Motion to Discharge--S.J. Res. 77

Floor Speech

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Mr. JONES. Mr. President, I thank the minority leader for those remarks. I am humbled.

You know, everyone knows the old saying ``My, how time flies when you are having fun.'' My time here has drawn to a close, but despite the difficulties, the challenges, despite the rancor that we often see in this body, as well as Washington, DC, I can honestly say I have had a lot of fun. The last 3 years have been amazing, and I have loved being a Member of this body.

I actually was able to accomplish a few things, thanks to you. But you have been fun; you have not just been kind. It has really been good.

By the way, your staffs have been awesome. I know you hear that a lot from constituents. Maybe you don't hear it enough from other Senators. Your staffs have been amazing to us, and I really very much appreciate it.

You know, as the minority leader said, everybody knows I am a baseball fan. If you go into that office, you will see in my reception area all 100 baseballs that I had signed. And it was fun getting them-- either here on the floor or in a committee room, at the retreat that the Democrats had. There were so many who had never signed a baseball, and you figured out that it wasn't easy to sign a baseball.

(Laughter.)

And even those who signed in their office, when we sent them to their office, they always came up and talked about it. It was a time to put politics aside and just talk a little bit--something we really don't do enough of around here, leaving the weighty politics and responsibilities that we have just to sign a baseball and talk about how much fun it was.

I remember, right after I was elected, I was talking to a friend of mine, dreaming big about the things that we could accomplish that would make a difference in the lives of the people of Alabama and the people of America. We talked about the possibility that we could work on a bill as important as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 or the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But I knew--I knew, though--that such opportunities were not likely, especially in what I knew to be a 3-year window and not knowing what the future would hold--although, I have got to be honest, I had a pretty doggone good idea when I got here.

If there was one thing my momma always taught me, it was to be realistic about things. I knew it was going to be tough, but to even have an opportunity to talk and work on things that bring such transformational changes--those kind of things come along once in a generation, if we are lucky. They are that legislative equivalent of a perfect game in baseball. You are lucky if you get to be part of that in your career, but you always have to hope and you have to strive for the possible, not just the likely.

For those of you who really don't know about baseball--there may be a few--a perfect game is just that: nine innings, three outs, three up, three down. Everything has to work together in synchrony. It is not just the pitcher who throws balls and strikes; it is the outfielder who catches the fly; it is the second baseman who has to get the out and throw the runner out at first. Everyone has to fall in line and work together as a team--as a team. And it is not just that; it is the people on the field. They are all working and they are all striving for the same goal. As it turned out, I didn't get a chance to be part of a perfect game. I didn't think I would, but I didn't get that chance.

Sometimes I worry, as many of you do--especially if you listened to the farewell speeches of Lamar Alexander and Tom Udall and Mike Enzi and others--you worry if those perfect games can ever be had in this Senate again. I worry about that. But we always come close, and I came close.

Right after I got here, I got invited to be part of the Common Sense Caucus, which I had to explain to people in Alabama that that is really not an oxymoron, that there is common sense up here.

But within 6 weeks of being up here, I was at Susan Collins' office with so many here--some 20 Senators, Republican, Democratic--talking about immigration, working on immigration reform. It was the hottest topic of the day, an important topic that is still important today. I just marveled at the fact that here I was, 6 weeks into this, and I was in that room being a part of those discussions.

What was even more astonishing to me is that people actually wanted to hear what I had to say. That didn't happen, having raised three children, been married. I don't always get that, when people want to know what you have got to say. But they did, and I was so gratified, and I was so honored.

We would meet in Senator Collins' office. We would meet in hideaways. It was exciting. And we came so close. You all remember that? We came so close, within about three votes of doing what they said couldn't be done, of doing something that was possible but not probable.

That sense, what I saw of my colleagues, is why we ran for the Senate. I could see it. I could feel it in those rooms, in those discussions. I could see it on the floor that day as people were voting. It is why we wanted to be in this body.

I remember sitting in the cloakroom, and I was as disappointed as ever when we failed. And for a long time, probably still to this day, when I am asked ``What is your most disappointing day in the Senate?'' I will always talk about that vote that failed so close, which was so important. But what it did demonstrate is, through that effort-- effort--that anything is possible. You have got to come close sometimes before you get across the finish line. You have got to play in the red zone a little bit before you get the touchdown. You have got to hit that line.

But whatever we did, it is possible. The Senate is capable of great things, if we do them, of bridging divides that society may view as too wide to cross. We can do that. It is not that wide between here and there. It is not that wide, and people need to know it and respect it.

I am not the first and I certainly will not be the last to talk about the importance of bringing people together who hold opposing views and working toward what is both possible and palatable. But all too often the desire to do that kind of gets lost among other actions that don't quite match the words that we say.

I noticed the other day how many heads were nodding in the farewell speech of Senator Alexander, Senator Enzi, and Senator Udall. And then what happens? I have looked at a lot of farewell speeches in the last month. They all say a lot of the same things, and everybody, I am sure, nods.

We have got to do better. You have to do better. I don't think I fully appreciated it. And I listened to the minority leader talk about where I come from in Fairfield, but I don't think I fully appreciated it until fairly recently. It seems like I just kind of love a lost cause. It seems like every time that there is something that needs me there, I am there--fighting for justice for others, for others who feel like hope is lost, from the church bombing case to a Senate election in Alabama. I fought for those causes because I believe in hope. I believe in redemption. I believe in the possibility. Some may call that naive, and many have, but I have not been afraid to touch on the so-called ``third rail'' issues of our political system because I believe that, right now especially, there is no time for caution.

My first speech on the Senate floor was about gun violence. No one could believe a Senator from Alabama actually talked about how we can stop gun violence in a way that made some sense--not from an extreme view on the right or an extreme view on the left but right there in ways that made sense.

It was a topic that I knew could have easily been twisted into a negative campaign ad--which, by the way, it was.

(Laughter.)

We saw it coming. But I also knew action was so important. We took some small steps on that issue over the last 3 years, despite a lot of political pressure to the contrary, and I hope you will do more in the years ahead because lives will depend on it.

Everything doesn't have to be a perfect game. There is great satisfaction in the day-to-day triumphs. You can and we did hit a home run or two and more than our share of singles and doubles. I am really proud of the 20-plus bills that I led or co-led, bipartisan bills, that have been signed into law over the last 3 years. None would have been possible without bipartisan work.

One of my first original bills, the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act would never have become law without the commitment of Senator Cruz to help bring long-overdue closure to the victims of those terrible crimes.

I see Ted in the back. I appreciate Senator Cruz's involvement in that. I will have to say, it was so much fun, after we got that done, to go back home and tell that to all my Democratic friends. What is your proudest? I said: Well, the proudest moment right now is with my partner, Ted Cruz. They said: Aha.

But it shows what is possible, folks. And it was an important bill. None of those bills have meant more to me, though, than the bipartisan effort that I led with Senator Collins to eliminate the military widow's tax that for almost two decades had deprived widows of full survivors' benefits that they deserved.

So many of you went to bat for that bill: Senator Reed, Senator Inhofe, and others. You were getting a lot of pressure, not from me or Susan Collins. You were getting pressure from a lot of those military widows. They had been up here for 20 years, and for 20 years the dollars and cents had prevented that from becoming a reality. We fought on that because we knew what we were doing was right. We knew it was right that you could not put a price on the duty we owe to the men and women of our armed services and their families.

I will never forget that day in December when we passed the NDAA that included the elimination of the widow's tax. In the Gallery, there was a large group of Gold Star widows who had been up here for 20-plus years to try to get that done, never being able to reach the goal. And on that day, we did it. You did it. Susan and I got a lot of credit, but it was this body, with the help of some folks in the House, that made it happen. That was just one of the memorable days on the floor.

Swearing-in day was unbelievable--simply an explosion of emotions. To walk on the floor as a U.S. Senator, some 37 years after I left the floor with my old boss as a young staffer to my mentor Howell Heflin, and to take the oath of office for his seat was just really a remarkable circle of life.

There are two especially significant things about that day too. One is that I hope that you all recognize by now that the freshman class of 2018 will likely go down in history as one of the greatest freshman classes ever. The team of Smith and Jones can't be beat. It is as American as apple pie. I was really proud and honored to be there with Tina Smith that day.

I was also honored, if you recall, that there were three Vice Presidents on the floor of the Senate that day. Now President-Elect Joe Biden escorted me in. Former Vice President Walter Mondale escorted Senator Smith. Mike Pence, the current Vice President, swore us in. And, actually, if you now think about it, we had a fourth--soon-to-be Vice President Kamala Harris. That is a pretty remarkable time--pretty remarkable.

It was also a remarkable day when what I hope is going to be a new tradition in the Senate took place: When we had on two different occasions, once each year, six Senators--three Democrats and three Republicans--reading Dr. King's ``Letter from a Birmingham Jail.'' That document remains one of the most significant in American history, and it is as important today as it was when it was written in 1963--and, in some ways, maybe more important for the moment we find ourselves in. I have asked--and I know he will do this--my colleague Senator Brown to carry on that tradition in my absence.

And then there was the day of the swearing-in in January of 2019. I was here to observe, to pay my respects to all those who were returning and for those who were joining. And as I was standing in the back by the cloakroom, Senator Tester walks up and says: Jones, what are you doing?

You can't get anything past Tester. There were probably a few profanities ladened in there as well, if you know Senator Tester.

I said: Well, Jon, what do you think I am doing--with probably a couple of other kind of milder profanities.

He said: Look, Daines is caught in a snowstorm back home and can't make it here, and I would like for you to escort me down when I take the oath.

As it turns out, it is likely to be the only time I get to do that-- and it was a true honor, my friend.

Simply sitting at this desk is perhaps the greatest thing, taking this place in and watching each of you, noting the bipartisanship, especially as we close the Congress--especially as we close this Congress--and how Senators move freely from one side of the aisle to the other. Occasionally, I will tell you, I confess, that I just come back here by myself, and I will open this drawer and will read the names of the Senators who sat here: John Kennedy, Ed Muskie, Hubert Humphrey, my colleague Senator Shelby, and so many others. And it is just overwhelming.

You know, growing up, it was always the Presidents or Presidential candidates who captured my attention. I knew the names of some Senators, but that began to change for me watching the Senate Select Committee on Watergate when I was in college. It was a remarkable time and a remarkable committee. And then everything changed again in 1979 while I was studying for the bar and got a phone call from Senator Heflin's chief of staff, Mike House. I had campaigned for the judge. Mike offered me a 1-year position on Heflin's Judiciary subcommittee, which I eagerly took. That year not only changed my life but brought about a respect for this body, for the Senate--as an institution, as individuals, and for so many of its Members--that I had never had before. From that point on, folks, I was hooked. I was hooked on this body--before being elected to the Senate. And now I have come to love the Senate a lot and, importantly, all of the possibilities that go with it, which is why I don't really want to spend my last moments on the floor talking about what I have done. I want to talk about what needs to be done, what can be done, what is possible.

You know, even back in 2017, people said it was just not possible to elect a Democrat from Alabama to the U.S. Senate--and here I have been.

It is possible to make affordable quality healthcare a reality for all Americans. The ACA right now is the best hope and only plan that is out there. As President Obama said--and everybody should do this--if there is a better plan you can come up with, put it out there. Let's do it. I will publicly support it.

The goal is healthcare for everyone in some way. There are so many in this country and in my State of Alabama who desperately need it-- before, during, and after this COVID crisis. It is possible to give people in remote and rural areas access to healthcare, but it is going to take a lot of work, and it is going to take getting out of partisan corners.

It is possible to provide a quality education to every American child. I know education is often funded locally, but it is possible to do it. You just have to roll up your shirt sleeves and get it done.

It is possible to extend broadband--access to broadband--to all Americans and bring every man, woman, and child into the modern era, just like we did--the Congress did--with Franklin Roosevelt in the Rural Electrification Act in the 1930s. Broadband is the new power. It is possible to do that. High speed and affordable, that is key-- affordable broadband.

It is possible to ease the burdens on working-class Americans by setting a minimum wage that is not going to hamstring businesses but will raise the quality of living for so many in this country. So many in my State are in poverty, but yet they work. They work. They work hard, but yet they are still below that poverty level. We need to do what we can to lift them out of that poverty. It takes a lot of work. It takes hard work.

It is possible for law enforcement to serve and protect all Americans--not just some--to root out the systemic racism that exists within law enforcement by enlisting the support of both law enforcement and the communities. It is possible.

I will candidly tell you another great disappointment was when we let that moment pass this summer--hoping that with a new President, maybe a new Senate, maybe a new Congress, we could get something accomplished. I hope that that still happens, but I was disappointed we let that moment pass this summer when all of the country and all of the world was behind us to say: Please do something. Please do something that we have known about for decades, for centuries. Please do something.

Law enforcement said: Let's do something.

We let it pass. But it is never too late to do the right thing. It is never too late for justice.

It is possible to ensure that every eligible voter is able to cast a ballot and have it counted. Now is the most important opportunity we have seen in 2020--concerns about our election process; that it might have been stolen; that there might have been fraud. Use that opportunity to say: Let's don't let these allegations have any credence going forward. Let's get together. The technology is there.

Figure out a way that together we can make our election safe and secure and that all people will have access to the ballot box--all people who are eligible to vote in this country.

It is possible for our system of justice to treat all Americans equally--not just talk about it, but to do it. It is what I have tried to do throughout my career. It is possible.

And this is going to be a challenge. It is possible to restore the American people's faith in government. And we all know right now that that faith has been shaken for many, many reasons. The faith has been shaken, but it is possible to restore it. It is possible for each of us to learn--as Atticus Finch taught us--to see things from another person's point of view, to walk around in their skin or in their shoes, to see things from other's point of view, to find that common ground.

It is possible for us to realize that deep down that progress is not a zero-sum game, that a rising tide lifts all boats.

These things are not easy. They take dedication and hard choices, but they are worthy goals. I know many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are dedicated to the same goals, and though I won't be able to cosponsor anything with you from this point on or debate the amendments in committee--if you get amendments in committee--I am going to support you in whatever efforts I can, no matter what side of the aisle your desk is on. And I will keep working toward the same goals too, even after I leave this place.

Remember, though, as we get into the vitriol, as we get into political rhetoric--just remember the Jones law of politics, adapted from Newton's third law. Just remember that for every action, even in politics, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you go too far on one side or the other, you are going to get a reaction on the other side, just as hard. And that makes it harder and harder to reach that common ground.

You know, in Senator Brown's book about his desk and the people in his desk, he quotes the political philosopher Hannah Arendt who observed: ``The good things in history are usually of very short duration, but afterwards have a decisive but a short time of influence''--a long influence--``over what happens over long periods of time.''

A short time--and I know you may be thinking, well, Doug was only here 3 years; so that is what he is talking about. But I am not. In history, I am looking at something bigger--whether it was Martha McSally's 2 years or my 3; Senator Gardner's 6; Senator Udall's 12; Senator Alexander's 18; or Enzi's and Roberts' 24; or, if you are like Pat Leahy, since Moses was in the bulrushes.

Our time here is short. There is not anybody on this floor right now who is not thinking about their time since they were sworn in and said that it was just like yesterday, because it was. Our time is short. It is of a limited duration, and we have to act like that. We have to make sure that every day we are moving.

It has been a realization of a long-held dream. I have so many to thank: Doug Turner, who is here; Joe Trippi, on my campaigns; and my late friend, Giles Perkins; and 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. They have been incredibly supportive. And then my daughter Courtney and her husband Rip and her two beautiful girls, my granddaughters, who are still the brightest stars in my sky, Ever and Ollie.

I am grateful to each of you, my colleagues, and all that you helped me with.

I am grateful to an amazing staff. I am not going to go all the way through it. They have been true rock stars. I am going to enter something into the Record about my staff.

I am grateful for the advice and counsel of Alabama's senior Senator and an old friend, Senator Shelby. While Richard and I may disagree on many policies, we share a commitment to the people of Alabama to make sure that we do all we can to get the people in Alabama the quality of life that they deserve, and I so much appreciate Richard's service to the people of the State of Alabama, his long and distinguished service--which started out as a Democrat, by the way, just saying. That is where the seed was planted, folks.

I also want to mention briefly the chairmen of the committees I worked on: Senator Crapo, Senator Inhofe, Senator Alexander--who was one of the first people who helped me come over--and the work that we did together. You pulled me and helped me. Senator Collins, who chaired the Aging Committee.

But I am especially grateful for the ranking members of those committees: Senators Brown, Casey, Murray, and Reed. Their friendship and counsel have been invaluable.

Of course, I want to thank the minority leader for all of his work for me and on behalf of me. And as I think you guys know--not always the people of Alabama--Senator Schumer never tried to put puppet strings on me. I know I got accused of that, but he never ever tried and, for that, I am very grateful.

To the people of Alabama, I promised to do my best to represent each of you, whether or not you voted for me, and I am proud of the work that we did on your behalf and that I have accomplished on your behalf. Thank you to the people for giving me the honor of serving you as your Senator.

Finally, I am going to resist the urge to tell you what is wrong with the Senate, how it operates today. You hear it virtually every time a Senator gives a farewell address, and, instinctively, you know it deep down. But I will offer you this. There is a book I finished reading recently that Ira Shapiro, a former staffer, wrote. Many of you may remember or know Ira. He wrote a book called ``The Last Great Senate.'' It ought to be required reading for every Senator coming in. It was published 8 years ago, about the two Congresses during the Carter administration and how they operated--Bob Byrd as majority leader, Howard Baker as the minority leader, how they got things done for the American people. The author laments that the Senate doesn't operate today in that fashion. I was here for one of those years. Senator Leahy was here during that time.

His closing is even more important today as it was when the book was published. He said:

America is adrift in turbulent and dangerous waters. Facing enormous challenges at home and abroad, we urgently need our once-vaunted political system to function at its best, instead of at its worst. To be sure, it is more difficult being a senator today than it was in the 1960's and 1970's. The increasingly vitriolic political culture, fueled by a twenty-four-hour news cycle, the endless pressure to raise money, the proliferation of lobbyists and demanding, organized interests are all well known, and they take a toll. But all of those factors make it more essential that our country has a Senate of men and women who bring wisdom, judgment, experience, and independence to their work, along with an understanding that the Senate must be able to take a collective action in the national interest.

Please remember that as you go about the country's business; remember that as you go about the Senate's business; remember that as you go about your business as a Senator. And as you do, keep and preserve the reverence that the Founders envisioned for this body. As former Majority Leader Mike Mansfield once said, ``The constitutional authority . . . does not lie with the leadership. It lies with all of us, individually, collectively, and equally. . . . In the end, it is not the Senators as individuals who are of fundamental importance. . . . In the end, it is the institution of the Senate. It is the Senate itself as one of the foundations of the Constitution. It is the Senate as one of the rocks of the Republic.''

Something we should all remember.

One more little bit of advice. Take out the word ``negotiation'' when you are talking about legislation. Don't talk about negotiating this bill or that bill, whether it is COVID relief or even appropriations. It works, but let me tell you what is happening out there, what is happening out there with the people. They hear those words, and they think this is some side or the other trying to get an advantage. It is like labor and unions. It is like a civil or criminal lawsuit. Somebody is trying to get an advantage to try to do things for their own interests.

We can talk about it from the Democratic side of how we are working for the people; we are negotiating for the people. We can talk about it from the Republican side; that we are negotiating for patriotism and businesses to make sure they are protected. But what is being heard by the American people is this is all about Democrats; this is all about Republicans and getting that political power.

Talk about common ground. Talk about sitting down with the administration or whomever and finding common ground. Talk about the goals that you agree on and how to get there. ``Negotiation'' is just a bad word, and I hate that, but it is.

As I prepare for the next chapter of my life's journey, there is a sadness of what I am going to leave behind, but there is also optimism--optimism, the glass half full, the men and women who serve in this body and their successors and the staff who support them. And I emphasize that, again, the staff who support them. Leading together will continue to bring a better future for the American people, for your constituents, for each of us together, not as a caucus but together as a Senate.

You are just a damn, unbeatable team. You are an unbeatable team.

May God bless you all. May God continue to bless the United States of America.

(Applause, Senators rising.

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