We’re [at the end] of what is known as “March Madness.”
I’m not talking about budget reconciliation or tax season. I’m here to congratulate and say thank you to our outstanding student athletes who have competed their hearts out on the court and on the mat these last few weeks.
First, I want to pay tribute to our Iowa teams who made it into the NCAA Division I basketball tournament.
That includes the Iowa State University women and men’s teams; the University of Iowa women’s team; and the men’s team at Drake University in Des Moines.
Division I wrestlers from the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones and my alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), competed [last] month in Philadelphia.
I want to congratulate two teams from my home state who won their respective collegiate championships.
In the NCAA Division III Wrestling National Championship, the Knights from Wartburg College returned from Rhode Island as co-champions and their 16th national title, the most in Division III history.
And the women’s basketball team at Dordt University in Sioux Center returned to the NAIA National Championship held in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Dordt Defenders defended their title and are back-to-back champions.
Sports bring communities together, from one generation to the next.
As loyal UNI Panthers fans and proud boosters for our Dike-New Hartford athletics, Barbara and I would say that sports are like glue that sticks, a refreshing antidote in these polarizing times.
Another point to make, which I think I’ve made once or twice before – remember last December? We got to December and didn’t pass twelve appropriation bills. We didn’t pass a Farm Bill. We didn’t debate the [National Defense] authorization bill. We didn’t solve the high prescription drug prices – and about 65 senators backed bills doing that.
So, I want to remind my colleagues that there are fourteen Fridays between now and the end of this fiscal year on September 30.
And we ought to think about [whether] we want another December without doing twelve appropriation bills, without doing a Farm Bill, doing the DoD authorization bill, without a debate in the Senate and not do anything about high prescription drug prices.
Now’s the time to start thinking about whether a two- or three-day working week in the United States Senate is enough time to do all this important stuff.
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