[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 179 (Wednesday, December 4, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6795-S6798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Farewell to the Senate
Mr. ROMNEY. Mr. President, I rise today to first thank the leader for
those generous comments and to mark for my colleagues the departure
soon from my service here in the Senate.
During my life, I have rarely been truly alone--maybe taking tests at
school or running cross country or on my uncle's tractor, cultivating
corn. But I am impressed with people who have achieved great things
largely on their own: Washington commanding the Continental Army,
Lincoln guiding the Civil War, Edison in his laboratory. Not me. I have
consistently been surrounded by others--usually smarter, often more
experienced, always becoming friends.
In business, I chose partners with skills that exceeded mine, the
proof of which has been their stunning success after I left. As
Governor, my team helped craft the health plan that insured nearly
every citizen in Massachusetts. My wingman, Bob White, counseled me in
business, the Olympics, and politics. My counselor, Beth Myers, advised
and managed multiple campaigns and administrations. Spencer Zwick
financed and helped guide almost every one of my endeavors. My Senate
chiefs of staff, Matt Waldrip and Liz Johnson, built and brilliantly
led an exceptional team and, with our policy directors, Chris Barkley
and Stephen Newton, crafted and negotiated more legislation that became
law than could possibly have been expected for a freshman Senator.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the names of my excellent
current and former staff members be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Scott Albrecht, Jennifer Andelin, Victoria Anderson, Matt
Anderson, Audrey Arbogast, Chris Barkley, Kelsey Berg,
Chandler Beutler, Alex Christiansen, Jessica Christopher,
Clay Crozier, Maggie Frankel, Angalene Gallaway, Adam
Gardiner, Sharon Garn, Celeste Gold, Mandee Grant, Miriam
Harmer, Scott Hatfield, Kevin Henwood, Emma Huish, Liz
Johnson, Audra Kinney, Brianna Manzelli, Chris Marroletti,
Dilan Maxfield, Trent McFadyen, Barry McLerran, Stephen
Morris, Arielle Mueller, Tanne Murdock, Stephen Newton, Arjun
Nijhawan, Samantha Onofry, Linda Patino, Jessica Pavel,
Mollie Petersen, Elijah Philpot, Travis Porter, John Poulson,
Megan Reiss, Scott Richardson, Meg Roberts, David Roberts,
Jane Sandberg, Spencer Seal, Meagan Shepherd, Zack Shepherd,
Derek Shumway, Grace Simmons, Cade Slaughter, Brennan Stokes,
Sarah Stone, Kylie Tanner, Maurice Tolbert, Kathleen
Traficant, Alex Vargo, Matt Waldrip, Henrie Walton, Paige
Waltz, Isabel Williams, Kent Wilson, Kyle Wilson, Emily
Wilson, Emily Wiscombe, Alex Yost, and Elizabeth Young.
Mr. ROMNEY. So my life's work has been a group affair. At its center,
is my wife Ann. She is my most trusted adviser, my indefatigable ally,
the love of
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my life for 54 married years. Our five sons are just as loyal and are
the source of profound pride, joy, and 25 grandchildren.
During my first months in the Senate, I was mostly on my own and,
thus, mostly unproductive, and then Lisa Murkowski invited five
Democrats to join with five Republicans at her home for a takeout
dinner. With COVID then active, we were spaced far apart, with windows
open despite the winter cold. Our conjecture on how to bridge the
impasse between the President and Congress on COVID relief led us over
the next several weeks to dig in, negotiate, draft, and eventually see
our work become the basis of law. I was fortunate to also be a part of
what this team worked on that followed: the bipartisan infrastructure
law, the Electoral Count Reform Act, gun safety legislation, and
marriage legislation that included religious protections.
Our group was Rob Portman, Kyrsten Sinema, Susan Collins, Joe
Manchin, Mark Warner, Jon Tester, Bill Cassidy, Jeanne Shaheen, and
Lisa Murkowski. We had each come to Washington to enact law that would
help people, and that is just what we did. We accomplished together
what we could have never done alone.
So I will leave this Chamber with a sense of achievement, but in
truth, I will also leave with the recognition that I did not achieve
everything I had hoped. Among other things, the scourge of partisan
politics has frustrated repeated efforts to stabilize our national
debt. Without the burden of the interest on that debt, we would be able
to spend three times as much as we do on military procurement--three
times as many aircraft, three times as many ships, three times as many
drones, spacecraft, and cyber defenses. Alternatively, we could spend
double the amount we spend on Social Security benefits every month. Our
national credit card is almost maxed out, and America risks becoming
debt poor.
My biggest surprise in the Senate has been how much I enjoy the other
Senators on both sides of the aisle. The truth is that while I may not
miss the Senate itself terribly much--the 10-minute votes that last an
hour, the unknowable schedule of votes, the myriad meaningless votes,
and the absurd passion about inconsequential votes--I will very much
miss you, my fellow Senators, for among you are some brilliant, some
entertaining, some kind and generous, and all patriotic. It is an honor
to have been able to serve with you.
It has also been an honor to represent the people of Utah, the State
of my family heritage. What sets Utah apart is not just its beauty and
vibrant economy, it is the admirable character of its people.
Now, it is customary to end remarks with these words: God bless
America. That has never seemed jarring or out of place to me because
Americans have always been fundamentally good. From our earliest days,
we have rushed to help neighbors in need, as de Tocqueville noted. We
welcomed the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We have
respected different faiths as our first President confirmed to Muslims
and Jews. ``United we stand'' is a fitting refrain. As the leader of
the free world, our sons and daughters have fought time and again for
liberty, and our treasure has buoyed freedom fighters around the globe.
Like all people, we have made mistakes, some grievous, but often our
mistakes have come from misguided understanding. God has blessed
America because America is good.
There are some today who would tear at our unity, who would replace
love with hate, who deride our foundation of virtues, and who debase
the values upon which the blessings of Heaven depend.
I have been in public service for 25 years. I have learned that
politics alone cannot measure up to the challenges we face. Our
country's character is a reflection not just of its elected officials
but also of its people. I leave Washington to return to be one among
them and hope to be a voice of unity and virtue, for it is only if the
American people merit His benevolence that God will continue to bless
America.
May He do so is my prayer.
(Applause, Senators rising.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak of my dear friend who is
departing too early.
I am going to wait until he gets done with all of the
congratulatories that he deserves.
I rise again to congratulate my dear friend Mitt Romney, whom I have
gotten to know very well and became a very close friend to. His wife
Ann and their family and Gayle and I have become very close to each
other and enjoyed our company.
I have followed Mitt's career from afar for a long time. I watched
the success that he had as he came up through the business ranks very
successfully. I watched that. I observed the Olympics, which was going
to be embarrassing to the United States of America if someone didn't
step forward and take care of the mess that it had gotten itself into,
and lo and behold, Mitt Romney did that. I was so thankful as an
American and also admiring of his skills to pull this all together
because I know it is a difficult task working with that Olympic
Committee. I watched his Presidential campaigns, which I thought were
absolutely electrifying, and I enjoyed it because I could see in his
heart that public service was what it was all about.
But my first encounter with Mitt was as a former Governor. We were
both Governors together at the same time. I was coming in in 2004, and
he was going out in 2006. He did this unbelievable thing about giving
healthcare to everybody in his State, and it was just absolutely
something phenomenal. So I called. Governors have a certain bond. It
doesn't matter who you are or where you are from or if you have never
met before in person. There is a bond.
I said: Mitt, tell me about this healthcare plan you have.
And he said: Joe, I was able to do this, this, and this--because he
mentioned some of the good people who were smart and able to put it
together. But I know one thing: Anybody who sits in that position, when
you have good people around, someone has to assemble all of that
material and put it in force, and Mitt was able to do that.
And I told him. I said: Mitt, I don't have the economy that you have
in Massachusetts, and I would love to do something for my State.
I don't know if you remember this or not.
He said: Joe, there might be a way to work through your public
employees' insurance agency and let the small businesses buy in for
group.
And we were able to do something that had never been done before that
helped an awful lot of small businesses and people who had no insurance
to get insurance because of Mitt. I remember that vividly.
Then he comes to the Senate, and that is when my personal
relationship began. I had admired him from afar for a long time, and we
just clicked.
But I have got to say this: He was involved from day one. On day one,
he hit the ground running, and Mitt brought so much institutional
knowledge and so much, basically, support that he could bring to any
conversation. He could bring you the contents; he could bring you the
graphs; he could bring you everything that you wanted and even a lot
more that you didn't want. He just engulfed us with all of this.
And I am thinking--one day, when we were working with the bipartisan
infrastructure bill--Mitt, I don't know if you recall--you kept telling
us what wouldn't work because you had better facts than we had, and you
were right, but we were trying to take your facts and work with them
and put them in the situation we were in--back and forth, back and
forth, back and forth.
And here was Mitt. He comes in, and he says: Here is why. Here is
what you should do. Here is why. Here is what needs to be done.
And he would explain everything to us, and I am thinking: We are
never going to get through this. We are just not going to get through
this.
One day, we just made the final decision: We are going to do this.
He comes in, and he says: I like it.
I am thinking: What the heck did we just go through? He just beat the
living crap out of us for about 30 days, showing us how--giving us a
roadmap of how to do something and thinking that he wasn't going to
agree with it. And, you know, his basic comment was this: This is
better than what we have got. We are moving the ball forward.
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That, to me, is the clarity of purpose. The clarity of what he came
for is to move the ball forward and to make it better, to try to make a
more perfect Union. We knew we couldn't be perfect.
And Rob was in there, working it back and forth, and everybody was
moving. When we finally got to the end, Mitt says: This is good. Could
it be better? Sure, but it is good. Let's go.
That was the signal we needed, and it moved from there.
Mitt, being a freshman 6 years, I have been here longer--maybe I
should have left 6 years ago--but I am just telling you that you have
made my life so much better in the Senate. I enjoyed it--my
relationship, of course, on both sides of the aisle, working together,
and bringing people together. But it has been just an absolute pleasure
and joy having you as a Member of the U.S. Senate, the most
deliberative body in the world, the strongest body in the world, and
the body that is supposed to make common sense out of things that
sometimes don't make reason. This body is much better off, and this
country is much better off because of your service here, and it is
going to be missed.
Most importantly, I am a better person. I know that Gayle and I are
much more enriched because of your and Ann's friendship, and we
appreciate that more than you know.
I wish you only the best in the future. I wish you the best as far as
what you are going to do, and I hope you don't change your phone number
because we still need your advice no matter where we may go.
God bless, my friend. Enjoy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, it is with a combination of pride and
sadness that I rise to pay tribute to a truly extraordinary Senator and
a good friend, Senator Mitt Romney.
I rise to praise his intelligence, his imagination, and most of all
his integrity. That is what has marked and characterized his service
throughout his life but particularly here in the Senate. It is a day of
sadness because I can't imagine the Senate without Mitt Romney.
As a Senator and as a Governor, as a Presidential candidate, as the
founder of a successful business, as the savior of the 2002 Winter
Olympics, and as a pillar of his faith, Mitt Romney has brought
intelligence, knowledge, experience, and, once again, integrity to
every task he has undertaken. He meets every challenge with
determination and a talent for bringing opposing sides together to
forge solutions. He is always focused on getting to yes, on using
common sense, and on achieving a result.
I have had the pleasure of teaming up with Mitt on so many important
issues, many of which he has mentioned. He was among the group of 10
Senators who negotiated the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of
2021. From transportation to broadband, the most significant investment
in infrastructure since the interstate highway system in the 1950s is
bringing lasting benefits to our Nation.
Mitt was also key in crafting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act--
landmark, commonsense gun safety legislation that helps to protect
America's children, keep our schools safer, and reduce the threat of
violence across our country, while preserving the Second Amendment
rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Mitt's unshakable belief that the American people must have faith in
our elections and that they are free and fair was evident in his
countless contributions to the Electoral Count Reform Act, which
ensures an orderly transition of Presidential power.
Perhaps most impressive, his support for the Respect for Marriage Act
demonstrated his fundamental fairness by helping to ensure that
millions of loving couples in same-sex marriages will continue to enjoy
the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities afforded to all other
marriages, while strongly protecting religious liberty. And I give Mitt
so much credit for forging the religious liberty protections that,
combined with the protections for same-sex marriages, enabled the
enactment of the Respect for Marriage Act. He was the one who drafted
the religious liberty provisions that were so key.
There are other areas where Mitt has been a key player and ahead of
his time. From identifying the threat posed by Russia more than a
decade ago to pushing Congress and the administration to develop a
strategy to better counter the challenge presented by China, Mitt has
worked extensively on American foreign policy and national security. He
has been a champion for Ukraine and a strong supporter of supplying aid
to that brave country in its time of peril.
Most of all, Mitt has reminded us over and over again of our $36
trillion national debt and the need to put our trust funds on solid
ground. In fact, I think that a great post-Senate responsibility that
Mitt could take on is a commission to look at all of those trust funds.
He has proposed legislation to do just that. I can't think of a better
person to head that commission.
Mitt announced his decision to step down from the Senate with these
words:
While I'm not running for reelection, I'm not retiring from
the fight.
As he and his wonderful wife Ann move on to this next phase of their
lives, I am sure that this outstanding leader will continue to fight
for the core values that have made America great.
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. BOOKER. Did I miss that? The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. TILLIS. We look so much alike.
Mr. BOOKER. Will the Senator yield?
Mr. TILLIS. Yes.
Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I rise to object. I will not let this man
go quietly into the night. I would ask for unanimous consent to force
him to stay in the Senate, but like all of my unanimous consent
requests over the last 10 years, none of them have ever passed.
Mr. ROMNEY. I object to that.
Mr. BOOKER. Case in point.
I didn't necessarily expect to speak, but I found myself sitting
there getting sad and angry that we are losing Mitt Romney, first of
all, because we have--obviously, to the naked eye--so much in common: I
am Black, and Mitt Romney is Black adjacent. Mitt Romney is a man of
great personal net worth, and I am a man of great personal net girth.
The reality is, the more I served with Mitt Romney, the more I found
myself hoping to have more in common with him. I have watched somebody
from this seat for years now give a master's class in what I believe
America needs most. I ran for President because of this drive and this
feeling that our Nation was becoming too tribalistic. I watched time
and time again from this seat a person who put aside the desires for
partisan adoration for a deeper conviction to stand up for our Nation.
I watched a man not confuse tribal celebrity with leadership
significance. I watched time and time again and saw it with my own eyes
him being harassed in airports and being scorned for taking principled
stands that he saw as the best way to try to hold our country together.
I disagree with him, even though I see him now from one of his
colleagues getting great approbation for a moment I remember when I was
a mayor watching him run for President where he was asked what the
great national security threat is, and he said Russia. At the time,
many people made fun of him, and I now have been in classified
briefings with him and other Senators where his wisdom in perceiving a
threat was not only appreciated, but I literally saw in a classified
briefing people applaud the insight of the man.
But I disagree with him now. I disagree with him because, to me, the
greatest threat to America, despite other comments that have been made
here, including from one of my esteemed colleagues yesterday who said
it was our national debt, I think the greatest threat to America is our
inability to come together as a country, because when Americans are
united, there is nothing we can't do. We can beat the Nazis. We
can send someone to the Moon. But, indeed, the greatest calling of our
country right now is to put more indivisible back into this one Nation
under God.
I have sat here for years now, and I have watched, perhaps, someone
show with clarity of purpose that I have got to be what his faith and
mine call for: Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are the people who
stand in the breach. Blessed are the people who heal, who try to weave
together the torn threads
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of our great Nation back into a mighty whole.
This body is lesser, is lesser with this loss. When I heard the news
that he wasn't running again, I wasn't happy for him and his family.
And I know his values start with that core of faith and family, but I
do worry about this body. I do worry about our Nation. The one thing
that gives me hope is the light that he has shined into this place will
endure. And perhaps many of us, as he departs, will try our best,
despite the forces that pull us apart, to pick up the work that he has
left behind to do more to affirm a principle that he clearly has kept
centered in his eyes, as is in the center of the aisles of this great
institution, which is those words from a dead language: ``e pluribus
unum.''
Mitt Romney, thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being
someone who has inspired me to be better. And thank you for being a
great American patriot.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, my folks were wondering why I am sitting
so close to Mitt Romney. He and I are seat mates. These are our
assigned seats.
I told Mitt that I had not prepared a single comment, but I did want
to come down and say a few things about him.
I hope that we use this opportunity and remember it over the next 2
years. Here is a question we can all ask or we can all talk about and
thank him for the incredible work that he has done. And to his staff,
the problems he has caused for you by being so honest, so forthright,
and so direct. Right?
How many times, Mitt--you can't answer it because I think it is
against the rules--but how many times have your staff gone: Boss, we
wish sometimes you just weren't so forthright and honest?
But that is who this guy is. We have been battle buddies in a lot of
the bipartisan efforts that have gone along. He is the reason why some
of them passed, quite honestly. Without his support and the support of
a handful of others, stuff that has enduring generational value would
have never happened.
I would ask everybody here who is thanking Mitt Romney for his role
model behavior in the times he has been in the Senate and the times
that I have known him--the first time I met him was the December before
his election, when I was a fairly newly minted legislator--and there is
no reason why he would have known me or remembered that meeting. But I
have been impressed with him since that moment in Charlotte, NC, when
he was running for President--let us go forward and hopefully ask
ourselves, as we come together as a nation, as we solve problems that
can only be solved by people on both sides of the aisle coming together
and taking the heat that comes along with that, let's ask ourselves
over the next 2 or 4 years what would Mitt Romney do and let that be a
guiding post for those of us who are going to be here who may be put
into those situations to do right by this country.
We are going to have one less person in Mitt here, but I believe it
is in all of us to emulate what Mitt has done. I hope that that is a
part of the legacy that we will honor as he is gone.
Finally, if you don't know about Mitt--I am going to miss him for
those reasons. Those are all legitimate reasons to miss Mitt, but I am
going to miss his fast wit and his ability to just call things quickly.
Having a seat mate like that when you are in the middle of vote-arama
is gold, folks. Nobody is going to know that except for the
conversations we have had back here in the middle of the night.
He is a good man, a good father, a great grandfather.
I know I am not supposed to do this either, but by show of hands, who
shares DNA with Mitt Romney up there in the Gallery? Yes. Well,
congratulations to all of you and the dozens of other family members
who have to be hugely proud of Mitt Romney. I am.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, we have a vote coming up real quick, so I
am going to be very, very, very brief.
First of all, Mitt, you have been an incredible U.S. Senator. We are
losing some good ones this time around, but you are at the top of the
list.
My father was born and raised in Utah, the State that you represent.
My father and mother were both really good Democrats. But I am going to
tell you that they would have loved Mitt Romney. The reason they would
have loved Mitt Romney is because Mitt Romney is a realist, not an
idealist; somebody who looks at issues and tries to solve them, tries
to get to yes, not to get to no, without giving up his principles.
Your time here in the U.S. Senate, the gift that the good Lord gave
to me to work with you and eight other folks besides us on that
infrastructure bill, is something that I will never forget in this
body. And you stood up time and time again and talked realism to all of
us.
As you go out, just know that there is not a soul in here that
doesn't know you are a man of faith, and I appreciate that because you
exhibit that faith. You don't preach. You walk the walk.
I just want to say, as others have said before, because it is true,
the U.S. Senate will be diminished because of your absence. And I
appreciate the opportunity to get to know you and work with you and get
some stuff done.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the
mandatory quorum call be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.