Chuck Hagel: “I am here this afternoon to recognize and thank and pay tribute to our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate. They…”

“I am here this afternoon to recognize and thank and pay tribute to our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate. They are a varied group. Again, I can think of no finer example of this group of public servants than one of Senator DeWine's last speeches in the Senate to recognize others. I thank you, Senator DeWine, for your service. As we recognize, it is a distinct privilege and high honor to serve our country. It is a distinct privilege and high honor to serve our country in any capacity, and certainly none higher than in uniform. But it is especially important we recognize those who have given years of their lives, sacrificing their families, their own time, to help make a better world for all of us. I know of no capacity in which we serve our country that has given those who have had this rare opportunity to serve in the Senate anything more noble than trying to shape a better world from this Senate.”