. >> i recognize the retirement of my friend, colleague, jim oberstar. he has served the residents of the 8th congressional district with more than 36 years. jim is the dean of the minnesota congressional delegation and we are debateful to his commitment to our state. to many people, he is chairman james l. oberstar the chairman of the committee on transportation and infrastructure but to the citizens of minnesota is the jim, the heart of the iron range. it can be a tough place to grow up. lots of cold weather and a lot of hard work, but it has lots of great people. the hard lessons of his early years served jim well in washington. he knew how to fight for people and causes that he served. and he always worked for progress in a way that honored his principles. during his time in congress, jim made a career out of creating good jobs and building america. his priority was investing the future prosperity of his country, laying the foundation of a 21st american economy and i'm proud to say he has been my partner in building a modern transportation system in t

and i can say that when my life, eclipsed with that of jim oberstar's, my life became a better life. as the chairman of the coast guard subcommittee, mr. oberstar was consistently there, guiding, showing me the ropes and giving me an opportunity to be all that i could be. it's not every chairman that does that. that says, you know, i'm going to allow you to be all that you can be and then give you the guidance to get there and then support you throughout. and so i've learned a lot in all my years and it's been about 15 years on that committee from our chairman. but there's also the thing that a number of people have already said. i've been just amazed with his leadership and his compassion and passion with regard to the issues of aviation, the coast guard, water, the rail. i mean, and all of our other subjects, not only is he a walking encyclopedia, but he's also one who brings a strong history to those issues and has been truly a professor and a guide and a true leader. they say that leaders -- people want to follow people who have integrity. who have commitment. who will go the extr

jim oberstar served for 11 years on the committee staff, rising to the position of staff director. he then has -- he then served -- began his service in the house and continued to serve for the past 36 years. it's an astounding figure to think that a man worked on this one committee for 47 years of his life. but he has done so with great honor and distinction. in fact, i think almost everybody knows that there is no one in the congress and probably never has been anyone in the history of the congress who has known transportation issues and understood them and worked on them longer and harder and with more effectiveness than jim oberstar. at one point, he was chairman of the aviation subcommittee. in 1994, after the election, the republicans took control and i had the honor of becoming the chairman of the aviation subcommittee and i served for six years in that position, which was the maximum allowable on our side. when i took over as chairman of the aviation subcommittee, i had frequently heard jim oberstar referred to as mr. aviationism went to him and asked for his help. he helpe

he said jim oberstar and by our joint at the head. we have different viewpoints but we reach a common ground. we stuck with it. we forged something better for the country. not everyone has the best ideas. if you find common ground, you reach good ideas and good policy and -- that is workable for the country. throughout 2007, 2008, we passed a significant legislation recall authorizing amtrak which had not been done in 15 years. mr. micah came from one perspective and i came from another. he wanted to engage the private sector and i did not think that would be workable. as we talked, as we look each other in the eye and laid out specific proposals, there was a trust between us. he is not setting a trap for me and i am not setting a trap for him. we are being open and honest with each other. we are seeing what we can do for the public good. we achieved an authorization for amtrak that eventually in the following year, 2008, president bush signed into law. i can say that for the state revolving loan fund and other bills we passed in 2007

shuster in said "where your republican traveling with jim oberstar?" he said that we were joined at the hip their reach a common ground -- joined at the hip and we reached a common ground for the better of the country. not everyone has the best t ideas. they are out to do throughout 2000 and 2008 we passed significant -- throughout 20007 in 2008 we pass significant legislation. he had an idea of engaging the private sector. as you looked each other in the eye -- as we looked each other in the eye, there was a trust between us. he is not setting a trap for me and i am not setting a trap for him. on are being opene and and this to see what we predict open and honest to see what we can do for the better good. -- we were being opened and honest to see what we could do for the better good. there is one pass in 2007 and then again in 2009. there were a host of other cops that brought the first affordable pay system on the department of energy, burst of affordable pay system about big -- there were a host of other ones that brought the first affordable pay sy

michigan and his successor, the seating at 6:30, fall by the outgoing minnesota representative, jim oberstarimetime, 8:00 p.m., will look with ken starr about executive power. that is at 8:00 p.m. at 10:00 p.m., q&a with john burns. garrison keeler talks about humor later tonight. all that getting under way tonight, on c-span. >> sunday, the grand public places and those only available to the justices and their staff. you'll hear about how the court parts from all the current supreme court justices, including elena kagan. learn about some of the recent developments. the supreme court, home to the highest court, caring for the first time in high definition on sunday, ion c-span. >> a movement called no labels. it will expand to all 435 congressional districts in the coming year. founding members of the group and david brooks joins michael bloomberg, charlie crist, and michael castle to talk about proposals for electoral change. the conversation is just under two hours. >> please welcome our panel. [applause] it is important before we begin -- with knowledge a conversation at the start about a