{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11846-2", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "RETIREMENT OF SENATOR CONNIE MACK", "SENATE", "SENATE", "RETIREMENT", "S11846", "S11847", "[{\"name\": \"Carl Levin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Kent Conrad\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Warner\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11846", "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 S11846-S11847]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                   RETIREMENT OF SENATOR CONNIE MACK\n\n  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to pay tribute today to a colleague\nand good friend who will be leaving the Senate when the 106th Congress\nadjourns sine die, Connie Mack, the junior senator from Florida.\n  I have served with Connie Mack on the Senate Select Committee on\nIntelligence where, on the important issues of national security it\nconsiders, he can be counted upon to set partisanship aside, roll up\nhis sleeves and get to work.\n  In the United States Senate we are called upon to work with\ncolleagues of many differing points of view. While Connie Mack has\nserved as a key member of the Republican leadership as Republican\nConference Chairman, and he and I often disagree on the issues before\nthe Senate, it has always been a pleasure to deal with him. Always an\n\n[[Page S11847]]\n\nable advocate for his point of view, he is a willing listener, open to\ncompromise and when an opponent, always gracious, reasonable and fair.\n  Connie Mack has made a name for himself in the Senate on public\nhousing and health care issues, particularly his efforts to make FDA-\napproved drugs available for other uses, especially in the fight\nagainst cancer. He and his wife, Priscilla, both cancer survivors, have\nbeen inspirational in their dedication to delivering the message to all\nAmericans that early detection of cancer is a life-saver.\n  Connie Mack and I have shared a special bond, one of those inside\njokes which create strong personal ties. Whenever I hear of someone\nmaking a great speech, I shall smile inwardly, think of Connie and miss\nhis warm smile and the kind word he has for all of his Senate\ncolleagues. I hope that in the years ahead, Connie and Priscilla will\nvisit often.\n  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to pay a tribute to my friend and\ncolleague from the State of Florida who has decided to leave the Senate\nafter a distinguished 12-year career here. It has been my pleasure to\nwork with Senator Mack during that time on a number of important\nissues.\n  He has always been willing to reach across the aisle when bipartisan\ncooperation can make the difference. As colleagues on the Finance\nCommittee, we have cosponsored each other's bills on such varied\nsubjects as benefits for retired coal miners, fairer treatment for real\nestate under the Internal Revenue Code, and keeping gray market\ncigarettes out of the U.S. market. Senator Mack has been a generous,\nthoughtful, and constructive member of our committee, and we will miss\nhis presence there every much.\n  Year in and year out, I am constantly impressed with the energy,\nintelligence, and commitment that Connie Mack brings to the challenging\njob of representing such a large and diverse State Floridians have been\nprivileged to have the benefit of his effective advocacy for their\nconcerns.\n  I am confident that a man with public policy interests over as wide a\nrange as Connie has shown during his tenure in the body is still going\nto be checking in with his old friends in the Senate to let us know\nwhat he's thinking. I hope we will see him often in the coming years.\n  I am happy to join my colleagues in wishing only the best for Connie\nand Priscilla as they move on to the next chapter in their lives.\n  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator\nConnie Mack of Florida. There are many ways to discern the character of\na Senator. Connie Mack has made his mark with strong leadership coupled\nwith an unusual quality of gentleness. A true gentleman of the Senate.\nSenatorial courtesy was his hallmark. He loved this institution; it\nloved him.\n  One unique, but subtle mannerism reveals the inner security of this\ngreat man--how he handled the gavel. The gavel is that symbol of\nauthority so coveted by all Senators. As we all know, a gavel consists\nof two parts: the relatively small handle to hold, and the large\nhammer-like head to strike the blow. Senate Chairmen love the sharp\n``bang'' connoting authority and decision.\n  Senator Mack is the only Senator, the only Chairman, whom I have\nobserved in my 22 years of service who simply used the hammer head for\nthe grip and conveyed his authority by gently tapping the end of the\nhandle.\n  ``May we have order, please.'' Immediately following was always quiet\nacceptance.\n  This symbolized to me how this elegant man commanded the great\nrespect of all in the Senate. As with the gavel, his voice was always\nfirm, and always with the soft tone of confidence.\n  We wish him well, together with his wife and family, as they accept\nlife's next challenge.\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-PgS11846-2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 11.199808912351727, "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"}