American Energy and Conservation Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, it has been the great privilege and honor of my life to represent the people of Arizona in the Senate. I am humbled that in last Tuesday's election they placed their trust in me for another term.
Since I first came to this body, I have never taken that trust for granted, and I never will. I will get up every day for the next 6 years determined to work harder than the day before for the people of Arizona.

Of course, mine was not the only election last Tuesday. The American people did their civic duty and chose a new President. I congratulate the President-elect. My prayers are with him and his family as he prepares to assume our Nation's highest office, and I will do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges confronting our Nation.

This was a long and difficult national election and not always an uplifting one. I know there were many Americans who were disappointed on election night, and we have seen some of that disappointment in the protests that have taken place in several cities across the Nation.

Some of those protesters have even taken to using the slogan ``Not my President.'' This is misguided.
I have been on the losing side of elections before, and it is no fun.

But America has only one President at a time. We do not have to agree with the President on every issue, and when we do disagree, we should express ourselves in the spirit of mutual respect that is essential for a free and democratic people.

Therefore, I urge all Americans to offer our next President good will and an earnest effort to find ways to come together to make necessary compromises to grow our economy, defend our security, and leave future generations a stronger, better America.

That better America is one in which we never forget that whatever our differences, we are all Americans. We must respect our common citizenship by treating each other with respect.

That is why I have been so disturbed by reports of increased acts of intimidation, harassment, and even violence directed at minority, racial, and religious groups in the aftermath of this election.

Prejudice and hate have no place in America. Such behavior is a betrayal of who we are as a people and all that we aspire to be. To those who have committed these disgusting acts, I repeat the words of the President-elect: Stop it.

With the campaign over, it is time for all of us to go about the work the American people sent us here to do, and there is a lot of work to do. For too long, Washington has schemed, fought, and maneuvered to gain political advantage at the cost of delivering for the American people. The predictable result is that we have made little, if any, progress toward meeting the great challenges of our time and too many Americans feel left out and left behind.

This election made clear that Americans are fed up with business as usual in Washington, and they want us to make progress now on solving national problems that threaten their ability to prosper and make a better life for their families. They want progress now on growing the economy and increasing their opportunities to live purposeful and satisfying lives. They want progress now to secure their families and America's interests from the dangerous threats we face overseas.

As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, America's national security and the men and women in uniform who protect it will be my top priorities.

We have to put an end to business as usual at the Pentagon, where the largest government agency cannot pass a financial audit and where a broken acquisitions system is too often plagued by cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor performance.

We have to put an end to sequestration once and for all and return to a strategy-based defense budget. It gives our servicemembers the resources, training, and equipment they need to meet current and future threats. We have to accelerate the defeat of ISIL in Iraq and Syria and continue to take the fight to radical Islamist terrorists who seek to attack our homeland. Above all, we must remain the free world's leader and stand up always and everywhere for the values that make us exceptional and to which all people are entitled: the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have to reinvigorate America's alliances around the world, not discard them in favor of cynical deals with adversaries who want us to relinquish our global leadership.

We have to enhance shared efforts to deter and, if necessary, defeat aggression from whatever power threatens our interests and values.

Achieving these goals will require a team at the Department of Defense composed of the best people our Nation has to offer. The Senate Armed Services Committee stands ready to receive nominations from the new President. The stakes for our Nation are high. So too must be our standards.

America has many challenges ahead, but none of us should despair of our present difficulties. Instead, we must believe always in the promise and greatness of America. I still do. In that spirit, my promise is this: to work as hard as I ever have; to use all my knowledge, experience, and relationships; and to work with our new President and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to solve our problems together as fellow Americans.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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