[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17850-17855]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to address this Chamber 
for possibly the last time as the senior Senator from the great State 
of Texas.
  I have to say it is an ironic note that if I had given my farewell 
address last week, there would have been so much joy in the halls of 
the Capitol, ringing with the laughter and the anticipation of our 
season's happiest time. But in just one weekend, a sadness has set in 
with the news of a massacre of innocent children in Newtown, CT, 
followed by the loss of our wonderful colleague, Senator Danny Inouye.
  So I will leave this extraordinary institution and experience with a 
heavy heart for those who have been lost in the last few days.
  I want to thank the people of Texas for asking me to represent them 
in Washington. I want to thank the many people who have served on my 
staff for almost 20 years. I have to say I am touched that both benches 
on both sides of this room are filled with my staff members who have 
been so hard-working and so loyal and have produced so much in 20 years 
for our State and Nation, and I thank them.
  I want to thank my colleagues and all the people who work here, the 
Senators, but also those who work behind the scenes to make our lives 
as good as they can be with the hard hours we all have; those who keep 
our buildings safe and clean, who work in the libraries, the shops, the 
cafeterias, and who guide tens of thousands of tourists through our 
Nation's beautiful Capitol each year.
  I want to thank my husband Ray and our two children Bailey and 
Houston. They are 11 years old now, and so many of my colleagues who 
were here when I started bringing my children as babies have watched 
them grow up. The Senate isn't easy on families. They have sacrificed 
so I could serve the people of Texas, and I am grateful for their 
patience and generosity. They have loved coming to the Capitol--11 
years for the children and 20 for my husband Ray. And I know my 
children's fondest memory, if I ask them what do they remember most 
about visits to the Capitol, is playing soccer in the Russell 
Building's hallways in the evenings when the coast is clear.
  I would not be here today if it were not for my parents who gave me 
the gifts of strong values, unwavering support, and education to be 
whatever I wanted to be. I must say that my parents were surprised when 
they saw what I wanted to be. They would never have thought that their 
daughter, growing up in LaMarque, TX--a town of 15,000 good people--
would think she

[[Page 17851]]

could be a United States Senator. We had a wonderful public school 
system, and I am proud to say I am a product of public education. My 
public schools in LaMarque--which were excellent--and my University of 
Texas and University of Texas Law School prepared me to be what I could 
be.
  It has been a privilege to walk these halls in the Capitol of the 
world's greatest and longest serving democracy.
  I think back to the days that stand out in our memories. September 
11, 2001, of course, is the one none of us will ever forget. We know 
exactly where we were the minute we knew there was a terrorist attack 
on America. And though we suffered a horrific attack, the strength, 
resilience, and extraordinary acts of kindness of the American people 
showed the world that attempts to destroy our way of life would never 
succeed. On that day, no one could get in or out of Washington and many 
communications networks were inoperable. So when the Pentagon was hit 
and the Capitol was evacuated, my staff and I walked one block to my 
home on Capitol Hill. Just as an example, the husband of my office 
manager worked in the section of the Pentagon that had been hit, so we 
were on the one phone that we had to hospitals, the police, anyone we 
thought might be able to tell us if he was safe. Thankfully, he was 
fine. But there were so many who waited for hours, who called 
hospitals, to hear from their loved ones. Sometimes the news was a 
relief and sometimes they waited in vain for good news.
  I have to say it was an incredible moment when the Senators who could 
find each other, wherever they had gone from the Capitol, finally 
gathered late afternoon in the Capitol Police headquarters to talk to 
our leaders who had been taken to an undisclosed location. They said, 
We don't want anyone to come, but we were going to the steps of the 
Capitol to hold a press conference. We don't want anyone there because 
we don't know if it is safe, but we want to tell the press that we are 
going to open for business tomorrow and do the Nation's business, even 
though there was suspicion that the Capitol had been on the terrorists' 
list of targets.
  Every single one of the Senators--and I think there were 60 to 70 who 
had made it to the Capitol Police headquarters--did come to the Capitol 
steps, as did Members of the House of Representatives. After the press 
conference was held by the leaders, all of the several hundred who had 
gathered spontaneously broke out singing ``God Bless America.'' That 
was a time that said this is the strength of our country and we will 
not be defeated.
  As I exit the Senate, I am aware that we are divided as a legislative 
body and as a country. I do not think we have different goals--not 
here, and not in America--but we do have different ways of reaching 
them. Congress suffers a great deal of criticism for partisan acrimony. 
But while we may disagree politically and air our opposition in this 
Chamber, it is the conversation behind the scenes that cements and 
defines our relationships. I will leave the Senate knowing I have 
worked with men and women of great patriotism, intellect, and heart on 
both sides of the aisle.
  I wish to thank my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, for the many 
wonderful years working together. We seconded one another at times and 
engaged in rigorous debate in others. Yet the American people should 
know that either way, we are collegial and we all understand that our 
States have different needs and there will be differences in 
priorities. But in the Senate, an adversary today will be an ally 
tomorrow. It is a rare occasion for acrimony to turn personal.
  It would be my parting hope that this collegiality will not be lost. 
Protecting the rights of the minority has assured that every Senator's 
voice is heard and every State represented is heard, as intended by our 
Constitution. Open debate and open amendments are what differentiate 
the Senate from the House.
  When our committees function, we pass bills in vigorous markups, we 
put the bills in shape for floor debate. If they don't go through 
committees and are not allowed floor amendments, the quality of the 
legislation suffers and mistakes are often made.
  Let me give you some examples of how relationships can produce 
results.
  During the anthrax scare, the Hart Building was closed for a month, 
which made it very difficult, of course, for Senators based there to do 
their work. So Senator Dianne Feinstein's staff joined in my offices in 
the Russell Building. My chief of staff at the time gave them full 
access. One of Senator Feinstein's staff members commented on that: A 
Republican office giving Democrats free rein? But my chief of staff 
said, They had full access because we trusted them.
  Senator Feinstein and I have teamed up to pass important 
legislation--the Hutchison-Feinstein Overseas Basing Commission--that 
studied the training capabilities and costs of overseas military bases 
to determine their value compared to American bases. This resulted in 
consolidation and closures that brought thousands of troops back to the 
United States where training and rapid deployment were superior. We 
passed the Feinstein-Hutchison Breast Cancer Research Stamp bill that, 
through voluntary purchase, has raised $72 million for breast cancer 
research. That was Senator Feinstein's idea. And Senator Feinstein and 
I took the Amber Alert for abducted children nationwide, which has 
accounted for rescuing almost 600 children since its passage.
  I remember when Senator Hillary Clinton stopped by with her chief of 
staff to wish me happy birthday the first year she was in the Senate. 
It was just a few months after she had arrived, and my staff was 
surprised--and possibly a bit star-struck--to see the former First Lady 
walk into the room. We went on to work together on Vital Voices, a 
global partnership dedicated to supporting and empowering women leaders 
and social entrepreneurs in emerging economies. We also teamed up with 
Senators Mikulski and Collins to assure public schools had the option 
to offer single-sex schools and classes, after I visited with Secretary 
of Education Rod Paige the Young Women's Leadership Academy in the 
Harlem area of New York City--one of the first and most successful 
pilot projects for girls' public schools, with which I know the 
Presiding Officer is very familiar.
  I remember the time I invited Senator Barbara Mikulski to Texas, 
because she and I have worked together supporting NASA for so many 
years, and this year she has been chair and I ranking member of the 
Appropriations subcommittee funding NASA. We went to visit the Johnson 
Space Center because I wanted her to see the great work they are doing 
there. Then I took her to the Houston rodeo because I wanted her to see 
the Texas culture. Well, I am not sure the Senator who grew up in the 
inner city of Baltimore knew exactly how people would dress at the 
rodeo, but suffice it to say there were a lot of rhinestones and cowboy 
boots and big hair and big hats. Senator Mikulski whispered to me 
during this time, Kay, if we were here Monday and we went to the 
Chamber of Commerce, would these people look like this? And I said, 
Yeah, pretty much.
  Senator Mikulski and I also teamed up to pass the Homemaker IRA, to 
make sure our stay-at-home moms and dads would have the same 
opportunity for retirement security savings that those who work outside 
the home have, and it has been a huge success. We also cosponsored the 
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. She is a 
skilled legislator and a dear friend.
  Senator Jay Rockefeller has been an outstanding chairman of the 
Commerce Committee. We don't always agree, but as the lead Democrat and 
Republican we have worked hard to reach consensus, and we have gotten 
things done--the FAA bill, started the planning for the next generation 
of air traffic control systems; the highway bill; the NASA 
reauthorization that ensured we would keep the focus on our space 
program that has been instrumental in our national security and 
economic development, with tremendous help from Senator Bill Nelson,

[[Page 17852]]

who is the only one among us today who has actually been into space.
  In a Congress that has been marked by little progress, we have found 
a way forward. For some, that might not be something to take pride in. 
But we have served the American people by passing legislation that 
keeps the country running, and I am very proud of what we have been 
able to accomplish. Our Commerce Committee has been one of the most 
productive in the whole Congress. And I count him as a friend.
  Maria Cantwell and Harry Reid and I have worked to address the issues 
of our State's taxpayers to have the same deductions as those who have 
income taxes, though we do not, and that parity has been so important.
  Leader Mitch McConnell has guided our party and our conference 
through the past 6 years. He is a gifted leader and one whom I have 
witnessed time and time again come up with strategies that have gotten 
things done in the right way.
  Senator Jon Kyl and I have worked on immigration and death tax 
relief. Senator Lamar Alexander and I have championed the America 
Competes Act, so we would continue the priority of scientific research 
and that we would never fail to invest in research because it is the 
sequel for our economy.
  I am very pleased the distinguished ranking member of the Judiciary 
Committee and the Finance Committee--Finance Committee now and 
Judiciary before--is also on the Senate floor. He has been a wonderful 
friend to me, helping me in my very first election when he was the rock 
star at my fundraisers in Texas. I thank Senator Orrin Hatch for his 
long membership in this body.
  I have had the wonderful, good fortune to serve with two colleagues 
from my home State. First, Senator Phil Gramm, who was a wonderful 
mentor and colleague. They broke the mold after Senator Gramm. We 
always enjoyed our school rivalry--he being a Texas Aggie and me being 
a University of Texas alum--they like to call them hopeless Tea-sips, 
but we are proud Longhorns.
  I have had a great relationship with my other Senator, who is soon 
going to be the senior Senator from Texas, John Cornyn. John Cornyn, I 
am very pleased to say, is going to get the opportunity that I have had 
all these years when people trip up and introduce me as the senior 
citizen of Texas. I turn that mantle over to my colleague, Senator 
Cornyn.
  I am very proud he is going to be the deputy Republican leader in the 
next Congress. I know he is going to be a steady hand at the wheel as 
we try to steer the ship of state in the right direction. He has proven 
time and again that his steady leadership is the one that rises to the 
top. I thank him for being on the floor as well today.
  In fact, I want to praise our entire Texas congressional delegation. 
We call it Team Texas. It is a spirit that holds our delegation 
together, Republicans and Democrats. I have noted that there are those 
in Washington who think Texans are a little too loud, and we have a 
little too much fun, but I can assure everyone that Team Texas' hearts 
are as big as our mouths.
  It has been a long and wonderful 19-plus years. We hit the ground 
running, and we have never stopped. When I was first elected in a 
special election in 1993, we had two--actually four full planeloads of 
people flying up for my swearing in. Because it was a special election, 
we filled the entire gallery. Those rowdy Texans were so happy to watch 
my little swearing in ceremony. It was a great day for me, as well as 
my wonderful and loyal friends and supporters.
  I started having weekly constituent coffees that first year because 
there were so many visitors from Texas and I wanted to make sure at 
least there was one time every week that any Texan who was here who 
wanted to see me could come and visit and was welcome. So every 
Thursday morning around 9 or 9:30, the person in charge of this first 
effort was the wife of a three-star general who volunteered her time in 
our offices. I think it was as much her handling of the event as the 
idea itself that has led many other Senators to take up this practice 
and get a chance to always visit with their constituents at least once 
a week if they were otherwise going to committee meetings or having to 
do their work and were not able to see everyone. I want to thank Gert 
Clark for putting her stamp on our Senate hospitality.
  Some of the most powerful moments that will stay with me forever were 
spent with our members of the military. Visiting with them where they 
are in harm's way across the world is one of the most moving of all 
experiences. I will never forget the first time, in the early 1990s, 
flying into Sarajevo in an undercover C-130 that was disguised as a Red 
Cross delivery of peas--2,000 pounds of peas that we actually had on 
the C-130--and I have to say my good friend, Danny Inouye, was on that 
trip with us, as I look over at his empty desk with the white flowers, 
as was Senator Ted Stevens. We flew in to see our troops in Bosnia.
  Later I went back to Bosnia to spend Easter with our troops where we 
had the most beautiful Easter sunrise service I have ever attended or 
ever will. It was in an open-air hangar with our service men and women 
who were deployed there. For the first time it was a Texas Guard unit 
that was in command of the base, and it was the first time since the 
Korean war that we had a Guard unit in command of an operation 
overseas. They did a great job, which led to many Guard units from 
other States also to take command of bases and operations.
  I flew out of Baghdad--this was in the last few years--in another C-
130 when there were no lights on the plane and no lights on the runway 
to make sure there was no clue to the enemy that we were leaving when 
they were firing missiles around the airport. Or the times I had 
visited Afghanistan, where the first time I visited with Senator 
McCain, our troops were sleeping on cots. There were probably 600 or 
700 cots in an old Russian-built aircraft hangar, before anything had 
been brought in for living quarters for our troops. All of their 
belongings were under their cots, and that was all they had for that 
first mission into Afghanistan.
  I have always been one who has such great respect and gratitude for 
our men and women in uniform. They put their lives on the line and 
pledge to give their all for our freedom. The power to wage war is an 
enormous one, and the weight of its responsibility should rest heavy on 
our shoulders.
  I leave this Chamber proud to have worked to assure our men and women 
in uniform have the best training, the best equipment, and the quality 
of life to do the job we are asking them to do. Because of my deep 
respect for our Armed Forces, my first choice of committees when I came 
in 1993 was Armed Services, and I was honored to be the first woman in 
20 years to chair a subcommittee on Armed Services. The woman before me 
was Margaret Chase Smith. As the only woman to chair the Senate 
Republican Policy Committee, I was pleased to be a part of Republican 
leadership for many years--again, the first since Margaret Chase Smith.
  When I was first running for office I said I wanted to make things 
better for our sons and open for our daughters. I leave the Senate 
knowing that January will see the greatest number of female Senators in 
our Nation's history. I know the torch will be carried on by the next 
generation.
  It is no secret that Texans have a particular sense of state pride. I 
am no exception. I have deep Texas roots. The Senate seat that I hold 
first belonged to Thomas Jefferson Rusk, my great-great-grandfather's 
law partner and good friend. They both signed the Texas Declaration of 
Independence from Mexico in 1836. That history reminds me every day 
that we must protect the freedom that so many of our ancestors fought 
to produce and retain. My colleague sitting on the Senate floor is in 
the Sam Houston line, and that is a proud line too. Thomas Jefferson 
Rusk and Sam Houston were the Commander in Chief and Secretary of War 
of the Texas Army when we fought for independence. It is so fitting 
that those two were our first two selected

[[Page 17853]]

Senators when Texas became a State in 1845.
  Each summer I take a week to tour one part of Texas on a bus. It has 
been so much fun. We did the first one, which was the El Camino Real de 
los Tejas that we had just passed a bill to designate as a national 
historic trail, and we went from the Louisiana border to the Mexican 
border. It took us a week on the bus. It was so great that we have done 
it every year since in a different part of Texas. It is my State 
staff's favorite week of the year as well.
  I am one of the few to have had the opportunity and the absolute 
pleasure to visit all 254 counties in Texas. I have met Texans from all 
walks of life who have opened their homes, their businesses, and shared 
their stories.
  I will be sad to leave, but it is time. I believe strongly that we 
should keep the lifeblood of Congress pumping. It is good to have new 
waves of legislators come in with fresh ideas and perspectives after 
every election. But while I believe that new generations should 
invigorate Congress, I also want to say a few words of praise for 
experience.
  Knowing the history of an issue is essential to monitor progress. 
Knowing what an agency should be doing, knowing what was put in law and 
why allows for better oversight. The expertise of our longer serving 
Members is an essential part of good governance.
  I hope some of the priorities I have championed will continue. 
Investment in science, technology, and higher education and encouraging 
more young people to study science, technology, engineering, and math, 
known as STEM, will make sure we are bringing forward those young minds 
with the creativity and the engineering background to create the 
economies for the future. It is so important. This has been the 
lifeblood of our economy, and it must continue.
  Saving the manned space exploration program and ensuring the long-
term future of NASA is an essential generator for our economy. Ensuring 
that stay-at-home moms and dads who worked so hard raising children and 
contributing to the community have spousal IRAs to save for retirement, 
and easing the marriage penalty by doubling the standard deduction--
these are a few of the things I hope will continue to be championed as 
I leave.
  It has been such an honor to serve in the Senate. I leave with the 
hope that the values that built America into the greatest Nation on 
Earth will be protected so that future generations will have the same 
opportunities we have had in this great country, opportunities for 
which our forebears sacrificed so much.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Franken). The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, Texans have a profound sense of history, 
and it is only appropriate that Senator Hutchison should mention the 
fact that we both come from long lines of Texans, starting with Thomas 
Jefferson Rusk, who first held her Senate seat, and Sam Houston, who 
held the Senate seat I hold. I will never forget Senator Hutchison 
coming to the floor of the Senate every March 2, Texas Independence 
Day, and regaling the Chamber with Travis' letter from the Alamo, 
reminding everyone about another important event in Texas history, a 
tradition which she carried on after Senator John Tower did for so many 
years when he served here.
  This is a historic moment for many reasons. First, because we are 
paying tribute to an extraordinary woman who has made history by being 
the first Texas female United States Senator and someone who has spent 
the last two decades fighting for commonsense values in our Nation's 
Capitol. While it is hard to summarize Senator Hutchinson's great work 
in just a few short minutes, I am going to try. I am going to try to 
highlight some of her signature achievements and explain why she enjoys 
such outstanding support from her constituents back in our great State.
  To start with, I cannot think of any Senator serving in this Chamber 
who works harder than Kay Bailey Hutchison. Sometimes I affectionately 
refer to her as the Energizer Bunny of the Texas delegation. She is 
tireless and she is relentless in her pursuit of what she believes is 
in the best interests of the constituents in our State.
  As she mentioned, she has been a tireless advocate for Texas military 
families. We take great pride in the fact that 1 out of every 10 
individuals who wears the uniform of the U.S. military calls Texas 
home. Of course, some of the most powerful tributes to Kay's legacy are 
what I have heard from our men and women in uniform.
  It is no exaggeration to say every military base in Texas has felt 
the impact of her work on various Senate committees. I know how deeply 
proud Kay is of the work she has done to help the troops stationed in 
Texas from Fort Bliss in the west to the Red River Army Depot in the 
east--which I dare say she pretty much singlehandedly saved from being 
BRACed the last time that occurred--from Sheppard Air Force Base in 
Wichita Falls to the Naval Air Force Base in Corpus Christi in the 
south. Not only has Kay worked to provide our troops with the resources 
they need, she has done a whole lot to help returning veterans and, of 
course, their families.
  We always talk about supporting our troops when they are deployed 
overseas, but we spend less time--indeed not enough time--discussing 
ways to help them assimilate back into civilian life. As the son of a 
U.S. Air Force veteran who spent 31 years in the Air Force, I am 
acutely aware, as Kay is, it is not just those who wear the uniform who 
serve but their families as well.
  Many returning vets and their families encounter a whole range of 
social and economic hardships that can be hard to overcome. Most 
notably, the unemployment rate among our returning vets from 
Afghanistan and Iraq is significantly higher than for the general 
population, something I know Kay has worked on extensively. She has 
also worked to get our veterans the medical assistance, the job 
training, and the financial support they need. Indeed, I don't know of 
any Senator who has done more to help America's heroes adjust to life 
after the military. That is just one of the reasons why she will be 
sorely missed.
  Here is another reason Kay will be missed. She has fought time and 
time again to promote tax relief for hard-working Texas families. In 
the mid-1990s, as she alluded, she helped to create the so-called 
homemaker IRA to make sure stay-at-home moms and dads were able to save 
for their retirement on an equal basis with their counterparts who 
worked outside the home. I know it is one of her proudest achievements, 
and I am proud to join with the Senator from Maryland, Ms. Barbara 
Mikulski, in attempting to rename this IRA the Kay Bailey Hutchison 
spousal IRA in her honor. I hope we can join together and honor Senator 
Hutchison by getting that done before we close out our business this 
year.
  Kay, of course, has always championed the State sales tax deduction, 
which may not seem like a big deal to others in this Chamber, but it is 
a big deal back home in Texas as a matter of fundamental fairness 
because we don't have a State income tax. I daresay we never will have 
a State income tax as long as I draw a breath. However, we do pay State 
sales taxes, and it is only fair that Texas enjoys the same sort of 
deductibility for the State sales tax that other States have enjoyed 
for the State income taxes.
  Kay has also worked to reduce the marriage penalty tax. She has been 
a strong defender of taxpayer interests, and her efforts have made the 
Tax Code less hostile to saving and to families.
  She alluded to her great work with NASA. She is one of the Senate's 
leading supporters of NASA and human space flight. NASA has contributed 
historical technological breakthroughs that have benefited all 
Americans. Kay appreciates the vital importance of basic scientific 
research, long-term American prosperity, and she appreciates the role 
NASA has played in fostering innovation. She has long said and 
advocated for support for NASA because she believes that when we 
support NASA, we are supporting technologies and the jobs of the 
future. That is why Kay has done so much to

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help the Johnson Space Center and our universities to promote Texas as 
a research State.
  Her beloved University of Texas is grateful for her support over the 
years, which is one reason they will soon launch the Kay Bailey 
Hutchison Center for Latin American law.
  Kay has also crafted legislation that has benefited some of the most 
vulnerable Americans. Her work on behalf of missing and exploited 
children includes the national AMBER Alert Network, which she 
introduced back in 2003. As she said earlier, this law has helped to 
rescue more than 570 abducted children who would not have benefited but 
for her work. That is a remarkable achievement, and it is more than 
just a number when we count the human lives which have been so 
dramatically affected by her work.
  A final note. As I said, Senator Hutchison has made history serving 
as a first woman to serve the great State of Texas in the Senate. Kay 
has always been a pioneer of sorts. As a father of two daughters, that 
means a lot to me. I am used to being surrounded at home by strong, 
intelligent women, but having served with Kay, I have also been a 
partner with a strong, intelligent Texas woman. Kay has been a role 
model for so many young women, not just in Texas but throughout the 
United States. I am honored to be her colleague and I am proud to be 
her friend.
  Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison leaves behind a tremendous legacy of 
which she, Ray, and her children can be proud. She has a legacy that 
will long be celebrated by Texans from El Paso to Caddo Lake and from 
Amarillo to Brownsville. Everyone in this Chamber will miss her, and I 
know I speak for all my colleagues when I wish her the very best in the 
next exciting chapter of her life.
  I join with my colleagues in saying to the Senator, vaya con dios.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to join everyone here in thanking 
Kay for her great service in the Senate. I have worked closely with her 
on a wide variety of issues. I have to say she is a fierce advocate. In 
fact, I have to say all our women Senators have been fierce advocates, 
and we have benefited from them being here.
  Kay has paved the way for Senators--both male and female--to truly 
become better Senators and in many cases great Senators. Kay Bailey 
Hutchison is a great Senator. She worked her guts out the whole time 
she was here. She is still here, but she is going to retire at this 
time and she has represented Texas well.
  All I can say is she has been my friend all this time. When I needed 
help from her, she was always there. I tried to be there for her when 
she needed help as well. She has not only been a delightful person to 
be around but a very intelligent lawyer. She fought for what she 
believed--most of which I believed in--in a way nobody could truly ever 
get mad at Kay Bailey Hutchison.
  She is a wonderful person, wonderful mother, and we are going to miss 
her terribly. This is a body where we could use a few more women 
Senators--maybe a lot more than a few. They are very good people who 
work very hard and not the least of whom is Kay Bailey Hutchison.
  I remember at times when I had difficulties with the BRAC system and 
difficulties with special NASA problems, and so forth, we always worked 
together. We could always count on her to come up with intelligent 
solutions to some of the problems that should not have existed but did.
  I have personally appreciated her very much during those times and in 
so many other ways as we worked together on legislation to help this 
country and as we worked to represent our respective States. I have so 
much respect for Texas, the people of Texas, and what they stand for. I 
have great respect for these Texan Senators who are two of the best we 
have ever had in the Senate.
  Senator Hutchison has been an exemplary Senator, not just for women 
but for all of us. She has also set some standards that I think both 
women and male Senators are going to have to try to emulate.
  I just want say to the Senator that we love her, we appreciate her, 
and we wish her the very best. We are going to miss her. This is one 
Senator who will miss her greatly, and I want her to know that. All I 
can say is God be with her.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased in joining my colleagues in 
commending and congratulating our distinguished colleague from Texas. 
Her service in the Senate has truly been outstanding and she has made 
an impact in our Committee on Appropriations. We have deliberated about 
the funding of all the Federal agencies and departments of the Federal 
Government. She has been very careful. She is very serious about her 
responsibilities, and I am glad to be here today to wish her well in 
the years ahead and compliment her on a very distinguished career in 
the Senate.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, Michigan and Texas have much in common, 
despite the fact they are North vs. South, cowboy boots vs. snowshoes, 
mesquite vs. pine.
  One of the things we have in common is water. Our States are, 
economically, historically, and culturally tied to great waters: Texas 
to the Gulf of Mexico, Michigan to the Great Lakes. And this shared 
interest has afforded me the pleasure of working alongside Senator Kay 
Bailey Hutchison, a true Texas pioneer.
  As the lead cosponsor of the Harbor Maintenance Act, Senator 
Hutchison has been an invaluable ally in the effort to ensure that 
America's harbors receive the maintenance funding they need to help our 
economy grow. Her efforts were instrumental in recruiting 37 cosponsors 
on our bill and in securing language regarding harbor maintenance for 
the first time in a transportation bill. Her efforts have made a 
significant difference in the lives of the thousands of American 
workers whose jobs are directly tied to well-maintained harbors, from 
the Port of Galveston to the scores of ports dotting Michigan's 
shoreline.
  Senator Hutchison has shown important leadership on other 
transportation issues, such as a more equitable formula for Federal 
surface transportation funding, and for adequate funding for State 
maritime academies, including academies in Texas and Michigan, that 
help meet the needs of our commercial shipping industry as well as the 
Department of Defense.
  She has been an able and dedicated advocate for our Nation's 
veterans. She pioneered the concept of the homemaker IRA, which helped 
millions of American women achieve greater retirement security. She has 
energetically pushed for stronger science and educational programs, 
including the establishment of a groundbreaking medicine, engineering, 
and science academy in her State.
  We shouldn't be surprised at these and other successes. When she 
first graduated from the University of Texas Law School, she bumped up 
against the misguided tendencies of the law firms at the time to 
dismiss female candidates, no matter how talented. Undaunted, she 
walked into a local TV station and asked for a job as a reporter and 
became the State's first female television reporter. She took a detour, 
but her experience covering politics led to the Texas House of 
Representatives, the State treasurer's office, and eventually to become 
the first Texan woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
  The Senate will miss her dedication, her quite effectiveness, her 
ability to seek practical, bipartisan solutions. She has made a habit 
of making history, and I wish her the best in whatever history-making 
endeavors she turns to next.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise also to congratulate and thank a 
terrific Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, and to wish her much success in 
her further efforts. I know she

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will provide great leadership in whatever she is doing. It has been 
wonderful to watch over the years, seeing the pictures of Bailey and 
Houston and how they have grown, celebrating and going to baby showers. 
On top of all the other accolades today, Senator Hutchison is a devoted 
and wonderful mother to two beautiful children.
  As everyone has said, she is the first and only woman to represent 
Texas in the Senate and will always have that distinction of opening 
doors and barriers. I know she agrees with me that once the doors open, 
we want to make sure more women are able to walk through that door as 
well.
  I wish to congratulate her for all she has done. We have come 
together to fight for opportunities for women around the world at the 
Senate Women's Caucus on Burma and other efforts she has led. I am very 
supportive of adding her name to the spousal IRA law. I think that is a 
very fitting tribute, and I am hopeful we can get that done as well.
  I just want to congratulate her.
  I do want to have the opportunity to talk about something else, but I 
see my friend wanting to say a few words.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, if the Senator would yield for just a 
moment to let me say thank you to all the wonderful Senators who have 
spoken and said nice things. It is one of the few times Senators sort 
of pause and wish someone well, as they are leaving. It has truly been 
very touching, and I appreciate the kind words of the Senator from 
Michigan. It has been a distinct pleasure to have colleagues on both 
sides of the aisle feel we have done so much together. My hope is that 
as I am going out the door, the collegiality of the Senate will never 
change.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

                          ____________________