North Carolina loses 81 combined years of congressional experience as three retire

Sen. Richard Burr wasn’t wearing socks when he gave his farewell speech on the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon.

Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem, is known for his bare ankles, driving his 1974 Volkswagen known as “The Thing” and his ability to dodge the media — even if that means climbing out a window of the Capitol complex.

While his colleagues ribbed Burr for all of those things, they also memorialized his time in Congress, working on the Intelligence Committee, spearheading efforts to combat deadly viruses and helping veterans and the disabled.

“I think all of get into this life in the hope that one day we can leave Congress knowing that we’ve done something to make life better for our fellow Americans,” said Republican Whip John Thune. “Richard can leave Congress with that assurance.”

Burr’s retirement from the U.S. Senate this month means North Carolina loses nearly three decades of expertise. And with the additional retirements of U.S. Reps. David Price and G.K. Butterfield, the state loses a combined 81 years.

Burr highlighted some of the devastation the three of them have experienced in their collective time helping to lead the country. Among those he listed off were three impeachments, 9/11, anthrax, the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, Ebola, the financial crisis of 2009 and COVID-19.

All three of the men announced they would not seek reelection ahead of the 2022 election.

House retirements

Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat from Charlotte, recognized Butterfield and Price’s retirements Wednesday morning on the House floor.

“True statesmen, Butterfield and Price have been invaluable members of Congress and have served with incredible distinction,” Adams said. “Well respected, admired, and loved by colleagues here in Congress, and revered by citizens back home, they each have made their life’s work all about service.”

Adams highlighted both men as intellectuals and leaders of their communities who’ve “interrupted injustice and ignorance.”

Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson, plans to return to the private sector, his chief of staff, Kyle Parker, told The News & Observer. He offered no other details, but Politico reported Butterfield will begin lobbying under the firm McGuireWoods. McGuireWoods did not respond to an email asking for confirmation.

Price, a Democrat from Chapel Hill, plans to return to Duke University to teach in the Sanford School of Public Policy, his spokeswoman Jennifer Putney told McClatchy last month. Exact details about his plans remain unavailable, Putney added Wednesday.

As of Wednesday, neither have announced plans to give a farewell address.

Burr address

Around 200 people filled the Senate floor and its gallery to listen to Burr bid farewell.

“This is an opportunity to thank my friends, colleagues and the voters of North Carolina who have supported me for 28 years, through eight elections, for the opportunity and the ability to make a difference for my state and my country,” Burr said.

He said 30 years earlier, he was a businessman with a happy family living in Winston-Salem when he felt the country wasn’t heading in the right direction. He decided to run for Congress, but lost his initial campaign. Two years later he tried again, won a House seat and has won every election since.

“Being one out of 435 members has a sobering impact,” Burr told his audience. “For many, our new committee assignments taught us that we weren’t quite as smart as we thought. Winning elections was hard. Thoughtful policy making was even harder.”

He gave seven pieces of advice to the colleagues he was leaving behind:

• Thank your family;

• Thank your staff;

• Consistently remind yourself why you came to serve;

• Only do things that have meaningful purpose;

• Remember the founders expected Congress to be visionary;

• Nobody wins in impeachment;

• Principle is important, but flexibility is essential.

Burr added that Americans need to be unleashed to solve today’s problems.

“America’s full of bright and intelligent men and women of all ages, who are creative at finding solutions and forging new paths,” Burr said. “We need these folks in the United States Senate and I’m glad that I’ve had the chance to serve with some who will now continue to carry on the great efforts for years to come.”

Burr’s legacy

Burr’s colleagues in the Senate spoke about him, too.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell kicked off the floor speeches a day earlier calling Burr a quiet, patriotic and unflashy man, who didn’t feel the need to go on press tours to garner attention.

It was McConnell who recalled when Burr “shimmied” out of a window in the Russell building, dry cleaning in hand, to avoid the press on his walk to the nearest exit in the Dirksen building, during a time of sequestration that left fewer exits than normal open in the Capitol complex.

“Rather than extending his commute, he found the lowest window around, grabbed his dry cleaning, shimmied out and hopped right down to the sidewalk,” McConnell said.

Building on those comments Wednesday, Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said that most members of Congress like talking to the press but that was never on Burr’s list.

“I’ve never seen anyone manage to, with complete politeness, give more non-answers in the hall with the press pool following behind him,” Warner said. “That’s because he’s all about the work.”

McConnell pointed out a bracelet that Burr has worn on his wrist since 2009, a gift from the Carver family who lost their son in combat. McConnell read a letter Burr wrote to the Carvers not long after he met them in Asheville.

“Your son’s unrelenting courage and zeal for life is what I will remember when I look at his name on my wrist,” Burr wrote to the couple. “Rest assured I will wear this bracelet forever.”

McConnell called the gesture quiet and unheralded, but with a huge ripple effect.

In speeches, many remembered Burr for his work helping veterans, be that with the Veterans Choice Act of 2014 or with the recently passed PACT Act, which included a provision to help veterans stationed at Camp Lejuene who were exposed to toxic water.

Burr chaired the Intellegence Committee for five years, McConnell said, because his colleagues knew his thoughtfulness, fair-mindedness and discretion tailor-made him for the role to handle some of the institution’s most sensitive and critical responsibilities.

He credited Burr for spearheading reforms at the Food and Drug Administration, helping with pandemic preparedness, advancing disability causes, reaching across the aisle to help victims of hate crimes, saving students and families nearly $100 billion in loan payments by changing interest rate calculations and helping tobacco farmers transition to a freer market.

But he also picked on the senator, saying that for those who don’t know Burr, he can seem like a walking contradiction.

McConnell highlighted that in high school Burr was a standout football player and a science fair winner.

He called him impeccably dressed, but also said he drives around in his rickety Volkswagen.

“I think our departed friend, John McCain, called it ‘an insult to the senses,’” McConnell said.

Warner asked Burr to leave it parked in a garage on the Capitol campus in perpetuity.

North Carolina

Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, also spoke on the Senate floor about his friendship with Burr.

He highlighted Burr for his patience, persistence and practicality.

Tillis said he had a tendency to get a little sappy when a friend leaves but wanted to keep former House Speaker John Boehner at the top of the leaderboard for criers.

It didn’t work.

Because as Tillis said that he’s learned a lot from Burr and he’s going to miss him, the catch in his voice was obvious.

“With respect to John Boehner,” Tillis began, now full of emotion, “I’m going to have your friendship for the rest of my life.”

The two men from North Carolina, Burr wearing a Carolina blue tie and Tillis wearing a tie closer to Duke’s colors, walked over to each other, grabbed each other by the hand and slapped their opposite hand onto each others’ backs, pulling each other into a hug.

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