{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11811", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "THE SENATE EXPERIENCE", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S11811", "S11812", "[{\"name\": \"Charles S. Robb\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Thomas A. Daschle\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11811", "Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S11811-S11812]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                         THE SENATE EXPERIENCE\n\n  Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, I thought I would take this opportunity for\njust a very few minutes to say thank you. I will be leaving the Senate\nat the end of this Congress. I had assumed, as many of our colleagues\nhad, that this would be the last day of the session. That assumption is\nvery much in question at this point. I just left a conference with\nmembers of my caucus, and there are clearly some deeply held\nconvictions and passions that are still unresolved. It may be that we\nwill be here for hours or days. I hope that is not the case, but there\nfrequently are at this particular time in the session those who hold\nconvictions and beliefs so deeply that they do not believe under any\ncircumstance they should leave any stone unturned or any avenue\nunexplored to advance those convictions and beliefs.\n  While some of those issue are being resolved, I want to take a minute\nto say thank you, first of all, to the people of Virginia who were kind\nenough to honor me with 12 years of their representation in the Senate\nof the United States.\n  I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who have given to me\nand my wife Lynda and members of our family an experience we will\ntreasure for the rest of our lives. The personal interaction with\ncolleagues has been a part of the Senate experience that I will always\nenjoy, remember, and revere. I express to colleagues again on both\nsides of the aisle how much I appreciate the many considerations they\nhave shown me.\n  I understand my senior colleague from Virginia took the floor while\nwe were in the caucus. I did not hear his words, but I appreciate his\ncooperation on many issues, and I appreciate his friendship. We have\nhad some differences; certainly, we have had some political\ndifferences; but the degree of cooperation between our offices has\nalways been good and strong when it came to working on behalf of our\nCommonwealth.\n  The Senate is, for many of us, like a family. That sentiment has been\nexpressed before. It is an extended family, and I say to all of those\nmembers of that extended family a very sincere thank you. I thank the\nfloor staff and the officers of the Senate for the cooperation that has\nbeen extended to me over the past 12 years.\n  I thank the Cloakroom staff from both sides, particularly my own\nCloakroom, who work so closely with us on a regular basis to make sure\nthe institution functions, and that we are here when necessary in order\nto conduct the nation's business.\n  I express my appreciation to all of those who make this institution\nwork. Some of them are visible, such as our friends of the Capitol\nPolice who are here around the clock in a position, as we learned to\nour regret and sorrow, to put their lives on the line to provide safety\nand security.\n  There are many other officers of the Senate and employees of the\nSenate who are not as visible to the public, but are just as crucial to\nthe operation of the Senate. The employees who work for the Architect\nof the Capitol who take care of many of the duties that are required to\nmake the institution run. We see and work with them on a daily basis.\nMany of them have extended courtesies and kindnesses to me over a long\nperiod of time that I will long remember.\n  There are the many often unheralded folks who help with the phones,\nwho operate the Capitol switchboard, who handle the maintenance, and\nwho work in the food service we do not see but\n\n[[Page S11812]]\n\nwho make it possible for all of us to do our jobs as effectively as\npossible. These people keep the institution functioning, like the\nmaintenance crews who make the repairs and changes that are frequently\nrequired and who always seem able to accommodate--all of their good\nwill is very much appreciated.\n  I thank the pages, too, who work and do all of the things they are\nrequired to do during the daytime and then get their studies done at\nnight. We frequently see them working on their studies at the same time\nthey are helping to make life a little easier for us.\n  I also express my appreciation to the committee staffs, the\nprofessional staffs who work with each of the committees and help me\nand all of you on a regular basis. We develop personal friendships with\nmany of these individuals whom we will long remember.\n  Finally, I want to say a very personal thank you to the members of my\nown staff. I have been extraordinarily well served by some very able\nprofessionals who have served their Commonwealth and their country in\nways that I will always appreciate and for which they can always be\nvery proud.\n  There have been many, and I am not going to attempt to list them all.\nIt occurred to me that maybe, because I have been so fortunate and so\nwell served, I should mention the names only of those who have been\nwith me continuously helping and assisting me my entire term in the\nSenate, serving with me over the last 12 years. Two of those\nprofessionals actually have been with me through my gubernatorial\nservice: Pat Mayer and Susan Albert, now Susan Albert Carr as of last\nweekend, have been with me for the full 12 years and then some. Matt\nMcGowan, Jim Connell, JoAnn Pulliam, Anne Geyer, Debbie Lawson-Goins,\nand Jim O'Quinn have all been kind enough to provide for me the kind of\nprofessional staff assistance that has made my job easier. We will\nremain friends. The members of my staff have helped make this an\nexperience I will cherish.\n  I have undoubtedly left out a number of individuals whom I want to\nthank and I have tried to thank.\n  I also thank the people who have made this a very good experience for\nmy wife Lynda, particularly the prayer groups. She has been associated\nwith several of those. I understand she gets to continue her membership\nin the prayer groups and the spouses group, even though I will become a\nformer Member and will leave these premises.\n  Mr. President, I say to all of my colleagues that they are a group of\nprincipled, compassionate, caring men and women, many of them friends.\nWe may have disagreements. Some of those are principled disagreements.\nIn fact, I just attended what may be the last Democratic conference\ncalled by our leader. I say once again, I heard members express in\npassionate terms their commitment to doing what they believe is in the\nbest interest of their State and the Nation, and I think that is\nsomething that may not always be apparent. Again, that occurs on both\nsides of the aisle. I am particularly grateful to many who have\ndemonstrated the courage to stand up and be counted when it was not\nalways politically popular.\n  Finally, I want to make a brief comment about the leadership. I thank\nthe majority leader for the courtesies he and the members of his staff\nhave extended to me.\n  I conclude with a special note of thanks to someone I consider an\nextraordinary leader, who is kind enough to be here for these couple of\nminutes, Tom Daschle, the current Democratic and minority leader who\nwill become on January 3 through January 20 the majority leader. As a\npoint of personal privilege, I look forward to that time.\n\n  He and the team that he has put together have been exceptional\nleaders. I see the distinguished whip Harry Reid on the floor, as well.\nThey have led by example. They have led by inclusion. And they have led\nby listening. They have been friends. They have been effective. They\nhave been leaders in the truest sense in that they have caused us to\nwant to work with them to make the institution run and to get the job\ndone.\n  So, Mr. President, to you, as a personal friend, and as a\nrepresentative of our colleagues, and to all of our friends who have\nbeen kind to me and have supported some of the things I have done over\nthe years, may I express my profound thanks.\n  I take leave of the Senate proud to have had the opportunity to serve\nin this great institution.\n  Mr. President, I thank the Chair and yield the floor.\n  Mr. DASCHLE addressed the Chair.\n  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized.\n  Mr. DASCHLE. I will use my leader time, if I may, at this time.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11811"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 13.932314002886415, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}