Date: 2014-12-08
Speaker: TOM COBURN (republican)
Chamber: S

He is someone we have all come to know and admire over 20 years as a relentless fighter for limited government and conservative values here in the Congress. ToM can be a very charming guy. but I know he can also be a pain in our side when he is determined to make sure he gets a chance to get a vote on an important matter here in the Senate. I think he is comfortable in both of those roles. In fact. I know he is. TOM COBURN is a man of strong principle. a man of great integrity. and. perhaps just as importantly. a man of remarkable humility. Our country has benefited greatly from the wisdom and leadership TOM has provided during his service in Congressfirst in the House and then in the Senate. I have been in the Senate now for a little more than a decade. and during that time our colleague from Oklahoma has done more than anyone else in this Chamber to eliminate wasteful spending. expose fraud and abuse in the Federal budget. and get our entitlement programs on a sustainable path. TOM would be the first one to say that job has just begun. but he has certainly given it everything he has. He has educated our Nation on the fiscal threat we live under and what it means for our children and grandchildren. and he has worked tirelessly to correct it. He has done a remarkable job as the ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. as well as his service on the intelligence and banking committees. Furthermore. TOM has been an unyielding force for protecting liberty and improving access to affordable health care by proposing positive patientoriented alternatives. and for these reasons and many more I am grateful for his service. But perhaps the thing he does not want to be remembered forbut that has made such a profound impression on many of usis his courage and ability to deal with the fact that he is a threetime cancer survivor. Even last week. I know he was receiving treatment for this most recent flare up. but he will be back here today. He will be doing what he does best. and that is fighting for his principles and perhaps causing more than a little bit of turbulence in the process in this otherwise stayed Chamber. I know I speak for this entire Chamber when I say it is an honor to serve with a man such as TOM COBURN. I know this to be true because Tom is well respected on both sides of the aisle. In fact. when Time magazine named TOM one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013. a friend of TOMs and former Democratic Senator wrote: The people of Oklahoma are lucky to have someone like Tom representing them in Washington someone who speaks his mind. sticks to his principles. and is committed to the people he was elected to serve. The friend I am referring to who made those remarks is none other than our President. Barack Obama. when he served with TOM in the Senate. When the President said that. he found out that TOM received a number of angry letters from constituents that said he and President Obama looked a little too chummy together. to which TOM repliedand this is classic TOM COBURN: "What better way to influence someone than to love them." This serves as a testament to his character. You see. TOM has an extraordinary ability not just to win the respect of those who agree with him but the admiration and respect of those who disagree with him as well. That is a rare thing in politics and especially in todays society. Nevertheless. TOM has spent his career promoting what is good for the country while never wavering from his personal conversations. Along the way he has racked up a lengthy list of accomplishments that protect taxpayers and increase transparency in government. TOMs r6sum6 proves he has been a leader not only in Congress but in every aspect of his life. For example. I think many of our colleagues dont realize he had a distinguished career in business and medicine before he got here. TOM served as president of the school of business student council while getting his accounting degree at Oklahoma State University. Later he went back to law schoolexcuse me. that was a Freudian slip he wouldnt be happy with. Later he went back to medical school. where he trained to become a physician and served as president of his class at the University of Oklahoma medical school. TOM has a lot to be proud of about his service in the House and in the Senate. But. again. like all of us. he is most proud of his family. He has been married to the former Miss Oklahoma for nearly 50 years. and he and Carolyn have three daughters and seven grandchildren. Meanwhile. in his career as a physician. he has delivered more than 4.000 babies. which perhaps explains the vote totals in some of his elections. because I am sure many of them have grown up to vote for him. The things that I mentioned are only a few of TOM COBURNS long list of notable achievements. Knowing TOM and his work ethic. I have no doubt he will be giving 110 percent right up until the last minute he serves in the 113th Congress on January 3. 2015. I wish TOM and his family the very best as they enter the next season of life. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.