This is the best of this institution of how it performs. It has been embodied in the Public Service of carl levin for 36 years here. What you have heard is the testimonies on both sides of the aisle that because of how he has conducted himself as an individual and how he has conducted himself as a Public Servant and how he has conducted himself as a leader in this senate is exactly how this institution is supposed to function. Isnt it rather symbolic that on the last couple of days of the session the bill that will be passed is the bill that he has ushered and he never broke tradition. He made sure the Defense Authorization bill was going to be passed by hammering out the differences with the house and shepherding it through the parliament process. And its happened every year because of extraordinary leadership. I will close simply by saying that because he is all of the things that youve heard, the consummate gentleman, the humble Public Servant, the razor sharp mind, the best lawyer,
Is so widely trusted by his constituency and by the members of this body whove worked with him closely over the years on both sides of the aisle, is a real tribute. You are mr. Integrity and that is one of many reasons we will miss you. And again, id have more to say but in deference to my dear friend from iowa, who i see is ready to roll, i will yield the floor. The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman i will be brief as well, mr. President , just to say that im going to miss my colleague and ive told him that personally but i wanted to share just a couple of reasons. One, as a new member on the other side of the aisle when i first got here, carl, who i had gotten to know a little bit through his brother, who i see is on the floor with us today, who has fought many fights with him on the squash court but they remain dear friends. He came to me and said, you ought to join the auto caucus. Im not a big caucus guy. Most caucuses dont do much in this place and then i saw w
Environment, and probably lots of others, but those are things that Everybody Knows that he has worked hard on. Throughout the years tom and i have served side by side in washington for the good of our home state. For three terms we worked together in the u. S. House of representatives. It was here in the senate our shared commitment to give Rural America a voice at the policy making table was sown. And for many years we worked together on the Senate Agricultural committee looking out for the millions of americans who choose to work and earn a living in Rural America. We worked together to advocate for Rural Infrastructure and investment, access to health care, Housing Technology and transportation. For the last three decades we have served alongside one another here in this distinguished body, the United States senate, an institution that both of us hold near and dear to our hearts. Although some of our silver tongued critics over the years may have described toms views as a bleeding
I think the nation is frustrated that it doesnt on his job. Can you bring ted cruz on whatever strategy you have, not to include obamacare, can you board . Cruz on as we let folks know, certainly on the house side, that everyone in the house of representatives will be able to input into the budget. Every individual help an opportunity to talk with their colleagues about the solutions that we bring forward. Process, andme to open process, delivered in process, ambitious process, that will allow individuals to say yeah, i know it can be everything i wanted to be, but i had an opportunity to affect the outcome and therefore i supported. Georgia congressman tom price, our guest on newsmakers. On cspan. Iowa senator tom harkin is retiring at the end of this term. Harkin has served five terms in the senate. Republican ll he joined in for a conversation about iowa politics. This is about 20 minutes. Renewable energy, and the environment, and probably lots of others, but those are things that