On the recordJuly 10, 2024
I rise today to pay tribute to a great gentleman, a dear friend, a colleague, and in many cases a battle buddy, Senator Jim Inhofe. He was an extraordinary gentleman. And you can't say ``gentleman'' enough when it came to Jim Inhofe. He was a man of humility, of decency, and of kindness, and he touched everyone he met with those qualities. He was also a man of deep principle. But what made him a great Senator--in fact, one of the best that served in this body--is that he was always looking for principled compromise. He was always trying to reach across the aisle and see if he could, working with others, find a way forward that would be better for the country. So I was terribly saddened when I learned yesterday of Jim's passing. He was a leader. He was a gentleman. He was all that we expect a Senator to be and much more. I was honored to serve alongside Jim. For three decades, he served on the Armed Services Committee in both the House and the Senate. I had the privilege to serve with him as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. We were, in turn, both chairman and ranking member--both the senior Republican and the senior Democrat--on the committee for many years, and we produced nearly two dozen National Defense Authorization Acts. We traveled to combat zones and military posts around the world and worked to support our men and women in uniform.…
