On the recordDecember 14, 2022
Madam President, it is with a mixture of sorrow and pride that I rise today to pay tribute to my good friend the senior Senator from North Carolina. I was thinking about the fact that Senator Blunt, who is sitting in front of you, we were here for his farewell speech the other day, and our good friend Rob Portman, who is behind you, we will be here for his--we are losing a lot of great Members this Congress, and the folks who are going to follow them will not replace them. They have got big shoes to fill. I mean, we are celebrating Richard's 18 years in the Senate and 10 years in the House--28 years of doing this stuff. Senator Burr and I first got to know each other actually through a mutual friend early on in my Senate career in kind of a strange set of circumstances. I had become really good friends with Saxby Chambliss, and Saxby and Richard were running buddies. I would run along with them sometimes. And John Thune, as you know, Richard is a pretty open-minded guy. But I got to acknowledge, and I shouldn't probably do this in front of everyone, but I am not sure he initially took to me that well. Now, my staff has occasionally called me slightly intense, and Richard has more than a few times asked whether I was getting my daily meds to stay on that equilibrium. So much for that. But in contrast, Richard Burr is a low-key kind of guy. As Senator Thune has already mentioned, and every Senator has made mention or noticed or made fun of his lack of socks.…
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