On the recordDecember 9, 2016
I thank the indulgence of my colleagues. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri. Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, let me make very clear that when we get these benefits for these coal miners and their widows--when that happens, not if but when--make sure no one misunderstands who is responsible for it. I want the coal miners in West Virginia to know one thing, there is only one person who will be responsible for those coal miners getting their benefits and their promises being kept, and that will be Senator Joe Manchin. It won't be President Donald Trump. It won't be the minority leader or the majority leader. It won't be any of us. There is only one man who is responsible for these coal miners getting what they are due, and that is Senator Joe Manchin, who has fought. I am so sick of Joe Manchin talking to me about the coal miners. You can't see him in the hall when he doesn't grab you about the coal miners. He feels this in his heart. These are the people he grew up with. These are the people he knows and loves, and he is the one who is going to make this happen. The other one I am fighting for tonight is a guy named Harry. Every time I open my desk, I get goosebumps because I look in my desk, and I see the name Harry Truman scrawled in my desk. If you are a student of history and you know anything about Harry Truman, you know that he was very plainspoken. He got himself in a lot of trouble with his mouth, but, boy, did he believe in keeping his word.…
