December 7, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6767 BARBARA MIKULSKI announced her retirement via rhyme: it will also be ‘‘the best thing you will The first colleague I wish to speak ‘‘More than 20 years in a job I love,’’ ever do.’’ I think this is something we about is from Maryland. Some call her she wrote, ‘‘thanks to California and can all relate to regardless of which Senator MIKULSKI, some call her Sen- the Lord above.’’ You get the picture. party we belong to and regardless of ator BARB, but everyone knows this: It goes on, but here is the key line: ‘‘As which State we come from. At the end She is tough. It explains how she got long as there are issues and challenges of the day, we all came here to accom- here in the fist place. and strife, I will never retire, ‘cause plish things for the people we rep- You see, BARBARA MIKULSKI had a lot that’s the meaning of my life.’’ That resent, even if we have different ideas of dreams growing up. She wanted to sure sounds like the Senator BOXER I on how to do them. be a scientist. She wanted to be a nun. know. So, thankfully, there should be no She even wanted to be an astronaut. It is not always easy to find common disagreement over this next task. I ask And if not for a ‘‘C’’ in chemistry, a ground around here. It takes hard all Senators to join me in recognizing vow of obedience, and the thought of work. It takes negotiation. It often our colleagues for their service and to wearing a flight suit—or so we have takes those intangibles too—like comic join me in wishing them good luck as heard—she probably could have done relief. So enter Senator INHOFE. I am they begin the next chapters of their all of those things. But Senator BARB really going to miss the JIM and BAR- lives. chose a different path—or rather all of BARA show when it comes to an end f them at once. You see, you don’t have next year, especially after such a sto- to work in a lab to champion science ried run over at EPW. One day, she is RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY research; you can serve as the lead the boss; the next day, it is he. They LEADER Democratic appropriator on the Com- are the best of pals; they are the fierc- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. COL- merce-Justice-Science Subcommittee. est of rivals. They work together on ev- LINS). The Democratic leader is recog- You don’t have to put on a habit to erything; they agree on almost noth- nized. look out for others; you can serve as ing. It sounds like the premise for some dean of the Senate women and cul- buddy comedy from the 1980s, but here f tivate mentorship among your col- is what it really is: a political TRIBUTE TO PRESIDENT BARACK leagues. And you certainly don’t have masterstroke. OBAMA to blast into space to blaze a trail— This unlikeliest of partnerships led something this longest serving female this year to the first significant envi- Mr. REID. Madam President, I apolo- Member of Congress knows very well. ronmental reform law in decades. It gize to Senator BOXER and Senator MI- It wasn’t an easy road getting here. It also led this year to Senate passage of KULSKI. They are going to give their wasn’t an easy road when she got here. a waterways infrastructure bill that final speeches, but I would like to have No Democratic woman had ever been will support important projects across this opportunity to speak a few words elected to the Senate in her own right our country. And while some may refer about President Obama. Of course I before BARBARA MIKULSKI. But, as she to BOXER and INHOFE as the ‘‘oddest of will be here for their full speeches. said on the stump, ‘‘I might be short, Senate odd couples,’’ here is what I It is hard to imagine today, but it but I won’t be overlooked.’’ And, boy, would call them: pretty smart. wasn’t that long ago that Barack she hasn’t been. I doubt she ever will I remember Senator INHOFE always Obama was a little-known Illinois leg- be. Maybe it has something to do with telling me how much he enjoyed work- islator with a very unusual name. I the mantra she follows: Do or do not— ing with Senator BOXER and how there still remember the first time I heard there is no try. No surprise that this were things they could actually agree that name. I was in the House gym, ‘‘Star Wars’’ fan is taking advice from on, so I made a note of it and kept an where Members congregated, and one Master Yoda. eye out for an opportunity of my own. of the people I shared the room with She has learned a lot from others, It finally happened in this very Con- was Abner Mikva, a longtime Illinois too, like her great-grandmother, who gress. Senator BOXER and Senator Congressman, an appellate court judge, emigrated from Poland with hope and INHOFE and I worked together to pass and President Clinton’s chief legal offi- little else—hope that her family might the longest term highway transpor- cer. one day experience this country’s tation and infrastructure bill in nearly I had known that Republican Senator many freedoms and opportunities. I two decades. This isn’t something the Peter Fitzgerald decided not to run for know she would be proud of her great- critics thought could be done. We each reelection after one term. Judge Mikva granddaughter today, proud of this harbored our own doubts. Yet, a bill turned to me and said he knew the per- crime novelist, this crab cake gourmet, that repeatedly threatened to come fect person to fill that open seat. this senior Senator from Maryland. apart actually never did. As Senator I said: Who could that be? So here is what we have come to BOXER put it, it was ‘‘the impossible He said: Barack Obama. know about Senator MIKULSKI: Her dream.’’ And it succeeded because we I said: What? word is her bond, she is a passionate worked in good faith, because we came He said: Barack Obama. advocate for the causes she supports, together, and because we focused on I said: Who? What kind of a name is and good luck stopping her once she the areas where we did agree and not that? puts her mind to something. just the ones where we didn’t. He said: He is one of the most tal- BARBARA BOXER That is what happens around here ented people I have ever met in all of You could say the same thing about when the Senate is working the way it my years. another BARBARA I know too. Senator should. We see colleagues from oppo- That said a lot to me, even though at BOXER, like her colleague from Mary- site sides working through political that time I smiled and left the room. land, is hardly the tallest Member differences and coming together on so- It didn’t take long, though, before I around here, but she is not in the habit lutions for the American people. Per- understood what Abner Mikva said to of getting overlooked either. The Boxer haps that is one reason why nearly a me. Barack Obama won that election box helps with that, of course. It is quarter of a century later, Senator in the Senate. He came from nowhere, what she stands on at press conferences BOXER says she is leaving the Senate a man with an unusual name, but once to give her just a little more height. with a full heart. I know she is leaving he was here, it was obvious he was the And, yes, if that sounds familiar, that with the respect of many of her col- real deal. His ability to communicate is because it is that box which once leagues, too, including some she might was, and is, stunning. I can remember served as inspiration for an episode of not have expected when she first came. one of the first floor speeches he gave HBO’s ‘‘Veep.’’ Let me finish with some advice BAR- here in the Senate on George Bush’s It is a good thing our colleague has a BARA MIKULSKI gave to young BARBARA policy regarding the Middle East war. sense of humor. She understands how BOXER as she contemplated her first It was eloquent, thoughtful, powerful. I far that can go around here. She has Senate run. ‘‘If you run,’’ Senator MI- was so impressed that following his often relied on it through her years in KULSKI said, ‘‘it will be the toughest speech—there had been a quorum call— the Senate, in fact, including when she thing you will ever do,’’ but, she added, his seat was way back there, and I

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.003 S07DEPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with SENATE S6768 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 7, 2016 walked up to him and I said—he was son with whom to leave public service comprehensive Wall Street and finan- sitting, I was standing looking over than Barack Obama. For 8 years I was cial reform legislation since the Great him, and I said: Senator, that was real- his point man, and it has been an honor Depression. His administration estab- ly terrific. That was really good. and an effort of pleasure. lished a new watchdog to help protect I will never forget his response. With- What this man accomplished, despite consumers from unfair financial prac- out hesitation, without any bragga- unprecedented obstruction from the tices. He signed legislation into law docio, no conceit, but with humility, Republicans, is remarkable. History that protects homeowners from mort- he looked up to me and said: I have a will remember President Barack gage fraud. gift. Obama’s many accomplishments. I President Obama took more action to It wasn’t a boast; it was a fact. I have don’t want to get the Presiding Officer protect our planet from a changing cli- never met anyone with the ability to in trouble, but it was because of her mate, including the historic Paris communicate as well as Barack and two other Republican Senators Agreement. Obama. Whether it is in his writing, that his first congressional session was I met yesterday with Native Alas- speaking to huge crowds of tens of remarkably historic. We wanted to do kans. It was scary to talk to a Native thousands of people or small crowds, or more, but this good woman presiding Alaskan woman. In her town of 800, someone on a one-on-one basis, he is over the Senate today said: Enough is people are having trouble getting in without equal when it comes to com- enough. We had to retract some of the and out of the town. She told me the municating. things we wanted to do. It was hard, animals are confused because the sea- His reputation was well known even but I do say this: It would not have sons are changing. before he came to the Senate. He had happened but for the Presiding Officer. The caribou have traveled for 20,000 written a book—a bestseller called President Obama saved the country years, we believe, 3,000 miles to mi- ‘‘Dreams from My Father’’—a decade from economic collapse, ushering in a grate every year. They walk in single before arriving here in the Senate. new era of growth. Since 2010, the eco- file, not in large herds jammed to- Like his 2006 book—also a bestseller— nomic recovery has added more than 16 gether. She said they are having such called ‘‘The Audacity of Hope,’’ this million private sector jobs. Median difficulty. They used to be able to walk book was full of lyrical and insightful household incomes have risen signifi- over the ice. They can’t. There is no writing. cantly. The unemployment rate is now ice. They have to swim. President Obama made the largest In ‘‘Dreams from My Father,’’ he 4.6 percent. In some States, like the investment ever in renewable energy. outlined the remarkable story of his State of Nevada, it is more than 14 per- He tripled wind power and increased life we have all come to know. Born in cent. President Obama brought the solar power by 30 times, creating more Kenya in faraway Africa was his fa- American auto and manufacturing in- than 200,000 jobs in solar alone, with ther. His mother was from Kansas. He dustries back from the brink of col- hundreds of thousands more jobs in the was raised by his grandparents in Ha- lapse with unique programs—Cash for next few years. waii. His mother and grandparents set Clunkers—and more than 800,000 new President Obama protected more positive examples for him. They pushed manufacturing jobs since 2010. The than 260 million acres of public lands him to always do better, to be the man auto industry has added almost 700,000 and waters. That includes more than he was born to be. That upbringing jobs since 2009. Domestic production of 700,000 acres in Nevada with one order would serve him well. automobiles doubled from below 6 mil- that he signed called the Basin and Barack Obama went to some of the lion units per year to 12 million per Range National Monument, a place most elite schools in the world. He was year in 2015. where John Muir came looking around an undergraduate at Columbia, where, President Obama brought health care for special places in America. He of course, he was an honor student, to tens of millions of Americans camped in hills in the Basin and Range. then Harvard Law School. He grad- through the Affordable Care Act. Every Hopefully, some day every Senator can uated with distinction. He made his- day, we learn how important this bill go to this magnificent place in the tory as the first African American to has been. We heard from the very con- desert. It has taken 40 years to build. be elected president of the Harvard servative American Hospital Associa- One man has done it, a famous artist Law Review. Just to be a member of tion today that doing away with by the name of Michael Heizer. It is the Harvard Law Review—having gone ObamaCare would bankrupt the hos- called the City. It is stunning. When I to law school myself—is significant, pital industry. We would lose over the talk about 40 years, it wasn’t work but he was the No. 1 guy in that very next few years almost $200 billion. done on weekends. It was days, week- prestigious law school. Even then, his Through the Affordable Care Act, 21 ends, overtime, and large contingencies reputation for bringing people together million more Americans now have af- of people he directed. This magnificent and his gift of communication were re- fordable health care. The uninsured thing in the middle of the desert is now nowned. rate is at an all-time low, and 92 per- protected forever. He continued to excel after law cent of Americans now have coverage. President Obama and First Lady school. He became a professor of con- Insurance companies cannot deny cov- Michelle Obama have made our Na- stitutional law at one of America’s erage and charge more to cover people tion’s children a top priority. In 2010, great law schools. He became a commu- with preexisting conditions. President Obama signed a bill into law nity organizer, as he has spoken about How many of us have gone out to our to fight child hunger and improve a lot. He became an Illinois State sen- home States and had people with tears school meals to ensure children receive ator before giving one of the most dra- in their eyes say: You know, Debbie the nutrition they need to have matic convention speeches in Amer- has been sick since she was a little girl healthy, successful futures. ican history at the 2004 Democratic with diabetes, and now, for the first President Obama made strides on Convention in Boston. time in her life, she can have health in- education. Our Nation’s high school Throughout it all, his ability to com- surance. graduation rate is the highest in the municate and connect with people Insurance companies can’t discrimi- history of our country. He reformed fueled his ascendancy. Those skills nate anymore against anyone because student loan programs, increased Pell made Barack Obama a terrific Senator, of their gender. All women were dis- grants, made student loan repayment and they have greatly benefited our criminated against before. Every more affordable, and expanded loan for- country over the past 8 years. American with insurance has access to giveness for graduates who enter public In just a few weeks, Barack Obama preventive care without cost sharing. service professions. will finish his term as the 44th Presi- That means no copays for immuniza- President Obama granted deferred dent of our great country. He will be tions, cancer screenings, contraceptive action to immigrant youth who would leaving office. I don’t know if I am coverage for women, diabetes have qualified under the DREAM Act, leaving with him or if he is leaving screenings, or blood pressure and cho- bringing nearly 800,000 young people with me. I guess I leave a few days be- lesterol tests. out of the shadows. fore he does, but we are leaving to- President Obama held Wall Street ac- President Obama made our country gether. I cannot think of a better per- countable. He signed into law the most more inclusive. He signed the repeal of

VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:58 Dec 07, 2016 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.004 S07DEPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with SENATE December 7, 2016 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S6769 don’t ask, don’t tell. He signed Execu- streak of private sector job growth from the House came over in the midst tive orders protecting LGBT workers. ever. We have the lowest unemploy- of all their work. I love them. I have Americans are now free to marry the ment rate in nearly a decade. enjoyed working with them. person they love, regardless of their After 8 years of President Obama, we I look around this Chamber, and I re- gender. are now as a country on a sustainable alize the reason I am able to actually As Commander in Chief, President path to fight climate change and grow leave is because I know each of you and Obama brought bin Laden to justice. renewable energy sources. We are more your passion to make life better for These are just a few aspects of Presi- respected around the world. We reached people, and that is what it is all about. dent Obama’s storied legacy, and it is international agreements to curb cli- When I decided not to run for reelec- still growing—what a record. It is a mate change, stop Iran from obtaining tion, you know how the press always legacy of which he should be satisfied. a nuclear weapon, and we are on the follows you around. They said: ‘‘Is this America is better because of this good path to normalizing relations with our bittersweet for you?’’ man being 8 years in the White House. neighbor Cuba. My answer was forthcoming: ‘‘No I am even more impressed by who he Our country has made significant way is it bitter. In every way it is is as a person than who he is as Presi- strides in nearly every way. There is no sweet.’’ dent. He is a man of integrity and hon- doubt that the United States is better Why do I feel that way? It is because esty. I have learned so much from him. now than we were 8 years ago, and we this has been a dream, to be in a pro- I have never heard Barack Obama deni- have Barack Obama to thank for that. fession that I think is noble, no matter grate anyone, ever. There have been Thank you, President Obama, for how beaten up it gets, for 40 years—for times he could have. Perhaps, I being the person you are. more than half my life—and I was able to do every day what I always wanted thought a negative word should have f been said and I suggested that to him, to do, which is simply to make life bet- but he would never take it. No, he RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME ter for people. I didn’t always succeed. wouldn’t do that. That is Barack The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under Were there frustrations? Yes. Were Obama. the previous order, the leadership time there disappointments? Yes. Were Above all, I admire the attention he is reserved. there defeats? Yes, many, but every has given his family. He may be Presi- morning when I woke up, I knew I had f dent of the United States, but nothing a chance to do something good. gets in the way of his family. He is a TSUNAMI WARNING, EDUCATION, As a first generation American on terrific husband to Michelle and an AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2015 my mother’s side, and, most particu- outstanding father to Sasha and Malia. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under larly, as a woman, I never in my He arrives home for dinner with his the previous order, the Senate will re- wildest dreams imagined that I could family virtually every night he is in sume consideration of the House mes- be in the U.S. Senate. It was an uphill Washington. He goes to their plays and sage to accompany H.R. 34, which the battle, and I know I speak for a lot of games. President or not, he is a hus- clerk will report. people sitting right here who know band and a father. The senior assistant legislative clerk what I am talking about. His devotion extends to his staff as read as follows: When I first ran for the Marin Coun- well, and he has had a terrific staff ty Board of Supervisors in 1972, it was House message to accompany H.R. 34, an working for him. I can’t mention all of act to authorize and strengthen the tsunami a Republican landslide year. It was them, but I will mention his present detection, forecast, warning, research, and more than tough. I will never forget Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough. He mitigation program of the National Oceanic one woman I spoke with after knocking and I have a very close relationship. and Atmospheric Administration, and for on her door. I introduced myself and Close relationships come with a lot of other purposes. said, ‘‘Hi, I am Barbara Boxer. I am difficulty sometimes. It has been Pending: running for county supervisor.’’ tough, but we tried to work through it McConnell motion to concur in the amend- She greeted me by saying, ‘‘I never together. ment of the House to the amendment of the thought you would be so short.’’ Then, Pete Rouse is one of the nicest people Senate to the bill. she said she wasn’t supporting me be- I have ever known. He also worked McConnell motion to concur in the amend- cause, quote, ‘‘You have four kids, and with the President very closely. He was ment of the House to the amendment of the you are going to neglect them if you his chief of staff as Senator, and, of Senate to the bill, with McConnell amend- are elected.’’ course, a chief adviser when he was in ment No. 5117, to change the enactment date. Well, never mind that this was a McConnell amendment No. 5118 (to amend- part-time job just a few minutes from the White House. ment No. 5117), of a perfecting nature. Rahm Emanuel, now the leader of the house. Never mind that the man I Chicago, IL, was former Chief of Staff, The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- was running against had a family and a and is currently mayor of Chicago. He ator from California. full-time job. Never mind that I actu- is a man known for his bluntness and FAREWELL TO THE SENATE ally had two kids, but she insisted. She his productivity as a Member of Con- Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, this said, ‘‘I know you have four kids be- gress and as Chief of Staff. is a moment for me that, I think it is cause I read it in the newspaper.’’ Alyssa Mastromonaco was former fair to say, I will never ever forget. I said, ‘‘Lady, when you give birth, Deputy Chief of Staff and I hope that I I am so honored. I am so honored to you never forget it, and I did it twice.’’ had something to do with the romance have members of my family here, staff Well, I lost that seat, but two things that wound up with her marrying my from past and present from both my helped get me through it. The first was chief of staff, David Krone. personal office and committee, extraor- an article by Gloria Steinem, who es- These are just a few of the incredible dinary colleagues whom I adore and sentially said women tend to take people I have had the pleasure of work- love, whom I worked with, fought with losses too personally. We have to un- ing with. They are all wonderful. and debated. I am so honored that Sen- derstand that we could be just a little Then there is President Obama’s Cab- ator MCCONNELL and Senator REID bit ahead of our time, and we can’t give inet—a Cabinet of quality. That in- have said really nice things about me. up. cludes my friend, Secretary of Interior I think, in Senator REID’s case, we go Second, my son Doug, only seven at Ken Salazar, a wonderful man and a back so long, and I will talk a little bit the time, ignored any attempts to terrific public servant, a man of sub- more about that. In Senator MCCON- cheer him up by saying, ‘‘Mom, can stance like no other ever known. NELL’s case, we didn’t talk for a long you make me a peanut butter and jelly After 8 years leading the country, time, and then we did get together and sandwich for lunch?’’ President Obama is leaving office on a we did some great work together. But I The point is that life goes on no mat- high point. When he first took office, think he was here just to make sure I ter how deep the disappointments. You our country was in an economic free am leaving. My leader over in the pick yourself up, and you keep fighting fall and hemorrhaging jobs. Now the House is here—NANCY PELOSI. I will because this is your country. It is our country is experiencing the longest talk about her more. My colleagues country, and it is worth fighting for. I

VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G07DE6.013 S07DEPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with SENATE