Delaware, and
I thank Pastor Laura for her ministry today to this body, to our
congregation at home, and throughout the arc of her life.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant executive clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Republican leader is recognized.
Remembering James M. Inhofe
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, yesterday morning, the Senate was
greeted by some sad news. A longtime former colleague and dear friend
of many of us, Jim Inhofe, passed away.
As many of our colleagues are familiar, Jim's path to the Senate was
an adventure on its own: honorable service in the Army, small business
success, undergraduate degree by way of nine different schools, and, by
one account, even some prospecting on rare earth minerals.
But what came to define his time in this body was more than his sheer
confidence and experience on such a dizzying array of topics, more than
his dogged determination on issues from infrastructure to the Armed
Forces to African development. What I suspect so many of our colleagues
will remember most about Jim was his honesty, his decency, and his deep
faith; his love of God, love of country, and love of neighbor.
It would be difficult for anyone to hope for a richer legacy than
that.
So this week, I know the Senate is keeping Jim's wife Kay and the
whole Inhofe family in our prayers as they mourn a great man.
NATO
Mr. President, as I said yesterday, NATO members have taken some
promising steps toward making the alliance fit for purpose. But now is
not the time to get complacent. The threats we face are grave and
growing. How we meet them will determine the future of the order that
has underpinned the free world's peace and prosperity for decades.
Our greatest adversaries are not beating around the bush. PRC
officials are stepping up their pressure against Taiwan. Standing on
NATO soil, China's Ambassador to France suggested recently that China's
civil war ``has not yet ended'' and threatened that the mainland could
expel the ``rebel regime'' in Taiwan ``at any time.''
This comes from the same revisionist power that has succeeded for too
long in infiltrating our economies, supply chains, and critical
infrastructure with the promise of quick investments and easy profits.
Not long ago, it was America falling prey to this alluring promise, but
it is past time for European allies to learn from our experience. And
it is time for America to correct our lingering mistakes as well.
We cannot continue to stand by as Chinese military modernization
outpaces our own. We cannot abide defense budget requests that fail to
even keep pace with inflation.
The cold truth for all of us is this: Those who fail to take hard
power seriously will learn that fighting wars is vastly--vastly--more
expensive than deterring them.
Just consider the neo-Soviet imperialist with whom the PRC has struck
up an ``unlimited partnership.'' The West's weakness and hesitation
didn't just fail to deter Putin's escalation in Ukraine, it actually
invited a longer, costlier, and bloodier conflict. And Putin's brutal
aggression, his reckless nuclear saber-rattling, his militarization of
space, his weaponization of energy, his repression of Christians at
home and in an occupied Ukraine, his coldblooded targeting of
civilians, including a missile strike on Ukraine's largest children's
hospital earlier this week--all of this is facilitated by China's
support.
Of course, firmly knit into this same web of aggression is Iran,
perhaps the most notorious enabler of terrorist child murder in the
world, the architect of slaughter across the Middle East, the
mastermind of Houthi threats to international trade, and the world's
most active state sponsor of terrorism.
Iran continues to make determined progress toward a nuclear weapons
capability. As the Biden administration's Director of National
Intelligence acknowledged just yesterday, the regime is also stoking
aggressive and anti-Semitic demonstrations on our soil--U.S. soil--
against Israel's response to the horrific attacks that Tehran enabled.
Our European allies, of course, are reckoning with a persistent
strain of anti-Semitism in their own politics. Serious allies ought to
dispense with any wishful thinking about the prospects of rapprochement
under Iran's newest President.
So make no mistake, the transatlantic alliance is growing stronger,
larger, and more committed through the shared responsibilities of
collective defense. And on the whole, we are staring down those
connected threats with clearer eyes.
But the alliance is only as strong as its weakest link. And today, it
almost appears that one weak link in NATO's chain wants to break it.
Last week, without coordinating with Ukraine, NATO, or the EU,
Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban showed up in Moscow on a self-
aggrandizing ``peace mission,'' giving Putin a chance to counterbalance
the diplomatic pressure he is otherwise feeling.
Then he took to the pages of Newsweek to accuse the alliance of
``seeking conflict'' rather than resolving it. How insidious. Hungary
knows what Soviet repression feels like. How in the world its leader
could mistake NATO's efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against
Russian aggression for ``the pursuit of war'' is beyond me.
Neither Ukraine nor NATO provoked Russia into invading Ukraine in
2014. Neither Ukraine nor NATO provoked Russia into escalating its
conflict in 2022. As I have said, it was the West's failure to meet
Russian aggression with strength that emboldened Putin.
Unfortunately, Mr. Orban's curious soft spot for authoritarians isn't
limited to the aggressor that, ironically, drove Hungary to join NATO
in the first place.
This week, he also found time to visit Beijing to reinforce what both
Hungary and the PRC call ``an all-weather comprehensive strategic
partnership.''
Well, Republicans in Washington who fashion themselves both
``national conservatives'' and China hawks should pay more attention to
Mr. Orban's actions and ask themselves if they are consistent with
American interests.
It is certainly difficult to explain away the data. Three years ago,
Hungary accounted for less than 1 percent--1 percent--of Chinese
investment in Europe. Last year, it received more than 44 percent.
With an economy smaller than Kentucky, Hungary attracted more Chinese
foreign direct investment than Europe's top three economies combined. I
thought America and our allies were supposed to be reducing our
reliance on the PRC. Money talks.
So perhaps it is not surprising that Orban finds time to confer with
President Xi, but his government has gone out of its way to slow-walk
European assistance to Ukraine. And it has chased deeper trade ties
with Iran.
Budapest publicized a call between Hungary's Foreign Minister and his
new Iranian counterpart with not a word of criticism for Iran's support
for terrorism, malign activities across the Middle East, or support for
Russia's war of aggression.
So much for Orban's pursuit of peace. The most successful military
alliance in human history didn't get this way by letting dictators and
theocrats eat our lunch.
China hawks should be the first to discourage the expansion of PRC
tools like Huawei on European soil. Friends of Israel should have no
time for myths of constructive engagement with an Iranian regime that
underwrites the slaughter of Jews.
NATO members ought to know better--and many do--but, clearly, we have
a lot of work still ahead of us.
Student Loan Forgiveness
Mr. President, last month, two judges approved by President Obama
ruled against one of President Biden's cornerstone efforts to buy
votes: the so-called SAVE plan. By one estimate, this iteration of the
Biden administration's student loan socialism scheme would transfer
about half a trillion dollars from borrowers to taxpayers by
arbitrarily lowering payments for those who borrowed less than $12,000.
Now, as I mentioned before, the policy is not just costly, it is
profoundly--profoundly--unfair. Working taxpayers
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who opted not to attend college, folks who worked their way through
college to avoid taking out loans, and families who sacrificed and
saved for their children's education are all now on the hook to pay
somebody else's bills. Even left-leaning scholars have noted that this
policy is regressive.
By one analysis, nearly one-third of all the student debt is held by
the highest earning fifth of American households. Meanwhile, the lowest
earning fifth of households hold only 8 percent of the debt. Just last
month, one Congressional staffer earning more than $80,000 thanked
President Biden publicly on social media for forgiving his $8,000
student loan.
Working families are struggling with high prices and high interest
rates--the direct and predictable result of the Biden administration's
runaway spending spree. But now Washington Democrats expect them to pay
the bills of some of the highest earning elites? Talk about adding
insult to injury.
Even Obama-appointed judges are now agreeing with Republicans that
the policy is illegal. Last month's ruling confirmed that the President
does not have the authority to wave a magic wand and lower student loan
payments.
Washington Democrats love to crow about how the Federal judiciary has
been co-opted by shadowy rightwing extremists. They have gone to
shameful lengths to degrade the legitimacy of the institution of the
Supreme Court.
But when even judges appointed by a Democratic President are siding
with the Republicans, it might be time for our colleagues to look in
the mirror and ask who the extremists really are.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The majority leader is recognized.
NATO
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this week, the city of Washington becomes
the command post of liberal democracy. It was my great honor to join,
earlier this morning, with Leader McConnell and with my Democratic and
Republican colleagues welcoming to the Senate the Secretary General of
NATO, as well as the leaders of the U.K., Germany, Sweden, and Finland.
For the first time ever, we were proud to welcome the leaders of NATO's
two newest members, Sweden and Finland. Standing in the same room with
NATO's newest members, Sweden and Finland, was a proud moment for us
Senators. It was a culmination of the work that began 2 years ago when
the Senate, in a bipartisan way, overwhelmingly approved their
accession to the alliance.
I told the leaders of NATO that America will never turn its back on
the alliance. I told them the Senate will always hold up its end of the
bargain to support NATO and ensure we have the tools to keep the free
world safe; and I urged everyone in the room to continue standing
firmly with Ukraine.
I applaud the members of NATO for their major announcement of a new
round of aid that will help soldiers on the battlefield, brave
Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine
Mr. President, later today, I will also meet with Ukrainian President
Zelenskyy at a bipartisan meeting of Senators, and we will affirm yet
again that the United States stands with them until the job is done.
A few months ago, the Senate showed what leadership looks like by
passing a sweeping supplemental package that delivered weapons and ammo
and air defenses and missiles for Ukrainian soldiers.
Unfortunately, sadly, many extremists on the hard right led by Donald
Trump didn't want to send so much as a nickel to help Ukraine. They
would have preferred to let Putin have his way in Europe.
The hard right's softness towards Putin is a prime example of why
they cannot be trusted to protect America on the world stage. I am glad
their opposition to Ukraine aid was ultimately unsuccessful. But a
majority of Republicans in this Chamber voted against that aid.
And what really bothered me was so many of the Republican--the
Republican party has been a strong, anticommunist, hawkish party since
the days of Ronald Reagan, maybe earlier. And all of a sudden, when
Donald Trump, whose knowledge of foreign policy is negligible--to put
it kindly; it is often wrong--they turn around and do 180 degrees and
oppose giving aid to Ukraine and, instead, start to smile upon Putin.
That, my fellow Americans, is a warning of what a Republican-
controlled Senate would do if, God forbid, Trump becomes President.
They would turn around on all their principles. Donald Trump could, on
a whim, say something, and all of a sudden: Yes, sir. They will march
in line with him. This Ukrainian example was a sad one.
So this week, we saw why the supplemental was so important and why
America must stand with the Ukrainian people after Putin's forces
obliterated an entire wing of the largest children's hospital in Kyiv.
I mentioned this to our NATO leaders and the heads of Sweden and
Finland and Germany and Britain who were at our meeting.
What a vicious man Putin is. A children's hospital? You see the
pictures of these children who were trying to survive cancer--you know,
when you see pictures of children like that, many with their shaved
heads--and Putin bombs the hospital? What a despicable man. What a
brute. That is who we are dealing with, world. That is who we are
dealing with, America, when it comes to Vladimir Putin. His savagery is
an example of why Donald Trump's vision is so dangerous at this moment,
because a Trump administration would make a Putin victory far more
likely.
Thankfully, that is not the case. Instead of breaking NATO, Putin's
war has made NATO even stronger and must continue to be that way until
the Ukrainian people see victory and peace is restored to Eastern
Europe.
Reproductive Freedom For Women Act
Mr. President, now on choice, today the Senate will vote on the
Reproductive Freedom For Women Act. Senate Republicans must answer a
very simple question: Do they believe that women should be trusted to
make their own healthcare choices? Yes or no? Will Republicans stand
with the majority of Americans, stand with the mainstream, and stand
against Donald Trump by affirming a woman's fundamental right to
choose? Will Republicans show courage and declare, as most people in
this country prefer, that the basic protections of Roe v. Wade should
be the law of the land?
I want to thank Senator Murray from the great State of Washington for
leading this bill and every single female Senator on our side of the
aisle for cosponsoring it.
Today's vote will not be the end of the struggle to secure
reproductive freedoms, but it is an important step forward. Americans
want to see where their Senators stand. By voting on these bills on
women's health, we are moving the issue forward, because it is very
important and very reasonable for members to be called on to take a
position on a vital issue.
Of course, many Republicans would rather sweep reproductive health
under the rug, saying it is political. But this is not political. This
is the essence of what elected government is like. We all know these
issues are deeply personal to so many people, and Americans ought to be
able to see how their Senators vote.
All year long, Senate Republicans have shown everyone just how out of
touch they are with the mainstream. When Senators blocked Federal
protections for contraceptions, when they blocked protections for IVF,
they chose MAGA extremism over the American people.
When Donald Trump pushed not one, not two, but three radical Justices
to the Supreme Court with the explicit goal of overturning Roe, Senate
Republicans confirmed them without question.
It was Trump who said:
If we put another two or . . . three justices on [the
Court] . . . that will happen.
Every time Senate Republicans have gotten a chance to do the right
thing this year, they have consistently doubled down on their anti-
woman agenda. Just yesterday, Senate Republicans again and again came
to the floor to block commonsense legislation to protect women's
reproductive freedoms.
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Of course, if my Republican colleagues take issue for being called
out for their bad record on women's issues, they have another option.
They should vote yes today. Maybe it will happen. Unlikely, but you
always hope.
If Republicans don't think women, on the other hand, are second-class
citizens, they should vote yes. If Republicans don't think women are
second-class citizens, they should vote yes. If Republicans do, in
fact, trust women to make their own reproductive choices, they should
vote yes.
I urge them: Do the right thing. And I remind them: America is
watching.
Steel and Aluminum Tariffs
Mr. President, now on the U.S.-Mexico steel announcement, this
morning the Biden administration announced new joint actions with
Mexico to prevent China and other countries from evading tariffs on
steel and aluminum imported through Mexico.
For years, America's steel and aluminum industry has been harmed by
the Chinese Communist Party's schemes to flood markets with products
that are artificially cheapened thanks to subsidies from the Chinese
Communist Party. One of the most common ways the CCP avoids tariffs and
launders its steel into the U.S. market is through Mexico.
Earlier this year, I visited a steel producer in central New York,
Nucor Steel in Auburn, NY--many good paying jobs in that beautiful
plant. I visited the plant to bring attention to a dangerous pattern in
our steel industry.
I called then on the administration to take action to stop the steel
surge from China by preventing the CCP from using Mexico as a backdoor
entrance into the United States.
I am glad to see this morning that the Biden administration responded
to my concern by taking action to strengthen U.S. steel and aluminum.
We have some very fine aluminum plants in Upstate New York as well.
This announcement is a major step towards protecting U.S. markets
from being flooded with cheap, Chinese-made steel and aluminum imported
through Mexico. The Chinese Communist Party's unfair trade practices
have devastated companies and union steel workers across the United
States, and especially in industrial places, places like Auburn in
central New York, Massena in the north country, who simply aren't
competing on a level playing field.
The CCP's behavior also endangers our national security because it
weakens our domestic supply chains used by our military and
transportation systems.
So the administration's action is great news for America's safety and
for communities and States like New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
others who know the grief of watching manufacturing jobs leaving for
China.
I applaud the administration for taking action to stop the Chinese
Communist Party's unfair trade practices, and we will keep working to
make sure American workers, manufacturers, and industrial regions are
not left on the world stage.
And just one other note, upstate New York has a major role in
convincing America and their Senator about China's unfair practices.
When I visited Crucible steel up in Syracuse in 2003, the owner said to
me: China is manipulating its currency. It makes it much harder for me
to sell steel abroad, and it makes it easier for China to compete with
me here in America.
Lindsey Graham and I, actually--Senator Graham and I back then teamed
up and worked and worked and worked to see that this manipulation of
currency, which affected steel, was put an end to, and we have made
some significant progress. There is still more to make even now.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Rhode Island.
Remembering James M. Inhofe
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a great
gentleman, a dear friend, a colleague, and in many cases a battle
buddy, Senator Jim Inhofe.
He was an extraordinary gentleman. And you can't say ``gentleman''
enough when it came to Jim Inhofe. He was a man of humility, of
decency, and of kindness, and he touched everyone he met with those
qualities.
He was also a man of deep principle. But what made him a great
Senator--in fact, one of the best that served in this body--is that he
was always looking for principled compromise. He was always trying to
reach across the aisle and see if he could, working with others, find a
way forward that would be better for the country. So I was terribly
saddened when I learned yesterday of Jim's passing. He was a leader. He
was a gentleman. He was all that we expect a Senator to be and much
more.
I was honored to serve alongside Jim. For three decades, he served on
the Armed Services Committee in both the House and the Senate. I had
the privilege to serve with him as a member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee. We were, in turn, both chairman and ranking
member--both the senior Republican and the senior Democrat--on the
committee for many years, and we produced nearly two dozen National
Defense Authorization Acts. We traveled to combat zones and military
posts around the world and worked to support our men and women in
uniform. As I said before, there were many issues we disagreed upon,
but we were able, in many, many--if not most--cases, to find a way
forward.
One of the issues that I think is so compelling in Jim's life is that
as a young man, he was in the Army, and he knew what it was like to
serve and sacrifice and dedicate yourself to a cause beyond personal
ambition and personal aggrandizement. He learned also something that
was profound and reflected in all of his work on the committee--that
the decisions we make here ultimately affect the lives of young
Americans in uniform across the globe. He knew that. He understood
that. So he was not sitting back here thinking about, well, how will
this affect this company and that company? It was, are we doing the
best for the young men and women who have dedicated themselves to this
country and would sacrifice even their lives for this country? Are we
doing as much as we can for the families that are serving with them?
That profound sense of service that he incubated as a young Army
soldier he carried through his Senate career.
He always insisted on speaking to the junior NCOs and junior
servicemembers. You know, up here we all get briefings from generals
saying ``Here is the situation, sir,'' but he wanted to get down and
talk to privates and specialists and seamen and airmen and say: What is
going on? How are things going? Is this working from your perspective?
Again, adding to the quality of his service was his sensitivity. He
truly understood the people who serve in uniform in the United States,
and he made sure to support those troops. He sponsored critical
legislation to improve their lives, whether by overhauling barracks or
creating new benefits for military families. He and I worked together
on countless efforts to provide better pay and healthcare and equipment
to our service men and women.
This Nation and our military are stronger today because of Jim Inhofe
and safer today because of Jim Inhofe.
He had a way of looking ahead. I remember when I was serving as the
ranking member with John McCain and we were thinking about what would
face us in the future, and Jim was there with us, talking about the
Pacific Deterrence Initiative, how we have to begin to put more
resources in the Pacific, and then, before the invasion of Ukraine, the
European Deterrence Initiative. I mean, we have to be able to be
flexible and to counter the thrust of a potential outbreak of war. We
were positioned in Europe to help the Ukrainians because of Jim
Inhofe's work over many, many years.
I am especially proud that the Armed Service Committee voted to name
the fiscal year 2023 Defense bill the ``James M. Inhofe National
Defense Authorization Act.'' It was a fitting tribute and honor.
Again, he was an extraordinary leader with legislative skills, the
capacity for hard work, always placing the troops and his fellow
Oklahomans first. He never forgot about Oklahoma. He
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never forgot about their needs. He was in there fighting every step of
the way.
I am very, very grateful for the kindness he extended to me. He was
just an amazing gentleman. I think I speak for the Senate Armed
Services Committee and I think I speak for all of the Senate: We will
miss him dearly.
I want to express my deepest sympathies to Kay, his wife, and his
wonderful family. He would admit without any reservation that he was
able to do his job because of the love and support of Kay and his
family. They were there with him every step of the way. In their moment
of sorrow and sadness, I offer my sincerest condolences.
May we all strive for the wisdom, courage, and humility that Senator
Jim Inhofe imparted upon this great Nation and this Senate.
I also want to salute my colleagues today--Senator Lankford, who is
carrying on that tradition of integrity and decency, as are Senator
Thune, Senator Cornyn--and to thank them for letting me say a few words
about my friend Jim Inhofe.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). The Republican whip.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I want to join with Senator Reed and so
many of my colleagues today as we express our great sorrow in learning
about the death of Senator Jim Inhofe.
Jim was an icon here in the Senate. He was a personal inspiration to
me. When I first got here, he was the chairman of the Environment and
Public Works Committee in the Senate and worked with me. My first
legislative accomplishments came as a result of him and his staff
working with me to help me establish myself as a new Senator and to do
the work that the people of South Dakota sent me here to do. And he
made that possible because of just the way that he led the committee
and his understanding of what it takes to get things accomplished here
in the U.S. Senate.
And I am grateful for his legislative prowess, for his leadership as
a chairman of not only that committee but later the Senate Armed
Services Committee. And I am grateful for his tireless work ethic. I
have learned a lot.
My first trip actually, as a Senator, abroad was to Iraq, and I went
with Senator Inhofe. And I can tell you from traveling with him--and I
know that anybody who has traveled with Senator Inhofe knew--that he
had boundless energy and an ability to work people half his age under
the table. He was truly a remarkably durable and passionate advocate
for this country, a man of deep convictions, and--as was pointed out by
Mr. Reed--somebody who had a connection with the rank-and-file military
because of his military background. And in every place that we went, we
would meet with soldiers who respected him for that--the connection
that he had and also for the leadership that he provided for our
country when it came to important national security matters.
I also had the opportunity in Oklahoma to visit and to travel the
State a little bit with him. I flew in an airplane with Senator Inhofe,
and he was a renowned pilot. I think everybody knew that was one of his
great passions in life. But there wasn't anybody who was around him
ever who had the opportunity to interact or work with Senator Inhofe
who wasn't impressed by that powerful work ethic that he brought for
the people of Oklahoma and for the people of this country.
And I know that, in traveling abroad with him, I saw that firsthand.
I know of his many trips to the continent of Africa, oftentimes to war-
torn countries where he built relationships, advocated for American
ideals, and was a tremendous example and witness on those trips. And I
am grateful for his leadership in so many ways and for the impact that
he had not only to the people of Oklahoma and to the people of this
country but people all over the world whom he touched by his work, by
his efforts, and by his character.
And I also want to say, finally--and probably most importantly--above
all, I am grateful for his Christian witness. Jim was a man of deep and
profound faith, and it showed up literally, as I mentioned, in every
aspect of his life.
For many years, he hosted Chaplain Black's Bible study in his office,
providing a place for Senators from both parties to gather for prayer
and study. I don't think--and I think Chaplain Black would probably
validate this--that Jim ever missed a session of that Bible study. And
while the Bible study has continued without him--and is still, I would
argue, one of the most significant hours that we spend here each week--
I know that all of us miss being welcomed into Jim's office, which Jim
made easy for us to find by hanging the ichthys symbol outside of the
door.
My thoughts and prayers today are with Jim's wife Kay and with his
family. Jim will be sorely missed. But in the midst of the sorrow, I am
also comforted by these words from the Apostle Paul, and these are
words Jim deeply believed:
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed
about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve
like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God
will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
. . . For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,
with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and
with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first. . . . And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage one another with these words.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I want to join with my colleagues and say
a few words celebrating the tremendous life and times of James Mountain
Inhofe. He had a great name, and it seemed to fit him amazingly well.
My memories of Senator Inhofe were similar to those that Senator
Thune mentioned. When I came to the Senate, he was the chairman or
ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. I
remember him telling me one time: I am a true conservative. I believe
in a strong national security, lower taxes, and infrastructure.
And, of course, the job of the Environment and Public Works Committee
was largely to handle the regular highway bill reauthorization and
funding. And he was true to his word. He believed, as a true
conservative, in those three important things, and, he said: Pretty
much everything else we do is way down the list in terms of priorities.
But perhaps the time I remember the most is working with him when he
was leading the Armed Services Committee. I know he believed that there
was no more important job for us to do--those of us who have the
privilege of serving in the U.S. Senate or in the Congress--than to
defend and protect our country and our way of life. And he believed
that with all of his heart and all of his mind.
And so the exercise that we do every year, which is called the
National Defense Authorization Act--which we have done, I think, now 63
years in a row--he was passionate about making sure that we did that on
time and got it done because of his commitment not only to our national
security but to the men and women who serve our country in uniform and
the families who love and support them. And he was passionate about
making sure we did our work and supported them and kept our country
safe and our way of life protected.
His physical stamina was legendary. We have already heard some of our
colleagues talk about some of his trips around the world. Some of our
colleagues, when they travel, believe in what I would call almost a
``death march'' pace. And, certainly, Senator Inhofe believed in making
the most of his overseas travel, but, frankly, most of them were
focused on either supporting our men and women in uniform, most
recently in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also making sure that he got the
most out of those trips. So if you agreed to go with him, chances are
you wouldn't get much sleep, but you would get a chance to see and do a
lot. He would regularly make his trips to Africa, where he would reach
out to leaders through a common belief and a common faith.
He was very active in the National Prayer Breakfast. I remember, on
most Wednesday mornings here in the Senate, he would almost always be
at the Senate Prayer Breakfast. For those of us who can attend from
time to time, it is one of the times where we sort of take our masks
off--where we are not Republicans or Democrats and where we share a
common faith. This is something that I know was very important in his
life.
[[Page S4320]]
Certainly, he was a wonderful example and exemplar for the rest of us
in how to be a whole person, not just a political animal coming here or
maybe a performance artist but somebody who was a genuine human being,
who had a strong foundation in his faith and strong beliefs and
convictions about what he was here to do.
One of the things I will never forget is his annual quail hunt in
Altus, TX--excuse me--Altus, OK. I said Altus, TX. We call Oklahoma
``North Texas'' sometimes, and they call Texas ``South Oklahoma,'' but
we share a common border and a lot of common interests. One of those
was the annual quail hunt in Altus, and it was a great community event.
They are primarily connected with the airbase and trying to make sure
that community support is strong for that airbase in Altus. I would go
up to his each year, and then he would come down to one that I have in
Hondo, TX, outside of San Antonio.
The other thing I remember--and Senator Lankford, I know, has carried
on this great tradition--is that they would have their annual quail
breakfast here in DC. It is not something you would ordinarily find at
your breakfast table here in Washington, DC, but they would have an
annual quail breakfast with the Altus delegation each year.
I just think we have lost a great man, a great Senator, a great human
being, a great friend.
I wanted to come to the floor to express my condolences to Kay and
his wonderful family--who meant everything to him--for their loss. We
share in their sense of loss, but we also share in their celebration of
a great life lived.
He had a good run. There is not a lot you can complain about in terms
of living to 89 years old and having the sort of fulfilling life and
accomplishments he had in his life. So we do want to send our
condolences to the family because we know they are grieving now, but we
also want to hold up Jim Inhofe as an example of what we should all
aspire to as Senators--a great representative of his State, a great
human being, and a great, great friend.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
following Senators be allowed to complete their remarks prior to the
scheduled rollcall votes: myself, Senator Lankford, and Senator Rounds.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, my colleagues and I are here today to
honor the life of our former colleague, Senator Jim Inhofe.
Jim was a longtime legislator, a public servant, and a conservative
champion. He was many things to many people. To me, Jim was a dear
friend.
Jim and I are both from the heartland, so we shared a similar world
view as well as a commitment to similar people--the humble, hard-
working Americans from the center of this country.
Jim was fierce in his convictions. Jim was serious in his work. He
was also kind-spirited, with a deep compassion for others. But perhaps
more than all of these things, Jim was a visionary who used his
positions in public life to build a better future for his State and for
this country. He recognized the profound importance of public
infrastructure investment. From highways, to airports, to levees and
much more, Jim's legacy can be felt all across America's heartland.
Jim and I worked together on the Senate's Armed Services Committee. A
veteran himself and an avid pilot, Jim was a fighter for the members of
our military. All of our Senate colleagues knew that if Jim was leading
an international trip to visit with servicemembers across the globe or
to meet with America's allies that that trip would be all business. We
would sleep on the plane, and we would be in a different country every
single day.
I remember that, on one trip, we were forced to slow down a little
bit when we lost a plane engine. You heard that right. We lost a plane
engine, so we needed to stay in a country an extra day while the
repairs were going to be made. That didn't mean we had a vacation. What
Jim did is he found ways that he could be relentlessly efficient with
all of our time, and his energy and his motivation to do the people's
work was infectious.
Near the end of his Senate career, Jim served as the ranking member
on the Armed Services Committee. He was one of the first Members of the
Senate to recognize how seriously the world had shifted since the Cold
War and how desperately we needed to rebuild our military in response
to that. He had a very clear view of the global threats that America
faces, both present and future, and he led accordingly.
Jim respected the design of the Senate as a place where every State's
needs should be considered. He valued cooperation, he valued
collaboration, and he wanted our annual Defense bill to reflect the
concerns of all of the committee members.
He was resolute in his views and fierce in their defense, but he was
always kind and caring. He built strong friendships with all of his
colleagues, and despite many disagreements, he would have these
relationships, so much so that a close Democrat colleague once
described him as a brother to her.
Of course, you cannot speak of Jim without speaking of his family.
Anyone who knew him knew how much he loved his wife Kay. He was a
devoted husband, father, and grandfather. The only thing that convinced
him to leave decades of public service to the people of Oklahoma was
his desire to care for his wife.
My heart goes out to Kay and to his three surviving children, Molly,
Jimmy, and Katy. May God comfort them in their sorrow, and may Jim's
long life of love and service be a balm to their grief.
America knew Jim. America will remember him as a principled man,
deeply committed to his values. The people of Oklahoma knew exactly who
he was, and that is why they reelected him to the U.S. Senate five
times.
His legacy will live on as a friend, as a husband and father, as a
veteran, as an Oklahoman, as a U.S. Senator, and as a very good man.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. ROUNDS. Mr. President, I think many of us come down here to the
floor with prepared remarks because we want to be precise in what we
say, but after listening to my friend from Nebraska and her remarks, I
have to admit that some of the memories she has of Jim Inhofe are very
similar to the memories I have of Jim.
Before I go into fully prepared remarks, I just want to share with
you that I don't know that anybody else has the record that Jim had of
the number of snowballs that have been tossed on the floor of the
Senate. Jim is one of those guys who could get away with coming in with
a snowball and then looking at a young page and saying, ``Be ready to
catch this when I throw it at you,'' and then, in the middle of talking
about climate change and the fact that he disagreed with a lot of the
new ideas, he would pick up a snowball, show it to everybody, and then
toss it over to one young page, who I am sure will never forget that
for as long as he lives.
Jim made friends everyplace he went. Now, he had his own ideas about
what things should look like and about how things should proceed--and I
have to tell you that I think, in the vast majority of cases, he was
right--but he also wanted to have a discussion with other people. He
liked to have debate. They were friends as far as he was concerned. And
you could have disagreements among one another, and you could still be
friends. Jim was one of those guys who truly believed that, if you were
his friend and you agreed with him 80 percent of the time, you were
never going to be an enemy; you were always going to be a friend.
I traveled the world with Jim on more than one occasion, and no
matter where he went, he went in what he called the spirit of Jesus. He
believed that the Christian value he had was the conduit between people
from all different faiths and that, in his opinion and as long as he
was prepared to share his faith, he was going to be welcomed, and he
was.
I don't think people realize that this guy from the middle part of
the United States of America was a guy who later on could say that he
was a man who shared a prayer with Muammar Qadhafi in Qadhafi's tent,
but he did that because he thought it was the right thing to do.
[[Page S4321]]
Jim was my friend, he was a mentor and the way that he treated other
people is the way that I think all the rest of us should treat people.
Jim's wife Kay became a very special friend to both myself and my
late wife Jean. She treated both of us with that respect and acceptance
that you don't always get; yet you see it as being very, very sincere.
We became part of their family, and we will never forget that.
You see, Jim Inhofe was a true ambassador for his State, his country,
and most importantly, Jesus. Whether he was in another country or
attending our weekly Senate Prayer Breakfasts, he loved sharing his
faith with others.
Jim and I traveled the world together, and we shared a love for
aviation. He was one of my best friends in the U.S. Senate.
Jim often said that real friendship did exist in the Senate even if
the news wouldn't necessarily show it. To Jim, it didn't matter if
someone was a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent; he put
political parties aside to get things done and trusted and respected
the colleagues he worked with. Many of us in this Chamber are lucky to
have worked with Jim and to have called him a friend.
I especially appreciated his leadership and partnership while working
together on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Jim worked tirelessly
each year to make sure that the Senate passed legislation providing for
our national security and for our servicemembers through the National
Defense Authorization Act. It was fitting and well-deserved as a
tribute to have the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act
for the fiscal year 2023 signed into law.
He made many contributions on the national and international stage,
including his deep love and appreciation for the people of Africa,
particularly Ethiopia. He developed meaningful relationships across the
world through a shared love of Jesus, and our world is better off
because of it.
My thoughts and my prayers go out to Jim's wife Kay and to their
family.
Jim has slipped the surly bonds of Earth. Now he can put out his hand
and touch the face of God.
I will miss my friend Jim.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, in honor of Jim Inhofe, I would like to
ask unanimous consent to speak as long as I so desire.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, I am standing today at not my desk
location; I am standing at my senior Senator's desk location. This was
the location for Jim Inhofe's desk 2 years ago when he retired from the
Senate. And as you have heard from multiple different Members today, he
will be deeply missed.
I still have a moment every time someone says ``the senior Senator
from Oklahoma''--and they are speaking to me--that I turn around and
look for Jim. He will be sorely missed.
Jim was my friend. He was my colleague. He was a mentor. He was a
person to be able to work side by side with. Our staffs worked very
well together because we chose to work well together and to be able to
get things done for our State of Oklahoma.
My task today is to tell a little bit of his story. I can't do that
in a few minutes, but I am going to try to give as much as I can.
James Mountain Inhofe--and everyone loved that middle name of his.
James Mountain Inhofe was actually born in Iowa in 1934. His parents:
Perry Dyson Inhofe and his mom, Blanche Phoebe Mountain. That is where
the ``Mountain'' came from. Most folks don't even know.
But the Nation and our State was forever changed when, at 8 years
old, their family moved from Iowa to Tulsa, OK. They stayed, and he
graduated from Central High School in 1953, later graduating from the
University of Tulsa but actually attending classes all over the place
to be able to get to that graduation.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1958, stationed in Fort Lee,
VA. He became a licensed pilot in 1958, and that was one of the loves
of his life. But the real love of his life was his relationship with
Jesus and his beautiful wife Kay, whom he married in 1959.
He was first elected to public office in Oklahoma at 32 years old,
actually. He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, sat on
multiple committees, and then was elected to be the mayor of Tulsa in
1978. He loved Tulsa, OK.
He later served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to
1994, and then was elected, in a special election, into this body in
1994. He was sworn in on November 17, actually, 1994, on his 60th
birthday. He then served five terms after that, serving the U.S.
Senate, serving as chairman of Environment and Public Works; serving as
chairman of Armed Services; serving on multiple different committees,
including the Intelligence Committee, Indian Affairs Committee,
Committee on Foreign Relations, Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, Committee on Small Business. He was engaged in this
body and worked to be able to find ways to be able to make a difference
for our State of Oklahoma and for the Nation.
He loved flying and had over 11,000 flight hours. In fact, he did a
crazy thing. He did multiple crazy things, but he did a crazy thing in
that he replicated--I should say recreated--Oklahoman Wiley Post's
historic flight around the world when he got in a twin-engine Cessna
and flew from DC to Iceland to Berlin to Moscow, all the way back
around to Alaska so he could circumnavigate the globe, following after
Wiley Post, the famous Oklahoman's circumnavigation of the globe as
well.
He was passionate about infrastructure, which has been mentioned
often. He would often say, as a conservative, he was passionate about
national defense and about infrastructure, and those were
constitutional responsibilities. And he fulfilled that well.
He was passionate about trying to find ways to be able to help
veterans and those who were serving in our military and to be able to
maintain energy.
There is a great story of a debate that he held about energy taxes on
the floor of the Senate here, and it was a full-on debate, which rarely
occurs in this body very often. But it was led by Senator Inhofe on
this side of the aisle and by Senator Bernie Sanders on the other side.
And they had an hourslong debate between the two of them about energy
taxation. And at the end of that, there was a vote, and Senator Inhofe
won that vote 2 to 1. At the end of it, Senator Sanders came to him and
said: We don't do that often enough. We should do that more.
Senator Inhofe never hesitated to be able to talk about the hard
issues with the people he disagreed with and to be able to say: Let's
figure it out.
When I attended Dianne Feinstein's funeral not that long ago, Senator
Barbara Boxer from California immediately found me at the funeral and
said: How is my friend Jim? A very conservative Oklahoman had a
longstanding friendship with a very liberal Californian, and they found
ways to be able to work together.
As Jack Reed mentioned earlier, a Democrat from Rhode Island and a
Republican from Oklahoma worked very hard on national defense and found
their common ground together.
Though there are many things that Jim Inhofe will be recognized for,
he will be remembered for his work in Africa. Jim Inhofe conducted 172
African country visits in the time he served in the Senate, more than
any other Senator in the history of the Senate, he spent in Africa. He
visited leaders over and over and over again in Africa, developing deep
relationships and friendships.
Every time I meet an African leader here in Washington, DC, and they
hear that I am from Oklahoma, either the first or second thing that
they will say to me is: Do you know my friend Jim Inhofe? And I will
proudly say: Yes. And that African leader will say: He has been my
friend for years--because Jim Inhofe intentionally went to Africa,
developing relationships.
The reason we have an AFRICOM military focus in that area is because
of Jim Inhofe. There are relationships that he built across the years
there that brought down violence in Africa--because when violence began
to erupt in some countries, Jim would get on a plane and would fly and
would get the two leaders who were in conflict--because he knew them
both--together and say: We are going to pray together, and we are going
to resolve this right now. And he did.
[[Page S4322]]
And while most of the world doesn't know what Jim Inhofe did in
Africa, he will be long remembered for his faith, his love for his
family, and for what he did over and over again for the people of
Oklahoma and for Africa.
He was the longest serving Senator for the State of Oklahoma, and he
will be long remembered and appreciated in my great State. He will be
appreciated by many of the staff members who worked alongside of him, I
can assure you of that. He had 34 staff members who worked for him for
more than 10 years.
Now, for anyone in this body, we know how rare that is because staff
members tend to come and go. But for Jim, he wanted to be able to build
camaraderie among his team. He wanted to be able to do serious, hard
things, but he often did it among his staff in a nonserious way. He was
notorious for the way, quite frankly, he tormented his staff, bugged
them, hazed them, and challenged them to be able to step up and to be
able to do hard things and figure out how to be able to get things
done.
Ryan Jackson--who was his future chief of staff--on his first day on
the job as a young campaign staffer, Jim Inhofe picked him up in
Oklahoma City. They drove out for a campaign event in Western Oklahoma
for that event, and then Jim went back to Tulsa not through Oklahoma
City and told Ryan: Figure out how to get home--which he did to
multiple staff members over the years because he wanted to be able to
push them and to say: Figure it out. That was always his challenge to
his staff: Figure it out. By the way, that didn't scare Ryan off. He
stayed with him 18 years, and that young campaign staff member later
became his chief of staff.
He had many rules, but the top rule that he had was, on his airplane,
no one touch the door of his airplane but him. That was a fireable
offense for any staff member that wanted to be able to touch the
airplane door except for him.
He also had a book that he would pass out to his staff all the time
called ``Message to Garcia.'' Many of us know that book. That book is a
story about a young soldier who was given a task by a general and was
basically told he has to be able to figure things out. So he would hand
that book to staff members and would say: Read this. You need to be
able to know this.
And a staff member on his team, when he turned a memo in to Jim
Inhofe and it wasn't sufficient, would get just the message ``MTG''
written on it; in other words, ``Message to Garcia,'' go figure this
out, and come back and tell me what needs to be done.
He was also, as has been mentioned by multiple of my colleagues, an
extremely hard worker. His staff often said they only worked half a day
for Jim; that is, from 7:30 in the morning until 7:30 in the evening;
that they would just work half-days. In Jim Inhofe's office, if you
arrived at 8:30, he would greet you with a ``good afternoon'' statement
to you to be able to welcome you in.
He had, as I mentioned, many opportunities to be able to do ministry
and challenges to people in Africa, and there was a deep love for him
in multiple countries, but probably no more so than in Western Sahara,
where he fought tenaciously for the independence of those individuals
in Western Sahara with Morocco--in fact, so much so that Western Sahara
officials gave him a camel, which, obviously, he couldn't accept nor
bring home; and so he told them: Just hang onto it; I can't actually
accept this camel and take it home.
So when he visited Western Sahara, every time, they would bring the
camel back to the airport to show him they are still hanging onto his
camel; they still have it.
I have to say, there are a million stories about his leadership and
his interaction, but his staff tells great stories about their
friendships and relationships.
I have been to many a place where Jim would turn and look into the
crowd and would identify what he called the ``has-beens'' that were in
the crowd. Those were the staff that were his former staff that showed
up at just about every event he would go to because of their deep love
for him, even though they had left the staff.
Wendi Price, when she first got her job as scheduler, was put on
probation because Jim felt she was too young. She stayed on probation
for 20 years and would still be working with him today if he hadn't
retired.
I have to tell you, there are a lot of caricatures about Jim Inhofe,
and I have read some of the stories in the newspaper of things that
some of the press writes about him. I can only read those stories and
shake my head and say: Jim would have loved that--because he didn't
allow liberal press to be able to define him.
He worked across the aisle. He worked to get things done. And he
spent time doing the things that needed to be done for the future of
the country, including at a moment when President Trump was elected and
many of Jim Inhofe's staff were actually put into the EPA. And it drove
the Washington Post crazy that many of Jim Inhofe's staff with the EPW
went to the EPA. And the Washington Post wrote a blistering story about
it.
Jim Inhofe bought a ton of the copies of that Washington Post and
then just started handing it out to people so that they would all read
and would know he is fully aware of what people say but he is going to
work to get stuff done for the country.
I will miss my friend. And I will continue to pray for Kay and for
his family as they grieve.
And I say to them, Psalm 34:18:
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and He saves those
who are crushed in spirit.
They grieve for their husband, their dad, their grandfather. Many of
us grieve for our friend. But this Senate will miss Jim Inhofe. So will
our Nation.
With that, I yield the floor.
Vote on Willoughby Nomination
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the question is,
Will the Senate advise and consent to the Willoughby nomination?
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Coons),
the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), the Senator from New
Jersey (Mr. Menendez), and the Senator from Arizona (Ms. Sinema) are
necessarily absent.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the Senator from Utah (Mr. Romney), and the
Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott).
Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Florida (Mr. Scott)
would have voted ``nay.''
The result was announced--yeas 50, nays 43, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 208 Ex.]
YEAS--50
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Butler
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Cortez Masto
Duckworth
Durbin
Fetterman
Gillibrand
Hassan
Heinrich
Hickenlooper
Hirono
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lujan
Manchin
Merkley
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Ossoff
Padilla
Peters
Reed
Rosen
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Shaheen
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Tillis
Van Hollen
Warner
Warnock
Warren
Welch
Whitehouse
Wyden
NAYS--43
Barrasso
Blackburn
Boozman
Braun
Britt
Budd
Capito
Cassidy
Cornyn
Cotton
Cramer
Crapo
Daines
Ernst
Fischer
Graham
Grassley
Hagerty
Hawley
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Lummis
Marshall
McConnell
Moran
Mullin
Paul
Ricketts
Risch
Rounds
Rubio
Schmitt
Scott (SC)
Sullivan
Thune
Tuberville
Vance
Wicker
Young
NOT VOTING--7
Coons
Cruz
Markey
Menendez
Romney
Scott (FL)
Sinema
The nomination was confirmed.
(Ms. ROSEN assumed the Chair.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). Under the previous order,
the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table,
and the President will be immediately notified of the Senate's action.
The Senator from Minnesota.
[[Page S4323]]
Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory
quorum call with respect to the Wagner cloture motion be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________