Kay Bailey Hutchison 

U.S. SENATOR FROM TEXAS 

TRIBUTES 

IN THE CONGRESS OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

UNUM

E PLURIBUS


congress.#15
Kay Bailey Hutchison 

Courtesy U.S. Senate Historical Office 


81106.eps
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 2014

S. DOC. 113–8 

Tributes 

Delivered in Congress 

Kay Bailey Hutchison 

United States Senator 

1993–2013 

÷ 

Compiled under the direction 

of the 

Joint Committee on Printing 

[ iii ] 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Biography .................................................................................................. v 

Farewell Address ...................................................................................... ix 

Proceedings in the Senate: 

Tributes by Senators: 

Boxer, Barbara, of California .................................................... 32 

Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland ............................................ 27 

Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi ................................................... 21 

Collins, Susan M., of Maine ...................................................... 3 

Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota ................................................. 12 

Cornyn, John, of Texas .............................................................. 17 

Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah ........................................................... 20 

Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas ............................................... 10, 23 

Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota .................................................. 31 

Kyl, Jon, of Arizona ................................................................... 3 

Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont ................................................... 26 

Levin, Carl, of Michigan ............................................................ 21, 24 

McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky ................................................. 13 

Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland .......................................... 4, 6 

Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska ....................................................... 29 

Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island ...................................................... 23 

Reid, Harry, of Nevada .............................................................. 33 

Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan ................................................. 23 

Proceedings in the House of Representatives: 

Tributes by Representatives: 

Poe, Ted, of Texas ...................................................................... 35 

[ v ] 

BIOGRAPHY 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON was born in Galveston, TX, on 

July 22, 1943. She attended public schools in La Marque, 

TX, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin 

and the University of Texas Law School in 1967. 

Her early career included work as a TV reporter; a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1972 to 

1976; vice chair of the National Transportation Board from 

1976 to 1978; bank executive and general counsel; businesswoman; Texas State treasurer from 1990 to 1993; and temporary cochair of the Republican National Convention in 

1992. 

She was elected to the U.S. Senate on June 5, 1993, in a 

special election to fill the remainder of the term following the 

resignation of Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. She is the only woman 

elected to represent the State. She was reelected in 1994, 

2000, and 2006, and served until January 3, 2013. 

She served in the Senate leadership, having first been 

elected vice chairman of the Republican Conference and later 

elected chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, the 

fourth-highest ranking Republican Senator. 

She served as ranking member on the Senate Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and Science. 

She was chairman of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee and served on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. She was a member of the Republican 

National Hispanic Assembly Advisory Committee and was 

elected several times to chair the Board of Visitors at the 

U.S. Military Academy at West Point. 

Senator HUTCHISON consistently championed tax relief for 

working families. She led the fight to provide relief from the 

marriage income tax penalty and to reestablish the deduction for State and local sales taxes. She worked to reduce 

marginal income tax rates, eliminate the death tax, and 

lower taxes on capital gains. Early in her career she was the 

lead sponsor of a bill to create the new Homemaker IRA, 

which allows spouses who do not work outside the home to 

save for retirement through an IRA. The bill became law in 

[ vi ] 

1996, and in 2013, was named the Kay Bailey Hutchison 

Spousal IRA. 

She has a well-earned reputation as a national leader on 

defense issues and as a tireless advocate for U.S. military 

forces, helping to ensure they had adequate resources and 

proper training necessary to defend the Nation. She fought 

hard to improve the quality of life for U.S. military personnel, their families, and veterans by improving health benefits and education opportunities and modernizing and upgrading military facilities and family housing. She introduced and passed legislation creating an Overseas Basing 

Commission, which conducted a comprehensive review of the 

U.S. military’s global footprint to help ensure that U.S. 

Armed Forces are prepared to meet 21st century threats. 

Senator HUTCHISON was instrumental in helping enact the 

National Intelligence Reform Act, which included provisions 

she wrote to ensure better screening of cargo and instruct 

the Transportation Security Administration to establish a 

database of known shippers, develop facility security plans, 

and mandate the use of worker identification cards. She secured funding for additional border patrol agents to strengthen enforcement of immigration laws. During her term as 

chair of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation she played a major role in drafting the airline security 

bill enacted by Congress after the September 11 terrorist attacks. 

Since first elected to the Senate in 1993, she has been a 

leading advocate for science, technology, education, and competitiveness. She cosponsored the America COMPETES Act 

in 2007, and when it was reauthorized in 2010, introduced 

a provision in the bill enabling colleges and universities to 

allow more students who major in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) to become concurrently certified as elementary and secondary school teachers. Because 

studies have shown that some students learn better in a 

single-gender environment she also sponsored and passed 

legislation allowing public schools to offer single-sex education. During her time in the Senate, Texas moved to third 

in the Nation in receipt of Federal research and development 

expenditures for higher education research institutions. 

She was instrumental in establishing the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas to provide broader recognition of Texas’ top achievers in these fields and to build 

a strong identity for Texas as a center of achievement for 

medicine, engineering, and science. 

[ vii ] 

Senator HUTCHISON joined with Senator Bill Nelson to 

pass the NASA reauthorization bill in 2010 that bolsters 

America’s human space flight capabilities for the next steps 

in deep-science exploration, while moving forward with development of a new commercial space industry. 

She introduced legislation in the 112th Congress to reverse 

some of the effects of President Obama’s health care law. 

Her Patients’ Freedom to Choose legislation was focused on 

repealing provisions that restrict health savings accounts 

and flexible spending accounts. 

In 2008 Senator HUTCHISON authored an amicus curiae 

brief for the Supreme Court case DC v. Heller to affirm an 

individual’s right to keep and bear arms. Her brief was 

signed by the Vice President and by more Members of Congress than any other brief in U.S. history. The Supreme 

Court, in a landmark decision, affirmed the individual’s Second Amendment rights. 

Senator HUTCHISON lives in Dallas with her husband, Ray, 

and their two children, Bailey and Houston. 

[ ix ] 

Farewell to the Senate 

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to address this Chamber for possibly the last time as the senior 

Senator from the great State of Texas. 

I have to say it is an ironic note that if I had given my 

farewell address last week, there would have been so much 

joy in the halls of the Capitol, ringing with the laughter and 

the anticipation of our season’s happiest time. But in just 

one weekend, a sadness has set in with the news of a massacre of innocent children in Newtown, CT, followed by the 

loss of our wonderful colleague, Senator Danny Inouye. 

So I will leave this extraordinary institution and experience with a heavy heart for those who have been lost in the 

last few days. 

I want to thank the people of Texas for asking me to represent them in Washington. I want to thank the many people who have served on my staff for almost 20 years. I have 

to say I am touched that both benches on both sides of this 

room are filled with my staff members who have been so 

hard working and so loyal and have produced so much in 20 

years for our State and Nation, and I thank them. 

I want to thank my colleagues and all the people who work 

here, the Senators, but also those who work behind the 

scenes to make our lives as good as they can be with the 

hard hours we all have; those who keep our buildings safe 

and clean, who work in the libraries, the shops, the cafeterias, and who guide tens of thousands of tourists through 

our Nation’s beautiful Capitol each year. 

I want to thank my husband Ray and our two children, 

Bailey and Houston. They are 11 years old now, and so many 

of my colleagues who were here when I started bringing my 

children as babies have watched them grow up. The Senate 

isn’t easy on families. They have sacrificed so I could serve 

the people of Texas, and I am grateful for their patience and 

generosity. They have loved coming to the Capitol—11 years 

for the children and 20 for my husband Ray. I know my children’s fondest memory, if I ask them what do they remember 

[ x ] 

most about visits to the Capitol, is playing soccer in the Russell Building’s hallways in the evenings when the coast is 

clear. 

I would not be here today if it were not for my parents 

who gave me the gifts of strong values, unwavering support, 

and education to be whatever I wanted to be. I must say that 

my parents were surprised when they saw what I wanted to 

be. They would never have thought that their daughter, 

growing up in LaMarque, TX—a town of 15,000 good people—would think she could be a U.S. Senator. We had a 

wonderful public school system, and I am proud to say I am 

a product of public education. My public schools in 

LaMarque—which were excellent—and my University of 

Texas and University of Texas Law School prepared me to 

be what I could be. 

It has been a privilege to walk these halls in the Capitol 

of the world’s greatest and longest serving democracy. 

I think back to the days that stand out in our memories. 

September 11, 2001, of course, is the one none of us will ever 

forget. We know exactly where we were the minute we knew 

there was a terrorist attack on America. Though we suffered 

a horrific attack, the strength, resilience, and extraordinary 

acts of kindness of the American people showed the world 

that attempts to destroy our way of life would never succeed. 

On that day, no one could get in or out of Washington and 

many communications networks were inoperable. So when 

the Pentagon was hit and the Capitol was evacuated, my 

staff and I walked one block to my home on Capitol Hill. 

Just as an example, the husband of my office manager 

worked in the section of the Pentagon that had been hit, so 

we were on the one phone that we had to hospitals, the police, anyone we thought might be able to tell us if he was 

safe. Thankfully, he was fine. But there were so many who 

waited for hours, who called hospitals, to hear from their 

loved ones. Sometimes the news was a relief and sometimes 

they waited in vain for good news. 

I have to say it was an incredible moment when the Senators who could find each other, wherever they had gone 

from the Capitol, finally gathered late afternoon in the Capitol Police headquarters to talk to our leaders who had been 

taken to an undisclosed location. They said, We don’t want 

anyone to come, but we were going to the steps of the Capitol to hold a press conference. We don’t want anyone there 

because we don’t know if it is safe, but we want to tell the 

press that we are going to open for business tomorrow and 

[ xi ] 

do the Nation’s business, even though there was suspicion 

that the Capitol had been on the terrorists’ list of targets. 

Every single one of the Senators—and I think there were 

60 to 70 who had made it to the Capitol Police headquarters—did come to the Capitol steps, as did Members of 

the House of Representatives. After the press conference was 

held by the leaders, all of the several hundred who had gathered spontaneously broke out singing ‘‘God Bless America.’’ 

That was a time that said this is the strength of our country 

and we will not be defeated. 

As I exit the Senate, I am aware that we are divided as 

a legislative body and as a country. I do not think we have 

different goals—not here, and not in America—but we do 

have different ways of reaching them. Congress suffers a 

great deal of criticism for partisan acrimony. But while we 

may disagree politically and air our opposition in this Chamber, it is the conversation behind the scenes that cements 

and defines our relationships. I will leave the Senate knowing I have worked with men and women of great patriotism, 

intellect, and heart on both sides of the aisle. 

I wish to thank my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, 

for the many wonderful years working together. We seconded 

one another at times and engaged in rigorous debate in others. Yet the American people should know that either way, 

we are collegial and we all understand that our States have 

different needs and there will be differences in priorities. In 

the Senate, an adversary today will be an ally tomorrow. It 

is a rare occasion for acrimony to turn personal. 

It would be my parting hope that this collegiality will not 

be lost. Protecting the rights of the minority has assured 

that every Senator’s voice is heard and every State represented is heard, as intended by our Constitution. Open debate and open amendments are what differentiate the Senate from the House. 

When our committees function, we pass bills in vigorous 

markups, we put the bills in shape for floor debate. If they 

don’t go through committees and are not allowed floor 

amendments, the quality of the legislation suffers and mistakes are often made. 

Let me give you some examples of how relationships can 

produce results. 

During the anthrax scare, the Hart Building was closed for 

a month, which made it very difficult, of course, for Senators 

based there to do their work. So Senator Dianne Feinstein’s 

staff joined in my offices in the Russell Building. My chief 

[ xii ] 

of staff at the time gave them full access. One of Senator 

Feinstein’s staff members commented on that: A Republican 

office giving Democrats free rein? But my chief of staff said, 

‘‘They had full access because we trusted them.’’ 

Senator Feinstein and I have teamed up to pass important 

legislation—the Hutchison-Feinstein Overseas Basing Commission—that studied the training capabilities and costs of 

overseas military bases to determine their value compared to 

American bases. This resulted in consolidation and closures 

that brought thousands of troops back to the United States 

where training and rapid deployment were superior. We 

passed the Feinstein-Hutchison Breast Cancer Research 

Stamp bill that, through voluntary purchase, has raised $72 

million for breast cancer research. That was Senator Feinstein’s idea. Senator Feinstein and I took the AMBER Alert 

for abducted children nationwide, which has accounted for 

rescuing almost 600 children since its passage. 

I remember when Senator Hillary Clinton stopped by with 

her chief of staff to wish me happy birthday the first year 

she was in the Senate. It was just a few months after she 

had arrived, and my staff was surprised—and possibly a bit 

star struck—to see the former First Lady walk into the 

room. We went on to work together on Vital Voices, a global 

partnership dedicated to supporting and empowering women 

leaders and social entrepreneurs in emerging economies. We 

also teamed up with Senators Mikulski and Collins to assure 

public schools had the option to offer single-sex schools and 

classes, after I visited with Secretary of Education Rod Paige 

and the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in the Harlem 

area of New York City—one of the first and most successful 

pilot projects for girls’ public schools, with which I know the 

Presiding Officer is very familiar. 

I remember the time I invited Senator Barbara Mikulski 

to Texas, because she and I have worked together supporting 

NASA for so many years, and this year she had been chair 

and I ranking member of the Appropriations subcommittee 

funding NASA. We went to visit the Johnson Space Center 

because I wanted her to see the great work they are doing 

there. Then I took her to the Houston rodeo because I wanted her to see the Texas culture. Well, I am not sure the Senator who grew up in the inner city of Baltimore knew exactly 

how people would dress at the rodeo, but suffice it to say 

there were a lot of rhinestones and cowboy boots and big 

hair and big hats. Senator Mikulski whispered to me during 

this time, ‘‘KAY, if we were here Monday and we went to the 

[ xiii ] 

chamber of commerce, would these people look like this?’’ I 

said, ‘‘Yeah, pretty much.’’ 

Senator Mikulski and I also teamed up to pass the Homemaker IRA, to make sure our stay-at-home moms and dads 

would have the same opportunity for retirement security 

savings that those who work outside the home have, and it 

has been a huge success. We also cosponsored the National 

Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. She is 

a skilled legislator and a dear friend. 

Senator Jay Rockefeller has been an outstanding chairman 

of the Commerce Committee. We don’t always agree, but as 

the lead Democrat and Republican we have worked hard to 

reach consensus, and we have gotten things done—the FAA 

bill started the planning for the next generation of air traffic 

control systems; the highway bill; the NASA reauthorization 

that ensured we would keep the focus on our space program 

that has been instrumental in our national security and economic development, with tremendous help from Senator Bill 

Nelson, who is the only one among us today who has actually been into space. 

In a Congress that has been marked by little progress, we 

have found a way forward. For some, that might not be 

something to take pride in. But we have served the American people by passing legislation that keeps the country 

running, and I am very proud of what we have been able to 

accomplish. Our Commerce Committee has been one of the 

most productive in the whole Congress. And I count him as 

a friend. 

Leader Mitch McConnell has guided our party and our 

conference through the past 6 years. He is a gifted leader 

and one whom I have witnessed time and time again come 

up with strategies that have gotten things done in the right 

way. 

Senator Jon Kyl and I have worked on immigration and 

death tax relief. Senator Lamar Alexander and I have championed the America COMPETES Act, so we would continue 

the priority of scientific research and that we would never 

fail to invest in research because it is the sequel for our 

economy. 

I am very pleased that the distinguished ranking member 

of the Judiciary Committee and the Finance Committee—Finance Committee now and Judiciary before—is also on the 

Senate floor. He has been a wonderful friend to me, helping 

me in my very first election when he was the rock star at 

[ xiv ] 

my fundraisers in Texas. I thank Senator Orrin Hatch for 

his long membership in this body. 

I have had the wonderful, good fortune to serve with two 

colleagues from my home State. First, Senator Phil Gramm, 

who was a wonderful mentor and colleague. They broke the 

mold after Senator Gramm. We always enjoyed our school rivalry—he being a Texas Aggie and me being a University of 

Texas alum—they like to call them hopeless Tea-sips, but we 

are proud Longhorns. 

I have had a great relationship with my other Senator, 

who is soon going to be the senior Senator from Texas, John 

Cornyn. John Cornyn, I am very pleased to say, is going to 

get the opportunity that I have had all these years when 

people trip up and introduce me as the senior citizen of 

Texas. I turn that mantle over to my colleague, Senator 

Cornyn. 

I am very proud he is going to be the deputy Republican 

leader in the next Congress. I know he is going to be a 

steady hand at the wheel as we try to steer the ship of state 

in the right direction. He has proven time and again that his 

steady leadership is the one that rises to the top. I thank 

him for being on the floor as well today. 

In fact, I want to praise our entire Texas congressional 

delegation. We call it Team Texas. It is a spirit that holds 

our delegation together, Republicans and Democrats. I have 

noted that there are those in Washington who think Texans 

are a little too loud, and we have a little too much fun, but 

I can assure everyone that Team Texas’ hearts are as big as 

our mouths. 

It has been a long and wonderful 19-plus years. We hit the 

ground running, and we have never stopped. When I was 

first elected in a special election in 1993, we had two—actually four full planeloads of people flying up for my swearing 

in. Because it was a special election, we filled the entire gallery. Those rowdy Texans were so happy to watch my little 

swearing in ceremony. It was a great day for me, as well as 

my wonderful and loyal friends and supporters. 

I started having weekly constituent coffees that first year 

because there were so many visitors from Texas and I wanted to make sure at least there was one time every week that 

any Texan who was here who wanted to see me could come 

and visit and was welcome. So every Thursday morning 

around 9 or 9:30 we would have a coffee. The person in 

charge of this first effort was the wife of a three-star general 

who volunteered her time in our offices. I think it was as 

[ xv ] 

much her handling of the event as the idea itself that has 

led many other Senators to take up this practice and get a 

chance to always visit with their constituents at least once 

a week if they were otherwise going to committee meetings 

or having to do their work and were not able to see everyone. 

I want to thank Gert Clark for putting her stamp on our 

Senate hospitality. 

Some of the most powerful moments that will stay with me 

forever were spent with our members of the military. Visiting with them where they are in harm’s way across the 

world is one of the most moving of all experiences. I will 

never forget the first time, in the early 1990s, flying into Sarajevo in an undercover C–130 that was disguised as a Red 

Cross delivery of peas—2,000 pounds of peas that we actually had on the C–130—and I have to say my good friend, 

Danny Inouye, was on that trip with us, as I look over at his 

empty desk with the white flowers, as was Senator Ted Stevens. We flew in to see our troops in Bosnia. 

Later I went back to Bosnia to spend Easter with our 

troops where we had the most beautiful Easter sunrise service I have ever attended or ever will. It was in an open-air 

hangar with our service men and women who were deployed 

there. For the first time it was a Texas Guard unit that was 

in command of the base, and it was the first time since the 

Korean war that we had a Guard unit in command of an operation overseas. They did a great job, which led to many 

Guard units from other States also to take command of bases 

and operations. 

I flew out of Baghdad—this was in the last few years—in 

another C–130 when there were no lights on the plane and 

no lights on the runway to make sure there was no clue to 

the enemy that we were leaving when they were firing missiles around the airport. Or the times I had visited Afghanistan, where the first time I visited with Senator McCain, our 

troops were sleeping on cots. There were probably 600 or 700 

cots in an old Russian-built aircraft hangar, before anything 

had been brought in for living quarters for our troops. All of 

their belongings were under their cots, and that was all they 

had for that first mission into Afghanistan. 

I have always been one who has such great respect and 

gratitude for our men and women in uniform. They put their 

lives on the line and pledge to give their all for our freedom. 

The power to wage war is an enormous one, and the weight 

of its responsibility should rest heavy on our shoulders. 

[ xvi ] 

I leave this Chamber proud to have worked to assure our 

men and women in uniform have the best training, the best 

equipment, and the quality of life to do the job we are asking 

them to do. Because of my deep respect for our Armed 

Forces, my first choice of committees when I came in 1993 

was Armed Services, and I was honored to be the first 

woman in 20 years to chair a subcommittee on Armed Services. The woman before me was Margaret Chase Smith. As 

the only woman to chair the Senate Republican Policy Committee, I was pleased to be a part of Republican leadership 

for many years—again, the first since Margaret Chase 

Smith. 

When I was first running for office I said I wanted to 

make things better for our sons and open for our daughters. 

I leave the Senate knowing that January will see the greatest number of female Senators in our Nation’s history. I 

know the torch will be carried on by the next generation. 

It is no secret that Texans have a particular sense of State 

pride. I am no exception. I have deep Texas roots. The Senate seat that I hold first belonged to Thomas Jefferson Rusk, 

my great-great-grandfather’s law partner and good friend. 

They both signed the Texas Declaration of Independence 

from Mexico in 1836. That history reminds me every day 

that we must protect the freedom that so many of our ancestors fought to produce and retain. My colleague sitting on 

the Senate floor is in the Sam Houston line, and that is a 

proud line too. Thomas Jefferson Rusk and Sam Houston 

were the commander in chief and secretary of war of the 

Texas army when we fought for independence. It is so fitting 

that those two were our first two selected Senators when 

Texas became a State in 1845. 

Each summer I take a week to tour one part of Texas on 

a bus. It has been so much fun. We did the first one, which 

was the El Camino Real de los Tejas that we had just passed 

a bill to designate as a national historic trail, and we went 

from the Louisiana border to the Mexican border. It took us 

a week on the bus. It was so great that we have done it 

every year since in a different part of Texas. It is my State 

staff’s favorite week of the year as well. 

I am one of the few to have had the opportunity and the 

absolute pleasure to visit all 254 counties in Texas. I have 

met Texans from all walks of life who have opened their 

homes, their businesses, and shared their stories. 

I will be sad to leave, but it is time. I believe strongly that 

we should keep the lifeblood of Congress pumping. It is good 

[ xvii ] 

to have new waves of legislators come in with fresh ideas 

and perspectives after every election. But while I believe 

that new generations should invigorate Congress, I also want 

to say a few words of praise for experience. 

Knowing the history of an issue is essential to monitor 

progress. Knowing what an agency should be doing, knowing 

what was put in law and why allows for better oversight. 

The expertise of our longer serving Members is an essential 

part of good governance. 

I hope some of the priorities I have championed will continue. Investment in science, technology, and higher education, and encouraging more young people to study science, 

technology, engineering, and math, known as STEM, will 

make sure we are bringing forward those young minds with 

the creativity and the engineering background to create the 

economies for the future. It is so important. This has been 

the lifeblood of our economy, and it must continue. 

Saving the manned space exploration program and ensuring the long-term future of NASA is an essential generator 

for our economy. Ensuring that stay-at-home moms and dads 

who worked so hard raising children and contributing to the 

community have Spousal IRAs to save for retirement, and 

easing the marriage penalty by doubling the standard deduction—these are a few of the things I hope will continue to 

be championed as I leave. 

It has been such an honor to serve in the Senate. I leave 

with the hope that the values that built America into the 

greatest nation on Earth will be protected so that future generations will have the same opportunities we have had in 

this great country, opportunities for which our forebears sacrificed so much. 

I yield the floor. 

TRIBUTES 

TO 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON 

[ 3 ] 

Proceedings in the Senate 

THURSDAY, November 29, 2012 

Mr. KYL. Mr. President, first, let me thank my colleague 

from Texas [Mrs. Hutchison] for her leadership on this and 

so many other issues that we have worked on over the years. 

One of my regrets in leaving the Senate is that I will not be 

able to work with her, and she has said the same thing 

about me. We will be off doing something else, but we are 

not going to give up on some of the fights we have been engaged in during these years. . . . 

MONDAY, December 10, 2012 

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, last week I came to the floor 

and was honored to give tributes to some of our departing 

colleagues. Tonight I am going to take advantage of this time 

to pay tribute to two other outstanding Senators, colleagues 

and friends of mine whom I will miss greatly. They are Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON and Senator Scott Brown. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is 

recognized. 

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, in her marvelous book entitled American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped 

Our Country, Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON wrote the following: ‘‘No history can be written appropriately without acknowledging the part women have played in building the 

greatness of our country.’’ 

As my valued colleague and good friend begins a new 

chapter in her life, I hope she finds the time to add a new 

chapter to her own book, one that will be fascinating, inspiring—and autobiographical. 

Like the women KAY celebrates as an author, from Amelia 

Earhart to Sally Ride, from Clara Barton to Condoleezza 

Rice, KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON is a pioneer, a breaker of barriers. In the special election in 1993, the people of Texas 

[ 4 ] 

made her the first woman to represent them in the Senate. 

In the three regular elections since then, they have confirmed their trust in her by ever-increasing margins. As the 

leader of the Senate Commerce Committee, KAY has been a 

strong voice for transportation systems that are efficient, 

safe, and secure. In my own work on the Homeland Security 

Committee, I am well aware of the major role she played in 

drafting the airline security bill that Congress passed after 

the attacks on 9/11/01. She has also worked successfully to 

include more effective air cargo screening. 

From the America COMPETES Act to her steadfast support for NASA, KAY is determined our country will not cede 

its position as the world’s leader in science, technology, and 

space exploration. When the NASA rover Curiosity thrilled 

all of us with its perfect landing on Mars this past August, 

the hands of KAY’s legislative leadership were on the controls. Working with KAY as a member of the Appropriations 

Committee, I know how dedicated she is to ensuring that 

taxpayers’ dollars are spent wisely and efficiently. She is a 

champion for our small business owners and for policies that 

promote free enterprise and job creation. 

Her complete commitment to the men and women of our 

Armed Forces is reflected in her years of service on the 

Armed Services Committee as well as the Military Construction Subcommittee on Appropriations, and her unanimous 

election this year to serve as chairman of the Board of Visitors at West Point. 

In the afterword to her book, KAY wrote that as a young 

girl growing up in Texas she was so inspired by the lives of 

great Americans that by the sixth grade she had exhausted 

all of the biographies on the school library shelf and had to 

turn elsewhere for book report material. I am sure the story 

of her own contributions and accomplishments will be avidly 

read by generations of girls and boys to come. 

I wish her all the best as she turns a new page in what 

has truly been a remarkable life of public service. 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation to rename the section of the Tax Code that is currently 

known as the Spousal IRA so that it carries the name of its 

champion—my friend and colleague from Texas—Senator 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. 

Senator HUTCHISON has been an excellent partner to work 

with on the Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee 

watching over the Nation’s checkbook for investments in research, discovery, innovation, and law enforcement. We have 

[ 5 ] 

sought to find the sensible center in addressing issues like 

cancer research, building a balanced space program at 

NASA, and most recently—on legislation to stop inmates 

from using cell phones in prison. 

Senator HUTCHISON must be recognized for her longstanding advocacy for women. Her advocacy has been steadfast. We have worked together on the women’s health agenda. We have mammogram standards in this country because 

of the Hutchison-Mikulski amendment. We have helped with 

breast cancer research funding because we have worked together, and I could give example after example. 

But what I rise to discuss today is the very first issue that 

Senator HUTCHISON and I took on together—expanding the 

availability of individual retirement accounts, IRAs, for 

spouses who work at home. Along with Senator KAY BAILEY

HUTCHISON, I am the author of the Spousal IRA bill. 

I have always said that one of my principles is to listen to 

the people and the stories of their lives. My best ideas come 

from the people. The Spousal IRA bill was one of those kinds 

of ideas. This bill was a product of Senator HUTCHISON’s personal experience before joining the Senate. After putting 

aside money for her retirement as a single working woman, 

Senator HUTCHISON found that she could only put aside several hundred dollars in an IRA once she married her husband. 

This kind of policy, that discouraged women from saving 

for retirement, was completely backward. Women tend to 

live longer than men. Women are more likely to take years 

off of work outside of the home because of family responsibilities. And women are more likely to work in jobs that don’t 

have a pension. 

When Senator HUTCHISON joined the Senate in 1993, she 

came to me to sign on as the lead Democratic sponsor for her 

idea to help women save for retirement. Together we worked 

to build support for this bill and after 3 years and 62 cosponsors, the Spousal IRA bill became the law of the land. 

Suddenly, women weren’t limited to a small amount; they 

could put away $2,000. All women—single, married, working 

outside the home, or working at home—could set aside the 

same amount for retirement. Over time, that amount has 

grown, and so it is not $2,000, but it can be $2,500, or 

$3,000, or $5,000, depending on a woman’s age. 

This law is important because it reflects the values of our 

Nation, it rewards good parenting and families, and it recognizes that not all work is done in the marketplace. American 

[ 6 ] 

families feel the pressure from all sides, paying for their children’s education, their homes, taking care of elderly parents, 

and being prepared for unforeseen emergency medical care 

costs. What the Spousal IRA law finally said was, ‘‘Moms 

and dads are struggling to do the right thing for their family, 

and they should not be penalized for staying at home.’’ 

Earlier this year, an interviewer on PBS asked Senator 

HUTCHISON what she’s most proud of in her Senate career, 

and she said the Spousal IRA. Senator HUTCHISON has a lot 

to be proud of, but we must recognize her work in fixing Federal policy to help women save for retirement. We should 

amend the Tax Code so that women in America know that 

they’re benefiting from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal 

IRA. 

WEDNESDAY, December 12, 2012 

Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise during this 

morning business hour to speak—particularly during this 

time of tension as we are looking at the fiscal cliff—to really 

use a few minutes to pay a tribute to two wonderful, outstanding Senators with whom I have served and who will be 

leaving us at the end of this term. They are wonderful 

women named Senator OLYMPIA SNOWE of Maine and Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON of Texas, dear friends across 

the aisle. Although they were on the other side of the aisle, 

there was no great divide between us. We have known each 

other for many years.. . . 

Then there is my good friend KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, who 

has just come to the floor. I am glad she is going to be here 

to hear what I am going to say about her. I hold her in such 

enormously high esteem. 

Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON is known for her competence, her strong character, and being an outstanding 

champion for Texas, an advocate for women, and a real patriot dedicated to serving our Nation. I too know her as a 

dear friend, someone deeply committed to creating that zone 

of civility among the women in the Senate. 

When Senator HUTCHISON arrived in the Senate in 1983, 

there were prickly politics beginning to emerge. She came 

from the Texas Legislature and knew the dynamics of a 

rough-and-tumble legislative body. As we worked together on 

something called the Homemaker IRA, we said, ‘‘Why don’t 

we just get together to see if we can create a zone of civilVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:49 Apr 23, 2014 Jkt 081106 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE12\81106.TXT KAYNE
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ity?’’ That was when we brought the women together for 

those monthly dinners. The rules were no staff, no leaks, and 

no memos. We talked about everything from hairdos to the 

hair-raising and how we could stop the Global War on Terror 

and fight the deadly scourge against breast cancer. We 

worked together, again across the aisle. 

In 1992 we also worked to hold these power workshops to 

make sure every woman would know how to get started in 

the Senate, and we worked together on that. 

The other thing Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON and I 

helped establish was that we could disagree without being 

disagreeable. We, the women of the Senate, do not have a 

caucus because we represent States. That is what the Constitution says is our job—we are here to represent States. 

We also have different philosophies and viewpoints on governance. 

A story I like to tell is that during debate on the Lilly 

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Senator HUTCHISON and I agreed on 

absolutely the same goal: equal pay for equal or comparable 

work for women. However, we disagreed on the means. Senator HUTCHISON had about nine amendments, and we duked 

it out here. We went earring-to-earring in terms of our debate, and the Senate commented on what intellectual rigor 

it had, what a sense of comity and exchanging of ideas. At 

the end of the day, we not only passed the legislation, but 

we did it in a way where everybody could feel proud of the 

process. Why can’t we do that every day? Gee, I wish we 

could. 

Then working with Senator HUTCHISON—and this is how 

we got started, was on the Homemaker IRA. This was Senator HUTCHISON’s idea. She came to me and she said, ‘‘You 

know, Senator Barb, they are stay-at-home moms, and they 

are limited to several hundred dollars that they can contribute to an IRA. If they have the money and if they have 

the will and the wallet, we should give them the same tax 

opportunities as if they were working in the marketplace because their work at home should be valued as well.’’ 

Absolutely. We changed that legislation. I have pending 

here legislation to permanently change the name of that 

Homemaker IRA to the Hutchison IRA because she really 

did lead the way. I was an able ally, and we made a difference. 

So I could go through item after item—the way we have 

worked on breast cancer together, the way we have worked 

on appropriations. She was my ranking member on ComVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:49 Apr 23, 2014 Jkt 081106 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE12\81106.TXT KAYNE
[ 8 ] 

merce-Justice-Science. We have worked together on the 

space program. We have worked together to keep our areas 

safe. From the start, we shared a personal commitment that 

technology and space could help America remain exceptional, 

a belief in supporting research and science, leading to new 

ideas that would be not only new areas that we would explore but new technologies for new products and new jobs. 

Yes, I visited her down at mission control, and I have been 

there during the great research we were able to see being 

done in that area. 

Remember, the home of the Komen Foundation is in 

Texas. Senator HUTCHISON was very clear that she wanted 

to be sure that she too was an advocate for women’s health. 

We worked together on mammogram quality standards. 

Were you aware that in the early days—and I know that 

sometimes we sound like we built the Pyramids together 

when I tell these stories; it is both ancient history and a recent reality. If you went into a doctor’s office 10, 12 years 

ago for a mammogram, you might have gotten a chest x ray 

and they would have called it a mammogram. It was often 

given by untrained technicians. There were no standards for 

the equipment that it would really work the way it was supposed to work, and it was often uncalibrated and ineffectual. 

Senator HUTCHISON and I worked using sound science, 

thorough hearings, working with the Institute of Medicine, 

FDA, and the National Institute of Standards. Now if you go 

into your doctor’s office for that mammogram, you will see a 

certificate from your government that says this is a place 

where you know the technology will work and the people 

who will be giving it will be trained. You know, once again, 

this is early detection and screening, saving lives a million 

at a time. Isn’t that fantastic? Again, across the aisle, we 

were able to do that. 

We also did a book together. She was the leader in helping 

us publish our famous book, Nine and Counting. Maybe 

there will be time for another book, but when the chapter of 

the history of the Senate is written, we want to be sure that 

the chapter really includes a big statement to the work of 

Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. 

Again, in this institution it is the personal relationships 

built often on policy. I went to Texas to tour the space program with Senator HUTCHISON. That is where we heard 

about the National Space Biomedical Research Institute at 

Baylor. When I was there, I met Senator HUTCHISON’s brother, who faced the same blood cancer disease Geraldine FerVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:49 Apr 23, 2014 Jkt 081106 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE12\81106.TXT KAYNE
[ 9 ] 

raro faced. Gerry and her brother became fast friends, so 

KAY and Barb teamed up. Again, we pushed research at 

NIH. Cancer knows no party. It knows no ZIP Code. It 

knows no ideology. But it knows that we need to work together to be able to do it. On that wonderful day of friendship, we learned the best ideas will come out of our work in 

the space program to deal with the dread cancer word. The 

kinds of things that we study in space will help us be more 

effective here on Earth. 

KAY invited me to the Houston livestock show and rodeo. 

Now, I grew up in Baltimore, and you have been there many 

times yourself. You know it is a city known for its row 

houses, not for its rodeos. 

KAY invited me to come to the rodeo in the Astrodome. I 

showed up, to her surprise. I had little boots, a cowboy hat, 

and a vest. She put me in a buckboard, and, to ‘‘Deep in the 

Heart of Texas,’’ we circled the Astrodome together. I was in 

a buckboard, and she was on a palomino next to me. The 

American flags were waving, and so was I, yelling ‘‘giddy up, 

little dogie.’’ At the end of the evening, I was there munching 

on barbecue, affectionately called Buckboard Barb—and I 

have the pictures to show it. They are locked up. I don’t 

widely distribute them. But it was a heck of an evening. 

I say that because, again, out of that comes great friendships that also lead to paving the way to where we put our 

heads together to solve our national problems and to do it in 

a way where we get the best ideas from a variety of government approaches. At the end of the day, we feel better, and 

America is better off. 

I am pretty emotional, actually, when I think about KAY

and OLYMPIA. We have been together a long time. We welcome the Acting President pro tempore and your generation, 

but for those of us who maybe didn’t build the Pyramids— 

and I hope Senator HUTCHISON can say the same—there is 

a lot of meaning in a Latin phrase I learned in Catholic girls 

school many years ago: Exegi monumentum aere perennius: 

We will build a monument more lasting than bronze. 

When Senator HUTCHISON returns to Texas again to find 

a new way to serve the people of this country, she will know 

that here in this institution, along with Senator OLYMPIA

SNOWE, they built monuments to last far longer than any 

statues made of bronze. They made a difference in the lives 

of people, and they have done it in a way they can be proud 

of and for which we can all be grateful. 

Madam President, I yield the floor. 

[ 10 ] 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from 

Texas. 

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I am so touched by the comments of 

my colleague Senator Mikulski about myself and Olympia 

[Snowe]. I appreciate so much that she has singled us out because Senator Mikulski is a pioneer. She didn’t build the 

Pyramids, I might say, but it was close. She was in the 

House first and then came to the Senate. She is our longest 

serving woman Senator and she will probably be dean of all 

the Senate at some point because she is a legend. She is a 

legend in the Senate, she is a legend in Maryland, and she 

is a legend in our country. 

I think back now on the things we have been able to accomplish—and it was not just because we were women—here 

in this deliberative body where we have 100 people representing 50 very different States. It is not that the men 

were against anything we have teamed up to do, but it is because of our experiences that we brought to the table. Sometimes it wasn’t thought of before Senator Mikulski and other 

women came. 

I will point out a couple of things and embellish a little on 

what the Senator said. When we wrote the book Nine and 

Counting, there were nine women in the Senate at the time. 

But it came from something much bigger. It came from a 

meeting Senator Mikulski pulled together of the women of 

Ireland and Northern Ireland. It was the Catholics and the 

Protestants who were trying to probe the women Senators, 

the nine of us who were here, about how they could be effective in making peace in Northern Ireland. 

When we started telling our stories to them, to encourage 

them that they could make a difference in Northern Ireland, 

Barbara Mikulski and I looked at each other and we said: 

You know, there is a book here. There is a book about the 

obstacles women have faced getting to the U.S. Senate and 

a book that can encourage our girls and young women to 

play a part in settling the major issues of our country. 

From that background, we contacted Bob Barnett, who 

was an agent of Senators and House Members who write 

books, and also Cabinet members and Presidents, and we 

said we would like to get together and write a book. He immediately got to work. It was Claire Wachtel at 

HarperCollins who said: ‘‘Oh, I love this. I love it.’’ She got 

a writer who went to each of us and interviewed us and then 

wrote our stories, which were in our own words. 

[ 11 ] 

Afterward, we got together and decided to give all of the 

proceeds to the Girl Scouts of America, which was a common 

organization that had affected almost every one of the 

women at the time. The Girl Scouts were giving leadership 

capabilities to the girls in our country. I had been a Girl 

Scout and so had Barbara. Our book is still in print and it 

has raised tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, 

of dollars for the Girl Scouts to continue their leadership programs. And it all came from something we learned about 

each other. 

I think the multiple myeloma disease, which my brother 

has, and which Geraldine Ferraro had, was another area 

where Barbara and I bonded. I bonded with Geraldine 

Ferraro too, who was a champion for women up and coming 

in our political system. She encouraged me a lot. 

Together with Barbara Mikulski, who was a dear friend of 

Geraldine Ferraro’s, and who spoke at her funeral—we both 

went to that funeral—we were able to pass legislation that 

provided funding for research and education for multiple 

myeloma. We named it the Geraldine Ferraro Multiple 

Myeloma Education Program so that more could be learned 

about this very rare disease. 

Gerry was a fighter and she only died a year and a half 

ago. My brother is a fighter and he is still doing great. Now, 

because of our research, we are maintaining and we are letting people live a quality life because we teamed up. 

Barbara told the story, but I will tell the other side—the 

rest of the story—about the Houston rodeo, because they still 

talk about Buckboard Barb. She came to the rodeo from her 

ethnic background in Baltimore, and she was such a great 

sport. I was riding my horse in the grand entry and Barb 

was in the buckboard. She was waving and having the best 

time, and of course all of us were in our rodeo attire, which 

was sort of foreign to Barb, I have to say. But she was right 

in there with her boots and her big cowgirl hairdo. Barbara 

leaned over to me at one of the rodeo events and she said, 

‘‘OK, KAY, if we were here Monday morning and we went to 

a chamber of commerce meeting, would these people look 

like this?’’ 

I still tell that story in Houston, TX, which they love, and, 

of course, I said, ‘‘Oh, yeah,’’ which wasn’t true. I loved it. 

She was the best sport, and they still talk about her. They 

did give her a cowboy hat that was to die for. 

Let me mention one other thing. I know Senator Akaka is 

here, so I won’t take up much more time. We teamed up on 

[ 12 ] 

the issue of single-sex schools. The Senator from Maryland 

mentioned her Catholic girls school upbringing. Well, Hillary 

Clinton, Barbara Mikulski, Susan Collins, and myself 

teamed up to ensure that every girl in this country has the 

opportunity, if their school board decides to offer it as an option, to go to a girls school. Likewise, for every boy whose 

school board decides that it would be better for boys—in middle school especially and high school. We teamed up after 

about 15 years of trying, starting with Jack Danforth from 

Missouri. He started the effort to allow single-sex schools in 

our public entities in America. When I came here in 1993, 

we finally passed it with our coalition saying: We know this 

can be better for some girls and some boys. Not all. 

I will say to the distinguished Acting President pro tempore that it was the Young Women’s Leadership Academy in 

Harlem, NY, that gave us the courage to say this can be 

done, because they fought all the efforts to not allow it; all 

the lawsuits. They stood up. Hillary Clinton went to visit the 

Young Women’s Leadership Academy, and I took Rod Paige, 

the Secretary of Education, right there to New York and I 

said, ‘‘Secretary Paige, we can do this for all Americans. We 

can.’’ Hillary and I and Barbara and Susan said, ‘‘We are 

going to do it.’’ We did, and it was a great accomplishment. 

I just want to end by saying that I so appreciate Barbara 

Mikulski and John Cornyn introducing the bill to name the 

Homemaker IRA for me. It means so much to me, because 

I experienced as a young single woman starting an IRA, getting married, and being told I couldn’t provide any more for 

my own retirement security. I knew there were so many 

women who, through divorce or the death of a husband, had 

gone in and out of the workforce or never been in the outside 

workforce, couldn’t save for their own retirement security. 

When I went to Barbara, I said, ‘‘Barbara, it is a Democratic 

Senate, so I will make this bill the Mikulski-Hutchison bill 

to get it passed.’’ Senator Mikulski said, ‘‘Not on your life, it 

will be Hutchison-Mikulski because it is your idea.’’ And she 

worked just as hard as if it were the reverse. That says more 

about the Senator from Maryland than anything I could say. 

So thank you, Barbara, for introducing the bill that would 

name it for me because I know it will help women long after 

I leave. 

I yield the floor. 

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my colleague, Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, who will be leaving 

the Senate at the end of this term. Senator HUTCHISON has 

[ 13 ] 

represented the State of Texas in the Senate since her election in 1993. 

Senator HUTCHISON has deep Texas roots, with her greatgreat-grandfather signing the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. Growing up in La Marque, TX, Senator 

HUTCHISON has represented her State as only a true Texan 

could. Senator HUTCHISON attended the University of Texas 

at Austin, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree. She 

then went on to earn her J.D. from the University of Texas 

Law School in 1967. Senator HUTCHISON began her career as 

a political and legal reporter for KPRC in Houston. 

In 1972 Senator HUTCHISON began her long career of public service by twice being elected to represent Houston in the 

Texas House of Representatives. In 1990 she was elected 

Texas State treasurer. In 1993 Senator HUTCHISON won a 

special election, becoming the first and only woman to date 

to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. She has continued to 

represent Texas for almost 20 years in the Senate, repeatedly winning her seat by overwhelming margins, including 

her reelection in 2000 with more votes than any statewide 

candidate in Texas history. 

Throughout her Senate career Senator HUTCHISON has 

been known as a strong leader on defense issues. In 1993 

Senator HUTCHISON became the first woman to serve on the 

Senate Armed Services Committee since 1974. In 2003 Senator HUTCHISON introduced the legislation creating an overseas basing commission, which ensured our forces were capable of meeting the threats we face in the 21st century. Following the September 11 attacks Senator HUTCHISON was instrumental in securing provisions to increase air cargo 

screening as part of the National Intelligence Reform Act. 

Senator HUTCHISON has also been a champion of education 

during her time in the Senate. She has used her firm belief 

that every child is deserving of a quality education to advocate for increased investments in science, technology, and 

education. 

Senator HUTCHISON has served the people of the State of 

Texas with integrity. I wish her success in whatever she 

chooses to do in the next chapter of her life. 

TUESDAY, December 18, 2012 

Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, who will be retiring 

[ 14 ] 

at the end of the year. Senator HUTCHISON has been a dear 

friend and colleague for a long time. She has always been 

ready to offer wise counsel, and I have usually listened. 

It is truly bittersweet saying goodbye to KAY. On the one 

hand, I understand her desire to spend more time with 

Bailey and Houston; we are all glad she will now be able to 

cheer from the sidelines at their soccer games. On the other 

hand, we will miss seeing them practice their corner kicks on 

the second floor of the Russell Building. 

By the way, if you have ever been with KAY on one of her 

early morning power walks, you know where her kids get 

their energy. I am told KAY has worn out multiple Members 

of Congress, several staffers, and quite a few others on those 

walks. It is a fitting metaphor for her career. There are so 

many talents in the Senate, it is easy to forget what remarkable stories many of them have. Senator HUTCHISON’s is 

without question one of the most impressive. 

Raised in an era when women were a rarity in politics, 

KAY forged her own path, kicking open the door of opportunity wherever she went. In the process, she has come to 

personify Texan independence; which is entirely fitting, since 

one of KAY’s great-great-grandfathers signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. 

KAY’s many successes in life are a testament to her personal toughness and determination in the face of what would 

have seemed like insurmountable obstacles to many lesser 

talents. Though she was ‘‘brought up,’’ as she once put it, ‘‘to 

be a lady, to have good manners—and to be ready to get 

married,’’ she always excelled in school. She was one of just 

a handful of women, out of a class of hundreds, to graduate 

from her University of Texas Law School class in 1967. 

KAY hit what she called her ‘‘first brick wall’’ after graduation. Law firms in Texas just were not hiring women back 

then, so she turned to an industry that would give her a 

chance, becoming Houston’s first female news reporter. Indeed, thanks to KAY’s success, two competing Houston networks hired female reporters within 6 months of her arrival 

at KPRC–TV, the NBC affiliate, in 1967. Appropriately, KAY

was assigned to cover the Texas Legislature, and she gave 

it her all. 

Having inherited her dad’s work ethic, she was soon being 

encouraged to run for office herself. At the time, few women 

served in the Texas Legislature, and not a single female Republican had ever been elected to the State house. But KAY

had an idea: if those law firms were not going to let her inVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:49 Apr 23, 2014 Jkt 081106 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE12\81106.TXT KAYNE
[ 15 ] 

terpret the law, she might as well ask her neighbors if they 

would elect her to make the law. So, at the age of 28, KAY

ran for the Texas House. She dispatched her male opponents 

with ease, becoming 1 of just 13 Republicans elected that 

year to the 150-member Texas House. It was a tough transition. KAY says that as a cheerleader at UT, she was not really prepared for the combat of politics. As a cheerleader, she 

said, she wanted everybody to like her. But she overcame 

that too. KAY has engaged in a lot of tough battles over the 

years, and she has won most of them. 

One story along those lines relates to KAY’s office over in 

Russell. Anybody who has ever been there knows that it is 

at the end of a dead-end hallway, and that at the very end 

stands a very large flag of Texas. Apparently, when KAY put 

the flag out, the staff director of the Rules Committee did 

not like it. He thought it violated a rule, so he mentioned it 

to his boss, Senator John Warner. Legend has it that Senator Warner nodded gravely at the young man and told him 

he was free to approach Senator HUTCHISON, but that he had 

no intention of taking on the mission himself. She is tough. 

Following her service in the State legislature, KAY worked 

as a businesswoman before winning election as State treasurer in 1990. Three years later, when Senator Lloyd Bentsen 

accepted an offer to become President Clinton’s Treasury 

Secretary, KAY jumped into the race to replace him. Once 

again, she bested another all-male field to advance to a runoff against Bentsen’s appointed successor, trouncing the incumbent Democrat with nearly 70 percent of the vote, and 

becoming the first woman to represent the Nation’s secondlargest State in the U.S. Senate. 

KAY came to Washington ready to work. She established 

herself early on as a leader on transportation and NASA, 

and as a fighter for lower taxes, and smaller, smarter government. KAY won acclaim as an advocate for science and 

competitiveness, helped secure bipartisan support for the 

landmark America COMPETES Act, and she became known 

throughout the State for the close attention she paid to constituents. 

Shortly after her election to the Senate, KAY began a tradition—imitated by many others since—of holding weekly constituent meetings over coffee whenever the Senate is in session. The groups usually range in size from about 100 to 150, 

and at any given coffee you might come across families in 

Bermuda shorts, bankers in pinstripes, or college football 

players. Over the years, KAY has hosted about 50,000 people 

[ 16 ] 

in her office through these coffees, but her attention to constituent service goes well beyond that. Back home, she is one 

of few politicians in Texas who have actually visited all 254 

counties, some of which are home to more cattle than people. 

During KAY’s tenure, her office has helped broker the rescue 

of a Texan from atop Mt. Everest, evacuated an oil worker 

and students during a revolution in Albania, evacuated tourists from Machu Picchu after a flood, and helped evacuate 

workers and missionaries from Haiti after the devastating 

hurricanes of 2008. 

All of us are grateful to Senator HUTCHISON for her work 

in finally recognizing the hundreds of female Army Air Force 

pilots, or WASPs, who flew noncombat missions in World 

War II, so male pilots would be free for combat missions. 

Thirty-eight of these women lost their lives performing their 

duties. We thank Senator HUTCHISON for raising awareness 

of their service and their sacrifice and honoring their memory. Senator HUTCHISON’s thoughts are never far from our 

men and women in uniform. Her office walls are filled with 

photos of her visits with our troops in Bosnia, Iraq, and elsewhere. In the runup to the Budget Control Act, she authored 

a bill to assure service men and women would be paid in the 

event of a government shutdown, recruiting more than 80 cosponsors. She served as chair and ranking member of the 

Military Construction Subcommittee on Appropriations. She 

was a tenacious advocate for Texas during a series of 

BRACs, and the results speak for themselves: Today, one out 

of five Army and Air Force personnel are stationed at military installations in Texas, many of which were once considered likely candidates for closing. 

Throughout her Senate career, KAY has worked hard to develop and maintain close relationships with fellow female 

Senators from both parties. As a result of those friendships, 

KAY helped coauthor the book Nine and Counting: The 

Women of the Senate in 2000, teamed up with Senator Feinstein to create the AMBER Alert System, and coauthored 

legislation with Senator Mikulski to provide stay-at-home 

moms with the same tax credit opportunities as working 

women. One of her proudest achievements was to lead the 

successful fight to lessen the marriage penalties in our Tax 

Code. 

As the ranking member on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, KAY has wielded outsize influence, partly due to 

her strong working relationship with Chairman Rockefeller, 

who sometimes refers to her as his cochairperson. I can say 

[ 17 ] 

for myself that having KAY at the leadership table has been 

a tremendous asset as I have navigated challenges over the 

years. 

A truly gifted politician, KAY secured reelection by wide 

margins in 1994, 2000, and 2006, and still holds the record 

for most votes in Texas history. One reason is she will work 

with anyone—even those with whom she might not typically 

agree—if it helps Texas. 

While I know many are sorry to see this giant of Texas 

politics leave the arena in Washington, I am sure every one 

of them admires the spirit in which she returns to Ray and 

the kids and their busy Dallas home. KAY, on behalf of the 

entire Senate, thank you for your extraordinary service and 

for your friendship. 

I know you won’t miss having to answer to that buzzer 

anymore, but we will miss you. It has been a privilege to 

serve with you. On behalf of the entire Senate family, I wish 

you all the very best. 

WEDNESDAY, December 19, 2012 

Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, Texans have a profound 

sense of history, and it is only appropriate that Senator 

HUTCHISON should mention the fact [in her farewell address] 

that we both come from long lines of Texans, starting with 

Thomas Jefferson Rusk, who first held her Senate seat, and 

Sam Houston, who held the Senate seat I hold. I will never 

forget Senator HUTCHISON coming to the floor of the Senate 

every March 2, Texas Independence Day, and regaling the 

Chamber with Travis’ letter from the Alamo, reminding everyone about another important event in Texas history, a 

tradition which she carried on after Senator John Tower did 

for so many years when he served here. 

This is a historic moment for many reasons. First, because 

we are paying tribute to an extraordinary woman who has 

made history by being the first Texas female U.S. Senator 

and someone who has spent the last two decades fighting for 

commonsense values in our Nation’s Capital. While it is hard 

to summarize Senator Hutchinson’s great work in just a few 

short minutes, I am going to try. I am going to try to highlight some of her signature achievements and explain why 

she enjoys such outstanding support from her constituents 

back in our great State. 

[ 18 ] 

To start with, I cannot think of any Senator serving in this 

Chamber who works harder than KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. 

Sometimes I affectionately refer to her as the Energizer 

Bunny of the Texas delegation. She is tireless and she is relentless in her pursuit of what she believes is in the best interests of the constituents in our State. 

As she mentioned, she has been a tireless advocate for 

Texas military families. We take great pride in the fact that 

1 out of every 10 individuals who wears the uniform of the 

U.S. military calls Texas home. Of course, some of the most 

powerful tributes to KAY’s legacy are what I have heard from 

our men and women in uniform. 

It is no exaggeration to say every military base in Texas 

has felt the impact of her work on various Senate committees. I know how deeply proud KAY is of the work she has 

done to help the troops stationed in Texas from Fort Bliss in 

the west to the Red River Army Depot in the east—which I 

dare say she pretty much singlehandedly saved from being 

BRACed the last time that occurred—from Sheppard Air 

Force Base in Wichita Falls to the Naval Air Force Base in 

Corpus Christi in the south. Not only has KAY worked to 

provide our troops with the resources they need, she has 

done a whole lot to help returning veterans and, of course, 

their families. 

We always talk about supporting our troops when they are 

deployed overseas, but we spend less time—indeed not 

enough time—discussing ways to help them assimilate back 

into civilian life. As the son of a U.S. Air Force veteran who 

spent 31 years in the Air Force, I am acutely aware, as KAY

is, it is not just those who wear the uniform who serve but 

their families as well. 

Many returning vets and their families encounter a whole 

range of social and economic hardships that can be hard to 

overcome. Most notably, the unemployment rate among our 

returning vets from Afghanistan and Iraq is significantly 

higher than for the general population, something I know 

KAY has worked on extensively. She has also worked to get 

our veterans the medical assistance, the job training, and 

the financial support they need. Indeed, I don’t know of any 

Senator who has done more to help America’s heroes adjust 

to life after the military. That is just one of the reasons why 

she will be sorely missed. 

Here is another reason KAY will be missed. She has fought 

time and time again to promote tax relief for hard-working 

Texas families. In the mid-1990s, as she alluded, she helped 

[ 19 ] 

to create the so-called Homemaker IRA to make sure stayat-home moms and dads were able to save for their retirement on an equal basis with their counterparts who worked 

outside the home. I know it is one of her proudest achievements, and I am proud to join with the Senator from Maryland, Ms. Barbara Mikulski, in attempting to rename this 

IRA the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA in her honor. I 

hope we can join together and honor Senator HUTCHISON by 

getting that done before we close out our business this year. 

KAY, of course, has always championed the State sales tax 

deduction, which may not seem like a big deal to others in 

this Chamber, but it is a big deal back home in Texas as a 

matter of fundamental fairness because we don’t have a 

State income tax. I daresay we never will have a State income tax as long as I draw a breath. However, we do pay 

State sales taxes, and it is only fair that Texas enjoys the 

same sort of deductibility for the State sales tax that other 

States have enjoyed for the State income taxes. 

KAY has also worked to reduce the marriage penalty tax. 

She has been a strong defender of taxpayer interests, and 

her efforts have made the Tax Code less hostile to saving 

and to families. 

She alluded to her great work with NASA. She is one of 

the Senate’s leading supporters of NASA and human space 

flight. NASA has contributed historical technological breakthroughs that have benefited all Americans. KAY appreciates 

the vital importance of basic scientific research, long-term 

American prosperity, and the role NASA has played in fostering innovation. She has long said and advocated for support for NASA because she believes that when we support 

NASA, we are supporting technologies and the jobs of the future. That is why KAY has done so much to help the Johnson 

Space Center and our universities to promote Texas as a research State. 

Her beloved University of Texas is grateful for her support 

over the years, which is one reason they will soon launch the 

Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Latin American Law. 

KAY has also crafted legislation that has benefited some of 

the most vulnerable Americans. Her work on behalf of missing and exploited children includes the national AMBER 

Alert Network, which she introduced back in 2003. As she 

said earlier, this law has helped to rescue about 600 abducted children who would not have benefited but for her 

work. That is a remarkable achievement, and it is more than 

[ 20 ] 

just a number when we count the human lives that have 

been so dramatically affected by her work. 

A final note. As I said, Senator HUTCHISON has made history serving as the first woman to serve the great State of 

Texas in the Senate. KAY has always been a pioneer of sorts. 

As a father of two daughters, that means a lot to me. I am 

used to being surrounded at home by strong, intelligent 

women, but having served with KAY, I have also been a partner with a strong, intelligent Texas woman. KAY has been a 

role model for so many young women, not just in Texas but 

throughout the United States. I am honored to be her colleague and I am proud to be her friend. 

Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON leaves behind a tremendous legacy of which she, Ray, and her children can be 

proud. She has a legacy that will long be celebrated by Texans from El Paso to Caddo Lake and from Amarillo to 

Brownsville. Everyone in this Chamber will miss her, and I 

know I speak for all my colleagues when I wish her the very 

best in the next exciting chapter of her life. 

I join with my colleagues in saying to the Senator, vaya 

con Dios. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah. 

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to join everyone here 

in thanking KAY for her great service in the Senate. I have 

worked closely with her on a wide variety of issues. I have 

to say she is a fierce advocate. In fact, I have to say all our 

women Senators have been fierce advocates, and we have 

benefited from them being here. 

KAY has paved the way for Senators—both male and female—to truly become better Senators and in many cases 

great Senators. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON is a great Senator. 

She worked her guts out the whole time she was here. She 

is still here, but she is going to retire at this time and she 

has represented Texas well. 

All I can say is she has been my friend all this time. When 

I needed help from her, she was always there. I tried to be 

there for her when she needed help as well. She has not only 

been a delightful person to be around but a very intelligent 

lawyer. She fought for what she believed—most of which I 

believed in—in a way nobody could truly ever get mad at 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. 

She is a wonderful person, wonderful mother, and we are 

going to miss her terribly. This is a body where we could use 

[ 21 ] 

a few more women Senators—maybe a lot more than a few. 

They are very good people who work very hard and not the 

least of whom is KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON. 

I remember at times when I had difficulties with the 

BRAC system and difficulties with special NASA problems, 

and so forth, we always worked together. We could always 

count on her to come up with intelligent solutions to some 

of the problems that should not have existed but did. 

I have personally appreciated her very much during those 

times and in so many other ways as we worked together on 

legislation to help this country and as we worked to represent our respective States. I have so much respect for 

Texas, the people of Texas, and what they stand for. I have 

great respect for these Texan Senators who are two of the 

best we have ever had in the Senate. 

Senator HUTCHISON has been an exemplary Senator, not 

just for women but for all of us. She has also set some standards that I think both women and male Senators are going 

to have to try to emulate. 

I just want to say to the Senator that we love her, we appreciate her, and we wish her the very best. We are going 

to miss her. This is one Senator who will miss her greatly, 

and I want her to know that. All I can say is God be with 

her. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi. 

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my 

colleagues in commending and congratulating our distinguished colleague from Texas. Her service in the Senate has 

truly been outstanding, and she has made an impact in our 

Committee on Appropriations. We have deliberated about the 

funding of all the Federal agencies and departments of the 

Federal Government. She has been very careful. She is very 

serious about her responsibilities, and I am glad to be here 

today to wish her well in the years ahead and compliment 

her on a very distinguished career in the Senate. 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, Michigan and Texas have 

much in common, despite the fact they are North versus 

South, cowboy boots versus snowshoes, mesquite versus pine. 

One of the things we have in common is water. Our States 

are, economically, historically, and culturally tied to great 

waters: Texas to the Gulf of Mexico, Michigan to the Great 

Lakes. This shared interest has afforded me the pleasure of 

[ 22 ] 

working alongside Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, a true 

Texas pioneer. 

As the lead cosponsor of the Harbor Maintenance Act, Senator HUTCHISON has been an invaluable ally in the effort to 

ensure that America’s harbors receive the maintenance funding they need to help our economy grow. Her efforts were instrumental in recruiting 37 cosponsors on our bill and in securing language regarding harbor maintenance for the first 

time in a transportation bill. Her efforts have made a significant difference in the lives of the thousands of American 

workers whose jobs are directly tied to well-maintained harbors, from the Port of Galveston to the scores of ports dotting 

Michigan’s shoreline. 

Senator HUTCHISON has shown important leadership on 

other transportation issues, such as a more equitable formula for Federal surface transportation funding, and for adequate funding for State maritime academies, including academies in Texas and Michigan, that help meet the needs of 

our commercial shipping industry as well as the Department 

of Defense. 

She has been an able and dedicated advocate for our Nation’s veterans. She pioneered the concept of the Homemaker 

IRA, which helped millions of American women achieve 

greater retirement security. She has energetically pushed for 

stronger science and educational programs, including the establishment of a groundbreaking medicine, engineering, and 

science academy in her State. 

We shouldn’t be surprised at these and other successes. 

When she first graduated from the University of Texas Law 

School, she bumped up against the misguided tendencies of 

the law firms at the time to dismiss female candidates, no 

matter how talented. Undaunted, she walked into a local TV 

station and asked for a job as a reporter and became the 

State’s first female TV reporter. She took a detour, but her 

experience covering politics led to the Texas House of Representatives, the State treasurer’s office, and eventually to 

become the first Texan woman elected to the U.S. Senate. 

The Senate will miss her dedication, her quiet effectiveness, her ability to seek practical, bipartisan solutions. She 

has made a habit of making history, and I wish her the best 

in whatever historymaking endeavors she turns to next. 

I yield the floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan. 

[ 23 ] 

Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise also to congratulate 

and thank a terrific Senator, KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, and to 

wish her much success in her further efforts. I know she will 

provide great leadership in whatever she is doing. It has 

been wonderful to watch over the years, seeing the pictures 

of Bailey and Houston and how they have grown, celebrating 

and going to baby showers. On top of all the other accolades 

today, Senator HUTCHISON is a devoted and wonderful mother to two beautiful children. 

As everyone has said, she is the first and only woman to 

represent Texas in the Senate and will always have that distinction of opening doors and barriers. I know she agrees 

with me that once the doors open, we want to make sure 

more women are able to walk through those doors as well. 

I wish to congratulate her for all she has done. We have 

come together to fight for opportunities for women around 

the world at the Senate Women’s Caucus on Burma and 

other efforts she has led. I am very supportive of adding her 

name to the Spousal IRA law. I think that is a very fitting 

tribute, and I am hopeful we can get that done as well. 

I just want to congratulate her. 

I do want to have the opportunity to talk about something 

else, but I see my friend wanting to say a few words. 

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, if the Senator would 

yield for just a moment to let me say thank you to all the 

wonderful Senators who have spoken and said nice things. It 

is one of the few times Senators sort of pause and wish 

someone well, as they are leaving. It has truly been very 

touching, and I appreciate the kind words of the Senator 

from Michigan. It has been a distinct pleasure to have colleagues on both sides of the aisle feel we have done so much 

together. My hope is that as I am going out the door, the 

collegiality of the Senate will never change. 

Thank you. 

I yield the floor. 

THURSDAY, December 20, 2012 

Mr. REED. Madam President, at this time, I wish to take 

a few minutes to salute my colleagues who are retiring at 

the end of this year with the conclusion of the 112th Congress: Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kent Conrad of North 

[ 24 ] 

Dakota, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, KAY BAILEY

HUTCHISON of Texas, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Olympia Snowe of Maine, 

and Jim Webb of Virginia. They have all worked ceaselessly 

to give their constituents the best representation and give 

the country the benefit of their views, their wisdom, and 

their experience. They are men and women who are committed to the Nation, and they have every day in different 

ways contributed to this Senate and to our great country. 

I wish to thank them personally for their service, and, in 

so many cases, their personal kindness to me; for listening 

to my points and for, together, hopefully, serving this Senate 

and this Nation in a more positive and progressive way. 

In particular, let me say a few words about some of the 

Members with whom I have had the privilege to work more 

closely. . . . 

I have had the honor of serving with KAY BAILEY

HUTCHISON on the West Point Board of Visitors, and I am 

also grateful that she joined with me on a bill to improve 

care for children who survive cancer. . . . 

I could go on with all of my colleagues, just thanking them 

for their friendship, for their camaraderie, and for their commitment to the Nation and the Senate. As they depart, they 

have left an extraordinary legacy. Now it is our responsibility to carry on in so many different ways, and I hope we 

measure up to what they have done. If we do, then we can 

go forward confidently. 

With that, I yield the floor. 

FRIDAY, December 21, 2012 

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, now that the campaigns are 

over, the elections have been held, and the Senate is winding 

down its current session, I appreciate having this opportunity to express my great appreciation to those Senators 

who have had a great impact on me and our work together 

in the Senate. Such an individual is KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, 

who has had a remarkable career as the Senator from the 

great State of Texas. 

Senator HUTCHISON and I go back quite a way—in fact, we 

go back to the days before I was elected to the Senate. That 

was when I had just beat the odds and managed to receive 

the nomination of my party to the Senate. A great part of 

[ 25 ] 

the reason for my success had to do with the support I received from my family and the enthusiasm we put into everything we did that year. It really had an impact throughout the State during the primary season. Now that the primary was over, however, the real battle was about to begin. 

I knew, as soon as I was nominated, that I had a problem. 

I was running against a very strong candidate, a woman 

with a wealth of experience in politics who had already 

waged and won a statewide race. I had no doubts that we 

could still win, but I wasn’t kidding myself that it would be 

easy, either. 

Fortunately, I had a secret weapon—KAY BAILEY

HUTCHISON. She agreed to come to Wyoming and campaign 

with me. That was a tremendous blessing because she had 

a natural feel for politics and she more than made up for my 

lack of experience in running a statewide campaign. She 

gave me a lot of good advice and we took it all. Then we set 

out on the campaign trail and that is where she really 

proved to be an asset. 

Each stop we made Senator HUTCHISON showed that she 

was a natural politician. People responded to her and the 

way she spoke during our events. She made it clear that she 

was a hard worker who said what she meant and meant 

what she said. Her Texas style played well in Wyoming and 

it really made a difference for me. 

Then, when I came to Washington to begin my work in the 

Senate, I watched her take on some pretty difficult issues. 

She had a talent for seeing the best solutions to those complicated problems and that helped her to make a difference 

in her home State and here in Washington. 

What most impressed me was her ability to see a problem 

as it was developing and then formulate a strategy to deal 

with it before it became any more difficult. She was very focused on the needs of her home State and what she could do 

here in the Senate to make sure that the issues of most concern to the people of Texas were addressed. 

Back home, Senator HUTCHISON has always been concerned about our young people and what she could do to ensure they realize they can be anything they want to be if 

they are willing to work hard to succeed. That is why the 

young women of Texas look up to her and see her as a model 

of what they can also hope to someday achieve. That led her 

to publish a collection of stories about successful women. 

Senator HUTCHISON knows that a good biography is more 

than a source of inspiration, it is a very specific ‘‘how to’’ 

[ 26 ] 

manual that young women all across the country can look to 

for inspiration, guidance, and direction on how they can hope 

to achieve the same kind of success in their own lives. 

Senator HUTCHISON has a remarkable family and I know 

that she is very proud of them. Not too long ago, she and her 

husband decided to adopt a child. They wound up adopting 

not one, but two children who are blessed to have two such 

special parents. It’s just another example of the way Senator 

HUTCHISON has been reaching out to help those who need 

her in so many ways over the years. 

Senator HUTCHISON has blazed a trail in so many ways 

during her career in public service. She was the first woman 

ever elected to the Senate from Texas, and during her service she has helped young women all across her home State 

of Texas to realize that there are no limits to their future. 

They can be anything they want to be if they are willing to 

do whatever it takes to succeed, just as Senator HUTCHISON

has done. She is not just a role model, she is an example of 

what is possible for everyone to achieve. 

THURSDAY, December 27, 2012 

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when the 112th Congress adjourns, Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON will retire, having 

been the 22d woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. With nearly 

20 years of service to this Chamber, Senator HUTCHISON has 

been a pioneer in her home State of Texas. The first woman 

elected to the U.S. Senate from that State, her record of public service began long before she came to Washington. 

Senator HUTCHISON’s dedication to her constituents, and to 

the advancement of the Nation, has been easy to see. When 

she helped to establish the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas, TAMEST, in 2004, she put a spotlight on the importance of encouraging advancements in 

science and of supporting research and development. She has 

understood that protecting our Nation’s ability to innovate is 

as vital to our economic security as anything else. 

I am proud to have worked with Senator HUTCHISON on a 

variety of pieces of legislation over the years, having served 

with her on several subcommittees of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Among our greatest achievements, I believe 

was our partnership on Federal AMBER Alert legislation, 

which won unanimous support in the Senate and which was 

enacted in 2003. The AMBER Alert Act was a signature 

[ 27 ] 

achievement, and an example of what can be done when partisanship is cast aside, and we work together. 

Senator HUTCHISON has worked tirelessly to advocate for 

her State and for the good of the Nation. I wish her and her 

family all the best. 

FRIDAY, December 28, 2012 

Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to 

the Senators who will not be returning when the 113th Congress commences next month. I have already spoken about 

Senator KYL and about Senator Inouye, one of the truly 

great Americans and giants of this institution. At the time 

of his death, Senator Inouye was just a few weeks short of 

celebrating 50 years of Senate service. Only Senator Byrd 

served in this institution longer. 

Turnover is a natural occurrence, but it’s important to 

acknowledge that the Senators who are departing have 

served in the Senate for a combined total of 237 years, or 

nearly 20 years per Senator, on average. Add Senator 

Inouye, and the total is close to 300 years. That service represents an enormous amount of expertise on issues ranging 

from national defense and foreign affairs to the Federal 

budget to energy policy. The departing Senators will also 

take with them vast institutional knowledge and bipartisan 

friendships and working relationships that will leave a void 

we will need to fill. . . . 

Mr. President, Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON has been 

shattering glass ceilings her entire life in a career that has 

spanned law, banking, TV news reporting, small business 

ownership, and politics. She was one of five women in her 

University of Texas Law School class. She was the first Republican woman elected to the Texas House of Representatives. In 1990 she became State treasurer—the first Texas 

Republican woman elected to statewide office. Her 1993 special election victory to succeed Senator Lloyd Bentsen made 

her the first—and only—woman to represent Texas in the 

Senate. She was reelected in 1994, 2000, and 2006, receiving 

over 60 percent of the popular vote in each instance. In 2001 

she was named 1 of the 30 most powerful women in America 

by Ladies Home Journal. 

Senator HUTCHISON was the Senate architect of our military forces’ transformation from cold war forward basing, 

with extensive overseas infrastructure, to a strategically balVerDate Aug 31 2005 13:49 Apr 23, 2014 Jkt 081106 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 H:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE12\81106.TXT KAYNE
[ 28 ] 

anced approach that emphasizes rapidly deployable military 

forces based at large, modern, centrally located U.S. military 

installations. As chair of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, she has played a crucial role in developing larger, soldier- and family-friendly U.S. installations and improving the quality of life and the quality of 

health care for our service men and women and their families. As ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator HUTCHISON authored major legislation in 

2005 and 2010 to create a balanced, bipartisan blueprint for 

America’s post-Shuttle space program. She also protected 

$100 billion science and research investment in the International Space Station by paving way for commercial crews. 

Senator HUTCHISON is one of the Senate’s leading advocates 

for bolstering the Nation’s science and technology education 

and competitiveness. In 2007 she cosponsored the America 

COMPETES Act, which included her legislation to allow college students majoring in science, technology, engineering, or 

mathematics, STEM, to be concurrently certified as elementary and secondary school teachers. 

Senator HUTCHISON has been a strong voice for women’s 

economic empowerment and family-supporting tax policies. 

She joined with my colleague, Senator Mikulski, in sponsoring the Homemaker IRA legislation, which was enacted in 

1997 and allows affected spouses to make equal, $2,000, fully 

deductible contributions to individual retirement accounts, 

IRAs. She also successfully advocated for elimination of the 

marriage tax penalty. In 1975, while she was serving in the 

Texas House of Representatives, she sponsored pioneering 

legislation to protect rape victims by redefining consent and 

shielding them from invasive personal questions that implied 

‘‘blaming the victim.’’ The Texas law became the national 

model for State laws to protect rape victims. In 2003 here in 

the Senate she won passage of a bill that created the national AMBER Alert. About 600 abducted children have 

since been reunited with their parents. 

Senator HUTCHISON is also an accomplished author. In 

2000, she and other women Senators coauthored Nine and 

Counting: The Women of the Senate. In 2004, she wrote 

American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our 

Country, which was followed in 2007 by the bestselling book, 

Leading Ladies: American Trailblazers. I’m not sure, but I 

believe she is the only sitting U.S. Senator to have appeared 

on an episode of ‘‘Walker, Texas Ranger’’ with Chuck Norris! 

[ 29 ] 

Senator HUTCHISON has a solid conservative voting record 

and outlook. She is thoughtful, accessible, and collaborative. 

These qualities and her hard work have made her an outstanding Senator. We will miss her. . . . 

Mr. President, these men and women who will be leaving 

the Senate soon have made extraordinary sacrifices to serve 

our Nation. We are fortunate that they have chosen to spend 

significant parts of their lives in public service. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude. Those of us who will be 

in the Senate next month when the 113th Congress convenes 

can best honor the legacy of our departing colleagues by 

reaching across the aisle as they have done so many times 

to forge bipartisan consensus and solutions to our Nation’s 

most vexing problems. The men and women who will be leaving the Senate at the end of this Congress understand that 

compromise isn’t a dirty word; it is the genius at the heart 

of our political system. We will miss them. 

SUNDAY, December 30, 2012 

Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to honor 

my colleague and friend from the State of Texas, Senator 

KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, as she prepares to retire from the 

Senate after almost 20 years serving her beloved State. I 

have been honored to serve with Senator HUTCHISON and 

will truly miss her presence and the guidance she has shared 

over the last 10 years. 

Senator HUTCHISON is a Texan through and through. She 

is the descendant of Texas pioneers, which might account for 

the fighting spirit she has displayed here in the Senate. She 

is a trailblazer, and in finding her own path broke barriers 

and overcame the challenges she faced early in her career. 

She was one of several women in a class of nearly 400 who 

graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1967. 

After graduating, she faced a harsh reality of the time as no 

law firm in Houston would hire a woman; however she did 

not let this break her spirits. In 1972 she became the first 

Republican woman elected to the Texas State House, where 

she learned the value of bipartisanship, working across the 

aisle to address the inequities and stigma that rape victims 

faced in the legal system—and carried legislation which 

would become a model for States across the country. This is 

one of the many reasons I have come to respect and admire 

[ 30 ] 

the senior Senator from Texas—her ability to bring people 

together to benefit those we serve. 

After being elected Texas State treasurer in 1990, she 

again made history in 1993 by becoming the first, and only, 

woman to be elected to the Senate from Texas. Here in the 

Senate, she has been a champion for our military forces, 

serving on the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees, 

and as chairman and ranking member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. 

In those roles she has worked to ensure our servicemembers 

and their families have the support they need. She has also 

made major contributions through her work to expand 

science and education, consistently advocating for needed improvements so that our students stay competitive. Her commitment to education has led her to play a role in creating 

a program at the National Science Foundation which will expand training for math and science teachers of tomorrow, 

and she was a driving force in establishing the Academy of 

Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas. 

In addition to her legislative accomplishments, Senator 

HUTCHISON is to be recognized for her efforts to keep the 

Senate schedule workable for families. KAY’s children are 

now 11 years old and many of us have watched as they have 

grown. One of my favorite pictures is of Senator HUTCHISON, 

the only woman in a sea of men, holding the hands of BAILEY

and Houston as toddlers. Whether it was late nights or 

flights to catch, KAY reminded the leaders that we have an 

obligation to our families as well. 

Throughout her career Senator HUTCHISON has tackled 

challenges with grace, resilience, and perseverance. As a 

tireless advocate for her State, we can learn a lot from Senator HUTCHISON’s example of what a public servant should 

be, and she certainly leaves an impressive legacy here in the 

Senate. In her book, American Heroines, which chronicles 

some of the first American women trailblazers, she wrote 

that she believes America is the best place on Earth to be 

a woman—that the opportunities are endless. These opportunities are due to Senator HUTCHISON and women like her, 

women whose independence and integrity have set an example for those who will follow in their footsteps. I thank Senator HUTCHISON for her leadership and her friendship, and 

wish her the best. 

[ 31 ] 

MONDAY, December 31, 2012 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to recognize my 

colleague KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON for her many years of distinguished service and leadership on behalf of our country 

and the great State of Texas. 

Over the course of her 19 years in the Senate, KAY has 

earned a reputation for being one of Washington’s hardestworking and most masterful policymakers. I’ve seen this first 

hand, while working with her on a number of different issues 

over the years. 

During the debate over Wall Street reform, KAY and I 

teamed up on legislation that helped keep the lights on at 

over 600 community banks in Minnesota and over 2,000 in 

the State of Texas. We also worked together to update and 

improve our Federal antistalking laws, making it easier for 

law enforcement to crack down on high-tech predators using 

devices like spyware and video surveillance. In both cases, I 

was impressed with KAY’s ability to reach across the aisle 

and find commonsense solutions. 

No matter what the issue, KAY has always stood up for the 

people of her State. She has been a strong and consistent 

voice for the people of Texas, but I also think it’s important 

to recognize her role as a pioneer for women. 

I will never forget a story KAY once told me, about how she 

was one of several women in her law school class and 

couldn’t find a job at any of the all-male Houston law firms 

when she graduated. So instead, she took a job covering the 

Texas State Legislature for a local TV station. 

KAY clearly caught the political bug, because it was just a 

few years later that she ran for a seat in the Texas House 

of Representatives. When she won, she became the first Republican woman ever elected to that body. She shattered another glass ceiling in 1993 when she became the first woman 

to represent Texas in the Senate. It was a milestone for 

women everywhere from the Lone Star State to the North 

Star State. 

When I was running for the Senate in Minnesota in 2006, 

only two women had run before me and both of them had 

lost. This came up during my campaign when reporters 

would ask me, ‘‘Can a woman win in Minnesota?’’ My response? ‘‘Of course. A woman won in Texas.’’ 

So even before I knew KAY personally, I was inspired by 

her story and by everything she had accomplished. Senator, 

thank you for all of the friendship, wisdom, and support you 

[ 32 ] 

have shown me over the years. You will be missed, but I 

know that even in retirement you will continue to find ways 

to improve our great country and give back to the people of 

the State you love so much. 

WEDNESDAY, January 2, 2013 

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 

my colleagues, Senators KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON and OLYMPIA SNOWE. 

We have served together in the Senate for two decades and 

I will dearly miss their grace and their friendship. I know 

that whatever the next chapter brings, both Senator 

HUTCHISON and Senator SNOWE will leave a lasting and important legacy. 

Both of these Senators are true pioneers. When she first 

entered Congress, Senator SNOWE was the youngest Republican woman ever to serve in the House of Representatives. 

Senator HUTCHISON graduated law school in 1967 as one of 

several women in a class of 445 men. When she arrived in 

the Senate in 1993, she became the first woman to represent 

Texas in this Chamber. . . . 

Senator HUTCHISON was a strong and passionate voice for 

the issues important to her beloved State of Texas. 

She played a critical role in so many of the important 

issues facing our country over the years, from her work ensuring the safety of our Nation as a senior member of the 

Senate Armed Services Committee to her leadership on the 

Senate Commerce Committee. 

We worked together to promote safety and security for Afghan women and girls, and she played such a key role during consideration of the transportation bill. I am so grateful 

for Senator HUTCHISON’s bipartisan efforts to preserve and 

protect our critical transportation infrastructure. 

Senator HUTCHISON has always noted that we women Senators have repeatedly come together across party lines to 

achieve action on women’s issues: things like pay inequality 

and creating tax-free individual retirement accounts for 

spouses who work at home. 

I will miss my colleagues, both on the Senate floor and at 

our monthly women Senators dinners. 

[ 33 ] 

THURSDAY, February 7, 2013 

ORDER FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES 

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 

there be printed as a Senate document a compilation of materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to the retiring Members of the 112th Congress. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

[ 35 ] 

Proceedings 

in the House of Representatives 

WEDNESDAY, December 12, 2012 

Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON

has been a fighter for the State of Texas long before she 

came to the U.S. Senate. As a graduate of the University of 

Texas and the University of Texas Law School, she first 

served in Austin, TX, in the house of representatives. She 

then served as State treasurer, and then she made up her 

mind to become the first woman to ever represent the great 

State of Texas in the U.S. Senate. 

Texans have been fortunate to have KAY as a feisty advocate for them. She’s been a leader here in the Senate for almost 20 years. My grandmother always used to say that 

there’s nothing more powerful than a woman who has made 

up her mind. Senator KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON is one of those 

women. She is a leader and a role model for all of us. She 

will be missed. 

Thank you, KAY, for your service to the great State of 

Texas and the United States. 

And that’s just the way it is. 

Æ