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[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 6 (Monday, January 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S285-S287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                       TRIBUTE TO MITCH McCONNELL

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President. I rise today to honor my good friend Mitch 
McConnell, the Senate minority leader whose strong leadership, sterling 
example and wise counsel have earned him an honored position within the 
ranks of the extraordinary public servants who now serve or have served 
in the U.S. Senate.
  Senator McConnell is the second Kentuckian to lead his party in the 
U.S. Senate, the first being Senator Alben Barkley, who led Senate 
Democrats from 1937 to 1949. Mitch is now the longest-serving 
Republican Senator in Kentucky history, eclipsing the previous record 
held by the legendary Senator John Sherman Cooper.
  Today, Senator McConnell has been serving as a U.S. Senator for 
almost a quarter century. During that time, four U.S. Presidents, 
scores of colleagues, and several crises have come and gone, but Mitch 
has carried on with courage, boldness and steadfastness. He has 
weathered the most turbulent political seas and has always been a 
calming influence on his Senate colleagues while at the helm.
  Few would have predicted that Senator McConnell would have such 
staying power when he was first elected to the Senate in 1984 by a 
razor-thin margin--less than half a percentage point. But political 
pundits and prognosticators often only skim the surface or state the 
obvious and give short shrift to the characteristics that matter most 
in the making of an outstanding leader.
  In other words, they didn't really know Mitch McConnell. They didn't 
know about how he overcame polio at age 2, undergoing an intensive 
therapy regimen at the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for 
Rehabilitation and obeying doctors' orders not to walk or run for 2 
years. That took determination, and Mitch showed that early on.
  Senator McConnell's service to his State and Nation is as varied as 
it is impressive. After serving as a student body president and 
graduating with honors at the University of Louisville College of Arts 
and Sciences in 1964, he went on to law school at the University of 
Kentucky, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association 
and earned a law degree.
  He followed that by working as an intern for Senator John Sherman 
Cooper and as a chief legislative assistant to Senator Marlow Cook, 
which provided him with invaluable experience in Washington, DC. Other 
stints followed: He was deputy attorney general under President Gerald 
R. Ford and a county judge-executive in Kentucky until he was sworn in 
as a U.S. Senator on Jan. 3, 1985.
  In whatever position Senator McConnell has served, he has unfailingly 
served with distinction. I have had the good fortune of working with 
Mitch for years, dating back to his election as a freshman Senator, 
when he became the first Republican to win a statewide race in Kentucky 
since 1968. In fact, Mitch was the only Republican in the Nation in 
1984 to defeat a Democrat incumbent.
  To his considerable credit, Mitch has been defying the odds ever 
since. For example, during his tenure as chairman of the National 
Republican Senatorial Committee during the late 1990s and early 2000s, 
the Republicans controlled the Senate--in large part due to his 
leadership.
  Mitch McConnell is a conservative's conservative who gets high marks 
from the American Conservative Union and all who know him. Moreover, he 
is a scholar and able defender of the Constitution and this great 
country. Knowing just how deadly terrorists can be, he is deadly 
serious about protecting America. He also is an outspoken advocate of 
the first amendment and a tremendous parliamentary tactician. When 
Mitch McConnell talks, people listen and pay heed--almost always with 
excellent results.
  As good a Senator as Mitch is, he is an even better man--one who 
places principals above partisanship. His love for his State and our 
Nation is second to none. He also is loyal, honest and unflappable, 
which explains why he is held in such high esteem by his Senate 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
  Mitch is a devoted family man. He is the proud father of three 
beautiful daughters and the loving husband of outgoing U.S. Secretary 
of Labor Elaine Chao. And he is utterly devoted to the people of 
Kentucky he so ably

[[Page S286]]

represents and honors with his stellar service.
  At this time, I wish my colleague and dear friend success, health and 
happiness as he continues his leadership and service in the 111th 
Congress. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with him 
over the years and look forward to continuing to serve together in 
tackling the tremendous challenges confronting our great Nation.
  I honor him and his wife Elaine for their service and sacrifices and 
ask for God's blessings on them both. both.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, this is a day for all Kentuckians and 
Americans to celebrate the man I proudly call my best friend in the 
Senate.
  Today we mark an historic occasion for the Commonwealth of Kentucky 
and the Senate, as my colleague, my friend, and my party's leader, 
Mitch McConnell, becomes the longest serving Senator in Kentucky 
history.
  Back in 1984, when Mitch first won election to this Chamber by just 
over 5,000 out of over 1.2 million votes cast, some may have doubted 
that the Jefferson County judge executive and newly-elected Senator 
would go on to become the leader and statesman he is today. But some of 
us had little doubt.
  It was easy to tell Mitch was special from the beginning. In 1984, he 
was the only Republican challenger in the country to defeat a 
Democratic incumbent in a Senate race. In Kentucky he was also the 
first Republican to win a statewide race since 1968.
  Mitch went on to prove that his initial victory was not just luck. 
Some of my friends may not know what a prominent role Mitch has played 
in Kentucky's political history. He has helped to build the thriving 
two-party political system that Kentucky has today.
  Mitch worked with the focused determination that is his trademark 
here in the Senate and aggressively recruited Republican candidates at 
every level throughout the State. He made his case to the people of 
Kentucky, explaining his philosophy and his mission.
  As a Republican, he was certainly swimming upstream at first. But 
over time, the people responded.
  Twenty-four years later, he remains as popular as ever back home. 
Last November, Kentuckians elected him to a record fifth term and 
awarded him nearly 1 million votes the most ever won by a Kentuckian in 
a statewide race.
  And why shouldn't Kentucky continue to send Mitch McConnell to our 
Nation's Capital to fight for them? Look at all he has accomplished on 
their behalf.
  No. 1 on the list is his effort to pass the tobacco buyout one of the 
most significant events in the agricultural history of Kentucky. I 
can't stress enough that the tobacco buyout, passed in 2004, has helped 
the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Kentucky tobacco farmers, their 
families, and the many towns and communities in which they lived. The 
tobacco buyout will inject $2.5 billion into Kentucky over 10 years to 
tobacco quota holders and growers, allowing them to transition to other 
crops, continue the farming way of life, and provide for their 
families. After many obstacles and years of frustration, I was proud to 
work closely with Mitch on this effort to sign the buyout into law. 
Many thought it couldn't be done. But we knew it could.
  Then there are the millions of Kentuckians who have benefited from 
Mitch's work to strengthen higher education. I know firsthand his 
dedication to Kentucky's universities. He understands that by improving 
them, we not only help students but entire communities by developing 
jobs and building a better workforce.
  During his time in the Senate, he has secured over $320 million for 
research and infrastructure in Kentucky's universities. And I know he 
is not finished yet, as that remains one of his highest priorities.
  All of us on this side of the aisle recognized Mitch's ability, and 
we have unanimously chosen him to be the Republican leader.
  Leading the Senate is like herding cats. Senators are not the kind of 
people who are easily led. We are all used to leading ourselves.
  It takes a special kind of man to lead all these class-president 
types, to balance the different personalities and issues that can come 
out of our conference. It takes vision and clarity to be able to define 
our principles and our mission, to codify them in a way that every 
Member can get on board, and to communicate them to our colleagues and 
the country. And it takes considerable wisdom to maneuver past the many 
legislative obstacles and parliamentary land mines that lay in wait in 
the Senate. Mitch McConnell is the right man for the job, and I am 
proud of him as he continues to lead our party in the Senate.
  And Kentucky is proud of him, too, as only the second Kentuckian in 
history and the first in over half a century to become a Senate floor 
leader. In that role, he is able to do even more for Kentucky.
  Mitch has graced this Senate with his leadership, commitment to 
principle, and his trademark determination for 24 years now 8,775 days, 
to be exact. He is now Kentucky's longest serving Senator.
  On a personal note, I want to say that I couldn't ask for a better 
partner in my work to improve our State. Mary and I will always be 
thankful for his friendship and that of his wife, our great Secretary 
of Labor, Elaine Chao.
  Kentuckians could not have a better Senator fighting on their behalf. 
Our State is lucky to have him, and so is this Senate. I congratulate 
him on reaching this very significant milestone.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues in celebrating 
this remarkable achievement of our dear friend, the senior Senator from 
Kentucky and the minority leader of the Senate, Senator McConnell. And 
I apologize that I wasn't able to join the rest of my colleagues in 
their tribute earlier.
  Twenty-four years is a long time in politics and in the case of my 
friend from Kentucky, it is historic.
  But as someone who sits at the desk his father did before him--who 
treasures this institution--I know there is a difference between the 
length of our service and the quality of our service. And let there be 
no doubt that throughout his two-and-a-half decades here, Senator 
McConnell has tirelessly dedicated himself to the latter.
  My friend and I may not agree on everything. But we both realize the 
extraordinary privilege and opportunity this is.
  When this institution works, it works because of people like Mitch 
McConnell.
  Having served with him for the past 24 years and during our time at 
the Rules Committee, I had the privilege of seeing my colleague's 
remarkable talent very closely.
  Everyone in this Chamber knows how difficult the moment was after the 
Presidential election in 2000. The country was terribly divided along 
partisan lines and feelings in this institution were raw.
  As chair and ranking member of Rules, the responsibility fell to 
Senator McConnell and me to count the electoral votes--typically a 
ceremonial duty but one fraught with tension in the wake of the closest 
Presidential election in American history.
  We would soon oversee together President Bush's first inaugural as 
well.
  That we were able to get back to business in such short order was a 
tribute to Mitch McConnell's temperament and commitment to this 
institution.
  And there was some very important business to be done--not the least 
of which was reforming our nation's voting laws to ensure there 
wouldn't be a repeat of Florida ever again. Together, and over a series 
of months, he and I wrote the Helping America Vote Act.
  It was a difficult, delicate process--but the hard work paid off.
  Civil rights hero John Lewis called HAVA the most important voting 
rights law since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. In part because 
of Senator McConnell's commitment to working together--to working 
through difficult issues instead of setting them aside--today Americans 
have more confidence in their right to vote privately and 
independently.
  We also managed the McCain-Feingold bill to reform our campaign 
finance laws on the floor of the Senate--another challenge that took 
considerable effort on the part of Democrats and Republicans to work 
together. To set aside those differences and focus on what was at 
stake.

[[Page S287]]

  Senator McConnell did not support the McCain-Feingold bill in the 
end. But he was passionate about there being a fair process.
  As another Kentucky son once said, Justice Louis Brandeis, ``We are 
not won by arguments that we can analyze, but by tone and temper--by 
the manner, which is the man himself.''
  To me, that is Mitch McConnell--a conservative to the marrow but 
someone who has never forgotten why we come here:
  To make a difference.
  So I congratulate my colleague and his family for reaching this 
remarkable milestone. May you continue to expand on it for many years 
to come. Thank you.

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