Tom Udall: “I thank Senator Schumer for those kind remarks earlier. As you know, I announced last year that I wasn't running for…”

“I thank Senator Schumer for those kind remarks earlier. As you know, I announced last year that I wasn't running for reelection, and if I had known everyone was going to be so nice to me, I might have announced it earlier. I am not the only Senator who is giving a farewell speech. Many of us got to hear Lamar Alexander last week. Lamar is the perfect example of what a U.S. Senator should be. Before I was wet behind the ears in the Senate, in my first week here, Lamar invited me and Jill, my wife, to dinner. There it began. Jill and Honey, Lamar's wife, became fast friends, and Lamar and I grew closer, building the kind of friendship that is essential here in the Senate. We worked together to get things done for our States in bolstering our National Laboratories and conserving our great outdoors. Something else we shared was Mario, our barber in the Senate barbershop. To be honest, that is the best place to learn the wisdom of the Senate--by sitting in Mario's chair. Friendships like I have with Lamar and Mario are what I will miss most about the Senate. It is the friendships because, as any good Senator will tell you, friendships are what get you over the finish line. I will cherish the friendships I have forged over the last 12 years. I will miss serving the people of New Mexico in Congress.…”