See Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s full farewell remarks above.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Nearing the top of a 24-year time period, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow on Wednesday mirrored on her a long time in public service and bid farewell to her colleagues and constituents.
“Michigan, you will always be in my heart,” she mentioned.
She referred to as her speech on the Senate ground “bittersweet.”
“I am filled with so much gratitude and respect as I think back over my years of public service. And I’m thinking about the incredible number of people who have supported me and contributed in so many ways to my success, from my family, my staff, my colleagues and of course, the people of Michigan who put their trust in me for over 50 years,” she mentioned, joking, “I started when I was 5.”
She cited her time as an Ingham County commissioner (a job she bought at age 24), within the Michigan Legislature after which her 4 phrases within the U.S. Senate.
Stabenow, a Democrat, was first elected to the Senate in 2000. As the highest Democrat within the Senate Agriculture Committee, she has been key in crafting the essential Farm Invoice. In her farewell speech, she additionally mentioned her efforts to advocate for maternity and psychological well being care, her work to guard the Nice Lakes, her help of the Michigan automotive trade and extra.
“I like to say that I stood up every day to fight for Michigan,” she mentioned.
Acknowledging the nation’s stark political division, she referred to as on her colleagues to search for factors of commonality to work collectively, enhance individuals’s lives and “be the America we want to be.”
“Debbie, we love you. You’ve been a great senator. We’ll miss you,” Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., mentioned in asserting Stabenow for her speech.
He and different colleagues clapped and provided hugs after she completed talking.
In a Wednesday assertion, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, referred to as Stabenow a pal and praised her for “always put(ting) the people of Michigan first.”
“Over her a long time of service to our state, she bought a lot executed. She fought for union staff and household farmers. She tackled air pollution in our water and elevated entry to psychological well being companies. Her influence can be felt for many years to come back as we proceed shifting Michigan ahead.
“Alongside the best way, she blazed trails too. As the primary girl elected to characterize Michigan within the U.S. Senate, she was a task mannequin for therefore many leaders, together with me. In Washington, she all the time led by working throughout the aisle, particularly as chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, the place she delivered sturdy, bipartisan farm payments.
“As a Michigander, I am so grateful to have called Debbie Stabenow my senator, and as a person, I’ve been lucky to call her a friend. She truly is a one of a kind. I look forward to working with her through her very last day in the Senate.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
“I am very cognizant of the fact that … I will be stepping into the shoes of one really amazing leader, my dear friend and mentor, Sen. Debbie Stabenow,” Slotkin mentioned in November. “Sen. Stabenow is pure Michigan and she has quite literally dedicated her life to public service and serving at the local, state and federal level.”
Stabenow mentioned in her farewell speech that Slotkin has “the heart and the talent for this job, and will do great things for our state and our country.”
