[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17032]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    WELCOME TO WYOMING'S NEW SENATOR

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, minutes ago a new Senator for the State of 
Wyoming was officially appointed by the Governor of Wyoming, and I want 
to welcome Dr. John Barrasso, now Senator Barrasso, and introduce him 
to the Senate.
  John is an extremely capable person who has gone through a selection 
process that involved 30 people who were interested in serving as 
Senator. He went through an interview process and a selection process 
and was one of three people given to the Governor from whom to select. 
The Governor gave each of the people a list of 42 issues of critical 
interest to the State of Wyoming and interviewed each of them and made 
a selection on that basis. Dr. John Barrasso was the selection.
  I am very excited about this. I am excited about having a full roster 
from Wyoming. I have known John for many years. I was pleased that he 
ran for the State Senate. He worked on a lot of conservative issues 
there. He was a hard worker, and he was extremely efficient. In fact, 
one of the amazing things to me was that he was able to answer every e-
mail almost immediately and to keep his desk clean. It is different 
from the way I worked when I was in the Wyoming legislature and it is 
much different than the way my desk looks here. So his efficiency is 
unmatched, and he has great knowledge of Wyoming and the issues that 
are important in Wyoming, which include energy, and of course health. 
He is an orthopedic surgeon and will make a big difference in our 
health care debate back here.
  He is quiet but efficient and has worked across the aisle in Wyoming, 
and I am sure he will continue to do that here, much the way Senator 
Thomas and I have done. We have always worked as a team, the Wyoming 
delegation, and he will become a very strong team member.
  I want to congratulate the Wyoming Republican Party on the process 
they went through. I want to particularly congratulate Fred Parady, who 
is the State chairman, for the way he walked into some fairly uncharted 
waters, particularly for that many people who were interested. He did 
an excellent and fair job, and one that was timely so we would be able 
to get to this point. He did an outstanding job.
  I congratulate the Governor for the care and concern he gave and the 
way he went about his job and the comments he made as he did that job 
and as he introduced the new Senator. I think Wyoming can be a good 
example for the rest of the Nation to follow.
  Of course, no one is going to be able to replace Craig Thomas, but 
working with John, we can ensure the representation of Wyoming in the 
Senate will remain second to none.
  John has had some interesting things he has worked on in Wyoming. He 
is extremely well known across the State because he has been doing 
virtually a nightly television spot helping people to help their own 
health and has given tips for a number of years doing that. I have no 
idea how many years he has also been the host for the Jerry Lewis 
telethon for Wyoming and has raised innumerable dollars for that great 
cause, and he does it so easily and so naturally and is such a great 
speaker.
  Of course, he is very pleased that both of his children, Pete and 
Emma, have graduated from high school. Emma graduated this year. So he 
has gotten to watch them grow up in a very involved way through the 
years, and now that they are going to college, he can come to 
Washington, and I know he and his family are very excited about it and 
are great participants.
  So I welcome the newest member of the Senate and let everyone know we 
are looking forward to a great team and his extreme capability.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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