Thursday, December 20, 2012
Floor Speech: Senator Coons honors Senator Daniel Inouye and pays tribute to retiring senators
As Delivered on December 20, 2012
Mr. President, this has been a hard week here in the Senate as we have said goodbye. As you’ve just seen in the remarks of the majority leader, retirements are very difficult. Parting with the company of honored and treasured colleagues here in the Senate is as hard as it is anywhere in the world, but we have had some particularly difficult moments here just earlier today as all of us assembled in the Rotunda of this great building of this Capitol to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of one of our greatest colleagues, Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii. Even now, his desk sits draped in black, and his chair with a lei flown in from his home State of Hawaii.
And all of us, this week we have all known and felt the change in this chamber. The Senate has lost a giant and America has lost a hero. Danny Inouye was truly a great man, and I feel blessed in my short time here, my two years to have had the opportunity to sit with him over a private lunch, to joke with him occasionally in the anteroom, to learn something of his spirit and his personality. He had such a big heart and such a wonderfully gracious spirit.
Most of the senators I have had the honor to come to know in these two years I only knew from a great distance as a local elected official, as someone in the business community at home in Delaware. Frankly, when I asked Senator Inouye to lunch, I was intimidated. As a Congressional Medal of Honor winner, as a giant of the Senate, as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and the President pro tempore of this Senate I, frankly, trembled to sit with him at a lunch and was delighted to discover a person so approachable, so warm, so human, so hard working, so loyal, so spirited, and so passionate. So in the minutes ahead, I would like to share, if I can, a few insights about a dozen other senators who are retiring from this body and a few among them whom I have had the joy of getting to know in the last two years.
You don't often see the level of humanity in the Senate that we have seen this week, but it is an important one, I think, that the people who work in this building can be better than the passing politics that sometimes dominates, and Senator Danny Inouye knew that. His enduring friendship with Senator Ted Stevens, a Republican of Alaska, was legendary. He believed passionately that it was important for us to work together and to get past party affiliation and the picayune matters of the moment and to do right for our country.
If I could, of the many speeches I heard in this chamber and the remarks we heard earlier today in the Capitol Rotunda, one thing leaps out at me about Danny Inouye: Even when he was declared an enemy alien--as were all of his ancestry at the outset of one of the greatest conflicts this world has known--Senator Inouye volunteered for service in Europe and in our most decorated military unit, the 442nd Combat Battalion. He engaged in the fields of Europe and the hill country of Italy in a moment of such personal sacrifice and remarkable bravery as to humble any who hear its details.
In his service over decades after that moment, he proved what he showed forth on that battlefield: that Danny Inouye believed in America even before America believed in him. Even in a moment of such immense injustice, in this country, this man’s great heart, his aloha spirit, his embrace of the American dream, even in the moment when it was made most bitterly unreal to thousands of people across this country of Japanese ancestry, he led us forward. He pulled us into the greatness that was meant for this country.
The star of Senator Inouye may have dimmed in this chamber, this chamber that is surrounded in its border by stars, but, Mr. President, as I share with you the daily honor of presiding over this chamber, I will--in the days and months and years ahead—looking to our flag and remember this Senator, who represented the 50th state, the state of Hawaii, from its very first moment of joining the stars on our flag in statehood. He has shown ever more brightly in his decades of service here, and that example of service pulls us forward into an ever brighter commitment to human dignity, to decency, to the respect for all in this country that his lifelong service challenged us to believe in.
Mr. President, there are so many other senators I want to speak about today, but let me turn to a few, if I might, and give, if I can, some insight for the folks who only see the members of this chamber on cable TV shows or in the give-and-take of election season or who only know them as the cutout and caricatures that the public thinks of as senators. If there is a common thread between them, it is that they share that loyalty, that work ethic, and that humility that so characterized Senator Inouye in his decades of service here.
Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana, with whom I’ve had the honor to serve on the Foreign Relations Committee, subscribes to that same philosophy. Over the 35 years he served in the Senate, he applied the practical perspective that experience as the mayor of Indianapolis gave him. He got to the work of making the world a safer place for all of us.
Along with nine of our colleagues, Senator Lugar will retire from this chamber this month after a remarkable career. He knew the stakes were too high to let partisan politics and personality prevent progress. On the Foreign Relations Committee, he partnered with Delaware’s own Joe Biden, with Senator John Kerry, and with Senator Sam Nunn. Because of that work together, there are today thousands fewer nuclear weapons in our world. Serving with Dick Lugar these last two years has been a tremendous honor.
As has been serving with Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, another retiring colleague, who knows there are things in this world, in our lives more important than our politics. A decorated marine, a celebrated author, a former Secretary of the Navy, and now a respected senator. His tireless work has helped to make the world safer, our veterans stronger, and our criminal justice system more fair. And I will truly miss his company.
Mr. President there are a few more retiring senators I would like to share some more detailed stories about today, but let me, if I might, start with my chairman from the Budget Committee, Senator Kent Conrad. Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota is a Senator I met many, many years ago. But if I am going to talk about him, I feel, I have to have a chart. You really cannot speak to Kent Conrad's service and record here in the United States Senate without a chart.
Senator Kent Conrad tackled for decades the challenge of educating the men and women of the Senate and the people of this country about the very real fiscal and budgetary challenges facing our country. As we can see, especially after the debut of Microsoft Excel, and then after he was named Budget Committee chair, the steady increase and usage of floor charts by Senator Conrad has paved a path which few of us can hope to follow.
Senator Conrad is a budget wonk after my own heart, a numbers guy. Someone who is not afraid to get into the weeds and to project in a clear and legible format the minutia and magnifying details of the complex federal budget. I am not sure I have met anyone in the Senate so passionately serious about the numbers and about getting them right as my friend, Senator Conrad.
The first time I met him was more than 15 years ago. He had come to Wilmington for an event that then-Senator Biden hosted at the Delaware Art Museum. There were maybe 200 folks in a big auditorium. I will never forget Senator Biden introducing Senator Conrad as, literally, the most serious, most thoughtful, and most detailed budget leader in Washington.
Senator Conrad stands up and fires up his overhead projector, the lights dim, and he launches into a lengthy discourse on the minutia of the federal budget and deficit at the time. Thirty minutes and maybe more than 40 slides later, the lights came back up, and I think there were maybe 20 of us left in the auditorium. Everyone else wandered outside for the cocktails.
I was enthralled by his presentation, the clarity of his thinking, and by his dedication to get things right for the American people. Today I am on the Budget Committee, and I have enjoyed serving with Senator Conrad as my chairman. It was, for this budget nerd, a dream come true to have the chance to show up on time and know that this Budget Committee chairman was the other member of the committee who always showed up on time. It gave us a moment to reflect on the challenges we face and the very real solutions he has offered over these many years of service.
Senator Conrad has earned the deserved respect of his colleagues the old-fashioned way: through hard work, attention to detail, and thoughtful leadership. He has been trying and working hard for many years to get us to make the tough choices in the Senate that we need to make to deal with our national debt. He has not given up, and I don't intend to either. I am grateful for his friendship and service.
Mr. President, another full committee chairman with whom I have had the honor to serve these past two years is Senator Bingaman of New Mexico, chairman of the Energy Committee. He is one of the kindest, smartest, gentlest people I have ever met. He has been a pleasure to work with on the Energy and Natural Resource Committee.
I remember we were both speaking at a conference on advanced energy research last year out at National Harbor. Thousands of scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs were there. I pulled up in front of the massive convention hall, and right out in front was a Prius with New Mexico plates. Sure enough, Chairman Jeff Bingaman jumps out of the driver's seat - no staff.
So here was the chairman of the Energy Committee, and a senator for nearly 30 years, driving himself to a major policy speech in his Prius. Practicing what he preaches, as he prepared to deliver an important speech in a moment that showed his humility.
As unassuming a man as Senator Bingaman is, when he speaks, you listen. He is living proof that the value of one's words can and should exceed their volume. On that day at National Harbor, Senator Bingaman delivered a message similar to one he had given a decade earlier in a report: ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.'' Jeff Bingaman saw that this country was falling behind in the race for innovation, falling behind on investment in research and education, things that lay the foundation for our long-term competitiveness. This vision and concern haunted him, so he teamed up with our great colleague from Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, and challenged the National Academy of Sciences to study this trend and offer recommendations. From that challenge, we got the Seminole study, ``Rising Above the Gathering Storm.''
It asked what it would take for America to continue to lead in innovation and it led to the America COMPETES Act and the creation of ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy. The very conference at which we had been speaking was the ARPA-E annual conference. Both of these important accomplishments played vital roles in our future competitiveness. They are focused on nurturing innovation, creating an ecosystem where political, scientific, and economic forces work together and not against each other.
That is Jeff Bingaman. That is his sweeping, long-range vision, one we should all heed. His commitment to thoughtful and forward-looking service on our nation's long-term competitiveness will be sorely missed. But even more, I know many of us will miss his reserved, dignified passion.
I had a similar experience, Mr. President, with Senator Herb Kohl, my colleague on the Judiciary Committee. I remember in my first few months here that Senator Kohl spoke so rarely that when I first heard him speak at an event on the manufacturing extension partnership--one of his passions, and mine--I was struck by the power and reach of his voice. It is because he uses it so sparingly, but his example speaks even louder. He never sought the spotlight here but worked tirelessly to make a difference fighting for the little guy on antitrust issues in the Judiciary Committee.
He believes, as do I, that if an American entrepreneur has a great idea, we should help protect that idea by preventing trade secret theft and other intellectual property threats. We also share a deep commitment to the idea that higher education should be more accessible and affordable to every student who wants to pursue it. I am honored to have the opportunity to take up from Senator Kohl's work on these and other important issues.
Outside this chamber Senator Kohl has just as strong a voice and broad an impact with his personal philanthropy, but we would never hear him speak about it; that is just not his style. He has earned my abiding respect with his unassuming grace and his determined leadership.
Mr. President, those who adhere to the Jewish faith around the world are inspired by the ancient concept of “tikkun olam” --``to heal the world''--to challenge to each of us who seek to serve each other and our communities. Like Senator Kohl, my dear friend Senator Joe Lieberman has certainly risen to that challenge. A man deeply committed to his faith, which has significantly influenced his career and his drive to serve, something I share with Senator Lieberman.
On my very first congressional delegation, my first trip as a senator, just a few months after being sworn in, I visited Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, and Israel. Senator Lieberman was on a different CODEL, and our paths crossed and we got to share a shabbat dinner at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem one night. As he was crossing the room for us to sit, I realized he could be elected mayor of Jerusalem.
As we sat and broke bread and shared, it was a great comfort for me. Earlier that day, I had gotten word that Delaware had lost one of our great leaders, Muriel Gilman, a personal friend and a remarkable leader and a person of kindness and spirit. She was a pioneer for women in my state and personified this spirit of tikkun olam. So over dinner that night in Jerusalem, Senator Lieberman and I talked about Muriel, about what I had seen in Jordan and Israel, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and experienced in my first trip as a senator. It was just a remarkable moment for me. Senator Lieberman was engaging and warm, interesting and passionate as we talked about policy and faith, and he reflected with me on the point of his own life when his religion became his faith, when he really took ownership of the religion of his birth and how that faith and its lessons have shaped his public service. For me as a young senator, it was a formative moment.
His passion for the stability of the world and the security of the United States and our vital ally, Israel, and his dedicated work for the clarity of the air we breathe and his tireless advocacy for the equality of all Americans regardless of whom they love, has been inspirational. His desire to work together and find responsible compromise has been motivating.
I am deeply grateful to Joe Lieberman for his service, his counsel, and his friendship. And his lesson that, no matter what faith tradition we are from, we can use our service in this chamber as an opportunity to repair our world.
So, Mr. President, here we are, five days before my family celebrates Christmas and 12 days before the new year and the beginning of the so-called fiscal cliff. Our politics have paralyzed this chamber and this town. But what the example of all of these remarkable senators has shown us, what it has taught me: is that we can still be better than our politics.
The humanity of this place, too often shoved aside by the politics of the moment, shows us that we can do better. One by one, these senators, in delivering their farewell addresses to this chamber, stood at their desks and each in turn urged us to find a way to return to the days when senators knew each other and worked together. What will it take, Mr. President, to get us to that point again--a horrific tragedy in an elementary school? A dangerous economic cliff? Some devastating attack? A cyber assault on America?
Our retiring colleagues are each telling us, each in turn, that it is not too late to restore the humanity of this chamber and make a positive difference in the lives of all we serve. Will we heed their call? I hope and pray we will, because we can do better. We must do better. And in the spirit of each of these departing colleagues, I will do my level best. I hope we all can commit to doing the same.
Thank you, and I yield the floor.
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