[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21170-21172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mr. MARTINEZ. I thank the Senator from Illinois for his kindness and 
appreciate the opportunity to proceed with my final speech on the floor 
of the Senate, which is a unique moment in time for sure.
  The opportunity to serve in the Senate is really the culmination of 
what has to be an unlikely journey from the place of my birth in a 
small city in Cuba to having journeyed to the United States and having 
had the incredible opportunity to be in the Halls of the most cherished 
institution of democracy anywhere in the world. It has been, indeed, a 
privilege and an unlikely journey, as I say.
  I am really very grateful to the people of Florida for having given 
me the opportunity to represent them in the Senate, and I think of my 
time in the Senate as a culmination of my time in public service, the 
close of a fulfilling chapter in my own version of the American dream.
  Having lived through the onset of tyranny in one country and played a 
part in the proud democratic traditions of another, I leave here today 
with a tremendous sense of gratitude for the opportunity to give back 
to the Nation I love--the Nation not of my birth but the Nation of my 
choice, which is a significant difference. It is a great nation with a 
proud tradition throughout its history of welcoming immigrants to this 
country and, in addition to welcoming, it has given us the opportunity 
to do great things for all who are a part of this country.
  So that is why I consider serving my community, my State, and our 
Nation for the past 12 years a great privilege. It was a desire to give 
back, to make a contribution to this Nation that propelled me to enter 
a life of public service. As a mayor and Cabinet Secretary, and as a 
Senator, preserving opportunities for others to receive their own claim 
to the American dream has always been a mission for me.
  I have worked during all phases of my public life with a sincere 
desire to make a difference, and today I prepare to return home knowing 
that I have done my best to advance the things that make our Nation 
great, prosperous, and free. We truly live in the greatest Nation in 
the history of the world, and throughout my life in public service I 
have been humbled to play a proud role in this democratic history of 
our Nation.
  As mayor of Orange County, it was a real pleasure and privilege to 
lead the community that had done so much for me and for my family when 
we first arrived in this country. Then to have the opportunity to lead 
them as mayor was indeed a rare treat and a wonderful opportunity. We 
carried out an aggressive agenda and tried to do the that which would 
better the lives of everybody who lived in Orange County, and I am 
proud of some of the many things we accomplished there.
  Upon my service as mayor, I received a call from then-President-elect 
George W. Bush to serve my adopted Nation as the first Cuban American 
to serve in the Cabinet of a President, which was, again, a rare 
privilege and a wonderful opportunity. The call to serve as HUD 
Secretary was unexpected and not only a source of pride for me and my 
family but especially for the entirety of the Cuban American community. 
I will always be grateful to President Bush for giving me such a 
historic opportunity.
  My time of serving on the Cabinet was punctuated by the terrorist 
attacks of September 11, 2001. These were sobering events. These were 
events that turned the focus of the Nation from a fairly carefree time 
dealing largely with domestic issues to a focus on the reality of what 
had occurred in New York and Pennsylvania and right here not far from 
this Capitol. It was part of my job as HUD Secretary to work on the 
reconstruction of Lower Manhattan. That and a number of other things 
were added as responsibilities for those of us in the administration at 
that time. Forevermore I will remember those days as having been a very 
significant part of my life in public service.
  There is no question that it was a privilege to serve the President, 
but there is no greater honor than to have the people of Florida send 
me to Washington to serve them as a Member of the Senate. Aside from 
the debates and the speeches and all the work that goes into turning 
ideas into law, one of the most rewarding experiences has been helping 
Floridians resolve issues they have in their everyday lives.
  In the short time I have been here, my office has assisted more than 
36,000 Florida families through casework and written correspondence and 
countless more efforts. We made tremendous progress on many of the 
issues that face our State, including efforts to develop our natural 
energy resources while protecting the environment, seeking to modernize 
our military through increased shipbuilding and ensuring we meet the 
Navy's goal of strategic dispersal--very important to our country but 
also to Florida--and working to protect our Nation's home buyers from 
bad loans, bad investments, and predatory lending practices.
  It has also been rewarding to know our work can often impact the 
lives of those living outside our borders fighting for freedom and 
those things which we hold dear. I brought to my work a belief that it 
is always necessary to provide a voice for those who are silenced for 
attempting to advance the cause of freedom.
  Having lived under Cuba's repressive dictatorship, I have always 
recognized the struggle of those who fight for freedom. That has always 
been, and will continue to be, a lifelong passion. I have taken every 
opportunity to recognize those engaged in Cuba's peaceful civic 
struggle for democratic change and those who stand up for their human 
rights. There are names such as Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Antunez, the 
Damas de Blanco--the ``Ladies in White''--and also the victims of the 
Black Spring government crackdowns. It is my fervent hope that one day 
in the not too distant future the people in Cuba will live in freedom 
with dignity and hope for a better tomorrow. Freedom is their God-given 
right.
  Even though I will no longer hold public office, I will devote myself 
to seeing the day when the people of Cuba can live in freedom. The 
preservation of all freedoms, whether they be in Cuba or around the 
world, call us to stand up wherever and whenever it is threatened.
  One series of events will stand out in my mind as evidence of the 
power of an individual. A constituent of mine--a woman by the name of 
Cuc Foshee was falsely imprisoned in Ho Chi Minh's prison while she was 
visiting her family in Vietnam. This was a lady who fled Vietnam and 
who lived in Florida. She went back to Vietnam for a family wedding, 
and while she was there her views about the government of Vietnam were 
clear and well-known, so she was, for no particular reason, thrown in 
jail in Vietnam. When this matter came to my attention, she had been in 
detention for over a year. She was denied any of the basic rights that 
we understand and know. She had no opportunity to have contact with 
home, and she had no real hearing and no fair trial. Yet she was still 
in prison.
  One of the wonderful opportunities I have had in my time here was to 
work for her release. It so happened that, working with President Bush 
and then-Secretary of State Rice, we had before the Senate the 
Vietnamese Free Trade Agreement. President Bush was planning a visit to 
Vietnam upon the completion of that agreement. So utilizing the 
resources all of us have in the Senate to ensure the consideration of 
that free-trade agreement was somehow connected to the freedom of this 
innocent woman, I was able to work with Secretary Rice, leading our 
State Department at that time, as well as our President, to ensure that 
Cuc Foshee was freed.
  I have never been more proud than the day we were able to get a phone 
call that she was on her way to San Francisco, and then have a 
wonderful reunion with her and her family in Orlando, FL. It is 
something I will never forget.
  We did also strive mightily in this body to seek a solution to 
immigration reform, something I felt very strongly about. And being the 
only immigrant in this body, I believed I was dutybound to try to 
advance that

[[Page 21171]]

cause. I am proud to say our efforts for immigration reform gave me the 
opportunity to work very closely with Senator Ted Kennedy, whom we are 
also honoring today, with nearly a half century of service in the 
Senate.
  I can recall reminiscing with him one day near his desk. He came to 
the Senate in 1962. That was the same year I came here from Cuba. It 
was also immediately after we had a very serious confrontation 
involving Cuba--the Cuban missile crisis. I remember discussing with 
him how his family will be tied to that period of time, to the history 
of Cuba, and how deeply that had touched my life as well. In addition 
to the many opportunities to reminisce about things such as that with 
him, I hold dear the opportunity to have sat at a table and negotiated 
with him what I thought would have been a very good immigration reform 
package--a bill which I believed would be good for our country and good 
for many people in our country.
  We didn't always agree. We didn't always have the same point of view. 
But we always found a way to get along and be very civil about our 
differences, and I admired greatly his ability to put differences aside 
and his desire to find consensus. What was most telling about working 
with Senator Kennedy is that he was committed to reaching an outcome. 
He wanted a solution, which then meant--and this might be a lesson for 
current issues today--that he could put aside the whole banana in order 
to get what he could.
  I believe in working with him and then some other colleagues who have 
become such good and dear friends, such as Senator Graham and Senator 
McCain and many others; Senator Kyl, who made an effort to get this 
legislation done--I must say I leave with a sense of regret that is not 
completed, but I do know that is an issue that will have to be 
addressed at some point in the future.
  I would also quote from President Reagan on that issue. He talked 
about the idea that America remains a beacon of freedom to the world, 
when he spoke about the ``shining city on the hill.''
  In his farewell address to our Nation, he touched on the idea that 
the contributions of all individuals are what make our Nation great. He 
said:
  If there had to be city walls, the walls had doors, and the doors 
were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.
  I believe those words to be as true today as the day he said them. I 
do hope, in the not too distant future, this Congress will address 
itself to that very important issue.
  Whether it is immigration, budgets or Supreme Court Justices, I will 
also miss the debates. I thank my fellow Senators for their 
collegiality and their friendship. I know these friendships are going 
to be the hardest thing to leave here--on both sides of the aisle. I 
must say I have been very touched by the warm and gracious phone calls 
and other expressions I have received from my colleagues, as I say, on 
both sides of the aisle. It makes me feel good about my relationship 
with all of you, and I hope it will be a relationship that will 
continue.
  I wish to especially take a moment to thank Senator McConnell, 
Senator Kyl, Senator Alexander and the other members of our leadership 
team for their kindness and willingness to work with me and give me 
opportunities to participate in our great debates. I also wish to thank 
Senator Reid and Senator Durbin for their friendship and their 
willingness to work with me as well.
  I have had a very special and close working relationship with my 
colleague from Florida, Senator Bill Nelson. We have known each other 
for long time, long before we came to the Senate. It has been a real 
privilege and pleasure to work with him. We worked together well enough 
to give Florida an excellent team here, and I am pleased to not only 
have had this fine working relationship with him but also that our 
staffs have worked together well. I thank his Chief of Staff, Pete 
Mitchell, and others in his office for the wonderful way in which they 
worked with us.
  All of you have extended great kindness to Kitty and to me. I hope we 
will have an opportunity to see you in Florida, where we will continue 
to make our home. I wish to especially recognize some people in my 
staff who have made my office go. As all of you know, we rely on these 
folks to make us look good at times and always be dedicated to us. My 
State director has been Kevin Doyle, who has done a magnificent job; 
senior director Kate Bush; my communications director, Ken Lundberg; 
legislative director, Michael Zehr; my executive assistant, Terry 
Couch, who has been bouncing with me from mayor to Secretary to 
Senator, and I daresay may even continue to hang around with me in some 
way; my chief of staff and longtime friend Tom Weinberg, I thank him 
very especially. He worked with me as county administrator and then 
came to join me here.
  There are a few folks who were on my staff initially but have now 
moved on: my first chief of staff, John Little; Kerry Feehery; and my 
former State director, Matthew Hunter, were also very important in my 
work, and I appreciate them very much.
  I have to say one of the most singular honors I have had in my 
service has been to work with the men and women who serve in our Armed 
Forces and to get to know them--whether it is people in their 
leadership such as General Petraeus, who now is a Floridian in the 
Central Command in Tampa, or some Floridians serving in the National 
Guard, having lunch with them in Kabul or Baghdad or other places and 
here in Washington or around the world. They are an amazing group of 
people. They have my respect and my deep-felt gratitude for the work 
they do as they serve our Nation in foreign, distant places--and their 
families who, with them, are part of serving as well.
  While saying thank-yous, I also would like to say a thank you to my 
wife Kitty, who has been a wonderful partner and friend in my life of 
public service, as she has been in all phases of my life. I promise 
you, if it were not for Kitty, I would not have done half of what I 
have done in life so I am eternally grateful to the good Lord for the 
blessing of having a wonderful life companion.
  I wish to tell you all in George LeMieux you will have a very fine 
person. I hope you will give him the same warm welcome you gave to me 
and will be willing to work with him. I think he will serve the people 
of Florida well. I wish to extend a warm welcome to George LeMieux as 
he joins this wonderful body.
  I am humbled by the trust the people in Florida placed in me. It has 
not been easy to make a decision to move on, but it is a decision I 
have made and I do it with a heavy heart.
  I also particularly wish to address myself to the Cuban-American 
community throughout our country but especially in Florida, who have 
had such great pride in me, who have put so much of their faith and 
hopes in my public life. I simply wish to say to them: me hicieron 
suyos y creyeron en mi. Compartimos el orgullo en lo que somos y lo que 
hemos logrado. Su apoyo entusiasta ha tocado mi corazon, y atesorare 
estas memorias para siempre, which means simply that I am appreciative 
of the pride we share together and what we have accomplished. Your 
enthusiastic support has touched my heart and I will always carry that 
with me.
  My time of service is only a fraction of the nearly two and a half 
centuries that have passed since our Founders charted our course as a 
free people, but the opportunity for someone such as me to serve speaks 
volumes about the promise they made and one our Nation continues to 
keep, even to this day.
  I wish to close with a quote from Jose Marti, a Cuban patriot, a hero 
of mine and to all those who strive to further the cause of freedom. He 
said:

       Liberty is the essence of life. Whatever is done without it 
     is imperfect.

  With that, I think I have tried to enjoy the fruits of this liberty 
that this country has to offer, but I have also tried to extend it to 
others in every way that I could. I am immensely grateful for the 
opportunity to have served in this body. I am humbled by this moment, 
and I am grateful to my colleagues for your friendship and support.

[[Page 21172]]


  I yield the floor.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, as Senator Martinez knows, the minority 
leader of the Senate could not be here this morning. I made some brief 
remarks yesterday, but let me say, just kicking off some comments I 
know others of my colleagues want to make, that in addition to the 
other attributes that Senator Martinez has brought to the Senate 
representing the people Florida, his personality, his engaging wit, and 
his love of people, his spirit, his friendliness, and his genuineness, 
all have been appreciated by all of us, I know, very much. So it is 
even more difficult for us to see him leave because, in addition to 
being a good colleague and a great Senator, he has been a wonderful 
friend.
  I think all of us appreciate that quality of genuineness, which is 
not always the order of the day when it comes to people in politics. 
With Kitty and Mel Martinez, it is. We appreciate and love them very 
much and we will miss them.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.

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