Max Baucus: “I would like to say a few words about our close, beloved friend, colleague, Danny Inouye. I am hard pressed to think of…”

“I would like to say a few words about our close, beloved friend, colleague, Danny Inouye. I am hard pressed to think of anyone in this body I respected and loved more than Danny Inouye. His broad smile, his desire to work with you, help you, his interest in finding common ground, his decency, his honesty, his forthrightness, and his dedication to service is unsurpassed. Someone pointed out to me that when Dan was first chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, he passed all of the measures through his committee virtually unanimously. We should stop and think about that for just a second. This place is now so polarized, it is so difficult to get measures passed. But Dan, as committee chairman, worked with his members so virtually every bill in his first year was passed unanimously. There was one that was 29 to 1. If only we would stop and reflect on that a bit, it would help us to work better together. Dan also worked very closely with Ted Stevens. One time Ted was chairman of the Appropriations Committee, another time the ranking member. The two of them worked very closely together to get measures passed through the Appropriations Committee. Other committees do the same; the chairman and the ranking member work well together. Regrettably, those measures then come out to the floor and become very polarized. That toxic dynamic of this echo chamber, Washington, DC, takes over once measures get on the floor.…”