Transcripts For CSPAN3 Senate Finance Committee Tribute 20240714

With the presentation of colors by the United States Capitol Police ceremonial unit and the pledge of allegiance. Please rise. Forward, march. Right shoulder. Now, please join in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Ms. Campbell thank you very much. You may be seated. Our celebration this evening is possible because we have generous support from the bank of america, from grant thornton, mallinkrodt pharmaceuticals, from allergen, from the National Retail federation, from the association of global automakers, united technology, and the ongoing support of our society members. We have several of our Board Members who are here. I would invite you to stand up, anna, don, john, Board Members of the society. Thank you very much for your work. [applause] ms. Campbell we are here today to raise a toast to the Senate Finance committee. The finance committee is over 200 years old, tracing its founding to a select committee that was created in 1815. In its first assignment, it was charged to reduce the enormous debt from the war of 1812 and has been coping with the debt ever since. [laughter] in the 1800s, its jurisdiction was limited to Financial Issues tariffs, appropriations, national debt, currency, and banking legislation. In those days, the finance committee raised the money and decided how to spend it. Protectionist tariffs versus free trade, a National Bank versus state bank, the gold standard, silver standard, creation of paper money, income tax, Critical Issues that each era of our nations history were debated by this committee with strongly held and often opposing views. One would say that the issues before the committee have come full circle as tariffs are once again a topic of national debate. The Committee Also shaped social programs, enacting measures to aid veterans, to provide income and health care for seniors and those with special needs and to look after the welfare of children. As the issues became more complex, the committees authority became more focused. Much of its Spending Authority was transferred to the appropriations committee. Other responsibilities were also reassigned. Even so, its jurisdiction is so broad today that it is most often referred to as the powerful Senate Finance committee, as though the word powerful were part of its name. It is the societys tradition in these celebrations to offer a toast to the committee, so please join me, if you have your glasses and if you dont, just pretend and offer a toast to recognizing the long history and outstanding achievements of the finance committee, to the Senate Finance committee, for shaping the economic foundations of our nation, for its g. I. Bill of rights and other programs supporting our veterans, for protecting the health and welfare of our older citizens, of children and those with special needs, for promoting international trade, and for a commitment to fiscal responsibility and economic growth, we salute the committee, its leaders, its members, and its staff. Here, here. [applause] ms. Campbell it is my honor to introduce to you the chairman of the powerful Senate Finance committee, the honorable Chuck Grassley. [applause] ms. Campbell in addition to his leadership of the committee, senator grassley is known for his incredibly strong work ethic, his integrity, and his scrutiny of government spending. His dedication is obvious in his voting record. He has cast 7600 consecutive votes, the longest record in senate history. Senator grassley was elected president pro tem of the senate for the Current Congress and is the senior republican in the senate. We could go on and on, but we will not because it is his turn to speak. Senator grassley. [applause] sen. Grassley thank you. Thank you. As far as im concerned, you could go on and on. Thank you for the recognition by the Historical Society. It is an honor to be here to recognize the original Standing Committees of the United States senate. The original ones, committees on finance, was established more than two centuries ago, december 11, 1850. Contrary to what my predecessor may have led some people to believe, senator hatch and i were not original members of this committee. [laughter] sen. Grassley for more than two centuries, the Senate Committee on finance has steered legislation through Congress American society and our way of life, and i think you gave a better historical description of that than i am prepared to do, and i appreciate your perspective of that. More than 100 years ago, it took passage of the 16th amendment to allow the federal government to raise revenue through the income tax. Since then, the most ambitious and sweeping policy changes under the committees jurisdiction, social security, a critical income safety net for the nations elderly, survivors, and disabled. The finance Committee Also was instrumental in the passage of the g. I. Bill following world war ii to provide benefits to returning veterans, including tuition, home loan, and unemployment. As a returning chairman of the finance committee, i thank the u. S. Capital Historical Society for its very important work to educate and inform the american public. There is very much an iowa connection with the u. S. Capitol Historical Society. Your organization was founded by iowa congressman fred twinkle, who at the time i came here, was a retired congressman, but still head of this association. Like him, im a big fan of history and our system of selfgovernment. Fred recognized the importance of an informed public citizenry. A defining moment for the future congressman from iowas First District took place two decades before he was elected to the u. S. House of representatives. His blooming interest in history, particularly the life of abraham lincoln, and he was considered a good scholar of abraham lincoln, was surmounted by none other than harry truman, at that time, not president harry truman. After delivering his speech in 1934, the future president learned about this Iowa Republicans interest in history. When introduced, truman grabbed the lapels of freds coat and said Something Like you have to know your history, young man, if you want to be a good citizen. Fred took that advice to heart. When he was elected to congress in 1954, he immersed himself in legislative affairs to commemorate history. In 1962, he launched the u. S. Capital Historical Society. Since then, the society has led an outstanding effort to educate the public about the history and heritage of our nations legislative branch and the u. S. Capitol. Stories are told that you never had a dig around the u. S. Capitol building. If there was a hole, fred was in the hole trying to find the original cornerstone of the u. S. Capitol. I dont know how many times he took me on tours of the capitol and told me things i since have forgotten and wish i could remember, because it is so important for us to have those details. He knew those details very much. If we dont honor and remember how we got here, we will fail following his admonition to find the best path forward. In other words, knowing history about the past, and the history is about the past, you have to know that to know what the right route is for the future. Consider 2 recent examples. Last week, we celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of womens suffrage vote on june 5 in the United States senate. The next day, we observed the 75th anniversary of dday. These crucial milestones of history rang the bell of liberty for freedom and equality here at home and abroad. The suffrage home and abroad. The Suffrage Movement paved the way for women to have a big voice in government. We know today, a big growing voice in government. Thats what america oughtta be all about, to make sure that every interest is proportionately represented. Operation neptune paved the way for our allied forces to liberate the entire continent and the entire people from tyranny and terror. One of the fundamental areas of jurisdiction of the committee on finance is taxation. One might argue that taxes and terror walk together. It is kind of a fine line. [laughter] that is a marine talking there. We walk the fine line every day from the trenches of the Senate Finance committee. Winston churchill, the british bulldog once quipped for a nation to try and tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing on a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. Many of the most famous lawmakers that served in the u. S. Senate served on the Senate Finance committee, reflecting its prestigious and influential work on matters of public safety. In a select committee chaired in 1959 by then senator john f. Kennedy chose the five most outstanding senators in the u. S. Senate. Those 5 senators all served on the fincance committee, three of whom also chaired the committee. Henry clay, john calhoun, daniel webster, robert la follette, and robert taft. Looking back through the lens of history also shows 3 u. S. President s, 8 Vice President s, and 9 secretaries of the u. S. Treasury having served on the Senate Finance committee, as well. To my colleagues here this evening, i would suggest the 28 senators who currently serve on the finance committee have some big shoes to fill. Im glad to be here with my good friend and Ranking Member senator wyden. We have a lot of the legislative bucket full. We hope to accomplish great things, as every chairman and Ranking Member would try to do. Having served previously as finance chairman a decade ago with another good friend and Ranking Member, senator max baucus, we appreciate the 2 of us together, the value of importance in cultivating bipartisan working relationships to get the job done. Im also glad to be here with tonights keynote speakers. Both are former members of the committee. You know they are on the agenda. You will be hearing from them. I consider the years working with don nickles and senator find lincoln to be very favorable interactions with colleagues. You have me off key. That is ok, you always did. [laughter] sen. Grassley these 2 people also appreciate the longstanding traditions of the Senate Finance committee. Sowing the seed of bipartisanship is the most productive way to achieve lasting results for years to come. As i mentioned, the finance committee manages the legislative business that manages the taxpayers money. If the chairman and Ranking Members of the Committee Working on opposite sides of the fence, we would have a very hard time weeding out our differences. Working together, we can cultivate consensus and handle items in our legislative bucket. For the 116th congress, the committee on finance is doing heavy lifting to reduce drug prices for american people. We a re working to improve access to Affordable Health care and rank congresses Constitutional Authority to regulate international trade. We hope to pass the umsca trade issue and secure new Market Access opportunities with the european union, japan, and if possible, and necessary, the united kingdom. We are eager to rebalance our trading relationship with china. All they say is a rising tide lifts all boats. When we paddle our oars in bipartisan waters, the Senate Finance committee has a long history of legislative achievement on behalf of the american people. Im optimistic we will continue that strong tradition in this congress and beyond. Thanks to the capital Historical Society for hosting and honoring the Senate Finance committee tonight. Thank you very much. [applause] ms. Campbell thank you, mr. Chairman. Now you see what distinguished leadership we have. I also thought it was fascinating that when senator nickles and senator lincoln got married, they took senator lincolns name. Just noticing. [laughter] times are changing these days. Ms. Campbell my job is to recognize someone who was not part of that marriage operation, but is instead the Ranking Member of this powerful Senate Finance committee. Senator ron wyden. Senator wyden is an extinguished distinguished leader. Senator wyden is an distinguished leader. He is one who we can go on all night, but we cant. His constituents described him as a good listener. He is one who believes in the town hall and has a town hall meeting in every county in oregon every year. He also uses those listening skills in the senate to hear arguments on all sides of the issue and try to find common sense bipartisan solutions. In addition to his leadership post on the committee, senator wyden has the distinction of being the dean of oregons congressional delegation. Senator wyden, please come forward. [applause] sen. Wyden just to put this in perspective, senator grassley has town Hall Meetings in all 99 of his counties. It is described in the state of iowa as the full grassley. [laughter] sen. Wyden i came over saying i will make sure this is a filibuster free zone. I see some of my colleagues who will be very pleased about that. But i think that you may be here a while, because a lot of people here tonight i think really came because they want to talk about the upcoming debate about tax extenders. [laughter] we may be here a little bit. I have a few thank yous. Lets give the Historical Society another round of applause. [applause] sen. Wyden giving us a chance to look back at history, and also a little bit of looking forward. We thank her for that. And of course, my friend and inimitable partner, senator grassley, who gets up in the morning at the leisurely hour of 4 00 a. M. , then runs some ungodly number of miles. He doesnt even take time out im on the intelligence committee, i know a lot of details. [laughter] sen. Wyden chairman roberts headed it. He doesnt even take time out for what he really loves to do, another one of our shared passions, to visit the dairy queens. Im really pleased to be able to be here with the chairman. Now, a lot of you may be wondering about this particular picture. This particular picture was from an extremely exciting moment of the Affordable Care act. [laughter] sen. Wyden when it was taken, barbara, you just snuck in, great to see you, thank you for coming. Lets give mrs. Grassley a round of applause. [applause] sen. Wyden we are always glad to have barbara in the house. This picture was taken at a particularly exciting moment during the Affordable Care act debate. When it was taken, and i sent it to senator lincoln, i said lets call it our honeymooner shot. What you have is rolf kramden on the left, and his wife alice, looking as they always did, deeply into each others eyes not. [laughter] sen. Wyden it will forever be a little bit of the finance committee history, jane, that we call that the honeymooner shot. I will talk for a minute or two seriously. As the chairman said, and also jane, what an extraordinary honor it is to serve on the Senate Finance committee. Im a first generation jewish kid. My parents could not possibly believe i would have an honor like this. I went to school on a basketball scholarship, i dreamed of playing in the nba. It was a ridiculous idea. At 64, i was too small. I made up for it by being really slow. [laughter] sen. Wyden thats what i wanted to do. To think that someone like myself, with my background, a firstgeneration jewish kid, would have this kind of honor, it takes your breath away. It says a lot about america, a lot about democracy, and what i have been able to do is focus on the things closest to my heart. I was director of the oregon gray panthers when i was coming up. I had a full head of hair and rugged good looks. [laughter] sen. Wyden we always focus on the issues the chairman just mentioned, health care, economic security. You want to do that . The place you have to go is the Senate Finance committee. There is not any other place where you can do it. I want to close by giving you a little snapshot of what is still possible, when a lot of people are saying everything is too polarized, people are fighting all the time, you cant do anything at all, heres what happened in the last session of congress in the Senate Finance committee. My friends here, senator grassley, senator roberts, i saw tom harper floating about. He may have had to race to the train in delaware. When nobody said anything could get done, the Senate Finance committee a record setting 10 year Childrens Health insurance program. Absolutely impossible. Nobody said you can do anything like that. It came from the Senate Finance committee in the last congress. We put in place an unprecedented set of reforms for foster care. The dream of the Childrens Defense Fund for decades used to be, it was either foster care or stay in a home where the environment wasnt too great. We created a third option, kinship care, help for families. It is really a revolution in foster care, and something im very proud of. I think senator roberts remembers this, as well. We talked about it often we began the transformation of medicare. When i was director of the gray panthers, medicare had 2 parts. Part a, went to the hospital, part b, went to the doctor. That was the ballgame. That is not medicare today. Medicare today is cancer, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, all chronic illness. They were going to rename the program and almost be a chronic illness program. We started the transformation of this from an acute care program to a chronic disease program. More care for folks at home. Pat roberts leading an effort to promote telemedicine. Hugely important for rural hospitals and facilities. Senator cassidy senator Cassidy Grassley and senator lincoln and i talk about what we can do in addition of rural health care. Those are landmark accomplishments. 10 year chip bill, revising the foster care program, and transforming medicare in a polarized political time when everyone was saying nothing can be done . That is the Senate Finance committee. With senator grassley, senator hatch, myself, and all of the people who have worked so hard to do it. I wanted to mention that when not much bipartisan legislating is taking place, show up to the Senate Finance committee and see what we are trying to do. Jane has given us a chance to look back a little bit. I want you to know i particularly think the best days of the Senate Finance committee are ahead, because we are going to lead our way out of this path where so much seems to be about fighting and bickering, and building on the last congress. And some of the historic accomplishments. Sen. Wyden senator grassley listed a few of them. There will be democrats and republicans working very hard to find common ground. Jane and the Historical Society, thank you for giving us a chance to look back, and also look forward. Thank you. [applause] Jane Campbell thank you so very much, senator wyden. It is really the job, in many ways, of the Historical Society to give the opportunity for perspective. To think about what have we done, what are we trying to do, and how do we come together across boundaries to do that . Ac how do we come together across boundaries . We do that i giving an opportunity for a bipartisan way, having people tell stories about what has happened, and what they hope to have happen. We are so grateful, mr. Chairman, mr. Ranking member, that you agreed to convene this body. Part of our tradition is that we ask the chairman and Ranking Member to select someone who has come before who is not now on the finance committee, who can speak completely freely [laughter] to tell a little bit about what it was like to serve on the committee. So the first person to carry that honor is senator don nickles. Don nichols was elected to the senate from oklahoma in 1981 and served for 24 years. In addition to being on the Senate Finance committee, he held several leadership positions, beginning as the chair of National Republican senatorial committee, and rising to serve as the assistant majority leader. In 2005, he decided to make a career change, retiring from the senate and establishing a consulting firm, the nickles group. Senator nickles. [applause] don nickles thank you very much. I was just thinking if i stayed in the senate i would be in the Senate Chuck Grassley and i came together in 1980, 38 years ago. Maybe in another 10 years, i can become chairman of the finance committee. [laughter] don nickles my wife would really get a kick out of that. Hey babe you stay another 30 , years, you can be chairman of the committee. Grassley and hatch just wont go. Because he had seniority. He served in the congress. He was ranked higher than i was the same age as most of the staffers on the committee at the time. I loved the finance committee. I served on a lot of committees. At that time, everyone said you want to be on finance or on appropriations. Ropes up appropriations because i cannot get on finance. Chuck grassley got on in year one. Blanche lincoln got on in year one. Pat took a few years. Bill cassidy got in in his first term. It is not fair. It took me my third term to get on the finance committee. But i will tell you, i look back at the other committees, i was on budget for 24 years, that is just all work. A lot of the committees are just work. Finance, there is so much positive, so much good. You touch health care, all of the and all of the entitlements medicare, medicaid, tax rates, trade, and so on. You make a dramatic impact on peoples lives. That is so important. And you make history. When chuck and i were elected, it had to be the same year Ronald Reagan was elected. Maximum tax rate was 70 . Eight years later, 28 . Wow. That is real history. That is changing things. It is really positive. I thought it was positive. Some people didnt. It was a bipartisan bill for a lot of that. That was bob dole, bill bradley, a bunch of democrats and republicans working together to rewrite the tax code and rewrote a permanent law. That was a change. Subsequent tax bills, i was involved in later tax bills, a lot were 10 year periods, because that is the budget windows. We did a permanent law change in 1981. I wasnt on the committee, but the chairman was the senator from kansas, senator bob dole, he became chairman in 81. Russell long was chairman. He was elected to the senate when he was 30 years old. He had been chairman of the finance committee for a long time. Bob said he was excited to be chairman of the finance committee, but who will tell russell he is not the chairman . [laughter] don nickles the fact is, they worked well together. You think of those big bills, that is phenomenal. I was a freshman senator. I was 32 at the time when we did the 81 tax bill. I asked bob dole, something i feel very strong about was i wanted to permanently eliminate the tax for surviving spouses. He got that in the bill in 1981. I was 32 years old. That was one of the things i really wanted to get done. My father died years before, and i went through this inheritance battle. That was one of the things i was really wound up about. Once we got it done, i told somebody it changes the way you do your state planning. I planning. I put my home in my wifes name, so when i died she would not have to pay inheritance tax. When i eliminated the penalty, ive been trying to get it back in my name. [laughter] don nickles it is real life. It makes a difference. It is the best committee by far. I love to see the finance Committee Working together. You get real things done. I look back at the early 80s, when they made phenomenal changes. The house was never in republican control. When the democrats were controlling the house, and republicans controlled the senate in that first six years, and rewrote the tax code that dramatically. Now that you have the house controlled by democrats, republicans control the senate, you can do a major rewrite of similar significance and maybe not. [laughter] don nickles times are a little different. I long to have some of the good times we had, when we really did have bipartisan work and got monumental legislation done. We did have regular order and markups in committees where every member and what a thrill it is to be a member of the fincance committee, where you can offer any amendment, on health care, tax code, trade, monumental, big things where any member of the senate can offer those amendments to change. You want a 70 rate or 100 . You can offer that in that committee. I hope people have the chance to do that in committee and on the floor. I believe in regular order. I love to see the Committee Work its process. Work its will, let everybody offer ideas. Maybe they get voted down, so what, it is part of the process. It is a great process. Blanche im im delighted to know we are married and i took your name. [laughter] i dont know who will tell linda about that. We could be in trouble. I see you are over here with your boyfriend, ron. I just want to say thank you. I also want to compliment the Historical Society. For whatever reason since i have retired from the senate, i have always had i have always had the insatiable desire for history. I Love Learning more about our history. I didnt even know it when i served in the senate, you get so busy in the senate that you dont have a chance to slow down and absorb some of it. I did not know Jefferson Davis was so involved in building the Capitol Building in such premier, outstanding class that it is, with this monolithic columns and so on. This is a better building you can look at all of the other , federal buildings, the capitol is unique, it is the best. Jefferson davis, probably more than anybody else, was responsible for that. Even became the president of the confederacy. If anyone was responsible for the design, the architecture ive just picked some of this up. My compliments to the Historical Society. You have a great story to tell. It is always a real honor and privilege to be part of the senate, the capitol, and frankly, to be a member of the best committee in congress, the finance committee. Thank you very much. [applause] ms. Campbell thank you very much, senator nickles. Any time you want to have a good historical tour, our chief tour guide, steve livengood, will be happy to take you through the capitol. He has a 10 hour tour available. When i first came to my said i wanted to, one of them, he asked if i wanted the 10 hour tour. I asked for a shorter version to start out. [laughter] he does know every background. We are delighted to provide that to there is one other remember i want to acknowledge, mary landrieu. [applause] ms. Campbell senator nickles said the Energy Committee was just a bunch of hard work. Well, imagine working for the person who was chairman of the Energy Committee. There are stories we will not tell. There is one other group we need to acknowledge, everyone who is now or has ever been a senate staffer. Stand up. [applause] ms. Campbell thank you, thank you, thank you. I do that before i present to you senator lincoln, because senator lincoln is one of the few people who as a staffer decided, i can do this better than my boss, [laughter] ms. Campbell ran against him, and won. This is a unique thing, so you all better be careful. Ms. Campbell this is not what they put in the script for me to present senator lincoln, so i will attempt to behave, although they say wellbehaved women rarely make history. Dale bumpers announced his retirement from the senate and immediately, Blanche Lincoln jumped into the race. She was elected from arkansas in 1998 and served to two distinguish terms. According to a Washington Post article at the time, she lobbied for a position on finance from day one. And she got it. Senator roberts is rolling his head going, oh my goodness. Although she was a democrat, she fit right in with her republican colleagues. She was raised on a farm, and like senator grassley and senator nickles, she was an advocate to address the estate tax. She played herself in the documentary, 14 women. Like senator nickles, afterlife and the senate seat, set up a consulting firm, advising public policy. Senator lincoln. [applause] sen. Lincoln thanks, jane, and thanks to the Historical Society for doing so many great things. I am probably one of the only members that actually reads your publication that comes in the mail, keep it coming. This is a wonderful photograph that ron sent me. I cant thank you enough for sharing it with me years ago, when it first came out. We were sitting there going, oh my god, is there going to be another opening statement. [laughter] sen. Lincoln but mr. Chairman, thank you very much for having me tonight, and ron, thank you for asking me. Im grateful to be here. Don and i not only served on the committee together, but we are blessed to get to Work Together some still now, its a lot of fun and we are really doing some good stuff. So i appreciate that. Pat roberts, thank you. Just as i wanted from day one to be on the Senate Finance committee, when i served in the house of representatives, i came to the house as a staffer in 1982, but i won my election in 1992 to the house. The democrats were in the majority, and i asked for five committees. Because if you dont ask, you dont get, and i didnt get them all, but i did get on ag, and i got on energy and commerce. Having been a staffer, i fell absolutely in love with the debate and the work of the committee. It was empowering to not just me, but to my constituents, my family. I used to watch my dad come up and testify before the appropriators in the levee board districts about how much money they needed to keep the floodwaters at bay. And i just thought how wonderful , is that, that an american citizen can come up and testify before the committee and tell them about what is going on . So with that love of committee i did get a little greedy, and i asked for lots of committees. John dingell was a favorite of mine. We lost john this year. He was a wonderful, wonderful chairman. I got on energy and commerce, and asked for the merchant marine and fisheries committee, and that i wanted to get on ag, coming from a farm district. If you remember, in 1994 there was a switch in leadership, republicans took over, and with the new revolution, pat took over the house ag committee. As Everybody Knows when you switch, you lose a few numbers on the side that did not win. I went to pat and i said, i want to stay on the ag committee and he said you cant because you were the last person in so you are the first person up. He was really sweet about it, but he said no. I showed up at a few hearings and i sat down with all of the people that came to the hearings, and pat would look at me like, what is she doing out there . [laughter] sen. Lincoln i came to three or four and finally he said, ok, just come up here and sit, you are not on the committee but you can come up and sit. [laughter] sen. Lincoln he was really sweet. I appreciate that. Pat was good to me. But i have to say when i did come to the senate i knew i wanted to be on the Senate Finance committee. Im sorry max baucus is not here, because i wore him out. He and tom daschle were so amazing. Having been a staffer, i knew how to go about the committees. In the house it was the regional caucuses. Mike was my secret weapon in the house and when i got to the senate, daschle listened to me and said it was the first mistake he made. And he and max both were very wonderful to try to help me, and it has been an honor. It was a really true honor of my life to serve on the committee, and a has and as has been mentioned, great luminaries of our history served their daniel webster, thomas hart benton, john calhoun, and ron, right here in the picture. It was gratifying to serve on a committee that had so much power and jurisdiction, ranging from taxes to health care, and when i served on the committee we also did trade. Im not sure about handling trade issues these days, but i hope it is coming back. Because i am on the road right now with two former trade Staff Members of the finance committee. I know you remember Angela Hoffman and Carrie Phillips clark, who have shrinkwrapped a motorhome and are traveling across the country. I get to pop in now and then, have a glass of wine and talk about farmers for freetrade. It is a ton of fun. So this fun doesnt stop here, particularly when you work hard with staff. It makes a big difference. And they still have the same passions. As don and i know, when we leave the senate, we still have passions. That has been a great opportunity for me. To read the history of the Senate Finance committee is to read the history of our country, battles over tariffs, the National Bank of jackson that was mentioned earlier, income tax, social security, medicare, those battles fought in the committee and i remembers the and i remember the battles we fought, whether it was Affordable Care act, taxes. When i came to the senate in 1998i was 38 years old, i had twin twoyearolds. I came to the committee and it was a little bit different there. And as we fought those battles, there were many of them, and i frequently had Peanut Butter and jelly on my lapel, sleepless nights, and occasionally my twins were in my office because they were either sick or it was a snow day and they were out of school. One of those days happened to be a day we were doing welfare reform Chuck Grassley was in the chair, and we were talking about childcare. The democrats wanted to spend way too much money and republicans were like, we cant spend any money. I was thinking, my kids are up in my office, i dont know what they are doing, it is crazy out there, and i looked over and everybody started talking and then somebody said Something Like, cant the grandparents take care of them . Chuck grassley looked me in the eye, looked me in the eye and i looked up and i was like whoa. He looked at the republicans and he said, we better let her talk because her teapot is about to pop. [laughter] sen. Lincoln and it was wonderful to be able to talk and come to a conclusion where we actually did increase funding for child care and the welfare reform bill, not as much as the democrats wanted but a little more than the republicans wanted, and probably somewhere in the middle of where we needed to be. And that was because we were working together. We were trying to figure it out. We were learning from each other, and talking about what that really meant to our constituents. There has been nine women who have served on the finance committee. The first i had never heard of before, but thanks to the Historical Society i discovered, hazel able of nebraska. She was appointed and served the last three days. She got three days on the committee. [laughter] that was in 1952. The second woman to serve on the Senate Finance committee and the first to do so substantively, was Carol Moseley braun of illinois who served in 20042000 five on the committee. And then came the gal from arkansas for the 107th congress. It was Olympia Snowe and myself. I could not have asked or a more wonderful partner in the committee as a female, Olympia Snowe, she was phenomenal to work with, hardworking, thorough, really anxious to do good and that made a difference. Since olympia is not here tonight and we were in the majority when that happened, im going to say that im the third woman on the committee. [laughter] sen. Lincoln olympia is going to be the fourth. Today there has been nine women out of 370 two women of the Senate Finance committee. There are four on the committee today, tying the record of the 111th congress. They are all democrats, unfortunately. We have got to get some republican women on there. With a little less than little over 12 years under their belts, senator cantwell and senator stabenow are the longestserving women on the Senate Finance committee. A i am very proud and grateful for all they have done and continue to do. When i think of the Committee Work, it is the place where you realize how our government was founded. It was founded on trying to find consensus. It is looking at issues and things that affect our families and our home states in a way that need to be fixed, and finding the consensus that is going to do it. But i have also found that under the committee system, one of the greatest things that comes out of your time there is the friendship, and it is where you get to work with other members and you become friends. You see less of your differences and more of the things that you believe in together. Pat roberts sat on the other side of the dais from me on the Senate Finance committee, he probably doesnt remember this, one day i am sure i looked battered and had Peanut Butter and jelly on my shoulder again, and you sent a note over to me that said, it was very cute, i must have been dozing off because pat sent me a note and he said, if you raise your feet off the floor it will keep you awake. [laughter] sen. Lincoln and i wrote him back a note that said, pat, in these chairs, my feet dont touch the ground. [laughter] sen. Lincoln so the friendships were built. And it was also the things that you learned, not only in the substantive part of it, but in that friendship. I dont know if Chuck Grassley remembers this, but one of the best things i learned in the congress, i had a bill on the floor, i think it was an amendment, and i had been raised with a lot of things, my grandmothers rule of law was, there is a never a good excuse to be rude or dangerous, to yourself and anyone else, and the other part of her rule of law is, all anybody can say is no, but they cant say no if you you dont ask. I knew it was going to be a and close vote and i said chuck, i need you to help me. I wish you would. Its not a big deal. I think it could be helpful to you in iowa and i hope you will consider it, and i bugged him again and then he said, tell you what, if it comes down to one vote that you need, i will be with you. Guess what . [laughter] sen. Lincoln it came down to one vote. Did i deliver . Sen. Lincoln you did. [laughter] you voted with me. And i was so proud. I dont think you ever knew how proud i was at that moment, because i saw in the United States senate the kind of integrity and the kind of person that was standing behind their word that they had given to me, and it made me feel so incredible. Several days later i went over and he was wearing this pretty red vest, and i said, you sure look handsome in that red vest, i have to give you a hug and i cant thank you enough for voting for me in the amendment that i had and i gave him a hug and he said, dont do that, other women will come over and hug me. But the important thing is is that this country belongs to all of us, and we all have good ideas and work hard to make a difference. Then in a Committee Like the Senate Finance committee, you can make that difference. And when you reach out and work with people, it does make a difference, because you solve problems. I did truly believe in my grandmothers saying, which was, all they can say is no, but they cant say no if you dont ask, because the last time i asked for another amendment he looked at me and said, you have already gotten about 10, no more, you are cut off. Thank you all for letting me, my former colleagues, current colleagues and everyone else, have that opportunity as a young woman, a young mother with a husband working like crazy, an opportunity to see what the real United States senate is really about. So at the Senate Finance committee, hear, hear, thats what it was. [applause] ms. Campbell senator nickles, come back, you have to get your present. Ms. Campbell one thing we have at the capitol Historical Society is very special merchandise that has a special relationship to the capitol. So this, for you, senator, is a replica of the capitol, made from marble that is from the capitol. And for you, senator lincoln, [laughter] we have a scarf that is made to represent the corridor. Sen. Lincoln that is lovely. Ms. Campbell we see that you are a scarf person, and now you will be able to spruce it up but thank you both for coming [laughter] [applause] and of course we dont just give prizes to folks who are gone from the senate. Senator wyden, senator grassley, please come forward. [laughter] it is whatever you want it to be. Great. Ms. Campbell this is a replica also made from the marble from the capitol, of the statue of freedom that stands on top of the capitol. When senator nickles talked about the Capitol Building, the Capitol Building is across the world, the symbol of our democracy. If you go on one of the tours, you will hear the whole story about, when they were building it, who should be on top. Because our democracy was different, it was a revolutionary idea. At that time every other country had a king or something, so who would go on the top . There were people who said George Washington should go on top, and people said no, we dont want it to be an individual. We want it to be a symbol, lady freedom, and that is who is on the top, and we give that to you and thank you. For all of you that have come to one this possible, we have more group to thank and that is the staff of the historic society. The beverages are still here, so enjoy yourselves here. American history tv is on social media. Us atgh us follow cspan history. In 2017, the library of congress acquired a