{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ContentRecord_id=06F48EC0-1EF8-4F37-AB39-63EC01F1E405", "On the Retirement of Senator Barbara Boxer", "2016-12-08", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "WY", "Michael Enzi", "E000285", "www.enzi.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Mr. President, at the end of each session of the Congress, we, the Senate, take a moment to express our appreciation and acknowledge the efforts of those members who will be retiring in just a few weeks.\u00a0 This year one of our colleagues who will be leaving the Congress to return home is Senator Barbara Boxer.\u00a0\r\nBarbara will be leaving us after a career of over 30 years in the House and Senate.\u00a0 During her service she has impressed all those with whom she has worked with the strength of her views, her courage and her determination to fight for those things in which she truly believes.\u00a0 Regardless of the circumstances that drew her into each legislative battle, she has always held true to the principles that have guided her in her life.\r\nFor Barbara, her early career work as a stockbroker soon found her heading to California with her husband after he had completed his work in Law School.\u00a0 She then got interested in politics and became a strong voice for the political views of the people who resided in the area they now called home.\u00a0 Her constituents liked what they heard from Barbara \u2013 and the way she expressed her views on the issues and proposals she wanted to work on.\u00a0\r\nHer style of speaking soon became her trademark in Congress.\u00a0 She has a convincing way of presenting her case and that\u2019s one reason why it was always good to be on her side.\u00a0 She calls it speaking \u201cextremely candid and straight from the shoulders, and not to be mealy-mouthed or waffle.\u201d\u00a0 Anyone who has had a chance to come to know her \u2013 or to tackle an issue either with her or opposed to her knows how accurate that description is.\r\nOver the years I have had the opportunity to fly on some flights West with Barbara.\u00a0 As we traveled along we had a chance to get to know each other and swap perspectives on our work in the Senate.\u00a0 As we would talk about the latest from back home and from the nation\u2019s capital it became very clear that there were some issues that we could discuss and work on with some thought about a compromise.\u00a0 For each of us, however, there were other issues that were of such importance to our constituents it would have been hard for either of us to move too far from the path that we had been following from our early days in politics.\r\nWe both have a strong touch of the West in our hearts that we express every day in everything we do.\u00a0 That is why I wasn\u2019t surprised when she mentioned as she spoke about her retirement that she felt that it was time for her to return home \u2013 as she said so well \u2013 \u201cto the state I love so much, California.\u201d\r\nDiana joins in sending our best wishes for your hard work and your dedication to the future of your home state.\u00a0 You left your mark here in the Congress during your years of service and I think it is safe to say you won\u2019t be forgotten.\u00a0 Thanks again for your willingness to serve and work so hard for what you believe in.\u00a0 You have helped to encourage and inspire the next generation of leaders from your state.\u00a0 In that way and so many others \u2013 you have made a difference.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.enzi.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ContentRecord_id=06F48EC0-1EF8-4F37-AB39-63EC01F1E405"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9686490520834923, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}