Pat Roberts says ‘adios amigos’ in farewell speech after 40 years in Congress
In a farewell speech on the Senate floor, Kansas Republican Sen. Pat Roberts traced his path from a boy from Holton, Kansas, to the longest-serving member of Congress in Kansas history.
Roberts referred to it as his “adios amigos” speech. He covered the broad range of his life and career, starting with joining his father, Wesley Roberts, at the 1952 Republican Convention for Kansas Republican Dwight Eisenhower’s nomination for president.
He touched on his multiple farm bills, leading an investigation on the intelligence failures took place in the lead-up to the Iraq War and on his collaboration with President Barack Obama’s administration to relocate the residents of Treece, Kansas after the 2009 discovery that the town’s soil was toxic.
He discussed his background as a staffer for Kansas Republican Sen. Frank Carlson and Kansas Republican Rep. Keith Sebelius before his run for the U.S. House to succeed Sebelius in the “Big First” district in 1980.
“Most sane candidates would not attempt to go door-to-door in a district larger than most states. However, with a lot of help, we won a tough primary and a not so tough general election— the first of 24 straight victories,” said Roberts, who made the jump from the House to Senate in 1996.
Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran recalled how he began his own political career as an intern in Sebelius’ office in the 1970s working under Roberts. “Pat has been my boss for 45 years,” Moran said in a speech honoring Roberts.
Moran said Roberts, 84, lived up to the oath he first took as a 22-year-old Marine to defend the Constitution.
Roberts said that as he clears out his office, “a veritable museum” of pictures and other items he’s amassed during decades on Capitol Hill, one of few items that remains on the wall is his Marine Corps bumper sticker.
“To err is human. To forgive is divine. Neither is Marine Corps policy,” Roberts said.
“Marines never give up. We take the hill and the discipline and focus I learned in the Marine Corps never failed me in my toughest battles here.”
But while Roberts remembered the battles over legislation, one of the major themes of his speech was his hope that bipartisanship can return to the Senate. He reflected on his long-time partnership with Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow on agriculture issues.
“We not only agreed to work together, we gave staff marching orders to do the same. We also became friends. I protected her. She protected me… And we got 87 votes, setting the record for a farm bill,” Roberts said about their collaboration on the 2018 Farm Bill.
“I was trying for 90,” he added.
In a tribute speech, Stabenow called Roberts an institution, noting that he is the only person to chair both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. She joked that he had advised George Washington on farm policy.
“That might be a bit of an exaggeration,” she said. “He has left a lasting impression on farm and food policy… And those who have lucky to work beside Pat on the Agriculture Committee— there’s no other place like it— it’s a place where we leave politics at the door and focus on how we can improve people’s lives and livelihoods in rural America.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, offered his own tribute to Roberts, recalling how they became friends in the U.S. House by playing basketball.
“He set the best picks of anybody. He would quietly sneak up on you. You would be dribbling and moving, and, boom,” Schumer recalled. “But as good he was at picks, he was very fine at legislating and he’s just a fine human being.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 12:07 PM.
