[Senate Document 108-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. PETER G. FITZGERALD
S. Doc. 108-24
Peter G. Fitzgerald
U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T7208.001
Peter G. Fitzgerald
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Peter G. Fitzgerald
United States Senator
1999-2005
a
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
Trent Lott, Chairman
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell..............................................
xi
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Allard, Wayne, of Colorado.....................
16
Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
17
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
7
Burns, Conrad, of Montana......................
5
Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
3
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
4
Daschle, Tom, of South Dakota..................
7, 19
Dayton, Mark, of Minnesota.....................
7
Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
11
Dole, Elizabeth, of North Carolina.............
13
Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
15
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
xvii
Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
15
Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
6
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
17
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
16
Inhofe, James M., of Oklahoma..................
9
Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
6
Lautenberg, Frank, of New Jersey...............
7, 8
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
12, 19
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
8
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
9
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
5
Biography
Peter G. Fitzgerald was elected to the U.S. Senate on
November 3, 1998, at age 38. He was the first Republican
in Illinois to win a Senate race in 20 years and was the
only Republican challenger in the country to defeat an
incumbent Democratic Senator in the 1998 election cycle.
For several years he was the youngest Member of the U.S.
Senate.
Senator Fitzgerald served on the Commerce; Governmental
Affairs; Agriculture; Small Business; and Aging
Committees. He chaired the Governmental Affairs
Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget, and
International Security; the Commerce Subcommittee on
Consumer Affairs and Product Safety; and the Agriculture
Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition, and General
Legislation.
A former commercial banking director and general
counsel, Senator Fitzgerald chaired or played a leading
role in investigations of Enron and corporate accounting
fraud, mutual fund industry abuses, chronic underfunding
of employee pensions, the deteriorating condition of the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, conflicts of
interest in the insurance brokerage industry, high fees in
529 college savings programs, and waste, fraud, and
mismanagement in various Federal agencies. He enacted
several measures to improve the financial accountability
of government agencies and departments by expanding audit
requirements and extending the reach of the Chief
Financial Officers Act.
In 2004, Senator Fitzgerald proposed comprehensive,
bipartisan mutual fund reform legislation to protect the
household, college, and retirement savings of the 91
million Americans who invest in mutual funds. Endorsed by
consumer groups and termed the ``gold standard'' of
industry reform, Fitzgerald's legislation helped prompt
the Securities and Exchange Commission to undertake a
vigorous review of mutual fund oversight and regulation.
By the end of 2004, the SEC had promulgated final rules
addressing 17 of the provisions laid out in Fitzgerald's
legislation, including provisions on director
independence, fund governance, fee and compensation
disclosure, and a prohibition of directed brokerage. In
its December 2004 issue, Money Magazine wrote that
``individual investors [will] lose one of their feistiest
defenders next month with the departure of U.S. Senator
Peter G. Fitzgerald.''
Senator Fitzgerald built a reputation as an independent
voice for Illinois. He consistently backed efforts to
control spending and reduce taxes, but at the same time
voted for environmental and consumer protections. In early
2003, he passed legislation temporarily extending Federal
unemployment benefits.
Continuing work on issues that occupied his attention
as a State senator in Illinois, Fitzgerald vigorously
promoted competitive bidding in government contracts and
opposed taxpayer giveaways to politically connected
interests. In 2000, he sought to impose Federal
competitive bidding guidelines on a large government-
funded project in his own State. For 2 days, in a Senate
speech the Champaign News-Gazette called ``a wake up call
for Illinois taxpayers,'' Fitzgerald brought national
attention to numerous instances of cronyism and corruption
in Illinois State government.
Senator Fitzgerald steadfastly fought political
corruption in both political parties. In 2001, with
support from President Bush, the Senator succeeded in
installing professional U.S. attorneys, in each of the
three judicial districts in Illinois, who were completely
independent of the State's politics. His efforts drew
bitter opposition from local Democrats and Republicans,
but won widespread editorial and public support and were
ultimately followed by corruption indictments and trials
that rocked Illinois politics. The Chicago Tribune said:
``[Fitzgerald's] resolve to attack the influence peddlers,
the patronage powers, the well-dressed thieves who rip off
taxpaying commoners, has given Illinois something
enduring.''
Throughout 2003 and 2004, Senator Fitzgerald aided
efforts led by Senator John McCain to save taxpayers an
estimated $5 to $6 billion by stopping an Air Force plan
to lease 100 tanker jets at inflated prices from the
Boeing Company. High-ranking Members of Congress, together
with Boeing's large network of lobbyists, tried repeatedly
to ram the deal through, but McCain, with Fitzgerald as
virtually his only congressional ally, fought back hard
and ultimately won when it became apparent that the tanker
deal was the product of corrupt negotiations between the
Air Force and Boeing.
From his perch on the Commerce Committee, Fitzgerald
was active on aviation issues, with efforts to address the
Nation's air capacity shortage and promote greater
competition in the airline industry. Fitzgerald helped
lead the effort to build a south suburban Chicago airport,
as first recommended by the Federal Aviation
Administration in 1984. He stopped legislation which would
have impeded the south suburban airport and which would
have instead dictated the approval of a cost-inefficient
plan to tear up and rebuild O'Hare.
In 2001, Fitzgerald co-authored an amendment which made
it difficult and unattractive for air carriers to seek the
Federal loan guarantees offered in the airline bailout
bill. As a result of Fitzgerald's language, few airlines
applied for the loan guarantees and taxpayers saved
billions of dollars.
The Senator also focused on consumer safety issues. In
2000, he led a successful drive to modernize outdated
Federal testing and safety standards for child car seats.
In 2002, he drafted and President Bush signed into law a
follow-up measure, known as Anton's Law, to upgrade
Federal testing and standards for child booster seats and
to require automakers to improve car safety features.
As the first Illinois Senator since 1986 to serve on
the Agriculture Committee, Fitzgerald worked closely with
the futures industry in Chicago to modernize the commodity
trading laws and to allow the sale of futures on
individual stocks. He also worked with Illinois farm
groups to open markets for Illinois commodities in the
United States and overseas, to promote renewable fuels,
and to provide tax relief for family farmers. He enacted
legislation to better enable low-income citizens to access
their food stamp benefits, as well as legislation to
require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make its
program benefits available over the Internet. The Senator
also called for reform of the Federal farm payment system
to ensure Federal aid goes to family farmers who most need
assistance, and helped pass legislation to study potential
improvements to farm aid programs.
Senator Fitzgerald garnered numerous awards during his
Senate tenure. He regularly received top ratings from
taxpayer watchdog groups, including the National Tax
Limitation Committee, the National Taxpayers Union, and
the Concord Coalition. Americans for Tax Reform repeatedly
named Fitzgerald a ``Hero of the American Taxpayer.''
Taxpayers for Common Sense gave Fitzgerald its ``Mr. Smith
Goes to Washington'' award for resisting the influence of
special interests and working to reduce wasteful
government spending. In honor of his dedication to
promoting transparent and accountable government, the
Better Government Association presented Senator Fitzgerald
with its 2003 ``Civic Achievement Award.''
When Fitzgerald announced on April 15, 2003, that he
would not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2004, the
headline to a Daily Herald column asserted ``Illinois will
be losing an honest politician in Peter Fitzgerald.'' The
Daily Southtown declared, ``Fitzgerald's choice a loss for
Illinois.'' The publisher of the Champaign News-Gazette
opined, ``Fitzgerald's departure a setback for the concept
of clean government.'' ``Illinois will miss Senator
Fitzgerald's independence,'' wrote The Southern
Illinoisan. Citing his ``savvy and independence,'' the
Bloomington Pantagraph said, ``we need more Senators of
the Fitzgerald mold.'' A column in the Chicago Tribune
thanked him for ``elevating courage and honesty to new
heights'' and concluded that ``no one person has done more
for political reform in Illinois than Peter Fitzgerald.''
In the final days of Fitzgerald's career, editorial
boards and columnists around the State and Nation hailed
his service. In an editorial entitled ``Going out a
winner,'' the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that ``[Fitzgerald]
represented Illinois with honesty and dedication.'' The
Peoria Journal Star editorialized that the ``Senate will
miss Fitzgerald's intellect and willingness to take on
complex and often unpopular causes.'' A column in the
Pioneer Press said ``[Fitzgerald's] been honest,
steadfast, accessible, dedicated and independent,'' and a
piece in the Wall Street Journal's Opinion Journal called
the Senator ``The Unsung Maverick.''
On his last day in office, January 2, 2005, the Chicago
Tribune editorial page concluded that it was the ``irony
of Peter Fitzgerald'' that ``a Senator acclaimed for his
integrity, simply walks away.''
Born on October 20, 1960, Peter Fitzgerald grew up in
Inverness, IL, a suburb northwest of Chicago, and has
lived there all his life. He went to St. Theresa's
Elementary School in Palatine, IL, and to Portsmouth
Abbey, a secondary school in Portsmouth, RI. Fitzgerald
attended Dartmouth College, where he majored in Latin and
Greek. He graduated from Dartmouth cum laude and with
``highest distinction.'' In 1982-1983, Fitzgerald studied
at the Aristotelian University in Salonica, Greece, as a
Rotary Foundation International Graduate Scholar. He
earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan School of
Law. Fitzgerald practiced corporate law for 10 years in
Chicago, first in private firms and later as general
counsel for a publicly traded bank holding company. He has
served on the boards of directors of four banks and one
bank holding company.
From 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in
1998, Fitzgerald was an Illinois State senator,
representing the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He chaired
the State government operations committee.
In 1987, Peter married Nina (A.B., Smith College;
M.Sc., London School of Economics; J.D., Harvard Law
School). They have one son, Jake, born in May 1992.
Senator Fitzgerald especially enjoys playing catch with
Jake, an avid baseball player.
Farewell
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, I rise with some sadness
on my last time to speak on the Senate floor. It is a very
bittersweet occasion for me because I have loved every
minute of the last 6 years, and I will miss this body
greatly. I am sure I will think about it every remaining
day in my life hence forward. The past 6 years have been
amongst the most thrilling in my life, and it has been a
privilege and honor to serve here.
I rise really to thank my colleagues for their kindness
to me over the years and to thank my staff and my family
and the entire Senate staff and everyone who is part of
this institution for the wonderful 6 years I have had
here.
I was first elected to the Senate from Illinois in 1998.
I was sworn in in 1999, and almost immediately thereafter,
the first Presidential impeachment trial in 130 years
began. For my first 35 days, I think it was, or 38 days,
on the Senate floor, I was immersed in the impeachment
trial of former President Clinton. Thereafter, we had
times of war, war in Kosovo and Afghanistan and now Iraq.
We had the events of 9/11. I have served in times of war
and peace, in times of great prosperity, as well as in
times of recession. I have seen a whole lot.
What I will remember most probably are the wonderful
people who are part of the Senate. When I entered the
Senate in 1999, I came in as the youngest Member. I was 38
at the time. I am older now, obviously, and have probably
less hair and more gray hair. The oldest Member of the
Senate at that time was Strom Thurmond. He was 96 years of
age. I will never forget Strom Thurmond telling me, when
he was 96, about how he used to work out 45 minutes every
day, and I was thinking about whether I might be as active
as Strom when I am 96, if I make it that long. Even at
that age, I remember Strom giving me advice, telling me
about how I could help the coal industry in southern
Illinois. It was remarkable to meet someone like that.
There are many who have retired. There are others like
Strom who have passed away. There are some giants who are
still with us, such as Senator Robert Byrd. One of my
first memories of meeting Senator Byrd is going in to talk
to him after I first got elected and asking him to sign
for me a copy of his book on the history of the Roman
Republic. Early on in my term in the Senate, I actually
read Senator Byrd's whole book on the history of the Roman
Republic. I have to say it is a marvelous book, and any
Member of the Senate who has not read that book should
please go out and get it because it has bountiful lessons
for every Member of the Senate. It traces the decline and
fall of the Roman Republic. It traces the decline of the
Republic to the Roman Senate giving up more and more of
its powers to the executive, finally to the point where
the Senate became meaningless and Rome was just governed
by Caesars, dictators, and kings. It is an outstanding
book.
To meet the man who wrote this book and to realize that
book was taken from a series of speeches that he delivered
on the Senate floor, without notes, as to the hundreds of
thousands of names and dates in that book, is truly
astonishing.
Senator Byrd has written a much larger four-volume
history of the Senate, which when I retire from this body
I hope to have time to tackle. But just to think of
someone who could be so productive not only in the Senate
for so long but accomplish so much in other areas writing
such scholarly books, I will miss people like Senator Byrd
and Senator Thurmond and all the others, the leaders with
whom I have had the privilege to serve.
Senator Trent Lott was the majority leader when I
entered. For a period of time, Tom Daschle was the
majority leader. Now Senator Frist is the majority leader,
and soon Senator Harry Reid will be the minority leader.
Each one of those individuals is remarkable, in my
judgment. They have always been gentlemen of the highest
order, and they work very hard. They are very good at what
they do in representing their perspectives. They are good
and honorable people whom our country is lucky to have.
Our whips on the Republican side, Don Nickles and Mitch
McConnell--Don Nickles has done such a good job for the
taxpayers of this country. It has been an absolute
pleasure to watch him fighting excessive spending and
confiscatory taxation. I have been pleased to join him
over and over again to hold the line on spending and to
vote against tax increases and for tax relief, something
that I view as very important.
I am retiring at the same time as Senator Nickles. I
will miss him greatly as part of this body, but I hope to
see him often in life outside of the Senate.
Other colleagues of mine are so important to me for
reasons one might not think of. I did not know what I
might have in common with Senator Bunning from Kentucky.
He was elected at the same time I was in 1998. Senator
Bunning is always so kind in giving me advice, as I advise
my own son how to practice his pitching for his Little
League games.
The other night, I saw Senator Bunning in his car, and I
said: Jim, having been a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher--
where else can you get that kind of advice for your son's
pitching lessons--I am not going to be able to ask you for
advice on how to coach my son on pitching.
He said: You know what. You can still call me afterward.
I will always be there.
It is comments like that and the friendships like that,
where I have spent so much time with the other 99 Members
of this body, so many late nights and long weekends and
sometimes retreats together, all of us really have become
almost kind of like a family. It is much more like family
than I think the media in America recognizes because so
often the differences between the parties or the
personalities get emphasized by the media. But I will miss
them all.
John McCain, the chairman of the Senate Commerce
Committee on which I have been privileged to serve the
last 4 of my 6 years, a man I admire greatly. Most
Americans know about his heroism as a prisoner of war
during the Vietnam war, where he was in the Hanoi Hilton
for 5 years and the enemy forces tortured him, crushed his
bones and could never get him to buckle or back down. Few
men have the kind of courage that John McCain has. It is
not just physical courage but the courage he has had to
always fight for what he believes is right. Sometimes I
have not agreed with him, but when he believes he is right
he is willing to stand up to some very powerful forces
that often threaten him politically, but nothing scares
this American hero, John McCain. I am so thankful to him
for the opportunity he gave me to chair the Consumer
Affairs Subcommittee on the Senate Commerce Committee
where I have been able to work on child safety and booster
seat safety and automobiles and also to play a very
critical role in the corporate governance hearings that we
had a few years back first with Enron, Adelphia, WorldCom
and those other corporate scandals.
We have also worked on aviation and transportation, the
Internet, telecommunications. There is never a dull moment
with Senator McCain chairing the committee, and for the
seven new Senators who are coming in who are thinking of
what committees they might want to serve on, that is one I
have always loved.
Susan Collins, the chairman of the Senate Governmental
Affairs Committee--what a great American, what a hard-
working American. We all saw that recently with her hard
work on putting together the intelligence bill under very
difficult circumstances with a very short time to work. I
thank her for giving me the opportunity to chair the
Financial Management, the Budget, and International
Security Subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs
Committee, together with my friend and colleague Danny
Akaka, from Hawaii, who has been my ranking member on that
subcommittee. Danny is such a gentleman. I tell you, I am
going to miss him personally, and I am also going to miss
the macadamia nuts that he regularly sent over to me. But
I may have time to visit him on a beach in Hawaii, now
that I think about it. Maybe that is where I will see him
and Senator Inouye next.
But Senator Akaka and I were able to wake up what might
normally be thought of as a very sleepy subcommittee of
the Governmental Affairs Committee, where we dealt with
improving accountability of government financial
reporting. We increased audit requirements on Federal
agencies, we extended the Chief Financial Officers Act to
the Homeland Security Department, and we put it in to
apply to the new intelligence directorate. But, also, we
have worked very hard in that subcommittee to spotlight
some of the great challenges our country confronts.
I think in that regard, with the staff on that committee
on both sides of the aisle being so able, we have been
able to put together some of the best hearings the Senate
has had on issues such as our defined benefit pension
problem in this country. The Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation has a massive deficit with no end to
increasing deficits on the horizon.
We have had hearings on the government-sponsored
entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the
Homeowner Bank Boards and other entities that are
privately owned but have government charters, and what
risk they may or may not pose to the system.
We had a series of hearings on mutual funds and the
problem of high fees. Mr. President, I was honored to have
your co-sponsorship on a landmark bill to reform the
mutual fund industry. While we were not successful in
passing that legislation this year, the Securities and
Exchange Commission has adopted many of the items in that
bill, including requiring independent chairmen of the
boards of mutual funds in America.
Just this week we did a hearing on the problems that we
have seen in the insurance brokerage industry in which we
heard from experts on all sides and got Washington's first
perspective on the indictments that have come out of
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office in New York. We
had a hearing on the issue of the expensing for stock
option compensation, which has been so actively debated
amongst accountants in our country.
Finally, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is
going to require publicly traded corporations to expense
stock option compensation on their earnings statements.
On the Agriculture Committee, if I think of the word
``gentleman,'' I would think of Senator Lugar, who was the
chairman of the Agriculture Committee when I first came
in, and Senator Cochran, from Mississippi, who is the
current chairman of the Agriculture Committee. It is
regretful I will not be here a second term because I now
have enough seniority on the Agriculture Committee to
chair it in the second term, believe it or not.
But Senators Lugar and Cochran have been a pleasure to
work with. We passed a number of measures to make life
better for our Nation's farmers, some very simple but
important changes allowing farmers to file all their USDA
paperwork on the Internet.
We improved child nutrition and passed legislation to
make it easier for people who depend on government
assistance for their nutrition and food needs, that those
people through the Food Stamp Program can now get their
benefits across State lines--somebody who may live in St.
Louis and goes back and forth to Illinois, or somebody
living in northwest Indiana and goes back and forth to
Chicago.
Also, a very important industry in my State, Mr.
President, and in your State as well, is the commodity
futures industry. In Chicago, we have the Board of Trade
and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. We also have the
Chicago Board Options Exchange. I am told, directly and
indirectly, in Chicago we employ some 200,000 people in
the futures industry.
The Agriculture Committee has given me the opportunity
to work on the rewrite of our commodity trading laws. I
was pleased to be an active participant in the Commodity
Futures Modernization Act, where we first allowed the
trading of futures on individual stocks in this country.
That market is now developing. I hope to see it come back.
I want to say some words of thanks to the senior Senator
from Illinois, Mr. Dick Durbin. He referred to us as the
political odd couple--one conservative Republican, one
liberal Democrat, from the land of Lincoln.
More often than not, we probably disagreed from a policy
perspective on some of the key issues confronting our
Nation, but it never prevented us from working well
together. In fact, we jointly held 163 breakfasts,
constituent breakfasts together. Every Thursday morning at
8:30 when the Senate was in session, Senator Durbin and I
would host a breakfast, allow constituents who were
visiting Washington from Illinois to ask us any question
that was on their mind, whether it was political or policy
related, and we paid for the breakfast. My understanding
is, there are not many other examples of bipartisan
breakfasts where you have one Republican and one Democrat
who have such a weekly gathering for their constituents.
We worked well together on the selection of judges. We
almost never had an open vacancy that we couldn't resolve
on the district courts in the northern, central, or
southern Illinois districts.
Senator Durbin was terrific in supporting me in my
effort to clean up corruption in Illinois. One of the most
important things I did in that regard was to bring in
independent U.S. attorneys to the State of Illinois who
were not beholden to the political class in the State.
That was something new. When I went to appoint U.S.
attorneys, I found everybody and their brother,
particularly all the local politicians on both sides of
the aisle, trying to influence the selection of my U.S.
attorney.
I didn't want to lay awake at night wondering who was
trying to influence my U.S. attorney, either to go after
someone unjustly or to protect someone wrongly from
prosecution. I, ultimately, decided for that reason to do
a nationwide search for our U.S. attorneys, which yielded,
I think, amongst the best U.S. attorneys anywhere in the
country: Patrick Fitzgerald in the Northern District of
Illinois, Jan Paul Miller in the Central District of
Illinois, and Ron Tenpas, in the Southern District of
Illinois. They are doing a tremendous job and no one is
asking whether they are influenced politically or what
their motivation would be. I thank Senator Durbin for
supporting that effort to bring independent U.S. attorneys
to Illinois.
Senator Durbin is a man whose stamina, hard work, and
intelligence I greatly admire. He is very devoted and
hard-working. He travels back to his hometown of
Springfield every weekend. That is a harder commute than
my commute. I travel back to Palatine, IL, which is only
about 12 miles northwest of O'Hare. So I had a fairly easy
commute; I just had an hour and a half plane flight and
then a short drive and I was at my House. But Senator
Durbin would go back to O'Hare every weekend and then
catch another flight down to Springfield and he does that
every weekend. He is constantly back in the State of
Illinois.
I think we worked well on just about everything, except
aviation. We had a disagreement over O'Hare Airport. I
think I am right. He thinks he is right. But aside from
that difference of opinion, it has been a pleasure to work
with him.
I am sure Senator Durbin will be an effective spokesman
for his side of the aisle as the whip for the incoming
Democratic caucus in the 109th Congress. I do not
necessarily wish Senator Durbin success in that role, but
I do wish him well.
Barack Obama, my successor, I wish him well. It was a
privilege to have lunch with him yesterday in the Senate
dining room. I served with Barack Obama in the State
senate for 2 years. He was coming in, in the legislature
in Springfield, in my last 2 years of service there. He is
an uncommonly bright and talented young man. He is 1 year
younger than I. He was the first African American
president of the Harvard Law Review. He is almost
unequaled in his potential and promise. I am confident he
will be a credit to the State of Illinois. I think he may
surprise the political pundits by voting, crossing party
lines at times that you don't expect him to. It may be a
challenge for him with Senator Durbin as his whip. But I
see Barack Obama as possibly being a fairly moderate
voice, more moderate than many people suspect.
To my staff, many of whom are gathered in the Senate
Chamber, I could not have been blessed with a more
wonderful staff to have gotten me through the last 6
years. I first need to start by thanking former Senator
Bob Dole and the current Senator Elizabeth Dole for
recommending to me the man who is my chief of staff,
Gregory Gross. Greg worked for Senator Bob Dole when he
was the leader in the Senate and during his Presidential
campaign in 1996. He worked for Mrs. Dole when she was at
the American Red Cross. He is extremely bright, as Bob
Dole told me when I first called for a reference on Greg
Gross.
Bob Dole said to me: Greg is what you call a genius. And
I thought, that is the kind of person I want, a genius on
my staff. But he is more than just a brilliant and
talented and knowledgeable chief of staff.
He is also incredibly devoted and incredibly loyal, and
I thank him for that.
For the first 3 years, my chief of staff was Richard
Hertling. He is now at the Justice Department. Richard did
an outstanding job in getting us up and running. It is
very hard when a new Senator is coming in and assembling a
new staff, as some of the new Senators are finding out.
I have been blessed to have had an outstanding
legislative director, Terry Van Doren from Macoupin
County, IL, whose father owns a cattle operation in
Macoupin County. Terry started out doing agriculture
policy for me. Terry was just what the doctor ordered. He
had straight A's from the University of Illinois in
agriculture sciences. Then he got a master's in
agriculture policy from Colorado State University. He had
a 4.0 there. I was called by the dean of the University of
Illinois Agriculture School. He told me what an
outstanding young man Terry is. Terry has been
instrumental in agricultural policy. He has been my
legislative director.
Before him, Joe Watson was my legislative director, a
brilliant young Harvard Law School graduate whom I plucked
out of the Sutter and Hopkins law firm. He is now at the
Commerce Department serving under Secretary Evans.
My office manager, Sherri Hupart, has done such an
outstanding job; always pleasant and kind and willing to
help, and calm under pressure.
Her predecessor, Tina Tyrer, came to me from Senator
Fred Thompson's office. She had some 20 years of
experience in Washington running Senate offices.
My Chicago chief of staff, Maggie Hickey, is a one-woman
army, entirely devoted, very hard-working. I want to thank
her.
My staff director for my Financial Management and Budget
and International Security Subcommittee, Mike Russell, and
the team he has put together, which I think enabled us to
do the best hearings on some of the key issues confronting
our financial markets in this country, I can't thank them
enough.
I thank my schedulers and executive assistants, Lanae
Denney, Julie Cate, Julie Grisolano, and Doris Gumino.
Scheduler has to be the toughest job on Capitol Hill
because you know how busy Senators' schedules get and how
it is for them to hear when a Senator is tired, or
frustrated, or thinks he is overscheduled. Schedulers hear
about it. There is no question about that. I thank my
schedulers for being there, staying here working late into
the evening. They have to be here even when the rest of
the staff has gone home.
My campaign manager and first communications director,
Mike Cys, is now in the private sector. He is brilliant
and energetic and enthusiastic. I thank him for all his
support.
I thank my communications, legislative assistants,
legislative correspondents, receptionists, front office
and back office, duty entry personnel, the interns, the
kids we have had serve over the years.
My staff handled 6,000 to 10,000 letters a week for the
past 6 years. The first year we came in, we were getting
over 10,000 e-mails a day on the impeachment. My State
office has handled over 22,000 individual constituent
cases. They conducted traveling office hours all over the
State, 1,574 traveling office hours in 675 towns. My State
staff met individually with 831 mayors and village clerks
telling them how to apply for Federal grants for sewer and
water.
I thank the staff on the floor of the Senate: Dave
Schiappa, the floor staff, Myron Fleming, the chief
doorkeeper, the cloakroom staff, the Parliamentarians,
leadership and Sergeant at Arms staff, and the pages who
come and go every semester. I always look at them. They
have to get up at 5 in the morning to do school work
before they can come here. But they work so hard. I hope
their experience has been as wonderful as we want it to be
for them.
And, finally, I would be remiss if I didn't thank the
most important people in my life, my family, my mother and
father, who always supported me not only through my 12
years in public service, but through all the years of my
life. It was always clear they would have been there to
lay their lives down for their son.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I
would like to thank him for his kind words and wish him
very well. We have served together for 6 years. Every
Thursday morning when we were in session we had free
coffee and doughnuts, a tradition that was started by
Senator Paul Simon. I believe we were the only two
Senators, being Democrat and Republican Senators, offering
this opportunity for the visitors who come to Washington
to ask a few questions and take a few photographs. But it
worked very well. It became a very interesting experience
for Illinoisans and others coming to Washington. We did it
many times. It reached the point where I would give his
answers to the questions and he would give my answers to
the questions. We distinguished ourselves as being the
only two Senators offering free coffee and doughnuts,
which may account for the crowds that showed. But we did
that for 6 years. We have worked closely together and
effectively and successfully together on the appointment
of judges, U.S. attorneys, and many projects that were
local to Illinois. We disagreed on some issues but managed
to maintain our friendship and warm relationship
throughout.
Senator Fitzgerald announced his retirement for the
right reasons. He said he wanted to spend more time with
his family. That is something which we all admire very
much.
I have enjoyed serving with Senator Fitzgerald, and I
wish him the very best, whatever the next venture might
be, and I hope we will continue to work together.
Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, I thank Senator Durbin
for the kind words. I hope to come back to his breakfasts
and get some of those free doughnuts myself. I won't have
to pay for them anymore. But I will miss it.
I thank Senator Durbin.
Finally, I thank my brothers and sisters--Gerry, my
older brother, Jim, Tom, my sister Julie. A lot of people
in public office worry that their siblings might embarrass
them. I have never had to worry because they are
wonderful, upstanding people, all of whom I think are
probably worried about what I might do that they might
worry about. They are wonderful people.
I thank my wife Nina. We met together in DC, when we
were interns back when we were 19 years old, and after
college and law school we got married. I moved her,
plucked her from her home State of Colorado. She came to
Illinois. I want to thank her for her steadfast support
through all my years in public office.
Finally, last but not least, I thank my 12-year-old son
Jake. Jake missed his father at baseball and basketball
games. I have been in public office for his entire 12
years. I am going to make it up to Jake now. I am pleased
that he is doing so well as a baseball pitcher. I thank
Jim Bunning and others for their advice.
And finally, the people of Illinois from one end of the
State to the other, from Cairo in the south to Rockford in
the north, thank you for your kindness to me. I have loved
every minute of it. You gave me your trust, and I worked
hard every day to keep it safe.
Thank you all. God bless. I will miss you all.
TRIBUTES
TO
PETER G. FITZGERALD
Proceedings in the Senate
Monday, October 11, 2004
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, at the close of the 108th
Congress, we say farewell to Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald
who is leaving us after one term.
The former congressional intern, commercial banking
attorney, and Illinois State Senator was elected to the
U.S. Senate in 1998. In fact, he was the first Republican
in Illinois to win a Senate seat in 20 years.
It has been a busy 6 years for Senator Fitzgerald.
During his brief tenure in this Chamber he served on the
Senate Agriculture, Commerce, Government Affairs, Small
Business, and Aging Committees. He was active in a number
of legislative areas, including mutual fund reform,
consumer safety protection, aviation, environmental, and
agricultural issues. And he actively pursued the expansion
of overseas markets.
During his 6 years in this Chamber, Senator Fitzgerald
threw himself into some of the most challenging and
complex issues considered by the Senate. In 2000, he
attacked waste in government contracting and crafted
legislation to improve the process by which contractors
are awarded taxpayer moneys. He later worked with me to
address the Pentagon's ``revolving door''--an egregious
practice utilized by government contractors in exerting
influence over the contracting process. In 2002, the
former commercial banking attorney lashed out at Enron
executives who robbed thousands of workers of millions of
dollars of their life savings, and he later crafted
legislation to reform the mutual fund industry.
Time and again he showed himself to be a Senator who is
not intimidated by complexity. He did not simply talk
about the issues of the day, he took time to study them,
and understand them, and then try to do something about
them. Time and again he demonstrated that he was a
workhorse, not a show horse. The Senate needs more Members
like him, Senators to whom we can look when confronting
difficult and complex issues.
And the Senate needs more Senators like Senator
Fitzgerald who, on a number of high-profile issues,
including gun control, health care, patients' bill of
rights, the environment, and ANWR drilling, put the good
of the people of his State, in particular, and the
American people, in general, above partisan party
interests and ideology.
In attacking political corruption and cronyism, he was
bipartisan, not simply in rhetoric, which is easy, but
rather in action, which is a good deal more difficult.
I wish Senator Fitzgerald and his wife Nina the best as
they begin a new phase of their lives.
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute
to Senator Peter Fitzgerald as he prepares to leave the
U.S. Senate.
For the past 6 years, Senator Fitzgerald has done
important work as a member of the Agriculture Committee,
on which we had the pleasure of serving together. Senator
Fitzgerald supported the creation of a commission to
investigate changes to the Federal farm payment system. We
share the belief that small, family-owned farms should
receive adequate assistance from the Federal Government,
and the creation of this commission has helped to ensure
this goal.
I am also grateful for the support that Senator
Fitzgerald has shown for legislation I have introduced
related to the tax treatment of leasehold improvements. He
and I understand the need to modernize business
infrastructure by shortening the cost recovery period for
changes that commercial landlords make in space rented to
tenants. By reducing the cost recovery period, the expense
of making these improvements would fall more into line
with the economics of commercial lease transactions, and
more building owners would be able to adapt their
buildings to fit the needs of today's business tenants. I
thank Senator Fitzgerald for his strong support of this
important initiative.
Senator Fitzgerald also recognizes the importance of
improving the overall health of Americans, and has shown
this through the introduction of his Healthy Lifestyles
Act. Encouraging physical activity is an essential
component in the fight against obesity, and is an
important tool in preventative health care. I commend
Senator Fitzgerald for his work in this area.
More generally, Senator Fitzgerald has proven himself to
be a dedicated public servant who has served the State of
Illinois and the country with honor. Today, I join my
colleagues in paying tribute to Senator Fitzgerald and
wish him well in all of his future endeavors.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. BURNS. * * * I served only one term with John
Edwards and Peter Fitzgerald. They, too, will be missed in
the Senate. Their contribution was huge. * * *
Peter Fitzgerald comes from Illinois. As to all of these
men, I want to say you do form relationships here, and
there is a certain bond that attracts us all, as we learn
that even though you may be on the same side of the aisle
or the opposite side of the aisle, one could always agree
or disagree without being disagreeable. That is what makes
the Senate a special place.
We will miss all of these men, but I am looking forward
to those who take their place as, there again, new
relationships will be developed, a new bond dealing with
the old challenges of a free society, with those who love
the Constitution and love this country who were prepared
to die for it and would if asked to do so today. No one
doubts the depth of their patriotism nor their service to
their country. We welcome them as we say goodbye to old
friends, old relationships that will never be forgotten.
Mr. SHELBY. Senator Peter Fitzgerald from Illinois is a
very young man, one of the youngest men to come to the
Senate. He chose to serve only one term. I think he has
been involved in some of the big issues of the day. He is
a man of integrity. He is a man who wants to do the right
thing. He is always going to be involved in the issues of
the day, as he has been.
Peter, we wish you and your family the best as you go
back into the private sector where you have excelled and
done things so well and for so long. * * *
We are going to miss all these Senators, on both sides
of the aisle, because collectively they bring a lot of
experience and a lot of wisdom to the Senate. They have
served, as I said, with distinction and honor here.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Peter Fitzgerald has devoted
his life to public service.
He first ran for office before the ink on his law degree
had dried. And, in the last 6 years, we have come to know
Peter as a man of integrity, as a man of honor, and as a
friend.
In the Illinois Senate, he was a staunch opponent of
corruption. He often had to go it alone. But he still got
results.
He continued his mission in the U.S. Senate--where he
arrived in 1998 as our youngest Member.
In only 6 years, he has made his mark. He helped uncover
the devastating corporate fraud and accounting scandals.
And he helped us pass tough new regulations to prevent
them from reoccurring.
He has been an ardent advocate for Illinois farmers and
businesses, always working to make sure that markets are
open and barriers are low.
Whether working to appoint honest Federal prosecutors or
taking a hard look at major federally supported projects,
he has always stood for doing the right thing.
Peter has made sure that we have tax relief that helps
families and creates new jobs. And he has helped protect
our children with tough new child safety seat laws.
Our Senate family will miss Peter, Nina, and Jake. They
have each enriched our lives, their State, this Senate,
and our country. And we wish them all the best in the
future.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, obviously, in the brief time
here I am not going to be able to say everything that
comes to mind about the Senators who are retiring but to
summarize a little bit of the information for the benefit
of those who might be watching.
When you have long, distinguished careers of Senators
and they decide not to run for reelection but leave the
body, there is a lot that comes to mind about their
service. I think it is good to remind ourselves of just a
few of these things because of the service they have
provided, both to the people of their own States and to
the United States. * * *
Mr. President, my colleague Peter Fitzgerald from
Illinois is an extraordinarily smart and focused
individual who came to the Senate to represent his State
of Illinois and did so with great passion, enthusiasm, and
courage, in some cases, when he had to stand against a lot
of other Members who were attempting to act in ways he
felt were inimical to the interests of his State.
Peter Fitzgerald, though here only one term, I think
will be remembered as a great Senator from the State of
Illinois and certainly a colleague I will miss personally.
These are only four of the colleagues who are going to
be leaving us at the end of this session. These are
Senators whom I became particularly close to. I wanted to
say a word about each one of them, to wish them all the
very best, bid them farewell, also to know they have too
many friends around here to ignore. And we are going to be
staying in touch with every one of them.
We thank them for their service to the people of their
States, to the Senate, and to the people of the United
States of America.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, like the distinguished
Senator from Illinois, I take a couple of minutes this
afternoon to come to the floor to express in the most
heartfelt way, as he just has, my profound thanks for the
opportunity I have had to serve in the Senate.
I congratulate him on his successful career and wish him
well in all of his endeavors.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to make some
comments about our friends who are departing the
Senate. * * *
I have to say a word about Senator Fitzgerald because of
some tough environmental votes. There he was standing with
me. I remember one time he said, I have to stand with you
because my son will never talk to me again. It was good to
work with him as well. * * *
Thank you very much.
Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I want to close by
associating myself with the remarks of the Senator from
California and her regards and respect to the other
retiring Members.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I want to talk about our colleagues who
are retiring in a few minutes. There are a lot of good
people here on both sides of the aisle.
We are going to miss all of our friends over here, but I
am going to miss Don Nickles. I have had a lot of fights
with him, but I know he always knew where he wanted to go.
I respected that.
Peter Fitzgerald, newer among us, but a gentleman to be
noted, and Ben Nighthorse Campbell comes from a State I
love. I have two grandchildren there. He is a decent
fellow. We are going to miss all of them. I will talk
about them later.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, while the Senate
is holding in abeyance for the final omnibus
appropriations bill that the House is getting ready to
file sometime tonight, I want to take the opportunity to
pay tribute to our retiring Senators: Tom Daschle, Fritz
Hollings, Don Nickles, John Breaux, Ben Nighthorse
Campbell, John Edwards, Peter Fitzgerald, Zell Miller, and
Bob Graham.
I wish to make a speech about each one of these Senators
who has become a dear friend, in some cases, over the
years, such as Fritz and Peatsy Hollings, who took special
interest in me as I came to the Senate and made sure I got
on his Commerce Committee, which has been just an
extraordinary experience with him as chairman, as well as
with the present chairman, John McCain. * * *
Peter Fitzgerald is a very active member of our Commerce
Committee, who, in the comments by his colleague from
Illinois, Senator Durbin, today said it very well, could
work so well with Members of both sides. * * *
So for all of these names I have mentioned, in the great
poem ``Ulysses,'' he says, ``I am a part of all that I
have met,'' and I am a part of all these great Senators. I
am much richer for it and for having been their friend.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. I talked before about Tom Daschle. I
also will discuss the rest of our colleagues who are
leaving the Senate.
When the 109th Congress convenes in January, nine of our
current colleagues will not be here. I take a few moments
to pay tribute to them. Collectively, our colleagues have
served in the Senate for 144 years. We will miss them. * *
*
Mr. President, I will talk about a couple of my friends
on the Republican side. * * *
Peter Fitzgerald, the junior Senator from Illinois, like
me, came to the Senate after a good business career. He
has been here only for one term but in those 6 years he
established a solid reputation as an independent Member,
committed to doing what he thinks is right, even if it
puts him at odds with other members of his party.
He and I serve on the Governmental Affairs Committee,
and I have been impressed by his willingness to hold
hearings on scandals and malfeasance in the mutual fund
and insurance industries. Perhaps because of his business
background, he understands the importance of effective
oversight by the Federal Government.
I regret he is leaving. He has been a gentleman, and it
is too bad that we do not have more like Peter Fitzgerald.
He is a wonderful person to work with. He has got a ready
smile, and he is a gentleman at all times.
I close my remarks by noting that these men have made
remarkable contributions to our society, and all Americans
should be grateful. I would tell those who are retiring, I
retired 4 years ago, and I did not like it. So here I am.
Perhaps there is hope for any of them who want to rejoin.
If you want to come back, I am here to tell you it can be
done. Just make sure that you get to keep your seniority.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and thank my colleagues
for their indulgence while I made my remarks.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, let me say--this is probably
the first and only time I have ever said this--I have been
listening carefully to my friend from New Jersey, and I
agree with everything he said.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I want to share a few
remarks about our friend and colleague Peter Fitzgerald.
It has been a real honor for me to serve with him. We have
had quite different backgrounds.
Peter grew up in suburban Chicago and attended very fine
parochial schools. He attended Dartmouth College where he
graduated cum laude with highest distinction majoring in
Latin and Greek. He got his law degree from the University
of Michigan and came from a very prominent family there.
He is a wonderful person, a person I got to know,
although our backgrounds are different, I having grown up
in south Alabama, the son of a country store owner, going
barefoot and swimming in the creeks. We enjoyed talking
with one another. He liked Bear Bryant, and we talked
about a number of things.
One thing he shared with me on a number of occasions is
his belief that there should be in government, in the
business of the United States and the State governments,
integrity. He talked with me about his recommendation to
President Bush about a U.S. attorney appointment in
Chicago. He wrestled with it and talked with me over a
period of weeks about the fact he believed that even if he
chose any of the very fine candidates who had been
discussed in Chicago, he would be choosing somebody from
that area that people would think was not the best, was
not independent, that they might be influenced by someone.
He had a growing feeling that he should choose someone
from outside the area. It is an usual thing to do, but
that is what he did. He searched the country over and
chose U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald, a nonrelative, I believe,
who tried some of the biggest terrorist cases in New York.
That is who he recommended and that is who he put there.
Why? Because he wanted the best prosecutor with the best
background, with the most integrity, and total
independence to do the right thing there. That indicated
to me just how serious he was about this issue.
When he ran for the Senate, he was in the banking
business, an attorney in the banking business. He promised
he would not involve himself and would recuse himself from
decisions dealing with banking. People said that was not
necessary. Others did not do that. He said he thought it
was the appropriate thing to do, and he adhered to that
the entire time he was here, recusing himself on a number
of such issues.
He chose the higher standard, the road less traveled. He
did not like fraud, corruption, and abuse. As a member of
the Consumer Affairs Subcommittee of the Commerce
Committee, he took a key role in the investigation of
Enron and the abuses that occurred there.
He was a constant and strong opponent of no-bid
contracts. He saw a lot of those in Illinois. He did not
like it, and he spoke out against it in a very strong way.
Particularly, there was a matter involving Springfield and
a major construction contract. He feared the good old
boys, those with influence and inside word, would be the
beneficiaries of those contracts rather than the
taxpayers. He thought it should be bid on a professional
basis, and he battled very hard for that. He did not like
and does not like cronyism, and he spoke out against it.
His commercial banking experience led him to study the
behavior of the stock markets and brokerage firms in the
Federal thrift plan, which he admired greatly, saying it
was the most efficient and best plan for investors that he
was aware of because the fees and costs were so low.
He, therefore, was a champion of integrity and full
disclosure of fees in the brokerage business and spoke out
aggressively in favor of that. Why did he say that?
Because he thought insiders were taking too big a piece of
the pie and if that money, instead of being paid out in
fees, sometimes never seen by the investors, had been
reinvested in the stocks or mutual funds, that the
investor would have ended up with a lot more money over a
lifetime, and he had charts to show it.
He spoke out against that special interest group because
he believed it was the right thing to do. He believed in
representing the consumers, and those are the people who
make America go.
He has a wonderful wife Nina who attended Smith College,
the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law School.
They have one son, Jake. He has chosen to spend more time
with them. We can certainly understand his decision to do
that.
I also thank him for his service to the people of the
United States. He did so in this single term with
integrity, courage, decency, and a great spirit of
cooperativeness. I have enjoyed serving with him, as did
all of us in this body, and I wish him Godspeed.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I know the hour is getting late
and others want to be heard, but I briefly want to express
some thoughts about our colleagues who are leaving this
wonderful body. Today we have heard some very compelling
speeches, particularly the one given by my good friend,
Tom Daschle of South Dakota, our Democratic leader.
I was pleased to see so many of our colleagues remain on
the floor to listen to the departing Democratic leader.
The words he expressed about his State, his staff, his
colleagues, his feelings about the country, and the
future, are instructive. I know it can sound repetitive
when people hear us talk about our colleagues this way,
but I think it is important for the public to note that
while they might hear only about the bickering, the part
that you do not often see is the deep respect, affection,
and caring that goes on among the Members of this body.
This affection comes despite the differences that exist in
red States and blue States, or being strongly conservative
or strongly liberal.
There is this weaving of a common denominator through
each and every one of us, particularly after years of
common service in this remarkable institution we call the
Senate. There is a deep and abiding respect for those who
have come here, those who have served here, those who have
tried to make a difference for our country.
It may seem like it is inside discussion, but I hope the
public understands how deeply felt these comments are
about colleagues who will no longer have the pleasure of
spending each and every day in this Chamber, but whose
friendship and collegiality will continue in the years
ahead as we encounter each other in different walks of
life. * * *
Mr. President, Peter Fitzgerald is also a good friend.
He has represented his State of Illinois and is leaving
after only one term.
Again, as Senators from the opposite sides of the aisle,
Senator Fitzgerald and I often disagreed. We found some
common ground on some issues, including the Patients' Bill
of Rights, the gun show loophole, and campaign finance
reform. I wish him good luck when he returns to the
private sector where he has been an extremely successful
attorney in the banking industry. I caution him not to do
too well. I am on the Senate committee responsible for
overseeing that carefully. I say that, of course, with
tongue in cheek.
I certainly wish he, Nina, and Jake all the best in the
years to come. * * *
I apologize for taking this extra time. It is important
that the public hear Members talk about each other, even
those who disagreed on matters, that they understand why
this institution works more than 230 years after the
Founders created it.
I, as a Senator from Connecticut, take unique pride in
the Senate because it was Roger Sherman and Oliver
Ellsworth, both of Connecticut, who offered at the
Constitutional Convention the idea of the Senate
representing small and large States. Arguing over a
unicameral system, Sherman and Ellsworth said, how about
having a second body with equal representation, regardless
of the size or the population of the State. As a result,
this institution was created. It has been a great place
that has served our Nation for so long and I am confident
it will in the future.
We have been blessed by the participation of those who
are leaving. All of us wish each and every one of them the
very best in the years to come.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to bid
farewell to the Senator from Illinois.
Peter Fitzgerald came to the Senate 6 years ago already
a champion. He was the first Republican to win a Senate
seat in Illinois in 20 years. He was the only Republican
challenger to defeat an incumbent nationwide that year.
And upon his arrival 6 years ago, he was the youngest
Member of the U.S. Senate. So expectations for this new
Senator were high.
Senator Fitzgerald exceeded those expectations. From the
beginning, he fought to cut wasteful government spending,
fraud at the public till, and mismanagement of the
people's money. He led the fight against the recent
corporate scandals that damaged our economy.
Senator Fitzgerald has been a leader in bringing
government into cyberspace by sponsoring successful bills
to allow farmers to work with the Agriculture Department
online. He has also been a champion for improving child
nutrition, by making it possible for consumers to use food
stamps to make purchases online. He has focused on
consumer safety by requiring stricter standards for child
car seats and car safety features.
Illinois, where Senator Fitzgerald was born and raised,
is the State that sent Abraham Lincoln to the White House.
Abraham Lincoln was one of America's greatest Presidents,
and the first President of the Republican Party. The great
State of Illinois is known as ``The Land of Lincoln.''
But I am a little jealous of the claim Illinois has on
this great American. Abraham Lincoln was born in a log
cabin in Hodgenville, KY, my home State, and we
Kentuckians like to think of him as one of our own.
I have welcomed Senator Fitzgerald to my home State
before, and he is welcome again in the Bluegrass State
anytime, especially Hodgenville.
Senator Fitzgerald had a long career of public service
even before joining this body, and I have no doubt he will
continue to serve the people of Illinois when he returns
to the Prairie State. Most of all, he will enjoy the
company of his wife, Nina, and their young son, Jake.
Because Senator Fitzgerald is a passionate Chicago Cubs
fan, I suspect Jake will be going to a lot more games. The
Senate's loss is Jake's gain, and a gain for the
Fitzgerald family and the people of Illinois. I thank the
Senator from Illinois for his service to his State, the
Land of Lincoln, and to the Nation.
Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, It truly has been a privilege
to serve in the Senate with my good friend Peter
Fitzgerald. As many Illinois newspapers wrote when Peter
announced he would not seek reelection, his decision to
retire from the U.S. Senate is a true loss for the people
of Illinois. I could not agree more.
In the 1998 race for his Senate seat, Peter proved
himself to be an exceptional campaigner, defeating a well-
known incumbent in a State that had not elected a
Republican in 20 years. And in that year, he was the only
Republican challenger in the country to defeat an
incumbent Democratic Senator. But Peter's vision, message
and leadership resonated with Illinoisans, and they
elected him by a 6-point margin.
Arriving in Washington as the youngest Member of the
Senate, Peter hit the ground running as a strong voice for
Illinois. He has been a steadfast advocate for taxpayers,
consistently backing efforts to cut wasteful spending and
reduce taxes. And he has been a proponent for consumer
safety issues, focusing on areas such as improving car
safety and child booster seats.
I have the utmost respect for Peter. His courage and
determination, even when faced with a daunting challenge,
are remarkable. He has gone up against unscrupulous
corporations and political corruption. He has had
significant roles in investigating corporate accounting
fraud, and Peter also has fought political corruption
across party lines, leading the Chicago Tribune to
conclude that ``no one person has done more for political
reform in Illinois than Peter Fitzgerald.''
I have been privileged to serve alongside Peter on the
Senate Agriculture Committee, working together on issues
important to our strong agriculture States. As an advocate
for increasing hunger awareness myself, I admire his work
to make food stamp benefits for low-income families more
easily accessible, including making program benefits
available over the Internet.
Peter and I share many similar views, but what is not
widely known is that we look for the same qualities in our
extraordinary staff members. In fact, managing the
Fitzgerald office is chief of staff Greg Gross. Greg is a
very talented member of his team, and I can attest to this
because Greg also did such good work with me at the
American Red Cross. I thank Greg for all his counsel
during my first 2 years in the Senate.
It is widely known that Peter Fitzgerald is a principled
and independent leader. He has time after time proven that
he will go against the flow, go against what is popular,
because he is loyal to his own ideals and doing what he
believes is right for the people and families he
represents. Peter is a refreshing elected official; a
devoted family man to his wife Nina and son Jake; and a
diligent public servant. It goes without saying, people in
Washington and people in Illinois will sorely miss Senator
Peter Fitzgerald.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I take a moment to
recognize the contributions that Senator Peter Fitzgerald
has made to this Senate, to the State of Illinois, and to
the Nation.
As a fellow Midwesterner, I have always appreciated
Senator Fitzgerald's honest and fair-minded approach to
the issues. From the moment he arrived here in the Senate,
it was clear that he would keep his own counsel, doing
what he thought was best for the people of Illinois
without regard to powerful interests on either side of the
aisle.
Above all else, I appreciate Senator Fitzgerald's
unfailing commitment to reforming our campaign finance
system. He was among that steadfast group of Republican
Senators who stood firm in their support of the McCain-
Feingold bill, despite enormous pressure to do otherwise.
His support of our bill took a great deal of personal and
political courage, and it is something that I truly
admire, and for which I will always been grateful.
As he moves on from the Senate, Senator Fitzgerald can
be assured that his friends and colleagues here will long
remember the contributions he made, and the dignity with
which he served. I wish him all the best as he moves on to
a new phase of his career.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to take this
opportunity to honor our departing colleagues who are
leaving the Senate. In almost each new Congress a
different group of 100 men and women comes together from
different backgrounds and political philosophies,
representing different interests and constituencies, but
through all our differences, we develop respect and
admiration for each other. Many times we step across the
aisle and work together on legislation and oftentimes
genuine friendships are created. As I pay tribute to these
departing Senators, whether they have been here one term
or seven, they are a remarkable group and we thank them
for their honorable service.
Senator Peter Fitzgerald is retiring from the Senate
after 6 years of service to his home State of Illinois.
Prior to joining the Senate, Senator Fitzgerald was a
commercial banking attorney and in this position played a
significant role in investigations of corporate accounting
fraud, mutual fund industry abuses, chronic underfunding
of employee pensions, and waste, fraud and mismanagement
in various Federal agencies. In 1993, he embarked upon his
public service work when he began serving as an Illinois
State Senator until his election to the U.S. Senate in
1998 at the young age of 38.
Peter was the first Republican in Illinois to win a
Senate race in 20 years. Even though his time here was
brief, he has been able to establish himself as a fiscally
responsible Senator. He has consistently backed efforts to
control spending and reduce taxes. Through these actions,
Senator Fitzgerald has received many awards from taxpayer
watchdog groups such as the Americans for Tax Reform, who
has repeatedly named him a ``Hero of the American
Taxpayer.''
While serving as chairman of the Commerce Subcommittee
on Consumer Affairs and Product Safety, Peter has also led
a successful fight to improve outdated consumer safety
regulations. These regulations brought about higher
testing and safety standards for child car seats and
improved car safety features that benefit all Americans.
Senator Fitzgerald will be missed, though I'm sure he is
now looking forward to spending more time with his wife
Nina and their son Jake. I wish him the best of luck in
his future endeavors.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I take a moment to talk
about four colleagues whom I have had an opportunity to
serve with in the Senate. * * *
Madam President, I want to express my appreciation for
the hard work of Peter Fitzgerald. I am disappointed he is
only serving one term in the Senate. It is a voluntary
decision that he made to step down after one term.
His family has business interests in Colorado. I have
enjoyed working with him, particularly when we served on
the Agriculture Committee, and I began to respect his
values as well as his work ethic.
These four individuals have distinguished themselves in
my mind. I have appreciated having the opportunity to
serve with them in the Senate, and I hold them in great
esteem. I wish them the very best as they pursue life's
journey, having served in a distinguished way in the
Senate. I wish them the very best and Godspeed.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise to say goodbye
to several of my colleagues, dear friends and colleagues
with whom I have had the pleasure to work in the
Senate. * * *
It is often an uphill battle for a freshman Senator to
make an impact, but Senator Peter Fitzgerald, a former
commercial banking attorney, has chaired or led
investigations of corporate accounting fraud, mutual fund
industry abuses, chronic underfunding of employee pensions
and waste, fraud and mismanagement in Federal agencies.
In 2004, he proposed comprehensive, bipartisan mutual
fund reform legislation to protect the household, college,
and retirement savings of 95 million Americans. This bill,
endorsed by consumer groups and reform-minded industry
leaders, points the way for future legislation on this
subject.
The Senator also focused on consumer safety issues. In
2000 he led a successful drive to modernize outdated
Federal testing and safety standards for child car seats.
In 2002, he drafted and President Bush signed into law a
followup measure known as Anton's Law, to upgrade Federal
testing and standards for child booster seats and to
require automakers to improve car safety features.
I wish him well in his future endeavors.
Madam President, I will miss all of my colleagues. As we
take the opportunity to go forward in a new Congress, we
will make new friends, but we will never forget the old
ones.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I want to share my views, as
did Senator Hutchison and others, about our colleagues who
are leaving for new adventures in life. * * *
I want to speak about four others, though, including
Peter Fitzgerald, whom I will miss. He will always be
known for two ideas and principles of life--honesty and
integrity. He has certainly fought hard for what he
believed was right, and you can always trust his word. * *
*
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment
of the Senate's time, as we near completion of our duties
for the 108th Congress, to honor the work and contribution
to the Republican Party, the Senate, and the Nation of my
friend, the Senator from Illinois, Senator Peter
Fitzgerald. Senator Fitzgerald has chosen to take his
youth and talents and serve in other areas outside of the
Senate. Our loss will be, no doubt, the gain of others.
Senator Fitzgerald provided a good, youthful, and modern
face to the Republican Party. Our party will only stay
strong if we maintain within it our own diversity of
perspectives, and I am grateful for the contribution of
Senator Fitzgerald.
Elected to the Senate in 1998 at the very young age of
38, the Senator immediately added his vigor, intelligence,
and experience in financial markets to address many of the
complicated issues faced by our government and society as
the Nation turned into the 21st century.
When corporate scandals erupted early in this century,
threatening to undermine confidence in markets, the Senate
was, indeed, fortunate to be able to turn to Senator
Fitzgerald for his thoughtful and informed guidance. As a
former commercial banking attorney, he used his expertise
in his positions on the Commerce and Governmental Affairs
Committees, particularly his chairmanship of the
Subcommittee on Financial Management, the Budget and
International Security, to chair or support numerous
hearings to illuminate the problems and necessary
legislation we needed to return probity to financial
dealings and confidence in our markets. The modern
capitalist system is what provides growth and wealth to
all the societies of the world, and the American markets
are the most dynamic in the world. They are also the most
diversified, and the vast majority of our citizens depend
on them for employment, security and retirement. We owe a
great deal of appreciation to Senator Fitzgerald for his
work on corporate fraud issues, and I would like to thank
him, once again.
Senator Fitzgerald is a reformer, through and through.
It is his dedication to our system of government and
economy that drove him to find ways to improve it. He
applied his drive to reform to consumer issues, government
affairs, financial management, and the complicated mesh of
revenue collection that is the current tax system of this
country. And he quite deservedly received numerous
acclamations from groups advocating for consumer and tax
reform.
Through this all, he never lost his focus on his home
State. He didn't work for Illinois to get reelected, he
worked for Illinois because of his dedication to his State
and his high standards of public service. A column in the
Chicago Tribune, a good paper not known for being ragingly
Republican, commended him for ``elevating courage and
honesty to new heights.'' That sounds right to me.
I will miss the presence of Senator Fitzgerald, his
thoughtful floor statements before this body, and the
impeccable manners of a gentleman that are so naturally
his. His State can be proud of the Republican they sent to
serve too briefly in this body. We will miss his
intelligence and dedication, and I will miss a good
Senator and friend. I expect that, with his relative
youth, we will hear much more of Peter G. Fitzgerald.
Mr. DASCHLE. Today, I would like to say a few words
about eight additional Senators with whom I have served
these last historic 6 years, all of whom will be leaving
when this Congress ends.
Senator Nickles, Senator Campbell, Senator Fitzgerald,
and Senator Miller, it has been a privilege to work with
each of you. You have each sacrificed much to serve our
Nation and I am sure you will continue to serve America
well in the years to come. * * *
I have to be honest, Mr. President, it was not my wish
to depart with these fine Senators. But it has been my
honor and a joy to serve with them, and one that I will
remember all the days of my life.
Mr. McCONNELL. We cannot conclude the 108th Congress
without a sense of sadness. There are many--in fact there
are too many--great Senators who are leaving this
institution. I have already had an opportunity to express
my goodbyes to Senator Nickles, Senator Campbell, and
Senator Fitzgerald.
I also wish a happy and healthy future to our colleagues
across the aisle, Senator Daschle, Senator Breaux, Senator
Hollings, Senator Bob Graham, Senator John Edwards, and
Senator Zell Miller. Each of these men has made a lasting
contribution to this marvelous institution.