Will talk about later to get to senator alexanders remarks at the 10 30 scheduled time. Thank you, mister president. It is such an honor to be here and to join my colleagues in paying tribute to senator alexander, there are many that want to speak and have a few words to say. All of us wish we could do this to a background of music with lamar playing the piano. That would be the proper setting but i am so pleased to stand and honor the three terms of service in this body and the way he touched the lives of individuals in this body and millions of tennesseans. We know that he has talked about it in his remarks, he has worked with educators. He has worked with innovators. He has worked with the healthcare community, and works with entertainers, many of whom called tennessee home. When i was serving in the house and representing tennessees seventh Congressional District so many times i would look over here and i would say what is lamar not working on today because he always had such a broad portfolio of issues that were demanding his attention and he accepted that work to address that broad portfolio of issues. His commitment to caring for the needs of all tennesseans has manifested itself in what tennesseans like to see as a lifelong legacy that has really changed lives. It has worked to streamline our states government, very successful in those efforts and he brought that desire to streamline government with him when he came to the senate. Indeed this is work that has benefited also in tennesseans and all americans. As governor of tennessee he was very successful in working to persuade nissan automotive, this started a new impact on our state with the auto industry. And turned his attention to infrastructure. The access that was necessary was a to encourage this business and as the former secretary of education under president george h w bush, he couldnt not put his personal touch on education policy, working tirelessly as he said to fix no child left behind and this earned him the first ever James Madison award. He has a reputation for being a go to lawmaker and as chairman of health and the senate he put a spotlight in the issues that affect the most sensitive aspect of tennesseans lives. Again benefiting all americans. Out of his committee that have become law. 45 bills. As he mentioned one of those was 21st century cures act, and as a member in the house and working on originating this bill, we said were going to make this a partisan, and indeed we did. And we moved it from the house to the senate. And yes, indeed there were some days we thought this is never going to happen. But indeed senator alexander insisted, and yes, it did happen. Imagine the music modernization act, and i will tell you this is vitally important to tennesseans. And as we worked this to the house and then it hit some bumps in the road, senator alexander and senator hatch did such a great job of pushing this forward here in the senate, and then last september the Nashville Songwriters AssociationInternational Awarded him the white hat award, which is what they give to legislators who have been who have made a Significant Impact on the entertainment and music community. While, the highlight reel would be too long to cover in one speech. There are many that are waiting to express their thanks. So with that, mr. President , i yieldhe floor. The senator fromalifornia the senator from california is recognid. Mr. President , i rise today to honor senator Lamar Alexander, a friend and a colleague who served in this body for some 18 years now. I had the pleasure of serving with this senator on both the rules committee and the appropriations committee. And we sat next to each other as chairman or Ranking Member on two appropriation subcommittees. First in energy and water, and weve done that since 2009. It has been through these experiences that actually have come to appreciate his fairness, his interest in solving problems, and is bipartisanship. And most of all, lamar, i so appreciate your friendship and the time weve had to talk together. I do believe that the senate is going to be diminished by the absence of this senator. Working closely as chair and Ranking Member of the energy and water subcommittee, we have always been able to find agreement on the annual appropriations bill. Thats because we shared a willingness to find Common Ground. And thats no small thing. We have consistently held comprehensive subcommittee hearings on a wide range of issues, from Nuclear Power and Nuclear Waste to dam safety, e devastating droughts in the west, and the future of renewable energy. We were also often among the first, if not the first, subcommittee to negotiate our bill, draft it and get it marked up by the full committee. And that includes four years of record level funding for clean energy, the national laboratories, supercomputing, and water projects. The focus has always been on a fair open process that seeks compromise. And that track record speaks to the value we place on the process. But more than anything, senator alexander will be remembered as someone who dedicated his life to serving the people of tennessee. Between his eight years as governor and 16 16 years as a senator, he served longer than any tennessean who has held both jobs. And that doesnt include the two years he served as president george h. W. Bush is secretary of education. His priorities have always been of great importance to tennessee, whether the army corps of engineers funding for inland waters, particularly his favorite this this is the ft time i have heard the word pronounced, chickamauga lock picking often talks about in our hearings or updating the way musicians are paid for their work. Hes also led efforts to pass every Student Succeeds act in 2015 which present obama called a quote, christmas miracle, end quote. And as we hear promising news about coronavirus vaccines, we are reminded of the 21st century cures act. That is senator alexanders landmark 2016 bill that streamlined the drug and device approval process to bring treatment to market faster. He has a long record of work he can be proud of. Lamar, you have been a great colleague and a dear friend all these years in the senate. I am proud of what we have achieved together. I will miss our dinners together and sitting next to you on the dais. I i hope you enjoy a wellearned retirement with honey and your beautiful family. Thank you so much for your service. The senator from maine. Mr. President , i first met Lamar Alexander when he was a candidate for president 25 years ago. He was campaigning in the state of maine, and after giving an articulate speech outlining his priority and his policies, he proceeded to charm everyone by playing the piano. Little did i know then that we would one day serve as colleagues and friends in the United States senate. Lamar, as you heard already today, is an extraordinary legislator. He has the ability to bring people together, even on very contentious issues, and hammer out a compromise. He is extremely effective because he is always wellinformed, focuses on the issue at hand, never gives up, and is willing to work across the aisle. He gets things done that matter not only to his constituents and his beloved tennessee, but also to citizens across this great country. Hes been an extraordinary leader on important issues that many of us care deeply about, such as biomedical research, education, and combating the opioid crisis. He is that rare individual who is far less interested in who gets the credit than in giving the job done. But, in fact, each of us who have had the privilege of working with lamar knows that he is the one who deserves the credit. I served four years with lamar on the Health Education and Labor Conditions committee which he chairs. On one challenging issue after another, when others would throw up their hands and say this is impossible, it simply cannot be done, lamar never gives up the search for a solution, and for Common Ground. Lamar has been so prolific as a legislator that it is difficult to single out one accomplishment among so many. But if forced to do so i would say that the 21st century cures act is his signature achievement. As the name implies, this law is a Lasting Legacy for him. And it is already providing lasting benefits for our country, whether it is the Brain Initiative that will finally help us to make progress on diseases like alzheimers, our concerns, and other neurological illnesses, or the cancer moonshot that was done in honor of beau biden, or the funding that was included to look at the impact of lifestyles on our health, all of the provisions of this landmark law will improve the health of the American People far into the future. And it will be Lamar Alexander who deserves the credit. As a close second i would cite the educational reforms he drafted to replace and improve no child left behind to give more autonomy back to the states and local school districts. That law, every Student Succeeds act, was a momentous bipartisan achievement, and lamar has already explained what it took to get the job done. Its not surprising that in 2016 the nations governors named lamar the first recipient of the James Madison award, to recognize members of congress who support federalism. And as we heard today the wall street journal called essa the largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter century. In addition to being a legislator, lamar is also a wonderfully talented musician, as both a a pianist and a sing. His hilarious performance at the annual Alfalfa Club Dinner back in 2011 is legendary. And thanks to you too it is also immortal. Lamar was a great friend, as he mentioned today, of the writer alex haley, the author of roots. Mr. Hillarys personal motto was, find the good and praise it. Lamar coach that often and he lives by it. Optimism and gratitude, effectiveness and skill are his defining characteristics. To lamar, the good isnt simply what is pleasant. It is what is worthwhile, what makes us better people, better citizens, a better nation. And if we follow the advice he gave us today, we will be a better senate. Not long ago i was interviewed by a journalist for a retrospective on lamars service in the senate. She said that she happened to be in the Senate Dining room on december 17, 2010, the day lamar announced his intention to retire. And in a room usually a a life with the chatter was unusually quiet and tinged with sadness. That somber atmosphere was genuine and bipartisan. Lamar, i cant tell you how much personally i will miss serving with you. You are not only a great senator, an extraordinary legislator, but a wonderful friend. Thank you so much for your many years of Public Service. I feel very honored to have served with you, to have learned from you, and i wish you and honey all the best. Thank you, mr. President. Mr. President. The assistant democratic leader. Thank you, mr. President. His name was the answer to frequently asked question. Its a question you to come up in almost every democratic meeting when we talked about legislative ideas and we talked about making progress on the floor of the senate. And the question was of this who can recall on the other side of the aisle . The answer was almost always Lamar Alexander. We know knew that if we presenn idea to him he would not only be receptive and respectful, we knew that if he came on board it would lend credibility to our effort, maybe get a bill passed around your. But it would always have to wear a red badge with it because there it was an idea that he wanted to bring to the party. But it was worth it. It was worth of not only for the progress that you could make in terms of legislation, but it was worth it because it was part of developing friendship. Harry truman used to recommend famously if you want a friend in washington get a dog. I thought of that and i told you about it a few months ago when you were in one of those sunday morning talk shows. And you were broadcasting from your living room or family room at your home in tennessee, and they couldnt get over that stuffed animal that was on the coffee table behind you. It just seemed like it was such an odd little piece of maybe personal pride to have that stuffed animal with you. And it turned out it wasnt stuffed at all. It was rufus, your dog who slept through your entire performance. Wasnt a big boot by the fact you on a sunday morning talk show. I want to thank you for many things and i will mention a few of them in terms of legislation but i but i especially want to thank you when a Broader Group of friends of mine down to nashville, tennessee, and you made a recommendation list of places to stop including the bluebird and they came by and join us for lunch. You could have been more gracious and i thank you for that. Its just a trademark of Lamar Alexanders life in service to his country. I could talk about many things but i want to reflect on one that it think its time insignificant as a reason a lot of us are wearing these masks were facing a pandemic with the covid19s virus. It has claimed 273,000 american lives, and im afraid many more to follow. Millions, almost 13,000,000 or more have been infected by it. We wanted to end and we wanted to end as quickly as possible. The really shiny ray of hope here is the possibility of a vaccine will be available soon. I pray it will be. Id like to think that some of the things that we did together with others, created an opportunity for the vaccine to be discovered. It was five or six years ago that i approached you, i approached senator patty murray and roy blunt with the idea that we ought to make a concerted, consistent effort of increasing the nih ajit by at least 5 per year budget you took that cause heart along with senator alexander. We had the right appropriator in the right authorizer, and patty murray served in both capacities so effectively. We have dramatically increased the nih budget over the last several years, and im hopeful, i would like to think that some of those researchers and the work that they did was laying the groundwork for the discovery of these vaccine so quickly in the United States and around the world. Thats a legacy you wont soon forget. Do you remember when we first got wind of this covid19 and i walked across the chamber here and said to you, im worried about this protective equipment issue and how much we are reliant on going overseas for sourcing it. Will you join me at least in an effort to find out whether we are dependent on Foreign Services at the time when we might desperately need this protective equipment for own . He said sure, and we did it gether and investigation is underway. It may not serve us in this particular crisis but it will serve many generations to come to make sure we have reliable domestic sources in the United States. I am cataloging all the items mentioned earlier by your colleague senator blackburn and senator collins in senator feinstein, but the list goes on and on but that increase of by 30 of the National Institutes of health was something our little quartet did together, and im particularly proud to be part of it. It wasnt by far the only thing that you have done. You championed increase in the department of energy, office of science as chair of the energy and Water Appropriations Committee which senator feinstein noted. And under your leadership with her the Office Budget has increased by 38 since 2015. You worked with the national labs, oak ridge, those near and dear to me as well and your support for research, infrastructure provided essential help to this lab, labs across america. I want to just close by saying this. Most of us were moved by your speech im sure, but it was a perfect illustration of your view of this chamber and the good memories you have, a challenge to all of us to do better. I think the honest answer is its not the rules of the senate that make the difference, its the senators who make a difference. If we gain to the chore of legislating with the inspiration of Lamar Alexander, we are going to get a lot done for america thank you for your Great Service to our nation. Mr. President. The republican whip. Mr. President , the senate is going to miss Lamar Alexander and listening to his farewell address just animate the fact that hes leaving all too real. I dont like to think of the United StatesSenate Without lamar. Hes a a sin institution and a leader and his leading is a loss for this body in the American People. Mr. President , any tribute to lamar has to mention his incredible career which a lot has been alluded to already. His walk across the state of tennessee, his eight years as tennessee governor, his time as secretary of education under president george h. W. Bush, his stint as president of university of tennessee system, and this time as professor of harvard. And that of course is 18 18 yes in the United States senate, marked by significant legislative accomplishment on everything from education to opioids. All that and he makes a plaid shirt look good, although these days he switched to a plaid facemask. Mr. President , i first met lamar like our colleagues from maine, senator collins mentioned, when he attended a lincoln day dinner in south dakota in 1995 when he was running for president. But i really started to get to know him a little bit when they came to the senate in 2005. Lamar had al