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 ch

moment to wish the very best and pay tribute to two individuals -- richard shelby of alabama and jim inhofe of oklahoma. senator shelby is a gifted legislator and southern gentleman whose impact on this nation will not soon be forgotten. his colleagues and constituents know him for his long record of championing economic development. as a champion in the house of representatives and in the senate for our military, as leader of the appropriations committee here in the senate. richard shelby is the quintessential problem-solver. he's always known how to sit down, negotiate, and get a result. and i wish him the best in this final month of his career in once again getting a result. indeed, the jobs created through richard shelby's legislation and committee work number in the hundreds of thousands, the hundreds of thousands of jobs. so it's no surprise that there are now monuments to richard shelby's leadership all over alabama and the entire nation. as his next-door neighbors across the state line, we mississippians have directly benefited from his leadership. so i wish him and his wife annette

it is fitting and appropriate that we named this year's ndaa after jim inhofe and i thank our staff on both sides of the aisle and legislative counsel and c.b.o. for their tremendous contributions as well. yesterday was the 81st anniversary of the devastating attack on pearl harbor. we built the strongest military in the world with a mission to protect the greatest nation on earth. this bill before us today will ensure our military can continue to carry out that sacred mission. i urge all members to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from washington state is recognized. mr.smith: i yield myself the balance of our time. really, i can't say it any better than the speaker said. that was an outstanding work we have done and the policy we have put forward. we have come together in a bipartisan, bicameral way to reflect our values and supports the men and women who serve in our military and gives us the opportunity to meet our national security requirements. it has been an outstanding process with pretty much

. >> 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

oklahoma republican senator jim inhofe

. >> 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

it is fitting and appropriate that we named this year's ndaa after jim inhofe and i thank our staff on both sides of the aisle and legislative counsel and c.b.o. for their tremendous contributions as well. yesterday was the 81st anniversary of the devastating attack on pearl harbor. we built the strongest military in the world with a mission to protect the greatest nation on earth. this bill before us today will ensure our military can continue to carry out that sacred mission. i urge all members to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time the gentleman from washington state is recognized. mr.smith: i yield myself the balance of our time. really, i can't say it any better than the speaker said. that was an outstanding work we have done and the policy we have put forward. we have come together in a bipartisan, bicameral way to reflect our values and supports the men and women who serve in our military and gives us the opportunity to meet our national security requirements. it has been an outstanding process with pretty much

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 inflation. the bill also supports employment opportunities for military spouses, their kids, and improved military housing and child care. it ensures

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

let me start with jim inhofe, a veteran of the united states army, jim has been a champion for enhancing our national security and providing our brave service men and women with the resources that they need to carry out their missions. through his leadership of the senate armed services committee, jim has ensured that the senate completed its annual work on the national defense authorization act, and he has made countless contributions to the military that has made our country safer. his selection by the association of the united states army as its 2022 legislator of the year recognizes his unwavering dedication for the total army, our soldiers, our families, caregivers, and veterans. as a constitutional conservative, jim firmly adheres to his principles while always being willing to seek out bipartisan compromises wherever possible. jim has been leader in strengthening the ties between the united states and the nations of africa. as my colleague from mississippi has mentioned, but i'm going to reiterate because it's so astonishing, senator inhofe has visited the continent of africa an a

five military bases are unquestionably better off today because of their staunch advocate, senator jim inhofe. thanks to his leadership, veterans have better facilities, our air force is better equipped and the military now has africom as a distinct mission on the african continent. 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

devotion and the legacy that love has produced -- namely, perry, carey, molly and jim, who have in turn grown the inhofe clan by, i believe, 16 grandchildren. he has given generously to his country. so, jim, thank you. thank you, for your exemplary >> you did a a great job protecting your incumbents this cycle. looking ahead to 2024 are you confident jon tester and joe manchin will run for reelection and have you begun those conversations to persuade him to stick around? >> we have great senators, a large number who are up. those who are in democratic, trump, you know, republican states but look, they're great candidates and we will do everything we can to help them. yes? >> you talked about vice president harris having more time under agenda. >> has plenty to do, believe me. >> yes, but this also mean your phone will not be constantly calling joe manchin back and forth. because you have that -- that changes the power dynamic. >> joe manchin and kyrsten sinema are great members of our caucus, very valuable. they don't always agree with us on certain issues but their tremendous contributors to our caucus