Tribute To Senator Mel Martinez

Floor Speech

TRIBUTE TO SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ -- (Senate - September 09, 2009)

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in congratulating my friend from Florida for his service to our country. He has served in so many different ways as has already been noted. But he is truly an example of the American success story, someone who came here, established himself, and has risen to the very highest, I guess you would call it, echelons of this country in terms of public service and his contributions to the private economy in this country. So it is with great regret that we say goodbye to him as a Senator but continue to maintain the strong friendships we have built and developed during his service here.

They say that someone is measured not by the days in their life but by the life in their days. While Senator Martinez has maybe not served here as long as some other Senators--he and I came into this Senate together back in 2005--he may not be measured by his days of life in the Senate, but he is certainly measured by the life of his days in the Senate because he has added vitally to the debate here. He is an incredibly thoughtful Senator, someone from whom I have to say I have learned a lot--not just in our personal friendship but professionally--because he brings so many insights and such a thoughtful way in the way he looks at issues--domestic issues, foreign policy issues. I have learned a lot about Cuba. I have learned a lot about Latin America.

I have learned a lot about the Hispanic community in this country. And those are insights and contributions that he has made that no one else could make. It is very rare, indeed, to have someone of his experience and life experience and his quality to serve in the Senate and be able to rub shoulders and learn every single day from those experiences.

I congratulate Senator Martinez and his family. As he said, like myself and many others of us, MEL married over his head. He has a wonderful wife and family. And I hope that now, when he is not a Member of the Senate, we will get to see a little bit more of him in the State of South Dakota, because his son John married a South Dakota girl. I have been trying to hunt pheasants. He has made trips up there, but it is always a little bit later in the season when that time of the year comes around, and the climate tends to change in South Dakota. But I hope that now that he has a little bit more time to enjoy those types of things, we will get that chance.

I want to express my great appreciation to the Senator from Florida for an extraordinary run here in the Senate. He truly is the kind of person where what you see is what you get. That is rare in politics today--genuine, thoughtful, sincere, kind, generous, the kind of person who serves whom I want to see more of in public life.

It has been a pleasure and an honor to have had the opportunity to serve with him in the Senate and to call him a colleague. But it is even a greater privilege and honor and opportunity to have been able to call him my friend.

So, MEL, best wishes. Whatever you do, you are going to do well. We are proud of you. And thank you for your great contributions to our country. God bless you.

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