On the recordJuly 10, 2024
my colleagues and I are here today to honor the life of our former colleague, Senator Jim Inhofe. Jim was a longtime legislator, a public servant, and a conservative champion. He was many things to many people. To me, Jim was a dear friend. Jim and I are both from the heartland, so we shared a similar world view as well as a commitment to similar people--the humble, hard- working Americans from the center of this country. Jim was fierce in his convictions. Jim was serious in his work. He was also kind-spirited, with a deep compassion for others. But perhaps more than all of these things, Jim was a visionary who used his positions in public life to build a better future for his State and for this country. He recognized the profound importance of public infrastructure investment. From highways, to airports, to levees and much more, Jim's legacy can be felt all across America's heartland. Jim and I worked together on the Senate's Armed Services Committee. A veteran himself and an avid pilot, Jim was a fighter for the members of our military. All of our Senate colleagues knew that if Jim was leading an international trip to visit with servicemembers across the globe or to meet with America's allies that that trip would be all business. We would sleep on the plane, and we would be in a different country every single day. I remember that, on one trip, we were forced to slow down a little bit when we lost a plane engine. You heard that right.…
