Barbara Boxer: “As the Senate completes its work and the 105th Congress comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to say…”

“As the Senate completes its work and the 105th Congress comes to a close, I want to take this opportunity to say farewell to one of my colleagues who has decided to leave this body and pursue other activities. The junior senator from Idaho, Dirk Kempthorne, and I were both elected to the Senate in 1992. We have served together for the past 6 years on the Environment and Public Works Committee. While we have disagreed on many environmental issues, I have always enjoyed working with him and appreciated his personal kindness. He is a gentleman of impeccable manners and good humor. And he is known to all his colleagues as one of the 'workhorses' of the Senate: a senator who does his work quietly and responsibly, and does not insist on getting all the credit for the results. My very best wishes to Senator Kempthorne as he leaves Washington to return to his home in Idaho, and the best of luck in all that he does in the years to come.”