in wrapping up, we touched on this information, but i think there's much more we could have discussed there. i'm going to ask folks who are interested to look at american progress.org, we have a discussion what we can do to combat misinformation particularly on social media. those who want more, please feel free to go there and i want to take this moment to thank each of you, ben ginsburg, janai nelson, norm ornstein, you're true patriots and safeguarding. >> thank you. >> the u.s. senate will be gavelling in shortly today lawmakers will work on judicial nominations and voting on government funding past this friday's midnight deadline. now live to the floor of the u.s. senate here on c-span2.

the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. heavenly father, keep us from disappointing you. inspire us in all we say and do to glorify you. empower our senators to strive to please you in their every thought and action. lord, we acknowledge that you are our rock of safety, our

fortress during every season of distress. give our lawmakers the wisdom to honor your name in their work, entrusting you to take care of all their tomorrows. set them in a safe place because of your unfailing love and faithfulness. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: could i have one minute for morning business? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: long before he was sworn into the united states senate, my former colleague thoom harkin from iowa -- tom harkin from iowa served in the united states navy in vietnam. he and i represented iowans for 30 years together here in the united states senate. six years ago i came to the floor to wish my friend well in retirement, and i used these words so that he could enjoy the blessings of hearth and home.

i'm not so sure that he took my advice to heart. i recently learned that tom has been moonlighting in retirement as an intrepid crew member sailing the icy waters of the north atlantic. in fact, he joined the crew of 59 north sailing for five voyages. his most recent adventure found tom aboard ice bear, navigating gale force winds in and around the rugged coastline of newfoundland. they say you can't take the farm out of the iowa farm kid. the same must be true for a lifelong sailor and the sea. tom recently celebrated his 81st birthday in november. barbara and i wish him many more trips around the sun and many adventures at sea that his heart desires. i yield the floor.

i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president, this be week some senators indicate they may attempt to move a privilege resolution to disapprove of the administration's proposed sale of advanced armaments to the united arab emirates. it's a little baffling to suggest that now of all times a protest gesture with no chance of obtaining a veto-proof

majority is of valuable use of the senate's time. but above and beyond that, the strategic realties dictate that congress should not stand in the way of this sale. in august the u.a.e. reached the first of the abraham accords, the landmark peace deal with israel, brokered by the trump administration which bahrain soon went on to reprise. that was the first normalization between the arab nations and the state of israel in nearly 30 years, cemented an important new chapter in the u.a.e.'s international relations as well as its close relationship with the united states. of course it is a key american objective to preserve and protect israel's qualitative military edge -- quantative military edge.

israel's defense minister made clear they're comfortable with the deal. senators considering this sale need to consider a reality we cannot escape. a significant competition for influence in the middle east is underway, and china and russia will be more than happy to meet the demand for advanced capabilities if the u.s. simply takes our ball and goes home. if our colleagues make the senate vote on this measure, i urge all colleagues to vote against it. now on an entirely different matter, my colleagues here in the united states senate are to put it mildly an impressive bunch. it always makes it a challenge to pay adequate tribute when one leaves our ranks. but even by the high standards of this place, the course charted by the senator whom i have to send off this morning stands out. the senior senator from wyoming, chairman mike enzi, has accomplished enough in one career to fill two. he seemingly glided from

business success to military service to local government to state politics to the united states senate where he's built a remarkably productive legislative record. mike's prolific career began in a small town. in fact, gillette, wyoming, was so small when mike and his wife diana arrived and stood up the family business, the town still carried the less than flattering nickname of dirt. but new discoveries in the american energy business were in the course of changing everything. a major oil and gas boom meant more people. more people meant more sales in mike's nz shoe store. that's the letter n and the letter z, madam president. mike could have just sat back and cruised, but mike saw gillette struggling to keep up with the growth, basic services

were lagging and nearly everyone who encountered him in town or in the junior chamber of commerce meetings concluded this up and comer had real leadership talent. i understand the final prod into public service came from no less a wyoming statesman that our own former colleague, al simpson. they crossed paths. alan heard mike speak, and he took the promising young man aside to tell him rather pointedly that his town sure did need a good mayor. to be precise, mike tells us the phrasing was typically blunt al simpson. put your money where your mouth is, said al. our future colleague took it under advisement, but mike almost didn't survive long enough to an announce his campaign. the way he told it on the floor when he worked up the courage to relay that suggestion to diana on their drive home, she almost swerved right off the road. fortunately they were unharmed and the more they talked, the

more they liked the idea of making a difference. so at the ripe old age of 30 this up and coming businessman ran for mayor, and he won. on his watch, what could have been a municipal disaster became an economic golden age for gillette. it didn't take long for the town's fortunes to become the talk around wyoming. after a few years off, the former mayor enzi was representing his neighbors as state representative, then as state senator. and just like water seeks its own level, talent tends to seek its best outlet. after squeaking out a close primary victor over his now fellow senator from wyoming, john brass is -- john barrasso barrasso, mike came to washington and this body gained its only trained accountant. mike knew if he was going to

properly serve his state he would need fellow wyomingites alongside him. one of his best decisions was persuading his long time collaborator, long time manager of gillette, flip mccaughney. the experienced salesman had to pitch his long time friend on the opening, and it rkd would. from gillette to the senate, flip was mike's secret weapon, not just his staffer but as mike tells it, a true partner in service for many years. when flip passed away much too soon in 2016, this entire institution felt the loss. mike's staff likes to say he has a whole collection of useful hats he can wear to approach senate business, the perspective of mayor or of a small business owner or a state

legislature or an accountant or wyomingite. that hasn't just been a winning combination for the people of wyoming. it's benefited our entire country. mike's trade secret has been what he calls the 80-20 rule. across all the issues he tackled, he insists about four-fifths of the subject matter is potential common ground ripe for progress. you just can't let the controversial 20% blow everything up, he says. well, madam president, that approach made our colleague from wyoming down right prolific. mike has been directly responsible for the passage of more than 100 bills. he's become a go-to leader on everything from budget, tax reform, and the deficit, to age relief and workplace safety. his sober, prudent approach, not to mention his practical experience keeping the books and making payroll, made mike exactly the sort of person taxpayers hope are managing their dollars.

he used budget resolutions to steer the federal government toward more sustainable fiscal health. he helped shepherd the first major overhaul of the federal tax code in a generation. he's kept a watchful eye on the unintended consequences of legislation such as his recent work to help relieve main street lenders from the one-size-fits-all burden of dodd-frank. when chairman enzi was steering the help committee his counterpart was ted kennedy, a small-government guy from wyoming and the liberal lion from massachusetts. call it the 80-20 rule's final exam. but they passed that exam. they worked together to create bipartisan outcomes on things like worker safety and pension reform and mental health parity. so to be clear, madam president, there has been no lack of conservative conviction in mike's career. just ask our democratic colleagues about the times when

mike landed in the 20% and that's when the gloves came off. one broadcaster in 2013 called it the paul revere of obamacare. mike never lost sight of the mission. he kept up the hunt for common ground, autism research, vocational training, carrying the torch on pepfar, the fight against aids in africa. mike's appetite for making a difference brought some interesting characters into his life. it turned out quite a few high-profile celebrities were happy to meet with the chief champion on the aids issue. but washington, d.c., life never spoiled mike. i heard from a reliable source that after wrapping up one meeting from bono, the front man for u2, he imparted advice to

the superstar, well, good luck with the band. fuf seen mike in action around the senate, mastering issue after issue, it's hard to imagine him making time for much of anything outside of work, but you would be badly mistaken. one of the worst-kept secrets is that mike is one of the warmest members of the senate family. you see, madam president, as we prepare to bid him farewell, mike's colleagues might miss his wise leadership on legislation, but i suspect the loss will be greater future classes of senate pages who will be denied pizza and ice cream parties mike threw to celebrate their successes. there will be some restaurants who will miss them who were among their most devoted weekly visitors. more than anything, i know the dedicated staff of the senate

who don't get thanked enough from the parliamentarians office to the capitol police will miss the massive cookie parties organization straighted by the field marshal, diana enzi. she has organized the production of hundreds of dozens of baked treats every year. mike is more like her assistant in that endeavor. their unstoppable tradition of giving back to our colleagues, even this year, incaps late just what kind of hearts this couple shares. as these labors of love come on top of diane's long hard work like her long-time focus of clearing land mines in eastern europe. i don't mean to guilt mike into staying because mike always has his head on straight, his planned laid, his priorities lined up, so he noabs even on our best days, the senate can't hold a candle to the joys of the next chapter he and diana have

planned. it turns out that the man whose senate website clufs a -- includes a page of grandfatherly advice is looking forward to delivering more of that advice to his own grandkids in person. i understand there are several states in which mike has yet cast a line, one of the senate's most intrepid anglers will no longer have to plan around this body's schedule as he seeks to correct this oversight. so, mike, while all of us here are sorry to see you go, i know our colleagues join me in wishing you tight lines. we're so glad you brought your mind and heart here to this body. thank you for sharing your gifts with the country you love. mr. enzi: madam president. the presiding officer: the

senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: madam president, i want to thank the leader for his kind remarks and incredible research. i particularly appreciate the comments about flip mcconaughey who i worked with for 30 years before he passed away from cancer. and if there was anybody in the united states who had a municipal problem, he'd work with me as we grew gillette and he was able to solve a lot of those municipal problems. he was the go-to person on all of that. i really appreciate those comments as well as all of the other things that you mentioned, particularly the ones about diana, who without her, i would not have had the shoe store, i would not have been in politics, i would not have been here, nor would i have been able to do anything. when we travel around wyoming, she does most of the driving so i can work on speeches and legislation, and it is a chance for us to visit a little bit

too. we don't get to do a lot of that here in washington because of the schedules, again. but i particularly want to thank you for your leadership during this time. it's been phenomenal, like the research that you did on that speech, the strategy that you put into legislation is incredible. you get a lot done in spite of the differences we might have with the house or with the other side of the aisle or occasionally with the president, but you keep us moving forward and it's a talent that's hard to do under the circumstances that we work and i really appreciate it. so thank you for your comments. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

# quorum call:

mr. thune: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: madam president, i'm -- i understand the senate is in a quorum call. the presiding officer: we are. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that it be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, federal communications commission, nathan a. simington of virginia to be a member. mr. thune: madam president, i rise today to recognize and pay tribute to two senators whom i had hoped to serve with longer. cory gardner and martha mcsally. madam president, one of the first things that became clear

about cory gardner when he became to the senate is that he is an incredibly hard worker. he is tireless. cory has not only a great sense of humor, i remember back during impeachment when we were working some really late nights, he left five-hour energy drinks for all of us in our mailboxes. i got to say, madam president, you kind of needed a five-hour energy drink to keep up with cory. seriously, though, cory has a tremendous amount of energy and focus and drive. he's left it all on the field during his time in the senate. i think he knew when he was elected that he might not be here forever and he has made every moment over the past six years count. he's a results oriented person. he's interested in getting things done. and he's built an impressive record. serving the people of colorado has been the first thing on his mind every day and he spent a lot of time on working on colorado priorities from protecting our public lands to improving wildfire preparedness

to expanding health care access for veterans by ensuring the completion of the v.a. hospital in aurora, colorado. he's also been a leader on foreign policy issues, specifically on the issue of holding north korea and china accountable for their lack of freedom and their human rights violations. such as china's mass incarceration of uighurs and targeting of chinese citizens who dissent from the communist party line. cory also has been a great friend to taiwan. among other things he authored the taipei act which the president signed into law earlier this year. legislation that makes it u.s. policy to support taiwan's efforts to strengthen its relationships with countries in the indo-pacific and around the world. a free, prosperous, and safe taiwan is in the interest of the united states and cory understands this well. madam president, in addition to being one of the hardest working people you will ever meet, cory also is one of the most pleasant.

he has an upbeat personality and a contagious cheer. in committee hearings and melgs are always -- meetings are always more enjoyable when he's around. he's been called a happy warrior and i think it's a fitting title. he's an eternal optimist. i don't mean that in a naive, wide eyed sort of way. he's well aware of the challenges we face in our nation and around the world but he generally believes in our country and our ability as citizens and members of congress to make life better for our fellow americans. over six years here in the senate he has helped make life better. for his constituents and all -- in all four corners of his state and for the american people. nobody could have worked harder for colorado over the past six years. nobody. and he has done more for his state in a single term than many have managed to do twice as long a time period. madam president, we were fortunate to have cory here in the united states senate. i will miss serving with him but

i look forward to seeing what he does next, whatever it is, i am confident of one thing. it will be great. madam president, i didn't get as much time as i would have liked to work with martha mcsally. she spent just two years here in the senate but made the most of it. her record is well known. 26 years in the air force. multiple deployments to the middle east and afghanistan. first woman in u.s. history to fly a fighter jet in combat. first woman in u.s. history to command a fighter squadron in combat. brons star -- bronze star, six air medals, member of the u.s. house of representatives and the list, madam president, goes on. i'm a long-time runner, basketball player, sports fan so i'm pretty committed to exercise and one of the places i got to nomar that after she came to the senate was in the senate gym. martha was a regular there. i've always believed that you can tell a lot about somebody by the work ethic that they bring

when they are approaching physical exercise, something that i saw growing up with my dad. he was a world war ii fighter pilot who embodied the iew millionty and quiet -- humility and quiet service that characterized the greatest generation and those traits carried over into his approach to sports. he was a basketball and track coach when i was growing up. prior to that most valuable player for the university of minnesota basketball team back in 1941. and he approached everything with humility and service. those were the values that he emtake sietzed -- emphasized the most. your job as a member of the team was to make the team better, not to make yourself look good. and if your team needed you to make a basket then great but if the team needed you to make that extra pass so that someone else could make the shot, then that's what you did. that's the way that my dad taught us, the way that he coached us. i've always said and believed that you can tell a lot about

someone by how they approach physical exercise and sporting events and that sort of thing. and i can tell you that martha attacked it just like she does everything else. she approaches that with the same determination and intensity that she does in every other aspect of her life. she pushes herself to her limits. and those ever the qualities that she displayed throughout her career, whether she was breaking glass ceilings in the military or fighting here in congress to protect the a-10 warthog. she's made the most of her two years in the senate tying for the most bills signed into law during her first year. an arizona has benefited from her tenacity and commitment. madam president, martha is tough and determined, but she's also kind and generous, all traits that were displayed in her farewell speech last week. there was a lot to admire in that speech. i was particularly struck by the

gratitude that she displayed. a lesser person might have betrayed some bitterness at the brevity of their time here. martha was just grateful, grateful for the opportunity to serve, grateful for the team who worked with her, grateful for what she was able to accomplish for arizona. i am grateful to have not only served with her but to have had her as a part of the whip team here in this congress. unsurprisingly, she was a dedicated and effective deputy whip. and i will miss having her on the team. at the end of her farewell address, martha said, and i quote, today represents a change in seasons for me and i don't yet have clarity on what my next mission is. but i do know who is the author and finisher of my faith and that he -- he created each of us with purpose. madam president, i am confident that the author of our faith has

more great missions in mind for martha mcsally and i look forward to seeing her take them on. madam president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: democrati c leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, madam president, everywhere you look there are signs the country needs emergency federal relief before the end of the year. cases, hospitalizations, deaths are rising. covid restrictions are snapping back into place in cities and states around the country. economists are warning of a double-dip recession if congress fails to pass another round of fiscal stimulus. the situation is really quite simple. there are glaring needs in the country, and we will need to work across party lines to pass legislation to meet those needs. let me say it again. we need both parties to sit down

and compromise on legislation to help the american people. that's the only way to get legislation passed. but observers of this process seem to have lost track of this simple truth. the republican leader seems to have forgotten about it entirely. amazingly it's been over eight months since congress came together to pass the cares act and the leader's position has not budged. the majority leader continues to insist that the senate accept one of his partisan republican proposals, each one of which has been sorely inadequate and each of which has contained poison pills designed to ensure the bill's failure. the most conspicuous of these poison pills is the so-called red line the majority leader has tried to draw on the issue of corporate immunity. contrary to the majority leader's dire predictions, there has been no flood of covid lawsuits.

in fact, quite the opposite. almost a year into this pandemic with nearly 15 million americans infected, 280,000 lives lost to covid-19, there have only been 111 covid-related lawsuits filed regarding conditions of employment, 23 suits for personal injury from exposure to the coronavirus in a public place, and 11 covid-related medical malpractice suits. far from the pandemic of lawsuits there's barely been a trickle, and yet the republican leader continues to prevent americans from getting the aid they so desperately need and deserve until he gets this piece of partisan ideological legislation. again yesterday while the leader was busy accusing democrats of blocking, quote, bipartisan legislation that, quote, everyone agrees on -- his wordse republican leadership were making it clear that leader mcconnell continues to insist

on this particular poison pill. the republican whip said that any relief must have corporate immunity that, quote, satisfy senator mcconnell. imagine holding emergency aid hostage, help for the unemployed, help for small businesses, help to pay salaries of police and firefighters, help for individual americans, funding to deliver a vaccine. in order to give corporations legal immunity. but that has been the republican position the past eight months, and it is the leader's position today. for the sake of bipartisan negotiations, republican leadership should forsake these hard-line positions. you can't claim to want bipartisanship while actively demanding the senate accept partisan legislation. bipartisan does not mean democrats must agree to whatever the republican leader wants on

whatever issue he picks. bipartisan -- bipartisan means both sides, both sides sitting down finding agreement to meet the needs of the country and make a law. that process is happening with the gang of eight. it should continue until we get a solution. on the f.c.c., the senate will also vote on the nomination of nathan a. simington, a republican nominee to the f.c.c. normally these nominations to independent boards and commissions are paired, one democrat and one republican to keep balance on the board. but here in the waning days of a lame duck presidency the republican majority is rushing to approve a single republican nominee. the nominee himself is far from uncontroversial. mr. symington seems to support president trump's desired changes to section 230 a law that regulates internet speech.

it appears that he severely misled senators on the commerce committee when he told them while working for a federal agency he played only administrative role in his department's petition for the repeal of section 230. it turns out mr. simington was not only pushing the petition himself, he was actively lobbying fox news to support it for political reasons. i strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject mr. simington's nomination to the f.c.c. and finally, madam president, as we approach the end of the senate session, i have the unhappy task of bidding farewell to senators who will be concluding their time in this chamber. within an hour our friend, our dear friend and dear colleague, senator tom udall of new mexico will give his final speech here on the senate floor. for the past 12 years senators have been lucky to work with the

legislator of senator udall's character, someone who is practical as well as principled. you'll always know where senator udall stands on an issue but you also know he's always willing to sit with you and work with you until you find common ground. and because of these qualities, tom will leave this chamber as a supremely accomplished legislative, a fierce defender of the environment and a true champion of the american west. a lot of politicians get described as vunderkins for getting elected as a young age but you'll be hard pressed to find someone who got their start in politics earlier than tom. he made his debut at the plucky age of five hoisting campaign signs from the back of his family's convertible during his dad's first bid for congress. public service runs deep in the veins of a udall. it might be called the sap of

the udall family tree. alongside his father, tom looked up to his uncle mo who succeeded his father in congress and ran for president as one of his generation's great environmental advocates. not too long ago the senate roll call feature two udalls, tom and cousin mark. even now our colleague from utah, senator lee, is a second cousin of the udall clan. but ultimately it was tom's dad who taught him a lifelong love of the political process. during the year suitor udall served -- stuart udall served as interior secretary, tom would watch as his father sat surrounded by democrats and republicans alike, both sides at dinner working together. those memories left a mark, and tom would spend his time in congress trying to do much the same. tom's work with senator vitter led to one of the his greatest accomplishments in office, the first major revision of the

toxic substances control act in 40 years. at the time it was the most significant environmental law to pass congress in over 20 years. tom also had become one of the senate's leading authorities on tribal policy, cosponsoring over a quarter of the bills that passed through the indian affairs committee on their way to being signed into law, legislation to improve tribal access to affordable health care and funding to support native american language preservation programs and boost support for native american entrepreneurs all bear the udall stamp. when it comes to protecting our environment and public lands, no one, no one commands greater respect than the senior senator from new mexico. tom helped increase funding for the department of interior by 25%, including billions to protect our national parks and expand our wildlife preserves. through the great american outdoors act, tom helped secure permanent funding for the land and water conservation fund, a

fund his dad helped establish over 40 years ago. one of tom's favorite authors wallace stegner wrote something will have gone out of us as a people if we let the remaining wilderness destroyed. we need that wild country available to us even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. tom did a who i will lot more than -- tom dis -- did a lot more than look in. he be preserved the great american wilderness. these highlights impressive as they are are the tip of the ice burg. consumer protection, the protection of tribal nations and most recently, a principled stand against the current administration's attempts to roll back critical environmental protections. and through it all, tom has been unendingly civil, decent,

and kind. he has deep friendships, real friendships, long-lasting friendships in our caucus and across the aisle. he prefers to solve problems no matter who gets the credit. sometimes resisting the urge to make a splash in public. kidding aside, tom is as down to earth as they come. there's just no artifice about him. he's a decent senator and as a man, you couldn't find any better. other senators will attest to these qualities, i'm sure. so will his staff, a tribute that's perhaps even greater. the respect and loyalty that senator udall commands from those who work for him day in and day out is something extraordinary. we don't know when a udall will next grace the halls with their presence. these halls with their presence. but i do know this, the country needs more leaders like tom. senator udall once said his father and his uncle were

lifelong role models because they had the right mix of inspiration and perspiration. he said, quote, they were both visionaries but they were also doers. i can think of no better description of tom udall himself, a visionary but also a doer. tom, as you move on to the next chapter in your life, i wish you and jill the very best of luck on the road ahead. i yield the floor.

a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, for the -- thank you for the recognition, madam president. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the following members of my staff, nevada a -- re ney gasbetter, lisa ventinci be given floor privileges for the remainder of the 116th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you very much, and thank you, senator schumer, for those very kind remarks earlier. as you know, i announced i

wasn't running for reelection last year, and if i knew everyone was going to be so nice to me, i might have announced it earlier. i'm not the only senator who is giving a farewell speech. many of us got to hear lamar alexander last week. lamar is the perfect example of what a united states senator should be. before i was wet behind wet behs in the senate, my first week here, lamar invited me and my wife jill to dinner. there it began, jill and lamar's wife honey became fast friends and lamar and i built the kind of friendship that is essential in the senate. we worked together to get things done for our states, bolstering our national laboratories and conserving our great outdoors. something else we shared was

mario, our barber in the barber shop and to be honest, that is the best place to learn about the senate, sitting in mario's chair. friendships like i have with lamar and mario is what i will miss most about the senate, the friendships. and because as any good senator will tell you, friendships are what gets you over the finish line. i will cherish the friendships i forged over the last 12 years, i will miss serving the people of new mexico and congress, the greatest honor of my life has been doing that. and i'm confident that new mexico is in good hands with my friend senator heinrich, my great partner over the last eight years, his dedicated advocacy for our communities, his love of the land and all of that -- through all of that

martin has been an inspiration, with senator-elect ben ray luhan who will fight for new mexico families every single day in the senate. i will miss the righteous struggle we take up in these halls to build a more perfect union, and i will miss all of you, my staff, colleagues, and everyone who works around the clock, the unsung heroes who keep the senate running, people like john, leigh, and marianne, all of the folks that are here in front of you. you know, there are too many to thank. first and foremost, i thank my staff. every senator here knows we're only as good as the people on our team, and my friend -- as my friend patrick leahy says, we

senators are often a constitutional impediment to the staff. over the years i have been blessed with staffers who are full of talent, skill, drive, and heart. madam president, i don't want to leave anyone out, and so i ask to enter into the record all of my staff who have been part of team udall and i want to say thank you to each of you for your hard work, public service and your commitment. and i want to thank my family. to my parents, stuart and leigh udall who instilled in me the will to do good and to be good. and to my brothers and sisters, my sister laurie, who is here, and my cousins who have supported me throughout my three decades in elected office. thank you to our daughter amanda, my forever campaign manager, and our son-in-law,

judge jim, just recently a judge in new mexico, for their constant love and support. and most importantly, thank you to my brilliant and beautiful partner of 42 years, jill cooper udall. jill has been my rock. she's been my chief counsel, she's been my everything and i couldn't have asked for a better partner to have this public service adventure and it's truly been an advent ewe for this -- adventure for this son of the west. for after 20-plus years it's time for me to go back home. as the great western writer wallace stegner wrote, it is not an unusual life curve for westerners to live and to be shaped by the bigness, the sparseness, space, clarity and hopefulness of the west, to go

away for study and enlargement and perspective that distance and dissatisfaction can give and then to return to what pleases the sight and enlist the loyalty and demands the commitment. stagner said that we fall into two categories. we're either boomers or stickers. boomers pillage and run, stickers are motivated by affection, by such a love for place and its life that they want to preserve it and remain in it. and i'm telling you here today, i'm a sticker. i'm also an optimist, and i want to be more accurate. i'm a troubled optimist. i tried to open my eyes to the challenges we faced while never losing conviction in our ability to meet those challenges. as the scientist rachel carson

said, one way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, what if i had never seen this before? what if i knew i would never see it again? i believe this nation has arrived at a moment what we are opening our eyes to the enormous challenges before us and also to their solutions. our planet is in crisis, facing mass extinction and climate change, our people are in crisis, ravaged by a pandemic that has laid bayer the inect -- bare the inequities. we cannot solve one-these -- one of these crises without solving the other. and that's why i'm troubled. but all i have to do to be optimistic is look around, look around me.

i look at the young people across this country who are calling for change, for climate action, for voting rights, and for immigrant rights, for economic and environmental and racial justice. they've held sit-ins in my office, probably yours too, and they are demanding that we do better and their determination gives me hope. and i'm optimistic as i look back on the small acts of kindness and the big acts of progress that define my time in the congress. i believe that there are lessons in these accomplishments. now, you may know me as someone who wants to reform the filibuster, but to be clear, i've always supported the talking filibuster. so if you will inculling me, and -- indulge me, and by the rules of the senate, you have to. you can leave but i get to keep

talking, i'd like to talk about a few of the highlights of my career and what i learned from them. as you know protecting america's outdoor treasures is a cause close to my heart. it's something of a family project. my family homesteaded in the west almost 180 years ago, and like generations of udalls before me, i grew up with a special connection to the land, to the gorgeous, untamed beauty of the west, to the 60-mile vistas, snow-koaferred mountain -- covered mountains, lakes and wildlife. mitt romney knows this. our great-grandfather settled the same small western community. s tagner called the west the geography of hope. it inspired me. that's why i'm so proud of what

we accomplished together to conserve our natural heritage. on the appropriations committee, we worked together for resources for public lands and environmental protection on a bipartisan basis. in the face of massive proposed cuts and we've held off anti-environmental riders that have no place in these bills. thank you to my friend, lisa murkowski, who has been the best partner i could ask for this work. in new mexico where public lands are central to our way of life, we've had enormous success on locking tens of thousands of acres of enchanted land for all of us to enjoy and for martin to hunt on every now and then. each of these efforts was collaborative and community driven and that collaborative work culminated in one of the biggest conservation victories in american history, the passage

of the great american outdoors act. thanks to the determination of a grassroots coalition, and many champions here in congress, we got this bill over the finish line. for the first time we've realized the stroms of the land -- promise of the land and water conservation fund. the promise my father envisioned 55 years ago -- almost 55 years when he helped create our nation's most successful conservation program. after more than 20 years of fighting for this in congress, i'm thrilled we got it done and we got it done together -- together. the law is a model for how conservation and economic recovery go hand in hand. it will help us achieve the urgent goal of protecting 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. enacting the great american

outdoors act at a time of immense division is a tremendous feat and it tells us a lot about what we're capable of. it tells us that conservation is popular, a political winner, environmental protection can be an area of cooperative action. it must be if you -- if humanity is to survive and prosper. as i talk about my love of the land i cannot neglect to acknowledge how much i learned from the original stew warts of this -- stewards of this land, native american people. i fought along many who have hurt and died and they have been hurt by this nation by our nuclear weapons program. my work as vice chair of the indian affairs committee has been the honor of my lifetime,

and another area where this committee has achieved bipartisan progress. i thank my chairman, senator hoeven and senator barrasso for their partnership and friendship. we worked together as a committee for better health care, education, housing and urgently needed resources for native american communities, especially as they battle this pandemic. the federal government's obligation to uphold its trust and treaty obligations is sacred. some of my proudest achievements have been the result of working with tribal leaders to advance indian country's priorities to support miew annexation's -- new mexico's 23 tribes. recently we passed legislation for tribal self-governor

unanimous, to provide -- governance to secure investments in language revitalization. the achievements i remember most fondly are those we did together. indeed those are the only kinds of achievements that are possible in this body. take the frank lautenberg chemical safety for the 21st century act, our landmark reform of the toxic substances control act. it was the biggest environmental reform in a generation. i was proud to lead that effort to protect our families from toxic chemicals. it was hard work and it took years. but if you can get a project where jim inhofe and ed markey are working for the same goal, you can get a lot done around here. it's another example of how friendships get you over the finish line. my friendship with david vitter,

my partner on tsca reform was sort of like ted kennedy and/or run hatch's friend -- and orrin hatch's friendship, a political odd couple. me the son of mormon pioneers, david a son of new or liens, two -- or liens, two different political backgrounds and different views on the big problems before us. but i will never forget the dinner we had after frank lautenberg passed away when we decided to take on tsca reform. we looked at each other after that dinner and shook hands and said, we're going to get this done. and we did. it passed the senate unanimously. we agreed there was a problem. we found common ground on a solution. that's still possible in the senate. but i didn't come here to just list accomplishments. you can check my twitter feed to see -- if you want to see more of that. i do want to share some final

thoughts about challenges our nation faces before i leave the senate. i believe that for all of us here, public service is a calling. it certainly is for me. in my life i've had the privilege of learning from many dedicated servants. one of them was senator john mccain. senator mccain was a friend to me and a friend to my family. when john first came to the house, my uncle mo, big uncle mo, 6 feet 5 took him under his wing. john did the same for me and worked together on issues like campaign finance reform, native american issues, and others. john often said to me, we disagree in politics but not in life. let's remember that. we disagree in politics but not in life.

my great grandfather helped settle st. john's, a small farming and cattle community on the arizona-new mexico border in the 1880's. he had an embroidery that hang on his frontier home that read, if the good folks don't get into politics, the scowndz drells will take -- the scoundrels will take over. i believe there are a lot of good folks here in the senate, but the system we're caught in makes it too hard to work together, to remember that we -- we need to remember that we disagree in politics but not in life. and i'm not the first to say in a farewell address and i won't be the last but the senate is broken. the senate is broken. and it's not working for the american people. we are becoming better and better political warriors. we're good at landing a punch,

at exposing the hypocrisy and ruling each other up -- and rialing each other up but we're not fostering our better angels, our peacemaking skills are at friday if iing. every hurt takes time to heal and each time we hurt each other, it sets us back. but unfortunately the structures we have built reward us for hurting one another. we need to reform those structures or we'll never make progress. make that progress we need to make. i've proposed senate rules changes when i was in the minority and when i was in the majority to make sure this institution does not remain a graveyard for progress. the founders did not envision a senate requiring 60 votes to act. the filibuster came to be through historical accident. and it is now woven into the

institutional framework. the promise of the filibuster is that the majority will find common ground with the minority. but the reality of the filibuster is paralysis, a deep paralysis. on top of this we have a campaign finance system that is out of control. john mccain told you that over and over again. and he called money the cancer growing on our democracy. and john mccain knew a lot about cancer. secret money floods campaigns to buy influence instead of letting the voters speak. voting rights are under attack. we can do our best to be good people in a system like that, but it's no surprise that america's faith in government is declining. these structures are anti-democratic. they reward extremism. they punish compromise.

our government is supposed to respond to the will of the majority while protecting the rights of the minority. instead we have the tyranny of the minority. that tyranny is super wealthy, politically powerful, and dangerously out of touch with the american people. the majority americans support pandemic relief, health care for every american, action on global warming, racial justice and police reform, and so many other priorities that don't see much progress in the senate. people are losing their faith in the system rightfully so. we have to do something to fix this. if we are to take bold action necessary to tackle the urgent problems before us, we must reform our democracy. we must make it easier to vote. we must end the dominance of big money, and we must root out

corruption. and we do not have any time to waste. we have no choice but to be bold. because the crises before us demand bravery. hundreds of thousands of americans are dead from a pandemic, a pandemic that this administration haskell lousily ignored, a consequence of its continued rejection of science. in new mexico we've surpassed 108 cases of, over 1,700 are dead and tens of thousands have lost their jobs. meanwhile, our nation is facing dual climate and nature crises of epic proportions. earlier this year much of the american west was engulfed in wildfire as an arid state new mexico is in the crosshairs of climate change. we lose a football field's worth of nature every 30 seconds. a million species are at risk of

extinction because of human activity. our planet's life support system is under threat. a as -- as the climate crisis worsens, ecosystems are destroyed. as ecosystems are destroyed, we emit more harmful greenhouse gases. we cannot solve one crisis without solving the other. protecting nature is about protecting humanity. it's just that simple. and marginalized communities, communities of color, low-income communities and indigenous people are bearing the worst consequences of the environmental destruction and pollution caused by the rich and powerful. we have the power to solve these crises, the power and the obligation. all it takes is clear eyes and political will. and remembering that we may disagree in politics but not in the future that we want for our

children. when i was a young man, i spent the summer of 1969 in the mountains of colorado teaching students wilderness skills. each night we would look up and open our eyes to the moon that seemed impossibly far away. i'm reminded of rachel cashson's -- carson's wortsdz. one -- words. one way so open your eyes is to ask. what if i had never seen this before. when we emerge from the wilderness, we learned what apollo 11 had achieved. we had landed on the moon, the moon that seemed so impossibly far away. we should never forget that we can do, we, all of us can do the impossible when we open our eyes to the challenge and work

together to meet it. so i return home to the west -- so as i return home to the west, i am clear-eyed about, even troubled by how farway our des -- far away our destination is but i am optimistic that we will get there like we always have.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. a senator: madam president, i'm triewlley -- truly my honor today to commend the senior senator from new mexico, my long-time partner in this chamber, my good friend tom udall for his years of service to our great state of new mexico and to our nation. mr. heinrich: before i speak about tom, i would like to quickly take a moment to recognize the service of congresswoman small over these last two years. congresswoman small served for a time in senator udall's office. for the last two years in the house of representatives, she has dedicated herself to delivering resources for the people of southern new mexico. i'm so very grateful to have served alongside her in other congressional delegation and i'm

greatly looking forward how she will contribute her heart and her talents to new mexico next. she certainly learned a great deal from our senior senator. now let me tell you a little bit about our senior senator tom udall. one of the first times i ever spent any serious time with tom udall was actually on horseback. tom was serving at the time as the congressman for northern new mexico's third congressional district. i was leading a group called the coalition for new mexico wilderness. together we rode into rugged canyons east of las vegas, new mexico -- that's the original las vegas -- that i hoped would soon be designated as the saaby nosa wilderness and it was clear right away that tom shared my sense of wonder in the outdoors and wild places and a strong commitment to protect those precious landscapes for future

generations. and despite his day job walking the halls of congress, he was pretty comfortable on that horse of his, much more so than myself. more than a decade later, tom and i would repeat that horseback right alongside president trump's then interior secretary ryan zinke. we were both serving in the senate by this point, and we had successfully worked together to establish not just the nosa but also the wilderness, the national preserve, the oregon mountains desert peaks national monument and rio grande del norte national monument and now we were working to convince secretary zinke, someone i might describe as a bit of a wilderness skeptic to sign off on the bureau of land management's acceptance of a generous land down nation by the wilderness -- donation by the

wilderness land trust. this land donation would finally open up public access to the spectacular opportunities in the sabby nosa which was then completely landlocked by private lands and would substantially grow the wilderness area. a couple of hours of both of us riding into canyon largo alongside secretary zinke, alongside local sportsmen and public lands advocates and community elected leaders accomplished what months of testy congressional hearings and office meetings and phone calls here in washington, d.c. could not. days after his visit, secretary zinke announced his reservations were assuaged and he would approve the donation at the department of interior. thanks to those efforts and that horseback ride, for years to come all new mexicoans, all

americans will be able to visit the stunning wilderness that we all own together. this story is but one example from senator udall's long career that demonstrates how bringing people together, even those who may have major disagreements, especially about politics, can still help you find common ground and forge a path forward. that's one of the main lessons that i will always take with me about the example that senator udall has set as such a principled leader. tom has devoted his entire career to serving the people of my state. as our state's attorney general, tom took on major challenges from curbing pervasive drunk driving to domestic violence, to prosecuting unethical and corrupt elected officials, and protecting consumers and seniors from all manner of predatory

scams. then during his ten years of service in the u.s. house of representatives, tom fought to deliver for northern new mexico's communities. he stood firmly against the bush administration's tax cuts for the wealthy. he opposed the misguided invasion of iraq. and he called on congress to rein in the civil liberties abuses in the patriot act. tom was first elected to serve our state in the united states senate in the exact same year that i was first elected to congress, and it has been a privilege to sit in a front row seat during this time while he led our state's congressional delegation. and i believe that all of us in this body can agree that there are few greater examples than tom udall. in embodying the best of what it means to be a senator. over his two terms in this

chamber tom has shown us all how to act, to act with decency, to act with integrity, how to stay true to your principles but also how to find the deliberative compromises that have become all too rare in today's senate. tom knows that to get anything done, especially in this era of extremely polarized party politics, you need to be able to bring people together, to break bread, to have the patience to work through disagreements, and to focus on results, not politics. that was perhaps best demonstrated in his ability to pass the landmark bipartisan overhaul of the toxic substances control act, likely one of the greatest environmental law achievements in the last decade. tsca is just about the most complicated piece of law that you can possibly imagine.

however, the powers that it grants to the environmental protection agency are some of the only things protecting us, standing between us and many harmful chemicals. in the last decade it became increasingly clear that the original law which had passed back in the 1970's was simply no longer effective and required significant reforms. but getting a new law passed had proven to be practically impossible for many senators who had tried for years to get this done. because of all the major industry interests, disagreements from various groups, tsca reform have become one of the many things that conventional wisdom simply said would never get done, especially in today's gridlocked congress. but tom did not take no for an answer, and he took on the years-long daunting cheanl of convening an incredibly wide

range of stakeholders to get the details right and successfully steered a new law all the way to final passage. i believe tom udall was successful in this precisely because of the way that he stands for his principles, with moral clarity. at a time when our democracy has felt fragile, tom has led the way in fighting the corrosive effects of dark money in our politics. he championed voting rights and he called for rules reforms to make this body, to make this senate work for we the people once again. through his role on the foreign relations committee, tom has held administrations from both parties accountable for responsibly exercising american power overseas. he's been a steadfast champion, an ally for indian country, fighting for water access and

education, health care, and law enforcement resources for tribal nations. for years tom has called on us to finally confront the climate crisis that threatens new mexico's land and water and, frankly, the future of our country and our planet. and i have been so proud to partner with tom over these last years to pass landmark protections for the natural resources and public lands that we in new mexico all treasure. our children and future generations will see the legacy of tom's conservation work for years to come. and finally it goes almost without saying, but i am confident that tom leaving the senate will not mean leaving behind his lifetime commitment to service. in fact, far from it. whatever his next chapter brings, i am certain that tom will never stop looking for ways to help the people of new

mexico. though i do hope he'll find the time to get outside, to spend time in a remote mountain path from time to time or on a fast-flowing river, it has truly been the honor of a lifetime to serve alongside senator udall for these last 12 years, to fight together to deliver resources and results for new mexicoans. thank you, tom, for everything that you have taught me, for everything that you and jill have done for new mexicans and for americans. julie and i certainly wish you the best in this next chapter in your life. and it has truly been my honor. thank you. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: madam president, i stand today to pay tribute to my friend and colleague, the senior senator from new mexico. tom udall was assigned to be my mentor when i first arrived in the senate nearly ten years ago. over a series of meetings we had over breakfast, lunch, and in

our offices, tom mentored me, tutored me on the rules of the senate. he took the time to explain the nuances of the filibuster and how the senate has deviated from the rule as it was originally designed. the concept is not a familiar one nor is it intuitive, and yet tom was able to explain it to me in a way that was simple, easy to understand, and helped me grasp the passion that he's had for addressing that issue, for reforming the senate for the better ever since then. he had a way of doing it that didn't make anyone feel demeaned but made them rather more enthusiastic about making the senate a better place in which to work, operate, and lebltion i have no whether the person who assigned tom as my mentor knew that tom and i were related or second cousins, that his grandmother and my grandfather

were brother and sister, or that my grandmother on the other side of the family was his u.s. history teacher at james fenmore cooper intermediate and junior high. but our paths seemed destined to cross. i didn't know tom well growing up, although i knew his father, stuart, and i knew his uncle morris. tom was already off to fame and stardom by the time i came along, but i knew his family long before i got to know him. in many ways they saved the best for last, even though i got to know your dad and your uncle stuart -- your dad and your uncle morris before i got to know you, i've tremendously enjoyed getting to work with you. you and i come from similar parts of the country, from some of the same ancestral pioneer stuff, and we have very different ideas. and yet, you, tom udall, have always been someone with whom i've been able to communicate

freely and frankly and from whom i've always heard positive, uplifting communication even where we disagree, which happens from time to time. thank you so much for your service. it's been a pleasure getting to work with you as a colleague, and i wish you and jill the very best success and happiness in your future endeavors. thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. senator udall and i came in in the same class now 12 years ago. it's hard to believe that 12 years has passed. how can that happen so quickly? and we've seen the senate on various chapters as it sought to address the big challenges facing america. colleagues have already noted

tom's intense advocacy for the wild lands of the west and the poetry he brought to it in his speech today with mr. stheg -- mr. stegner's rereflections on the wild lands of the west and all of his efforts to protect those lands. and colleagues have mentioned how when folks thought it couldn't be done, he dived into this partnership with senator vitter to drive the lautenberg toxic substances act and got it accomplished through months and months of intense negotiations. he cares about the function of this body and has shared with us idea after idea about how we can make it work better, ideas we should still work to consider in the months and years ahead. and as he's thought about protecting the lands, he's thought about protection of the

oceans and the roll of -- role of plastics in the ocean and spearheaded an effort on how we produce so much plastic waste and where it ends up and the damage it does, a vision others will have to carry the baton on after his departure. and he has stood up fiercely for the constitutional vision of a nation and a government of, by, and for the people, that money is not speech and that corporations are not people. so, tom, thank you. thank you for fighting for the vision of our constitution, for a government that can and will take on the issues facing us. and we will miss you. i personally hope that you will have a major role in continuing to advance the protection of those wild lands of the west in the near future. all my best, and take care in your next chapter. a senator: mr. president.

the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. a little reflection on tom udall and the work we did together on the indian affairs committee as i chaired and he was the ranking member. i will tell you, madam president, i will miss my friend, tom udall. bobbi and i will miss your life partner jill as well. we're so grateful for your friendship and your leadership in this body. when you started today on the floor, you mentioned that you were son of the west and mentioned that it's something that runs in the family. because, madam president, tom's father stuart udall was secretary of the interior of the united states. if you go to the interior department office, you will see it is the udall name on the building because of this ongoing commitment and love that the senator has spoken about today.

what many don't know is the relationship between wyoming and the udall family because it was stuart udall, secretary of interior, who came to wyoming with a young president a number of years ago, and that president was john f. kennedy. it was september of 1963. and i went back to the archives of the university of wyoming and found photos of tom's dad and the president at the time, john kennedy, and a number of wyoming leaders at the time, and i gave copies to tom and to jill to share the bond of our states. and it would surprise many, i think, in this body to know that i have a picture actually of john kennedy hanging in my office up there in the dirksen office building. john kennedy addressing the crowd at the university of wyoming arena auditorium in september of 1963. and as thunderstorm this -- as m

this morning talked about conservation, john kennedy talked about conservation that very day he gave that speech with your father on the stage together so many yeeshes ago. -- so many years ago. at the time tom -- john kennedy talked of the living balance of man's action and nature's reaction to it and the living balance that must exist. madam president, today i come and thank my friend for his stewardship, for his leadership and for his friendship. and -- and i say this with a great deal of appreciation, admiration, and respect. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. ms. stabenow: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: i rise today to honor someone who i have had the

good fortune of working with both in the u.s. house and the u.s. senate, senator udall, we spent a long time together and i am very grateful. but i want to take a step back for a moment and say in american political history there are certain names that carry a legacy, there are the roos velts, a family of -- -- roosevelts, there are the kennedys, a family that for generations have been at the center of american power an popular culture, and there are the udalls. now, the udalls have never been flashy. they might not be the equivalent of political royalty. you might find the udalls to more likely be in cowboy boots

and jeans than in expensive suits, but they are a family that is deeply rooted in public service, protecting the people and places of the west and just being some of the kindest, hardest working most decent folks you could ever meet, period. senator udall has sernlt lived up to his -- certainly lived up to his family. i feel so fortunate to have him as my friend. tom, it's been such a pleasure to work with you on so many different issues. you talk about the land, i talk a lot about water. and even though you are not surrounded by the great lakes as we are, you have been as passionate in working with us to protect our beautiful water as

you have in other natural resources. so, thank you for protecting the funding for the great lakes restoration initiative, also for ensuring our community health centers receive full funding, for strengthening rural communities, for improving services for our veterans, and i appreciate so much your leadership and the bipartisan efforts, and i was proud to support you and help ons tosca reform. i was proud to work with you on places that make us states so special and shinning a light on money and politics. and i'm so grateful for your strong leadership on your indian affairs committee and your hard work and advocacy and so effective in advocating for our

nation's tribes. you worked on foreign relations and keeping our nation safe. i'll never forget our trip to vietnam and south korea last year. we were over the easter weekend flying in southeast asia, and it was such a wonderful moment when organized a passover for everyone on the plane. what a special moment on this bipartisan trip. it brought everybody together to focus on our common humanity and what we're each called to do, which is to serve others. whatever the future holds for you, i have no doubt that you will continue serving the people of new mexico and this nation and i believe we have more to benefit from your leadership.

public service, that's what udalls do. senator udall, congratulations on your retirement. thank you for a job well done and so many best wishes to you and your life partner jill and your entire family. you have been a real blessing not only to new mexico but to our country. i yield the floor. mr. cardin: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, madam president. i just really want to thank senator udall for his commitment to public service. when i think of a person of his talent, his expertise, his effectiveness, he has devoted his entire life to public service to make new mexico better, to make america better

and for global justice. and i just really want to thank him for his many years of public service. i know he's not finished his commitment to try to help our community, but we're going to miss him on the floor of the united states senate. i've had a chance to work with senator udall when he was in the house of representatives and i was in the house of representatives and we worked on so many issues together to the environment to justice issues to integrity and the process to make sure that our system of justice -- our system of law, our system of legislating meets the high expectations of our democracy and we know we can do better to form a more perfect union. we're on that path and we can do better. thanks to senator udall we have done better but we still have a road to all of us. you're an inspiration to all of us. we love you. we admire your great service to this body and to our community.

as it has been said by others, we're not only going to miss your relationship in working with issues here, we're going to miss the frich of seeing -- friendship of seeing you on a more regular basis. we know that your life partner jill has been a part of this, we are proud to call you our friend and associate and we'll continue to work with you. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: madam president, i had the privilege of knowing tom udall's uncle when i served in the house of representatives. he was not only a great leader but he was a funny man. i have repeated some of his lines and jokes so often i don't even give him credit anymore, so i hope his family and his memory will forgive me. i often repeated his prognosis

for politicians and he said, once you get politics in your bloodstream only embombing fluid will replace it. i often thought what drives us, the men and women of the senate and the house to continue to engage in this life's work in politics with all of the costs that it incurs in our lives. clearly we are driven by something more than just comfort. so my friend, tom udall, let me say i'm glad you proved your uncle wrong. as much as i wish you were staying with us longer, i know you're not leaving public service, you never will, just leaving this chapter. in the udall family public service is a noble tradition. your uncle mo served in the house for three decades, your cousins, mike udall, mike lee, and gordon smith have all served in the senate. your father answered president

kennedy's call for the best and brightest and served as president kennedy's secretary of the interior. i want to mention one footnote that should never be forgotten, especially in this moment in history, when we watched the envelope and their dedication to the notion of black lives matter, they should remember that over 50 years ago, it was your father as secretary of interior, who said to the envelope football team that -- nfl football team that they had to integrate and bring in their first black player or he wasn't going to renew the federal release. he changed that franchise when it came to the issue of race and now 50 years later it looks so visionary. when it comes to american treasures, the udall name ranks up there with teddy roosevelt.

roosevelt was a giant of conservatism, he believed we have a moral obligation to preserve our planet and the treasures of it for our future generations. i have no doubt that your father and your mother would be proud of your service in the senate. you have carried on this legacy with such perfection of preserving america's irreplaceable national treasures. i havive vivid memories -- i have vivid memories of two, mow jestic -- majestic lands, president obama showed leadership in creating those monuments and you have carried that on. the passion you have for these treasures is something i will never forget. i was glad to support your

legislation that only congress can protect national monuments. thank goodness we have public servants like tom udall who will fight to preserve a piece of this world so future generations can see it as god created it. your 30 by 30 resolution is another example of creative and innovative udall conservationism. your efforts to reserve america's most sacred treasures does not end with spaces and healthy environment. you've been a brave and tireless champion to fund our democracy. you have helped to preserve the delicate balance of power. you were the lead sponsor for the people act to protect voting rights, strengthening government ethics, a bill that i built on myself to try to protect our body politic. our goals were always the same,

break the grip of special interest on our politics and government while making it more affordable for men and women with good ideas without massive wealth to run for -- massive wealth. we know how much work we have to do to restore people's faith in government. i want to point out one particular bill, tasca. i will never forget what you did with that. i don't remember how many months or years you weathered on despite opposition from not only the other side of the aisle but also from our side of the aisle. there were chemicals that were being put into things as basic as furniture that american families had no idea would be dangerous. and to think -- i've never forgotten the story you told on the floor, to think the cushion on your couch is treated with some chemical that could be

harmful, every time as a father you sat down on the couch and held your baby close to you, you could be spraying chemicals into your baby's face. i will never forget that space and how we remedied that wrong and gave clearance so these products were removed. i gave you my word that i'd push hard with you on that. i was one of the soldiers back in the ranks, but i was proud of every moment of it. i wish you and your wife jill special happiness in your next chapter. jill is a native of st. louis and i grew up across the river. we had many fun times talking about her fun youth and reminiscing about mutual friends. she is just an exceptional person herself. to your daughter amanda, and equally happy and healthy future. as our friend john lewis might say, may you continue to find

ways to get into good trouble. in this senate you have been the voice for so many people who had no voice. you have chosen to be an advocate for native americans, and if there's ever a cause which every single member of the senate and house should take as their own is to bring justice to this group of people who were here before us and were not treated well by this government. i'll close now with a thought from one of their great leaders, sitting bull. in negotiations with the federal government, sitting bull advised, let us put our minds together and see what future we can make for our children. this is the spirit which tom udall has brought to the united states senate and to every aspect of public service. it has been an honor to work with you, tom. i wish you all the best because you are the best. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i know we're about to vote, but i -- and i will speak further at another time about senator udall, but i want to

tell him what i tell you, all of you, what i said to you when he finished speaking in my 46 years he's one of the most finest, most moving, heartfelt, honest speeches i have heard. i also sent a note telling senator udall -- jill udall, to tell her how great you are but i think she probably knew it but i will speak further at another time. i yield the floor. a senator: i ask consent to complete my brief remarks before the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: madam president, i want to say a few words about leadership and when i think of the word leadership, i think of tom udall. leaders are humble, not hotty. leaders have the heart of a servant. they realize that our job is to serve, not be served. leaders have the courage to stay out of step when everyone else

is marching to the wrong tune. leaders unite, not divide. they build bridges, not walls. leaders crowndz themselves with -- surround themselves with the very best people they can find. when the team does well, the leader gives credit to the team. when the team falls short, the leader takes the blame. the best leaders among us realize they don't build themselves up by tearing other people down. leaders are aspirational. they appeal to our better angels. leaders are purveyors of hope. leaders seek to do what is right, not what is easier or expedient but what is right. leaders embrace the golden rule, treat other people the way they want to be treated. golden rule is in every major religion on the planet. he embodies it.

leaders believe that we should pursue excellence in everything we do. if it isn't perfect, let's make it better. and when a leader knows that he or she is right, they just don't give up. they don't give up. those are the qualities that we all admire in leaders. completely honest, i fall short on a number of them. if we're all truthful, we'd all say the same thing. he doesn't fall short on any of them. tom udall is a personification of what is a leader should be. and a friend as well. i just want to say thanks to his parents for raising him, bringing him into the world and putting him on the right path, giving us a chance to serve with him. i also want to thank jill, his wife, for being just a terrific partner with him. when we were stuck on tsca, the toxic substances control act, she came to the hearings in the

committee, when he was no longer on the committee, she came here and everybody could see on her face that we better get this right or we're in trouble. the reason why we had to pass the toxic substances control act is because the federal law we passed a quarter century ago before didn't work. every other state stepped in and decided to have their own state version. it was a patchwork quilt. it just didn't work. he pointed out and made it happen, made a change. i will always be grateful for that. the other thing i want to say just -- he's a friend. i think you talk to anybody here and they'd say he's a friend. i don't care if you're a republican or democrat, he's a friend. my wife and our sons had the opportunity to at the end of -- a seminar in tans nia -- tans nia, just an incredible experience, stay five or six days afterward, go out on a safari and have a chance to see amazing things, amazing things. when it was all over we went

back to the airport to catch a flight back to the states. i'll never forget our son ben, our youngest son said to his mom and dad and older brother and me, that was the best vacation we've ever had. we talk about things we share with one another but that's one that is especially close to my heart. godspeed. god bless you. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of nathan a. simington of virginia to be a member of the federal

communications commission signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of nathan a. simington of virginia to be a member of the federal communications commission shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their votes? if not, the yeas are 49. the nays are 47. the motion is agreed to. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until

senate stands in recess until when the scent comes back at 2:15 2:15 p.m. eastern we will have live coverage here on c-span2. >> now is the perfect time to buy a c-span product for holiday gifts with a 15% discount. go, go to cspanstore.org. >> house democratic leaders held a news conference on capitol hill.