Tribute to Cory Gardner

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, it is my pleasure to honor my good friend and my colleague Senator Cory Gardner. Cory and I were friends in the House of Representatives. Our friendship deepened in the Senate, especially after he took the reins as chair and I as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on East Asia of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the 115th Congress.

We were unlikely partners in a lot of ways. He is a conservative Republican and I am a liberal Democrat. I know that Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever. He just might say that it is John Elway.

But like me, Cory is a pragmatist, and we did find common ground. In fact, we were a two-man legislative wrecking crew, with several credits to our names.

Gardner-Markey collaborated on such hits as the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, ARIA, sweeping Asia-focused legislation to reorient our Indo-Pacific strategy around alliances, common values, and mutual security; the Cambodia Democracy Act, to stand up for civil society the rights of a political opposition; the Taiwan International Participation Act of 2018, to signal both our commitment to the island nation and our displeasure with China's efforts to shut it out of international organizations; and the Leverage to Enhance Effective Diplomacy Act, to build the conditions for a future North Korea that no longer threatens its neighbors and the world with nuclear weapons.

With Cory as chair and myself as ranking member, we convened hearings, drafted broad legislation, hosted foreign leaders. As the foreign policy gravitational pull rightly moved to the Indo-Pacific in recent years, Cory brought the top policymakers, human rights defenders, and government witnesses to the fourth floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building--not exactly the Diplomatic Room of the White House.

In the 115th Congress, we held 11 hearings. It was a constant beat of meetings and hearings that Cory would be leading. I was always honored to be partnered with him in organizing those efforts.

Cory grew up on a farm, so it is no wonder that he is a workhorse. Each time he gaveled in a hearing, he was professional, prepared, good- humored. And he, on more than a few occasions, allowed particularly verbose Senators to blow past their allotted time.

Nowhere did I enjoy our work together more than in the drafting and the ultimate passage of the landmark Asia Reassurance Initiative Act. Our bill, which is now the law of the land, adopts a long-term U.S. strategy for the most consequential region in the world, the Indo- Pacific. It was a credit to our foreign policy staffs--led by Igor in Cory's staff and Zack in mine--that we were able to get it past the finish line.

A fully resourced ARIA will ensure that the United States will remain a Pacific power. Investments through ARIA offer a critical counterweight to China by helping our partners in the region build defenses and defend democracy and the rule of law.

But Cory understood passage of a law alone does not equate to the implementation of policy. When ARIA was signed into law, he and I convened a series of hearings to ensure the Departments of Defense and State and the USAID were putting resources to the challenge.

The Asia-Pacific is home to 60 percent of the world's population. This fact and the wide geographic scope of the region means that we need to respond nimbly to the latest international crisis of the day.

When North Korea policy vacillated between ``fire and fury'' and detente, he used the subcommittee to provide critical oversight.

When China and Hong Kong authorities turned to batons and tear gas in a futile attempt to end democratic protests, he hosted one of the architects of the student-powered Umbrella Movement, Nathan Law.

When just this past year, some wished to shake down our Japanese and South Korean allies, we partnered on two resolutions, which reaffirmed our ironclad relationships to both allies.

In his farewell address, Cory said that the pillars of the Senate Chamber are principles shared by all Americans. They are immutable. Cory, it was a pleasure to work with you these past years to also strengthen the pillars of U.S. foreign policy, standing up for human rights, our allies, and the rule of law around the world.

I hope that this son of Yuma, CO, is not finished with public service yet. I am grateful for what we accomplished together on the Asia Subcommittee and even more grateful for our friendship.

My best to Jaime and your wonderful family and to you, my friend.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source