Mr. President, the other thing I would like to do this afternoon is to very briefly report to my colleagues and to constituents back home on some things which my predecessor, Senator McCain, was working on at the time of his untimely death…
Mr. President, the other thing I would like to do this afternoon is to very briefly report to my colleagues and to constituents back home on some things which my predecessor, Senator McCain, was working on at the time of his untimely death and which his staff and I have continued to work on and, in several cases, have brought to successful conclusion. I want people to know about these items and what we have been able to accomplish.
I first want to thank the members of his staff who wanted to stay in the service of the government and the State of Arizona and were willing to take a position in my office, as a result of which, we were able to really have a seamless transition from some of the things Senator McCain was working on and my ability to continue to do so.
One of the first things of which I was aware but not really aware of the depth that he had taken it is a new relationship in the State of Arizona among the three pillars representing the defense establishment in our country and specifically in the State of Arizona. These are, first of all, our military installations--Arizona is blessed to have a lot of military installations; secondly, the defense industries--again, Arizona is the home to many important defense industries serving all of our branches of the military; and finally, the communities that support both of those elements of our establishment.
As a result, I had the opportunity to meet throughout the State with the groups that Senator McCain had helped to nurture and to create--in particular, a group in Tucson and Southern Arizona, including Yuma, called the Southern Arizona Defense Alliance; in Flagstaff and Northern Arizona, the Northern Arizona Military Affairs Council; and in Central Arizona, Maricopa County and the Phoenix environs, the Mesa Industry and Defense Council.
Meeting with the representatives of all three components of our military society and hearing about the successes they had in working with each other and in providing a real synergy that benefited them all just reminded me again of how important Senator McCain's leadership was to the State of Arizona and to our national security.
I wanted to mention that today and to let everyone know that I will be passing on to my successor the advice that these councils continue to need to be supported and nurtured by the Senators from the State of Arizona, as well as the Members of the House of Representatives.
A second thing that John McCain was involved in as part of his activities as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee was the creation--a couple years ago--in the Defense authorization bill of a national commission to advise the Secretary of Defense on the strategy for the United States and to report back to Congress--and specifically the Armed Services Committee--on their conclusions.
This bill created the National Defense Strategy Commission, comprised of 12 members, 3 of whom were appointed by the chairman and the ranking member--each--of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House Armed Services Committee.
I was privileged to have been appointed by Senator McCain to serve on that Commission, and I did for approximately a year. My service there ended as we finished our report. Before it was signed, while it was still being edited, he passed away, and I was appointed to serve in his stead. So I have had the unique opportunity to both help write the report and then be a member of the Armed Services Committee, on which he sat, to receive the report and to question the cochairmen of that Commission, Ambassador Eric Edelman and ADM Gary Roughead, Retired.
I think the importance of this Commission report reflects what Senator McCain hoped to achieve, and that is a bipartisan consensus, a unanimous report which provides advice to the Secretary of Defense and will provide advice to both the House and the Senate.
As I said, there has already been a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I know the House
committee is going to invite members of the Commission to brief it as well.
It is my hope that the recommendations of this bipartisan Commission will be followed by the Congress and by the President and the Secretary of Defense because I think they represent some very strong conclusions about what is necessary to enhance our national security.
A third thing Senator McCain wanted to do as chairman of the Armed Services Committee was to hold a series of hearings or briefings before the committee that focused on the advances in technology that were having and can have an important impact on our national security--in many cases, on the kinds of things that we acquire in support of our military superiority, things like hypersonics and artificial intelligence, super-advanced computing, cyber technology, and the like.
After speaking with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee now, Senator Inhofe, it is my understanding that he, in fact, has a plan to carry out this legacy of Senator McCain and hold a series of briefings early next year on all of these technological issues so that our Members will be better able to evaluate the kinds of things that will help our military have superiority in the future. I am happy to have had some small part to play in advancing that.
There were a couple of other more specific things that Senator McCain didn't work on but which bear his name that I wanted to mention.
One, I cosponsored and helped secure passage of S. 2827, which was a bill to reauthorize the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation at the University of Arizona. This was something that Senator McCain helped to create and to foster throughout his career. But I am also pleased to announce that this legislation names the foundation's environmental conflict resolution center after the late Senator John McCain. I am pleased to make that announcement here.
There is one other item that we are continuing to try to accomplish in Senator McCain's name. We are not across the finish line yet, but we hope to get there. That is something called the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act, S. 1403. This bill carries the name of Senator McCain, and it was one of his favorite projects. It expands volunteerism in our national parks and public lands.
I can tell you that while John McCain came to Arizona having lived in many other places of the world and in the United States, primarily as a result of his service in the Navy, he acquired a love for the State of Arizona which is unequalled among all of us who have been there for a very long time. He loved the beauty of the State, the ruggedness of it, the incredible variety in the flora and fauna. When I would visit John and Cindy's home in the Sedona area, I could always count on being taken on a hike around the perimeter of the property to show me all of the interesting things he had discovered over the last several months, including where the hawks live and where the owls live and where they found the rattlesnakes and all of the other things that pleased him to be a part of that environment.
So we are hopeful that we can get this Service Corps Act passed, if not in the latter part of this session, at least perhaps early next year.
I want my colleagues to know that although Senator McCain passed away in the early part of his Senate term, he was working on a lot of things that his staff and I wanted to continue to move forward, and I am just pleased we have been able to move these items forward and wanted my colleagues to appreciate that, as well as his friends and constituents in the State of Arizona.
I thank my colleagues here who helped to make some of these things possible and urge that they continue to focus on the one item of unfinished business that can perhaps be accomplished next year.
I conclude by thanking the Governor of the State of Arizona for appointing me to serve for part of the remainder of Senator McCain's term. It has been a great honor and privilege for me to again serve the people of the State of Arizona, particularly to succeed my friend and colleague John McCain.
I yield the floor.
