[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16703-16704]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mr. BROWN of Massachusetts. Madam President, I rise to give my 
closing floor speech for this session of the Senate.
  From the date of my swearing in on February 4, 2010, until the last 
day I serve in this great Chamber, which is 1 month shy of 3 years 
serving, I still say and believe that, aside from my marriage to my 
wife Gail of 26 years and the birth of my two children, Ayla and 
Arianna, serving in the greatest deliberative body for the Commonwealth 
of the Massachusetts, in the people's seat, has been the greatest honor 
I ever had in my life. I thank the people of Massachusetts for that 
opportunity. To think that someone such as myself, whose parents were 
married and divorced 4 times each, who lived in 17 houses by the time 
he was 18 and was subjected to various forms of abuse growing up, still 
has the honor to serve in one of the greatest deliberative bodies, as I 
said, in the world is something I will not soon forget.
  To the young people sitting here and who may be watching, take it 
from me that in this country, even when it seems that you are fighting 
against all odds, anything is possible for you. There are no obstacles 
that cannot be overcome so do not give up and always follow your 
dreams.
  As I have said before, people have no business in politics unless 
they respect the judgment of the voters. If you run for office, you 
have to be able to take victory or defeat in a gracious manner. I do 
respect the judgment of the voters. I accept their decision in this 
election with the same attitude and sense of appreciation I held when I 
arrived in this Chamber almost 3 years ago.
  When I was sworn in, I was the 1,914th Senator accepting the oath of 
office by signing the book right up at the clerk's table. There were 
many Senators who served before me and there will be many Senators who 
serve after my service is over. That my name is listed amongst them is 
very humbling.
  To all the people of Massachusetts, I greatly appreciate the 
confidence you placed in me for the past 3 years in allowing me to 
represent them in the Senate. To my colleagues, I thank them for the 
courtesy and friendship they afforded me during my time here. When I 
arrived, I promised I would read the bills, see how they affected 
Massachusetts, see how they affected our country, our debt and our 
deficit and I would vote in an independent manner based on the merits 
of that issue rather than political partisan politics. I am proud I did 
keep that promise to be independent. I am proud my voting record has 
identified me as the second most bipartisan Senator in the Senate, as 
referenced by Congressional Quarterly, and that I was named as the 
least partisan Senator in the Senate by Washingtonian magazine.
  It was that independent and bipartisan approach that provided me with 
an opportunity to stand with the President at the White House on three 
separate occasions in the past 2 years to see bills I had either 
sponsored or played a key role in securing their passage signed into 
law. I was honored to work with my colleagues--many who are here today 
and many who are listening--on both sides of the aisle on legislation 
that was signed into law to move our country forward, including the 
STOCK Act to ban insider trading by Members of Congress--I know the 
Presiding Officer played a key role in that as well--the hire a hero 
veterans bill to help our veterans who are fighting for jobs actually 
have opportunities to be hired by employers who are looking for those 
heroes; the crowdfunding legislation which will help young 
entrepreneurs get access to new capital and create jobs, something I 
hope the SEC will immediately come up with a rule on so these people 
can start creating jobs and raising money; legislation to reform Wall 
Street, where I was the deciding vote to strengthen our country's 
financial system; legislation to eliminate an onerous 3-percent 
withholding tax; eliminating a stealth tax that would have affected 
government contractors--that is also gone; legislation to ensure our 
fallen heroes receive the dignity and respect they deserve at the 
Arlington National Cemetery, that is something now that is also fixed; 
and many other congressional actions that have made a difference not 
only in Massachusetts but in this great country. These are all shared 
successes, and I was proud to be part of each and every one of them.
  I have always said in order to do our business as our country's 
leaders we must do our work in a bipartisan, bicameral manner to ensure 
the actions taken by Congress benefit all Americans, not just those of 
one political party or one political ideology. During my time here and 
now as I am leaving, I have been and still am deeply concerned about 
the lack of bipartisan efforts to solve our country's most pressing 
economic challenges and in turn move our country forward. Many times 
political party and personal gain is put before the needs of our 
country. I know

[[Page 16704]]

we can do it better. The American people expect us to do it better. As 
I leave, I challenge the leadership on both sides of the aisle to make 
the process more open and transparent. I challenge Members to work with 
each other in a more open and honest manner, and I challenge the 
President and the congressional leadership to also work together 
immediately to address the concerns and needs of our country because, 
after all, we are Americans first and our country deserves better.
  In closing, I see my staff here. Many of them were here from the 
beginning. They came from applicants, over 4,000, for a very select few 
jobs. I thank Vanessa Sinders, my chief of staff, and each and every 
one of the staff for the amazing work they have done in very 
interesting times. To come here as the 41st or the 60th Senator and 
have the media scrutiny and all the commentary from every special 
interest group around the country, in the middle of a Senate that was 
gridlocked--to come here and have an opportunity to make a difference 
and do it well without making any mistakes is something I think 
benefited Massachusetts but also benefited this great country. It 
allowed for the debate to resume once again to eliminate a 
supermajority so one side could ram through things in which the other 
side had no play or no involvement.
  That is not what our country is about. That is not what this Chamber 
is about. We deserve better. The people of Massachusetts and the people 
of this country deserve better. They deserve to have their voices 
heard. Every person in this Chamber has one vote. To think that one 
side or the other, depending on who is in charge, is going to stifle 
that one Senator, from whatever part of the country, not to let him or 
her have their moment to express their views on something that is 
important to them and their constituency, to shut that off and put your 
thumb on it is not the way we should be doing it.
  I am deeply concerned about any changes in the rules that are being 
proposed to eliminate the ability for both sides to do battle in a 
thoughtful, respectful manner. If you see the movie ``Lincoln,'' you 
see that even back then they were battling most of the time to convince 
each other to go one way or the other. Since when has it been a problem 
to have vibrant debate in the Senate, in this great Chamber? Since 
when? What is everybody scared about? I don't understand that. I am 
hopeful the leaders will come together and recognize we need to have 
that vibrant debate. That is what makes this Chamber unique among any 
other form of government around the world. To take that away and limit 
it I think is a big mistake.
  I wish to say thank you, obviously, to the people of Massachusetts 
for entrusting me to sit in the people's seat for the past 3 years. I 
thank my colleagues who are here, with whom I have had some great 
friendships and opportunities to work together. As I said many times 
before, victory and defeat is temporary depending on what happens and 
where we go. All of us, obviously, may meet again, but I am looking 
forward to continuing on with those friendships, continuing on working 
with my staff.
  I thank you for this opportunity to speak.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my colleague, 
Senator Scott Brown, who will leave the Senate at the conclusion of the 
112th Congress. Senator Brown won a special election in 2010 to fill 
the seat of the late Senator Edward Kennedy, but his service to the 
State of Massachusetts began many years ago.
  Senator Brown began his career in public service in 1992, working as 
a real estate assessor for the town of Wrentham, MA. In 1998, he was 
elected to the Massachusetts House. Six years later, he was elected to 
the State senate, where he was known as a strong advocate for veterans 
issues. As a State senator, he championed legislation that created a 
check-off box on State income tax forms for veterans to indicate 
service in Iraq or Afghanistan so that they could be efficiently 
notified of benefits.
  His work on behalf of veterans is not surprising considering Senator 
Brown has proudly served in the Army National Guard since enlisting at 
age 19 when he attended college at Tufts University. Once elected to 
the U.S. Senate, his commitment to military and veterans issues 
continued as he served on the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, 
Armed Services, and the Veteran's Affairs Committees.
  Although his time in the Senate was short, Senator Brown advanced 
several initiatives, including several that assist servicemembers and 
their families. He successfully included a provision in the 2012 
National Defense Authorization Act, which made certain that members of 
the National Guard and their families receive a fair housing allowance 
when deployed overseas. Senator Brown also worked across the aisle on 
legislation that demonstrated his commitment to our troops. He fought 
to provide greater oversight at Arlington National Cemetery, ensuring 
proper burials of America's fallen heroes and secured a provision to 
create the Office of Service Member Affairs at the Consumer Financial 
Protection Bureau to help returning servicemembers avoid financial 
fraud.
  The hard work and dedication that Senator Brown has shown during his 
years of public service will surely bring him continued success in the 
future. I thank Senator Brown for his service in the Senate and wish 
him the best.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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