Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to the Senators who will not be returning when the 113th Congress commences next month. I have already spoken about Senator Kyl and about Senator Inouye,…
Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to the Senators who will not be returning when the 113th Congress commences next month. I have already spoken about Senator Kyl and about Senator Inouye, one of the truly great Americans and giants of this institution. At the time of his death, Senator Inouye was just a few weeks short of celebrating 50 years of Senate service. Only Senator Byrd served in this institution longer.
Turnover is a natural occurrence, but it's important to acknowledge that the Senators who are departing have served in the Senate for a combined total of 237 years, or nearly 20 years per Senator, on average. Add Senator Inouye, and the total is close to 300 years. That service represents an enormous amount of expertise on issues ranging from national defense and foreign affairs to the Federal budget to energy policy. The departing Senators will also take with them vast institutional knowledge and bipartisan friendships and working relationships that will leave a void we will need to fill.
Daniel Akaka
Mr. President, Daniel Akaka was born on September 11, 1924 just 4 days after Senator Inouye and, like Senator Inouye, he overcame the prejudice and hostility directed at Asian Americans following the attack on Pearl Harbor to serve with distinction in the U.S. Army during World War II. Senator Akaka was a civilian worker in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1945. Then, he was on Active Duty in the Army from 1945 to 1947.
After Senator Akaka finished his military service, he devoted his career to education, first as a teacher and then as a principal and later as an official in the State of Hawaii Department of Education. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1976 and then appointed to the Senate in 1990 upon the death of former Senator Spark Matsunaga. He won an election that November with nearly 54 percent of the vote, and was re-elected to the Senate in 1994, 2000, and 2006, twice receiving over 70 percent of the popular vote and never dropping below 61 percent.
Senator Akaka is America's first Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry, and the only Chinese-American Member of the Senate. He chairs the Indian Affairs Committee and, like Senator Inouye, he has been a stalwart supporter of Native Americans, Native Alaskans, Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, and Native Hawaiians. One of his highest priorities has been to secure passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act, S. 675. That bill was just placed on the legislative calendar and hotlined, we need to get it across the finish line in the waning days of the 112th Congress. It's the right thing to do.
I have been privileged to work with Senator Akaka on efforts to protect the Federal workforce. Federal employees have no greater champion than Senator Akaka, who has chaired the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management. Senator Akaka is committed to making the Federal government an employer of choice capable of attracting and retaining the best and the brightest. In 2009, he introduced the Telework Enhancement Act, which became law in 2010 and expands telework opportunities at executive agencies. Senator Akaka has also fought to create a culture of transparency and fairness in the Federal Government, authoring the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, which I was proud to cosponsor. President Obama signed that bill into law last month. And Senator Akaka has been a civil rights champion, partnering with Senators Lieberman, Collins, me, and others to support domestic partner benefits.
I also appreciate Senator Akaka's determined advocacy for financial literacy and consumer protections. His Credit Card Minimum Payment Warning Act was included in the 2009 Credit CARD Act. Now, thanks to Senator Akaka, credit card bills must include a disclosure box to show consumers how long it will take to repay their entire balance if they only make minimum monthly payments. The so-called ``Akaka Box'' also lets consumers know how much it will cost to pay off their outstanding balance within 36 months, which is a typical length of a debt management plan. Senator Akaka was also an author of portions of the Dodd-Frank Act addressing financial literacy (establishing the Office of Financial Education within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) and investor protections.
Throughout Senator Akaka's long and distinguished career in Congress, he has also been an ardent environmentalist. As a former chairman of the
Subcommittee on National Parks, legislation he authored has created, expanded, or otherwise improved each of Hawaii's national parks. His Hawaii Tropical Forest Recovery Act established the Hawaii Experimental Tropical Forest in order to promote the recovery of tropical forests in Hawaii and undertake needed research to better protect tropical forests around the world.
A hallmark of Senator Akaka, like Senator Inouye, is his soft-spoken and courteous manner. The Senators from Hawaii have always treated the rest of us with respect and graciousness. They have reached across the aisle to foster bipartisan cooperation. And they have exhibited a rare and calming serenity when partisan tempers have boiled over. I will miss the warm and gentle and friendly personalities of Senators Akaka and Inouye, their wise counsel, and their service here in the United States Senate on behalf of Hawaiians and all Americans.
Jeff Bingaman
Mr. President, Jeff Bingaman is another Senator whose quiet demeanor belies his tremendous skill and effectiveness as a legislator. Senator Bingaman and I were born 2 days apart October 3 and October 5, 1943, respectively. Both of Senator Bingaman's parents were teachers, which may help explain his interest and involvement in educational policy. He graduated from a public school in a small town in New Mexico and then went to Harvard for his bachelor of arts degree and Stanford for his law degree. From 1968 to 1974, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve and in 1978, he was elected attorney general of New Mexico. Senator Bingaman was first elected to the Senate in 1982 and then won reelection four times, only once dipping below receiving at least 61 percent of the popular vote.
Senator Bingaman has worked on everything from drop-out prevention in schools with low student achievement and graduation rates to phasing out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for Medicare benefits and to eliminate it for people with life-threatening conditions to the establishment of ARPA-E the Advanced Research Projects Agency at the Department of Energy.
Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration, EIA, reported that with improved efficiency of energy use and a shift away from the most carbon-intensive fuels, U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide, CO2, emissions are likely to remain more than 5 percent below their 2005 level through 2040. Emissions from motor gasoline will decline as a result of the adoption of fuel economy standards, biofuel mandates, and shifts in consumer behavior. Emissions from coal used in the generation of electricity will decline as power generation shifts from coal to lower-carbon fuels, including natural gas and renewables. These are all significant accomplishments, made possible largely by Senator Bingaman's steady hand at the helm of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he has helped to shape and pass all of the major energy bills for over the past decade.
In 2009, Senator Bingaman shepherded the Omnibus Public Land Management Act to passage. That legislation added wilderness protection to over 2 million acres, designated 1,100 miles of wild and scenic rivers, and added more than 2,800 miles to the national trail system. I believe it was the biggest wildness bill Congress has ever enacted after the original Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980. The epitaph on the stone plaque where the great English architect Sir Christopher Wren is buried reads, ``If you seek his monument, look around you.'' The same could be said for Senator Bingaman with regard to the preservation of our natural world.
Two weeks ago, Senator Bingaman gave his farewell speech to the Senate and I would like to quote from the beginning of that speech. He remarked,
In 1981, in his first inaugural address, President Reagan
said, ``Government is not the solution to our problem;
government is the problem.''
I came to the Senate two years later in 1983 with the firm
belief that in most cases his statement was wrong.
I believed then and I believe now that the Federal
Government can be a constructive force for good; in
protecting and maintaining the civil liberties of all
Americans, in maintaining and strengthening our economy, in
protecting our environment and in helping Americans live
productive and fulfilling lives.
I agree wholeheartedly with Senator Bingaman and am grateful that for the past 30 years in public service, he has lived by those words and beliefs.
Scott Brown
Mr. President, Senator Brown shook the political establishment when he won a special election in 2010 to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Brown was the first Republican to win a Senate race in Massachusetts since Senator Edward Brooke won re-election in 1972. Senator Brown previously served in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives from 1998 to 2004 and then in the State Senate from 2004-2010.
Senator Brown has been here just a short time, but he has been in the ``thick of things'', given his willingness to reach across the aisle. According to Congressional Quarterly, he has the second-most bipartisan voting record in the Senate, and helped the majority pass the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge, STOCK, Act, which he co-authored; the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which was passed with exactly 60 votes; the repeal of the Department of Defense's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy; the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment, HIRE, Act, and the New START Treaty. In the wake of the horrific shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Senator Brown was one of the first Republicans to express his support for reinstating the assault weapons ban. On a more parochial note, I would note that 9 months ago he started serving as an active member of the Maryland National Guard, and we are grateful for his service.
Kent Conrad
Mr. President, few, if any, other Senators have devoted as much time and energy as Senator Kent Conrad has to trying to balance the Federal budget. There are few more important--or difficult--tasks. The Senate will miss his steady hand as chairman of the Budget Committee and his expertise on budgetary and fiscal matters as a former tax commissioner for the State of North Dakota.
As Senator Conrad likes to note, he was 16 years old when he sat in the visitors gallery to this Chamber, listened to former Senator Hubert Humphrey speak on the Civil Rights Act, and decided that he wanted to be a United States Senator. Not only did he make that decision, he committed himself to running for a Senate seat in 1986 or 1988. After Senator Conrad received degrees from Stanford University and George Washington University, he worked as an assistant to our former colleague, Byron Dorgan, who was the North Dakota Tax Commissioner from 1969 to 1980. He succeeded Senator Dorgan as tax commissioner but beat him to the Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Mark Andrews, who had represented North Dakota as a Representative or Senator since 1963. Senator Conrad won that election in 1986. As he remarked in his farewell speech, ``That is the power of a plan.''
Senator Conrad pledged that he would not seek re-election in 1992 if the Federal budget deficit had not declined by the end of his term. He honored that pledge. But North Dakotans, to their credit, encouraged him to run in a special election that year to fill the remainder of Senator Quentin Burdick's term. Senator Burdick, the State's senior Senator at the time, had died in September 1992. Byron Dorgan was elected to replace Senator Conrad, and Senator Conrad was elected to replace Senator Burdick. He was re-elected three times, with 58 percent, 61 percent, and nearly 69 percent of the vote, respectively. This is an extraordinary political accomplishment in a largely Republican State and a testament to Senator Conrad and the discernment of North Dakota voters.
Agriculture is the single biggest component of the North Dakota economy. Senator Conrad has successfully fought to make sure farm programs benefit North Dakota's farmers and ranchers, from winning formula fights on drought legislation in his first term to leading the charge for disaster assistance in the late 1990s and playing a leading role in writing the 2002 and 2008 farm bills. North Dakota receives far more farm program benefits, on a per
capita basis, than any other State, and they have helped produce prosperity in farm country. Senator Conrad has also brought hundreds of millions of dollars to North Dakota to develop water supply and flood protection projects. Key victories include passage of the Dakota Water Resources Act to bring Federal legislation in line with North Dakota's contemporary water needs, ensuring Federal help to protect Fargo against record spring flooding, and securing over $1 billion to rebuild Grand Forks and build new flood controls following the 1997 flood, an additional $1 billion to respond to the ongoing, devastating flooding in the Devils Lake basin, and a final $1 billion to respond to the record breaking 2011 flooding in Minot.
While Senator Conrad has been a leader on farm and energy policies, he has been the leader on budget policies as chairman of the Budget Committee and a senior member of the Finance Committee. Six years ago, he teamed with former Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire to propose a bipartisan commission to tackle the debt. That idea ultimately prompted President Barack Obama to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, also known as the Bowles-Simpson (or Simpson-Bowles) Commission after its co-chairs, former Republican Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, in 2010. Senator Conrad was appointed to the Commission and has subsequently served in the bipartisan ``Gang of Six'' and ``Gang of Eight'' groups of Senators attempting to find a budget compromise that would forestall the tax increases and automatic spending cuts scheduled to commence on January 1, 2013.
Senator Conrad has been indefatigable in his pursuit of sound budgetary and fiscal policies. He has brought a soberness to the subject, along with his trademark patience and extraordinary ability to discuss complex budget issues and large numbers in a way that is accessible to everyone accompanied, of course, by his myriad charts! Senator Conrad has always promoted a balanced approach to addressing our budget deficits that includes higher revenues, spending cuts, and appropriate entitlement reform. The Bowles-Simpson Commission's report, which he helped draft, should serve as a blueprint for Congressional action.
No matter how arduous the budget negotiations become, Senator Conrad is eternally optimistic. As he noted in his farewell speech,
I think we all know our country needs a plan now, and we
know plans have worked before. I was here in 1993 when we had
just come off the largest deficit in the history of the
United States. The country was in the doldrums. The economy
was just plugging along, not doing very well, we had a weak
recovery from a deep recession, and we passed a plan to get
the country back on track. We did it the old-fashioned way.
We made tough decisions, some that were unpopular, but it was
the right thing to do and it worked. We balanced the budget.
We had the longest period of uninterrupted economic growth in
the Nation's history. Twenty-three million jobs were created,
and we were actually paying down the debt of the United
States at the end of the Clinton administration.
I share Senator Conrad's fervent hope that his farewell speech won't be his final Senate speech; he indicated that he will take to the floor again if we reach agreements in the next few days on the 2012 farm bill and the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations. If we do find a way forward, Senator Conrad will have played a key role in both instances. It has been my honor to serve on the Budget Committee under Senator Conrad's leadership.
Kay bailey Hutchison
Mr. President, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been shattering glass ceilings her entire life in a career that has spanned law, banking, TV news reporting, owning a small business, and politics. She was one of five women in her University of Texas Law School class. She was the first Republican woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives. In 1990, she became state treasurer--the first Texas Republican woman elected to statewide office. Her 1993 special election victory to succeed Senator Lloyd Bentsen made her the first--and only--woman to represent Texas in the Senate. She was re-elected in 1994, 2000, and 2006, receiving over 60 percent of the popular vote in each instance. In 2001, she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies Home Journal.
Senator Hutchison was the Senate architect of our military forces' transformation from Cold War-based forward basing, with extensive overseas infrastructure, to a strategically balanced approach that emphasizes rapidly deployable military forces based at large, modern, centrally located U.S. military installations. As chair of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, she has played a crucial role in developing larger, soldier- and family-friendly U.S. installations and improving the quality of life and the quality of health care for our servicemen and women and their families. As ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Hutchison authored major legislation in 2005 and 2010 to create a balanced, bipartisan blueprint for America's post-Shuttle space program. She also protected $100 billion science and research investment in the International Space Station by paving way for commercial crews. Senator Hutchison is one of Senate's leading advocates for bolstering the Nation's science and technology education and competitiveness. In 2007, she co-sponsored the America COMPETES Act, which included her legislation to allow college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or mathematics--STEM--to be concurrently certified as elementary and secondary school teachers.
Senator Hutchison has been a strong voice for women's economic empowerment and family-supporting tax policies. She joined with my colleague, Senator Mikulski, in sponsoring the Homemaker IRA legislation, which was enacted in 1997 and allows affected spouses to make equal, $2,000, fully deductible contributions to individual retirement accounts, IRAs. She also successfully advocated for elimination of the marriage tax penalty. In 1975, while she was serving in the Texas House of Representatives, she sponsored pioneering legislation to protect rape victims by redefining consent and shielding them from invasive personal questions that implied ``blaming the victim.'' The Texas law became the national model for state laws to protect rape victims. In 2003, here in the Senate, she won passage of bill that created the national Amber Alert; more than 550 abducted children have since been reunited with their parents.
Senator Hutchison is also an accomplished author. In 2000, she and other woman Senators co-authored Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate. In 2004, she wrote American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country, which was followed in 2007 by the bestselling book, Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers. I'm not sure, but I believe she is the only sitting U.S. Senator to have appeared on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger with Chuck Norris!
Senator Hutchison has a solid conservative voting record and outlook. She is thoughtful, accessible, and collaborative. These qualities and her hard work have made her an outstanding Senator. We will miss her.
Herb Kohl
Mr. President, Senator Herb Kohl embodies the American dream. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia who started a chain of grocery and department stores. Senator Kohl earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1956 and a Master of Business Administration, MBA, degree from Harvard Business School in 1958. Between 1958 and 1964, Senator Kohl was a member of the United States Army Reserve. Senator Kohl had a highly successful business career before he was elected to the Senate in 1988 with 52 percent of the vote. In each successive re-election effort, his share of the popular vote rose, all the way up to more than 67 percent in 2006.
I have served with Senator Kohl on the Judiciary Committee and have seen firsthand his commitment to ensuring the fairness of our legal system.
Senator Kohl introduced legislation to create a tax credit for employer-provided child care after Congress passed the welfare reform bill in 1996, to help families move from welfare to work. The credit was codified in section 45F of the Internal Revenue Code as part of the package of tax cuts passed in 2001. Section 45F offers a tax credit for 25 percent of what it costs a business to
build and maintain an on-site child care facility and 10 percent of their expenses for child care resource and referral services. It is capped at $150,000 a year per company to target the benefit to small businesses.
Throughout his career, Senator Kohl has championed the National Institute of Standards & Technology's Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, MEP, a public-private partnership that provides technical support to small and medium manufacturers. Since MEP arrived in Wisconsin in 1998, its two centers have created or retained over 13,000 high quality manufacturing jobs with almost $2 billion in economic impact throughout the State. In 2007 and 2010, Senator Kohl introduced bipartisan legislation to authorize appropriations for MEP and, in both instances, those bills became public law: the former as part of the America COMPETES Act of 2007; the latter as part of the American COMPETES Reauthorization of 2010. For over a decade, and despite budgetary pressures, MEP has received the resources it needs to continue to help small manufacturers in Wisconsin and across the nation, prompting the American Small Manufacturers Coalition to name Senator Kohl a ``champion for small manufacturers.''
Senator Kohl's quiet but effective contributions to our Nation aren't limited to his service here in the Senate. He is a committed philanthropist, too. For instance, he donated $25 million to the University of Wisconsin at Madison for the construction of its new sports arena. It was the largest single donation in University's history. In 1990, he established the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program, which provides annual grants totaling $100,000 to 100 graduating seniors, 100 teachers, and 100 schools throughout Wisconsin. And he is much beloved in his hometown for purchasing the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team in 1985 to prevent the team from being moved to another city.
Joe Lieberman
Mr. President, few Senators have struck as independent a path in recent years as Senator Joe Lieberman. He was the first prominent Democrat to chastise then-President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky but did not support removing the President from office. He was the Democratic Party's nominee to be Vice President in 2000--the first Jewish candidate on a national party ticket in American history. Senator Lieberman has confounded people because he has been willing to follow his conscience and to place principle over party loyalty.
Senator Lieberman is a proud son of Connecticut. His parents ran a liquor store in Stamford; both his paternal and maternal grandparents were immigrants from Poland and Austria, respectively. He graduated from Yale University--the first member of his family to graduate from college--and then received his law degree from Yale Law School. In 1970, when Senator Lieberman was just 28, he was elected to the Connecticut State Senate as a ``reform Democrat''. He served in the State senate for 10 years, including six as majority leader. In 1982, he won the first of two terms as Connecticut's Attorney General, and was immensely popular for championing environmental and consumer protection.
Senator Lieberman pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the 1988 election cycle when he defeated incumbent Republican Senator Lowell Weicker in a close race, winning by just 10,000 votes. But 6 years later, when Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress, Senator Lieberman won re-election with over 67 percent of the vote. In 2000, while he simultaneously ran for Vice President, he received over 63 percent of the vote for the Senate seat he held.
Here in the Senate, Senator Lieberman has been a strong advocate of recruiting, training, and equipping a 21st century fighting force and using it to defend America's security, values, and interests. Senator Lieberman was one of five Democrats to co-sponsor S.J. Res. 2, which authorized the use of force in the first Gulf War in 1991. He partnered with Senator McCain to push for U.S. intervention in the Balkans in the 1990s, and he was a proponent of former President George W. Bush's ``surge'' strategy in Iraq.
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Senator Lieberman led the charge to establish the 9/11 Commission, whose mission was to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the attacks. Then, in response to the Commission's recommendations, Senator Lieberman worked with Senator Susan Collins to implement the largest reorganization of the intelligence community in over half a century. As Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee, Senator Lieberman led Congressional efforts to establish the Department of Homeland Security, which integrated all or part of 22 different Federal departments and agencies. He has since continued to oversee the Department's work in his position as ranking member of the Committee between 2003 and 2006 and as Chairman again since 2007.
Senator Lieberman is a committed environmentalist. He played a key role in drafting and passing the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which established the sulfur dioxide ``cap and trade'' program to combat acid rain, one of the most successful programs in history. He has introduced every major climate change bill in the Senate, and every bill that has been brought to the floor for a vote. In 1994, Senator Lieberman worked with then-representative Nancy Johnson, a Republican, to secure Wild and Scenic River status for the Upper Farmington River, the first in the State of Connecticut. He has led several successful filibusters against legislation that would have opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, to oil and gas exploration; he also has introduced legislation every two years to protect ANWR permanently.
In 1994, Senator Lieberman introduced the Video Game Ratings Act, held hearings on violence in video games, and played an important role in establishing a rating system and restricting sales of mature games to minors. In the wake of the terrible tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, he has called for the creation of a national commission to study gun violence in a comprehensive way. In 1998, Senator Lieberman introduced and helped pass the Charter School Expansion Act, which expanded the number of high-quality charter schools available to children across the United States. Three years later, he was a lead sponsor of the No Child Left Behind legislation, NCLB. Because of his involvement, he was invited to join the NCLB conference committee despite not serving on the committee of jurisdiction. In 2007, Senator Lieberman was a lead sponsor of the National Innovation Act and the National Innovation Education Act. These were underlying pieces of the final American COMPETES Act, intended to spur innovation and ensure that our workforce has the education and skills necessary to compete in a global economy. In 2010, Senator Lieberman led the successful fight to repeal the Department of Defense's ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy. He also has introduced legislation to provide domestic partnership benefits to federal employees, and was an original cosponsor of the Employment Non- Discrimination Act.
Senator Lieberman is a highly accomplished Senator because he has put pragmatism above ideology and because he has been willing to forge bipartisan alliances and compromises. He is a deeply religious man whose motto might well be the prophet Isaiah's plaintive cry, ``Come now, and let us reason together'' (Isaiah 1:18). The Senate will miss his devotion to public service, cheerfulness, and optimism.
Richard Lugar
Mr. President, Senator Richard Lugar isn't just one of our leading Senators; he's one of the Nation's greatest statesmen over the past quarter-century. We have been fortunate indeed to have Senator Lugar at the helm of the Foreign Relations Committee, either as chairman or ranking member, for so many years. He is quite literally a gentleman and a scholar. After graduating first in his class from high school and from Denison University, he attended Pembroke College at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, where he earned a second bachelor's degree and a master's degree in 1956. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1960, earning the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade. While he was in the Navy, he was an intelligence briefer for Admiral Arleigh Burke.
To this day, Senator Lugar shows his fifth generation Hoosier roots, managing the family's 600-acre corn, soybean, and tree farm. When he was just 35, he was elected Mayor of Indianapolis and served two highly successful terms and was elected President of the National League of Cities in 1971. Senator Lugar defeated incumbent Senator Vance Hartke in 1976 with 60 percent of the vote in a year when the Democratic candidate for president, Jimmy Carter, won the election. He was re- elected five times. On three of those occasions, he received well over 60 percent of the vote. In 2006, he received over 87 percent of the vote while Democrats were recapturing control of Congress for the first time in 12 years.
Before Senator Lugar chaired the Foreign Relations Committee, he chaired the Agriculture Committee, during which time he authored the 1996 Farm bill. He established a biofuels research program to help increase U.S. utilization of ethanol and combustion fuels, and led initiatives to streamline the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reform the Food Stamp Program, and preserve the Federal school lunch program. Over the course of his career, he has been deeply involved in food security issues, both domestically and around the globe.
Senator Lugar generally holds conservative economic views, but he supports President Obama's DREAM Act and certain restrictions on gun ownership. He was the first Republican Senator to announce his support for President Obama's first Supreme Court nominee, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor. He also voted in favor of President Obama's second Supreme Court nominee, Solicitor General Elena Kagan. I was proud and privileged to work with Senator Lugar on an extractive industries transparency provision that we are able to include in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform & Consumer Protection Act. And I have learned so much from Senator Lugar serving on the Foreign Relations Committee.
In a long career of dazzling accomplishments, Senator Lugar has made his greatest mark with respect to foreign affairs. In 2006, Time magazine rated him as one of America's 10 Best Senators in an article entitled ``The Wise Man''. According to the article, Senator Lugar's ``thinking has often proved to be ahead of the curve.'' He pushed for democratic governments in the Philippines and South Africa and the development of alternative fuels to reduce our reliance on foreign supplies of oil in the 1980s. He has been influential in gaining Senate ratification of treaties to reduce the world's use, production, and stockpiling of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. In 1991, he collaborated with then-Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat from Georgia and chairman of the Armed Service Committee, to eliminate latent weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union. To date, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program has deactivated more than 7,500 nuclear warheads. Three months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Senator Lugar enunciated the ``Lugar Doctrine'', which commits the United States to use ``all of its military, diplomatic and economic power--without question--to ensure that life threatening weapons of mass destruction everywhere are accounted, contained and destroyed'' and which ``asserts that the U.S. should encourage democratic institutions and decrease dependence on foreign energy sources.'' Few, if any, people have done more than Senator Lugar over the past 36 years to ensure security, promote freedom and peace, and reduce the threat of war.
In 2008, Senator Lugar received the Paul H. Douglas Ethics in Government Award, which is awarded by the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He gave a profound speech on the nature of bipartisanship when he received that award. I think the speech perfectly exemplifies Senator Lugar and his approach to governance, and I would exhort everyone to read it and take it to heart. This is part of what he said:
Too often bipartisanship is misrepresented as the byproduct
of moderate political views or the willingness to strike
deals. We should be clear that bipartisanship is not
centrism, and it is more than just compromise. It is a way of
approaching one's duties as a public servant that requires
self-reflection, discipline of study, and faith in the good
will of others.
I believe this type of independent self reflection and
discipline of thought is at the core of any politician's
attempt to be truly bipartisan. In today's political
environment, politicians are bombarded by demands from our
respective parties and loyalist groups to adopt certain
orthodox positions. To some extent this is a necessary
element of a two-party system. But when positions are adopted
purely on the basis of partisan advantage or strategic
opposition to the other party, our system begins to break
down. Some members may genuinely agree with their party 50
percent of the time, others may genuinely agree with their
party 99 percent of the time. The question is whether a
politician arrives at those conclusions through honest
reflection and careful study of the issue or whether they
arrive there because they have adopted an ``us-versus-them''
mentality. Increasingly at all levels of American politics,
capable leaders are succumbing to the temptation to put
politics first. . .
Particularly destructive is the misperception in some
quarters that governing with one vote more than 50 percent is
just as good or better than governing with 60 or 70 percent
support. Under this theory, the compromises necessary to
achieve greater consensus among the American people and
Congress merely dilutes the strength of one's partisan
accomplishments.
The problem with this thinking is that whatever is won
today through division is usually lost tomorrow. The
relationships that are destroyed and the ill will that is
created make subsequent achievements that much more
difficult. If the minority is not a participant, it begins to
see its job as frustrating the majority, rather than as
trying to advance its ideas or contributing to good
legislation. A 51 percent mentality deepens cynicism,
sharpens political vendettas, and depletes the national
reserve of good will that is critical to our survival in hard
times. Leaders should not content themselves with 51 percent
if they can expand a working majority through outreach,
judicious rhetoric, bipartisan alliances, and thoughtful
argumentation. National unity is not simply a civic nicety;
it counts in real policy terms. . . .
Senator Lugar concluded his speech by remarking that former Senator Paul Douglas' life ``provides us with an extraordinary example of what can be achieved through thoughtful dedication to public service.'' The same can be said for Senator Lugar.
Ben Nelson
Mr. President, Senator Ben Nelson is a native Nebraskan who earned his B.A., M.A., and J.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He embarked on a highly successful career in the insurance industry, working for Central National Insurance Group of Omaha. In 1975, he became Nebraska's State insurance director before going back to work for Central National Insurance first as an executive vice president, and then as president.
With regard to politics, Senator Nelson decided to start at the top. In 1990, in his first run for office, he was elected as Governor of Nebraska. In 1994, he was re-elected with 74 percent of the vote. During his tenure, he cut spending relative to the previous administration by 64 percent, promoted legislation to cut crime through the Safe Streets Act & Juvenile Crime Bill, advocated for low-income families through the Kids Connection health care system, enacted welfare reforms, and cut taxes for over 400,000 middle income Nebraska families. He was forced to step down because of term limits, but then he successfully ran for the Senate seat vacated by Senator Bob Kerrey. While that race was close, he was re-elected in 2006 with just under 64 percent of the vote.
Senator Nelson is a moderate to conservative Democrat, which is fitting given the conservative tilt of Nebraska voters. For the past 12 years, he has frequently reached out to Republicans to try to get things done. For instance, he was a member of the co-called ``Gang of 14'' that helped to resolve the judicial nominations controversy in 2005. He has worked hard to protect and promote the State's agricultural interests, becoming a champion of ethanol and farm-based alternative energy sources. He is a member of the Armed Services Committee and has been at the center of shaping our Nation's defense policies, securing a new headquarters for STRATCOM, and a new Veterans Administration hospital for Nebraska's veterans.
Senator Nelson has always been true to his beliefs and true to his word, and it has been a pleasure to work with him. His desire to seek bipartisan compromise is a noble one. He likes to quote Henry Ford, who said, ``Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is
success''. Senator Nelson has always heeded those words; we would be well-served to do likewise in his absence.
Olympia Snowe
Mr. President, few people have faced the personal adversity Senator Olympia Snowe has overcome on her way to becoming the youngest Republican woman ever elected to the United States House of Representatives; the first woman to have served in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of the U.S. Congress, and the first Greek-American congresswoman. Senator Snowe, a first-generation American, was orphaned at a young age and then her uncle, who was raising her with his family, died a few years later. Her first husband was killed in a car accident when she was just 26 and, later, her 20- year-old stepson died from a heart ailment. And yet, Senator Snowe didn't just persevere. She ran for her late husband's seat in the Maine House of Representatives at the age of 26 and won. She was re-elected to the State House in 1974 and, in 1976, won election to the Maine Senate. She was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, and represented Maine's 2nd Congressional District from 1979 to 1995.
Senator Snowe successfully ran for the seat vacated by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell in 1994, winning 60 percent of the vote. She was re-elected in 2000 and 2006, winning 69 percent and 74 percent of the vote, respectively. In nearly 40 years of holding elective office, Senator Snowe has never lost an election.
During her time in office, Senator Snowe has been a quintessential Yankee Republican, putting her constituents and the Nation ahead of political party. While she served in the House, she was a member of the moderate wing of the Republican Party known as Gypsy Moths, working with southern Democrats known as Boll Weevils to forge bipartisan budgets. Here in the Senate, she was a member of the Gang of 14. Prior to that, during the Senate's 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton, she worked with her Maine colleague, Senator Susan Collins, to find a middle ground approach, drafting a motion that would have allowed the Senate to vote separately on the charges and the remedy a ``finding of fact'' resolution. When the motion failed, Senator Snowe and Senator Collins demonstrated the courage of their convictions by voting to acquit the President on the grounds that his actions didn't warrant his removal from office.
During consideration of the 2001 tax cuts, Senator Snowe worked with former Senator Blanche Lincoln, a Democrat from Arkansas, to increase the amount of the child tax credit and make it refundable, so that low income families who don't earn enough to pay federal taxes could still benefit from the credit, ensuring that it would assist an additional 13 million more children and lift 500,000 of those children out of poverty. But 2 years later, she joined Senators Lincoln Chafee and John McCain as the only Republicans to oppose the 2003 tax cuts. Pragmatism, not fealty to a rigid political ideology, has been her guiding principle.
Senator Snowe was one of eight Republican Senators to vote to repeal the ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' policy. Although she represents a largely rural, pro-hunting State, she has supported sensible gun control measures. She teamed with our former colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy, to co-author the landmark Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, which prevents insurance companies and employers from denying or dropping coverage based on genetic tests. I have been proud to work with Senator Snowe on a number of small business initiatives, including our legislation to increase the cap on surety bonds.
Senator Snowe has stated repeatedly that she inherited a legacy of bipartisanship and independence from former Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who delivered her seminal ``Declaration of Conscience'' speech against the bullying tactics, smear campaigns, and intimidation of former Senator Joe McCarthy. As Senator Snowe remarked in her ``farewell'' speech the other day, Senator Smith's stand demonstrated truly uncommon courage and principled independence. Senator Snowe has been a worthy heir and guardian of Senator Smith's legacy. We will miss her common sense, her pragmatic approach to governing, and her ability to promote bipartisan consensus.
Jim Webb
Mr. President, Senator James Webb is a highly decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, the first Naval Academy graduate to serve as a civilian Secretary of the Navy, lawyer, and accomplished author. Senator Webb grew up in a military family and noted in his 2004 book, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, that his ancestors fought in every major American war. Senator Webb's father, a career officer in the U.S. Air Force, flew B-17s and B-29s during World War II, and dropped cargo during the Berlin Airlift. After Senator Webb graduated from Annapolis, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a first lieutenant during the Vietnam War he served as a platoon commander with Delta Company, 1st Battalion 5th Marines. He earned a Navy Cross, the second highest decoration in the Navy and Marine Corps for heroism in Vietnam. He also earned the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. Senator Webb's son Jimmy has continued the Webb family's long, proud record of military service to our Nation as a rifleman and Marine Corps Sergeant, served a tour of duty in Iraq with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion 6th Marines.
Senator Webb has served just one term but he has made it a productive one, passing the 21st Century GI Bill to provide the same educational benefits to post-9/11 veterans that the World War II ``Greatest Generation'' received. He introduced the bill his first day in office, and saw it enacted into law. More than 800,000 veterans have since received educational benefits through the program. What a wonderful legacy for Senator Webb to have.
Senator Webb also dedicated his time in office to refocusing and rebalancing our relationships in East Asia. He has long argued that getting mired in Iraq and Afghanistan was a strategic mistake, and that our long-term interests lie with Asia. As chair of the Senate Foreign Relations East Asia Subcommittee, he visited nearly every country in the region, focusing particularly on the countries of mainland southeast Asia and our treaty allies. His 2009 trip to Burma was the first by a U.S. leader in 10 years; the visit is widely credited as the beginning of efforts to change our relationship with that country. Senator Webb remains the only U.S. leader to have met with Than Shwe, the former junta leader, and he also met with Aung San Suu Kyi while she was under house arrest. Senator Webb has also worked continuously to resolve the basing issues with our main ally in the region, Japan, and to help pass a trade agreement with South Korea.
A hallmark of Senator Webb's lifelong service to our Nation is his willingness to tackle the tough, unglamorous issues. Here in the Senate, he led an effort to reform our criminal justice system, introducing legislation to establish a commission of experts to review the entire spectrum of the American criminal justice system from drug laws to sentencing, prison conditions, recidivism, and judicial reform.
Mr. President, these men and women who will be leaving the Senate soon have made extraordinary sacrifices to serve our Nation. We are fortunate that they have chosen to spend significant parts of their lives in public service. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude. Those of us who will be in the Senate next month when the 113th Congress convenes can best honor the legacy of our departing colleagues by reaching across the aisle as they have done so many times to forge bipartisan consensus and solutions to our Nation's most vexing problems. The men and women who will be leaving the Senate at the end of this Congress understand that compromise isn't a dirty word; it is the genius at the heart of our political system. We will miss them.
Joseph Lieberman
