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Floor Speech

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Mr. HAWLEY. Mr. President, if I could, just a brief word of thanks and commemoration for my friend, the senior Senator from Missouri, Roy Blunt. It has been an incredible privilege to get to serve with Senator Blunt these last 3\1/2\ years. In a sense, I don't know that I would be here in the U.S. Senate were it not for Senator Blunt.

I think Senator Blunt was one of--maybe the first person to urge me to consider running for the U.S. Senate, and it has been a true privilege to get to serve alongside him.

He and Abby have been so kind to me and Erin on a personal basis. They were with us throughout the campaign. He was through all of the ups and down, as anybody who has been through a campaign knows. Roy was there. They were there with us on the final days on the bus, with Charlie, as I recall, who, between my boys and Charlie--Charlie was the calming influence on my kid. So they were all the life of the party.

But from that moment forward, Roy and Abby were such good friends and mentors to us. Roy gave me advice about what it is like to raise a family in politics--something that I was just starting out to do. He gave me advice on things large and small in the Senate: helping me understand how the floor worked, helping me choose my first committee assignments. I remember he made time to sit down and talk through that with me about this time, gosh, 4 years ago now. He has been there every time I have had a question, needed help, needed to understand something.

It has been a privilege to get to work together with him on substantive issues that we both care about. I think of veterans in our home State. I think just recently he and I were able together to lead a resolution honoring Jared Schmitz, who is one of the marines who lost their lives at Abbey Gate just over a year ago. I saw Jared's father just a few weeks ago, and he remains grateful for what Senator Blunt did in our continuing efforts to honor him.

Roy and I have worked together for years now to try to get our Nation's laws changed to make sure that the tragedy we saw at Table Rock Lake in our home State involving the failure of duck boats, recreational vehicles, in that State would not happen again. I appreciate Roy's efforts on that. Maybe this is one of the things we will get over the line here in the next couple of weeks.

I want to close--I know there are others who want to speak--I want to close with two stories about Senator Blunt that I have always loved and that I think really give you insight into Roy Blunt the man.

The first is his background, his heritage, being raised on a dairy farm. He mentioned this. I think about this every time I drive home to Ozark, MO, and I drive by the exit near where Senator Blunt's family farm was. Every time, I usually point out to my boys that this is where Senator Blunt is from.

Senator Blunt grew up on a dairy farm. He was the first in his family to go to college, I think.

Is that right? Senator, have I got that right?

He was the first in his family to go to college, and then--this is one of the stories I love--he taught at the same school where his grandfather had been a custodial worker years before. There is something wonderfully Missourian and wonderfully American about that.

One of my other favorite stories is about how Senator Blunt got into politics. I am told--now, he can say whether or not this is apocryphal, but I am told that his first job in politics was when a certain Missourian known as John Ashcroft, who once held the Senate seat I now occupy, ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1972.

The story goes that Roy walked into his campaign office and said: I would like to work for you.

John Ashcroft said: Well, how much gas do you have in your car?

Roy said: Well, I have a full tank.

John said: Good. You are hired.

And Roy went to work.

The thing about Roy Blunt, for anybody who has known him for any length of time and certainly for anybody who has served with him in this body, working on any project of any scale, is that Roy Blunt is a worker. He works day and night. When he says he is going to do something, he does it. When he commits to something, he sees it through. That certainly has been my happy experience with him. He leaves a great legacy of service and commitment and honor in the State of Missouri and here in the U.S. Senate.

I want to say again, Roy, thank you for everything.

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