WASHINGTON -- Delivering his farewell speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor on Monday urged Congress to work together for the American people.
"The biggest and most serious problem facing our nation today is the dysfunction in our political system in Washington," Pryor said. "America has incredible potential, but we cannot reach it unless Washington starts to work again, for all of us."
Speaking for about 10 minutes, the Democrat from Little Rock thanked the people of Arkansas for letting him serve, the staff who kept his office and the Senate operating, and even the janitors and maintenance workers who keep up the U.S. Capitol.
A dozen Senators sat in the chamber as Pryor spoke, and several of his staff members sat on cushioned benches along two walls of the chamber.
Watching from the gallery were his girlfriend, Joi Whitfield, his brother David, his sister-in-law Judith, as well as old friends and former staff members. Pryor said his parents, David and Barbara Pryor, watched the speech on CSPAN from Arkansas.
Monday's speech was expected to be Pryor's last formal speech on the Senate floor. Pryor lost in November by 17.1 percent after a bruising 14 month campaign against U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton that inundated the airwaves with attack ads and cost millions.
The House and Senate are scheduled to wrap up their work and leave Thursday, though Senate leaders have said the Senate may stay longer to consider pending nominations.
More than 60 House and Senate members are not returning in January, after losing or not seeking reelection.
Last week, retiring House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich. and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., all delivered farewell speeches.
Nearly 25 years after first being elected to public office, Pryor is preparing to go home. He said he doesn't yet know what he plans to do next except for taking a few months off, but that he plans to live in Arkansas.
Pryor was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1990 and became the state's attorney general in 1998. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002.
"Serving in the United States Senate has been the greatest honor of my life. It truly has been. I have loved it and always done it with a cheerful heart," Pryor said. "As I go back to my beloved Arkansas, I have to thank the people of Arkansas for allowing me to work for you. But, I must confess, I will miss waking up every morning and thinking, 'How can I make a difference for Arkansas and America today?'"
Standing below the words "In God We Trust" carved into the marble above a Senate chamber door, Pryor repeatedly cited his faith, reminding his colleagues that both Abraham Lincoln and Jesus maintained that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" and urging them to forgive one another and treat each-other the way they want to be treated.
"Jesus was right then and he is right now," Pryor said. "Good government is good politics and, although there are short-term gains to be had by political division, the long term consequences are bad for the country. It is time for the giants of the Senate to emerge."
Before and after Pryor spoke, his Senate colleagues rose to praise his faith and bipartisanship.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., co-chairman of the National Prayer Breakfast with Pryor, twice called him "one of the best people I've ever served with in the United States Senate. He's a man of faith, integrity, his ego is under control [which is] not always so around this place."
Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he knew when approaching Pryor about a tough vote that the senator would vote based on what was best for Arkansas, not what was best for Democrats.
Arkansas' other U.S. Sen. John Boozman missed Pryor's goodbye speech. The two Senators are known for working closely together and the Rogers Republican said Monday evening he planned to speak about Pryor on the Senate floor later in the week.
Boozman's wife, Kathy Boozman, his daughter and son-in-law all watched Pryor speak from the Senate gallery.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Pryor's public service should be marked by the bipartisan work he did to end the 2013 government shutdown and to stop a 2005 showdown over judicial nominations in the Senate.
"Sen. Mark Pryor has established a strong reputation as a voice of reason," Collins said. "Sen. Pryor has proven over and over again that bipartisanship works."
Collins said it is typical of Pryor to have focused his final speech on working together.
"Rather than talking about all of his accomplishments, he instead is beseeching the Senate to work together in the interest of all Americans whether we are Democrats, Republicans, independents, Greens or not affiliated with any party," Collins said.
Metro on 12/09/2014