Executive Session

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Montana (Mr. Blunt) and the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson).

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I rise to speak for the last time on the Senate floor as majority whip. With the swearing in of our colleagues in January, will come the changing of the guard in our elected leadership in which I have been proud to serve since 2006.

As we all know, the whip is also known as the assistant majority leader, and I have been proud to assist our majority leader in all we have worked on together to accomplish in the Senate. I often tell people that ``whip'' sounds a lot more coercive than it really is because in the Senate, you can't really make somebody do something they don't want to do.

I understand the term comes from the old country. It referred to the person in fox hunting who was responsible for keeping the dogs from straying during the chase--something I have never done and, no doubt, will never do.

One of the fathers of modern conservatism, Edmund Burke, in the middle of a contentious debate in the British House of Commons, used the term as far back as 1769. When he used it, he was talking about enforcing discipline, not as a way to punish disobedience but as a way to stay focused on your goal. I think that meaning still holds because the overarching goal of anyone who serves in this position is to keep the team together.

The first Republican whip was James Wadsworth, elected in 1915. He served in the Spanish-American War. He opposed Prohibition, and he was chairman of what was then known as the Committee on Military Affairs.

In more recent times, the whips have been great Senators and friends, such as Don Nickles, Trent Lott, Jon Kyl, and of course, the current majority leader, Mitch McConnell. All of these men have provided good examples and sound counsel to me at one time or another.

What we have tried to do together is to build consensus, to make progress, little by little, for the American people, to seek to inform and gently persuade. Mainly, you listen, and then, one by one, you address your colleagues' concerns. Then it is the job of the whip to count the votes, as the Senate leader passes or defeats legislation, and provide advice and consent on nominees.

It is the job of the whip operation to keep its finger on the pulse of the conference, to help the leader find a way to get from point A, a bill introduced, to point B, getting it to the floor, and then to point C, when the bill passes and becomes law. That road can be awfully bumpy at times. Sometimes, it is just like riding a roller coaster.

As with any job, there are parts of the job you love more and those parts you love less. There has been a lot of handshaking after big victories, such as the Criminal Justice Reform bill we passed with a huge bipartisan majority last night, and then there is the headshaking after disappointments.

It is true that occasionally in this job you come up short, but you learn from your mistakes, you course correct, and that failure can help you succeed later on down the road. That is what happened to us in tax reform. We learned from our disappointing outcome on healthcare and applied it to our next major objective. With tax reform, we laid the groundwork by going through the Finance Committee--regular order. We helped inform. We corrected misinformation, and we responded to feedback. We incorporated input from all Senators who wanted to be constructive and get to yes, and the final bill changed a lot along the way.

Another victory I can think of is the passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act in 2016, which I think helped lay the groundwork for what we were able to achieve this Congress with the passage of landmark opioid legislation.

Of course, there were a historic number of judges we were able to confirm during the first 2 years of the Trump administration, culminating in not one, but two outstanding additions to the U.S. Supreme Court: Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

But the biggest challenge we faced this last year was the nomination of now-Justice Kavanaugh--hands down. Never in my experience has there been a bill or a nomination for which every single vote mattered more, and never have I seen the dynamics change so rapidly. The trajectory of the nomination fluctuated day by day, hour by hour, and sometimes it seemed minute by minute. As new press reports or rumors circulated, the whip operation worked overtime to make sure our colleagues had the most up-to-date information and knew what was and what was not accurate. To refute one rumor or accusation, my whip staff even had to find copies of 30-year-old high school yearbooks and go to the Library of Congress to research drinking games. I know it sounds silly, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. The research our whip staff put together made the difference for some of our colleagues in the homestretch.

Eventually, as we now know, after a lot of hard work and long hours by an awful lot of people, Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed. But near- death experiences can make life all that much more sweet. So the difficulties we faced together on the Kavanaugh nomination made his eventual confirmation all the more satisfying.

Other highlights--the things I will remember the most and am most proud of--include the landmark bill we passed to combat human trafficking. The Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking Act--after 4 weeks on the Senate floor, thanks to Leader McConnell and his perseverance, that bill ultimately passed 99 to 0, and we should be very proud of that.

Following the horrific shooting at Sutherland Springs, TX, I introduced legislation to strengthen the gaps in the background check system for purchasing firearms. Those gaps had allowed a crazed shooter to cruelly take innocent lives one Sunday morning at a small Baptist Church outside of San Antonio.

After we came together in a bipartisan way to pass this bill, I returned to Sutherland Springs. Being with those families, the community, and Pastor Frank Pomeroy--he and his wife lost their daughter--and letting them know we not only shared in their grieving but we had acted together to save lives by preventing future tragedies was one of the most gratifying moments I have experienced in the Senate. We couldn't wipe away their tears, but we could show the families that their loss had not been in vain.

We have done a lot of other things that--while they didn't make the front-page news--will greatly impact the lives of Texans and all Americans. We helped America become the energy powerhouse we knew it could be--creating jobs along the way--by facilitating liquefied natural gas exports, and we ended the export ban on crude oil all together. These will have geopolitical consequences that will benefit the entire planet.

We passed big bills, like the farm bill, and smaller but impactful bills, like occupational licensing reform, and legislation that improved trade between Mexico and Canada.

Then came Hurricane Harvey, the most extreme rain event in our Nation's history. It hit the Texas gulf coast, and then after recovery was undertaken, we had the monumental task of putting together significant disaster relief for Texas as part of a larger disaster relief package that benefited many parts of the Nation.

Our job still isn't over, but by linking arms together, the Texas delegation, which we call ``Team Texas,'' worked with Governor Abbott and other State and local leaders to get them what was needed from the Federal Government so that people could begin to put their lives back together.

As whip, one of the best parts of my job was getting to know my colleagues better. I learned to listen to them more carefully. I learned that each of them has personal goals, political needs, regional interests, and philosophical principles that influence their decision making.

We share a lot in common, but each of us is unique in mostly fascinating but sometimes infuriating ways. Even when you can't convince someone your position is the right one, you always can learn from that interaction, and that is valuable information that can be used on the next tough vote.

I also learned a lot about the Senate as an institution. What makes this institution so interesting are the men and women who work here. We have doctors, business men and women, and farmers. Heaven knows, we have more than enough lawyers. We have spouses, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. We come from different political parties and different parts of the country, but we share a common goal: to do right for the people we are privileged to represent and to make our country a little bit better than when we came.

We have very public arguments, but we also get a lot accomplished in quieter moments--over lunch, in the Senate well, in the cloakroom, or sometimes in the Senate gym. During those moments, what shines through is my overwhelming impression of the intelligence, the seriousness of purpose, and the goodwill of the people who work here. That instills in me confidence that despite the swirling controversies that seem to engulf us, the Senate, as an institution, is strong. It is durable and will continue long after we are gone.

The late great Bob Bullock, who served for many years as our State's Lieutenant Governor, participating in Texas politics for most or about half of the 20th century, used to say that there are two types of politicians: those who want to be someone and those who want to do something. I will say that in my experience, most people I interact with here are of the latter persuasion. They want to do something good for the American people.

I want to express my best wishes to my friend, Senator Thune, the senior Senator from South Dakota, who is taking over the whip job in January. I have every confidence in his ability to do the job, but I also confessed to him it is not all sunshine and lollipops. There will be long days and tough votes. We have all heard the expression that being the whip is like trying to keep the bullfrogs in the wheelbarrow; as soon as you get one in, another one jumps out.

But I look forward to continuing to help Senator Thune, the next whip, and the conference and the Senate in any way I can. He has my telephone number.

Of course, when you are whip--like any job--you rely on your team members. I couldn't have gotten through these 6 years without a lot of help. First and foremost, I owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to my mentor and friend, Leader McConnell. There is no one in the country who has done more to advance the conservative cause in recent times than Senator McConnell--no one. Robert Caro called LBJ the Master of the Senate. I would like to nominate another one: Mitch McConnell.

Under Mitch's leadership in the last 2 years alone, we have bolstered our Nation's economy, fixed our Tax Code, and achieved real regulatory reform. We have transformed our Judiciary, improved veterans' healthcare, and addressed critical public health needs like the opioid crisis. And that doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.

We have certainly had our fair share of nail-biters--I seem to remember a certain debt ceiling vote, for example--and those accomplishments I mentioned were not easy, given the slim margins. But with Senator McConnell's leadership and more than a few prayers along the way, we did it together. I am proud of our record, and I am grateful for his trust and confidence.

Of course, we couldn't have been successful without a strong and reliable team of deputy whips led by Senator Mike Crapo. I leaned on my deputy whip team regularly, and time and again, they delivered. So to Senators Blunt, Capito, Crapo, Fischer, Gardner, Lankford, Portman, Scott, Tillis, and Young, thank you.

I also want to thank my whip staff, both current and former. This includes John Chapuis, Sam Beaver, Noah McCullough, Jody Hernandez, Emily Kirlin, Jonny Slemrod, and my first chief of staff, Russ Thomasson.

What has been so amazing to me is how seamlessly my whip staff also worked with my Texas official staff as well. We all worked, literally, as one team. I thank all of my Texas staff for their contributions to our successes.

We all rely on our staffs around here a great deal, and that is doubly true of my entire staff over the last 6 years. I have come to think of the whip operation as really an intelligence operation. These outstanding men and women have been my eyes and ears. They are all incredibly smart. They are devoted and hard-working.

I say to all of them: Thank you for everything you have done to serve the conference and the Senate as a whole.

As whip, you are provided with a security detail comprised of Capitol Police officers. These men and women are extraordinary professionals who have become like family. Their work often takes them away from their own families and friends as they travel around the country and sometimes miss holidays and special occasions. They, like all of the Capitol Police, keep the people who work here and visit here safe. We all appreciate what they do for us each and every day.

Finally, I want to say a few words about my chief of staff, Monica Popp, who is the chief of staff of my whip office.

Monica is often the first person and the last person on my staff I talk to each day. If Beth Jafari, who is my chief of staff in my Texas office, is the glue that keeps our operation together and operating at maximum efficiency, Monica is the spark plug of the operation.

As impressive as her knowledge of the Senate is and of how the U.S. Government functions, that is not what sets her apart. She often, in her own gentle but determined way, has pressed me to make just one more call, to meet just one more time with a colleague, or to try just a little harder to nail down the winning votes. She is exactly the type of person you need to have in your corner, but it is her sunny disposition--her optimism--that is infectious. In addition to her extraordinary competence, that makes her indispensable.

Monica is known for cultivating and maintaining strong relationships not only in the Senate but in the House and in the executive branch. It is not just limited to my party; some of her closest colleagues work in the leadership offices of our Democratic colleagues. The big bipartisan achievements I mentioned earlier could not have happened without Monica and her ability to lead a team and work across the aisle. Part of the reason she is so effective is she wants to know everything. She even wants to know what Members have for breakfast because she knows how circumstances and small events can sometimes provide insight in unexpected ways.

Here is how our staff describes her:

``She is a problem solver.''

``When you think you're stuck, she'll find creative ways to get a solution.''

The most instructive, I think, is this: ``You want to be around her just to learn.''

I couldn't agree more.

To Monica, I say thank you. We couldn't have done it without you.

Even though I will no longer be serving as the majority whip, I am not going anywhere. Believe me--serving 28 million Texans here in the Senate is a big enough job for anyone. To borrow a phrase from a great American leader, our late President George Herbert Walker Bush--he said: I am a Texan and an American. What more can a man ask for?

Indeed, it is an honor and a privilege to represent the great people of Texas, and I believe my time as whip has only taught me to be a better representative of my fellow Texans. As an elected leader, I have learned that sometimes you have to do things nobody else wants to do because they are controversial or they are risky, but I stand ready to continue to take risks and accept controversy in the pursuit of worthy causes.

I close simply by saying it has been a privilege to serve as the whip for Texas, for the Republican conference, and for the Senate.

Often, when I am introduced to audiences here and at home, the introducers will refer to me as the No. 2 person in the Senate. Occasionally, they will call me the second most powerful person in the Senate--obviously an exaggeration. Yet I have never been quite able to bring myself to correct them in public if only to save them the embarrassment. Let me just say I will now return to my previous life as the second most powerful person in my household and to my continued service to Texas and the world's greatest deliberative body.

(Applause, Senators rising.)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source