[Senate Document 105-33]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress, 2nd Session  - - - - - - - - - - Senate Document 105-33


 
                            Dirk Kempthorne

                        U.S. SENATOR FROM IDAHO

                                TRIBUTES



                           IN THE CONGRESS OF
                           THE UNITED STATES





                                                         S. Doc. 105-33

                                      Tributes

                                Delivered in Congress


                                   Dirk Kempthorne

                                United States Senator

                                      1992-1998

                                         ---


                           Compiled  under the  direction

                                       of the

                              Secretary of  the  Senate

                                       by the

                     Office of  Printing  and Document Services



                                      CONTENTS

             Biography............................................. vii
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Abraham, Spencer, of Michigan..................  14
                    Boxer, Barbara, of California..................  21
                    Burns, Conrad R., of Montana...................   4
                    Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............  20
                    Daschle, Thomas A., of South Dakota............   9
                    Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............   8
                    Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............  14
                    Ford, Wendell H., of Kentucky..................   6
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan...................... 1, 3
                    Lott, Trent, of Mississippi....................  15
                    Nickles, Don, of Oklahoma......................   1
                    Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................  13
                    Thurmond, Strom, of South Carolina.............   2
                Farewell address of Senator Dirk Kempthorne........  22
                Order for printing of individual Senate documents..  25
             Articles and Editorials:
                Senator Wants To Come Home; Kempthorne Stands by 
                  Record in Governor Quest, Spokesman-Review.......  29
                Quiet Ambition; From Boise to Washington, DC, Dirk 
                  Kempthorne's Easygoing Style Has Served Him Well 
                  in Political Contests, Spokesman-Review..........  30


                                      BIOGRAPHY

               Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-ID) has made his mark as a 
             legislator in his first term in the U.S. Senate. Singled 
             out by former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole as ``one of 
             the Senate's rising young stars,'' Kempthorne has authored 
             and passed two major pieces of legislation in the 104th 
             Congress. First elected in November 1992, the former mayor 
             of Boise, ID, has quickly established himself as a 
             thoughtful, determined and caring legislator.
               In the 104th Congress, Kempthorne's bill to end unfunded 
             Federal mandates on State and local governments and his 
             revision of the Safe Drinking Water Act showed how 
             Kempthorne can write, negotiate and win passage of 
             meaningful bipartisan legislation. Both bills were 
             overwhelmingly passed by both Houses of Congress, and both 
             were signed into law.
               His first bill, the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, became 
             Senate Bill 1 in the 104th Congress. It became law on 
             March 22, 1995 at a Rose Garden signing ceremony. The 
             success of S. 1 culminated a crusade by Kempthorne to win 
             relief from costly Federal burdens on States, cities, 
             counties, schools and businesses. Kempthorne brought 
             together a coalition of the Nation's Governors, mayors, 
             county officials, school boards, State legislators and 
             hundreds of private sector companies employing millions of 
             people. Despite their common concerns, many of those 
             groups had never worked together. Kempthorne involved them 
             in the legislative process, and the teamwork helped win 
             passage of S. 1 by overwhelming margins in both the Senate 
             and House.
               Kempthorne is the most junior Senator to author, manage, 
             and win passage of a bill designated as Senate Bill 1 
             since World War II. He also is the first Idaho Senator to 
             ever have a bill designated as S. 1, and he not only 
             managed 2 weeks of 12-hours-a-day debate in the Senate, 
             but he chaired the Senate-House conference committee that 
             worked out differences between the Senate and House 
             versions of the bill. His involvement is unprecedented, 
             since he does not serve on either of the Senate committees 
             with jurisdiction for such a measure.
               As chairman of the Drinking Water, Fisheries and 
             Wildlife Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works 
             Committee, Senator Kempthorne authored the 1996 Safe 
             Drinking Water Act. The bill was signed at a White House 
             East Room ceremony on August 6, 1996.
               Kempthorne's Safe Drinking Water Act utilized many of 
             the coalition members brought together to pass S. 1. He 
             also consulted with water providers, scientists, public 
             health experts and environmental advocates to craft a 
             bipartisan bill that passed unanimously in the Senate. The 
             new law protects public health and safety while giving 
             local communities and water systems the flexibility to 
             meet local needs and conditions.
               As chairman, Kempthorne will also be responsible for 
             rewriting and improving the Endangered Species Act.
               Kempthorne serves on the Armed Services Committee, where 
             he chairs the Personnel Subcommittee, responsible for 
             quality of life and family issues, promotions and 
             personnel practices of our armed forces. Kempthorne has 
             also been given the responsibility to chair the Strategic 
             Forces Subcommittee dealing with defense-related energy 
             issues. The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory near 
             Idaho Falls is one Department of Energy facility which 
             falls under the subcommittee's duties. Kempthorne's 
             service on Armed Services also allows him to monitor and 
             promote defense readiness issues at Mountain Home Air 
             Force Base. The Senator is a member of the United States 
             Air Force Academy Board of Visitors, the board of trustees 
             which oversees the Academy.
               Senator Kempthorne is also a member of the Senate Small 
             Business Committee. Small businesses comprise nearly 60 
             percent of Idaho's companies, employing almost 90 percent 
             of the workforce.
               Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Dirk 
             Kempthorne served as Boise's 43rd mayor. He was elected to 
             his first term in 1985, and won reelection without 
             opposition in 1989. It marked the first time in 30 years a 
             Boise mayor ran unopposed in a city election. Kempthorne's 
             7 years as the chief executive of Idaho's capital city 
             were highlighted by unprecedented employment, prosperity 
             and construction, revitalization of both the 
             infrastructure and community spirit, and national 
             recognition for the city's renaissance.
               Leadership in consensus building, encouraging citizen 
             involvement and participation, communication and trust 
             were the keystones of the Kempthorne administration. That 
             philosophy continues in his term in the Senate.
               The Senator believes in staying close to the people of 
             Idaho, and he maintains eight offices around the State.
               Dirk Kempthorne is a 1975 graduate of the University of 
             Idaho, earning a degree in political science. He was 
             elected Student Body President his junior year.
               Dirk Kempthorne was born in 1951. He and his wife 
             Patricia are the parents of two teenagers, Heather and 
             Jeff.


                                      TRIBUTES

                                         to

                                   DIRK KEMPTHORNE


                              Proceedings in the Senate

                                                Thursday, May 14, 1998.
               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, this is also the final defense 
             authorization bill for three other members of our 
             committee--Senators Glenn, Coats and Kempthorne. They will 
             be leaving us this year, also through their choice. We 
             will miss them keenly. They have all made tremendous 
             contributions to the work of the Armed Services Committee 
             and to the national security of our country. Sometimes 
             their ways were similar and sometimes they were different, 
             but we are grateful for their contributions. I wanted to 
             note that as we get to work on the defense authorization 
             bill.

                                             Thursday, October 8, 1998.
               Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, it is almost kind of sad in 
             a way to think that Dirk Kempthorne will be leaving the 
             Senate after only one term in the U.S. Senate. It has been 
             a pleasure to work with Dirk, to be with him, to get to 
             know him, to get to know his family, his wife Pat. But I 
             will just say Dirk Kempthorne is a Senator's Senator. He 
             is a person who comes from the great State of Idaho.
               He brought a great deal of, I must say, refreshing 
             energy to the Senate. He served as mayor of Boise City for 
             7 years. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992 and 
             proved something unconventional: He could get a lot done 
             in his first term in the Senate. Most people have the idea 
             you have to be in the Senate a long time before you can 
             get anything accomplished, but he proved quite the 
             opposite.
               He proved to be a very effective legislator. He proved 
             to be a person who could work on both sides of the aisle, 
             that he could work with Democrats and Republicans and make 
             things happen.
               He was the principal sponsor of a bill that most of us 
             have claimed some part to, the unfunded mandates bill that 
             President Clinton signed and it became law. It was 
             strongly supported by States, Governors, mayors and 
             commissioners and others who said, ``Let's quit passing 
             unfunded mandates on to the States, cities and counties.''
               He has been instrumental in leading the fight in needed 
             reform in the Endangered Species Act. He has been a 
             tireless worker on the Armed Services Committee.
               He has always kept his priorities straight. His family 
             has always been first and foremost. His love for his State 
             is very evident.
               Now he will return to the State of Idaho. He is running 
             for Governor. I am very confident he will be elected 
             Governor, and I am quite confident he will be one of the 
             outstanding Governors in the country. I appreciate his 
             service and his friendship. He has been an outstanding 
             Senator. I hate to see him leave the U.S. Senate, but I do 
             wish him, his wife and his family best wishes as he leaves 
             the Senate and returns to his State and continues his 
             public service in a different capacity, and that will be 
             as Governor of the great State of Idaho.

                                               Friday, October 9, 1998.
               Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, while each of us is looking 
             forward to adjournment so that we may go home and spend 
             time with our constituents and being closer to our family 
             and friends, the end of the 105th Congress is a somewhat 
             bittersweet occasion as many of our colleagues are 
             concluding their careers in the Senate. One Member who 
             will not be back with us in January is my friend, Senator 
             Dirk Kempthorne of Idaho.
               Senator Kempthorne arrived in Washington 6 years ago and 
             very quickly established a reputation for not only being 
             dedicated to the duties and responsibilities of his 
             office, but for being an individual with a keen mind who 
             approached matters before this body in a very thoughtful 
             and deliberative manner. His opinion on issues was always 
             well regarded and void of partisan rhetoric. Though one 
             will never have every Member of this Body agree with their 
             position, everyone gave considerable weight to the remarks 
             and positions of the Senator from Idaho.
               One of Senator Kempthorne's committee assignments was to 
             the Armed Services Committee and I quickly spotted his 
             leadership ability, and in a relatively short period of 
             time, assigned him the chairmanship of the Subcommittee on 
             Personnel. This was a demanding job, especially in this 
             era when we are not only trying to determine what the 
             appropriate size of the military should be, but also 
             because of a number of highly emotional issues related to 
             personnel matters. Regardless of the issue that was before 
             his subcommittee, Senator Kempthorne worked hard to ensure 
             that he discharged his responsibilities impartially, and 
             with the best interests of our men and women in uniform in 
             mind.
               Beyond earning a reputation for being an intelligent 
             student of public policy, Senator Kempthorne also earned a 
             well deserved reputation for being a decent man. He was 
             unfailingly polite and cordial to everyone with whom he 
             dealt. Whether it was a witness before the Committee, a 
             debate opponent on the Senate floor, or one of the 
             thousands of support staff that work in the Senate, Dirk 
             Kempthorne was pleasant, respectful, and cordial.
               It is truly our loss that Senator Kempthorne has decided 
             to leave the Senate and return to Idaho, but the citizens 
             of that State will indeed benefit when our friend is 
             elected Governor. The ability he demonstrated for 
             leadership and civility will serve both he and his 
             constituents well and I am certain that Idaho will be 
             regarded as one of the most efficiently run States in the 
             Union before the end of his first term. My counsel to the 
             Members of this Chamber is that Dirk Kempthorne is a man 
             to keep your eye on, and frankly, I would not be surprised 
             if he were to return to Washington 1 day, though to take 
             an office that is at the opposite end of Pennsylvania 
             Avenue. Regardless, I wish both he and his lovely wife 
             Patricia health, happiness, and great success in the years 
             to come, we shall miss them both.

               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a 
             colleague and friend who will be leaving the Senate when 
             the 105th Congress adjourns, Dirk Kempthorne, the junior 
             Senator from Idaho.
               I have served with Dirk Kempthorne on both the Armed 
             Services and Small Business Committees where I have come 
             to respect his thoughtfulness, dedication and hard work.
               Dirk Kempthorne has been a valuable member of the Armed 
             Services Committee where he has served as the Chairman of 
             the Personnel Subcommittee. As Chairman, he has 
             demonstrated a commitment to the welfare of our men and 
             women in uniform and their families.
               Senator Kempthorne joined with Senator Byrd in 
             initiating the congressional Commission on Military 
             Training to examine issues related to basic training of 
             men and women which will give its best advice to the 
             Congress next year on whether current practices should be 
             changed.
               While I didn't agree with Dirk Kempthorne on many of the 
             specifics of his unfunded mandate legislation in 1995, I, 
             like many of my colleagues in the Senate, was greatly 
             impressed with the manner in which he managed the bill and 
             his command of the complex details.
               Mr. Chairman, in the U.S. Senate we are called upon to 
             work with colleagues of many differing points of view. 
             While Dirk Kempthorne and I sit on separate sides of the 
             aisle and sometimes disagree on issues before the Senate, 
             it has always been a pleasure to deal with him. He is 
             always an able advocate for his position, and always a 
             gracious gentleman.

               Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, five Senators will move on at 
             the closing of this session of the 105th Congress. And 
             they are Senators that have, with the exception of one, 
             been here ever since I joined this body back in 1989.
               Dirk Kempthorne from Idaho was elected after I was. And 
             now after one term he has elected to go back to his home 
             State of Idaho.
               It seems like it becomes more and more difficult, as 
             time goes by, to attract men and women to public service, 
             and especially to public service when there are elections.
               He brought a certain quality to this Senate. On his work 
             on the Environment and Public Works Committee, he was 
             sensitive to the environment and all the public 
             infrastructure that we enjoy across this country. It just 
             seemed to fit, because he had come here after being the 
             mayor of Boise, ID. And his very first objective was to 
             tackle this business of unfunded mandates. He took that 
             issue on and provided the leadership, and finally we 
             passed a law that unfunded mandates must be adhered to 
             whenever we tell local government, State government that 
             it is going to take some of your money to comply with the 
             laws as passed by the Federal Government.
               He, like me, had come out of local government. He knew 
             the stresses and the pains of city councilmen and mayors 
             and county commissioners every time they struggle with 
             their budget in order to provide the services for their 
             people, when it comes to schools and roads and public 
             safety--all the demands that we enjoy down to our 
             neighborhoods.
               We shall miss him in this body.
               To my friend, John Glenn of Ohio, who has already made 
             his mark in history that shall live forever, he has left 
             his tracks in this body. And not many know--and maybe not 
             even him--but I was a lowly corporal in the U.S. Marine 
             Corps when he was flying in the Marine Corps. So my memory 
             of John Glenn goes back more than 40 years to El Toro 
             Marine Corps Air Station in Santa Anna, CA.
               As he goes into space again at the end of this month, we 
             wish him Godspeed. He gave this country pride as he lifted 
             off and became the first American to orbit the Earth. And 
             he carried with him all of the wishes of the American 
             people.
               To Dan Coats of Indiana, a classmate, we came to this 
             body together in 1989. Our routes were a little different, 
             but yet almost the same--he coming from the House of 
             Representatives and me coming from local government.
               He is a living example of a person dedicated to public 
             service. But it never affected his solid core values. He 
             has not changed one iota since I first met him back in 
             1989.
               The other principal is on the floor today. It is Wendell 
             Ford of Kentucky. I was fortunate to serve on two of the 
             most fascinating and hard-working committees in the U.S. 
             Senate with Senator Ford: The Commerce Committee and the 
             Energy Committee. Those committees, folks, touch every 
             life in America every day.
               We flip on our lights at home or in our businesses. We 
             pick up the telephone, listen to our radio, watch our 
             televisions, move ourselves from point A to point B, no 
             matter what the mode--whether it is auto, train or plane. 
             Yes, all of the great scientific advances this country has 
             made, and research and the improvement of everyday life 
             and, yes, even our venture into space comes under the 
             auspices of the Commerce, Science and Transportation 
             Committee and the Energy Committee. Those two committees 
             play such a major role in the everyday workings of 
             America.
               Wendell Ford was one great champion and one of the true 
             principals in formulating policies that we enjoy today. He 
             played a major role in each and every one of them.
               Again, it was my good fortune to work with Senator 
             Bumpers on two committees: The Small Business Committee 
             and the Energy Committee. There is no one in this body 
             that has been more true to his deeply held beliefs than 
             Senator Bumpers. Our views did not always mesh--and that 
             is true with Senator Ford. It was their wisdom and the way 
             they dealt with their fellow Senators that we worked our 
             way through difficult issues and hard times with a sense 
             of humor. I always say if you come from Arkansas you have 
             to have a pretty good sense of humor. My roots go back to 
             Missouri; I know we had to develop humor very early. 
             Nonetheless, it was the integrity and the honesty that 
             allowed us to settle our differences, even though we were 
             180 degrees off plumb.
               I think I have taken from them much more than I have 
             given back to them. This body has gained more than it can 
             repay. This Nation is a better Nation for all of them 
             serving in the U.S. Senate.
               In our country we don't say goodbye, we just say so 
             long. But we say so long to these Senators from our 
             everyday activities on the floor of the U.S. Senate. I am 
             sure our trails will cross many times in the future. 
             Should they not, I will be the most disappointed of all.

                                              Monday, October 12, 1998.
               Mr. FORD. Mr. President, as the 105th Congress comes to 
             a close, I want to take a moment to say thank you to my 
             fellow colleagues who, like me, will be retiring this 
             year.
               I came to the Senate in 1974 with Senators Glenn and 
             Bumpers. It was a different time, when campaigns were 
             still won by going door to door, when the Senate itself 
             was much more open to compromise and bipartisanship.
               Despite the changes in the Senate, Senator Bumpers has 
             continued to be a voice for his State, never giving up the 
             fight for something in which he believed. And when the 
             Senate itself began to listen, they began to respond. In 
             fact, after fighting 19 years to reform the National Parks 
             concessions operations, he finally won approval of the 
             legislation on last Thursday.
               And while it's true the Senate long ago lost its 
             reputation as a place of eloquent debate, my colleague 
             from Arkansas has proven time and again the power of words 
             with his skillful oratory, whether the issue was arms 
             control, education or balancing the budget. In all my 
             years here in Washington, I was never so moved as I was by 
             a speech he gave on preserving the Manassas, VA, Civil War 
             Battlefield. He not only changed votes, but he reminded 
             his colleagues and the American people that our greatest 
             strength lies in our ability to give voice to our beliefs 
             and to our constituent's concerns.
               Like Mark Twain who came into this world with Halley's 
             comet and left this world with the return, Senator Glenn 
             came into the public eye with his historic orbit around 
             the Earth and he will close out his public career with 
             another historic flight into space. In between, he's 
             demonstrated over and over that he's truly made of the 
             ``right stuff.''
               As the ``Almanac of American Politics'' wrote, he is 
             ``the embodiment of the small town virtues of family, God-
             fearing religion, duty, patriotism and hard work * * *''. 
             And over the years, he has brought the same fight and 
             determination that made him a brilliant fighter pilot to 
             his efforts to expand educational opportunities, increase 
             funding for scientific research, to clean up nuclear waste 
             sites, promote civil rights and to make our government 
             more efficient.
               Despite their long list of contributions in the Senate, 
             perhaps their greatest contributions to this Nation are 
             still to come. Senator Bumpers has talked about going back 
             to Arkansas to teach and Senator Glenn has said once he 
             gets back down to Earth, he'll work to steer young people 
             toward public service. I can't think of a greater honor 
             than to say I've served alongside these two men and shared 
             their vision of a better America.
               I also want to thank my two retiring colleagues on the 
             other side of the aisle. We may not have always agreed on 
             which road to take, but I believe we always shared a deep 
             commitment to our country and its betterment. Whether you 
             agree or not with Senator Coats' position on the issues, 
             everyone in this Chamber will agree he's willing to roll 
             up his sleeves and do the hard work necessary to 
             accomplish his goals. He's brought the same tenacity to 
             the Senate that found him at 3 percent in the polls when 
             he began his first congressional bid and had him winning 
             by 58 percent on election day. He got that win the old-
             fashioned way, organizing block by block and pressing his 
             case one-on-one.
               Senator Kempthorne has only been a part of this 
             institution for just one term, but he has already proven 
             that he can work with his colleagues to pass laws, like 
             the unfunded mandates bill, in a place where it's often 
             easier to move mountains than a piece of legislation. The 
             Safe Drinking Water Act of 1996 was a perfect example of 
             his ability to bring together scientists, activists on 
             both sides of the issue, and public health experts to 
             craft legislation that each one had a stake in seeing 
             succeed. So while he may have spent just a short while in 
             these Halls, he demonstrated that it is only through 
             compromise that we can achieve solutions in the best 
             interest of the Nation.
               So Mr. President, let me tell my fellow retirees what a 
             privilege it has been to serve with you over the years and 
             how grateful I am for your commitment to public service 
             and the American people.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, it is with great pride and 
             honor that I rise today to pay tribute to my retiring 
             colleague from Idaho, Senator Dirk Kempthorne. In his 6 
             years of service to the U.S. Senate, he has proven himself 
             to be a very thoughtful and determined leader and I am 
             honored to have the opportunity to rise and speak on his 
             accomplishments.
               It was a pleasure to work with Senator Kempthorne as he 
             crafted one of the most important bills we have passed in 
             the U.S. Senate, the unfunded mandates bill. I was 
             particularly pleased that the private sector was included 
             in the assessment of unfunded mandates and Dirk was 
             generous and extraordinarily helpful to me and my staff 
             throughout the legislative process as we developed and 
             negotiated this legislation. Not only did the junior 
             Senator from Idaho manage 2 weeks of debate on the Senate 
             floor which sometimes lasted 12 hours a day, but his 
             skillful leadership and influence brought affected parties 
             to the table to negotiate and produce legislation which 
             passed both the House and Senate by overwhelming margins. 
             Clearly, without his strong commitment to American small 
             businesses, this objective would not have been achieved.
               In addition to his service on the Small Business 
             Committee and Armed Forces Committee, Senator Kempthorne 
             was given the responsibility of chairing the Drinking 
             Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the 
             Environment and Public Works Committee. He wrote an update 
             of the Safe Drinking Water Act which won bipartisan 
             praise. He worked many long and arduous hours crafting 
             legislation to reauthorize and reform the Endangered 
             Species Act, an issue extremely important New Mexico and 
             other Western States. Dirk's perseverance and hard work 
             was instrumental in laying the groundwork for long overdue 
             reform of this law and I am hopeful that we can be as 
             diligent and compromising as he has been in crafting and 
             passing ESA reform legislation in the future.
               The State of Idaho is fortunate to have a statesman of 
             his caliber. During his tenure, he has earned the respect 
             and admiration of his colleagues on both sides of the 
             aisle because of his unique ability to negotiate, 
             compromise, and foster positive working relationships not 
             only with his colleagues, but between Federal, State, and 
             local governments. These skills will serve him well as he 
             faces new challenges in the future. Although we will miss 
             his presence in this body, I know that he will continue to 
             be a valuable asset not only to the State of Idaho but to 
             this Nation.
               Finally, I understand the challenges and difficulties 
             associated with raising a family while serving in Congress 
             and I respect and admire his decision to do what is right 
             for his family and their future. Nancy and I wish Dirk, 
             Patricia, and their children all the best.

               Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, on Saturday, I had a chance 
             to talk about our good friend, Dale Bumpers. I'd like to 
             take a few minutes to talk about four other friends who 
             will be leaving us at the end of this Congress.
               Shortly after he left the White House, Calvin Coolidge 
             was called on to fill out a standard form. After filling 
             in his name and address, he came to a line marked 
             ``occupation.'' He wrote ``retired.'' When he came to the 
             next line, labeled ``remarks,'' he wrote ``Glad of it.'' I 
             suspect that our colleagues who are retiring at the end of 
             this Congress are also ``glad of it''--at least in some 
             small measure. But, in addition to relief, I hope they 
             also feel a sense of pride--both for what they have 
             accomplished here, and the dignity with which they have 
             served.
               In a short time here, Dirk Kempthorne has made all of 
             our lives a little better. Thanks in large part to him, 
             the Safe Drinking Water Act is now the law. Senator 
             Kempthorne has also reminded us of the importance of State 
             and local involvement in our decisions. We will all miss 
             him.
               I had the good fortune to travel with Senator Kempthorne 
             to the Far East. As most of our colleagues know, as we 
             travel we get to know one another even better. I know him 
             and I admire him and I wish him well in his life after the 
             Senate. I also applaud him for the nature with which he 
             has continued to work with all of us. He has a very 
             conciliatory, very thoughtful, a very civil way with which 
             to deal with colleagues on issues. If we would all follow 
             Dirk Kempthorne's example, in my view, we would be a lot 
             better off in this body. His manner, his leadership, his 
             character, his personality is one that we are going to 
             miss greatly here in the U.S. Senate.
               We will also miss Dan Coats. With his thoughtful 
             approach and uncompromising principles, Senator Coats has 
             followed his heart above all else. And, as a result of his 
             support of the Family and Medical Leave Act, millions of 
             Americans are able to follow their hearts, too, and spend 
             more time with their families when they need them most.
               When Senator Coats announced his retirement in 1996, he 
             said, ``I want to leave (politics) when I am young enough 
             to contribute somewhere else * * * I want to leave when 
             there is still a chance to follow God's leading to 
             something new.'' Wherever Senator Coats and Senator 
             Kempthorne are led, we wish them both the best. I am 
             confident that they will continue to contribute much to 
             their country and to their fellow citizens.
               And we will surely miss our own three departing 
             Senators.
               Dale Bumpers, Wendell Ford and John Glenn are three of 
             the sturdiest pillars in this institution. They have much 
             in common. They came here--all three of them--in 1974. For 
             nearly a quarter-century, they have worked to restore 
             Americans' faith in their government.
               Their names have been called with the roll of every 
             important question of our time. And they have answered 
             that call with integrity and dignity.
               They are sons of small town America who still believe in 
             the values they learned back in Charlestown, AR; 
             Owensboro, KY; and New Concord, OH. They are also modest 
             men.
               Perhaps because they had already accomplished so much 
             before they came to the Senate, they have never worried 
             about grabbing headlines here. Instead, they have been 
             content to work quietly, but diligently--often with 
             colleagues from across the aisle--to solve problems as 
             comprehensively as they can. They have been willing to 
             take on the ``nuts and bolts'' work of the Senate--what 
             John Glenn once called ``the grunt work'' of making the 
             Government run more efficiently.
               They were all elected to the Senate by wide margins, and 
             reelected by even wider margins. And they all would have 
             been reelected this year, I have no doubt, had they chosen 
             to run again.
               What I will remember most about each of them, though, is 
             not how much like each other they are, but how unlike 
             anyone else they are. Each of them is an American 
             original.
               As I said, I've already shared my thoughts about Dale 
             Bumpers. No Senator has ever had more courage than Dale 
             Bumpers.
               And no Senate leader has ever had the benefit of a 
             better teacher than Wendell Ford.
               No leader has ever enjoyed such a loyal partnership as I 
             have. No leader has ever had a better friend and 
             counselor.
               For the past 4 years, Senator Ford has been my right 
             hand and much more. He is as skilled a political mind, and 
             as warm a human being, as this Senate has ever known.
               Carved inside the drawer of the desk in which Wendell 
             sits is the name of another Kentucky Senator, ``the Great 
             Compromisor,'' Henry Clay. It is a fitting match.
               Like Henry Clay, Wendell Ford believes that compromise 
             is honorable and necessary in a democracy. But he also 
             understands that compromise is, as Clay said, ``negotiated 
             hurt.''
               I suspect that is why he has always preferred to try to 
             work out disagreements behind the scenes. It allows both 
             sides to bend, and still keep their dignity.
               In 1991, Wendell's quiet, bipartisan style convinced a 
             Senator from across the aisle, Mark Hatfield, to join him 
             in sponsoring the ``Motor Voter'' bill. Working together, 
             they convinced the Senate to pass that legislation. To 
             this day, it remains the most ambitious effort Congress 
             has made since the Voting Rights Act to open up the voting 
             booth to more Americans.
               Wendell Ford has served the Bluegrass State as a State 
             senator, Lieutenant Governor, Governor and U.S. Senator. 
             His love for his fellow Kentuckians is obvious, and it is 
             reciprocated.
               In his 1980 Senate race, Wendell Ford became the first 
             opposed candidate in Kentucky history to carry all 120 
             counties. In 1992, he received the highest number of votes 
             ever cast for any candidate in his State.
               Throughout his years in the Senate, Senator Ford has 
             also been a tenacious fighter for the people of Kentucky. 
             He has also been a leader on aviation issues, a determined 
             foe of government waste and duplication, a champion of 
             campaign finance reform, and--something we are especially 
             grateful for on this side of the aisle--a tireless leader 
             for the Democratic Party.
               He chaired the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee for 
             three Congresses, from 1976 through 1982. And, in 1990, 
             Democratic Senators elected him unanimously to be our 
             party whip, our second-in-command, in the Senate--a 
             position he still holds today.
               We will miss his raspy and unmistakable voice, his good 
             humor and wise counsel.
               Finally, there is John Glenn. What can one say about 
             John Glenn that has not already been said?
               In all these 24 years, as hard as he tried to blend in 
             with the rest of us, as hard as he tried to be just a 
             colleague among colleagues, it never quite worked, did it?
               I used to think that maybe I was the only one here who 
             still felt awed in his presence. Two years ago, on a 
             flight from China with John and a handful of other 
             Senators and our spouses, I learned that wasn't so.
               During the flight, we were able to persuade John to 
             recollect that incredible mission aboard Friendship 7, 
             when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. He 
             told us about losing all radio communication during re-
             entry, about having to guide his spacecraft manually 
             during the most critical point in re-entry, about seeing 
             pieces of his fiberglass heat panel bursting into flames 
             and flying off his space capsule, knowing that at any 
             moment, he could be incinerated.
               We all huddled around him with our eyes wide open. No 
             one moved. No one said a word.
               Listening to him, I felt the same awe I had felt when I 
             was 14 years old, sitting in a classroom in Aberdeen, SD, 
             watching TV accounts of that flight. Then I looked around 
             me, and realized everyone else there was feeling the same 
             thing.
               I saw that same sense of awe in other Senators' faces in 
             June, when we had a dinner for John at the National Air 
             and Space Museum. Before dinner, we were invited to have 
             our photographs taken with John in front of the Friendship 
             7 capsule. I don't think I've ever seen so many Senators 
             waiting so patiently for anything as we did for that one 
             picture.
               A lot of people tend to think of two John Glenns: 
             Colonel John Glenn, the astronaut-hero; and Senator John 
             Glenn. The truth is, there is only John Glenn--the 
             patriot.
               Love for his country is what sent John into space. It's 
             what brought him to Washington, and compelled him to work 
             so diligently all these years in the Senate.
               People who have been there say you see the world 
             differently from space. You see the ``big picture.'' You 
             see how small and interconnected our planet is.
               Perhaps it's because he came to the Senate with that 
             perspective that John has fought so hard against nuclear 
             proliferation and other weapons of mass destruction.
               Maybe because he'd had enough glamour and tickertape 
             parades by the time he came here, John chose to immerse 
             himself in some decidedly unglamorous causes.
               He immersed himself in the scientific and the technical. 
             He looked at government with the eyes of an engineer, and 
             tried to imagine ways it could work better and more 
             efficiently.
               As early as 1978, he called for Congress to live by the 
             same workplace rules it sets for everyone else. More 
             recently, he spearheaded the overhaul of the Federal 
             Government procurement system, enabling the Government to 
             buy products faster, and save money at the same time.
               In 1974, the year he was elected to the Senate, John 
             Glenn carried all 88 counties in Ohio. In 1980, he was re-
             elected with the largest margin in his State's history. 
             The last time he ran, in 1992, he became the first Ohio 
             Senator ever to win four terms.
               As I said, I'm sure he would have been reelected had he 
             chosen to run again. But, as we all know, he has other 
             plans.
               For 36 years, John Glenn has wanted to go back into 
             space. On October 29, he will finally get his chance. At 
             77 years old, he will become the oldest human being ever 
             to orbit the Earth--by 16 years.
               Many of us will be in Houston to see John and his 
             Discovery crew mates blast off. If history is any 
             indication, I suspect we will be wide-eyed once again.
               In closing, let me say, Godspeed, John Glenn and Dale 
             Bumpers, Wendell Ford, Dirk Kempthorne and Dan Coats. You 
             have served this Senate well. You are all ``Senators' 
             Senators,'' and we will miss you dearly.

                                           Wednesday, October 14, 1998.
               Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, 6 years seems too short a 
             time for a man of Dirk Kempthorne's character to serve in 
             the U.S. Senate. In the 2 years that I have been 
             privileged to work with the Senator from Idaho, I have 
             been impressed by both his considerable integrity and also 
             his unwavering dedication to the citizens of Idaho and to 
             his fellow countrymen. When I reflect upon Senator 
             Kempthorne's tenure in the Senate, I will remember the 
             traits that made him such a successful legislator. I will 
             especially remember the thoughtful approach the Senator 
             used when addressing the pressing issues of the day. When 
             Senator Kempthorne chose a course of action, every Senator 
             could be certain that his decisions were guided by careful 
             deliberation, broad consultation, and sincere prayer. Now, 
             Senator Kempthorne has decided to return to his people of 
             Idaho, offering to serve their interests closer to home. 
             Selfishly, I and others will miss his quiet strength, his 
             leadership in a pinch, his good judgment, and his deep 
             faith. It has enriched all who have had the privilege of 
             serving with him and, I must say, it has been a special 
             source of strength to me. Dirk not only talks the talk, he 
             walks the walk. His concern is for the least among us and 
             his insights are superior. Whether he is in a small group 
             meeting, a committee hearing, a leadership conference, a 
             Bible study, or on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Dirk 
             Kempthorne always reveals himself to be a man of 
             integrity. This is so because he is one solid whole. He 
             does not compartmentalize. What you see is what you get, 
             from the surface to the center.
               Dirk has called us to higher things than mere public 
             policy. He wants our government to make us better, not 
             just richer and more powerful. His service in the Senate 
             has been to that goal. He is both a humble servant of a 
             higher calling, and an effective leader. We will miss that 
             leadership and strength on issue after issue. We will miss 
             even more his good example, his living proof that one can 
             serve in public life and posses the richest qualities of a 
             Christian gentleman. Dirk, we will miss you. You have made 
             us better by your word, your manner, and your life. Our 
             best wishes go with you. Godspeed Dirk Kempthorne.

               Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I want to wish all the best 
             to Senator Kempthorne as he leaves the Senate. Senator 
             Kempthorne and I both joined the Senate in 1992, and both, 
             as very junior Senators, initially found ourselves with 
             offices in the basement of the Dirksen building.
               Senator Kempthorne has always demonstrated a strong 
             grasp of policy issues, including his work on unfunded 
             mandates, and has always conducted himself with the 
             highest degree of professionalism in the Senate. I thank 
             him for his service, and wish him well in his new 
             endeavors.
               Now he returns to Idaho to seek the office of Governor. 
             Whatever happens in that race, the people of Idaho will 
             know that he is a thoughtful man of grace and civility.

                                             Tuesday, October 20, 1998.
               Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the 
             Junior Senator from Idaho, Mr. Kempthorne. My wife, Jane, 
             and I got to know Dirk and his wife, Pat, soon after I 
             came to Washington, and they have been good friends. Pat 
             and Dirk are simply wonderful people, whose warmth and 
             civility make the Senate a better place.
               Dirk Kempthorne has brought his energy and goodwill with 
             him to the Senate every day, making it a better place in 
             which to work and, I am sure, improving our ability to 
             work together to pass constructive legislation. In 
             addition, he has brought tremendous insight and common 
             sense to the legislative process. I am proud to have 
             worked with him in passing unfunded mandates legislation 
             in 1995. This bill, which Senator Kempthorne managed on 
             the floor, is an important step forward for American small 
             business and its passage could not have been secured 
             without his able leadership.
               Whether as a key member of the Small Business Committee, 
             as Chairman of the Drinking Water, Fisheries, and Wildlife 
             Subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works 
             Committee, or as Chairman of the Personnel Subcommittee of 
             the Armed Services Committee, Dirk has brought strong 
             leadership and reasoned argument to our public policy 
             debates. He was instrumental in initiating the 
             congressional Commission on Military Training. He laid the 
             groundwork for long overdue reforms to the Endangered 
             Species Act; reforms that will protect our wildlife 
             without unduly tampering with America's traditional 
             commitment to private property rights.
               Dirk has decided, in the interests of his family, to 
             leave Washington and return to Idaho. While I am certain 
             all of us here will miss him, he leaves a weighty record 
             of achievement and will continue to serve as a model of 
             Senatorial conduct for years to come. I know the people of 
             Idaho will benefit greatly from his coming service as 
             Governor and wish him, his wife and children, all the best 
             in their return home.

                                           Wednesday, October 21, 1998.
               Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, in this last day of the 105th 
             Congress, I think it is appropriate that we take a little 
             more time to express our appreciation and our admiration 
             for our retiring Senators. I look down the list: Senator 
             Bumpers of Arkansas; Senator Coats of Indiana; Senator 
             Ford, the Democratic whip, of Kentucky; Senator Glenn, who 
             will soon be taking another historic flight into space; 
             and Senator Kempthorne, who I believe is also going to be 
             taking flight into a new position of leadership and honor. 
             This is a distinguished group of men who have been 
             outstanding Senators, who have left their mark on this 
             institution. I believe you could say in each case they 
             have left the Senate a better place than it was when they 
             came.
               Have we had our disagreements along the way? Sure, 
             within parties and across party aisles. I have to take a 
             moment to express my appreciation to each of these 
             Senators. I especially want to thank Senator Ford for his 
             cooperation in his position as whip. We worked together 
             for a year and a half as the whip on our respective side 
             of the aisle and we always had a very good relationship. 
             Of course, I have already expressed my very close 
             relationship for Senator Coats and for Senator Kempthorne.
               To all of these Senators, I want to extend my fondest 
             farewell.
               As majority leader, I feel a responsibility to speak for 
             all of us in bidding an official farewell to our five 
             colleagues who are retiring this year.
               It was 1974 when Dale Bumpers left the Governorship of 
             Arkansas to take the Senate seat that had long been held 
             by Senator Fulbright. There are several Senators in this 
             Chamber today who, in 1974, were still in high school.
               Four terms in the Senate of the United States can be a 
             very long time--but that span of nearly a quarter-century 
             has not in the least diminished Senator Bumpers' 
             enthusiasm for his issues and energy in advancing them.
               He has been a formidable debater, fighting for his 
             causes with a tenacity and vigor that deserves the title 
             of Razorback.
               It is a memorable experience to be on the receiving end 
             of his opposition--whether the subject was the space 
             station or, year after year, mining on public lands.
               Arkansas and Mississippi are neighbors, sharing many of 
             the same problems. From personal experience, I know how 
             Senator Bumpers has been an assiduous and effective 
             advocate for his State and region.
               No one expects retirement from the Senate to mean 
             inactivity for Senator Bumpers, whose convictions run too 
             deep to be set aside with his formal legislative duties.
               All of us who know the sacrifices an entire family makes 
             when a spouse or parent is in the Congress can rejoice for 
             him, for Betty, and for their family, in the prospect of 
             more time together in a well earned future.
               Senator Dan Coats and I have a bond in common which most 
             Members of the Senate do not share. We both began our 
             careers on Capitol Hill, not as Members, but as staffers.
               I worked for the venerable William Colmer of 
             Mississippi, chairman of the House Rules Committee, who 
             left office in 1972 at the age of 82. Senator Coats worked 
             for Dan Quayle, who came to Congress at the age of 27.
               Despite the differences in our situations back then, we 
             both learned the congressional ropes from the bottom up.
               Which may be why we both have such respect for the 
             twists and turns of the legislative process, not to 
             mention an attentive ear to the views and concerns of our 
             constituents.
               Now and then, a Senator becomes nationally known for his 
             leadership on a major issue. Senator Coats has had several 
             such issues.
               One was the constitutional amendment for a balanced 
             budget. Another was New Jersey's garbage, and whether it 
             would be dumped along the banks of the Wabash.
               The garbage issue is still unresolved, but on other 
             matters, his success has been the Nation's profit.
               He has championed the American family, improved Head 
             Start, kept child care free of government control, and 
             helped prevent a Federal takeover of health care.
               His crusade to give low-income families school choice 
             has made him the most important education reformer since 
             Horace Mann. His passionate defense of children before 
             birth has been, to use an overworked phrase, a profile in 
             courage.
               Senator Coats does have a secret vice. He is a baseball 
             addict. On their honeymoon, he took Marcia to a Cubs game. 
             And when he was a Member of the House, he missed the vote 
             on flag-burning to keep a promise to his son to see the 
             Cubs in the playoffs.
               To Dan, a commitment is a commitment. That is why he is 
             national president of Big Brothers. And why, a few years 
             ago, he kept a very important audience waiting for his 
             arrival at a meeting here on the Hill.
               He had, en route, come across a homeless man, and spent 
             a half-hour urging him to come with him to the Gospel 
             Rescue Mission.
               Here in the Congress, we must always be in a hurry. But 
             Senator Coats and his wife, Marcia, have known what is 
             worth waiting for.
               They have been a blessing to our Senate family, and they 
             will always remain a part of it.
               Senator Wendell Ford stands twelfth in seniority in the 
             Senate, with the resignation of his predecessor, Senator 
             Marlow Cook, giving him a 6-day advantage over his 
             departing colleague, Senator Bumpers.
               He came to Washington with a full decade of hands-on 
             governmental experience in his native Kentucky. He had 
             been a State senator, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor. 
             With that background, he needed little time to make his 
             mark in the Senate.
               In that regard, he reminds me of another Kentuckian who 
             make a lasting mark on the Senate.
               Last month, I traveled to Ashland, the home of Henry 
             Clay, to receive a medallion named after the man once 
             known as Harry of the West. Senator Ford was a prior 
             recipient of that award, and appropriately so.
               Henry Clay was a shrewd legislator, a tough bargainer, 
             who did not suffer fools lightly. That description sounds 
             familiar to anyone who has worked with Senator Ford.
               He can be a remarkably effective partisan. I can attest 
             to that. There is a good reason why he has long been his 
             party's second-in-command in the Senate.
               At the same time, he has maintained a personal autonomy 
             that is the mark of a true Senator. He has been outspoken 
             about his wish that his party follow the more moderate 
             path to which he has long adhered.
               Senator Ford's influence has been enormous in areas like 
             energy policy and commerce. Contemporary politics may be 
             dependent upon quotable sound-bites and telegenic 
             posturing, but he has held to an older and, in my opinion, 
             a higher standard.
               One of the least sought-after responsibilities in the 
             Senate is service on the Rules Committee.
               It can be a real headache. But it is crucial to the 
             stature of the Senate. We all owe Senator Ford our 
             personal gratitude for his long years of work on that 
             Committee.
               His decisions there would not always have been my 
             decisions; that is the nature of our system. But his work 
             there has set a standard for meticulousness and gravity.
               All of us who treasure the traditions, the decorum, and 
             the comity of the Senate will miss him.
               We wish him and Jean the happiness of finally being able 
             to set their own hours, enjoy their grandchildren, and 
             never again missing dinner at home because of a late-night 
             session on the Senate floor.
               There are many ways to depart the Senate. Our colleague 
             from Ohio, Senator John Glenn, will be leaving us in a 
             unique fashion, renewing the mission to space which he 
             helped to begin in 1962.
               In the weeks ahead, he will probably be the focus of 
             more publicity, here and around the world, than the entire 
             Senate has been all year long.
               It will be well deserved attention, and I know he 
             accepts it, not for himself, but for America's space 
             program.
               For decades now, he has been, not only its champion, but 
             in a way, its embodiment.
               That is understandable, but to a certain extent, unfair. 
             For his astronaut image tends to overshadow the 
             accomplishments of a long legislative career.
               In particular, his work on the Armed Services Committee, 
             the Commerce Committee, and our Special Committee on Aging 
             has been a more far-reaching achievement than orbiting the 
             Earth.
               With the proper support and training, others might have 
             done that, but Senator Glenn's accomplishments here in the 
             Senate are not so easily replicated.
               This year's hit film, ``Saving Private Ryan,'' has had a 
             tremendous impact on young audiences by bringing home to 
             them the sacrifice and the suffering of those who fought 
             America's wars.
               I think Senator Glenn has another lesson to teach them. 
             For the man who will soon blast off from Cape Canaveral, 
             as part of America's peaceful conquest of space--is the 
             same Marine who, more than a half century ago, saw combat 
             in World War II, and again in Korea.
               His mission may have changed, but courage and idealism 
             endure.
               In a few days, along with Annie and the rest of his 
             family, we will be cheering him again, as he again makes 
             us proud of our country, proud of our space program, and 
             proud to call him our friend and colleague.
               Senator Dirk Kempthorne came to us from Idaho only 6 
             years ago. He now returns amid the nearly universal 
             expectation that he will be his State's next Governor. It 
             will be a wise choice.
               None of us are surprised by his enormous popularity back 
             home. We have come to know him, not just as a consummate 
             politician, but as a thoughtful, decent, and caring man.
               This is a man who took the time to learn the names of 
             the men and women who work here in the Capitol and in the 
             Senate office buildings.
               In fact, his staff allots extra time for him to get to 
             the Senate floor to vote because they know he will stop 
             and talk to people on the way.
               During the memorial ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda for 
             our two officers who lost their lives protecting this 
             building, Senator Kempthorne noticed that the son of one 
             of the officers, overwhelmed by emotion, suddenly left the 
             room.
               Dirk followed him, and spent a half-hour alone with him, 
             away from the cameras. The public doesn't see those 
             things, but that's the kind of concern we expect from him.
               His willingness to share credit gave us our Unfunded 
             Mandates Act and reauthorization of the Safe Drinking 
             Water Law. And his eye for detail and pride in his own 
             home State led to the transformation of that long, sterile 
             corridor between the Capitol and the Dirksen and Hart 
             office buildings.
               Now, as tourists ride the space-age mechanized subway, 
             they enjoy the display of State flags and seals that form 
             a patriotic parade. It delights the eye and lifts the 
             spirit.
               If you've ever visited Idaho, known its people, and seen 
             its scenic wonders, you don't have to wonder why he's 
             leaving us early.
               You wonder, instead, why he ever left.
               Years ago, he explained his future this way: That he 
             would know when it was time to leave the Senate when he 
             stopped asking ``why'' and started saying ``because.''
               We're going to miss him and Patricia, and no one needs 
             to ask ``why.'' Even so, we know the Governor will be a 
             forceful spokesman on the Hill for all the Governors.
               They could not have a better representative. The Senate 
             could not have a better exemplar. We could not have a 
             better friend.

               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, when one speaks of the State of 
             Idaho, we think of her glorious and rugged landscape, her 
             fertile valleys, her waters ideal for fishing, her world-
             class ski resorts, her national parks and forests, with 
             land fit for hiking, or biking, and, of course, her 
             reputation as the potato capital of the world. Following 
             the end of the 105th Congress, I daresay that our 
             associations to the State of Idaho will also include the 
             name of Dirk Kempthorne, the State's junior Senator and 
             one of this body's most respected Members. Although our 
             friend from the West is leaving the Senate after only one 
             6-year term, I, for one, will remember him fondly for 
             years to come.
               Senator Kempthorne and I formerly served together as 
             chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the 
             Personnel Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee. We 
             worked together to introduce legislation requiring the 
             study of gender integrated training in the military. That 
             association has been pleasant, and, I believe, productive. 
             To be sure, I have not always agreed with his policy 
             proposals, or he with mine. On many issues, including the 
             balanced budget constitutional amendment and the unfunded 
             mandates legislation, we have held opposing views.
               Throughout the lengthy debate on the unfunded mandates 
             bill in early 1995, the Senator was conscientious, 
             thorough, and fair. His grace and courtesy in managing 
             that bill were impressive, particularly for someone so new 
             to the Senate. And, as we all know, his efforts paid off 
             after deliberate consideration and compromise. Moreover, 
             with passage of the unfunded mandates bill, Senator 
             Kempthorne holds the honor of being the most junior Member 
             of the Senate since World War II to author, manage, and 
             win passage of a bill numbered Senate Bill 1.
               When he leaves these hallowed halls, Senator Kempthorne 
             will return to his home State. Boise, of course, is 
             familiar ground for Senator Kempthorne, serving as that 
             city's 43rd mayor, from 1985 until 1992, when the people 
             of Idaho elected him to his present seat in the Senate. 
             Incidentally, he became so popular during his first term 
             as mayor that he faced no opposition in his bid for a 
             second term! How many of our colleagues would like to be 
             in that situation? How many of us would like to be so 
             universally popular, and be held in such high respect by 
             our constituents, that such popularity and respect would 
             foreclose potential challengers?
               I congratulate Senator Kempthorne on his fine service 
             here, and I wish him and his nice family happiness in 
             future years.

               Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, as the Senate completes its 
             work and the 105th Congress comes to a close, I want to 
             take this opportunity to say farewell to one of my 
             colleagues who has decided to leave this body and pursue 
             other activities.
               The junior Senator from Idaho, Dirk Kempthorne, and I 
             were both elected to the Senate in 1992. We have served 
             together for the past 6 years on the Environment and 
             Public Works Committee. While we have disagreed on many 
             environmental issues, I have always enjoyed working with 
             him and appreciated his personal kindness. He is a 
             gentleman of impeccable manners and good humor. And he is 
             known to all his colleagues as one of the ``workhorses'' 
             of the Senate: a Senator who does his work quietly and 
             responsibly, and does not insist on getting all the credit 
             for the results.
               My very best wishes to Senator Kempthorne as he leaves 
             Washington to return to his home in Idaho, and the best of 
             luck in all that he does in the years to come.

                                         ---

                     FAREWELL ADDRESS OF SENATOR DIRK KEMPTHORNE

               Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I appreciate you 
             presiding as you do in such a class fashion. I would like 
             to make a few comments here. I have been touched and 
             impressed by the fact of colleagues coming to the floor 
             and paying tribute to those Members who are departing. I 
             have listened because, as one of those Members who are 
             departing, I know personally how much it means to hear 
             those kind comments that are made.
               Senator Ford, who just spoke, is leaving after a very 
             illustrious career. I remember when the Republican Party 
             took over the majority 4 years ago and I was new to the 
             position of Presiding Officer, it was not unusual for 
             Wendell Ford, who knows many of the ropes around here, to 
             come and pull me aside and give me a few of the tips of 
             how I could be effective as a Presiding Officer. I think 
             probably one of the highest tributes you can pay to an 
             individual is the fact that you see their family and the 
             success they have had. I remember when Wendell Ford's 
             grandson, Clay, was a page here. I think Clay is probably 
             one of the greatest tributes paid to a grandfather.
               Dale Bumpers, often mentioned here on the floor about 
             his great sense of humor, is an outstanding gentlemen. He 
             is someone whom I remember before I ever became involved 
             in politics. I watched him as a Governor of Arkansas and 
             thought, there is a man who has great integrity, someone 
             you can look up to. And then to have the opportunity to 
             serve with him has been a great honor.
               John Glenn. Whenever any of the astronauts--the original 
             seven--would blast off into space, my mother would get all 
             the boys up so we could watch them. I remember when John 
             Glenn blasted off into space. Again, the idea that somehow 
             a kid would end up here and would serve with John Glenn is 
             just something I never could dream of at the time. In 
             fact, John Glenn became a partner in our efforts to stop 
             unfunded Federal mandates. You could not ask for a better 
             partner.
               Speaking of partners, he could not have a better partner 
             than Annie. I had the great joy of traveling with them 
             approximately a year ago when we went to Asia. That is 
             when you get to know these people as couples. I remember 
             that we happened to be flying over an ocean when it was 
             the Marine Corps' birthday. On the airplane we had a cake 
             and brought it out, to the surprise of John Glenn. But you 
             could see the emotion in his eyes. I know the Presiding 
             Officer is a former U.S. Marine, so he knows what we are 
             talking about.
               Dan Coats. There is no more genuine a person than Dan--
             not only in the Senate but on the face of the Earth. He is 
             a man of great sincerity, a man who can articulate his 
             position so extremely well. He is a man who, when you look 
             into his eyes, you know he is listening to you and he is 
             going to do right by you and by the people of his State of 
             Indiana, and he has done right by the people of the United 
             States. He is a man who has great faith, a man to whom I 
             think a number of us have looked for guidance.
               When you look at the Senate through the eyes of a 
             camera, you see just one dimension. But on the floor of 
             the Senate we are just people. A lot of times we don't get 
             home to our wives and kids and sometimes to the ball games 
             or back-to-school nights. There are times when some of the 
             issues don't go as we would like, and it gets tough. At 
             these times, we hurt. There are people like Dan Coats to 
             whom you can turn, who has said, ``Buddy, I have been 
             there and I am with you now.'' So, again, he is an 
             outstanding individual.
               Also, Mr. President, I have been really fortunate with 
             the quality of the staff I have had here in the U.S. 
             Senate during the 6 years I have been here. As I have 
             listened so many times to the Senate clerk call the roll 
             of those Senators, they have answered that roll. I would 
             like to just acknowledge this roll of those staff members 
             whom I have had. This is probably the first and only time 
             their names will be called in this august Chamber:
               Cindy Agidius, Marcia Bain, Jeremy Chou, Camy Mills Cox, 
             Laurette Davies, Michelle Dunn, Becky English, Gretchen 
             Estess, Ryan Fitzgerald, Lance Giles.
               Charles Grant, Ernie Guerra, Julie Harwood, Laura 
             Hyneman, Meg Hunt, Catherine Josling, Ann Klee, Amy 
             Manwaring, John McGee, Liz Mitchell.
               Heather Muchow, Jay Parkinson, Phil Reberger, Rachel 
             Riggs, Shawna Seiber Ward, Orrie Sinclair, Mark Snider, 
             Glen Tait, Jim Tate, Kelly Teske.
               Salle Uberuaga, Jennifer Wallace, Brian Whitlock, 
             Suzanne Bacon, Becky Bale, Stan Clark, Tom Dayley, Tyler 
             Dougherty, Carolyn Durant, George Enneking.
               Buzz Fawcett, Margo Gaetz, Erin Givens, Jim Grant, Wendy 
             Guisto, Jennifer Hayes, Al Henderson, Heather Irby, Steve 
             Judy, Jeff Loveng.
               Brian McCormack, Darrell McRoberts, Peter Moloney, Scott 
             Muchow, Dan Ramirez, Dixie Richardson, Stephanie Schisler, 
             Carrie Stach, Gary Smith, Michael Stinson, Sally 
             Taniguchi, Julie Tensen, Mitchell Toryanski, Brian 
             Waidmann, Vaughn Ward.
               That is a lot of staff. But over 6 years, some of those 
             have come and gone.
               I have also received valuable assistance from interns 
             who have worked in my State and Washington offices. I ask 
             unanimous consent that the following list of interns for 
             the past 6 years be printed in the Record.
               There being no objection, the list was ordered to be 
             printed in the Record, as follows:

                                       interns

               Angie Adams, Tara Anderson, Jennifer Beck, Matthew 
             Blackburn, Emily Burton, Emilie Caron, Michelle Crapo, 
             Matt Freeman, Amy Hall, Rick Hansen.
               Michelle Hyde, Paul Jackson, Beth Ann Kerrick, Heather 
             Lauer, Jennifer Ludders, Karen Marchant, Kendal McDevitt, 
             Jan Nielsen, Bryan James Palmer, Tracy Pellechi.
               Tyler Prout, James Rolig, Dallas Scholes, Robin Staker, 
             Meghan Sullivan, Omar Valverde, Franciose Whitlock, James 
             Williams, Curt Wozniak, Tim Young.
               Kim Albers, Chris Bailey, Kevin Belew, David Booth, Matt 
             Campbell, Stephen Cataldo, Pandi Ellison, Andrew 
             Grutkowski, Chad Hansen, Sarah Heckel.
               Laura Hyneman, Michael Jordan, Lisa Lance, Keith 
             Lonergan, Lori Manzaneres, Wade Miller, Kate Montgomery, 
             Rocky Owens, Kurt Pipal, Alan Poff.
               Nichole Reinke, Don Schanz, Nathan Sierra, Jacob Steele, 
             David Thomas, Curtis Wheeler, Brian Williams, Angie 
             Willie, Darryl Wrights.

               Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, this will probably be the 
             last time officially on this floor as a U.S. Senator that 
             I look at the faces of these people that you and I have 
             worked with--the clerks, and Parliamentarians, the staff. 
             It is family. The young pages that we see here with that 
             sparkle in their eye and the enthusiasm that they have for 
             this process--it is fun to talk to you and to see your 
             sense of enthusiasm for this. As I said, you are going to 
             have a sense of the U.S. Senate like few citizens, because 
             you have been here, you have experienced it, and you have 
             been up close in person.
               But to those of you that I see now as I look to the 
             desk, those who have sat in your places that I have worked 
             with through these years, I thank you. America is well 
             served by you, by your professionalism and your 
             dedication.
               So I thank you. I thank the Cloakroom again; all of the 
             family; the staff, from the police officers and the 
             waiters and waitresses, and the folks who make this place 
             work; the Senate Chaplain; and, Mr. President, again I 
             thank you for your courtesy, and I bid you farewell.

                                         ---

                  ORDER FOR PRINTING OF INDIVIDUAL SENATE DOCUMENTS

               Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
             there be printed as individual Senate documents a 
             compilation of materials from the Congressional Record in 
             tribute to Senators Dan Coats of Indiana, Dirk Kempthorne 
             of Idaho, Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, Wendell Ford of 
             Kentucky, and John Glenn of Ohio.
               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Craig). Without objection, it 
             is so ordered.
               Mr. LOTT. These clearly are five great Senators who have 
             served their States and their country so well. And I am 
             sure they will continue to do so, albeit in a different 
             arena. Of course, I have said here, Dan Coats has been one 
             of my closest friends for the past 20 years. I will miss 
             him here but I will be with him in other areas.
               And, of course, John Glenn makes history once again 
             flying off into space. And many Senators and their spouses 
             will be there to see that event.


                               ARTICLES AND EDITORIALS

                      [From the Spokesman-Review, May 22, 1998]
             Senator Wants To Come Home; Kempthorne Stands by Record in 
                                   Governor Quest
                                (By Betsy Z. Russell)
               Dirk Kempthorne bristles a little when he's criticized 
             as too careful, too cautious to take a stand.
               ``What's most important are the results,'' he said, 
             ticking off his successes in the U.S. Senate on unfunded 
             mandates, safe drinking water, and highway funding. ``I 
             think both as mayor of Boise and as a U.S. Senator, I have 
             provided Idahoans with the results they have hoped for.
               ``I think they will appreciate someone who will take the 
             job seriously enough to carefully examine the issue.'' 
             Kempthorne was such a popular mayor in Idaho's capital 
             city that when he ran for a second term, no one ran 
             against him--unheard of in Boise city politics. With quiet 
             consensus-building, he had melted away the lines dividing 
             angry factions that had clashed over how to redevelop the 
             city's downtown and attract new retailers.
               While in the Senate, he tried that approach to come up 
             with compromise legislation to reform the Endangered 
             Species Act, but hasn't found an answer that works for all 
             sides. He's also expressed frustration with the glacial 
             pace of progress in Washington, DC. It was much different 
             from the rollicking change of course he presided over in 
             Boise.
               Now Kempthorne has given up an easy shot at a second 
             term in the Senate to run for Governor of Idaho. He faces 
             Lewiston property manager David Shepherd in Tuesday's 
             Republican primary election.
               Kempthorne said if he's elected, he'll be a ``hands-on'' 
             Governor. He'd be ``very visible in the conduct of the 
             affairs of State government, and not just in Boise.''
               The chance to get out around the State and really be 
             involved in making things happen is exciting to 
             Kempthorne, particularly after the plodding decorum of the 
             Senate.
               ``I'll be very inclusive, by asking citizens to be 
             involved like they've never been involved before,'' he 
             said. ``I am convinced of the significant talent of the 
             people of Idaho.''
               Kempthorne was born in San Diego, but grew up in 
             Spokane. He has happy memories of sledding and ice skating 
             in winter, and watching the seasons change. But when he 
             was in the fourth grade, his family moved to San 
             Bernardino, CA, where Kempthorne said he never felt at 
             home.
               Nevertheless, he won his first political office: Ninth 
             grade president. By his senior year of high school, he was 
             student body president. He also started his own business, 
             selling produce in city neighborhoods from a green-painted 
             converted mail truck.
               As soon as he could, Kempthorne returned to the Inland 
             Northwest, enrolling at the University of Idaho with the 
             hope of becoming a doctor. But that transformed into a 
             political science major. After college, Kempthorne went to 
             work at the Idaho Department of Lands.
               A few years later, he was lobbying as head of the Idaho 
             Homebuilders and, later, on behalf of FMC Corp. He also 
             took on his first formal political role: campaign manager 
             for Phil Batt's unsuccessful 1982 run for Governor.
               Now, Batt is the retiring Governor, and he's made no 
             secret of his pleasure that the polished, blue-eyed, 46-
             year-old Kempthorne is among those vying to succeed him.
               ``We all have different management styles and 
             personalities,'' Kempthorne said, ''but there's a great 
             deal I can draw on, initiatives he's started that I think 
             ought to continue.''
               He's pledging to continue Batt's Hispanic Initiative, 
             which works toward improving economic opportunities for 
             Idaho's largest minority, and Batt's regular meetings with 
             Idaho's Indian tribes. Batt has been praised by tribal 
             leaders for bringing a new high to State-tribal relations.
               ``If I have the honor of being elected, I would fully 
             intend to continue that,'' Kempthorne said.
               Kempthorne has taken a few baby steps out onto a limb 
             this year by proposing to lower the supermajority 
             requirement for school bond elections from two-thirds to 
             60 percent. He wants that change only for votes in 
             statewide elections.
               The idea hasn't been welcomed by some leading 
             Republicans, who like the stricter safeguard against 
             property tax increases. Kempthorne said he thinks it would 
             be an important step toward dealing with Idaho's 
             difficulties in providing adequate school buildings for 
             children.
               But Kempthorne isn't signing on to any of the proposals 
             made in recent years to commit the State to sharing in the 
             costs of building schools.
               ``The responsibility must be at the local level for the 
             funding of the bricks and mortar for our schools. It goes 
             hand in hand with the opportunity for them to determine 
             how the children in those communities are raised, the 
             responsibility of the local school board, the involvement 
             of the parents.''
               Kempthorne doesn't want any new ``State entitlement'' or 
             expectation that the State will come up with funds for any 
             new school building. But he leaves the door open for some 
             kind of program to help economically disadvantaged 
             districts that are having trouble getting schools built.
               Kempthorne also said he'd like to follow Batt's welfare 
             reform model--which involved a citizen task force and 
             hearings around the State on recommended changes--to come 
             up with ways to make sure Idahoans can afford health care.
               ``That's a very important issue,'' he said.
               He also hopes to work with anti-abortion groups to 
             develop legislation requiring parental consent for minors' 
             abortions. ``From this last session, the unfinished 
             business would be the parental consent, which I do believe 
             and support,'' he said.
               Kempthorne said he thinks ``we can coolly and calmly 
             determine the right language'' to do that.
               ``This is an important issue, I think we can resolve it, 
             but it is not the only issue. There are a variety of 
             things that are going to be requiring vigorous effort by 
             everyone involved in government and citizen input.''

                                         ---

                    [From the Spokesman-Review, October 20, 1998]
                 Quiet Ambition; From Boise to Washington, DC, Dirk 
                Kempthorne's Easygoing Style Has Served Him Well in 
                                 Political Contests
                                (By Betsy Z. Russell)
               Two young men from Idaho stood in front of the White 
             House, gawked at the sights and imagined themselves making 
             things happen there.
               ``You know how kids dream?'' said Greg Casey. ``We were 
             young men, posing for a picture in front of the White 
             House, talking about how someday we'd like to be in the 
             business of helping to make good government.''
               Nearly two decades later, Casey is sergeant-at-arms of 
             the U.S. Senate. The other man, Dirk Kempthorne, is 
             leaving the Senate to run for Governor of Idaho. As a 
             Senator, Kempthorne was considered a possible vice 
             presidential candidate, and some of his fans think he'll 
             run for president someday.
               Kempthorne doesn't talk so big. He's made a mark as a 
             politician whose quiet ambition, patient listening, and 
             strong personal appeal have propelled him to success at 
             everything from ninth grade president to University of 
             Idaho student body president, Boise mayor to U.S. Senate.
               If Kempthorne is elected Governor, and he's strongly 
             favored, he could serve two terms and still be just 54 
             years old. He'd be in prime position to continue his 
             political career.
               He says only that he ``could take a look at any variety 
             of options,'' from private-sector work to teaching.
               It was as a college student that Kempthorne came to 
             Idaho. Born in San Diego, he'd spent much of his childhood 
             in Spokane.
               He was a politically aware third-grader who backed 
             Richard Nixon for President in 1960, and liked to take the 
             bus to meet his mom when she got off work at her 
             secretarial job.
               When Kempthorne was in the fourth grade, his father 
             bought a hospital-supply and home-care business in San 
             Bernardino, CA. Kempthorne missed the Inland Northwest, 
             and returned for college at the University of Idaho.
               He already had two political victories under his belt. 
             There was the ninth grade class presidency. And he won his 
             high school student body presidency, even though he wasn't 
             part of the group at the top of the school's social 
             hierarchy.
               That kind of personal persuasion was Kempthorne's style. 
             He even used it when he worked his way up, as a teenager, 
             from hospital janitor to surgical orderly to scrub-tech, 
             which was the height of achievement for teens working at 
             his local hospital.
               He figured on being a doctor when he headed to college, 
             but politics beckoned instead.
               Although he wasn't well-known on campus, Kempthorne 
             campaigned persistently and won a four-way race to become 
             UI student body president his senior year.
               ``I knew that he was politically ambitious from the very 
             beginning, because he told me he wanted to be the Governor 
             that summer, right after graduation,'' recalled John 
             Andreason. Andreason, the State's legislative budget 
             director, first met Kempthorne when he was a student 
             lobbyist.
               Kempthorne met blond, popular Patricia Merrill at the 
             University, but the two didn't start dating until after 
             both had graduated and moved to Boise. They returned to 
             Moscow to be married atop Moscow Mountain at sunrise.
               ``I don't know, I don't think there's a more beautiful 
             cathedral than the outdoors, under that canopy,'' 
             Kempthorne said.
               At his Senate office, behind his desk, hangs a large oil 
             painting of the Palouse, showing the view from the 
             mountaintop wedding site.
               Kempthorne's first job out of college was for the State 
             Department of Lands, where he was impressed by the late 
             director, Gordon Trombley.
               Kempthorne called Trombley ``as fine a public servant as 
             you would find.''
               Particularly impressive to him was the surprising 
             discovery that behind closed doors with the agency's top 
             brass, Trombley sounded just the same as he did when 
             talking to the public. ``His tone was always one of a 
             gentleman and a servant--a great role model.''
               Kempthorne moved next into the private sector, serving 
             as executive director and lobbyist for a homebuilders 
             association.
               The reputation he polished as a lobbyist, supplemented 
             by volunteer work on the campaigns of such Republican 
             politicians as Steve Symms and Larry Craig, got around. 
             When then-Lieutenant Governor Phil Batt was looking for a 
             campaign manager for his run for Governor in 1982, several 
             people recommended Kempthorne.
               ``I said I'd be honored,'' Kempthorne said. ``I didn't 
             want to let Phil Batt down.''
               That turned out to be the only election Batt ever lost, 
             but Batt, who now is Idaho's retiring Governor, has no 
             regrets.
               ``Dirk Kempthorne was obviously a highly intelligent and 
             well-organized person,'' Batt recalled. ``He worked night 
             and day, and we did our best to win--almost did.''
               After the campaign, Kempthorne went back into lobbying, 
             signing on with FMC Corp. to start a new government 
             affairs office in Boise.
               From his downtown office in the old Hotel Boise, 
             Kempthorne regularly had to walk through the wreckage of 
             what once had been Boise's thriving downtown.
               ``We had a wonderful community, but * * * for too many 
             years it wasn't reaching its potential.''
               Whole blocks of downtown had been leveled nearly two 
             decades earlier for a planned shopping mall that never 
             materialized. City officials who clung to the plan forbade 
             any large mall from being built unless it was downtown, 
             and the city ended up with neither downtown nor mall.
               The job of Boise mayor was seen as a political dead end, 
             but Casey and then-Congressman Larry Craig thought that 
             was about to change.
               ``Larry and I had sort of thought about what a mayoral 
             campaign could be run like in the new era,'' Casey said. 
             ``We thought, hey, Dirk!''
               At the annual Western Idaho Fair, Casey and Craig got a 
             few buttons made up saying ``Kempthorne for Mayor,'' and 
             then wore them to visit Kempthorne.
               ``Boise needed a real uplift, really needed a mayor with 
             some vision and charisma,'' said Casey, who then was 
             Craig's chief of staff.
               Kempthorne ran and won, and presided over the end of the 
             downtown deadlock. Boise now has a large shopping mall at 
             the end of a new cross-town freeway, and downtown is 
             filled with office buildings, shops, restaurants, and a 
             convention center.
               Said Kempthorne, ``The first key was building 
             relationships, not bricks and mortar, because that town 
             was divided.''
               Kempthorne became one of Boise's most popular mayors, 
             running unopposed for his second term. Then he took on a 
             tough contest for U.S. Senate, facing sitting Congressman 
             Richard Stallings. The young, polished Kempthorne defeated 
             the older politician and went to Washington.
               There, he pushed his ``crazy idea of stopping unfunded 
             mandates''--a chief complaint of mayors across the 
             country. The idea is that the Federal Government shouldn't 
             require local governments to do something unless it 
             provides the money to do it.
               The bill not only passed, it became a celebrated cause. 
             Bob Dole, then Senate majority leader, made the bill 
             Senate Bill No. 1, and it was passed and signed into law.
               Kempthorne was particularly proud that at the Rose 
             Garden signing ceremony, his wife and two children sat in 
             the front row. ``I could tell * * * that they were proud 
             of what we'd done.''
               Boise State University political scientist Jim Weatherby 
             said Kempthorne's record of successfully enacting major 
             legislation is unusual for a first-term Senator. In 
             addition to the unfunded mandates law, he pushed through 
             amendments to safe drinking water laws and worked for a 
             compromise on reform of the Endangered Species Act.
               Kempthorne is popular in the Senate, largely because of 
             the way he deals with people.
               Casey recalls a time when a tourist suffered a sudden 
             heart problem. Kempthorne took off his coat and folded it 
             into a pillow, helped the man lie down and took his pulse 
             while waiting for doctors to arrive.
               ``My elevator operators say, `Ya' know, Greg, he is the 
             nicest Senator we ever had here.' He knows their names.''
               Kempthorne's critics say he relies on personal charm and 
             vague generalities to win political success. The Lewiston 
             Tribune recently accused him of running for ``student body 
             president of Idaho,'' and former longtime Coeur d'Alene 
             Senator Mary Lou Reed said, ``Voters don't know what 
             they're getting.''
               Weatherby said Kempthorne's advocacy of lowering the 
             school bond supermajority last spring upset some 
             Republican party faithful, ``and we haven't heard much of 
             his specific stands on issues since.''
               ``Kempthorne is in a position to state general 
             principles and not offend or alienate any of his 
             supporters,'' Weatherby said. The risk is that he'll end 
             up with ``little to say about why he was elected, or that 
             he has a mandate to govern in certain areas.''
               Political observers say Kempthorne has a knack for 
             conversing one-on-one with people, making them feel as if 
             they matter. His preference for listening to people's 
             views before he makes his decisions sometimes makes him 
             appear indecisive or overly careful.
               Kempthorne said he doesn't think Idahoans see him that 
             way. ``I think they will appreciate someone who will take 
             the job seriously enough to carefully examine the issue,'' 
             he said. ``What's most important are the results.''
               Casey said Kempthorne's style is sincere. ``The reason 
             people say they think he's listening is because he is.''
               ``I don't think he could have done anything else in 
             life, he's always going to be a leader,'' Casey said. 
             ``And in our society, leaders hold public office.''

                                  
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