inhofe: is a reflect of my

president, jim inhofe is always ready to give that defense. jim is a man who pays lip service to his faith. he models it and he lives it. in word and deed he is a great ambassador for his savior. and i will miss his presentation and his witness. mr. president, while i will miss jim being in the senate, i'm glad that he and his beloved wife, kay, will now have more time to spend together with their children and grandchildren. and i wish him the very best of retirements. he has more than earned some time off. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. carper: mr. president, before the -- the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: the bible study he's referenced is one that he and i and a handful of other democrats and republicans join in every thursday when we're in session with barry black, the chaplain of the senate. and it's been hosted literally in the hideaway of jim inhofe. so it's a home game for him but it's a home game for democrats. republicans, just to share some time together in prayer and faith and really some of the c

inhofe: the tough schedule, the challenge. i had done it so long that i am not even sure how far the other way will be. but i miss the busyness, the people. i am facing all the republicans former chairs. i sat with each of them and i will miss that. i will certainly miss my colleagues and my staff, but to the extent that i can, i will keep in touch and i plan to -- right now does not look i'm going to get to the point of not being busy because i'm still being called on at home for business and what kind do after i'm gone? it makes me know that there's life ahead, but it also makes me know that people have developed some confidence that i will respond and try to do what i can. term set to expire.

senator inhofe represented oklahoma for 28 years in this body and six years before that in the house of representatives. in all of those years, he could always be counted on to attend every single wednesday morning prayer breakfast and thursday bible study. one time he had to attend by telephone because he was called away by a family crisis. but we could always count on him. and he's been a close friend on both sides of the aisle to people like barbara boxer of california, jack reed of rhode island, bernie sanders of vermont, and democratic leader harry reid. perhaps it was those friendships that explained his mountain of legislative success, with bipartisan achievements that include three highway bills, four water resources and development acts, seven national defense authorization acts, including the current bill pending before this body, a bill which literally bears his in my judgment but that success also -- bears his name. but that success also came from his breadth of life experience. he understood how to create jobs because he himself had done that as a businessman for 30 year

i rise in strong support of h.r. 7776, the james inhofe national defense act, providing the resources our war fighters need to defend our nation and defeat our adversaries is the greatest responsibility we have in this congress. we fulfill that responsibility with this this ndaa. we put our military members first, giving theme 4.6% pay raise. this bill increases housing allowances and lowers prices at commissaries which offset the skyrocketing costs for ren and food. and it expands eligible for low-income military families to receive additional allowances to cover basic needs. this bill also ends the covid-19 vaccine mandate. the mandate has been needlessly forcing out thousands of talented and experienced variousmens. i'm pleased we reach an agreement on this. this bill also focused on ensuring our war fighters are the best equipped and trained in the world. we increase funding for readiness, reversing cuts for military construction and housing costs, expanding training availabilities for service members an improving the safety of the ships, aircraft, combat vehicles and facilities w

. >> oklahoma republican senator jim inhofe delivered his farewell address from the senate floor. he was first elected to the senate in 1994 and served as a topper publican on the armed services committee. he is retiring four years ahead of when his current term is set to expire. sen. inhofe: is a reflect of my 28 years serving in the united states senate, i am reminded of the lessons i have learned from my former colleagues and friends who have served beside me in the senate. i had the privilege of serving with many great titans for a fairly long. of time -- for very long period of time. i have the privilege of serving people have known very well lick worn hatch, -- like warren hatch . i single them out because they are no longer with us. the farewell speech and 2018, hatch reflected on the partisanship and a year and for the days that members find common ground and breaking read together. warren reflected in his farewell speech and said for two people with popular opposite beliefs and from vastly different walks of life come together as often as teddy and i did and the answer is

inhofe national defense authorization act for this fiscal year 2023, about to come before us. first let me say this bill is aptly named in recognition of nearly three decades of service in the senate of our colleague, senator jim inhofe of oklahoma. i count him as a friend, and i wish him the very best in his future endeavor. i am grateful to him, chairman jack reed from rhode island, and their staff for working to produce this bill. this is the 62nd year that congress has reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to produce this defense authorization bill. it's about the only thing which you can count on with regular yachter -- regularity every year, and i commend senator reed and senator inhofe for maintaining that tradition and maintaining that commitment to the men and women in uniform in the defense of the united states. this fiscal year 23 defense authorization bill has a top line of nearly $858 billion for defense and a deserved 4.6 pay raise for our troops, 4.6% pay raise for our troops. that's the largest increase in 20 years to help military families deal with inflat

this year's bill was named for our distinguished departing colleague, ranking member inhofe. as i discussed at length, this year's ndaa was a step in the right direction to keep the u.s. the world's reeminent superpower. but -- preeminent superpower. but what doesn't get enough attention is the way that congress rolls in defending america and benefits military communities across each of our home states. my home state of kentucky is home to major army installations like fort campbell and fort knox, the kentucky air and army national guard and indispensable pillars of america's defense industrial base. this year's ndaa provides record resources for those kentuckians who support and serve in our armed forces. of special note in this year's bill is its full funding of the chemical demilitarization pilot program at the bluegrass army depot in richmond, kentucky. if all goes according to plan, the depot could wrap-up its chemical destruction mission next year, that would be a landmark milestone in kentucky history. when i took office, many of america's most potent chemical munition

senators blunt, burr, inhofe, leahy and toomey all made impressive contributions here.hink we should start a post-senate support group. and come january, this place loses a great intellect, and a great friend, ben sasse. i think, ben, you should hold the meetings at the university of florida, if it's okay. okay, done. so to my colleagues, i've worked with every one of you in one way or another. thank you for that privilege, and god speed as you continue to serve your constituents and continue to carry that torch of freedom forward. thank you.

senator inhofe totally focused on what it takes to defend the country and was here for his remarks foris farewell speech and he found someone he did not agree with on hardly anything with barbara boxer and came up with public works bill after public works bill. the chairman of the intelligence community so capable and knowledgeable has been helpful to me senator portman and i have been at the leadership table in the house and the senate. i have been and more meetings with portman than anybody but i have never sat on a committee with and it has been great. pat toomey brings incredible cri understanding of finance issues and the economy. those all came to the house at the same time senator moran and senator boseman all came to the senate together from the house and all those that have been a part of my work life for a f long time. after 9/11 we saw a new terrorist threat and we were in the middle of that discussion of continuity of government the government could change and we didn't think about what would happen if it did. dick gephardt who was democraticha leader at the time come up wi

senator inhofe obviously totally focused on what it takes to defend the country. he was here for his remarks, his farewell speech, the other day, and pointed out that he'd found somebody that he didn't agree with on hardly anything -- barbara boxer -- and they came up with public works bill after public works bill. senator burr, who's leaving, has been my chairman in the intelligence committee and so capable and so knowledge in that committee. he's been really incredibly helpful to me. senator portman and i have been at the leadership table in both the house and the senate. i've been in more meetings with rob portman than i've ever been with anybody that i've ever served on a committee with and it's been great. pat toomey, of course, brings incbp understanding of finance -- incredible understanding of finance issues and the economy. the longest relationships of course are with my house colleagues, senator thune, senator moran and i all came to the house at the same time, along with senator stabenow. senator moran, senator boozman and i all came to the senate toget

i rise in strong support of h.r. 7776, the james inhofe national defense act, providing the resources our war fighters need to defend our nation and defeat our adversaries is the greatest responsibility we have in this congress. we fulfill that responsibility with this this ndaa. we put our military members first, giving theme 4.6% pay raise. this bill increases housing allowances and lowers prices at commissaries which offset the skyrocketing costs for ren and food. and it expands eligible for low-income military families to receive additional allowances to cover basic needs. this bill also ends the covid-19 vaccine mandate. the mandate has been needlessly forcing out thousands of talented and experienced variousmens. i'm pleased we reach an agreement on this. this bill also focused on ensuring our war fighters are the best equipped and trained in the world. we increase funding for readiness, reversing cuts for military construction and housing costs, expanding training availabilities for service members an improving the safety of the ships, aircraft, combat vehicles and facilities w

chairman before i wrap up i wanted takein a moment to thank senator inhofe for his leadership role on this committee for the three reauthorization's of the highway and bridge program that led up to the bipartisan infrastructure law and wish you well on your next adventure. mr. chairman thank you again for allowing me participate in today's hearing and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you so much for your testimony. and thank you at the end. we spent the better part of the business meeting yesterday stallotting senator inhofe and e democrat and one republican after the other, one of my favorite things. [inaudible] don't breathe into deeply for the next month or so because it might hurt you. alright let me go to ranking member senator capito. thank you for your testimony. excuse me we can hear from him next and then we'll take your questions. >> chairman carper, ranking member capital and members of the committee of environmental and public works. thank you for inviting me to testify on this vitally important topic. my name is allie mills on the president of plum contracting i

would they have blocked that bill because senator inhofe voted for the omnibus? imagine veterans or children didn't get the aid they needed because of petty politics. that's not a way to govern, mr. speaker. this legislation will not only keep the lights on, but aid thousands of americans and provide -- the legislation that some of these republican senators brought forward, it's important that the president signed it. it will make life better for people in this country. i get it. this is the time of everybody's yelling and screaming and trying to score political points. at the end of the day, let us reflect what our purpose here is. that is to get stuff done and improve the lives of the american people. if you don't like the priorities in this bill, can you vote against it. 18 republicans, pretty conservative republicans, voted for it over in the senate. they put people ahead of politics. i applaud that. this is not a perfect bill. there are a lot of things in here i don't like. rather than yelling and screaming and threatening revenge, maybe we sit down and peop

like jim inhofe, he is a senate institution. he's served the state of alabama for six terms in the senate. that's 36 years to help make life better for the people of alabama and for the american people as a whole. he's currently the longest-serving senator? alabama -- the the he's currently the longest-serving senator in alabama history. richard has always kept his eye on getting things done for the people of alabama, whether supporting military installations or the work nasa does in his state. he is a longtime nasa advocate and as chairman and ranking member of the senate appropriations committee, he had a worked to ensure robust funding for our national security priorities. he's also been a champion of funding to support ukraine in its fight for freedom. and he's been a supporter of scientific research at various government agencies as well as in partnership with research universities. mr. president, richard is also notable for being one of the tallest united states senators, and that's significant to me because, as a tall guy

now i'll turn it over to senator inhofe who will introduce our next witness. >> not to the outdone byenator booker let me assure you i've known the individual i'm about to introduce more than two decades now. in fact i saw her at oklahoma last week. susan boat nine serves as the chief counsel on this committee when i was the chairman in 2015 in 2016 she helps us enact 2015 highway bill, 2016 water resources bill and the reform bill is 65 other bipartisan laws coming from this committee is only two years. i don't think anyone else can outdo that something on top of getting all this stuff done it was enjoyable. and you see why when you meet susan boat nine she's been a joy to be around for a long period of time in the longer history with me than what i described during the bush administration she was the assistant administrator over the program. we were very busy at the time of you remember in northeastern oklahoma. also worked in cleaned up the water and worked with me to write new legislation to help the residents there. susan i can't thank you enough for your years of work in the hou

thank you, mister chairman. >> thank you very much, senator inhofe. we are joined by senator kelly, and he will be followed by senator kramer >> thank you, mister chairman. and thank you everybody for being here today. mr. johnson, the first question is for you. i wanted to start off with by talking about a bill i included in the infrastructure law. it is called the rocks act. it establishes a working group to make recommendations for how to better manage sources of aggregate materials, like sandstone and gravel, and consider a projects proximity to sources of these materials during the planning process. this bill was modeled off of policies adopted by arizona over the past decade to ensure that looking sourcing of aggregates is considered when planning transportation projects. i'm hopeful that our bipartisan bill will enable these best practices to be shared nationwide. so mr. johnson, can you share more about how better management of aggregates can help to lower costs and alleviate supply chain concerns for transportation projects? how can this ensu

blunt, boozman, capito, collins, cornyn, cotton, graham, inhofe, mcconnell, moran, murkowski, portman, romney, brown, shelby, thune, wicker, and young. 18 republicans who campaigned on fiscal responsibility, who campaigned on securing the border, who campaigned on balancing the budget, who campaigned against the swamp, who run commercials saying they are going to change this place did the swampiest thing you can possibly do. and that is to vote for a $4,100-page bill that got just yesterday not knowing remotely what all is in the bill because it was cooked up behind closed doors with no appropriation meetings, jamming it over a new house republican majority, doing it intentionally to prevent us from being able to debate and vote on how we are going to fund ukraine, how we are going to fund our own national defense, nondiscretionary spending, and ensure we use that money to secure the border of the united states. that is what your republican senators, those 18, did to you, america. remember it. remember it when republicans going around thumping their chest talking about changing this t

senators blunt, burr, inhofe, leahy and toomey all made impressive contributions here. i think we should start a post-senate support group. and come january, this place loses a great intellect, and a great friend, ben sasse. i think, ben, you should hold the meetings at the university of florida, if it's okay. okay, done. so to my colleagues, i've worked with every one of you in one way or another. thank you for that privilege, and god speed as you continue to serve your constituents and continue to carry that torch of freedom forward. thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: madam president, we all just had the opportunity to hear from our colleague, somebody who i'm really going to miss, with his final remarks here on the senate -- not final remarks, but certainly his, i guess you call it, going-away speech. but i just appreciate so much having had the opportunity to work with senator portman. i know that as he pointed out the staff, not only here in the chamber, around the capitol, his personal staff, all people who made profound co

would they have blocked that bill because senator inhofe voted for the omnibus? imagine veterans or children didn't get the aid they needed because of petty politics. that's not a way to govern, mr. speaker. this legislation will not only keep the lights on, but aid thousands of americans and provide -- the legislation that some of these republican senators brought forward, it's important that the president signed it. it will make life better for people in this country. i get it. this is the time of everybody's yelling and screaming and trying to score political points. at the end of the day, let us reflect what our purpose here is. that is to get stuff done and improve the lives of the american people. if you don't like the priorities in this bill, can you vote against it. 18 republicans, pretty conservative republicans, voted for it over in the senate. they put people ahead of politics. i applaud that. this is not a perfect bill. there are a lot of things in here i don't like. rather than yelling and screaming and threatening revenge, maybe we sit down and peop

inhofe national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2023 on a bipartisan basis. i am particularly proud to see that my amendment, the defense maintenance data transparency act, was included in this crucial package. the challenges facing the department of defense, d.o.d., inability to access necessary data to award truly competitive contracts to small businesses in america is unacceptable. my amendment would direct the secretary of defense to clarify existing ambiguous terms in the u.s. code as well as in d.o.d.'s acquisition regulations that once corrected will help the d.o.d. access the data it needs to promote greater opportunity for small businesses to compete for maintenance service contracts and has the potential to save millions of taxpayer dollars. greater competition within the defense industry means more value for every hardworking taxpayer in america. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from minnesota seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house and to revise and ext

i want to commend senators inhofe and reed for their bipartisan work that they've done on the defense authorization bill. my only regret is that it's taken us this long to get to it. since it came out of the armed services committee last july. but we know that they've done their best under the circumstances to include bipartisan recommendations and legislation that will keep our country stronger strong and help maintain the peace. we know that both senators reed and inhofe have fought tough head headwinds getting the bill to the floor, and my hope is that tomorrow we'll have a chance to vote on it, perhaps with a handful of amendments. this is a strong bill that will support our men and women in uniform and their families. it will help preserve our readiness against threats anywhere in the world and help preserve our national security. i look forward to casting my vote in support of that bill, perhaps as early as tomorrow. madam president, i yield the floor. mr. casey: madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you, madam president.

this year's bill was named for our distinguished departing colleague, ranking member inhofe. as i discussed at length, this year's ndaa was a step in the right direction to keep the u.s. the world's reeminent superpower. but -- preeminent superpower. but what doesn't get enough attention is the way that congress rolls in defending america and benefits military communities across each of our home states. my home state of kentucky is home to major army installations like fort campbell and fort knox, the kentucky air and army national guard and indispensable pillars of america's defense industrial base. this year's ndaa provides record resources for those kentuckians who support and serve in our armed forces. of special note in this year's bill is its full funding of the chemical demilitarization pilot program at the bluegrass army depot in richmond, kentucky. if all goes according to plan, the depot could wrap-up its chemical destruction mission next year, that would be a landmark milestone in kentucky history. when i took office, many of america's most potent chemical munition

at the beginning, the description of that bill, known as the james inhofe national defense authorizationct for fiscal year 2023. a caller earlier said he trusted the planners at the pentagon, that they will know what they need. do you feel that same way? caller: no, i don't, and it goes to what the woman said before, you know, we just sort of trust and vote and turn a blind eye to it because it is the military. and folks don't want to criticize the military. the last thing i will say on this, by the way, and i think this is important, that is i watched the various services come before the congress committee last week or week before to talk about sexual harassment, and 10 years down the road, i mean, this is still embedded in the military. poor kirsten gillibrand has given up on this already, and now it is the junior rotc. so there is a lot wrong with this culture. host: certainly a big topic we have talked a bit about. to come back to spending for a second, natural follow-up is come on this idea of whether you trust the military planners, what they ask for via the president's budget was

inhofe national defense authorization act for 2023. additionally, the house will consider two important immigration bills, h.r. 3648, the eagle act, sponsored by representative zoe lofgren, to phase out the per country cap on employment-based imgranted visas. -- immigrant visas. no increase in the total number. and representative takano's h.r. 7946, the veterans service recognition act. the house will consider bills under suspension of the rules. the complete list of suspension bills will be announced by the close of businessed too. and i yield back. mr. scalise: i thank the gentleman for yielding. and we notice the rules committee has scheduled a hearing on monday for the national defense authorization act. we still don't have any text for that bill. obviously, the ndaa is a very important bill to laying out the priorities for our nation's defense and there's been always been a lot of negotiation as it's leaving the house as it goes to the senate as it's been in this conference. there are some issues that are well-known that have been

senator inhofe will be deeply missed. he is truly a friend and aning advocate for our military, and his incredible devotion and commitment to them will be missed. and we thank him for it, and for, as a colleague, the way he has approached every issue that he has worked on during his time here in the united states senate. i a i also want to thank and extol for just several minutes senator roy blunt. i think anybody that's worked with senator blunt will tell you that he is incredibly intelligent and he's one of those people that you realize how smart he is not because of how much he says but actually sometimes how little he says, meaning he can express thoughts and concepts so cogently, and that takes a very sharp mind to actually say something profound in the minimum number of words, not a long and rambling speech. and he has common sense that sometimes you don't realize until you've worked with him a little bit and just listen to him a little bit, and he's played a prominent role as a member of our leadership team. i work

it bears saying that senator inhofe has a long-standing affection for africa and the people of africa. there's there is no one in congress, or in the state department, for that matter, who can surpass his personal knowledge of african leaders. on a typical congressional delegation trip he would hit an averag

inhofe national defense authorization act. mr. president, i'd also like to add my congratulations and thanks to the house armed services chairman adam smith and ranking member mike rogers, their partnership was invaluable to make this moment possible. with that, i will yield to the ranking member. mr. inhofe: i want to thank the chairman for all the hard work we do. people d -- people don't realize this is, in my opinion, the most significant vote of the year. it's one we've been through for a long period of time. it's necessary. the way it turned out is really good. i'm pleased that the senate is voting today on the fiscal year 2023 national defense authorization act. i've said it before, and i'm not the only one saying it -- the world is a more dangerous place than i've ever seep it before in my lifetime. typically, there is bipartisan agreement on this, and that's why this bill has gotten done for 61 years in a row. it is almost all bipartisan. for this year's bill, that's definitely the case. we have worked together for a long

senator jim inhofe often soft spoken manner and unfailing humility are a pair of traits that combined to produce one of the most effective legislators i've ever had the privilege of working with. at the same time, over the same one career, jim's name has come to mean both steady, solid, conservative constancy here at home, and relentless energy as a globetrotter deal maker. the mixture has left his home state, our entire nation, and faraway lands all changed for the better. the roots of jim's conservative bona fide es aren't ard to trace. in fact, the story of his entry into politics is a familiar one for millions of americans. ithere was honorable military service. it was hard work and success as a small businessman in his hometown of tulsa. then there were the inevitable headaches of having you can do entrepreneurial dreams bogged down in bureaucracy and regulation. jim knew it shouldn't be that way, so he threw his hat into the ring. jim's fashion for harnessing american energy was obvious pretty early on as well. apparently, even while a student at the university of colorado, jim

senator inhofe obviously totally focused on what it takes to defend the country. he was here for his remarks, his farewell speech, the other day, and pointed out that he'd found somebody that he didn't agree with on hardly anything -- barbara boxer -- and they came up with public works bill after public works bill. senator burr, who's leaving, has been my chairman in the intelligence committee and so capable and so knowledge in that committee. he's been really incredibly helpful to me. senator portman and i have been at the leadership table in both the house and the senate. i've been in more meetings with rob portman than i've ever been with anybody that i've ever served on a committee with and it's been great. pat toomey, of course, brings incbp understanding of finance -- incredible understanding of finance issues and the economy. the longest relationships of course are with my house colleagues, senator thune, senator moran and i all came to the house at the same time, along with senator stabenow. senator moran, senator boozman and i all came to the senate toget