mr. barrasso: i come in support of the national defense authorization act.and i come to speak to that and i'm so grateful to the senator from oklahoma for his ongoing determined leadership in making sure that our nation remains safe and secure and free and it's because of the work done by senator inhofe and his committee and this body and this legislation that we'll be voting on that i've been so grateful for the leadership of the chairman and want to talk specifically about the reason why i think it's important that we do pass the legislation that the committee has worked so hard on. so, madam president, you know as a member of that committee that this critical national security legislation lays out america's defense and national security priorities as the senator from oklahoma just made up for the years to come. it sets the policies to defend our nation. and it supports america's service men and women here at home as well as those abroad. i was honored to spend thanksgiving again this year with wyoming national guard troops, members of our air national gua

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

mr. president, it's hard to follow those hearthealth words from senator barrasso about his colleague and friend, heart fel felt, but i'm going to make a try just as our tribute to lamar alexander was to the tribute of better angels of nature as they're shown in the lives of senators, so, too, with mike enzi. i join my colleagues in thanking mike for service to wyoming and to america, one of the most frequent questions many of us are asked is why can't you folks get along in washington? why can't you just do things together? i say to them, there are times when we do, and many times they're very important. when we do come together, it's because of people like mike who worked under his so-called 80/20 rule. we know that well, don't we? he would tell us most people could agree on 80% of the substance pan if negotiators were willing to give up the other 20% we could get things done here and wouldn't that be refreshing? one of those items was the marketplace fairness act. mike helped lead the fight for local bricks and mortar retailers to give them a chance to compete on equal and level playin

mr. president, it's hard to follow those heart felt words from senator barrasso about his colleague and friend, and our colleague and friend, mike enzi, but i'm going to make a try. justst as our tribute9 to lamar alexander was a tribute to the better angels of nature as they're shown in the lives of senators, so too with mike enzi. i join my colleagues in thanking mike for his service to wyoming and to america. one of theon most frequent questions many to of us are asked is a why can't you folks t along in washington. why can't you do thing things together. i say to them, there are times when we do, and many times they're very important. when we do come together, it's because ofr people like mike who worked under his so-called 80/20 rule. we know that well, don't we? he would tell you he believed both sides -- if negotiators willing to give up the other 20%, we can actually get some things done around here. and wouldn't that be refreshing. one of those items was the marketplace fairness act. mike helped lead the fight for local bricks and mortar retailers to give them a chance to compete on e

couldn't get confirmation barrasso wrote joe biden has begun to name men and women he wants to serve key positions don't expect senate republicans to forget how the democrats treated mr2061 and 2020 to forget it either. snoout should republicans retake senate do you expect any joe biden potential nominees to face confirmation issues. >> i think many will he unemployed a radical pro abortion person head of health and human services a non appointments are going to have serious scrutiny i have every reason to believe that is the job of the senate, is to advice and consent it doesn't have to consent if in fact it concludes the nominees is a bad person. >> well, we will see, i mean it certainly was four years of dragging things out, trying to put as many roadblocks in front of president trump they were successful doing so -- >> look i think we would be healthier as a country if mcconnell made clear if president wants to meet with senate republicans before naming people they can reach a moderate nominee, that they can agree on, they will get them through quickly but if determined to send up a radical or somebody like this is omb director, who tweeted lots and lots of vicio

mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i have just recently been talking about a number of pieces of legislation that have come through the environment and public works committee, the water resources act, the use it act, the act called deera to eliminate and reduce emissions from diesels, as well as additional legislation on h.f.c.'s. my partner in all of those is here on the floor now. i would just like to ask him, if he wouldn't mind, since he has been such a great partner for the last four years that i chaired the committee, to talk about this as an accomplishment for the environment, for the committee, and for the senate and for the country. so i am just kind of curious from your standpoint where you see things as a sign of success. mr. carper: if my colleague will yield. before the senate leaves, i think your point about the longest night and every day that follows will be brighter. some of the provisions that senator barrasso and i along with john neely kennedy have quoted in this major, major budget piece of legisla

mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: reserving the right to object, mr. president. i do appreciate the work of the senator from oregon, the work that he has done on this public lands bill. i know that the amount of effort that has gone into this legislation is significant. locally driven public land bills take an incredible amount of time to get right. this legislation has gone through intensive local stakeholder involvement, very similar to what we've done in wyoming with the wyoming public lands initiative in my home state. the public lands -- the wyoming public lands initiative was are spearheaded by our wyoming county commissioners association. this initiative was started in order to resolve through local negotiations the status of temporary so-called -- so-called temporary wilderness study areas in wyoming that have now seemingly become permanent. i rig and understand -- recognize and understand public lands negotiations often result in compromise. this give and take is a good thing and let's people closer

mr. barrasso: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to ask our democrat colleagues to join us, the republicans, in providing immediate relief, relief in the fight against coronavirus and relief, economic relief, for the people of this country. you know, americans don't ask much of their government, but they are asking us for something right now. number one, they are asking to help control the spread of the coronavirus. and number two, they are asking to help with an economic recovery. america and americans shouldn't have to choose between staying open and staying healthy. we need both, and congress needs to provide a path beyond the pandemic. now, a path forward, as you know, mr. president, is something republicans have been proposing now for a long time. and we've done it, first with the cares act, and we need to do it right now with additional coronavirus and economic relief legislation. our bill is practical, it supports our neighborhoods, the men and women

mr. barrasso: mr. president, i come to the floor today to discuss critical parts of today's government funding bill that's before us this week. these are the result of a bipartisan work that we've done. you're, mr. president, a member of the environment and public works committee, a valued member that contributed significantly to the legislation before us. as chairman of the committee, i'm grateful for your participation. i'm going to talk about things we've been able to do on the environment and public works committee together and in a bipartisan way. you've done such a remarkable job with the save our seas legislation and we've continued to support that. now i'm going to talk about a couple of additional things that is part of the end-of-the year legislation we'll be voting on later this evening. the first is historic bipartisan climate innovation legislation. the second is comprehensive legislation to upgrade america's water infrastructure. i want to talk about two different things. one is the clima

mr. barrasso: for nearly a quarter of a century, mike enzi has represented the people of wyoming in washington with intelligence, intensity and integrity. the cowboy state and the capitol will miss mike enzi. he cemented his legacy as the trusted trail boss of the wyoming delegation and it's been an incredible honor and great privilege for my wife bobby and me to serve wyoming alongside mike and his wife diana who is with us tad. mike is truly a devoted family man as well as a man of great and deep faith. in fact, mike taught sunday schools over the decades. many in the faith community know that mike's first sunday school teacher was my wife bobbi's mother jeri brown. they had passed away. she taught sunday school in wyoming and her star pupil was mike enzi to the point that she gave mike enzi his first bible and he still has that today. and here in the senate mike has been not just a close friend and mentor to me, but he has been that to many members of this body. mike was sworn in this 1997 and throughout four terms in the united states senate he has never wavered in his commitment to god, t