William Pryor: “recently I announced that I was not going to be seeking another term in the Senate. It has been a wonderful opportunity…”

“recently I announced that I was not going to be seeking another term in the Senate. It has been a wonderful opportunity these last 16 rac{1}{2} years to serve in this great body, to be serving with all of my great colleagues and friends from all the 50 States, and all the wonderful staff people that make this place run. I just want to thank all of them so much for their many kindnesses shown to me. Mr. President, I was cleaning out my desk a while ago and just looking through something I have had in my desk for some time that was prepared by some of the individuals, I think, in the Historian's office. That is not the proper name for those who prepared this. But I thought while there were interested parties involved, I might read a few pages of some of the history of the desks in this Chamber. This is a brief history. When British troops burned the U.S. Capitol in 1814 during the War of 1812, they severely damaged the Senate Chamber and destroyed the original furnishings. The rebuilt Chamber was completed in 1819 and the Senate ordered 48 new desks at a cost of $34 each from Thomas Constantine. A New York cabinetmaker, he also constructed desks for the House of Representatives. Many of these early desks remain in use in the Senate Chamber today. As new states have entered the Union over the years, additional desks of identical design have been built and placed in use.…”