Legislative Session
Mr. President, I stand here today, closing out my time in Congress, and I am reminded of the gravity of this place, the storied history of the Senate, one in which we are all honored to contribute, and the guardrails that serve as the…
Mr. President, I stand here today, closing out my time in Congress, and I am reminded of the gravity of this place, the storied history of the Senate, one in which we are all honored to contribute, and the guardrails that serve as the foundation of this body and our democracy. Those guardrails--the Constitution, our oath of office, the rules of the Senate, and the norms of collegiality, integrity, and respect--these are the pillars that have ensured our democracy could endure. They exist for a reason: to cultivate relationships so we can move history forward, to temper the excesses of greed, and to curb the hunger for power.
As our country has become more and more divided and as our politics has devolved into a constant series of all-or-nothing battles, we find ourselves bumping into these guardrails with more frequency. In recent history, both parties have wrestled with the importance of norms and rules, and both parties have viewed these norms and rules as outdated, constraining, or simply obstacles to their short-term victories. Many now blame these guardrails for blocking critical progress instead of recognizing that it is us--our actions, our words, our incivility, and ultimately our unwillingness to compromise--that prevent reasonable solutions from advancing.
When holding political power and feeling the hunger and pressure for an immediate partisan win, it is easy to view the legislative filibuster as a weapon of obstruction. It is tempting to prefer elimination of the filibuster to compromise. It certainly feels faster, easier, and more satisfying--at least in the short term, that is--but there are dangers to choosing short-term victories over the hard and necessary work of building consensus.
To give in to the temptation of the short-term victory means giving in to the chaos caused by the constant ricocheting of laws or it means you labor under an illusion that by eliminating the filibuster, you will maintain political power forever, effectively ending our two-party system. That is a fallacy, and worse, it is scary. One-party rule is not democracy; that is autocracy. That is not the system our forefathers envisioned, and it is not what our country deserves.
The beauty of America is in the push and the pull. Our democracy ensures that no one person, no one party, has too much control. The checks and balances built into our government protect us all. When we work together, listen, compromise, and forge moderate movements forward, we are doing exactly what our forefathers intended: We are crafting solutions with broad support to protect against those wild ricochets of policy changes and the whiplash that could be caused by the overreach of a temporary partisan majority.
Over the past 6 years, I have had the honor of serving with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who chose to do the hard work and who took the time to build relationships and build that consensus. Together, we accomplished real results for the constituents we serve across this great country.
I am so grateful for the colleagues who took those risks with me. Not many are willing to step out of their comfort zones and risk political capital for the sake of a deal that may not pay off immediately, but to those who did, thank you. And to their staff, thank you for your dedication and your service and for answering random calls from a Senator, even though it was a little unorthodox, when I was just looking to get a deal done and solve a problem or two.
Beginning with my good friend and our former colleague Senator Rob Portman and the other Members of our bipartisan group of 10, including the wonder women of the Senate--Senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Jeanne Shaheen--and our guys--Senators Mitt Romney, Jon Tester, Bill
Cassidy, Mark Warner, and Joe Manchin--we painstakingly crafted a historic infrastructure law, delivering Americans better broadband, new roads and bridges, cleaner air and water, and more job opportunities.
Later, working with Senators Mitt Romney, Tammy Baldwin, Susan Collins, and Thom Tillis, we passed the Respect for Marriage Act, giving Americans of all backgrounds peace of mind, protecting marriage and religious freedoms.
Teaming up with Senator Todd Young, we saved the Chips and Science law spearheaded by Senators John Cornyn, Maria Cantwell, and Roger Wicker. We saved it from partisan collapse, and now America and Arizona can lead the way in semiconductor manufacturing, and our country is safer and more secure.
Bringing Senators John Cornyn, Chris Murphy, and Thom Tillis together to tackle the intractable issue of gun violence, we not only saved lives; we improved our country's mental health care.
As everyone involved in each of those deals knows, the results weren't easy. It was a product of months of hard conversations, many tough decisions, many tradeoffs, and constant back-and-forths that pushed us toward those solutions and that progress.
While those are the highlights, we have also witnessed what happens here in this Chamber when we give in to the temptation of taking the easy way out and abandoning those guardrails.
In 2013, judicial nominees weren't confirmed at a fast enough pace for the majority, so one party lowered the 60-vote threshold to a simple majority. And while one political party started it, the other finished it, and now all Federal judges, including Supreme Court nominees, are confirmed with just 51 votes.
Just 9 short years after that, half the country was shocked and disappointed when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But it was no surprise at all. It was a foreseeable, predictable result of eliminating the Senate standard that requires broad bipartisan support for judicial nominees. No longer is the majority party required to nominate mainstream judges who earn support from across the global spectrum. Now it is just a race to get your guys into the spots while you have power. Yet some wonder why public trust in our judiciary is at an alltime low.
Even still, with the consequences of those shortsighted decisions clear for all to see, the clamor to similarly destroy the Senate's process of passing legislation persists. Surely I am not the only one to see the absurdity in all of this.
The political winds have now shifted, and yet the filibuster endures to ensure that the tyranny of the majority does not overrule the rights of the minority, regardless of who sits in the seat of power.
Now, as we approach the 119th Congress, Republicans will control the Presidency, the Senate, and the House. Sadly, I am already hearing rumors of a hunger to subvert these norms--indeed, to use reconciliation as a tool to circumvent the filibuster. But the end result of that shortsighted action would be the same. As history has shown, abusing or eliminating one tool for short-term gain means the other party will do the same when it regains political power. It is a devolution, and I can't think of anything more dangerous to our dear democracy than the unwillingness to question our own preconceived ideas, to examine our own biases, or to learn from those who think differently from ourselves.
What I have tried to demonstrate in these 6 years is that you don't have to burn down the rules and the norms to achieve what you want. You can just do the hard work. You can build relationships. You can choose to focus on consensus, not division. You can be an independent thinker and put your State, your constituents, and your country ahead of party leaders and activists--because you can get it done.
Over my time in the Senate, I have partnered with more than a few unlikely allies--from the very most progressive to the very most conservative--to break through gridlock and find some solutions. While I can't detail each and every one of those unique relationships here today, I will highlight a few:
My infamous Barbenheimer partner, Mike Lee--I know we are a bit of an odd couple, but we have gotten a lot done together. My dear friend James Lankford, whom I had the honor of sharing the Border Subcommittee with throughout my last 6 years in the Senate and with whom I spent many, many hours working on a solution that, while it isn't law today, perhaps parts will become law one day. Senator Rand Paul. Cynthia Lummis. The list goes on and on. And at the very, very dear risk of damaging their careers: Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz, Patty Murray.
I hope I haven't ruined your careers.
(Laughter.)
It has been an honor to work with so many incredible people in the U.S. Senate over these last 6 years.
One thing I learned early on in my very first days--actually, Senator Jim Risch taught me this--is that we don't have to agree on everything; we just have to agree on some things. It is not worth getting angry about the things with which you disagree; it is better to focus on those areas where you can agree.
So over these last 6 years, I have been grateful to embrace the diversity of opinions in this body, to find solutions that reflect the complexity of our country and our democracy, and to deliver meaningful, measurable results: to bridge divides between Tribes and Federal stakeholders to designate land around the Grand Canyon; to secure historic resources, strengthening western water, safeguarding Arizona families, and making sure that all of us throughout this country can grow and thrive for generations to come. We have worked together and cleared the way for historic settlements, land transfer deals, water deals, providing economic certainty, all by listening to one another-- not to debate or to rebut but to understand.
It is this very marketplace of the diversity of ideas that makes our country great, the knowledge that with dialogue and competition, we are driven to be more thoughtful and more creative. That is why, despite the challenges facing our country, I remain hopeful.
America is still the freest, most creative and innovative place in the world. We are the birthplace of emerging technologies in medicine, artificial intelligence, energy, and robotics, all revolutionizing our global economy. And the opportunities created by American ingenuity are limitless.
We must not let our politics hold us back, for America is still the shining city on the hill, and it is up to each of us to protect it and to strengthen it. We cannot afford to let political differences stand in the way of what tomorrow may bring. We must hold firm to those guardrails, our shared commitment to the principles that our forefathers built this great country upon, and the ability and the willingness to see the decency in each other, our fellow citizens. We must choose the better angels of our nature.
Speaking of the better angels, over the past 12 years, I have had the honor of working with some incredible people in both the House and the Senate. I don't mean the Senators and Members of Congress I served alongside, although that has been an incredible privilege. I have the deepest respect and gratitude for my current and former colleagues. But I speak now of our staff. From the minority and majority floor staff to the cloakrooms, the Sergeant at Arms, the cafeteria workers, the Parliamentarians, the police officers, the elevator operators, the Architect of the Capitol employees, who never, ever fail to give a kind word in the basement of this building--you all are the unsung heroes of the Capitol. You are here long before we arrive each day. You are here long after we head home for the night. So thank you.
To my own staff, many of whom are here today, from my very first days in the House to my very last days here in the Senate, thank you. You are the backbone of everything that we have delivered for Arizona and for this country. I am so grateful that all of you chose to serve alongside me and help us deliver real results for my beloved State and our country. I could not be more proud of what we accomplished.
As I leave this floor after 6 years in the Senate, I cannot help but continue to think of President Abraham Lincoln's words as he closed his first inaugural address. He called for unity in a deeply divided country, and his words ring true today:
I am loathe to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We
must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it
must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of
memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave
to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again
touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our
nature.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
(Applause, Senators rising.)