Tribute To Senators

Floor Speech

Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I want to take a moment to thank President Obama for his service in the Senate. Our new President has some very difficult challenges ahead, as he faces a serious economic downturn, and many critically important national security issues. But he has already shown his ability to handle tough challenges through his outstanding work here in the Senate since his election in 2004.

From the moment he arrived, Barack Obama showed himself to be an outstanding legislator and public servant. I was very pleased to work with him on ethics and lobbying reform issues, first authoring a bill together, and then working together to pass the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. Passing that landmark legislation took a determined, focused effort over many months, and then-Senator Obama showed that he was both a deeply principled, and very effective, member of this body. I was also pleased to work with him on a number of other issues, including the presidential public funding legislation, and I look forward to his continued support on that issue in this new Congress.

I was proud to support his efforts, along with many other members, on the efforts to support our wounded warriors, which he championed. And, finally, I thank him for his support of my bill, authored with Majority Leader Harry Reid, to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq. His support helped to build momentum for our effort to redeploy the troops from Iraq and move toward a better national security strategy, and I thank him for it.

We will miss his presence here in the Senate, but of course the Nation needs his unparalleled skills, and deep commitment to public service, more than ever as he is now President of the United States. I look forward to continuing to work with him on issues important to the American people, and I thank him once again for his service here in the Senate.

JOSEPH BIDEN

Mr. President, it has been a pleasure to serve with Senator Joe Biden for the last 16 years. He is an outstanding colleague and a good friend, and I know that he will make a terrific Vice President. I have been pleased to work with him on so many issues over the years. For instance, I was proud to support him in his tremendous work on the COPS program. In turn I appreciate his steadfast support of campaign finance reform issues over the years.

Most of all, I want to say how much I have enjoyed serving with Senator Biden on the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees. I also can attest to his mastery of the complicated issues he faced in both committees. It is a huge challenge to take on the chairmanship of a Senate committee, and to do it well, but to serve with such distinction as chair of two of the Senate's most important committees is very rare, and it speaks volumes about Joe Biden's service in this body.

I have always found Senator Biden to be someone who I could talk with seriously about issues of mutual concern, or when we disagree. He is open-minded and he really listens. That quality will surely serve him well in his new position. He also, in my view, can be uniquely persuasive. He is one of the few Senators who I have actually seen change people's minds during a committee debate. In a policy fight involving complex issues, Joe Biden is someone who you want to have on your side.

Now Senator Biden becomes Vice President, and I know he will serve the Nation with the same outstanding commitment and skill with which he served the people of Delaware. I thank him for his many years of distinguished service in the Senate, and look forward to continuing to work with him, and President Obama, in the years to come.

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON

Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleagues in thanking Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for her outstanding service in the Senate, and wishing her our very best as she becomes our Secretary of State. One of the many reasons I strongly support her nomination for Secretary of State is because I have had the pleasure of working with Senator Clinton, and I know what a skilled legislator and committed public servant she is. We have worked on a number of issues together over the years, including fighting for family farmers and especially the dairy farmers that are so important to both New York and Wisconsin. Finding common ground, we worked together to make sure dairy markets functioned properly, to improve the milk income loss contract or MILC program, and pushing for country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, legislation for dairy products. I was also proud to support the Paycheck Fairness Act, which she authored, and to work with her on many other issues.

I also had the opportunity to travel with Senator Clinton and a number of other senators on an official trip to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and Pakistan, where we listened to service men and women on the ground, as well as local leaders. On that trip Senator Clinton deeply impressed me with her depth of knowledge on foreign relations and national security issues. Later I was very pleased to have her support for my effort with Majority Leader Harry Reid to safely redeploy our troops from Iraq, and I look forward to continuing to work with her on these critically important issues as she becomes our next Secretary of State. Once again, I thank her for her service in this body, and I wish her all the best as she continues her service to the American people.

KEN SALAZAR

Mr. President, I join my colleagues in thanking Ken Salazar for his outstanding service to the people of Colorado over the last 4 years. It has been a pleasure to work with him on a number of issues; he is extremely easy to work with, both someone of integrity and great personal decency. In particular, he has been one of the Senate's leaders when it comes to protecting the rights and freedoms of the American people as we work to strengthen our national security. I was proud to work with him and a bipartisan coalition of Senators on the SAFE Act to change flawed provisions of the PATRIOT Act. I also appreciated his critical support of the NSL Reform Act, to address the serious misuse of the FBI's national security letter authorities. I also know Senator Salazar's deep commitment to public lands and energy resources issues, and I think he will be an excellent Secretary of the Interior. Again, I thank him for his service in this body, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as he assumes the leadership of the Interior Department.

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