cannot write a bill to fix an agency. unless you have an understanding of the problem. you can only know this by conducting oversight, asking the tough questions, holding the bureaucrats accountable, find out what works and what does effective oversight is an effective tool to expose overreach and wasteful spending, but it also markedly exposes where we lose our liberty. and our essential freedoms. now, i have had some time through the years, taken some criticism, and it is opinion, i agree.

everyone who says it is wasteful has a great defense as to why it is there, but the real question atwill we become efficient how we spend the money of the american people? this is a big, big enterprise. there is nothing else in the size of the world. unless we have the knowledge of it. i think there ought to be 500 35 waist bills every year, and then we ought to have the debate about not spending money wisely and have the information at our fingertips so we make great because, quite frankly, we do not make great decisions because we do not have the knowledge, and then what knowledge we do have, we

transfer to a bureaucracy to wee decisions about it when should have been guiding these things. decades would be different if we had effective oversight. these differences should be argued. should beences resolved through civil discourse so they are not settled in the , just as the constitution provides for majority rule in our democracy while protecting the rights of the individual. the senate must return to the the trust of gain the electorate, and it can. believed that protecting minority views and minority rights in the senate was essential to having a bicameral legislation that would not move tooce and

quickly against the very fundamental principles upon ,hich this country was based and not out of guessing, but out of thorough knowledge of what had happened in the past, and we need to be very careful to guard those minority rights and the rule of law. there is no one who works in the senate that is insignificant. it is the people who tove us when we have lunch the highest of behind. no one is -- they all deserve our ear. each of us has value. and one final comment. the greatest power that i have not used as a senator that i would encourage you to use in the future is the power of

convening. you have tremendous power to pull people together. because of your position. convene the opposite opinions . it has been great for me once we have a difference, to get together and convene and see how we work, and that power is the power that causes us to compromise, to come together, to reach consensus, so my encouragement to you is to rethink the utilization of the power of convenience -- convening. people will come to you if you ask them to calm. -- two come. again, i would end by saying a great thank you to my family for

and a greatice thank you to the wonderful staff , and a thank you to ofh of you for the privilege for a been able to work better country for us all. i yield the floor. [applause]

>> mr. president, mr. president. >> yes. >> excuse me. a very movingard and inspirational and i

considered it a motivational friend, tommy dear coburn. 20 years ago in 1994, there were a bunch of wild and crazy folks that got a let to the u.s. house of representatives, and it put the republicans in majority for the first time in 42 years, and they ran on the contract with america and were led by a group of firebrand leaders. tom coburn was in that group, the first to get elected in 1984 to the house. group.n that senator lindsey graham was in that group. there were a few members of that class who became known as bomb throwers. tom coburn was a bomb thrower and he would object for the sake of objecting to anything going

on. it didn't matter which side of the aisle that was coming from but they told you he matured into a class act which he always was but a second, he matured into a legislator second to none and tom did not hesitate to bill thatany spending came from either party if tom that was noted provided for in the constitution and was something the united states taxpayer should not be paying for. guarded nobody who has the pocketbook of the taxpayers of the united states like tom coburn. remarkable that those of us who were elected with tom, have had the opportunity to see him over the last 20 years take that mostubjects

veterans said, you know, in the end, we are going to prevail. well, guess what? they never did. he mayurn, even though have lost a vote from time to time, but in the end, tom coburn prevailed. a tough guy also. he has been through a lot physically and, boy, what a survivor. we think we have issues to deal with. none of us can imagine what tom has gone through, and when somebody comes up to me, and they had seen tom coburn on tv, and i am walking through the airport, they would say, what coburn?is guy, and two things would come to mind when i think about tom coburn. family and faith. he and carolyn have had such a

solid marriage. he tried to date her as an eighth grader, and she would not and he kepthim, pestering her enough that she finally did, and what a great marriage that they have. they have got three beautiful daughters and a house full of grandchildren that he absolutely loves to death and likes to spend time with as opposed to being here. secondly is faith. have metnobody that i that has a stronger faith and tom coburn. floor.bits it on the he exhibits it one-on-one. he exhibits it at the prayer breakfast every wednesday morning. he is one person who has probably counseled more people in this a-day on both sides of the aisle than anybody other than the chaplain -- in this body than anybody other than the chaplain. on top of that, he is just a

class act. he has been a dear friend, and we have spent many hours on the road and socializing together. individual finer that ever served in the united states senate van tom coburn. he is one of the things that i am truly going to miss about leaving here, but, actually, as we have talked about, we spend more time now that both of us are gone, but, time, to you, i will just say thank you for that great friendship, but thank you for what you have done for my children and grandchildren. you have served this country well. god bless you. >> mr. president. along with many of my other

colleagues, i would like to pay tribute to one of the most decent and principled men i have ever met, senator tom coburn. know, washington is going to miss tom, but the irony of that is tom really can't stand washington. here, therst got feeling appeared to be mutual. some just did not know what to doctor from oklahoma, and frequently on the losing end of lopsided votes, so often pressing ahead on his own and never giving up. that was apparent from his days , and when we hear that he led the only filibuster in the house that anyone can ever remember, he may have

more than any equivalent senator in history. so fast forward to today. declaredt class has tom coburn a card-carrying member of the establishment. the rebel who once described himself as a, cause the pilot has now been branded, ecredibly, with the scarlet right on his forehead. it might seem contradictory, but tom always fought smart battles, the kind you might lose today but when later. and he forged an amazing bond with the people he represents. tom, that meant spending as much time away from us as possible and making himself available when he was home.

tom published his address, and oklahomans were never shy about coming over to share their opinions. shy about sharing how he felt either. he believed his constituents deserve the truth. he gave it to them absolutely unvarnished, but he did it in a respectful way. me of the two posters he has on either side of his desk. no, m-o. -n-o-w.er says know, k that is tom in a nutshell. at is why tom has made so many friends on both sides of the aisle. that is why you cannot slip on msnbc most mornings without seeing him. preferstom actually

these. it is a challenge he relishes. enoughy is tom confident to tangle with anyone, he wins, and he rarely, rarely makes lasting enemies. it is a trait that has served him well, and to currently in the beginning of his career. tom first came to washington representing a district that was heavily democratic. he won a close race that year. gained a he also friend, and that friend was the democrat he defeated. grandsonent' his eventually ended up joining tom's staff, which, obviously, is a great honor, but it is no picnic being on tom's staff. tom works his staff hard. it is difficult to even take a sick day over there. tom has always got the

stethoscope nearby. if the doctor is in, so are you. teamthe people on tom's seem to love him. once a member of the family, always a member. it does not mean now that they love everything about him, like his handwriting. it is just what you would expect from a guy named dr. coburn. it is absolutely awful. a mix of chicken scratch, hieroglyphics, and from the extra credit section of an mcat. the mistake of letting him take a yellow highlighter back to oklahoma. weekend, the entire weekend, marking up a massive hill. there were hand written notes and questions in nearly every margin. it took literally days to decipher any of it like

something out of a dan brown novel. needless to say, the office ban on yellow highlighter's was quickly implemented, so a legacy of tom's former profession gets them in trouble sometimes, but a job that he love the most, helping to deliver new lives to the world. he brings a unique perspective to tom's work in the senate. it is that lasting appreciation for life. even though tom has stopped delivering babies these days, he still travels back to oklahoma a lot. there is no where he would rather be than in his hometown of muskogee, and there is almost nothing you'd rather be doing there than mowing the lawn or eating a sandwich at the favorite barbecue joint or sipping a cold coors. these things to almost everything else except spending time with his grandkids and, of course, his wife

carolyn. tom has known carolyn since grade school. she has always been the one to keep them balanced and grounded. she does not care that he is a senator. also the reason tom is such good friends with president obama. both men came to the president the same year that the senate the same year. carolyn spotted michelle obama from across the room. she looks like fun, carolyn said. sit next to her. the rest, as they say, is history, and it is also remarkable, because when tom announced his retirement, from across the political spectrum, it was a day, listen to this, a day when barack obama and jim demint found something they could agree on. it must have brought some joy to tom at such a difficult time. tome departs the senate,

will leave one battle behind to confront another. beste sending him every wish in that fight. we are keeping him in our prayers. we know that he will prevail, but he is really going to be missed around here. he is just the type of citizen and legislator our founders envisioned. moreas pored over oversight documents than anyone cares to imagine. his waist but has become an annual phenomenon. it helps draft the conversation on spending. he has lead on issues like hiv and malaria, and in the senate, a critical leader in intelligence oversight lost when he leaves. tom played an invaluable role on the intelligence committee where he brought a unique blend of integrity, analytical rigor, and dogged determination.

he served our nation selflessly, toiling for hours every week in a secure hearing room, learning .any sensitive matters he worked closely with another extraordinary departing colleague, saxby chambliss, to assure that our intelligence community retained the tools necessary to defend our country, and if anyone, or anyone thinks our classified programs are not overseen rigorously, i certainly have not met tom coburn. eye tought a skeptic's the task. his probing questions rock the respect of his colleagues and helped craft stronger programs while also reminding us of the value of many other intelligence activities. now, tom has obviously done a lot to earn his reputation as a hawk on the budget also.

it is about solutions. tom actually volunteered for simpson bowles. that is why he lobbied to actually take them off, believe it or not, of the finance committee, and you always know where tom stands. i am told he was overseas with a couple of other senators when a government minister launched into a finger wagging her rank about our country. harangue about our country. he said what he thought about him and caught the next flight home, so tom is literally one-of-a-kind. we are not likely to see another one like this guy. here is what former senator kyle had to say about him. he said tom is like your conscience. , tried try to ignore him

to ignore him, but you know he is right, even when you wish he worked. so some people may think tom is a member of the establishment now, but the truth is tom never changed. washington changed, america changed. people recognized the wisdom of his ideas about leaving a better country to the next generation, about giving americans the freedom and the opportunity to achieve real meaning and lasting happiness in their lives. we are going to miss a senator who actually likes to get his hands dirty, who actually likes to legislate. we are going to miss the senator who is so devoted to procedure that he sleeps next to marty gold's book, and we are going to

miss a friend who understands that honest compromises necessary to achieve anything in april a stick society -- in a pluralistic society. we are going to miss tom a lot, but he can retire with pride, and he should know that we are sending him our best wishes for a speedy recovery and a joyful retirement. >> mr. president. >> the senator from maine. >> thank you, mr. president. i was not at all surprised as i listened to the words of our colleagues of senator tom coburn that he quoted extensively from the declaration of independence, referred to our constitution, some of these documents of our great country.

foundersica's conceived of a nation of citizen legislators, they had leaders like senator tom coburn in mind. and, indeed, throughout his remained a has devoted husband and father, a of the rights in our constitution, and an unwavering opponent of excessive spending. knownr coburn may be best as our most diligent fiscal watchdog, relentlessly hounding wasteful spending. is annual waste report call for transparency and accountability in the federal government and has guided oversight investigations and

policy debates. the aspect of his service in the asate to which he lays just much a claim is his work on the senate homeland security committee and the select committee on intelligence. coburn onth senator both of those committees for many years, i have seen firsthand his brilliance, his determinationhis to strengthen our nation and the safety of our people. understanding of the grave and ever evolving threats that our nation faces. a citizen legislator, senator coburn leads by example and with compassion. expertise, he has been

a leader in promoting wellness, disease prevention, combating hiv aids, and advancing biomedical research. when it comes to fiscal responsibility, he walks the walk, having returned more than $1 billion from the senate office budget to the american taxpayers. but, mr. president, we have heard many descriptions of tom coburn today, but the word that i most associate with him is integrity. he is a man of the utmost integrity, who always stands tall for his principles, for what he believes in. ussets an example for all of who seek to serve the public.

note, i want to thank senator coburn for hounding me into joining a women's prayer breakfast that meets each week and has introduced me to a number of wonderful women from the house of representatives who have become my close friends as well as colleagues, and i use the word hound appropriately. he mentioned it to me so many times that eventually i gave in and went to one of those it hassts, and, indeed, been a spiritually enriching experience that i never would had but for tom's continuing to press me to attend. this past january, senator coburn announced his intention -- duee the senate, do

in part to his deepening health problems, problems he has faced .ith extraordinary current this somber news was counterbalanced by his overarching concern not for himself but for his family and for the people of his state and our nation. as he now returns to the life of a private citizen, i wish him every success in combating his thank him for his truly extraordinary service to our country. scripture, i think everyone would agree with these words when it comes to tom coburn. well done, good and faithful

servant. thank you, mr. president. >> the senator from delaware. preparedpresident, remarks. i will speak right from my heart, and my heart is full. i want to start by thanking tom for the very kind comments he made about serving with me. .e met 10 years ago whens at a bond thriller you guys were elected 20 years ago. there was an orientation for new senators. we actually spent some time together. and i remember the first day we it was in ted

stevens office, a beautiful office here in the capital, and that were three days began to be friends. i did not know how close of friends they were until about four or five years ago. address that president obama gave. i was seated on the republican side, and tom actually went back and forth and kind of mixed finished oned he of those speeches, and the president came along and was shaking hands, and i was sitting next to tom. they embraced, and then he said, are you still praying for me? and very quietly, tom coburn

said, every night. just like that. and they did not agree on everything, but they were friends. and i hope time it -- tom and i will be as well. cory booker, the senator from new jersey, listening to talking about how he worked so well with ted kennedy. ted kennedy, one of the most liberal democrats in the senate, and mike enzi, one of the most gotervative, and they extraordinary amounts of stuff done, and i just want to say all , susanlegislature collins has led that committee before, and the legislature is pretty amazing. defensesning our cyber , and anti-terrorism law that senator collins offered to make it better, make it real, to try

to protect our nation's information from attacks all over the world. postalto make our service not just hanging on but real, andibrant and talking about the 80/20 rule with ted kennedy. we disagree on maybe 20% of the stuff and agree on 80% of the stuff, and he and i decided to focus on the 80% we agree on and set aside a 20% for another time. the enzi rule. aen i became a chairman of committee, and dr. coburn was going to be the ranking member of the committee, how are you going to work with this guy? and i said it is going to be a little bit like a marriage. we will work on it every day.

i love asking people what is the secret of being married a long time. but also some really terrific and insightful answers. married 40, 50, 60, 70 years, the best answer i had ever gotten was this. the two c's. communicate and compromise. communicate and compromise. lot like marriage for two people. it is also the secret for a vibrant democracy. that is part of the reason tom' of partnership has been productive. the second thing is we believe in communicating. compromising, and i think the american people are the beneficiary of that.

are waiting to speak. we have a reception later for tom, and i hope he comes, and we will have an opportunity to say some more things, as well. he is not the kind of person who likes to be praised. keeping him with praise. and i want to close with this. on the bull simpson commission, simpson -- bull commission, his work is work for the ages. the magic 25, where we talk about this. when i was sick or hungry or thirsty or naked or in prison. two due to the least of me come you have done also to me.

he believes we have a moral obligation in our society. he also believes we have a fiscal obligation, a fiscal moraltive to meet that obligation in a fiscally responsible way, and i think those two ideas guided him in his work, and, friendly, it is an inspiration to me. bet words, leaders should humble, not party. lead by example, not do as i say, but do as i do. courageshould have the to stay out of the way when everyone else's marching to their own tune. do what is right, not what is easy. leaders should treat people the way they want to be treated. always comes back and apologizes, and he did it again here today. leaders should focus on excellence in everything that we

do. if it is not perfect, make it better, in order to form a more perfect union, and finally, if you think you are right, never give up. that is what leaders should be about, and for the years that he has served here and for a long time before that and for a lot to come, he has been that way. i feel lucky to say he is my friend. god bless you. >> mr. president. >> the senator from north carolina. >> mr. president, i feel surrounded by friends and colleagues getting ready to leave, and being part of that original class 20 years ago, there is one thing i have learned that is extremely unique in washington. i am next to two people who are voluntarily leaving. the toughest decision a member of congress ever makes is to

leave this institution voluntarily, and i know that for friends, this was not easy. heret is not easy to stand and know that in january, they are not going to be here any longer, because they are truly , and that is tough. to say that tom coburn can be intimidating i think is an understatement. i think that comes because his breadth of knowledge based upon his experiences of life enabled them to be an expert on -- enable him to be an expert on many issues.

i remember we were leaving one week, and i said, what are you going to do, and he said sarah's future fiancée is coming to sit down with me to find out whether he can marry my daughter, and i i wouldt him and said, hate to be that young man. [laughter] well, the truth is, he plays hard, plays to win, and there is not individual i know that is more there and more compassionate than tom coburn. i remember the bush administration wanted to extend andaids in africa program, when tom found out that they were going to relax the requirement for how many people were treated and that more money would go into education than to actually saving lives, he grabbed me and said, we can't

let this stand. we have got to fight it. we have got to change it, and it brought thern who reauthorization of president bush's authorization for six months, a republican president and a republican senator. why? on principle. you did not know it before the speech today, has never done anything in this institution or in life that was not based upon principle. no member of congress should ever question if he thinks he is right, because if he did not think he was right, he would not fight so hard. this is particularly difficult for me to say goodbye to tom. we truly are legislative partners. we have fought a lot of battles and anong time, inherently we have a level of trust in each other that i would actually signed into legislation

that i had no idea what it did. i just knew that in that foxhole, he needed somebody he could count on, and i knew when he signed onto something that i needed that there was always somebody there to cover my back. institutions are losing something significant will may no longer have that legislative reallyse that tom coburn does represent. mr. president, there are a lot of descriptions that people have used today and that people will use in the future to describe tom coburn. down to twoboil it words that i think best describes him. tom coburn is a good man. in every sense of the word.

he is a good man. will lose ation great leader when tom coburn retires. godspeed, tom. >> people are waiting to speak, and there are others. i guess it would surprise the world to know that we are true friends, but we are. integrity, above all. you don't have to agree with him. we probably disagree on 90% of all of the issues. to trust someone's integrity, to trust someone's handshake, to trust someone that if you make a good argument, understanding his values, he will come along, and it is just what tom coburn has done time and time again with the senator from new york and countless others on the other side of the aisle. on so many issues where tom was a post, i said, let's just sit

down, and let me give you the logic, and you will make your own judgment, and sometimes it did not work. disagreed, but he always sat and listened. he always asked perceptive questions, the questions to got you, but he was trying to figure it out, and, of course, the most well-known was when we , whenated on a bill thousands of workers had rushed to the towers and gotten poison in their lungs and gastrointestinal systems, and they needed help, like our veterans, and tom knew it was a big expense. he sat with us, listened, made suggestions to make it leaner and trimmer and then supported the bill, so right now, there are people right now throughout the new york area who are heroes because of the integrity of that man from oklahoma. tom, i will miss you. this body will miss you.

regardless of our ideological views and perceptive's -- perceptions, we will miss you. i yield the floor. >> the senator from west virginia. worst of all, there is not a lot to be said that has not been set, but one thing i want to say is that he made washington happen for me, it if you will. when i had a hard time in transitioning, tom reached out. we said this before, but tom made this place more palatable, and, tom, you have expanded my areas of friendships with more people than you know and the right type of people, and i appreciate it, i think even more than you know. i have been asked about tom coburn. how would i explain him? tom coburn has got soul. and i mean that from the bottom of my heart.

have you for the soul you brought to this place. god bless you. >> the senator from arizona. >> 14 years ago, i entered the house of representatives. before id been elected took office, i traveled to washington, and someone said, is there anybody want to meet, and coburn, and i had watched from afar what he had done on the appropriations committee and the stands he had taken, and i admired him, and i went and visited him in his office. i will never forget that, and i have to say that today i admire him even more than i did then, having watched him go back into , andrivate sector columnist george will said tom is the most dangerous creature to come into the senate. why? because he is simply not interested in being popular. i think that is true, but if he

did not care about it, it happened anyway. one thing he never managed to .chieve was becoming partisan when you're those across the aisle lavished praise on this man, realize that was never one of his goals, and much to his credit. tom and hisank staff for his generosity over the years to me and my staff and for what you have done for this institution, for your colleagues, and for me personally. thank you. i yield back. >> the senator from maine. >> mr. president, i probably have known tom for the least length of time than anybody in this room, and i wanted to offer some comments from a perspective really two years, and like 1.5 years since we became friends and colleagues.

i have seen him in in two contexts. one is intelligence and the other is faith. thend i serve on intelligence committee. we sit directly across from each other, and that committee is generally a nonpartisan one, but it is also one where all of the meetings generally are closed. there is no press, and you can really take a measure of someone when they ask questions and participate in the debate in that forum. me questions always strike as the questions i wish i had asked, and they strike me as the questions that i am sure the people of america would want asked. they are penetrating. ,hey cut through obfuscation and they are always meaningful and help us move toward the important work that that committee has to accomplish.

i have also become acquainted with him through faith and participation in the wednesday prayer breakfast and more recently, for reasons that i am not entirely sure, he has invited me to join him on tuesday evenings for dinners on the other side of the capital, and they have been very meaningful. years before ie came here, i taught a course called leaders and leadership, and i taught it at a couple of colleges in maine, but i taught it really as much for myself as or my students, because i wanted to try to understand what leadership was, and i thought if i signed on to teach it, i would have to learn something about it, and every year, what i did was go through and discussed the stories of great leaders throughout history, some well known and some not well known. with ernestarted shackleton. we talked about theodore

-- margaretd marked thatcher in winston churchill, but we always tried to define what are the qualities that make a leader, and there are lots of them. perseverance, communication, vision, teamwork, trust, but the last one on the list and the one that brings me back to tom is always character. an indefinable quality. you cannot really put a specific definition to it, but people like lincoln had it, and ernest shackleton had it. chamberlain from maine had it. eleanor roosevelt had it, and it involves a competition of qualities that i think tom embodies, and almost all of them have been mentioned here today. honestyy, intelligence, , faith, belief in principle

and daring to stand for principle. it is the hardest thing to teach , but it is the easiest thing to see, and the reason i felt so privileged to get to know this man for such a short. keeper of time is that he has shown me what character is all about. joys ofne of the great my life to have had these two years to get to know you, if only slightly. it is one of the great sadnesses of my life that it has only been two years. godspeed, tom. you have made a difference for this country that we all love and honor and respect. thank you for your service and for sharing your great character with all of us. i yield the floor.

>> the senator from georgia. >> tom, i was elected in the special elections 15 years ago. over 435 in the house of representatives. i did what my father taught me when i went into business. listen to people who are smart, sit in the back row, pay attention to them, and do what smart people do. no human being can no as much about everything as this guy named coburn. and years later, i realize that, yes, there is one man who knows of everything he speaks, and that is tom coburn. those who witnessed their faith. you are a true witness for your faith, and you have changed the lives of many people, and i have enjoyed as much as anything our walk together and our time at the prayer breakfast. tried to gives, i my grandchildren something to

read so that when they grow up, they can refer to great things and great historical statements that have been made. i thought there has never been a better statement made on the floor of the united states senate about our heritage, about our country, and about our future and about our hopes that what you did today. forill be required reading my grandchildren this christmas, and i can assure you i am a better man for having served with tom coburn, the great senator from oklahoma. god bless you. >> the senator from oklahoma. yes, the other senator from oklahoma. let me take a couple of minutes to make some comments. unscripted. but sincere and from the heart. i don't want to, and i hope that i am accurate when i say this, that i think in some respect i discovered tom coburn, because i

, iember in a little town suspect you and i are the only two that it's ever been to that part of oklahoma, and i remember that you arenowing a conservative doctor from muskogee, and at that time wanting him to run for the house of representatives, which he did , kept his commitments, did everything he was supposed to do, and i always remember that day, as senator coburn knows. we have a place that my wife and i built at a big lake in oklahoma, and back in 1962, a long time ago, and when i drive up there, i go through that town, and i go by that little sheltered area that is half torn down now. time i do, i have to say that i recall my meeting there for the first time a young

coburn, and,tom you know, i regret to say that there are times in our service together when we have not been issues,ment on specific and i think we have a characteristic in common. i think we are both kind of that has created some temporary hard feelings, but there is one thing that overshadows that. a family has a lot of people in it, similar to in this room. ,om coburn and i are brothers and as i said to senator coburn after his i don't believe i have heard a speech in my 20 years i have been here in the united states senate that was as speechg and sincere as a that i heard from my junior senator just a few minutes ago, and i walk by, and i really

believe that in spite of all of the things that have happened and some differences, though has never ceased to be my brother. forgive me for the times that i have been perhaps saying something unintentionally that was not always from the heart, but i want you -- i want my junior senator to know that i and am goinge him to be hurting with him and the troubles that he has right now or might have in the future, and i am going to miss him in this in theo i ask to get record that i sincerely love my brother, senator coburn. i yield the floor. >> mr. president.

>> the senator from indiana. >> mr. president, i have been sitting here listening to the people and the motion of the service of tom coburn. i second everything that has been said about tom. tom has conviction that i wish i had more of. commitment that i wish i had more of, and he exhibits the courage that i wish i had more of, and i remember a

dear friend, chuck, made this statement. he said, lord, show me the kind of person you would like me to and give me the strength to be that person, and i feel like god has given a gift to the senate, certainly a gift to me, by simply saying take a look at tom coburn. qualities he exhibits. look at his commitment to faith. is a pretty good model to follow. thank you, tom. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> coming up on the next schor,ton journal, elana and how the u.s. treats soldiers

with ptsd, and we will take your calls so you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. ," live atn journal 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. monday night on c-span, the national institutes of health director talks about the promising results and challenges facing cancer research today. it is part of a discussion that was hosted by the aspen institute. here is a preview. >> it is amazing to see the insights, and they are coming out of all sorts of technologies that we did not have before. imagine, you mentioned. the things we can do with phenomenal, and research into how cells work. the efforts to understand some of the details of clinical things, the advent of electronic health records. all of these things are coming together in a way that i would not have imagined would happen

yet, we areme, and not looking at that engine of discovery the way that we could be. to stakes are particularly troubling and oftentimes very discouraging as young scientists thinking of getting in this field, what is your chance if you have a great idea about cancer research, and it is preclinical, not something at a company, you are working at an academic institution, but you have that idea, where are you going to go? chance of your grant getting funded? it is about one in six. traditionally, it was about one in three. at the cancer institute, i think it is something like one in 10. that is even lower. >> you can watch more of this discussion with nih's francis collins on c-span. tomorrow night at 8:00. here is a look at some of the

programs you will find christmas day on the c-span networks. all of the festivities start at 10:00 a.m. on c-span with the ,ighting of the christmas tree followed by first lady michelle obama and the lighting of the capitol christmas tree, and just after 12:30 p.m., celebrity activists talk about their samuel and then justice alito on the founding fathers. on c-span2 at 10:00 a.m. eastern, the art of good writing , and at 12:30, see the feminine side of a superhero as we look at the secret history of wonder woman. at 6:00 p.m., authors talk about their reading habits, and on american history tv on c-span3 at 8:00 a.m. eastern, the fall of the berlin wall with footage and bob dole, with speeches from president john kennedy and ronald reagan. at noon, fashion experts on andt lady fashion choices

how they represented the time in which they lived, and then tom brokaw on his more than 50 years reporting world events. that is this christmas day on the c-span networks. for a complete schedule, go to c-span.org. coming up next on c-span, newsmakers with tom >> c-span, created by cable companies 30 years ago and brought to you by your satellite provider. >> tom price,