FLASHBACK: James Inhofe—Who Has Passed Away At 89—Gives Moving Senate Floor Farewell Speech

3 months ago

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) passed away at 89 this week. Watch his moving Senate farewell speech from November 2022.

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Transcript

00:00Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be recognized for such time as I shall consume.

00:16Without objection.

00:17Thank you, Mr. President.

00:18As a reflect of my 28 years serving in the United States Senate, I'm reminded of the

00:27lessons I have learned from my former colleagues and friends who have served beside me in the

00:32Senate.

00:33I had the privilege of serving with many great titans for a fairly long period of time.

00:40Some people thought maybe too long.

00:43And I had the privilege of serving with the people that I've known very well, people like

00:47Orrin Hatch, Mike Enzi, friends that I miss dearly, and I single them out because they're

00:53no longer with us.

00:56After Hatch's farewell speech in 2018, he reflected on the striking shift in polarization

01:03and partisanship of the Senate, and he yearned for the day's members finding common ground

01:10and breaking bread together.

01:14Orrin reflected in his farewell speech, he said, could two people with popular opposite

01:19beliefs and from vastly different walks of life come together as often as Teddy and I

01:24did?

01:25And the answer is yes.

01:28Conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats come together today, all the time and will

01:36of the future, but you may not hear about it because it's not newsy.

01:42The media doesn't really care if everybody loves everybody.

01:45Then there's Barbara Boxer, and not too many people who are making their last talk talk

01:52about members of the other party, but I will do this.

01:56I've shared this story many times with all of you all about how former Senator Barbara

02:02Boxer of California and I worked together for many years as chair and ranking members

02:07of the EPW committee to get things done.

02:10Now, you can't get two more ideologically different senators than Barbara and me.

02:17Barbara, a proud Democrat of the most far left state in the nation, and me, a proud

02:23Republican from the most conservative state in the nation, but we were able to see past

02:30our ideologically differences to work together, and we did.

02:34We got stuff done.

02:36We passed landmark legislation from highway bills like the FAST Act, the Frank Lautenberg

02:42chemical safety bill.

02:44You remember that.

02:45Most people are still remembering that.

02:47We did it, and we did it time and time again.

02:50Every Wednesday, the Republicans in this meeting in the Senate is where the chairman will go.

02:56I shouldn't probably be telling all you guys what Republicans do, but they go around the

03:03room and give an update on what their committee is working on, and I would always say at that

03:10time, quote, now is the time to hear from the committee that gets things done, and I

03:17can say that.

03:18That was Barbara Boxer and I got things done, and you know what?

03:21We actually enjoyed it, and nobody believes that we would enjoy it so much and actually

03:29get things done.

03:30Then there is Jack Reed.

03:33Today I have a similar relationship with the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

03:39I'm a Republican, he's a Democrat, and Jack is from Rhode Island, a very blue state, but

03:45we have worked together for years to pass annual defense authorization bills, which

03:51is the most important bill we pass every year.

03:56I believe the secret to getting this bill done and any bipartisan bill for that matter

04:01is determination, but also trust and respect in the member that you're sitting across the

04:07table from.

04:08A lesson that Senator Hatch said very well in working with Senator Reed over the years.

04:14He has my trust, I have his respect, and it's why we have been successful in what I consider

04:20to be the most significant thing that we do every year.

04:24Now, for me, I was a builder and developer prior to running for public office.

04:29I never contemplated getting involved in politics until one day on the job in South Texas, I

04:35was told that I needed more than a dozen permits to build a single dock.

04:41Now, that didn't make much sense to me, and so I decided at that time to run for office

04:46and try to get things done where people in this body are actually responding favorably.

04:53Now, remember, when I first came to the Senate from the House, after I gave a very spirited

05:00speech on the Senate floor, Senator Byrd came up to me and he said, young man, the Senate

05:07doesn't work like the House.

05:10Let me tell you about the Senate.

05:12Now, that date happened to be November the 17th, 1994, which was my 60th birthday, and

05:19until the day he died, I was still the young man.

05:23And Senator Byrd explained to me that, and this is something that a lot of the new members

05:28who are just being sworn in as we speak, here for the first time, realize that this

05:34is one of the major differences.

05:39If you make enemies in the Senate, you're wiped out, and that's not true in the House.

05:45Now, I spent a lot of years in the House before.

05:48I also remember friends across the aisle like former Hawaii Senator Danny Akaka, who led

05:56singing at our prayer breakfast each week, Ted Kennedy, who I helped out of the Capitol

06:02during one of the September attacks that was taking place, and former Majority Leader Harry

06:10Reid, who would sometimes move our voting schedule around so that I could get home and

06:16watch my grandkids' football games.

06:19And then there's the one that we all love, Susan Collins, who is well-respected because

06:26she makes this institution a better place, and not just because Maine lobster rolls are

06:31her signature fare for the eating griefs.

06:37Real friendship does exist in the United States Senate, but nobody knows it.

06:41It's the big secret around here.

06:43Then there's a bipartisan Bible study that we have.

06:48Some of you are about the Senate Bible study that meets every Thursday.

06:54In my hideaway in the Capitol, I made a point not to miss a Thursday Bible study in 28 years,

07:01so I got a record going there, and no one's going to beat it.

07:04Well, they could beat it, I suppose.

07:07After I was first elected to the House in 1986, I attended a Bible study led by a guy

07:13named Tom Barrett.

07:14I'm going to tell you a story that most people don't want to hear, but one day, Tom Barrett,

07:23a member of Congress from Kansas, invited me to the members' dining room after the Bible

07:27study.

07:28Keep in mind, this was 1986.

07:31They said to me, Inhofe, we think that we've been with you now for over a year, and we

07:38think you never really accepted Jesus.

07:41Well, I got mad.

07:43He said, who's this young guy there telling me about Jesus?

07:48They said, all right, when did you ask him?

07:51I said, well, every day.

07:54They asked, how long have you and Kay been married?

07:57At that time, we were newlyweds.

07:59We were probably, I think, celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary.

08:05They said, do you propose to Kay every day?

08:07I said, no.

08:08They replied, why?

08:10I said, because we're already married.

08:13Well, bingo.

08:15That meant something.

08:16I thought, that ... I said, I was a little cautious, because these guys were younger,

08:24and I wasn't sure I knew them that well.

08:27I said, just in case they were right, in the member's dining room at 2.30 in the afternoon

08:33on September 22nd, 1988, I re-accepted, re-accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.

08:41Now, that's life-changing.

08:43Okay, now there's Africa.

08:47Since joining the Senate, I've made 172 African country visits, alongside with good friends

08:54from here, like Mike Enzi, John Bozeman, Mike Rounds, Trent Kelly, Tim Wahlberg, and arguably

09:02my closest friend, Mark Powers, a real brother, but it all started with Doug Coe.

09:09You see, people think of Doug Coe as having been someone who was a great diplomat.

09:15He had political influence and all that.

09:19Years back, an article about Doug said this.

09:22He said, the extent of Coe's influence in American politics is real.

09:28Important figures have acknowledged his role on the national and international stage.

09:34For instance, speaking at the 1990 National Prayer Breakfast, President George H.W. Bush

09:42praised Coe for his quiet diplomacy.

09:47Not many things are quiet around here.

09:49Doug spent his years in the countries across the world taking Jesus' name to the kings.

09:54I remember him asking me for eight years, he said, Inhofe, I want you to go to West

09:59Africa, and I had no interest in going to West Africa, and he kept saying, and this

10:05lasted eight years.

10:06For eight years, I said no to this guy, but he was very persistent, and I can't tell you

10:14why it happened, but then finally, I said yes, and I still to this day can't figure

10:20out how that happened.

10:22But what changed lives, including mine, and all came from Doug Coe.

10:29I like to mention some of these people that were really heroes around here that most people

10:33don't even know.

10:34They don't remember, but they go back and they look them up and they see what great

10:38contributions they've made.

10:40Not many people are aware of this, but here in the United States Senate, every Wednesday

10:45morning, we meet in the spirit of Jesus.

10:47This is something Doug Coe started many years ago during the Eisenhower administration.

10:54It's scripturally based, Acts 2.42.

10:57We get together, eat together, pray together, and fellowship together, and talk about the

11:01precepts of Jesus together.

11:03I will always be thankful to Doug for his efforts to quietly speak of Jesus in most

11:09every country around the world.

11:12Over my 172 African country visits as a senator, sure, I did a military job while I was there,

11:21but I developed a deep love and appreciation for the people of Africa that will hold with

11:28me forever.

11:30One thing from my visits remains clear, building meaningful and lasting relationships with

11:38African leaders is vital if the United States is to have a role in the African continent.

11:46I was proud to lead the effort to establish AFRICOM.

11:49Some of you don't remember this, but AFRICOM didn't exist for a long period of time.

11:57Every other part of the world did, but not Africa.

12:01We set that up as a separate combatant command in 2007, and I've seen the benefits across

12:09the continent since that time.

12:12The presence of U.S. military across Africa means a great deal to our friends and is a

12:19worthwhile investment for the United States.

12:22A strong and robust relationship with the United States has helped spur economic growth

12:29and regional stability across the continent.

12:32I think it's important to talk about these things that other people don't talk about.

12:35I have faith that my colleagues in the House and Senate will continue the United States

12:40African friendship long after I have retired from the Senate.

12:45Western Sahara.

12:46There's Western Sahara.

12:48Over the years, I've been very outspoken about the situation in Western Sahara.

12:54A few years ago, I visited the Sahrawi refugee camps.

12:59I visited the children who lived there.

13:02They were joyous and happy and ordinary and children who didn't know yet that they were

13:08part of a frozen, forgotten conflict where their hopes and freedoms were dying a cruel

13:13death.

13:14I urge my colleagues to remember our ideals of democracy and extend that to the Sahrawians.

13:25Don't let the world forget it.

13:27I urge everyone in this body to stand strong to support Western Sahara's right to self-determination

13:33and reject Morocco's reckless attacks on Western Sahara.

13:39Ethiopia.

13:39Then there's Ethiopia, a nation that's close to my heart for many reasons.

13:44The human suffering happened there is heartbreaking.

13:48Instead of focusing on the importance of creating lasting friendships with the Ethiopian people,

13:57some in the United States government look for ways to punish them.

14:01Nineteen of my African visits have included Ethiopia, where I've watched firsthand the

14:08economic transformation that occurred.

14:12Their middle class is growing.

14:14They have become a regional superpower and who is a good friend of the United States

14:21of America.

14:22Their military is professional, capable, and they're punching above their weight in the

14:28war against terrorism that continues to plague the continent.

14:33They promote regional peace and security by being one of the top troop contributors to

14:41the United Nations when they are called upon.

14:44Hopefully, we can find ways to grow this friendship, Ethiopian friendship.

14:51Then there is Zegida Marie.

14:54Now, many of you already know that I have an adopted granddaughter who was born in

15:00Ethiopia.

15:02Her name is Zegida Marie.

15:04We call her the Z-Girl and has a very special story that has grown up to be a very impressive

15:11star.

15:13Knowing the joys of adoption in my own family, I've worked to ensure all families that choose

15:20to adopt can.

15:22In 2017, when Ethiopia decided to close inter-country adoptions, I worked directly with my

15:31friend and then the prime minister, Haile Miriam, on the families that were pending

15:39adoptions and were able to complete their adoptions to bring their children home.

15:45That was a major thing, a major undertaking.

15:48You wouldn't think it would be.

15:50That should be natural.

15:52In the Constitution, you have heard me say this line before, there are two things we

15:59should be doing here in Congress, infrastructure and defense.

16:04That statement rang true 28 years ago when I got to the Senate and will ring true in

16:10years to come.

16:11Infrastructure.

16:13We've gotten a lot done together on that front over the years.

16:18We passed bipartisan landmark infrastructure legislation from safety lieu to map 21 to

16:28the FAST Act, all of which rebuilt our nation's crumbling infrastructure so the future

16:35generations of Americans still have safe roads and bridges to cross.

16:40Before 2005, Oklahoma, my state, was a donor state to the highway trust fund.

16:46What that means is we were paying more into the highway trust fund than we were receiving

16:52out of it.

16:53Of course, we were able to change that.

16:55Safety lieu created a fair formula for apportionment.

16:59So Oklahoma was, I want to say this, I want to make sure the people in Oklahoma, since

17:04I'm bagging out of this place, realize some of the things that I've done.

17:10So I know it's controversial in some circles to say this, but I've been one of the

17:14staunchest defenders of congressionally directed spending, also known as earmarks.

17:21And an earmark must be defined as something that is both authorized and appropriated.

17:27It should be the job of Congress to decide how the American people, how their taxes are

17:34spent, not unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch.

17:38And that's what we're trying to get away from when we're looking at why we should be

17:42using earmarks.

17:44We have worked across the party lines to ensure the National Defense Authorization Act is

17:53signed into law every year.

17:55And as I said earlier, the NDAA is the most important bill that we do every year and for

18:03good reason.

18:04The year will be, this year will be the 62nd time that the NDAA has been signed into law,

18:1167 times.

18:13And I'm proud to have had a hand in crafting the last 28 years of that bill.

18:22The Defense Authorization Bill ensures that our servicemen and women have the training

18:29and equipment and other resources they need to defend America here and on the road.

18:35It also ensures that the families of the men and women who serve are taken care of.

18:41Some elected leaders criticize our military spending, but they need to know that our greatest

18:48expense in the military is taking care of our troops, building schools for the young

18:55people, and how important that is.

18:57And why does it cost more for us to do it than any other, than other countries, than

19:03the communist countries?

19:05It does because we do actually take care of our people.

19:09While growing threats from China, Russia, Iran, and others around the world, it is more

19:16important now than ever that our troops have what they need to counter this aggression.

19:23Ronald Reagan used to say, we maintain the peace through our strength, and that continues

19:29to be true today.

19:31After all these years serving on the Senate Armed Services Committee, I have come to know

19:36a certainty that America cannot lose its focus on fully investing in its defense capabilities.

19:43And backgrounds.

19:45I've got to say this about Oklahoma.

19:48Oklahoma has come out pretty well.

19:50You all don't need to feel sorry for Oklahoma.

19:52I'll take care of that.

19:53And they're very happy right now.

19:55Oklahoma has five major military installations, from training pilots to building bombs.

20:02Each is unique in its mission to support our military.

20:05Since 1988, we have gone through five BRAC rounds, that's Base Realignment and Closer

20:12Commissions.

20:14In each round, the Department of Defense closed bases and military installations in accordance

20:19with their performance.

20:21It's something we ought to be doing.

20:22And in each round, Oklahoma, the Department of Defense grew its presence in Oklahoma.

20:29So Oklahoma has done very well in that period of time.

20:34Okay, I'm going to tell a story here that surprised a lot of people.

20:39Because the star of the story, none of these kids will remember except for reading about

20:44it, is Ronald Reagan.

20:49When I was about six years old, my dad was a claims adjuster in a building where Ronald

20:59Reagan was an announcer of WHO Radio, a sports announcer in Des Moines, Iowa.

21:06My dad and Ronald Reagan, I mean, we were close.

21:08In fact, I thought he was, I was about six years old at that time, I thought that he

21:14was related to me.

21:16My dad and Ronald Reagan used to play the pinball machine together.

21:19He'd come out to the house and I always thought he was an uncle or some relative.

21:25When I was young, my family moved from Des Moines to Tulsa, Oklahoma, but we never missed

21:34a Dutch Reagan movie, which is what my dad called him, Dutch Reagan.

21:38We would drive, I remember one time we drove all the way down from Tulsa to Durant, Oklahoma,

21:45and that was before turnpikes.

21:47We drove for hours to watch a Dutch Reagan movie, never missed one of those.

21:51It's not a big deal, it is to me though, and I'm the guy leaving.

21:57Fast forward to when the mayor of Tulsa and Ronald Reagan was president, when President

22:02Reagan wanted someone to tout his domestic agenda, he used me.

22:07We would appear on all the TV shows sometimes together and tell people what they needed

22:14to know that was happening in the administration.

22:16I always remember when, as mayor of Tulsa, I pushed the construction of a low water dam

22:23on the Arkansas River.

22:24It ended up being one of the largest public projects in America that was totally privately

22:31funded.

22:32It had a lot of opposition, but it's pretty amazing.

22:36Go back and read about this.

22:38You can see anything that Ronald Reagan wanted, he got.

22:42So then there's Wiley Post, a flight around the world.

22:47Now people may not know who Wiley Post is.

22:50Everybody knows who Will Rogers is.

22:53Wiley Post and Will Rogers are both pilots.

22:56The difference is Wiley Post had just one eye, and he was good.

23:01In fact, they were together when they died.

23:04But back in 91, I was still in the house, and a few friends and I created Wiley Post

23:101931 flight around the world in my twin engine Cessna aircraft.

23:16And it's hard to believe that that was 30 years ago when we made that trip that left

23:22out of Oklahoma with several stops on the East Coast, then in Europe, and then the Soviet

23:28Union.

23:29Wiley Post had my plane beat on the travel time.

23:33He did his in eight days.

23:34It took me 16 days.

23:36But looking back, I'm not sure how Tom Quinn and I survived these stops in the Soviet Union.

23:43I can remember praying, Lord, if you got more for me to do, get me out of this mess.

23:49Fighting for far left environmentalists, it's no shock to anyone that the Washington Post

23:54has dubbed me public enemy number one for the radical environmentalists for decades

24:01now.

24:01And for much of my time in the Senate, I was chair of the ranking member and ranking member

24:07of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

24:11Throughout that time, I pushed back against the Obama administration far left policies

24:17that signed to upend the sought to upend the lives of Oklahomans, like the Paris Climate

24:25Agreement, the waters of the US rule, the clean power plant, and many others.

24:31These policies were really about giving Washington bureaucrats sweeping control over the lives

24:37of millions of Americans.

24:39We are debating a lot of these same issues today, and I expect these disagreements will

24:45continue into the future.

24:47And lastly, I want to take a second to say thank you to all of my current and former

24:58staff.

24:59They're hanging around out here now.

25:03Didn't get much work out of them today.

25:05They were pretty busy.

25:07But my my staff knows that once they leave my office, they are always we become very

25:14close.

25:14We don't have people who leave.

25:16They they they become friends.

25:19I lovingly call my former staff the has-beens.

25:23It's something a mark of honor to all of you.

25:27Thank you.

25:28You're all about to be has-beens.

25:32Most importantly to my family, I love you.

25:34When Kay and I got married 63 years ago, I could never imagine I'd be standing here

25:41today with 20 kids and grandkids saying goodbye.

25:46Thank you, all you guys, for all you've done all these years.

25:50And thank you for putting up with me.

25:52And to Kay, my best friend and rock, I can never put into words what you mean to me.

26:00So finally, I want to say to the people of Oklahoma, I really think what you've done

26:08for me all these years.

26:10Thank you very much.

26:11I love you guys.

26:18Mr. President.

26:21Leader.

26:23I just want to congratulate our friend from Oklahoma on an extraordinary career of service

26:29to his state and to our country.

26:31And I'll be having a lot more to say about the senior senator from Oklahoma a little

26:37later.

26:39Thank you.

27:09Thank you.

FLASHBACK: James Inhofe—Who Has Passed Away At 89—Gives Moving Senate Floor Farewell Speech

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