On the recordDecember 2, 2020
I rise today to honor Senator Lamar Alexander, a friend and a colleague who has served in this body for some 18 years now. I have 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 Appropriations subcommittees--first Interior and then Energy and Water. We have done that since 2009. It has been through these experiences that I truly have come to appreciate Senator Alexander's fairness, his interest in solving problems, and his bipartisanship. Most of all, I so appreciate your friendship and the time we have 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 Development Subcommittee, we have always been able to find agreement on the annual appropriations bill. That is because we shared a willingness to find common ground. And that is 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, to devastating droughts in the West and the future of renewable energy.…





