Saxby Chambliss: “I rise tonight to make a quick comment about a dear friend. The greatest thing about serving in the House of…”

“I rise tonight to make a quick comment about a dear friend. The greatest thing about serving in the House of Representatives and the Senate is meeting the colleagues we have the opportunity to serve with on both sides of the aisle. As a Member of the House of Representatives, I had the opportunity to get to know a number of the Members of the Senate, one of whom is retiring at the end of this session. Don Nickles was elected to the Senate when he was too young to serve in the Senate. He actually had a few months after his election before he was old enough, but he was old enough before he was sworn in. That was back in 1980. He has now served with great distinction in this body for 24 years. He leaves with a record that not many Senators are able to claim after serving in this Senate for whatever period of time they may be here. Don Nickles has been a leader in the Republican Party, but most significantly he has been a leader in the Senate. He is a man who has provided strong leadership on any number of issues, whether they are fiscal issues as chairman of the Budget Committee and a longtime member of the Budget Committee, which is where I first got to know him in our conferences between the House and the Senate, or whether it is on energy or social issues, Don Nickles possesses all the assets that America holds dear. He is a strong family man. He is a hard-working individual. He is a man of faith.”