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John Thune Senate Majority Leader First Remarks · Gil I Am

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  Speaker 1: This President. Before I begin my remarks, I want to
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  Speaker 1: mention the very deadly terrorist attack that took place in
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  Speaker 1: New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day.
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  Speaker 1: This isis inspired attack took the lives of fourteen innocent
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  Speaker 1: victims and injured at least thirty others. My prayers today,
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  Speaker 1: along with the prayers of so many Americans, are with
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  Speaker 1: all those grieving the loss of a loved one and
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  Speaker 1: with the injured and their families. In Las Vegas, law
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  Speaker 1: enforcement agents are working around the clock to understand the
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  Speaker 1: motivation of an Army soldier who blew up a Tesla
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  Speaker 1: truck in front of the Trump Hotel on the same day,
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  Speaker 1: injuring seven others. We expect our federal, state, and local
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  Speaker 1: law enforcement to pursue every lead so that the American
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  Speaker 1: people understand what led to both of these attacks. This President,
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  Speaker 1: I also want to mention the passing of former President
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  Speaker 1: Jimmy Carter, who died peacefully on December twenty ninth at
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  Speaker 1: his home in George at the age of one hundred.
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  Speaker 1: He was Governor of Georgia President of the United States,
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  Speaker 1: but was perhaps even better known for the work that
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  Speaker 1: he did after leaving office. To promote peace and help
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  Speaker 1: those in need, most notably through his decades long work
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  Speaker 1: with Habitat for Humanity. I will have much more to
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  Speaker 1: say about President Carter next week, but Forday, I just
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  Speaker 1: want to extend my condolences and my prayers to his children, grandchildren,
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  Speaker 1: and great grandchildren as they mourn their father and grandfather.
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  Speaker 1: As President, I want to welcome members to the one
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  Speaker 1: hundred nineteenth Congress, particularly those freshman senators who took the
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  Speaker 1: oath of office this morning. And congratulations to the new
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  Speaker 1: Secretary of the Senate, a great South Dakotin, and the
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  Speaker 1: new Senate Sergeant at Arms who are assuming their roles today.
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  Speaker 1: I am grateful for their service. It was present. The
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  Speaker 1: words of the Oath, which we hear at the start
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  Speaker 1: of each new Congress, are a reminder of the profound
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  Speaker 1: responsibility with which we have been trusted, and that is
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  Speaker 1: to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Two hundred and thirty seven years ago, representatives from the
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  Speaker 1: States gathered together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and produce something essentially
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  Speaker 1: unique in human history, a blueprint for our new country
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  Speaker 1: founded on history, not on history or conquest, but on
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  Speaker 1: a set of ideas. It was not a perfect document
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  Speaker 1: is even our founder is attested by making provisions for amendments.
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  Speaker 1: But it was and remains one of the greatest and
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  Speaker 1: most important political documents in the history of the world.
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  Speaker 1: It has made us as a country. It has made
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  Speaker 1: us a country that people around the world look to
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  Speaker 1: as a beacon of freedom, a shining city on the hill,
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  Speaker 1: and is the solemn responsibility of those of us here
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  Speaker 1: in Congress to preserve our Constitution, to guard it against
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  Speaker 1: enemies both foreign and domestic, and to ensure that it
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  Speaker 1: continues to stand so that our nation continues to stand
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  Speaker 1: as a bulwark of freedom in human rights. As present
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  Speaker 1: when it came time to draft the Constitution, the Founders
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  Speaker 1: establish safeguards, checks and balances throughout our government to keep
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  Speaker 1: the government in check and insure that the rights of
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  Speaker 1: all Americans were protected. One of those safeguards was the
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  Speaker 1: United States Senate. In his discussion of the Senate in
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  Speaker 1: Federal of sixty two, the author notes, and I quote
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  Speaker 1: a Senate as a second branch of the legislative assembly,
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  Speaker 1: distinct from and dividing power with a first must be
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  Speaker 1: in all cases a salutary check on the government it
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  Speaker 1: doubles the security to the people by requiring the concurrence
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  Speaker 1: of two distinct bodies and schemes of usurpation or perfidy.
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  Speaker 1: The further notes, and I quote again, that as the
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  Speaker 1: improbability of sinister combinations will be in proportion to the
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  Speaker 1: dissimilarity in the genius of the two bodies, it must
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  Speaker 1: be politic to distinguish them from each other by every
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  Speaker 1: circumstance which will consist with the due harmony in all
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  Speaker 1: proper measures, and with the genuine principles of rep publican
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  Speaker 1: government end quote. And the founders did indeed distinguish the
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  Speaker 1: House from the Senate. They made the Senate smaller and
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  Speaker 1: senator's terms of office longer, with the intention of creating
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  Speaker 1: a more stable, more thoughtful, more deliberative legislative body to
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  Speaker 1: check ill considered or in temperate legislation and protect the
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  Speaker 1: rights of the American people. And as the past two
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  Speaker 1: hundred and thirty seven years a test, it is a
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  Speaker 1: structure that has served this nation well. Unfortunately, today there
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  Speaker 1: are a lot of people out there who would like
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  Speaker 1: to see the Senate turn into a copy of the
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  Speaker 1: House of Representatives, and that mister President is not what
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  Speaker 1: our founders intended or what our country needs. And one
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  Speaker 1: of my priorities as leader will be to ensure that
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  Speaker 1: the Senate stays the Senate. That means preserving the legislative filibuster,
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  Speaker 1: the Senate rule that today is perhaps the greatest impact
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  Speaker 1: on preserving the founder's vision of the United States Senate.
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  Speaker 1: It also means restoring the Senate is a place of
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  Speaker 1: discussion and deliberation that includes empowering committees, restoring regular order,
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  Speaker 1: and engaging in extended debate on the Senate floor where
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  Speaker 1: all members should have a chance to make their voices
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  Speaker 1: and the voices of their constituents heard. We have a
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  Speaker 1: lot to do this Congress Order security, extending the tax
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  Speaker 1: relief Republicans delivered during the first Trump administration, lifting burdensome
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  Speaker 1: and expensive government regulations to help American businesses and families flourish,
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  Speaker 1: Providing for our nation's defense in an increasingly unstable world.
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  Speaker 1: Bringing appropriations bills to the floor for serious deliberations so
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  Speaker 1: that we make the best possible use of taxpayer dollars,
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  Speaker 1: and overdue Farm Bill to update farm programs for farmers
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  Speaker 1: and ranchers to reflect current agriculture needs. And miss President
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  Speaker 1: the list goes on. As President. In the past years,
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  Speaker 1: I've listen to speeches delivered by other leaders, welcome and
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  Speaker 1: members to the new Congress and discussing the agenda for
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  Speaker 1: the coming months. I now find myself in the position
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  Speaker 1: of delivering that speech. My Republican colleagues have trusted me
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  Speaker 1: to lead our party and the Senate in the next Congress,
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  Speaker 1: and I will work every day to be worthy of
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  Speaker 1: that trust. My philosophy of leadership comes from my dad.
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  Speaker 1: He was a basketball coach at our high school, and
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  Speaker 1: he had some very strong opinions about the right way
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  Speaker 1: to play sports. To him, was not about personal glory.
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  Speaker 1: It was about elevating the team. He hated ball hogs.
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  Speaker 1: If someone else was in a better position to take
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  Speaker 1: the shot, you always made the extra pass. You didn't
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  Speaker 1: try to pad your own statistics. It's an attitude which
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  Speaker 1: I've tried to carry with me throughout my life, and
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  Speaker 1: it's an attitude I intend to carry with me to
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  Speaker 1: the leader office. My job is to be of service
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  Speaker 1: to my colleagues and to our country. This president. I'm
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  Speaker 1: here today addressing the Senate in this role because of
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  Speaker 1: the confidence my colleges have placed in me. But I
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  Speaker 1: am here first of all because of the confidence placed
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  Speaker 1: in me by the people of South Dakota. Without the
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  Speaker 1: trust that they've given me, I would not have had
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity to serve at all, much less have had
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  Speaker 1: the opportunity to serve as the majority leader of the
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  Speaker 1: United States Senate. And my first priority here in Congress
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  Speaker 1: is always always to serve the people of my state
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  Speaker 1: as present. I grew up in a small town in
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  Speaker 1: South Dakota, the town of Myrtle, population today roughly around
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  Speaker 1: five hundred people. We didn't even have a traffic light
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  Speaker 1: when I was growing up there, and I wouldn't have
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  Speaker 1: had it any other way. Life and Murdo had a
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  Speaker 1: beautiful simplicity. Sure it had one or two drawbacks. With
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  Speaker 1: a population that small, Wethune kids could be sure that
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  Speaker 1: our parents would have heard all about any of our
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  Speaker 1: misdemeanors before we even made it home. But small town
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  Speaker 1: life was wonderful. And Myrtle, you know everyone and everyone
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  Speaker 1: knows you, and that gave us a sense of community
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  Speaker 1: and belonging that we carry to this day. I remember
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  Speaker 1: the day I told my mom that I was going
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  Speaker 1: to run for Congress She was excited, obviously and confidently
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  Speaker 1: told me, I know that you'll carry Murdo. In Murdo,
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  Speaker 1: I learned the character of South Dakotins, the work ethic,
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  Speaker 1: the commitment to freedom coupled with a belief and personal responsibility,
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  Speaker 1: the sense of responsibility to the broader community. Growing up,
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  Speaker 1: we knew that if a roof collapsed under the weight
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  Speaker 1: of snow, or a windstorm came through and wiped out
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  Speaker 1: a barn, or we lost or a friend or a
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  Speaker 1: family member, the whole community would rally to help. And
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  Speaker 1: that same attitude is reflected in towns across our state.
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  Speaker 1: The South Dakota values I learned growing up helped shape
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  Speaker 1: my political philosophy. My belief that government should be limited
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  Speaker 1: and that it's best when it's closest to the people,
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  Speaker 1: and that if a matter can be handled the state
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  Speaker 1: or the local level, it should be if the legacy
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  Speaker 1: of the past is something to be cherished and preserved,
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  Speaker 1: while leaving room for change and adaptation when needed. That
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  Speaker 1: freedom is a sacred gift and one that must be defended,
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  Speaker 1: and that with freedom comes responsibility. And finally, that while
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  Speaker 1: government is necessary, government is not where we should look
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  Speaker 1: for salvation. This President. None of us gets where we
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  Speaker 1: are alone. And I owe thanks to many people. To
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  Speaker 1: my parents, Pat and Harold, who give us, gave us
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  Speaker 1: thun kids, undying love and commitment, a strong set of values,
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  Speaker 1: and the most precious gift of all faith, to my
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  Speaker 1: brothers and sister, to my beloved wife Kimberly, who was
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  Speaker 1: here with me today. And let me say, mister President,
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  Speaker 1: that I'm married up. And I'm grateful every day for
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  Speaker 1: Kimberly's love and wisdom, her advice and support in her
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  Speaker 1: inl Liffe patience. It's not an easy thing to be
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  Speaker 1: married to a member of Congress. It's not an easy
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  Speaker 1: thing to have a member of Congress for a dad, either.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm grateful not only for my wife's enduring support,
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  Speaker 1: but for the support of my daughters Brittany and Larissa.
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  Speaker 1: They are here today in the Senate as well, with
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  Speaker 1: their husbands Luke and Scott, and with all of our
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  Speaker 1: grandchildren John Mark, Lucy, Henley, Hewitt, Haven and one yet
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  Speaker 1: to be named little one on the way, who have
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  Speaker 1: brought me and Kimberly an immense amount of joy. This President,
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  Speaker 1: not one of us is here. One of us here
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  Speaker 1: in Congress could last a day without our staffs. And
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  Speaker 1: so I want to thank all of those who spend
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  Speaker 1: and have spent long days and long nights in my
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  Speaker 1: office serving South Dakotins and the American people. Finally, mister President,
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  Speaker 1: I thank God, who has richly blessed me in every way,
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  Speaker 1: sells in the scriptures. From him and through him, and
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  Speaker 1: for him are all things. To him be the glory forever,
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  Speaker 1: Amen present, I yield the floor, assass