Senators Pay Their Respects To The Late Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe
Senators pay their respects to Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) who died on Tuesday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I want to join Senator Reid and so many of my
00:05colleagues today as we express our great sorrow in learning about the death of Senator Jim
00:14Inhofe. Jim was an icon here in the Senate. He was a personal inspiration to me. When
00:21I first got here, he was the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee in
00:35the Senate and worked with me. My first legislative accomplishments came as a result of him and
00:43his staff working with me to help me establish myself as a new Senator and to do the work
00:51that the people of South Dakota sent me here to do. He made that possible because of just
00:57the way that he led the committee, his understanding of what it takes to get things accomplished
01:03here in the United States Senate. I'm grateful for his legislative prowess, for his leadership
01:10as a Chairman of not only that committee but later the Senate Armed Services Committee,
01:16and grateful for his tireless work ethic. I learned a lot. My first trip actually as
01:21a Senator abroad was to Iraq, and I went with Senator Inhofe. I can tell you from traveling
01:29with him, and I know that anybody who's traveled with Senator Inhofe knew that he had boundless
01:35energy and an ability to work people half his age under the table. He was a truly remarkably
01:43durable and passionate advocate for this country, a man of deep convictions, and as was pointed
01:52out by Senator Reid, somebody who had a connection with the rank and file military because of
01:58his military background. Every place that we went, we would meet with soldiers who respected
02:03him for that, the connection that he had, and also for the leadership that he provided
02:08for our country when it came to important national security matters. I also had the
02:12opportunity in Oklahoma to visit, to travel, to stay a little bit with him. I flew in an
02:17airplane with Senator Inhofe, and he was a renowned pilot. I think everybody knew that
02:22was one of his great passions in life. But there wasn't anybody who was around him ever
02:28who had the opportunity to interact with or work with Senator Inhofe who wasn't impressed
02:34by that powerful work ethic that he brought for the people of Oklahoma and for the people
02:40of this country. And I know that in traveling abroad with him, I saw that firsthand. I know
02:44his many trips to the continent of Africa, oftentimes to war-torn countries, where he
02:50built relationships, advocated for American ideals, and was a tremendous example and witness
03:00on those trips. And I'm grateful for his leadership in so many ways and for the impact that he
03:04had, not only to the people of Oklahoma, to the people of this country, but people all
03:09over the world who he touched by his work, by his efforts, and by his character. And
03:16I also want to say, finally, and probably most importantly, Mr. President, above all,
03:22I'm grateful for his Christian witness. Jim was a man of deep and profound faith, and
03:27it showed up literally, as I mentioned, in every aspect of his life. For many years,
03:33he hosted Chaplain Black's Bible study in his office, providing a place for senators
03:37from both parties to gather for prayer and study. I don't think, and I think Chaplain
03:44Black could probably validate this, that Jim ever missed a session of that Bible study.
03:51And while the Bible study has continued without him, and is still, I would argue, one of the
03:56most significant hours that we spend here each week, I know that all of us miss being
04:01welcomed into Jim's office, which Jim made easy for us to find by hanging an ICTA symbol
04:06outside of the door. Mr. President, my thoughts and prayers today are with Jim's wife, Kay,
04:14and with his family. Jim will be sorely missed. But in the midst of the sorrow, I'm also comforted
04:21by these words from the Apostle Paul, and these are words that I know Jim deeply believed.
04:27Quoting here, brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those
04:31who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.
04:36For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with
04:40Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. The Lord himself will come down from heaven
04:44with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God,
04:49and the dead in Christ will rise first. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore,
04:56encourage one another with these words. End quote. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
05:03Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to pay tribute to a great gentleman, a dear friend,
05:13a colleague, and in many cases a battle buddy, Senator Jim Inhofe. He was an extraordinary
05:22gentleman, and you can't say gentleman enough when it came to Jim Inhofe. He was a man of
05:29humility, of decency, and of kindness, and he touched everyone he met with those qualities.
05:40He was also a man of deep principle, but what made him a great senator, in fact, one of
05:50the best that has served in this body, is that he was always looking for principle compromise.
05:57He was always trying to reach across the aisle and see if he could, working with others,
06:03find a way forward that would be better for the country. So I was terribly sad when I
06:08learned yesterday of Jim's passing. He was a leader, he was a gentleman, he was all that
06:17we expect a senator to be, and much more. I was honored to serve alongside Jim. For
06:25three decades he had served on the Armed Services Committee in both the House and the Senate.
06:32I had the privilege to serve with him as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
06:37We were in turn both chairman and ranking members, both the senior Republican and the
06:42senior Democrat on the committee for many years. And we produced nearly two dozen National
06:50Defense Authorization Acts. We traveled to combat zones and military posts around the
06:56world and worked to support our men in uniform, men and women in uniform. And as I said before,
07:06there are many issues we disagreed upon, but we were able in many, many, and if not most
07:12cases, find a way forward. And one of the issues I think that is so compelling to me
07:20in Jim's life is that as a young man he was in the Army. And he knew what it was like
07:28to serve and sacrifice and dedicate yourself to a cause beyond personal ambition and personal
07:37aggrandizement. And he learned also something that was profound and reflected in all of
07:45his work on the committee, that the decisions that we make here ultimately affect the lives
07:55of young Americans in uniform across the globe. He knew that. He understood that. So he was
08:04not sitting back here thinking about, well, how will this affect this company and that
08:09company? It's, are we doing best for the young men and women that have dedicated themselves
08:15to this country, that will sacrifice even their lives for this country? Are we doing
08:21as much as we can for the families that are serving with them? That profound sense of
08:29service that he incubated as a young Army soldier, he carried through his entire career.
08:37He always insisted on speaking to the junior NCOs and junior service members. You know,
08:46we all get a briefing by the general about, here's the situation, sir. But he wanted to
08:52get down and talk to privates and specialists and seamen and airmen and say, what's going
08:58on? How is things going? Are you getting adequate, are you, is this working from your perspective?
09:06And again, adding to the quality of his service was this sensitivity. He truly understood
09:16the people who serve in the uniform in the United States. And he made sure to support
09:22those troops. He sponsored critical legislation to improve their lives, whether by overhauling
09:28barracks or creating new benefits for military families. And he and I worked together on
09:33countless efforts to provide better pay and healthcare and equipment to our servicemen
09:38and women. This nation and our military is stronger today because of Junior Hoff and
09:48safer today because of Junior Hoff. He had a way to look ahead. I remember when I was
09:56serving as a ranking member with John McCain and we were thinking about what's going to
10:01face us. And Jim was there with us talking about the Pacific Defense Initiative, how
10:08we have to begin to put more resources in the Pacific. And then before the invasion
10:14of Ukraine, the European Defense Initiative. We have to be able to be flexible and to counter
10:21the thrust of a potential outbreak of war. We were positioned in Europe to help the Ukrainians
10:32because of Jimmy Hoff's work over many, many years. I'm especially proud that the Armed
10:39Service Committee voted to name the 2022 defense bill, the James M. Inhofe National Defense
10:47Authorization Act. It was a fitting tribute and honor. Again, an extraordinary leader
10:54with legislative skills, the capacity for hard work, always placing the troops at the
11:02front and his fellow Oklahomans first. He never forgot about Oklahoma. He never forgot
11:09about their needs. He was in there fighting every step of the way. And I am very, very
11:17grateful for the kindness that he extended to me. Just an amazing gentleman. And I think
11:25I speak for the Senate Armed Service Committee and I think I speak for all the Senate. We
11:31will miss him dearly. I want to express my deepest sympathies to Kay, his wife, his wonderful
11:43family. He would admit without any reservation that he was able to do his job because of
11:52the love and support of Kay and his family. They were there with him every step of the
11:58way. And in their moment of sorrow and sadness, I offer them my sincerest condolences. Mr.
12:07President, may we all strive for the wisdom, courage, and humility that Senator Jim Inhofe
12:13imparted upon this great nation and this Senate. I also want to salute my colleagues that are
12:19today, Senator Lankford, who is carrying on that tradition of integrity and decency as
12:25is Senator Thunes and Senator Cornyn. And thank them for letting me say a few words
12:30about my friend, Jim Inhofe. With that, Mr. President, I would yield the floor.
12:36Mr. President, I want to join with my colleagues and say a few words celebrating the tremendous
12:45life and times of James Mountain Inhofe. He had a great name. And it seemed to me that
12:55it fit him amazingly well. My memories of Senator Inhofe were similar to those that
13:04Senator Thune mentioned that when I came to the Senate, he was the chairman or ranking
13:09member of the Environment and Public Works Committee. I remember him telling me one time,
13:13he said, I'm a true conservative. I believe in a strong national security, lower taxes,
13:21and infrastructure. And of course, the job of the Environment and Public Works Committee
13:27was largely to handle the regular highway bill reauthorization and funding, and he was
13:33true to his word. He believed as a true conservative in those three important things. And he said
13:40pretty much everything else we do is way down the list in terms of priorities. But perhaps
13:48the time I remember the most is working with him when he was leading the Armed Services
13:54Committee. I know he believed that there was no more important job for us to do, those
14:01of us who have the privilege of serving in the United States Senate or in the Congress,
14:04than to defend and protect our country and our way of life. And he believed that with
14:11all of his heart and all of his mind. And so the exercise that we do every year, which
14:21is called the National Defense Authorization Act, which we've done I think now 63 years
14:26in a row, he was passionate about making sure we did that on time and got it done because
14:34of his commitment, not only to our national security, but to the men and women who serve
14:41our country in uniform and the families that love and support them. And he was passionate
14:46about making sure we did our work and supported them and kept our country safe and our way
14:56of life protected. His, uh, his, uh, his, uh, his, uh, his, uh, his, uh, his, uh, his
15:04physical stamina was legendary. Um, we've already heard some of our colleagues talk
15:09about some of his trips around the world. Uh, some of our colleagues when they travel,
15:15uh, believe in a, uh, what I would call almost a death march, uh, pace. And certainly Senator
15:23Inhofe believed in making the most of his overseas travel, but frankly, most of them
15:29were focused on either supporting our men and women in uniform, most recently in Iraq
15:35and Afghanistan, but also, uh, uh, making sure that, uh, that he got the most out of
15:43those trips. And so if you agreed to go with him, chances are you wouldn't get much sleep,
15:48but you would get a chance to see and do a lot. But he would regularly make his trips
15:54to Africa where he reached out to leaders in that country, uh, and through the common,
16:02uh, belief in a common faith. And, uh, he was very active in the national prayer breakfast.
16:08I remember most Wednesdays mornings here in the Senate, he would almost always be at the
16:14Senate prayer breakfast where, uh, those of us who can attend from time to time, it's
16:21one of the times where we sort of take our mask off, uh, where we are not Republicans
16:26or Democrats and where we share a common faith. And this is something he, that I know was
16:32very important in his life. And certainly he was a wonderful example and exemplar for
16:38the rest of us and how to be a whole person, not of just a political animal coming here
16:44and maybe a performance artist, but somebody who was a genuine human being who had a strong
16:51foundation in his faith and strong beliefs and convictions about what he was here to
16:56do. One of the things I will, uh, never forget is, uh, his annual quail hunt in Altus, Texas.
17:03Um, Texas and, uh, excuse me, Altus, Oklahoma. I said Altus, Texas. Uh, we call Oklahoma
17:10North Texas sometimes. And, uh, they call Texas South Oklahoma. Um, but we share a common
17:17border and a lot of common interests. And one of those was the annual quail hunt in,
17:22uh, in Altus. And it was a great community event. They're, uh, primarily connected with
17:28the air base and trying to make sure that community support was strong for that, uh,
17:34that air base in Altus. But I would go up to his each year and then he would come down
17:40to one that I have in, uh, Hondo, Texas outside of San Antonio. The other thing I remember
17:47and Senator Lankford, uh, I know has carried on this great tradition that he'd have their
17:53annual quail breakfast here in, uh, in D.C. Uh, not something you ordinarily find, uh,
17:59at your breakfast table here in Washington, D.C. But they would have an annual quail breakfast
18:05with the Altus delegation, uh, each year. I just think we've lost a great, uh, a great
18:13man, a great senator, a great human being, a great friend. And I wanted to come to the
18:19floor and express my condolences to Kay and his wonderful family that meant everything
18:25to him, uh, for their loss. And we share their sense of loss, but we also share in their
18:33celebration of a great life. And, uh, I just want to say thank you to Kay and his family
18:39for their, uh, their sacrifice. And, uh, we share in their celebration of a great life
18:46lived. It's, uh, he had a good run. Not a lot you can complain about in terms of, uh,
18:53living to 89 years old and having the sort of fulfilling life and accomplishments that
18:58he had in his life. So, um, we do want to send our condolences to the family because
19:04they have lost a great man, a great human being, a great friend, a great senator, a
19:11great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:17senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:23senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:29senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:36senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:42senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:49senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great senator, a great
19:56senator. Jim was fierce in his convictions. Jim was serious in his work. He was also
20:05kind-spirited with deep compassion for others. But perhaps more than all of these things,
20:13Jim was a visionary who used his positions in public life to build a better future for
20:20his state and for this country. He recognized the profound importance of public infrastructure
20:28investment. From highways to airports to levies and much more, Jim's legacy can be felt
20:36all across America's heartland. Jim and I worked together on the Senate's Armed
20:44Services Committee. A veteran himself and an avid pilot, Jim was a fighter for members
20:51of our military. All of our Senate colleagues knew that if Jim was leading an international
20:58trip to visit with service members across the globe or to meet with America's allies,
21:06that trip would be all business. We'd sleep on the plane, and we would be in a different
21:13country every single day. I remember on one trip we were forced to slow down a little
21:20bit when we lost a plane engine. You heard that right. We lost a plane engine. So we
21:27needed to stay in a country an extra day while the repairs were going to be made. That didn't
21:35mean we had a vacation. What Jim did, he found ways that he could be relentlessly efficient
21:42with all of our time. And his energy and his motivation to do the people's work was infectious.
21:51Near the end of his Senate career, Jim served as a ranking member on the Armed Services
21:58Committee, and he was one of the first members of the Senate to recognize how seriously the
22:06world has shifted since the Cold War and how desperately we needed to rebuild our military
22:13in response to that. He had a very clear view of the global threats that America faces,
22:24both present and future, and he led accordingly. Jim respected the design of the Senate as
22:34a place where every state's needs should be considered. He valued cooperation. He valued
22:43collaboration. And he wanted our annual defense bill to reflect the concerns of all of the
22:51committee members. He was resolute in his views and fierce in their defense, but he
22:58was always kind and caring. He built strong friendships with all of his colleagues, and
23:07despite many disagreements, he would have these relationships, so much so that a close
23:18Democrat colleague once described him as a brother to her. And of course, you cannot
23:26speak of Jim without speaking of his family. Anyone who knew him knew how much he loved
23:33his wife, Kay. He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. The only thing that
23:41convinced him to leave decades of public service to the people of Oklahoma was his desire to
23:52care for his wife. My heart goes out to Kay and to his three surviving children, Molly, Jimmy,
24:06and Katie. May God comfort them in their sorrow, and may Jim's long life of love and service be
24:19a balm to their grief. America knew Jim. America will remember him as a principled man, deeply
24:31committed to his values. The people of Oklahoma, they knew exactly who he was, and that's why
24:41they reelected him to the United States Senate five times. His legacy will live on as a friend,
24:53as a husband and father, as a veteran, as an Oklahoman, as a United States Senator, and as a
25:05very good man. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
25:24Mr. President. Senator from South Dakota. Thank you, Mr. President. I think many of us come down
25:31here to the floor with prepared remarks because we want to be precise in what we say. But after
25:38listening to my friend from Nebraska and her remarks, I have to admit that some of the memories that
25:46she has of Jim Inhofe are very similar to the memories that I have of Jim. And before I go into
25:53fully prepared remarks, I just wanted to share with you that I don't know that anybody else has the
25:58record that Jim has of the number of snowballs that have been tossed on the floor of the Senate. Jim
26:04is one of those guys who could get away with coming in with a snowball and then looking at a young
26:08page and saying, be ready to catch this when I throw it at you. And then in the middle of talking about
26:14climate change and the fact that he disagreed with a lot of the new ideas, he would pick up a snowball,
26:20show it to everybody, and then toss it over to one young page who I'm sure will never forget that for
26:26as long as he lives. Jim made friends every place he went. Now he had his own ideas about what things
26:34should look like and about how things should proceed. And I have to tell you that I think the vast
26:39majority of cases he was right. But he also wanted to have a discussion with other people. He liked to
26:46have debate. They were friends as far as he was concerned. And you could have disagreements among one
26:52another, and you could still be friends. Jim was one of those guys who truly believed that if you were
26:58his friend and you agreed with him 80% of the time, you were never going to be an enemy. You were always
27:04going to be a friend. I've traveled the world with Jim on more than one occasion. And no matter where he
27:10went, he went in what he called the spirit of Jesus. He believed that that Christian value that he had
27:20was the conduit between people from all different faiths. And that in his opinion, and as long as he was
27:28prepared to share his faith, he was going to be welcome. And he was. I don't think people realize that this
27:36guy from the middle part of the United States of America was a guy who later on could say that he was a
27:46man who shared a prayer with Muammar Gaddafi in Gaddafi's tent. But he did that because he thought it was
27:56the right thing to do. Jim was my friend. He was a mentor. And the way that he treated other people is the way
28:08that I think all the rest of us should treat people. Jim's wife Kay became a very special friend to both myself
28:16and my late wife Jean. She treated both of us with that respect and that acceptance that you don't always get.
28:24And yet you see it as being very, very sincere. We became part of their family. And we'll never forget that.
28:34You see, Jim Inhofe was a true ambassador for his state, his country, and most importantly, Jesus. Whether he was
28:46in another country or attending our weekly Senate prayer breakfast, he loved sharing his faith with others. Jim and I
28:54traveled the world together and we shared a love for aviation. He was one of my best friends in the United States Senate.
29:02Jim often said that real friendship did exist in the Senate, even if the news wouldn't necessarily show it.
29:12To Jim, it didn't matter if someone was a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent. He put political parties aside to
29:18get things done and trusted and respected the colleagues he worked with. Many of us in this chamber are lucky to have
29:26worked with Jim and to have called him a friend. I especially appreciated his leadership and partnership while working
29:34together on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Jim worked tirelessly each year to make sure that the Senate passed
29:42legislation providing for our national security and for our service members through the National Defense Authorization Act.
29:50It was fitting and well-deserved as a tribute to have the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for the
30:00fiscal year 2023 signed into law. He made many contributions on the national and international stage, including his deep
30:10love and appreciation for the people of Africa, particularly Ethiopia. He developed meaningful relationships across the world
30:22through a shared love of Jesus, and our world is better off because of it. My thoughts and my prayers go out to Jim's wife, Kay,
30:34and to their family. Jim has slipped the surly bonds of earth. Now he can put out his hand and touch the face of God.
30:50I will miss my friend Jim.
31:21Mr. President.
31:23Senator from Oklahoma.
31:25In honor of Jim Inhofe, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to speak as long as I so desire.
31:34Without objection.
31:37I'm standing today at not my desk location. I'm standing at my senior senator's desk location.
31:47This was the location for Jim Inhofe's desk two years ago when he retired from the Senate.
31:53And as you've heard from multiple different members today, he'll be deeply missed.
31:59I still have a moment every time someone says the senior senator from Oklahoma and they're speaking of me that I turn around and look for Jim.
32:07Because he'll be sorely missed.
32:10Jim was my friend. He was my colleague. He was a mentor. He was a person to be able to work side by side with.
32:18Our staffs worked very well together because we chose to work well together and to be able to get things done for our state of Oklahoma.
32:27My task today is to tell a little bit of a story. I can't do that in a few minutes, but I'm going to try to give as much as I can.
32:33James Mountain Inhofe, and everyone loved that middle name of his, James Mountain Inhofe was actually born in Iowa in 1934.
32:44His parents, Perry Dyson Inhofe, and his mom, Blanche Phoebe Mountain.
32:51That's where the mountain came from. Most folks don't even know.
32:54But the nation and our state was forever changed when at eight years old, their family moved from Iowa to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
33:02He graduated from Central High School in 1953, later graduating from the University of Tulsa, but actually attending classes all over the place to be able to get to that graduation.
33:13He served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1958, stationed in Fort Lee, Virginia.
33:18Became a licensed pilot in 1958, and that was one of the loves of his life.
33:25But the real love of his life was his relationship with Jesus and his beautiful wife, Kay, who he married in 1959.
33:37He was first elected to public office in Oklahoma at 32 years old, actually.
33:43He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, sat on multiple committees, and then was elected to be the mayor of Tulsa in 1978.
33:51He loved Tulsa, Oklahoma.
33:56He later served in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994, and then was elected in a special election to this body in 1994.
34:09He was sworn in on November the 17th, actually, of 1994, on his 60th birthday.
34:17He then served five terms after that, serving in the United States Senate.
34:22Serving as chairman of the Environment and Public Works, serving as chairman of Armed Services, serving on multiple different committees, including the Intelligence Committee, Indian Affairs Committee, Committee on Foreign Relations, Commerce, Science, Transportation, Small Business.
34:37He was engaged in this body and worked to be able to find ways to be able to make a difference for our state of Oklahoma and for the nation.
34:47He loved flying and had over 11,000 flight hours.
34:51In fact, he did a crazy thing, which he did multiple crazy things.
34:55But he did a crazy thing that he replicated, I should say recreated, Oklahoma Wiley Post's historic flight around the world when he got in a twin-engine Cessna and flew from D.C. to Iceland, to Berlin, to Moscow, all the way back around to Alaska so he could circumnavigate the globe, following after Wiley Post, the famous Oklahoman's circumnavigation of the globe as well.
35:20He was passionate about infrastructure, which has been mentioned often.
35:25He would often say as a conservative, he was passionate about national defense and about infrastructure.
35:30Those were constitutional responsibilities, and he fulfilled that well.
35:34He was passionate about trying to find ways to be able to help veterans and those that were serving in our military and to be able to maintain energy.
35:43There's a great story of a debate that he held about energy taxes on the floor of the Senate here.
35:52And it was a full-on debate, which rarely occurs in this body very often, but it was led by Senator Inhofe on this side of the aisle and by Senator Bernie Sanders on the other side.
36:01And they had an hours-long debate between the two of them about energy taxation.
36:06And at the end of that, there was a vote, and Senator Inhofe won that vote two to one.
36:11Where at the end of it, Senator Sanders came to him and said, we don't do that often enough. We should do that more.
36:18Because Senator Inhofe never hesitated to be able to talk about the hard issues with people that he disagreed with and to be able to say, let's figure it out.
36:27When I attended Dianne Feinstein's funeral not that long ago, Senator Barbara Boxer from California immediately found me at the funeral and said, how's my friend Jim?
36:40Where a very conservative Oklahoman had a long-standing friendship with a very liberal Californian, and they found ways to be able to work together.
36:54As Jack Reed mentioned earlier, a Democrat from Rhode Island and a Republican from Oklahoma worked very hard on national defense and found their common ground together.
37:05Though there are many things that Jim Inhofe will be recognized for, he will be remembered for his work in Africa.
37:14Jim Inhofe visited 172 African country visits in the time he served in the Senate, more than any other senator in the history of the Senate.
37:26He spent in Africa. He visited leaders over and over and over again in Africa, developing deep relationships and friendships.
37:32Every time I meet an African leader here in Washington, D.C., and they hear that I'm from Oklahoma, either the first or second thing that they'll say to me is, do you know my friend Jim Inhofe?
37:44And I will proudly say yes. And that African leader will say he's been my friend for years.
37:52Because Jim Inhofe intentionally went to Africa, developing relationships.
37:58The reason we have an AFRICOM military focus in that area is because of Jim Inhofe.
38:05There are relationships that he built across the years there that brought down violence in Africa.
38:12Because when violence began to erupt in some countries, Jim would get on a plane and would fly and would get the two leaders that were in conflict, because he knew them both, together and say, we're going to pray together.
38:24And we're going to resolve this right now. And he did.
38:29And while most of the world doesn't know what Jim Inhofe did in Africa, he will be long remembered for his faith, his love for his family, and for what he did over and over again for the people of Oklahoma and for Africa.
38:50He was the longest serving senator for the state of Oklahoma.
38:56And he will be long remembered and appreciated in my great state.
39:01He'll be appreciated by many of the staff members that worked alongside of him, I can assure you of that.
39:06He had 34 staff members that worked for him more than 10 years.
39:11Now for anyone that's in this body, we know how rare that is, because staff members tend to come and go.
39:17But for Jim, he wanted to be able to build camaraderie among his team.
39:22He wanted to do serious, hard things, but he often did it among his staff in a non-serious way.
39:29He was notorious for the way, quite frankly, he tormented his staff, bugged them, hazed them, and challenged them to be able to step up and to be able to do hard things and figure out how to be able to get things done.
39:42Ryan Jackson, who was his future chief of staff on his first day on the job as a young campaign staffer, Jim Inhofe picked him up in Oklahoma City, they drove out for a campaign event in western Oklahoma for that event.
39:57And then Jim went back to Tulsa, not through Oklahoma City, and told Ryan, figure out how to get home.
40:06Which he did to multiple staff members over the years, because he wanted to be able to push them and to say, figure it out.
40:14That was always his challenge to his staff, figure it out.
40:18By the way, that didn't scare Ryan off, he stayed with him 18 years, and that young campaign staff member later became his chief of staff.
40:26He had many rules, but the top rule that he had was on his airplane, no one touched the door of his airplane but him.
40:33That was a fireable offense for any staff member that wanted to be able to touch the airplane door except for him.
40:40He also had a book that he would pass out to his staff all the time called Message to Garcia, many of us know that book.
40:46That book is a story about a young soldier that was given a task by a general and was basically told he has to be able to figure things out.
40:55And so he would hand that book to staff members and would say, read this, you need to be able to know this.
41:00And a staff member on his team, when he turned a memo in to Jim Inhofe and it wasn't sufficient, would get just the message on it, M-T-G, written on it.
41:11In other words, Message to Garcia, go figure this out and come back and tell me what needs to be done.
41:19He was also, as has been mentioned by multiple of my colleagues, an extremely hard worker.
41:24His staff often said they only worked half a day for Jim, that is from 7.30 in the morning until 7.30 in the evening, that they would just work half days.
41:33If you got into the office, in Jim Inhofe's office, if you arrived at 8.30, he would greet you with a good afternoon statement to you to be able to welcome you in.
41:44He had, as I mentioned, many opportunities to be able to do ministry and challenges to people in Africa.
41:49And there was a deep love for him in multiple countries, but there's probably no more so than in Western Sahara, where he fought tenaciously for the independence of those individuals in Western Sahara with Morocco.
42:02In fact, so much so that Western Sahara officials gave him a camel, which obviously he couldn't accept nor bring home.
42:11And so he told them, just hang on to it. I can't actually accept this camel and take it home.
42:18So when he visited Western Sahara every time, they would bring the camel back to the airport to show him they're still hanging on to his camel.
42:26They still have it.
42:29I have to say there's a million stories about his leadership and his interaction.
42:36But his staff tells great stories about their friendships and relationships.
42:41I've been to many a place where Jim would turn and look into the crowd and would identify what he called the has-beens that were in the crowd.
42:50Those were the staff that were his former staff that showed up at just about every event he would go to because of their deep love for him, even though they had left the staff.
43:02Wendy Price, when she first got her job as scheduler, was put on probation because Jim felt she was too young.
43:11She stayed on probation for 20 years and would still be working with Jim today if he hadn't retired.
43:19I have to tell you, there's a lot of characters about Jim Inhofe.
43:27And I've read some of the stories in the newspaper of things that some of the press writes about him.
43:34I can only read those stories and shake my head and say Jim would have loved that because he didn't allow liberal press to be able to define him.
43:45He worked across the aisle. He worked to get things done.
43:49And he spent time doing the things that needed to be done for the future of the country, including at a moment when President Trump was elected and many of Jim Inhofe's staff was actually put into the EPA.
44:05And it drove the Washington Post crazy that many of Jim Inhofe's staff from EPW went to the EPA and the Washington Post wrote a blistering story about it.
44:19Jim Inhofe bought a ton of the copies of that Washington Post and then just started handing it out to people so that they would all read and would know he's fully aware of what people say that he's going to work to get stuff done for the country.
44:34I won't miss my friend and I'll continue to pray for Kay and for his family as they grieve.
44:42And I say to them, Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and he saves those who are crushed in spirit.
44:52They grieve for their husband, their dad, their grandfather. Many of us grieve for our friend.
44:58But this Senate will miss Jim Inhofe.
45:01So will our nation.
45:04With that, I yield the floor.