“He was, by any measure, one of the most consequential Vice Presidents our nation ever had. Dick helped guide the course of history in Wyoming, in America, and around the world. We will always remember Dick Cheney as a son of Wyoming.”

 

Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Senate Majority Whip, today spoke on the Senate Floor honoring the legacy of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Sen. Barrasso’s remarks as prepared:

“I come to the floor today to remember Vice President Dick Cheney.

“Tributes are pouring in from Wyoming, from across the nation, and from around the world.

“Dick Cheney’s career was extraordinary.

“He rose from modest beginnings to serve this nation in four different presidential administrations.

“He was the youngest White House Chief of Staff in American history.

“He represented Wyoming for ten years in the House of Representatives.

“He served as Secretary of Defense for this nation at a moment of dramatic global change.

“He was, by any measure, one of the most consequential Vice Presidents our nation ever had.

“Dick helped guide the course of history in Wyoming, in America, and around the world.

“We’re always going to remember Dick Cheney as a son of Wyoming.

“He was a political giant in my home state. He was plainspoken, he was direct, and he was steady in purpose.

“Senator Al Simpson once said that Dick was ‘big-time, make-things-work kind of a guy.’

“And, that’s exactly right.

“Dick grew up in Casper, Wyoming.

“He was a football star at Natrona County High School and the field there – the High School field – still bears his name.

“He worked as a powerline man in Rock Springs, Wyoming, earning $3 an hour.

“He got his start in politics in the 1960s as an intern in the Wyoming State Senate.

“He went on to Washington.

“He served President Gerald Ford as the White House Chief of Staff.

“He’s still, as I say, the youngest person in history to hold that position.

“When Art Laffer sketched out the legendary Laffer Curve on a cocktail napkin, talking about economics, it was Dick Cheney’s napkin!

“Dick was at the center of our nation’s history in so many ways.

“After the Ford Administration, Dick came home to Casper.

“He ran for Congress.

“And, he won that seat six times in a row.

“In Congress, he fought for lower taxes, he fought for Second Amendment rights,
and for preserving our state’s natural beauty.

“Dick rose to become the Whip of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives.

“That made him the second Republican Whip in Congress from Wyoming.

“Senator Al Simpson was chosen to be the Senate Republican Whip just a few years earlier.

“When George Herbert Walker Bush became president, he chose Congressman Dick Cheney to serve as Secretary of Defense.

“The Senate confirmed him unanimously – 92 to nothing. Don’t see anything like that happening around this place today.

“In four transformative years, he oversaw victory in Desert Storm, he guided America through the peaceful end of the Cold War, he helped shape America’s role as the world’s only superpower.

“A decade later, he became Vice President of the United States.

“He liked to joke that he personally delivered Wyoming’s three electoral votes. In an election decided by one vote in the Electoral College, those three votes from Wyoming mattered.

“After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Dick’s calm, steady leadership reassured Americans
in one of our darkest hours.

“Dick’s values were the values of Wyoming, enshrined in the Cowboy Code.

“Live each day with courage, take pride in your work, and do what needs to be done.

“That was Dick Cheney.

“And, that is how he lived.

“Some of our Founders questioned whether America ever needed a Vice President.

“Benjamin Franklin joked that the title for the Vice President, he said, would be ‘Your Superfluous Excellency.’

“Had Franklin met Dick Cheney, he would have changed his mind.

“Vice President Cheney was anything but superfluous.

“He shaped history. He steadied nations. He stood for a stronger, safer America and a freer world.

“As Vice President, Dick held the title of President of the Senate.

“In that capacity, he presided over our chamber. His eight tie-breaking votes on the floor of the Senate were cast at decisive moments in our history.

“In 2001, he cast the tie-breaking vote on the budget resolution that paved the way for generational tax relief for American families.

“Dick never treated this office as ceremonial. He was hands-on and deeply engaged in governing.

“A bust of Vice President Cheney now rests in the Senate Wing of the Capitol. It marks not only the office he held. It memorializes the values that he lived.

“A son of Wyoming. A defender of freedom. An American original.

“We remember Dick Cheney as he lived – steady in purpose, firm in conviction, loyal to his country, and unafraid to do what he believed was right.

“My prayers are with Lynne, with Liz and Mary, with their grandchildren as they celebrate the life of an incredible man.

“May he rest in peace.”