[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16724-16725]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise today to thank the 
people of Nebraska. It is a tremendous honor to have had the 
opportunity to serve the state for 20 years--8 as Governor and 12 as 
Senator. The people of Nebraska are generous and hardworking and it has 
been a true privilege to represent them.
  I also want to thank my parents--Birdella and Benjamin. Raising me in 
McCook, NE they instilled in me the values I have tried to embrace and 
which serve as guiding principles for me in both public and private.
  I especially want to thank my family for their unwavering love and 
support. As my colleagues know, public service requires our families to 
sacrifice--sacrifice privacy and sacrifice the ability to determine 
their own schedule among many other things. And so I sincerely thank my 
wife Diane, our four kids and five grandkids for their patience and 
understanding. While it is hard to walk away from this body, I look 
forward to getting to spend a lot more time together.
  As a public official the lens through which I have always tried to 
view decisions is: how will this policy, this vote or this decision 
impact my community, my State and my country? This focus and advocacy 
for my home State has resulted in both praise and criticism at various 
times but I stand before you today proud of the accomplishments 
achieved over the last 12 years and grateful for the opportunities 
afforded to me by the people of Nebraska. Arriving in the Senate in 
2001 I recall thinking about what one of my predecessors in this body, 
Ed Zorinsky, used to say. Senator Zorinsky said that the biggest 
problem in Washington, D.C. is there are too many Democratic Senators 
and there are too many Republican Senators. There are not enough U.S. 
Senators. Unquestionably my proudest moments in the Senate are those 
efforts that were bipartisan and pursued by a collective motive to get 
the best possible result while maintaining the dignity of this 
institution.
  Probably the most straightforward example of this work is the 
compromise achieved by the Gang of 14. As many of my colleagues will 
recall, in 2005 there were several judicial nominees presented to the 
Senate for its consideration but which had not yet received an up or 
down vote. The majority leader at that time, Senator Frist of 
Tennessee, was considering what became known as the so-called ``nuclear 
option'' which would have changed the Senate's rules so that the 
minority party couldn't filibuster a judicial nominee.
  There was a great deal of concern about how this would impact the 
Senate's longstanding tradition of majority rule while recognizing 
minority rights--and what this would mean to the way the Senate 
conducted its business in the future. At that time, myself and Senator 
Lott convened 12 of our colleagues--6 additional Democrats and 6 
additional Republicans. Together we met and exchanged ideas about how 
to find a sensible way forward that would satisfy all 14 Senators such 
that each would agree the Senate was dutifully carrying out its 
``advise and consent'' responsibility without unduly restraining the 
ability of the minority to assert itself in instances when it found a 
nominee truly and substantively objectionable or unfit to serve.
  Ultimately an agreement was reached by this bipartisan group, there 
was not a rules change and in the midst of a highly partisan 
environment, the Senate moved forward in a positive way and I believe 
we did the right thing. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia was a 
critical member of the Gang of 14. In addition to his many, many, many 
accomplishments--everyone knew then and knows now that there is not 
anyone more well versed in the history of the Senate or who was more 
protective of it as an institution. I will never forget after the 
agreement was finalized Senator Byrd said that he was proud of the work 
accomplished and that we had ``saved the Senate.''
  Hearing those words from Senator Byrd was undoubtedly one of the 
proudest moments of my career. Besides Senator Byrd, I have had the 
opportunity to serve with so many public servants in this body, and I 
thank all of them. I would start naming names, but I know I will leave 
someone out. So I want to thank all present and past Members of the 
Senate that I have worked with for the occasions we have had to work 
together so closely.
  I also share the sentiment that many of my colleagues have noted in 
their farewell addresses, and that is the appreciation for the efforts 
of staff. Over

[[Page 16725]]

the last 12 years I have worked with an incredibly dedicated and 
talented collection of individuals. We call on our staff to do a lot of 
work, often in a very stressful environment. I thank everyone in my 
office back home and at the office in DC for the work they have done on 
behalf of the State of Nebraska.
  If I were to leave this body with one thought and hope for the 
future, it would be this: Congress needs to change its math, and by 
that I mean the Members of Congress should be more concerned about 
addition and multiplication and less involved in division and 
subtraction which seems to overtake this institution at times. My hope 
is that in the process of doing this, Congress and our Nation will have 
a stronger desire to find solutions for the country's greatest 
challenges more so than any effort to try to drive our citizenry apart.
  With that, I will say one more time: Thank you to my family, my 
staff, my colleagues, and most especially to the people of Nebraska.
  I yield the floor, and I note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to my 
colleague Ben Nelson. In fact, when we visited with each other last 
night, I said to Senator Nelson that I have spent a significant part of 
my career following jobs he had done. I was the mayor of Lincoln when 
Ben Nelson was the Governor of Nebraska, I became the Governor of 
Nebraska as he was completing his two terms, and then I joined him in 
the U.S. Senate. Before all of that, I worked with Ben as the Secretary 
of Agriculture.
  I can say from first-hand experience that Ben Nelson always had the 
best interests of our State at heart. He was enormously hardworking. In 
fact, I don't hesitate to admit for a second that when I came to the 
Governor's office, I found the State to be in excellent shape. He often 
joked about how he was tighter than three coats of paint, and I think 
that is absolutely true.
  He tended to business, balanced the budget, and made sure that money 
was set aside in the rainy day fund because we in Nebraska know there 
are going to be days where it might rain. He did a great job as 
Governor. We worked hand in hand on a number of issues when I was 
Governor and he was a U.S. Senator. When we became colleagues in the 
Senate, that working relationship continued.
  I am very pleased to rise today and say to the people of Nebraska 
that there was never a time where partisan differences ever impacted or 
interfered with our ability to work together. Senator Nelson was always 
looking for a way to move the State forward and move our country 
forward.
  I just wanted to come to the floor today and thank my colleague Ben 
Nelson for his service. We appreciate everything he has done. We wish 
the Senator the very best, and I have a sense we are going to have an 
opportunity to work together in future years.
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to and 
recognize the achievements of Senator Ben Nelson, who, like me, will be 
leaving the Senate at the end of this year. I consider Senator Nelson, 
who has represented Nebraska in the Senate since 2000, a friend and an 
excellent colleague.
  Senator Nelson has had a long and impressive career, spanning both 
the private sector as well as State and Federal Government service. 
After graduating from law school at the University of Nebraska, Senator 
Nelson spent roughly two decades working in the insurance industry, 
both as a legal practitioner and in leadership roles at the Central 
National Insurance Group, the National Association of Insurance 
Commissioners, and the Nebraska Department of Insurance.
  It was upon this impressive background that Senator Nelson launched 
his career in public service when, in 1990, as a moderate Democrat, he 
was elected Governor of Nebraska. As a testament to his dedicated 
service and popularity, he was reelected to a second term in 1994 after 
garnering nearly three-quarters of the vote. Nebraskans then sent him 
to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Senator Nelson was reelected in 2006 in a 
landslide.
  Nebraska and my State of North Dakota share a great deal in common. 
Both States are populated by residents who value hard work and who 
possess an independent streak that places pragmatism above partisan 
politics. Senator Nelson is a product of his Nebraska roots--he brought 
those same characteristics to Washington and, as a direct result, was 
able to work across the aisle and within his party to benefit his State 
in ways more partisan legislators likely never could have done.
  Rural States such as ours also face unique challenges, particularly 
those involving the agriculture industry, which often go unnoticed by 
those who live in densely populated areas. I have worked closely with 
Senator Nelson over the years on farm legislation and know firsthand 
his passion for the industry and his drive to see family farmers 
succeed. Nebraskans should be very proud of Senator Nelson's hard work 
on the Agriculture, Appropriations, and Armed Services Committees.
  I will greatly miss having Senator Nelson as a colleague, but I also 
know that his wife Diane as well as his children and grandchildren will 
be excited to have him back home in Nebraska. My wife Lucy and I wish 
Ben and his family many happy years ahead.
  I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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