Jim Inhofe: “we have been paying a lot of tributes to retiring Members of the Senate, and I think it is appropriate to pay tribute to…”

“we have been paying a lot of tributes to retiring Members of the Senate, and I think it is appropriate to pay tribute to at least one of our retiring public servants, and I would like to do that right now for the Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. James G. Roche. I know Secretary Roche has been attacked from time to time. That goes with the job. It is a tough job. He knew that when he came. I think we can put that aside and pay tribute for the things he has done that are not as controversial but have been good for the Air Force and for our country. You have to keep in mind that Secretary Roche left a lucrative career in private life to take this job as Secretary of the Air Force. He brought a lot of savvy with him from his private business career. I remember so well when he was first confirmed, his first trip was to go with me to Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. After visiting that base, he returned to Washington with Secretary Gibbs and immediately put in place a plan to revitalize the depots using the existing Air Force budget. This is something that previous administrations have never accomplished. They seemed to be more interested in letting the depots rust away. Secretary Roche invested money, time, and industrial know-how into the depots, and he did it in a partnership arrangement where he actually stimulated the communities to pass very large bond issues to exercise the private participation.”