[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4564-S4565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 765--RELATING TO THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE JAMES 
       MOUNTAIN INHOFE, FORMER SENATOR FOR THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

  Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. McConnell, 
Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, 
Mr. Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Brown, Mr. Budd, 
Ms. Butler, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Carper, Mr. 
Casey, Mr. Cassidy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez 
Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. 
Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. 
Hyde-Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, 
Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, 
Mr. Marshall, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Moran, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
Reed, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Risch, Mr. Romney, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. 
Rubio, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. 
Scott of South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. 
Stabenow, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. 
Tuberville, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Vance, Mr. Warner, Mr. Warnock, Ms. 
Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. 
Young) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and 
agreed to:

                              S. Res. 765

       Whereas James M. Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on 
     November 17, 1934, to Perry Dyson Inhofe and Blanche Phoebe 
     Mountain;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his 
     family in 1942, graduated from Central High School in 1953, 
     and later graduated from the University of Tulsa;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served in the United States Army 
     from 1957 to 1958, stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe became a licensed pilot in 1958;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe married Kay Kirkpatrick on December 
     19, 1959;
       Whereas, in 1966, James M. Inhofe was first elected to 
     public office to serve on behalf of the people of Oklahoma;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of the Oklahoma 
     House of Representatives from 1967 to 1969, during which he 
     sat on banking, industrial development, insurance, and 
     revenue and taxation committees and introduced and passed 18 
     bills in the fields of insurance, real estate, and finance;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of the Oklahoma 
     Senate from 1969 to 1977, during which he served as the 
     minority leader for the State Senate Republican Caucus from 
     1974 to 1977;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the 32nd Mayor of Tulsa, 
     Oklahoma, from 1978 to 1984, during which he--
       (1) led Tulsans to approve a bond issue that modernized the 
     infrastructure of the city;
       (2) led the construction of a series of low-water dams on 
     the Arkansas River, including the Zink Dam constructed in 
     1982;
       (3) led an effort to revamp the trash collection system; 
     and
       (4) created the 911 emergency call system for Tulsa;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a Member of the United 
     States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a member of--
       (1) the Committee on Government Operations of the House of 
     Representatives from 1987 to 1991;
       (2) the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the 
     House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994;
       (3) the Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control of 
     the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994;
       (4) the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries of the 
     House of Representatives from 1989 to 1994; and
       (5) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
     Representatives from 1993 to 1994;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe ended the secrecy of discharge 
     petitions in the House of Representatives by introducing 
     House Resolution 134, 103rd Congress, agreed to September 28, 
     1993, relating to amending the rules of the House of 
     Representatives to cause the publication of Members signing a 
     discharge motion, a reform that remains in place today;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe was elected on November 8, 1994, in 
     a special election and sworn in as a Senator on November 17, 
     1994, the date of his 60th birthday;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as a Member of the United 
     States Senate from 1994 to 2023, winning reelection in 1996, 
     2002, 2008, 2014, and 2020;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe, serving as the Senator from 
     Oklahoma on April 19, 1995, the date of the Oklahoma City 
     Bombing, embodied the Oklahoma Standard in his subsequent 
     efforts to support the recovery of Oklahoma City;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the Chairman of the 
     Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate from 
     2003 to 2007 and 2015 to 2017;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as Chairman of the Committee 
     on Armed Services of the Senate from 2018 to 2021;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe also served as a member of--
       (1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate from 1995 
     to 2023, including as Ranking Member from 2013 to 2015 and 
     2021 to 2023;
       (2) the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 
     Senate from 1995 to 2023, including as Ranking Member from 
     2007 to 2013;
       (3) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate from 
     1995 to 2003;
       (4) the Committee on Indian Affairs from 1997 to 2005;
       (5) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate from 
     2009 to 2011, and 2013 to 2015;
       (6) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
     of the Senate from 2017 to 2019; and
       (7) Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
     Senate from 2017 to 2023;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served as the Co-Chair of the 
     Congressional Coalition on Adoption from 2009 to 2014;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe, who fought tirelessly for the 
     aviation community throughout his life, was a private pilot 
     with more than 11,000 flight hours;
       Whereas some of the most notable congressional feats for 
     aviation of James M. Inhofe include--
       (1) enacting third-class medical reform;
       (2) enhancing protections for general aviation pilots;
       (3) supporting job opportunities and retirement security 
     for commercial pilots;
       (4) championing a strong aviation workforce for the 21st 
     century; and
       (5) protecting contract towers and advocating for needed 
     investments in general aviation and commercial aviation 
     airport infrastructure;
       Whereas, in June 1991, James M. Inhofe recreated the 
     historic flight around the world of Oklahoman Wiley Post by 
     flying a twin-engine Cessna 414 from Washington, D.C., to 
     Iceland, to Berlin, to Moscow, to several sites across the 
     Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and back to Alaska;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe attended EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in 
     Wisconsin for 43 years and was awarded the 2022 R.A. ``Bob'' 
     Hoover Trophy by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe worked tirelessly throughout his 
     career in the Senate to better the infrastructure of the 
     United States and

[[Page S4565]]

     Oklahoma by championing highway reauthorization bills and 
     water resources infrastructure legislation that provided 
     historic investments to build a 21st-century transportation 
     network to support a 21st-century economy;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe was the driving force behind major 
     transportation infrastructure investments across the State of 
     Oklahoma, including the rebuild of the I-40 Crosstown Project 
     in Oklahoma City, the modernization of the Tulsa-West Tulsa 
     Levees in Tulsa County, and boosting economic activity at 
     inland ports along the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River 
     Navigation System in Eastern Oklahoma;
       Whereas, throughout his congressional career, James M. 
     Inhofe has proudly championed the men and women that serve in 
     the Armed Forces, focused Federal investment to support 
     military readiness, implemented the National Defense 
     Strategy, and promoted opportunities for military spouses;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe consistently fought to grow the 5 
     military bases located in Oklahoma, protecting each from the 
     1995 and 2005 base realignment and closure process, 
     including--
       (1) Altus Air Force Base;
       (2) Fort Sill;
       (3) McAlester Army Ammunition Plant;
       (4) Tinker Air Force Base; and
       (5) Vance Air Force Base;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe fought to block efforts to 
     privatize military commissaries to ensure members of the 
     Armed Forces, veterans, and their families would be able to 
     continue to enjoy their benefits;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe has voted on and authored more than 
     half of all the annual National Defense Authorization Acts 
     enacted by Congress since 1961;
       Whereas the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 
     year 2023 was named the James M. Inhofe National Defense 
     Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 as a testament to his 
     leadership and partnership on the Committee on Armed Services 
     of the Senate, and his many decades of dedicated service to 
     the people of Oklahoma, members of the Armed Forces, and the 
     United States;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe was a champion for veterans 
     throughout his career, including--
       (1) by enacting legislation allowing independent, third-
     party inspectors at hospitals of the Department of Veterans 
     Affairs;
       (2) by increasing accountability by giving directors of 
     medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs the 
     ability to fire poorly performing employees; and
       (3) in Oklahoma, by adding a first-of-its-kind, regional 
     behavioral health center at the Jack C. Montgomery VA Center 
     in Muskogee, and opening a brand-new inpatient facility in 
     Tulsa;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe championed the enactment of the 
     75th Anniversary of WWII Commemoration Act (Public Law 115-
     433), which established a commemorative program to honor 
     veterans, educate the public about the history of World War 
     II, highlight the service of the men and women who served the 
     United States on the home front during the war, recognize the 
     contributions of our allies, and remember the horrors of the 
     Holocaust;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe knew well the significant and 
     strategic importance that Africa plays to the United States 
     and the rest of the world, especially in the worldwide fight 
     against terrorism;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe conducted 172 visits to African 
     countries as a Senator, more than any other Senator in 
     history;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe first visited Africa in 1998, when 
     he visited Nigeria, Benin, and Ivory Coast, and his final 
     visit was in 2022, when he visited Ethiopia, Kenya, and 
     Rwanda;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe, who long advocated for the 
     development of a single military command whose focus would be 
     solely on Africa, was vital in the effort to stand up United 
     States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which has enabled the United 
     States to enhance existing initiatives that help African 
     nations;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe worked tirelessly to advocate in 
     the Senate on behalf of the Western Saharans and their right 
     to self-determination;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe worked on a bipartisan basis to 
     enact major legislation, including--
       (1) the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient 
     Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act of 2005 
     (Public Law 109-59), authorizing Federal surface 
     transportation programs for highways, highway safety, and 
     transit from 2005 to 2009;
       (2) the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007 (Public 
     Law 110-114), which included provisions continuing cleanup of 
     the Tar Creek Superfund Site by directing the Environmental 
     Protection Agency to include resident relocation in its 
     upcoming remediation plan, and provided the legal authority 
     required to include voluntary relocation in the plan;
       (3) the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern 
     Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-172), to end the 
     reign of terror of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army 
     in eastern Congo and central Africa;
       (4) the Pilot's Bill of Rights (Public Law 112-153), 
     enacted in 2012, which protects general aviation pilots and 
     made the aviation certification action process fairer;
       (5) the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st 
     Century Act (Public Law 114-182), enacted in 2016, which was 
     the first major reform to the Toxic Substances Control Act 
     (Public Law 94-469) since the Toxic Substances Control Act 
     was enacted in 1976; and
       (6) the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, or the 
     FAST ACT (Public Law 114-94), enacted in 2016, which 
     reauthorized surface transportation programs from 2015 to 
     2020, accelerating construction of infrastructure across the 
     United States, and made the largest single infrastructure 
     investment in Oklahoma history;
       Whereas, on November 16, 2018, James M. Inhofe became the 
     longest serving Senator for the State of Oklahoma;
       Whereas on January 3, 2023, James M. Inhofe retired from 
     the Senate, having served in the Senate for more than 28 
     years and in public service for 52 years;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe considered his staff a part of his 
     family and lovingly referred to his former staff as ``has 
     beens'';
       Whereas 34 of his Senate staff loyally served more than a 
     decade alongside him;
       Whereas the family of James M. Inhofe recalls that while he 
     was proud of his many policy accomplishments, he always felt 
     his greatest achievement was his ``has beens'', who he knew 
     were central to his effectiveness;
       Whereas James M. Inhofe served with intelligence, dignity, 
     and grace, and never wavered in his commitment to God, 
     family, country, and Oklahoma;
       Whereas, on November 10, 2013, James M. Inhofe was preceded 
     in death by his son, Perry; and
       Whereas, on July 9, 2024, at the age of 89, James M. Inhofe 
     died, leaving behind his wife, Kay, his 3 loving children, 
     Jimmy, Molly, and Katy, 12 grandchildren, and a legacy of 
     steadfast love for and service to the people of Oklahoma: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate--
       (A) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the 
     announcement of the death of the Honorable James M. Inhofe, 
     former Senator for the State of Oklahoma; and
       (B) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the 
     Senate--
       (i) communicate this resolution to the House of 
     Representatives; and
       (ii) transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the 
     family of the Honorable James M. Inhofe; and
       (2) when the Senate adjourns on the date of adoption of 
     this resolution, the Senate stand adjourned as a further mark 
     of respect to the memory of the Honorable James M. Inhofe.

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