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Floor Speech
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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in rising to congratulate Senator Manchin on his highly successful and impactful career representing his home State of West Virginia in the U.S. Senate.
We know he served for 14 years. Over the last 4 years, he and I served together, and he served with great distinction as the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I had the honor, during those years, to work side by side with him as the ranking member of that committee, and I would just like to say that Senator Manchin has been a terrific partner to work with.
On issue after issue, Joe Manchin has demonstrated a resolute commitment to bipartisanship. During his Senate career, he has honored the most defining and sacred traditions of this very body. Under his leadership, we have enacted important legislation, bipartisan in nature, that will make America and our allies stronger in not just the years but in decades to come.
Working together, we enacted the Nuclear Fuel Security Act, legislation to rebuild America's nuclear fuel supply chain. We renewed the compacts for free association to ensure that America does not cede ground to China in the Indo-Pacific, and we enacted a ban on the imports of Russian uranium to choke off the funds that Putin has used for his war machine. And, in July--this very July--under his leadership, we did what very few people thought was possible: We actually advanced permitting reform legislation with broad bipartisan support, passing the committee 15 to 4.
None of this would have happened without Joe Manchin's patience, his persistence, and his perseverance. So I want to express my personal gratitude to Joe Manchin and his entire family. I want to thank him for working with Republicans. I want to thank him for his steadfast support of the filibuster. And I want to thank him for putting the American people and this U.S. Senate ahead of any personal or party interests.
I know I speak for many--and it was an astounding number of people and Senators on the Senate floor for his farewell address--when I say we are indebted to him, and we are going to miss him. He did important work in this body. He passed impactful legislation, and he leaves us with important lessons for the future.
We will miss you. We wish you the very, very best.
(Applause.)
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