mr. cochran: mr. president, i am kind of choked up -- the presiding officer: the senate in a quorum call. mr. cochran: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator has the floor. mr. cochran: suggest that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cochran: mr. president, i appreciate this opportunity -- i suppose we could call it that. i don't come to the floor of the senate unless it's a really important issue to mississippi or to the nation, and i have always benefited from listening to someone who's talking with me or discussing with me an issue or making some remarks. and because i don't speak often on the floor of the senate, i usually prepare some notes. my staff suggests some things that i might want to discuss. as i represent all of them in the united states senate. i leave the senate with the confidence because of this effort to live up to these expectations that our enduring constitution guard our country -- guards

mr. cochran: mr. president, i am kind of choked up -- the presiding officer: the senate in a quorum call. mr. cochran: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator has the floor. mr. cochran: suggest that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cochran: mr. president, i appreciate this opportunity -- i suppose we could call it that. i don't come to the floor of the senate unless it's a really important issue to mississippi or to the nation, and i have always benefited from listening to someone who's talking with me or discussing with me an issue or making some remarks. and because i don't speak often on the floor of the senate, i usually prepare some notes. my staff suggests some things that i might want to discuss. as i represent all of them in the united states senate. i leave the senate with the confidence because of this effort to live up to these expectations that our enduring constitution guard our country -- guards

cochran. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i thank the distinguished majority leader and distinguished other senator from mississippi for their comments. i often thought that thad cochran and i would serve here together straight through whatever time we have in the senate because he is such a dear friend. i often felt that senator thad cochran was plucked from central casting to fill the role of devoted public servant. more than most of us, he looks the part. but more than most of us, he embodies the best of what the senate can be. currently in this body, i've served longer here than anybody else. i've never felt closer to a senator than i do to thad cochran, my dear friend. and our country needs more public servants like thad. as congress has become more partisan in recent years, thad has stood by his values. he brings substance, not sound bites, to the you werer chamber. his leadership, as has been said, as the quiet persuader, is going to be missed. we've talked about him being the son of a schoolteacher. that is

cochran. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i thank the distinguished majority leader and distinguished other senator from mississippi for their comments. i often thought that thad cochran and i would serve here together straight through whatever time we have in the senate because he is such a dear friend. i often felt that senator thad cochran was plucked from central casting to fill the role of devoted public servant. more than most of us, he looks the part. but more than most of us, he embodies the best of what the senate can be. currently in this body, i've served longer here than anybody else. i've never felt closer to a senator than i do to thad cochran, my dear friend. and our country needs more public servants like thad. as congress has become more partisan in recent years, thad has stood by his values. he brings substance, not sound bites, to the you werer chamber. his leadership, as has been said, as the quiet persuader, is going to be missed. we've talked about him being the son of a schoolteacher. that is

mr. mcconnell: when i learned that our distinguished colleague from mississippi would be retiring this month, i found it difficult to imagine the senate without him. that's for good reason. thad cochran arrived here in 1978. 254 senators have since followed in his footsteps. of those currently serving, 97 of us are newer at this than thad is. and every single one of us has been treated to a first-rate example of honorable service. a master class in the art of legislation and living proof that unwavering principle and unflappable collegiality can and should coexist. we all know thad had a knack for making things look easy. so many graces and talents seem second nature to him. but appearances can be deceiving. take the start of his political career. when you think about it, it's only natural that senator cochran liked to work on conservation issues. i expect his adventures as a mississippi republican in the early 1970's helped him understand just what it feels like to be an endangered species in 1972, thad was a rising star attorney when he was asked to try and become just the second g.o.p. congressman from his state since reconstruction. the possibility seemed so remote, then when he

we are the cochran family, and we'll be usaa members for life. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and. >> trish: of florida jerry clearing the wife of pulse nightclub shooter omar mateen of all accounts including obstruction and providing support to a terrorist organization. reaction to that ruling right now. speak of the defense for the shooter's widow basically argued that she was a captive of her husband and not a partner in his crime and apparently, the jury agreed with the defense. noor salman was released just a short while ago when we just obtained this picture which shows her with her attorneys after the verdict. one of the attorneys was smiling ear to ear and heard saying while back in the hallways according to one of my reporters. during the reading of the ve

mr. president, late this afternoon senator thad cochran, the senior senator from mississippi, announced that he will retire from the senate on april 1. he said that his health had been a concern. i saw senators visiting with senator cochran today, expressing their best wishes to him, and for good reason. senator cochran is a gentleman, first of all, he's a skilled legislator second of all, he's earned respect from colleagues on both sides of the aisle through his chairmanship on the senate appropriations committee and one-time chairman of the senate republican conference. and back in mississippi he's -- he was a pioneer in the development of that state's two-party system and the republican party. he and trent lott were elected to congress in 1972 and then thaad cochran became the first republican since reconstruction when he was elected to the united states senate. he's been here ever since. he's a close friend. i admire him greatly. i will miss him greatly. but i especially admire his service. i wanted to say that before i made other remarks. now, mr. president, 16 years ago, president geor

mr. alexander: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise to say a word about my friend thad cochran who is retiring from the united states senate. in 1968, i had the job of recruiting state chairman for citizens for nixon agnew. i was a very young, wet behind the ears former legislative assistant to

we are the cochran family, and we'll be usaa members for life. stay with me, mr. parker.critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and. >>> we have seven minutes to the opening bell let's get to a mad dash for this tuesday. red hat. >> he usually appears on "mad money" but my feelings weren't hurt one bit red hat reported a great quarter. we've got a bmo. >> yep. >> deutsch bank and piper all raising the price target this is how to on board to the cloud. it's terrific. i have to tell you, if you like the onboard to the cloud go buy vm ware because of the tie-in with amazon web services these guys are free linux bring on to the web cloud king one of the things i want to emphasize is if you onboard which is a term i associate usually with united airlines if you onboard to the cloud you really -- it's going to b

cochran family, and we'll be usaa members for life. save by bundling usaa home and auto insurance. get a quote today. stay with me, mr. parker. when a critical patient is far from the hospital, the hospital must come to the patient. stay with me, mr. parker. the at&t network is helping first responders connect with medical teams in near real time... stay with me, mr. parker. ...saving time when it matters most. stay with me, mrs. parker. that's the power of and. >>> welcome back to know "closing bell. we have a news alert on nike and the nfl. they did a renewal of their agreement to have nike be the official apparel sponsor of all 32 nfl teams that just got announced. that's a big deal. nike and the nfl, in particular, had a lot of controversy over the last several months. this business deal shows there's still confidence in this deal. multibillion dollar deal long term back to kelly at the new york stock exchange. >> what was the controversy? is it because of the anthem protests and how to deal with that or the nba where they're coming up with too many uniforms -- >> this isn't about the too many uniforms this is just about

i thank senator thad cochran and wish him all the best as he departs the senate and thank him for his service to mississippi and america. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to enter into a separate part of the record the following statement. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. last week, mr. president, congresswoman louise slaughter of new york passed away after representing the row chester area of new york for more than three decades. she was tough, unfailingly gracious, and wonderfully effective in helping people throughout her life. louise carried titles you don't see often around here. she was the congress' only microbiologist. she was also a blues and jazz singer as well. she was a fighter first and foremost, earning respect of their colleagues, even those who disagreed with her. she hailed from harlan, kentucky, the daughter of a blacksmith. louise could trace her lineage to the legendary daniel boone. she went to the university of kentucky to study microbiome j.i. gee and to honor her sister who passed away due to pneumonia at a young analyst louise went on to serve in

mr. mcconnell: yesterday, the senate learned that its quiet persuader will be leaving us after a long and distinguished career. senator thaad cochran's retiermd will mark -- retirement will mark a tenure marked by a steady, honorable leadership. from the day he arrived in this chamber, his focus has been squarely on serving the people of mississippi with integrity. for nearly four decades, he did exactly that. and he earned the admiration and gratitude of countless friends and colleagues along the way. those of us here today are proud to have had the privilege of working with senator cochran. his expertise as chairman of the appropriations committee will be sorely missed. so, too, will the collegiality, warmth, and grace that is so characteristic of the senior senator from mississippi. but the senate's loss is thad's family's gain. as we say our farewells over the next few weeks, i know all of our colleagues will join me in wishing him every happiness in his next chapter. now, on another matter, mr. president, today the senate will vote to begin consideration of s. 2155, the economic growth regulatory relief and consumer protection a