'An Icon': Debbie Stabenow Remembers The Late Sen. Dianne Feinstein As She Lies In State

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Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) remembers the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on the Senate floor.

Transcript

00:00 Senator from Michigan.

00:01 Thank you.

00:02 First, let me just say amen to my friend and colleague from Arizona.

00:07 I would ask first unanimous consent that following my remarks, Senator Schmidt be permitted to

00:13 speak for five minutes and Senator Cardin be permitted to speak for five minutes prior

00:17 to the scheduled votes.

00:20 Thank you so much.

00:22 Mr. President, as our dear colleague, Senator Dianne Feinstein is lying in state in San

00:30 Francisco today, the home where her leadership started for us and for the country.

00:35 And as we prepare to remember her tomorrow and a special celebration of her life, I rise

00:42 to pay tribute.

00:45 Tribute to an incredible leader and my dear friend who dedicated her life to serving the

00:52 people of California and the nation.

00:56 Perhaps leader isn't strong enough.

00:59 It's not a strong enough word.

01:01 She wasn't just a leader.

01:03 She was an American icon.

01:06 She inspired generations of women to stand up and suit up and push our way into the halls

01:13 of power that weren't particularly welcoming.

01:18 Like so many of us, she started in local government.

01:22 Unlike many of us, her rise was sparked by tragedy.

01:27 As president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, it was her job to announce the

01:34 horrific assassination of Mayor George Mascone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

01:46 She was heartbroken, but she was also calm.

01:50 She was determined and she vowed that her grieving city would recover and rebuild.

01:56 And she was a crucial part of that rebuilding, serving as mayor for nine years.

02:02 In 1990, she ran for governor and lost and she picked herself back up and said she wasn't

02:09 done serving her state and in 1992, she ran for the Senate and won, joining five other

02:18 groundbreaking women who changed the face of this institution forever.

02:24 Keep in mind that before 1992, there were no women's restrooms, Mr. President, anywhere

02:30 near the Senate chamber.

02:31 This is actually something we all noticed.

02:36 Through sheer determination and a lot of hard work, she rose to become the highest ranking

02:42 Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence

02:48 Committee.

02:49 Through her leadership, she left her mark on this institution over and over again in

02:57 so many ways.

03:00 She was a fierce and courageous advocate for common sense gun laws, as our presiding officer

03:07 is as well, including the 1994 assault weapons ban signed into law by President Clinton.

03:17 That legislation alone saved so many lives from gun violence during the 10 years that

03:24 it was law.

03:25 I so wish that it had been able to be continued permanently.

03:32 And she stood up for American values when she led the years-long investigation into

03:37 allegations that the CIA had used torture against terrorism suspects.

03:45 Despite CIA and White House objections, Senator Feinstein courageously chose to publicly release

03:55 what is known as the torture report.

03:59 It was such a historic moment that it was even turned into a major motion picture, starring

04:04 Adam Driver and Annette Bening as Senator Feinstein.

04:09 I'll never forget sitting in this chamber behind Senator Feinstein to show support for

04:17 her courage that day.

04:21 She spoke to the American people about the horrific details outlined in this report.

04:27 Senator John McCain, who understood the horrors of torture more than anyone, commended Senator

04:33 Feinstein and her staff for the report and added this, "Our enemies act without conscience.

04:41 We must not."

04:44 This executive summary of the committee's report makes clear that acting without conscience

04:50 isn't necessary.

04:52 It's not even helpful in winning this strange and long war we're fighting.

04:59 We should be grateful to have that truth affirmed.

05:05 In response to the report, Senator Feinstein and Senator McCain's anti-torture amendment

05:10 was included in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act.

05:17 The amendment restricted interrogation techniques to those authorized in the Army Field Manual

05:22 and required that the International Committee of the Red Cross have access to detainees

05:28 in U.S. government custody, a law that stands today.

05:35 Senator Feinstein was also a tireless champion for women, including the Violence Against

05:41 Women Act, legislation to fight human trafficking, and our freedom to make our own reproductive

05:49 health decisions.

05:52 She was a leading voice for decades on behalf of our LGBTQ+ friends and neighbors.

06:00 And she fought to protect California's forests and water infrastructure.

06:06 Beyond her many, many accomplishments, she was also my friend, and I so enjoyed hearing

06:13 the stories from colleagues in the last number of days about her.

06:18 Yes, Mr. President, I too have a seersucker suit that she bought for each of us to make

06:25 sure that the women of the Senate could participate in Seersucker Suit Day.

06:30 Yes, I also have a piece of art.

06:34 In addition to watercolors, she drew beautiful pictures with colored pencils, and I'm so

06:41 honored to have one of those hanging in my house.

06:44 Yes, Diane was also used to saying, "Are you staying in D.C. this weekend?

06:50 Why don't you come over for dinner?"

06:55 And I was grateful for the times I was able to join her.

07:00 Diane was always giving people, particularly all of us as women, items of hers that we

07:09 admired.

07:10 We had to be careful what we were admiring or we would end up getting one.

07:16 One day I got the opportunity to return the favor, Mr. President, in a very small way.

07:22 We were on the floor, and Diane said to me, "I love your lipstick, the color of your lipstick.

07:27 Where did you get it?"

07:29 And I thought, "Aha!

07:32 This is a moment for me to give Diane something as small as it was."

07:37 So I came in a couple of days later with a package with several of the lipsticks she

07:44 had admired, and the smile on her face was priceless.

07:50 And she said, "You don't have to do that."

07:52 And I said, "Yes, I do.

07:54 You do so much for us every day.

07:55 This is just a small token I can give in return."

08:01 Senator Feinstein once said this, "Women have begun to see that if I go through the doorway,

08:07 I will take everybody through it."

08:14 Today I'm remembering my friend for all the barriers she broke, the glass ceilings she

08:19 shattered, the doors she helped open so that so many others could follow.

08:27 May her memory be a blessing to her family, the people of California, and all of us who

08:34 are feeling her loss.

08:36 Thank you, Mr. President.

08:38 I yield the floor.

08:39 (water splashing)

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