i first met pat roberts when i was runningor the u.s. house of representatives for the very first time and i had a friend who worked for pat and he got me a meeting with him, which at the time was a pretty big deal because he was the chairman of the house at committee and i was in a republican primary where i was over 50 points behind. so the prospects weren't right that i was ever going to be somebody that would make it through and ended up serving there but nobody could have been more encouraging or kind. i had a great meeting with him and we talked about agriculture and i'm grateful that i've had the opportunity to get to know him pretty well here during my time in the senate. one of the reasons we have so much common ground is we both come from states where agriculture is incredibly important and it's the number one industry in south dota and i've had the privilege of serving on the aggie committee with pat now for more than a decade. i call him my chairman since he's been my my chairman at the aggie committee for so lg and he calls m

but pat roberts frienhip and his commitment who he is as a human being in his sworn oath told me pat roberts was the person i wanted to be my congressman and the constituent in me said this is the guy i want to servin serving me and mw kansans. he won that election in january of 1981 and became a house member representing the first district of kansas known in our state is the big first. the geography of the district today and almost true when pat was the congressman is the size of the state of illinois. the largest city with a population of about 35,000. it is a rural place and it fit the mode of representation which was i know them and they know me. he was elected with a significant majority of voters. he won seven times to be elected to the house of representatives and never received less than 60% of the vote. and in his last election to the house of repsentatives he received nearly 78% of kansans approval. it hadce its consequences. and it ishe kind of politics described that i hope we return treturned to in which it is all about taking care o kansans, taking care of americans sett

i first met pat roberts when i was running for the u.s. ouse of representatives for the very first time. i had a friend who worked for pat and he got me a meeting with him, which at the time was a pretty big deal because he was the chairman of the house ag committee and i was in a republican primary where i was over 50 points behind. so the prospects weren't real bright that i was ever going to be somebody that would make it through and end up serving there, but nobody could have been more encouraging or kind. had a great meeting with him. we talked about agriculture and i'm grateful that i have had the opportunity to get to know him pretty well during my time in the senate. and one of the reasons we have so much common ground is that we both come from states where agriculture is incredibly important. it's the number one industry in south dakota and i've had the privilege of serving on the ag committee with pat now for more than a decade. i call him my chairman since he's been my chairman at the ag committee for so long. he calls me coop, a

vac first i think the leadership on both sides for ivthis opportunity to give the pat roberts audio speech. the story of how i got into politics is a pretty straight family path. as a fourth g generation kansan my great-grandfathers on bh sides of the roberts patrick family or pioneer newspaper editors who came to kansas as crusading abolitionists. to say i bleed fourth-generation pnters ink wi be close to the truth. however the main influence of geany public service was my

my colleagues, first i thank the leadership on both sides for this opportunity to give the pat roberts adios amigos speech. as a fourth generation kansan, my great grandfathers on both sides of the roberts-patrick family, were pioneer newspaper editors who came to kansas as crusading abolitionists. to say i believe fourth generation printer's ink would be very close to the truth. the main influence that drew me to public service was my dad, wes roberts, who was a newspaper man and soon journalism led to politics. he served as chief of staff and advisor for several kansas governors becoming the state republican chairman. in 1952, my dad was asked to head up the citizens for ike campaign which was a genuine army of volunteers made up of legions of veterans, women's groups and republicans who wanted a candidate who could win, plus they really liked ike. at 16, at my dad's tow, i was a sergeant at arms at the 1962 convention back when the conventions actually chose the nominee for president. i vividly remember two lasting experiences, the renowned senator from illinois, everett dirksen was

vac first i think the leadership on both sides for ivthis opportunity to give the pat roberts audio speech. the story of how i got into politics is a pretty straight family path. as a fourth g generation kansan my great-grandfathers on bh sides of the roberts patrick family or pioneer newspaper editors who came to kansas as crusading abolitionists. to say i bleed fourth-generation pnters ink wi be close to the truth. however the main influence of geany public service was my dad. wes roberts. as a newsperman and soon journalism led to politics. he served as chief of staff and advisor for several kansas governors becoming then the state republican chairman. 1952, my dad was asked to head up the citizens for high campaign that was a genuine army of volunteers made up of legions of veterans, women's groups and mostly republicans wanted eight candidates who could win. plus, they really liked ike. at 16, i was a sgt of arms at th 1952 convention. back when convictions chose the nominee for president. vividly remember my two lasting experiences. the renowned senator from illinois everett dirksen,

and today we say farewell to another great kansas and a great american my goo friend senator pat roberts thank you, sir for the example in mentorship and fendship and your great service and the two senate and the kansas and for america and the united states marine corps. semper fi. >> mr. president i rise today i remind all my colleaes about the urgency urgent need to pass coronavis legislation and people need help and they needed right now. i am glad that bipartisan discussions are continuing and its very positive and many of us are involved in those negotiations andme i commend all my colleagues that are working very hard to get this done and it is critical that we come to an agreement that will help families and will help businesses and communities get rough time and time is running out as we know. our nation is taking a crisis and our states and local government are facing a crisis as they are trying to gear up for an effective and rapid distribution of vaccines and our local police officers and firefighters and public health workers and other essential workers and base layoffs and t

>> let me submit for the record a letter from pat roberts and i have many other letters that i would be more than happy to submit afterwards. but what me just say we had a tremendous interest from congress asking us to expedite this and we also had a certification from the departmenter of defense that it qualified so of course we were going to prioritize this because as you said, there was a tremendous risk to the department of defense and a tremendous risk to the number of jobs. >> mr. secretary, i understand all that butut my question was we you aware that they had ties, close ties what is the definition were you aware of that i 2017 that the cpanies $184 million -- you are not aware of that. >> i read it in the press and some point but i'm not involved nor did i take that into consideration or prior to you asking me that wt i have kno that. >> briefly to finish up here mrn

colleagues, first i thank the >> thank you to leadership on both sides for this opportunity to give pat roberts speec to the story of how i got into politics is a path that is a fourth neration kansan my sides with the robert patrick's family were pioneers newspaper editors coming to kansas s as crusading abolitionist to believe fourth generation printers would be close to theruth the main influence that drew me to public service was my dad. the newspaperman and led to politics surveying as chief of staff to become the state republican chairman. in 1952 my dad was asked to set up a citizs campaign a genuine army whenever legions of veterans and republicans who wanted a candidate who could win. plus they really like as the sergeant of arms back when conventions chose the nominee for psident. the renowned senator is a key leader in the campaign so in the midst of his convention remarks when the entire new york delegation led by former goveor and presidential candidate do we marched and with considerable noise took their seats. pointing directly at do we and with his voice, said this. user where d

the pat roberts of 1980 was fighting for kansas values and for the issues that affected the daily lives and pocketbooks of all kansans. of 1996, iroberts promised that if elected to the senate, when kansas spoke, washington would listen. i have held six devils in the house -- six gavils in the house and senate. it is what happened during my 10 years as chairman that i believe i have had the most lasting effects. gavel.ot just having the it is what you do with it. taking part in leading eight farm bill's in the house and senate, i have improved many lives and i have been mindful of what farm families have done for our nation. i was fortunate that my first committee assignments were to serve on the armed services committee as well as agriculture. chairmanas the senior who as the country song goes, never even called me by my name. i was recognized as quote, the senator who had the good sense to marry a fine, beautiful south carolina girl. my role on the committee was simple. it was to collect the small change left by the air force to enable the marine corps to be our nation's fours and rea

in about 2014, senator pat roberts took over the chairmanship and that was really transformational formoving the project forward and getting it done. -- was selected in 2009. we went through many iterations with review agencies which is a requirement in washington, d.c., before this final design was approved. the park service issued the building permit, congress provided the funds and construction started in november 2017. the building process all and all was about 30 months. >> how much do something like this cost? >> the total project was about $150 million. most of that are federal funds. residential memorials traditionally are undertakings of the people, unlike a lot of the memorials in washington, they are started by a friends group, congress grants lands, they privately raise money and build a memorial. but the seven presidential memorials have principally been paid for by federally appropriated dollars. in this case we did raise $50 million in private funds. the construction cost was about $80 million in the rest of it is getting the design, getting the land, getting what we cal

senator roberts, my colleague, senator pat roberts, as we know, is the longest serving member of congress in kansas history. he leads the senate as a giant in his home state and as a true champion for the people of kansas. in his words he's a kansan through and through. and 16 years in the house and 22 years in the senate. i served on the agriculture committee and he has been my chairman. and i have been proud to serve with him as a fellow farm state senator, where he has been a champion for the bread basket of america, as kansas is known. he has also worked tirelessly to honor those legendary kansans before him. he was there to cut the ribbon for the dedication to the eisenhower memorial. he's been dedicated to as the mission, i know he's one of the few members of congress who can actually say he met president eisenhower. at the dedication, senator roberts remarked that eisenhower understood one person's ability to chart his or her own course and change the course of the world. that's something that senator roberts has done often in a quiet manner. i have really admired the way he worked

my colleague senator pat roberts, as we know, is the longest serving member of congress in kansas history. he leaves the senate as a giant in his home state and a true champion for the people of kansas. in his words he's a kansan through and through. born in topeka earning his journalism degree from kansas state and representing kansas for 16 years in the house and 22 years in the senate. i serve on the agriculture committee, and he has been my chairman. and i have been proud to serve with him as a fellow farm state senator where he has been a champion for the breadbasket of america as kansas is known. he has also worked tirelessly to honor those legendary kansans who came before him. earlier this year senator roberts was there to cut the dedication at the eisenhower memorial, a monument he has been devoted to as chairman of the eisenhower memorial commission. he is one of the few members of congress who can actually say he met president eisenhower. at the dedication senator roberts remarked that eisenhower understood one person's ably to chart his or her course and change the course of t

i thank chairman pat roberts to make sure we renew the grains standards act this year. and i thank the chairman and his team getting this to the floor after passage by the senate. mr. speaker, i support passage of the senate bill 4054 and encourage my colleagues to vote yes as well. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. peterson: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia and want to congratulate m on his outstanding support to be the next chairman of the ag committee, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. scott: thank very, very much. served , mr. speaker, i .n this body for 18 years , i throughout those 18 years that i am an to enter ent by god my life at a critical time. of that man is the chairman the agriculture committee, colin peterson. certainly ask everybody to make sure you vote unanimously on the bill. a great ere to express riendship, a heartfelt gratitude. and i say as so many of my colleagues, you cannot have gone t

four i think that have been there from the very beginning, but in the -- are in about 2014 senator pat robertsook over the chairmanship, and that was real transformational for moving the project forward and getting it done. garry was elected in 20909. he submitted his first design in 2010, and then we went through many iterations with the review agencies which is a requirement in washington, d.c. before this final design was approved. the park service issued the building permit. congress provided the funds and construction started in november of 2017 so the building process all in all was about 30 months. >> and how much does something like this cost? >> the total project for the 20 years of the commission was about $150 million. most of that are federal funds. presidential memorials traditionally are undertakings of the people. unlike a lot of memorials in washington, they are started by a nonprofit, a friends group, congress grants land for that, they privately raise the money and build a memorial. but the seven presidential memorials in washington, d.c. have been prince pri paid for by fede

let me also submit for the record a letter from ron wyden and pat roberts. i have many other letters that i'd be more than happy to submit afterwards. we had tremendous interest from congress asking us to expedite this. we also had a certification from the department of defense that the loan qualified, so of course we were going to prioritize this because, as you said, there was a tremendous risk to the department of defense and a trend is risk to the number of jobs -- tremendous risk to the number of jobs >> i understand that. but were you aware apollo has close ties to jared kushner? >> what is the definition of close ties? >> in 2017, apollo loaned the kushner company $184 mlion? >> i w not aware of that. >> i may have read it in the press at some point, but i'm not involved nor did i takthat into consideration, nor prior to you asking me that, would i have known that. >> briefly to finish up your, mr. secretary -- here, mr. secretary, can i ask for on the record, did mr. kushner or anyone from his staff reach out to you abo providing a loan? staff,and no

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable pat roberts, a senator from the state of kansas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: chuck grassley, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands adjourned until 12:00 p.m., on tuesday, december 29, 2020. december 29, 2020. moore live coverage of the senate tomorrow here on c-span2. we return to booktv. -- use up his university officials, islamic officials and made connection with them to the point where before he goes overseas again in 64, he's a well-known figure at the united nations which surprises people. malcolm x offices -- accesses office to his diplomatic contact. when i write that malcolm x meets up with king at the ascendant as a statement really is factually true. he is somebody would met with fidel castro in september of 1960. malcolm had met these different african leaders, different caribbean leaders and kept in contact with them. malcolm is interested in this idea of a third world internationalism of radical pain anachronism, th

my colleague senator pat roberts, as we know, is the longest serving member of congress in kansas history. he leaves the senate as a giant in his home state and a true champion for the people of kansas. in his words he's a kansan through and through. born in topeka earning his journalism degree from kansas state and representing kansas for 16 years in the house and 22 years in the senate. i serve on the agriculture committee, and he has been my chairman. and i have been proud to serve with him as a fellow farm state senator where he has been a champion for the breadbasket of america as kansas is known. he has also worked tirelessly to honor those legendary kansans who came before him. earlier this year senator roberts was there to cut the dedication at the eisenhower memorial, a monument he has been devoted to as chairman of the eisenhower memorial commission. he is one of the few members of congress who can actually say he met president eisenhower. at the dedication senator roberts remarked that eisenhower understood one person's ably to chart his or her course and change the course of t

roberts, 24. with you are like pat leahy since the gold rush. our time here is short.there is not -- thinking of the time, just like yesterday. it is of limited duration and we've got to act like that and make sure every day we are leading. it is the realization of a long-held dream, doug turner who is here, joe tripy and giles perkins, bride, louise. my two boys wanted to kill me and louise because they have been living at home during the pandemic but incredibly supportive. the two beautiful girls, my granddaughters, the brightest stars in my sky and ever. i am grateful to an amazing staff and go all the way through. they have been true rock stars and i want to enter something into the record about my staff, senior senator and old friend senator shelby, we may disagree, in alabama, to do all we can in alabama. i appreciate the service to the people of the state of alabama. his long and distinguished service, started out as a democrat. i want to mention the chairman of the committee's i worked on. senator crapoh, senator inhofe, senator alexander, the work that we did

roberts 24. or if you like pat lay he said to moses.ghter] our time here is short, there is not anybody who is not thinking about their time that they were sworn in and said it was like yesterday becauseho it was, our time is short and it's a limited duration and we've got to act like that and we've got to make sure that every day we are moving, it's been a realization of a long dream and i got so many to think and doug turner who was here joe trippi on my campaigns and my late friend perkins, my amazing family, louise, my rock, my two boys carson and christopher who have wanted to kill me in the weeds since they have been living at home during the pandemic. but incredibly supportive and then my daughter courtney and her husband brett and their two beautiful girls, our granddaughters that are the stars in my sky, i am grateful to each of you my colleagues and all that you have helped me, i'm grateful to an amazing staff and e-marketing go all the way through, they have been true rock stars and i'm going to enter something into the recor

. >>> and finally we want to take a moment to pat face on one of the 320,000-plus deaths from this pandemic. robertcago paramedic more than 20 years, assigned the balance 71, he was diagnosed with covid about a month ago. his coworkers say that they will miss his smile every day. but they have gained a guardian angel to watch over them. his work family took a moment to remember him, setting their station flags at half mast at his old post. our love and thoughts with him and his loved ones. our coverage on cnn continues right now. ♪ >>> this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i am wolf blitzer in the situation aroma. we're following breaking news. president elect joe biden refusing to sugar coat the challenges ahead as he prepares to take office in less than a month. a short while ago he urged vigilance against covid-19 warning of dark days ahead even as he expressed confidence in the new vaccine. he also slammed president trump for no

whether it's martha mcsally's two years, or my three, senator alexander's 18 or enzi and robert's 24 or if you're like pat leahy since moses was in the bull rush, our time here is short. there's not anybody on this floor right now who's not thinking about their time that they were sworn in and said it was just like yesterday because it was. our time is short. it's of a limited duration and we've got to act like that. and we've got to make sure that every day we're moving. it's been a realization of a long-held dream. i have so many to thank, doug turner who is here, joe trippy, and my late friend giles perkins, an amazing family, my bride louise, my rock. my two boys, carson and christopher, who have wanted to kill both me and louise since they have been living at home during the pandemic. but the -- they are incredibly supportive and then my daughter court any and her -- courtney and her husband and her two beautiful daughters who are the brightest stars in the sky. i am grateful to all of my colleagues. i'm grateful to an amazing staff. an i'm not going to go all the way through. they have been true roc

heard this maybe once or twice of senator roberts tongue of the wagon of a farmer in dodge city, kansas, with all of his farm and his good friend, leon, said, pat, we all need farm.m to and sure enough, this ag policy gave producers the freedom to on market based indicators, not federal government set-aside policies. i'll refer the first farm bill i participated in, the agriculture improvement act of was the primary author as chairman. probably most notably, this farm bill received more votes than any farm bill in modern with 87 in favor. 'd like to mention the 2016 national bioengineered food disclosure act. createderal legislation standards for labeling the food with ingredients derived from biotechnology. and then his 2000 agriculture risk protection act referenced he national crop insurance and led to its widespread use today. and finally, i'll mention always the rts was leader in bioagro security legislation. of the senate armed services committee on emerging led the first meeting food supply. though he was known for his wit, an entertaining speaker and great interviewer, his actions, will always hments speak louder than his words. he and

my colleagues, first i thank the leadership on both sides for this opportunity to give the pat roberts adios amigos speech. as a fourth generation kansan, my great grandfathers on both sides of the roberts-patrick family, were pioneer newspaper editors who came to kansas as crusading abolitionists. to say i

was a young man among giants, byrd, stephens, dole, but the name roberts has come to define its own brand of heartland statesmanship. pat is the first to admit he didn't establish that name all on his own. he inherited it from another great kansan, charles wesley roberts was a marine, a journalist and leader in republican politics. so get ready to experience some deja vu, mr. president, because at age 16 our future colleague got to attend the 1952 convention that nominated kansas' own general eisenhower.

next, we hear from retiring senator pat roberts, who spent 15 years

when the senate returns watch live coverage here on cspan2 >> senator pat roberts is retrying gave us farewell speech on the senate floor after giving 40ears in congress pretty talked about his career with the work on the farm bills and the eisenhower memorial in washington d.c. after his speech colleagues paid tribute to his career. vac first i think the leadership on both sides for ivthis opportunity to give the pat roberts audio speech. the story of how i got into politics is a pretty straight family path

of the art facility will come online at k state, next to the facility that happens to be named pat roberts hall. he looked out for fort riley and its essential missions, he helped greensburg rebuild after a disaster. in every way imaginable, kansas has had its champion. pats' voice has been a -- pat's voice has been a powerful presence in these halls. in rare moments when he wasn't get his resolve, his voice has helped us pass. pat is one of the best senators in a long time, not funny, mr. president, humorus. it's not just pat's quick wit or his punchlines themselves that take the cake, the best part is the unpretentus fearlessness with which he will go after a good laugh in almost any situation. it's a daunting task to convey his winsome humor as a party, it's a package deal, the voice, the expression all work together. i will share one example. several years back pat i and honored bob dole and howard baker. pat had been asked to offer some remarks in bob's honor. apparently he decided a conventional toast would not cut it. the fancy evening would need shaking up. it happened that pat att

that, too, will be a lasting tribute to pat roberts' work. beyond his defense work, pat was greatly concerned with the welcome of our farmers d. with the bcra of our farmers. he is -- with the well-being of our farmers. we also worked closely to pass legislation regarding our nation's trauma centers to ensure that severely injured patients receive the best possible care. pat was always quick with quips and brought levity to the body. i thank him for his lifelong service. mike enzi has long served the people of wyoming with distinction. we spent many years working together on the banking committee and the help committee. i've always appreciated his decency and thoughtfulness. he spent his time in the senate advancing his 80/20 approach to legislation. he sought to focus on the 80% of issues where both sides could come to an agreement rather than the 20% of issues where we felt an agreement was unreachable. he worked quietly behind the scenes to get things done, and he got things done. mike is one of the few u.s. senators with an accounting back

pat roberts came to the senate in 1967 the way a lot of us have come -- as a senate aide. i came the same year. he -- i worked for senator baker. he was working in the house of representatives at the time. but we've seen the senate through all of that time, its pluses and its minuses, and we've learned our way. pat learned his way especially well. i suppose he learned longer on the ethics and agriculture committee longer than anyone, particularly if you count his office in the house and the senate on the agriculture committee and his good humor and his resoluteness in terms of rural america and making sure that the farmers of our country have an environment in which they can succeed are legendary. i suspect all of us when we go to sleep at night, if pat roberts comes into our brain, the words crop insurance come right along behind it. doug jones only served a short period of time, like martha mcsally, but he made his mark as well. when he made his farewell address, i was here and i said, he reminded me of ted kennedy in this way -- he kept his liberal principles. i never s

we're saying goodbye to another giant of the senate when senator pat robert leaves us.i saw him on the floor a moment a i see him now. i view him as the matt dillon of the united states senate. matt dillon, for those off you who know who he was, was a resident of dodge stirks just like pat. and like marshal dillon and the marine he is proud to be, pat knows how to lay down the law. but he does it with humor and smiles and a wink. and he does it in a way with that dry kansas sense of hugh moor that it is very effective. and by the way, he is always look f. miss kitty. he's used that combination of toughness and hard work to accomplish a lot in congress. pat's focus has always been on the people of kansas and he's done a lot for people of kansas. but higgs work went far beyond kansas. it turns out he is the only person in america to have chaired the agriculture committee both in the house and in the senate. his tireless work to pass farm bills over those carries to help growers and ranchers has made him a friend to farmers everywhere. just as important was his work as cha