releases: https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=69369a84-7813-4687-8fa3-5943d5655f8c
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=69369a84-7813-4687-8fa3-5943d5655f8c | FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON RETIRING SENATOR MIKE JOHANNS | 2014-12-09 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | AZ | John McCain | M000303 | www.mccain.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the following statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate today thanking Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) for his more than 30 years of public service and wishing him success upon his retirement at the end of this term: “MR. PRESIDENT: “I come to the Floor today to praise the public service of, and bid farewell to, my friend and valued colleague from Nebraska, Senator Mike Johanns. “With my remarks today, I celebrate not just Mike’s last six years in the United States Senate but also his 30-plus years in public service that will culminate with the end of this term. “At the highest levels of government, in both the legislative and executive branches, Mike’s life of public service has been punctuated by great accomplishment. From the Lancaster County Board in Nebraska to the Lincoln City Council, from his service as Mayor of Lincoln to his service as the 38th Governor of Nebraska, from his service 28th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and throughout his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Mike has demonstrated a commitment to those with muted voices in our political system—including, small business owners, veterans, those impaired by mental illness and, most certainly, America’s farmers and ranchers. “In the Senate, Mike’s leadership in bipartisan efforts to repeal purposeless tax-reporting requirements in Obamacare, his championing new trade agreements and his contribution to the development and final passage of a new farm bill this year all describe a strong conservative legislator—committed to stimulating economic growth through reduced government spending, lower tax rates, and reduced regulatory burdens on American business. “I have appreciated Mike’s partnership on key legislation, including his joining me to cosponsor the bipartisan “Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act of 2009”. During the 112th Congress, we were both cosponsors of the “Foreign Earnings Reinvestment Act”, a bipartisan effort to let corporations reinvest earnings kept overseas by our high corporate tax rates back into the American economy. “I was also proud to join Mike as an original cosponsor of his bill, the “Two-Year Regulatory Freeze Act of 2011”, which sought to give the American economy a much-needed reprieve to burdensome and confusing federal regulations that frequently hinder economic growth. Mike was also an original cosponsor of my bill, S.1720, the “Jobs Through Growth Act”, which included numerous crucial tax code and regulatory reforms aimed at reducing government policies that hinder growth. While this legislation did not pass, I appreciated Mike’s support. “I am also grateful that Mike joined me in sponsoring legislation to help replenish the Forest Service's aging air-tanker fleet. A decade ago, the Forest Service had roughly 40 large air-tankers to fight wildfires that burn millions of acres of land across Western states, including Nebraska and Arizona. Today, they own about eight large air-tankers. Mike and I saw an opportunity to transfer several excess Department of Defense aircraft to the Forest Service to temporarily address this shortage, and our bill was incorporated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act last year. “While Mike and I have had our disagreements along the way, I've always respected his knowledge and experience as a farmer, a foreign trade expert, and the nation's former Agriculture Secretary. Also, I'm proud of the areas where we agree—reigning-in certain farm subsidy programs, advocating for free trade agreements with Columbia, Panama, and South Korea, and even working together to kill the proposed USDA Catfish Office, a little-known $15 million program inside the last Farm Bill that we both highlighted as wasting taxpayer money and (from a trade perspective) negatively impacting our cattlemen and soy farmers. We also agree on the need to help returning veterans seeking to reenter the workforce as beginning farmers, an effort he championed in our last Farm Bill. And I've long applauded Mike for calling on Congress to pass laws to stop farm subsidies from going to millionaires while he was a sitting Secretary of Agriculture. “Just as much as I respect the substance of Mike’s accomplishments in public service, I have valued how he has achieved them. With a quiet, purposeful dignity. And, indeed, a vibrant sense of humor. Mike has never been opposed to bipartisan cooperation whenever it’s needed to further the interests of his constituents or the greater nation. For these reasons, Mike’s approach to governance and legislating has earned him the respect of colleagues and constituents across the political continuum. It should also serve as an example to all of us in this august body who remain behind. “In an email Mike wrote to his friends last February announcing his decision not to seek reelection in 2014, Mike wrote, “With everything in life, there is a time and a season”. Well, to my friend and valued colleague, Mike Johanns, I bid fair winds and following seas in all that he, and his lovely wife Stephanie, do. And, I thank him for his service and for his friendship. “Thank you, Mr. President.” ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |