Lisa Murkowski: “yesterday was a day of tribute to one of our colleagues, a gentleman who has served his State and this country admirably…”

“yesterday was a day of tribute to one of our colleagues, a gentleman who has served his State and this country admirably for many years. I have not had the privilege to serve in the Senate with our colleague for as long a period as many of those who spoke yesterday, but I think we know it doesn't take long to realize how important has been the contribution of the Senator from Mississippi to this institution. I listened yesterday to so many of the kind words. I heard repeated time after time: statesman, leader of an institution, truly a statesman. We all know of Trent Lott's tremendous dedication to the institution that is Congress, 34 years of public service between the House and Senate, his creation of the whip organization in the House that emphasized Member-to-Member contacts and outreach that are so important in building relationships, election to the Senate in 1988, Senate majority leader in 1996, and then Republican whip earlier this year. We don't want to lament the loss of a tremendous asset, but we need to always remember to celebrate those accomplishments, learn from them. I learned that if there was a problem that needed to be resolved, you could go to Trent to resolve it. When there was a compromise that needed to be brokered, Trent could figure out how to make that happen.”