[laughter] here we have him, our great congressman, rick nolan. rick? [applause] >> well, on behalf of the tonesota delegation, i want welcome all of you to this wonderfully warm, balmy afternoon. and evening. believe it or not, it was an 80-degree difference change in temperature from the time we all left minnesota yesterday and got here today. but what a wonderful tree this is. i would like to thank you for this tree and the wonderful celebration that you have created with the harvesting of this tree, and what is wonderful things,is tree, many but, you know, with the 10,000 theyents and lighting that tell me you will be able to see from outer space once it is let up, speaker boehner, what is really wonderful about it is it is right smack dab in the middle of the capital, and there is nothing even remotely partisan about it. there are no democratic, republican parts of that tree. even though there are branches going out to the left and to the right, and everything in between. what is magnificent about it is that it reminds us all that we are one nation

our great have him, congressman, rick nolan. [applause] >> well, on behalf of the minnesota delegation, i want to to thisall of you wonderfully warm, balmy and evening. believe it or not, it was an change indifference, temperature from the time we all left minnesota yesterday and got today. but what a wonderful tree this is. to thank the forest service and thank chair woman carey jones of the leach lake band of the great ojibwe chippewa nation. thank you for nurturing this the wonderful celebration that you i created tree.e harvesting of this what's wonderful about this tree things. but with its 10,000 ornaments they tell methat you'll be able to see from outer space once it's lit up, speaker boehner, what's really wonderful about it is it's right smack dab in the middle of the capitol and there's nothing even partisan about it. i mean, there are no democratic, republican or independent parts of this tree, even though there are branches going out to the left and to the right and between.g in but what's magnificent about it remin

[laughter] so here we have him, our great congressman, rick nolan. rick?is wonderfully warm, balmy afternoon. and evening. believe it or not, it was an 80-degree difference change in temperature from the time we all left minnesota yesterday and got here today. but what a wonderful tree this is. i would like to thank you for this tree and the wonderful celebration that you have created with the harvesting of this tree, and what is wonderful about this tree, many things, but, you know, with the 10,000 ornaments and lighting that they tell me you will be able to see from outer space once it is let up, speaker boehner, what is really wonderful about it is it is right smack dab in the middle of the capital, and there is nothing even remotely partisan about it. there are no democratic, republican parts of that tree. even though there are branches going out to the left and to the right, and everything in between. what is magnificent about it is that it reminds us all that we are one nation, one people. joined together in a common cause, in a common message to the

delegation in attendance tonight, including senators amy klobuchar, al franken and congressman rick nolan. [applause] now this incredible tree has been beautifully decorated with thousands of handmade ornaments, crafted by children and others in minnesota communities as a gift from the land of 10,000 lakes. [applause] and speaking of ornaments, each year, the u.s. capitol historical society presents a stunning ornament to place upon the tree. this year's ornament features a classic capitol design crafted from the marble steps that used to be on the east front of the capitol. at this time, i'd like to introduce a former member of congress and president of the capitol historical society, mr. ron thersen. >> stephen, thank you very much. mr. speaker, members of congress. let me add my thanks to this event, this wonderful event, this 88-foot christmas tree, which is absolutely beautiful. and to have the privilege, as president of the u.s. capitol historical society, of adding our annual ornament to the tree with the thousands of ornaments that have been created by the children of minnesota. s

rick nolan is joking about the state of the russian currency right now. during the three-hour press conference, the ruble continued to slide against the u.s. dollar and the euro. it has lost 45% in value this year. >> plummeting oil prices and economic sanctions over crimea are taking their toll. russia's central bank has hiked interest rates twice in a week, trying to stop a flood of money out of the country. >> the russian government is planning a huge capital boost to help the country's banks through the crisis. parliament is set to debate the plans on friday. they would allow some 13 billion euros to be pumped into the banking sector. russia's central bankers have already been intervening heavily on currency markets in a bid to stop the ruble's freefall. but analyst doubt the measures will work in the long-term. >> the russian central bank can raise interest rates to support the ruble, but that won't work. that will destroy the local economy. foreign exchange reserves won't be enough to prevent the ruble's collapse. if things carry on, russia will go

[laughter] so here we have him, our great congressman, rick nolan. [applause] >> well, on behalf of the minnesota delegation, i want to welcome all of you to this wonderfully-warm, balmy afternoon and evening. believe it or not, it was an 80-degree difference change in temperature from the time we all left minnesota yesterday and got here today. but what a wonderful tree this is, and i want to thank the forest service and thank chairwoman carrie jones of the leech lake band of the chippewa nation. [cheers and applause] thank you for nurturing this tree and the wonderful celebration that you created for the harvesting of this tree. and what's wonderful about this tree are many things, but, you know, with its 10,000 ornaments and lighting that they tell me you'll be able to see from outer space once it's lit up, speaker boehner, what's really wonderful about it is it's right smack dab here in the middle of the capitol, and there's nothing even remotely partisan about it. i mean, there are no democratic, republican or independent parts of that tree each

greate we have him, our congressman, rick nolan.ause] >> well, on behalf of the minnesota delegation, i want to thisme all of you to wonderfully warm, balmy afternoon. evening. believe it or not, it was 830-degree difference, change in threur from the time we awe left minnesota yesterday and got here today. but what a wonderful tree this is. forestant to thank the womane and thank chair carrie jones, and the leach lake of the chippewa nation. thank you for nurturing this and the wonderful celebration that you created for tree.rvesting of this what's wonderful about this tree things. but with its 10,000 ornaments, tell meting that they you'll be able to see from outer space once it's lit up, speaker boehner. what's really wonderful about it is it's right smack dab here in the middle of the capitol. and there's nothing even about it.artisan i mean, there are no democratic, or independent parts of this tree. even though you know, there are going out to the left and out the oh the right and between.g in but what's magnificent about it i

and the other i mention is my lifelong dear friend rick nolan, who was in the 1974 class. voluntarily left congress after three terms, returned to the house in 2012 and was recently re-elected. so 40 years later, this watergate baby has grown up, gray. i came to the senate 30 years ago as a proud progressive, determined to get things done. as i depart the senate, i can say in good conscience that i've remained true to my progressive roots. i have worked faithfully to leave behind a more vibrant iowa, a more just and inclusive america, and a stronger ladder and ramp of opportunity for the disadvantaged in our country. you might say that my career in congress is the story of a poor kid from cumming, iowa, population, 150, trying his best to pay it forward, saying thank you for the opportunities i was given by leaving that ladder and ramp of opportunity stronger for those who follow. if i have accomplished this in any small way, if any americans are able to lead better lives because of my work, i leave office a satisfied person. so i am retiring from the senate, but i'm not r

minnesota delegation in attendance, including senator amy klobuchar, al franken, and congressman rick nolan. [applause] this incredible tree has been beautifully decorated with thousands of handmade ornaments crafted by children and others in minnesota communities as a gift from the land of 10,000 lakes. [applause] speaking of ornaments, each year the united states capitol building -- capital society prisons a stunning ornament. olis features a classic capit design. at this time i would like to introduce former member of congress and president of the ca pitol historical society, mr. ron sarasin. ? thank you. my thanks to this event. this christmas tree is absolutely beautiful. to have the privilege of the capitol historical society, adding our ornament to the jury. -- to the tree. i would like to present to you this ornament. it is made from marble that came from the capitol from the steps that were removed in 1990. thank you very much. [applause] ? thank you. thank you. fire0 years the u.s. service has partnered to bring a christmas tree to the capitol from one of our nation's national par

and the other i mention is my lifelong dear friend rick nolan, who was in the 1974 class. voluntarily left congress after three terms, returned to the house in 2012 and was recently re-elected. so 40 years later, this watergate baby has grown up, gray. i came to the senate 30 years ago as a proud progressive, determined to get things done. as i depart the senate, i can say in good conscience that i've remained true to my progressive roots. i have worked faithfully to leave behind a more vibrant iowa, a more just and inclusive america, and a stronger ladder and ramp of opportunity for the disadvantaged in our country. you might say that my career in congress is the story of a poor kid from cumming, iowa, population, 150, trying his best to pay it forward, saying thank you for the opportunities i was given by leaving that ladder and ramp of opportunity stronger for those who follow. if i have accomplished this in any small way, if any americans are able to lead better lives because of my work, i leave office a satisfied person. so i am retiring from the senate, but i'm not r