[Senate Document 108-25]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Doc. 108-25
TRIBUTES TO HON. BOB GRAHAM
Bob Graham
U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
Bob Graham
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Bob Graham
United States Senator
1987-2005
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:
Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
16
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
9
Burns, Conrad R., of Montana...................
5, 22
Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
3
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
6
Daschle, Thomas A., of South Dakota............
20
Dayton, Mark, of Minnesota.....................
21
Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
11
Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
14
Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
13
Frist, Bill, of Tennessee......................
8
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
17
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
16
Inhofe, James M., of Oklahoma..................
11
Lautenberg, Frank, of New Jersey...............
10
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
19
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
21
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
9
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
16
Roberts, Pat, of Kansas........................
3
Sarbanes, Paul S., of Maryland.................
22
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
6
Stabenow, Deborah Ann, of Michigan.............
14
Biography
Bob Graham is a former Governor of Florida who
represented the State of Florida in Washington, DC, as
senior Senator. He was born November 9, 1936, in Dade
County, FL. He married the former Adele Khoury, of Miami
Shores, in 1959. They have four daughters: Gwen Graham
Logan, Cissy Graham McCullough, Suzanne Graham Gibson and
Kendall Graham Elias. The Grahams also have 11
grandchildren.
Graham is the son of Ernest ``Cap'' Graham, a Florida
State senator, mining engineer, and dairy cattleman, and
Hilda Simmons Graham, a schoolteacher. He is the youngest
of four children. His siblings are the late Philip Graham;
William Graham of Miami Lakes, FL; and the late Mary Crow.
Bob Graham began workdays in 1974, teaching a semester
of civics at Carol City Senior High School in Miami while
serving in the Florida Senate. He performed 100 workdays
in 1978 during his first successful campaign for Governor.
He completed over 400 workdays--more than a year's worth
of days spent laboring side by side with the people he
represented. His workdays are an extension of his belief
in a personal style of governing.
Graham continued doing workdays throughout his tenure
as Governor and in the U.S. Senate. His jobs have included
service as a police officer, railroad engineer,
construction worker, fisherman, garbageman, factory
worker, busboy, and teacher. By working closely with
Floridians, Graham learned about the hopes and challenges
they face. For him, there was no substitute for that kind
of on-the-job experience.
As a legislator, Graham was a pioneer in support of
improving public education. He authored and steered to
passage a bill requiring testing for competency and
progress in public schools. Graham also authored much of
the State's environmental law. As chairman of the Senate
Health and Rehabilitative Services Committee, he focused
on two key issues--more adequate services for the elderly
and community health services.
Bob Graham's leadership and effectiveness as a lawmaker
earned him statewide recognition. He was the recipient of
the St. Petersburg Times Award for Most Valuable
Legislator, the Allen Morris Award as Most Valuable Member
of the Senate, the Florida Association of Community
Colleges' Outstanding Legislator Award, the Tropical
Audubon Society's Conservation Award and many others.
Bob Graham served as the 38th Governor of Florida. He
was recognized for providing strong leadership during a
time of explosive population growth and dramatic
challenges, including a truckers' strike, civil
disturbances and immigration crises.
Economic Development
While serving as Governor, Graham worked to diversify
Florida's economy. During his administration, the
unemployment rate in Florida remained well below the
national average; more than 1 million new jobs were
created, many of them in high-tech manufacturing.
Florida's business climate was ranked No. 1 in the Nation
for 3 consecutive years, 1981 through 1983.
Expanding trade opportunities for Florida business was
an important element of Graham's tenure as Governor. While
the balance of all U.S. trade ran a deficit, Florida's
exports exceeded imports through the majority of Graham's
administration.
Education
Recognizing that a vital component of economic strength
is a quality education system, Graham worked to improve
all public schools during his 8 years as Florida's
Governor.
Key indicators of excellence in education rose under
Graham. Class sizes in public schools decreased, while
teacher salaries increased. Per pupil spending rose from
21st to 13th in the Nation in 4 years. The percentage of
community college and university students surpassing
required standards on basic skills tests climbed from 64
percent to 89 percent over 3 years during the Graham
administration.
Graham's efforts in education have been recognized
nationally. In 1983, the Chief State School Officers
Association recognized Graham for making the ``Most
Outstanding Contribution to Education'' in America.
Environment
As Governor, Graham pioneered several environmental
programs which have attracted national and international
attention, including efforts to save the Everglades,
protect wetlands and safeguard Florida's coastline.
During Graham's two terms as Governor, Florida brought
more environmentally endangered lands into public
ownership than any other State in the Nation. This
included acquisition of sensitive lands surrounding
rivers, beaches and barrier islands.
The Save Our Everglades Program, launched in 1983, was
designed to restore America's ``River of Grass'' and
protect Florida's wetlands, endangered species and their
habitats. As Senator, Graham led the bipartisan coalition
that passed the Federal Everglades Restoration Plan in
2000. Today, Graham is known as the father of the
Everglades restoration effort.
Health Care and Human Services
During the Graham administration, policies that aimed to
help both Florida's aging population and its youngest
citizens were implemented.
By expanding ``Community Care for the Elderly,'' a
service program that enables frail or infirm older
citizens to remain in their homes, Graham helped ensure
self-sufficiency and independence for older Floridians.
This resulted in less than 2 percent of Florida's elderly
residing in nursing homes, versus 5 percent nationally.
In 8 years Graham was able to expand child care and
abuse prevention programs, increase prenatal and neonatal
medical attention, and expand emergency medical facilities
for infants and mothers. With these programs, both infant
mortality and neonatal mortality decreased significantly.
Organizations
While Governor, Graham served as a chairman of the
Southern Governors Association, the Education Commission
of the States, the Southern Regional Educational Board,
the National Advisory Commission on School Finance, the
U.S. Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Education, and
the Southern Growth Policies Board.
In his third U.S. Senate term, Bob Graham emerged as a
leading voice of moderate Democrats bent on putting
results ahead of politics. His centrist philosophy and
commitment to bipartisanship made him a major player in
some of the most important issues facing Americans today,
from reforming Medicare to ensuring our continued
prosperity.
As the founder and past chairman of the Senate New
Democrats, Graham worked to bring together a coalition
that shared his views to promote sound fiscal policy while
emphasizing paying down the debt and social policies that
strike an equitable balance between the needs of all
Americans. These moderates have helped to shape the debate
on issues ranging from trade to education.
As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence in the 107th Congress, Graham led efforts to
improve our Nation's intelligence agencies. Since the
horrific events of September 11, 2001, he has been a
leader in refocusing and strengthening the Nation's
counterterrorism efforts.
He was a primary author of the portions of the USA
PATRIOT Act which mandate greater information sharing
among foreign intelligence and domestic law enforcement
agencies to help fight a unified war on terrorism. Graham
also was the chief sponsor of a 5-year plan for bolstering
our intelligence capabilities, contained in the fiscal
year 2002 and 2003 intelligence authorization bills.
With Florida Congressman Porter Goss, chairman of the
House Intelligence Committee, Graham co-chaired the
historic joint House-Senate review of the events
surrounding the September 11 attacks. The joint inquiry
adopted a final report in December 2002 that included 19
recommendations aimed at bolstering our Nation's
intelligence capabilities. He introduced legislation that
would implement the joint committee's recommendations.
Graham also led efforts to improve security at our
Nation's seaports. In 1997, after a workday at Port
Manatee in Florida, the Senator convinced former President
Bill Clinton to establish a Federal commission to evaluate
both the nature and extent of crime at our seaports, as
well as their overall state of security. Recommendations
from the Interagency Commission on Crime and Security at
United States Seaports were the basis for a comprehensive
maritime security bill that became law in December 2002.
Even before September 11, Graham was the primary mover
behind Counterintelligence 21, which President Clinton
signed in December 2000 and the Bush administration
pledged to continue. This initiative is a far-reaching,
methodical approach to identifying the most sensitive
information in our government and then safeguarding that
information.
Graham has long been an advocate of engagement with the
Americas, particularly Colombia. After several visits to
the region, Graham introduced and secured passage of
bipartisan legislation that would greatly expand free-
trade benefits to Colombia and other nations in the Andean
region. Graham believes that expanded trade will create
economic opportunities in the region beyond the illegal
narcotics industry.
The need for a prescription drug benefit for Medicare
recipients has long been apparent. Since 1999, Graham led
his party in fighting for a plan that would provide
equitable, comprehensive and affordable drug coverage for
all Americans over 65. Prescription drug coverage is just
one of the changes Graham believed was necessary to bring
Medicare into the 21st century. He advocated legislation
that would reorient Medicare from a sickness program to a
wellness program by offering preventative benefits to head
off disease before it becomes life threatening.
Graham legislation would also ensure that low-income
legal immigrant children and pregnant women have access to
Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program to
meet their health care needs. He worked with a bipartisan
coalition to restore Medicaid and other benefits taken
from legal immigrants in the 1996 welfare reform law.
Similarly, he pushed for Congress to live up to promises
made in that law to maintain funding for social services
grants to the States. As a strong supporter of welfare
reform, he believed it was necessary to keep focused on
the original intent of that landmark legislation--helping
adults achieve self-sufficiency. This legislation is
particularly important in high immigration States like
Florida.
Graham considered Florida's diversity one of its
greatest assets and has been a leader in the quest for
rational immigration policy. He brought together a broad
coalition of business and labor leaders to craft
compromise legislation that would provide workers for
agricultural purposes and offer hard-working immigrants an
opportunity for permanent legal status.
While taking a lead on the national stage, Graham
remained active in and attentive to Florida issues. Graham
strongly opposed drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf
and sponsored legislation that would extend the current
moratoria indefinitely and buy back leases in
environmentally sensitive areas. Graham also spearheaded a
campaign to end dredging practices that have degraded the
Apalachicola River.
Graham's commitment to higher education motivated him
to lead an effort in Florida to restore a centralized
board to oversee the State university system. In November
2002, Floridians overwhelmingly agreed with him. Nearly 61
percent of voters supported an amendment to the
constitution to permanently create a Board of Governors to
guide the future of Florida's 11 State universities.
In the 108th Congress, Graham served as a senior member
of the powerful Finance Committee, which handles tax,
trade and health care legislation, and the Committees on
Environment and Public Works, and Energy and Natural
Resources. He was also the ranking Democrat on the
Veterans' Affairs Committee.
Graham and his family have been active in Florida's
economic development since 1920. His father founded a
dairy at Pennsuco in 1932. The family continues to operate
dairy, beef cattle and pecan farms in Florida and Georgia.
With his two older brothers, Graham established The
Graham Companies and commenced the planning and
development of New Town, Miami Lakes in 1960. The
population of Miami Lakes has grown to more than 22,000
with 10,000 people employed in its industrial and office
parks and commercial centers.
Graham attended Hialeah Elementary and Junior High
Schools. He began his political career as the student body
president of Miami Senior High School, graduating in 1955.
He received a bachelor's degree in 1959 from the
University of Florida, where he was Phi Beta Kappa, a
member of Florida Blue Key and Chancellor of Honor Court.
Graham received a bachelor of law degree from Harvard
Law School in 1962.
In 2002, a school in Miami Lakes was named the Bob
Graham Education Center. Graham said it was one of the
greatest honors of his life.
Graham was elected to the Florida State House of
Representatives in 1966 and reelected in 1968. He was
elected to the Florida State Senate in 1970 and reelected
in 1974. In 1978 he was elected Governor of Florida and
reelected in 1982. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in
1986 and reelected in 1992 and 1998.
A Fond Farewell
Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Mr. GRAHAM of Florida. Mr. President, my 18-year tenure
in the Senate has capped an extremely satisfying personal
experience with great rewards and gratification of public
service. These have been some of the most significant
influences on my life. The greatest influence, of course,
has been my family.
I was born into a family with good values and an
admiration for education and an interest in politics. In
February 1936, my mother and father made two significant
decisions. First, my father, who was a mining engineer by
education and a dairy farmer by occupation, a man who had
become extremely distressed at the level of underworld
corruption in Dade County, FL, decided to run for the
Florida State Senate to represent that county on a
platform of cleaning up underworld corruption.
The second decision my parents made in February 1936 was
to have a baby. I was the happy result of that second
decision. My mother says that I came by my political
instincts from the womb, that she spent her whole
pregnancy going to political activities and that I became
addicted.
Throughout my public career, I have had the love and
support of my partner of 45 years, Adele. No person in
public life could have a more loving, a more caring, and a
more contributing partner than I.
At one point, Adele used to be nervous in public
settings. Today, I wish I had her calm, her
persuasiveness, her effectiveness in public settings.
Together, we have had the privilege of raising four
wonderful daughters, two of whom were born after our first
election to public office.
All of those qualities have been enhanced during my
Senate years, including the addition of 11 grandchildren.
On Thanksgiving Day I shared a special tradition with 9 of
those 11 grandchildren when they joined me here at this
desk on the Senate floor and observed and critiqued my
skills--and lack of skills--as I carved my name into the
Senate desk.
The second greatest influence is my home, the State of
Florida. I thought I knew a lot about Florida as a native
and as a two-term Governor, but I have learned so much
more during the last 18 years. Since 1974, I have been
taking different jobs, jobs alongside fellow Floridians,
and as of last Thursday I have done 406 of these workdays;
214 of them have been done since I became a Member of the
Senate. Even though my day job is 1,000 miles away from
where many Floridians live, these workdays have been an
important part of maintaining a close relationship with my
fellow Floridians and reminding me what our priorities
should be on their behalf here in Washington. Workdays and
my experiences in Congress have taught me ways in which
the Federal Government affects the lives of typical
Americans and, most acutely, Floridians.
I come from a State which is marked with dramatic growth
in a very fragile environment, with a close affiliation
with the countries to the south of the United States, a
State in which one out of five of our citizens is over the
age of 65, and therefore programs such as Medicare and
Social Security take on a very special significance. How
we conduct a law-based immigration system with humanity
intimately affects many of our people, as does the
obligation to use power responsibly. All of these issues I
have learned about at greater depth during my service in
the Senate.
What I have also gained in my three terms here is an
appreciation of the institution of the Senate and the
unique role it plays in balancing our government in order
to avoid excessive power falling into the hands of any one
person or governmental institution.
One of our greatest responsibilities as Members of the
Senate is to assure an independent judiciary. I am
especially pleased that I was able to join my Florida
colleagues in the Senate in establishing and maintaining a
bipartisan, merit-based process by which we recommended
and confirmed applicants for the Federal judiciary.
Particularly, I am gratified by the work I did with
former Senator Connie Mack. As a Democrat and as a
Republican, we forwarded outstanding judicial candidates
to both Democratic and Republican Presidents. Because this
process was based on judicial merit, Florida nominees have
been uniformly and expeditiously accepted for nomination
and confirmation.
I also came to see the Senate as our country's best
graduate school, offering access to private seminars with
the best and the brightest, supplemented by outside
organizations such as the Aspen Institute's congressional
program and the InterAmerican Dialog's Focus on
Hemispheric Issues.
Finally, Mr. President, as with you and your father, I
came to appreciate the people of the Senate. Simply put, I
enjoy being around politicians and the people who love
politics, including my staff and the family of the Senate,
and including the journalists who cover our activities. I
value my relationship with each of my colleagues, and I
wish I had the time to tell a story about each of you.
Mr. President, your father was one of the first people I
met when I came into the Senate. We had a number of things
in common in our background and quickly formed a
friendship which was one of the most significant parts,
particularly, of my early years in the Senate. My grief at
his loss is diluted by the knowledge not only that he has
been followed by his son, but that his son is a person of
such exemplary qualities as you represent.
I would also like to single out one of my colleagues, a
non-Floridian, as representative of the over 200 people
with whom I have served during my tenure in the Senate.
Senator Jay Rockefeller has been very special to me. We
served as Governors at the same time. Jay, as much as
anyone, encouraged me to run for the Senate.
I especially treasure the relationships I have had with
my congressional political mentors such as Congressman
Danny Fascell and Senator, later Congressman, Claude
Pepper, and my Florida colleagues in this institution:
Lawton Chiles, Connie Mack, and Bill Nelson.
Bill Nelson is a man I have known for over 40 years. In
each stage of his life he has been committed to public
service and to excellence in the execution of that public
service. It has been a joy for the last 4 years jointly
representing our 17 million constituents with Bill. I
greatly admire his contributions to Florida and to the
Nation. I wish to Senator Nelson a long tenure in the
Senate. Florida and America will be better places because
of his service.
I am also hugely grateful to those who have been willing
to share this journey with me, the tens of thousands of
people who have worked with me in my successful statewide
campaigns, and the over 1,000 people who have joined me in
public service in appointive or staff positions. I regret
that I do not have time today to name all of them, but
illustrative of all of them I will mention a few: Buddy
Shorstein, Ken Klein, and Buddy Menn, all of whom have
served as chiefs of staff in the Senate; Gary Smith, Dick
Burroughs, Charles Reed, Jay Hakes, and Tom Herndon, who
served in a similar position when I was Governor of
Florida; Mary Chiles, Ellen Roth, Lula Rodriguez, Susan
McGinn, and Lydia Mount; Al Cumming and Bob Filippone;
Mark Block, John Provenzano, and Paul Anderson--these
wonderful people and a thousand more who have shared this
joyful experience in public service.
Winston Churchill once declared:
Now is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the
end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
My friends, the Senate needs to regain its tradition of
controlled partisanship; in other words, placing country
before party. Another of my Florida political mentors,
former Governor and Senator, Spessard Holland, once said
that it was the jet airplane that caused the greatest
change in the culture of the Senate.
Prior to the jet airplane, Senator Holland and his wife
would come in the first week of January to Washington,
would settle in the hotel where they would live while they
were here, and they would spend the next 6 to 7 months
doing the business of America. While they were doing that,
they would spend time with the families of their
colleagues. They would become more than just occasional
colleagues. They would become genuine friends.
It was out of that development of relationships across
regions and across parties that the Senate came to earn
the title of ``the world's most exclusive club.'' And it
was the club where the essential bond was that of common
respect.
The jet airplane began to change that, because instead
of staying here for a 5-day workweek and then a weekend of
personal relations with the families of their colleagues,
it became possible for each Member of the Senate to leave
on Friday to return to their home State for whatever
request was made of them. The Senator knew that and the
requesting organization knew that. So it became a matter
of political necessity to respond.
The effect of that was not only did the work of the
Senate extend from 6 to 7 months to today's 7th of
December--we have been in session now for 11 months and 1
week--it also meant that those weekends of personal
relationships were largely lost.
My No. 1 suggestion in this post-jet airplane age is
that we try to get back to the tradition of spending more
time together as families, as Americans, rather than as
Republicans and Democrats. For instance, rather than
holding our traditional partisan retreats in the spring of
the year, huddling as reds and blues, we should go to a
retreat as a whole Senate celebrating the families of this
great institution.
I point to the pending intelligence reform bill, which I
hope we will pass in the next day, as an example of what
can be done when we recognize that an issue is so
important to our Nation that we must work together to
understand the problem and then develop solutions which
are driven by pragmatism, not ideology.
I suggest we apply the lessons that are being learned in
developing and forming and passing intelligence reform to
some of the challenges that are before us now such as
reform of Social Security and Medicare, and reform of our
energy policy that we as a Nation would be well served.
Franklin Roosevelt declared in 1940:
I do not believe that the common denominator of our
great men in public life has not been mere allegiance to
one political party, but the disinterested devotion with
which they have strived to serve the whole country--and
the relative unimportance that they have ascribed to
politics compared with the paramount importance of
government.
The Congress should also spend less time looking at the
rearview mirror for the accidents behind and more time
looking out of the front windshield.
Since I have served there for a decade including 18
months as chairman, I would cite the Intelligence
Committee as a prime example of this institutional failure
to focus ahead. Prior to September 11, the committee spent
an inordinate amount of time examining a series of
mistakes, of acts of treachery and of bureaucratic turf
fighting. What we failed adequately to do was to look
forward to the threats and challenges that our
intelligence agencies needed to address before those
threats and challenges resolved into a tragedy. We
desperately need to apply this principle of looking out
the front windshield to our accumulative deficits,
budgetary deficits, trade deficits, transportation and
public utilities deficits, education deficits among them.
These deficits are challenges which this generation,
unlike our forefathers, is ignoring because they are tough
and managing them now has political downsides. But it is
wrong, it is immoral to let our grandchildren do the heavy
lifting because we have refused to do so.
We need to learn again the principle of federalism that
our forefathers laid out for us. I come out of a
Jeffersonian philosophy believing that the best
governmental decisions are most likely to be made by those
closest to the citizens who will be affected by those
decisions. I recognize the importance of a national
response to truly national issues and to the protection of
the civil rights of all citizens. But America's great
contribution to political thought has been federalism, the
sharing of responsibility between a central government and
our 50 individual States.
I am concerned that this appreciation for federalism has
too frequently been situational. We at the Federal level,
the national level, determine what outcome we wish to
secure and then support either centralization or a
distribution of power based on what has a better chance of
achieving the goal we seek. We would be well advised to
resist this temptation.
Daily we are learning from the headlines of Ukraine and
Iraq and other countries with a diverse population that
are struggling to secure peace and prosperity. These
foreign countries remind us of how difficult it is to hold
to the model of federalism unless we are prepared to treat
it with respect even when it may result in a different
outcome than we would personally prefer.
Finally, we should support the institution of the
Senate. Its procedures and prerogatives are not arbitrary
but reflect a responsibility to balance a complex
government designed to protect the freedoms of the people
against the temptation of government becoming
authoritarian.
I would like to give special recognition to Senator
Robert Byrd. Frankly, when I entered this institution,
Senator Byrd and I had some disagreements over how we
thought the National Government should address its
priorities. But over the years, I have come to gain
increasing respect and admiration for his defense of the
institution of the Senate precisely because it plays such
a crucial role in protecting our individual freedoms.
Mine has been a wonderful life, an exciting and
unpredictable journey. It is a journey that is not ending
but, rather, taking a different course. I am planning to
travel especially in Latin America, to teach, to write at
least one more book, to continue my years of interest in
relations within the Western hemisphere and in modernizing
America's intelligence capability, and finally to fulfill
our responsibilities to future generational leaders
through the creation of an institution that instills the
values of public service of such great Floridians such as
LeRoy Collins, Reubin Askew, and our former colleague
Lawton Chiles.
These are things that excite me, that inspire me and to
which I am convinced I can make a better contribution as a
private citizen at this, the end of the beginning of my
life.
Four years after he left the Presidency, President Harry
Truman said:
I have seen a great many men in public life, and one of
their besetting sins is to stay in office too long.
I decided that I would not be guilty of this common
failing, and that I should make way for younger men.
I extend my congratulations to the man Floridians have
chosen as my successor, soon to be Senator Mel Martinez. I
wish him the very best in his new role. Mel is a friend.
He is a good man who has served Florida and America in
many different positions of responsibility. I know the
Senate will welcome him to his new home in the Senate.
We Floridians have high expectations for Senator Mel
Martinez and for those who will be serving in the 109th
Congress and beyond.
Goodbye, Mr. President.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
BOB GRAHAM
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, October 7, 2004
Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I rise to support Senator
McCain and his amendment to the McConnell-Reid measure
amending S. Res. 445.
First, I pay tribute to the former chairman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Graham. I thank him for
his service to our country. He is retiring, although that
certainly does not describe the Senator, but I thank him
for his leadership and his suggestions as we go through
this very difficult task of reforming how we do our
oversight responsibilities in reference to our
intelligence obligations.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the Bible tells us that ``unto
whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.''
When Bob Graham came to the U.S. Senate, ``much'' was
expected from him because much had been given.
He came to the Senate from a wealthy and successful
family. His father, Ernest ``Cap'' Graham, was a wealthy
and successful Florida dairyman and politician. His half-
brother, Phil Graham, was a well-known publisher of a
major newspaper here in the Nation's Capital.
He came to the Senate with a wealth of experience. After
graduating from the University of Florida and Harvard Law
School, he served two terms in the Florida House of
Representatives, 1967-1971; two terms in the Florida State
Senate, 1971-1979. In 1978, he was elected Governor of
Florida, where he served two terms, 1978-1986.
In 1986, having never lost an election, and with a
record of accomplishments as both legislator and a chief
executive, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Therefore,
no one could have been faulted for expecting much from
him, and I am pleased and proud to say he has delivered.
He was a most effective member on a number of important
Senate committees, including the Senate Committee on
Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the Senate Finance
Committee, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public
Works, and the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He
has also served as chairman of the Senate Intelligence
Committee.
In his committee work, and in his daily work on the
Senate floor, Senator Graham earned the respect of
everyone in this Chamber for his honesty, his decency, and
his integrity. In the rough and tumble world of American
politics, Senator Graham always remained a gentleman.
He also earned the respect of his colleagues for his
ability to reach across the aisle for the greater good of
his State and our Nation. As a result, Senator Graham
established a long record of bipartisan accomplishments on
issues of national security, health care, education,
environment, veterans benefits, and intelligence matters.
The people of Florida have been well served by their
Senator. In this Chamber, he has helped protect the
workers in his State from unfair cheap imports, worked to
secure the protection of the Everglades, and has fought
tenaciously to reduce the traffic in illegal drugs in
Florida. He was one of the principal architects of the
1988 omnibus antidrug bill and organized efforts to attack
money laundering by drug smugglers.
During his political career, Senator Graham also became
famous for three things. The first is his wardrobe, that
is, the ties that he wears. Everyone who knows Senator
Graham knows that he only wears ties with an outline of
Florida on them.
The second is that for almost three decades he has
recorded in detail every waking moment of his life.
The third thing for which Senator Graham is well known
is his so-called ``workdays.'' One day each month for the
past three decades, he has performed a job, usually manual
labor, in order to stay in touch with and to better
understand the problems and the needs of the people of his
State.
He has now performed nearly 400 different jobs. He has
been a flight attendant, a truckdriver, and a chicken
plucker. He has cleaned up after hurricanes, and he has
cleaned up after dogs as he once spent a day handling a
``pooper scooper.'' He once spent a day bagging groceries,
and has even performed on stage. He has worked with
policemen, doctors, fishermen, firefighters, and teachers.
These ``workdays'' were not gimmicks or media events.
They were important means by which he could better serve
the people of his State. While Governor of Florida, it was
during his workday as a public schoolteacher that he
experienced first-hand the serious overcrowding in his
State's school system. As a result, when he got back to
Tallahassee, he sought more funding for school
construction to accommodate the State's booming student
population.
On his 355th workday he worked in a hospital, trying to
secure insurance provider authorization for treatment in
the emergency department. This frustrating experience led
him to introduce the Emergency Medical Services Act.
While serving customers in a Florida pharmacy, he heard
from seniors who could not afford to pay for their
prescription drugs. Afterward, he played a lead role in
the effort to expand Medicare benefits to cover
prescription drugs for seniors.
Despite my admiration for Senator Graham, I must confess
that I have had my disagreements with the senior Senator
from Florida. More than once, I have heard him issue his
boast that, ``the future of America is Florida.'' We all
know, of course, that the future of America is West
Virginia. But neither this, nor other disagreements, has
deterred or subtracted from my respect for him. He has
made an enormous contribution to the Senate, where he has
effectively and successfully served his State and our
country.
Unfortunately, Senator Graham has decided that, after
three terms in the Senate, it is time to leave us. We will
miss his wisdom, his decency, and his remarkable
dedication in service to our Nation. Much was expected of
Senator Graham, and he, indeed, exceeded all expectations.
I wish him and his wife, Adele Khoury, the best of
health and happiness in their retirement.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. BURNS. * * * Bob Graham from Florida I learned was
in the Angus business and he leaves this year.
John Breaux from Louisiana. I worked with him on the
Commerce Committee regarding energy issues. His wisdom
will be missed.
I am afraid I took much more from these men than I could
ever return to them.
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 Bob Graham is a friend of mine, a
Democrat, a former Governor of Florida for two terms. He
came to the Senate in 1986 when I did. We worked together
on many committees, but we worked closely together on the
committee you serve on today, Mr. President, and that is
the Intelligence Committee.
I was the chairman of the committee and then he became
the chairman when the Democrats got control of the Senate,
and I was the vice chairman. I found Bob Graham to be
working day in and day out, to be a very upfront man, a
very honorable man, a man of his word. I certainly wish
him well in whatever he does in the future.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, as the 108th Congress draws
to a close, the Senate will lose one of its most
distinguished and accomplished Members, Senator Bob
Graham. Few Senators have had such an outstanding career
in public service. Bob Graham served as a Florida State
legislator between 1967 and 1978; as Governor between 1978
and 1982; and as U.S. Senator from 1987 to 2004. I am
honored that Senator Graham and I were in the same class
following our elections to the Senate in 1986.
Throughout his years in public service, Senator Graham
has taken a leadership role in protecting our environment,
advocating on behalf of seniors and children for adequate
health care, working to make certain that our children
achieve their highest potential in schools, and making
certain that our country lives up to its obligations to
veterans and active duty military personnel.
Early in his career as Governor of Florida, Senator
Graham launched one of our Nation's most significant
efforts to protect the environment through the Save Our
Everglades Program. In 2000, Senator Graham achieved his
goal of restoring the Florida Everglades through an
unprecedented partnership among Federal, State, and local
officials along with private industries. This initiative
was a significant step to ensure protection of a critical
wetland environment, the Florida water supply and
endangered species. Senator Graham's efforts were key to
preservation of one of America's most important and
environmentally sensitive natural treasures.
Throughout his career in public service, Senator Graham
has also taken a leadership role on behalf of public
education. Long before the enactment of the No Child Left
Behind Act, Senator Graham worked to improve Florida
public schools by making certain that children have the
highest quality public education system. He advocated on
behalf of rigid student testing for competency in academic
courses, worked to reduce class size, to improve the
learning environment through new school construction and
to provide more opportunities for higher education
assistance for college students.
Through our years together in the Senate, I was
privileged to work with Senator Graham closely on health
care and Social Security issues. As a colleague for 10
years on the Senate Finance Committee, I noted, with
admiration, his concern for the health care needs for the
elderly, especially the need to strengthen Medicare and
provide a prescription drug benefit for the elderly.
Senator Graham authored Medicare reform legislation to
provide a prescription drug benefit and other preventative
health care benefits. His Medicare Prescription Drug,
Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 was co-sponsored
by one-third of the Senate.
When it came to Social Security and Medicare, Senator
Graham took a long view. He missed no opportunity to urge
all of us to make a priority of ensuring the long-term
solvency of these two crucial programs. His concern was
not just the current needs of his Florida constituents,
but the importance of these programs for the income and
health security of generations to come.
Last, Senator Graham assumed a leadership role on behalf
of our Nation's veterans and active duty military
personnel in his capacity as ranking member of the Senate
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. While he focused
considerable attention on the needs of our aging veterans
population, working tirelessly to increase funding for VA
medical care, he has also been sensitive to the needs of
veterans living in rural America. Senator Graham supported
my efforts to improve access to VA medical care for rural
veterans and to improve the quality of care for veterans
at the Fargo VA Medical Center and through the expansion
of outpatient clinics in rural communities. For this
understanding and support for rural veterans, North
Dakotans will be forever grateful.
There are many achievements by Senator Graham that I
could cite throughout his career in public service. The
few accomplishments that I have noted demonstrate
remarkable dedication to our country--dedication to
improving the lives of our children, the elderly and our
veterans. Senator Graham represents the finest example of
a dedicated and compassionate public servant. I hope that
Senator Graham's career will inspire young Floridians and
other young people across our Nation to service for our
country. I have been privileged to serve with Senator
Graham and thank him for his distinguished service to our
country.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, during his first campaign for
the U.S. Senate in 1986, People Magazine compared Bob
Graham's mind to a Florida thunderstorm; resolute and
impossible to deflect.
But as a Member of this body for 18 years, Bob Graham
has shown that while he may have the energy of a lightning
storm, his works are guided with far greater purpose and
direction.
In 40 years, Bob has never lost a statewide election. He
is one of Florida's most beloved politicians. And that is
for good reason.
Always looking for ways to connect with his
constituents, Senator Graham uses his ``workdays'' to toil
alongside everyday Floridians to understand the problems
they face.
A true American patriot, he has consistently put country
before party.
On the Senate Intelligence Committee he has helped us
tackle the monumental task of overhauling America's
intelligence agencies. We will all miss his knowledge, his
expertise, and his ability to clarify difficult issues.
Bob and his wife, Adele, have been treasured members of
the Senate family--as much for who they are as for what
they have done. For a couple who has accomplished so much
in their lives together, that's saying something.
I want to thank Senator Graham for his valued
contributions to our body and to our country. And we wish
him and Adele the best in all their future endeavors.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to make some
comments about our friends who are departing the Senate.
* * * Senator Graham is a champion on the environment
and some other issues, protecting senior citizens and
Social Security. We will need to hear his voice. * * *
Thank you very much.
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. * * *
I conclude with my comments about my colleague from
Florida, my mentor, my friend of many years. It is hard to
believe Bob Graham has been elected to serve almost 40
years--38 years to be exact. From when he was first
elected to the State legislature in 1966, he has been in
elected office ever since--two terms in the State house,
two terms in the State senate, two terms as the Governor
of Florida, where he had a magnificent record, where he
has put his stamp as one of Florida's great Governors,
starting programs to save the Florida Everglades, the
River of Grass, the Kissimmee River, and the Everglades
restoration that has now started. It is an $8 million
project shared half and half between the State and the
Federal Government. That is a great legacy for Bob.
Then, of course, his three terms in the Senate, 10 years
of which he served on the Senate Intelligence Committee,
the last 2 of which he served as chairman of that
committee. Of course, with that great knowledge and
expertise, in the course of the debates here, Bob has
given us great insight and wisdom.
Finally, some of his fellow Senators convinced him that
he ought to sit down and write a book and that book is
entitled Intelligence Matters. It is my hope that with
other Senators on this floor that we are going to be able
to help Bob fulfill one of his dreams, which is that in an
intelligence service that has been decimated from time to
time as a result of the whims of appropriations, that a
professional core of career intelligence officers can be
enhanced by starting an ROTC for intelligence officers.
We are going to try to get the appropriations to start
that and to do it at one of our Florida universities named
for Bob Graham. Let that little incubator show the way to
see whether that is a system we can adopt around the
country to give an ample supply of officers who are ready
for service in the intelligence service.
So it is again with a heavy heart that I see my
colleague, Senator Graham, retire after a distinguished
career. He will not be retiring as a public servant,
because whether it be from the position of a university--
and it is my understanding he will be going to Harvard for
a year at the Kennedy School--or whether it be back in our
State affiliated with several of our universities in
Florida, Bob will be rendering public service to the
people of this country for some period of time.
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.
* * * Another esteemed colleague from the South,
Senator Bob Graham, the senior Senator from Florida, is
clearly one of the State's most popular elected officials.
He won two terms as State representative, two terms as a
State senator, two terms as a Governor, three terms as a
U.S. Senator, with a 9-9 record. For a short time he put
his hat in the ring in the recent Presidential race. He
had a 9-9 record of elections dating back 38 years.
Like Senator Breaux, Bob Graham has worked diligently to
forge bipartisan solutions to the most pressing problems.
He is a fiscal conservative, dedicated to strengthening
and improving Social Security and Medicare. Bob Graham is
the author of a comprehensive, bipartisan plan to restore
the Everglades, a plan that created an unprecedented
partnership among Federal, State, and local governments
and private industries to reverse the damage done by
fragile ``River of Grass'' decades of dredging, dumping,
and destruction. He has fought hard to protect Florida's
coastline from oil and gas exploration.
One of the things that made Bob Graham so popular has
been his determination to spend time working side by side
with people he represents. Over 30 years he has worked 400
workdays. On those workdays--and most have seen him in
costume--he has worked as a police officer, railroad
engineer, construction worker, fisherman, garbage man. I
don't think I would have taken all the jobs he did, but he
did them wonderfully and endeared himself to his
constituents. He was a factory worker, busboy, teacher. If
Bob does not want to retire, I am sure he will be able to
find some kind of work. He is experienced in so many
fields. * * *
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. 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. * * *
Bob Graham is also leaving the Senate. I would like to
recognize him and the State of Florida for sharing Bob
Graham with us. He served for 18 years in the Senate.
Prior to his election to this body, he served as a
Governor for 8 years in Florida, and served previously in
both the Florida State Senate and the House of
Representatives. He is without a doubt one of the most
respected and popular public figures who have ever
represented the State of Florida. He is well known in
Florida for working over 400 days alongside his
constituents, as others mentioned this afternoon, giving
him a unique perspective on the issues and problems they
deal with each and every day.
But not only was he doing it for Floridians, those 400
days he spent working along with others became a national
symbol of someone who went out of his way to understand
and learn how other people work and live every single day.
He has been a tireless advocate for priorities that
affect Florida's citizens, including prescription drug
coverage for seniors, and preservation of the Everglades
and the Florida coastline. I have been privileged to work
with him on several occasions. I particularly appreciate
his work for the people of Haiti.
Since the attacks of September 11, Senator Graham has
shown an unyielding and passionate commitment to making
our Nation stronger, safer, and far more secure. In
particular, he has spoken out forcefully and candidly in
favor of reforming our intelligence agencies.
As chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence
during the previous Congress, he was the primary author of
sections of the USA PATRIOT Act that require greater
information sharing among intelligence and law enforcement
agencies. He has been outspoken about what our Nation
could have done before 9/11 to protect itself, and how it
is just as important that we do everything in our power to
make this country safer in the 21st century.
Bob Graham leaves this body as one of its most respected
Members, and one of the most well-liked public servants in
his State and in this Chamber. We will miss him in this
body and I wish Bob and his lovely wife Adele and the rest
of their family 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. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute
to Senator Bob Graham, a man who has served in the U.S.
Senate with great distinction for the last 18 years. The
people of Florida have been fortunate to be represented by
a man who is as thoughtful, as tough-minded and as
independent as Bob Graham.
When I first came to the Senate, I was proud to work
with Senator Graham to bring the deficit under control.
Senator Graham was a leader for fiscal responsibility in
the Senate, and he helped to focus our efforts to cut
wasteful spending and institute budget reforms that
brought the deficit under control, and ultimately created
a budget surplus. His leadership will certainly be missed
in this area in the next Congress, as we must come to
terms with the largest deficit in our Nation's history.
Senator Graham was also a voice for fiscal sanity on the
Finance Committee, a committee that in recent years has
too often promoted policies that have deepened our fiscal
problems. It isn't easy to go against your colleagues,
whether in a committee or in a caucus, to stand up for
what you believe is right. But that's exactly what Bob
Graham has done throughout his time in the Senate, and I
greatly admire him for it.
His independence has also extended to his work in the
fight against terrorism, where he has been an unyielding
voice for a stronger, more focused war on terror, and I
thank him for his outspoken leadership on this critically
important issue.
Here in the Senate, we will miss Bob Graham's thoughtful
leadership, his unfailing civility, and his unstinting
friendship. I thank him for his service to the State of
Florida and to this country, and wish him all the best in
his retirement.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to
some of my colleagues who will be leaving the Senate at
the end of this session. * * *
We will also miss the leadership and service of Senator
Bob Graham.
Senator Graham has dedicated his life to public service,
serving in the Florida State House and State Senate, and
as Governor of Florida before his 18 years here in the
U.S. Senate.
Senator Graham and I share a passion for health care. He
has been a tireless advocate and leader on the need for a
prescription drug benefit for America's seniors.
As founder of the New Senate Democrats, Senator Graham
has worked to bring together coalitions on issues ranging
from education to the national debt and fiscal
responsibility.
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.
I have a great affection for the departing Senator from
Florida, Bob Graham. After 18 years of dedicated service
to his country and to the people of Florida, all of us in
this Chamber will certainly miss the Senator as he retires
from elected office.
I had the pleasure of serving on the Energy and Natural
Resources Committee with Senator Graham during the past 9
years. During that time, I had the opportunity to work
with Senator Graham on a number of important issues. He
proved to be a sound leader for his party and a Member
committed to bipartisan solutions.
Senator Graham's brief tenure as Chairman of the Select
Intelligence Committee came during one of the most trying
times our Nation has faced, the attack on our country by
terrorists on September 11, 2001. Senator Graham worked
closely with his House counterpart, and current Director
of Central Intelligence, Porter Goss, to lead a joint
Senate-House inquiry into the attacks on our Nation.
Although he was first elected to the Senate in 1986,
Senator Graham has been serving the people of Florida
since 1966 when he was first elected to that State's house
of representatives. After serving in the House for 4 years
and in the State senate for 8 years, Senator Graham was
elected the 38th Governor of the State of Florida.
Despite these accomplishments, it is fair to say that
Senator Graham will perhaps be most memorable for
instituting the ``workdays'' he began in 1974 and
continued during his time in the Senate. Senator Graham
began the workdays by teaching a semester of civics
courses at a Miami area high school.
I wish Senator Graham, his wife Adele, and his children
and grandchildren the very best in the coming years.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise to say goodbye
to several dear friends and colleagues with whom I have
had the pleasure to work in the Senate. * * *
Senator Bob Graham, a former two-term Governor of the
Sunshine State, has compiled a record of achievement in
the Senate which included portions of the PATRIOT Act.
When it comes to environmental, tax, energy, and education
issues, he has been a strong voice in Congress.
One of the greatest legacies of Senator Graham is the
Florida Everglades. The rich flora and fauna of the
Everglades were threatened by development, but then-
Governor Graham pushed through legislation to protect it.
Future generations of Americans who visit the Everglades
should remember his contribution to saving this national
heritage.
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 wish all the best to Senator Hollings. We will miss
his booming voice. We will miss Senator Edwards, Senator
Graham of Florida, and Senator Daschle. We will also miss
John Breaux, a man we know will enjoy life with his good
common sense and sense of humor. He is a good friend.
Mr. REID. Bob Graham and I came to the Senate together
in 1986. He first ran for Governor 26 years ago. Since
that time, and even before, he has spent hundreds of days
working with regular Floridians in their jobs.
The thing we all see in Bob Graham is the little
notebooks he carries and everything he does he writes
down. I am sure some day after we are long gone, a
historian will review those, and Bob Graham will be well
known in the history books because he wrote the history of
everything he has done for the last 25 or 30 years.
He was a great Governor for the Sunshine State. He has
been a tremendous Senator. I served with him from the time
we came here on the Environment and Public Works
Committee. He has certainly been tremendous on that
committee. He is a detail man. He is a person, for
example, who worked on the Everglades. He was tireless,
persistent, and so smart. He has become an expert on
foreign affairs and foreign intelligence. He served as
chairman of the Intelligence Committee. He has written a
book on the subject. His knowledge and contributions in
that area will be hard to replace.
I certainly will miss the Senator from Florida. It is
just too bad he decided not to run for reelection.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, with the close of the 108th
Congress, the Senate will lose to retirement one of our
most respected and admired Members, Senator Bob Graham of
Florida.
I remember how impressed we were in 1987 when Bob came
to the Senate after two terms as an enormously popular
Governor of Florida. From the start, he made his mark in
this body as a serious and diligent legislator--a classic
workhorse Senator rather than show horse Senator.
One of his greatest accomplishments was the passage, 4
years ago, of comprehensive legislation to restore and
protect the Florida Everglades. This was Bob Graham at his
very best: forging a bipartisan consensus, and crafting a
unique partnership among Federal, State and local
governments as well as private industries and landowners.
This will be a living monument to Senator Bob Graham: a
restored and revitalized Everglades.
I first got to know Bob Graham back in 1977, a decade
before he came to this body. At the time, he was a State
senator down in Florida, planning to run for Governor the
following year. He had heard about my workdays, an idea
that I originated when I was running for Congress in 1974.
I had spent dozens of workdays--as a cop on the beat,
construction worker, farmer, nurse's aide, and many other
professions. It was a great way to get in touch with
ordinary working Iowans and their concerns.
I remember Bob coming by my office over in the Cannon
House Office Building. He was a very serious man, very
analytical and thorough. He asked all the right questions.
And a couple weeks later, he sent me his plan to conduct
100 workdays during his campaign for Governor. I told him,
as tactfully as I could, that was way too many, that he
would never be able to do it. But Bob went ahead with his
plan. He did, indeed, conduct 100 workdays. He did,
indeed, get elected Governor of Florida. And I learned
never to underestimate Bob Graham.
By the way, Bob's workdays didn't stop there. As
Governor and U.S. Senator, he went on to complete nearly
400 workdays, serving as police officer, teacher, garbage
man, busboy, hurricane relief worker, you name it. Bob
swears by the value of these days--as I do. In fact, in
1997, he spent 1 workday as a U.S. Customs inspector at
the port in Tampa. This opened his eyes to the extreme
vulnerability of our ports to crime, drug trafficking, and
terrorist strikes.
And the workdays continue. Last month, Senator Graham
spent a day as a high school civics teacher in Miami. And
just this past weekend, he spent a day as a bookseller in
Coral Gables.
All of which is typical of Bob Graham. He may be
retiring from the Senate, but he is not a retiring man. He
continues to be a workhorse and a whirlwind of activity.
His new book, Intelligence Matters, has stirred up
controversy by shining a spotlight on the Saudi royal
family's connections to terrorism.
The fact is Bob is leaving the Senate at the very top of
his game, especially in the field of intelligence and
homeland security. After the September 11 attacks, it was
Senator Graham who proposed the creation of a joint House-
Senate inquiry into the intelligence failures leading up
to the attacks. Senator Graham ended up serving as co-
chair of that historic effort, and he did just a brilliant
job of keeping the inquiry bipartisan, focused on the
facts, focused on solutions.
Meanwhile, events have vindicated Senator Graham's
principled stand as one of only 23 Senators to vote in
October 2002 against the resolution to authorize the use
of force against Saddam. At the time, he argued
passionately that the war on terrorism should be our
highest priority. He insisted that al Qaeda was the real
threat to America, and that an attack on Iraq would be a
detour and distraction from the war on terrorism. And, as
usual, Bob Graham was exactly right. The Senate failed to
heed his warnings. I failed to heed his warnings. And, as
a result, Osama bin Laden remains at large, al Qaeda and
the Taliban are reconstituting themselves, and our Armed
Forces are bogged down in a quagmire in Iraq.
So, no question, with Bob Graham's retirement, the
Senate is losing one of its most talented and respected
Members. Over the years, Bob and Adele have become
wonderful friends, and those friendships will continue.
But I will miss the day-to-day association on the floor
with Bob.
As I said, you have to respect the fact that Bob Graham
is leaving the Senate at the very top of his game. I wish
Bob and Adele all the best.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, at the end of this Congress we
will bid farewell to distinguished Members of this body
who have served their States and their country with honor.
I rise today to pay tribute to the senior Senator from
Florida, a man who has been a leader in the Senate on
national intelligence issues, prescription drugs and the
environment and has been a strong voice in this body on
behalf of the interests of his fellow Floridians.
For more than four decades Senator Graham has been a
leader in Florida politics, serving his State as a State
representative and senator, as Governor and as a U.S.
Senator. For 18 years Senator Graham has compiled an
impressive record of leadership while serving as chairman
and ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee,
chairman of the Intelligence Committee, chairman of the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and as a senior
member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Since 1974, Senator Graham has completed more than 400
``workdays'' with Floridians around his State. During
these workdays the Senator spends working alongside his
constituents, the personal interaction helps him
understand the challenges that Floridians face. These
visits clearly have provided Senator Graham with an
opportunity to recognize the community values and hard
work that are exhibited and shared by his constituents.
These jobs have gone everywhere from garbage loader to
short order cook. No Senator has done anything similar.
From his position on the Senate Finance Committee,
Senator Graham has picked up the torch for causes
supported by another respected Floridian, Claude Pepper,
the former Senator and Congressman. He has supported
providing affordable prescription drugs to Americans and
has advocated for a commonsense approach to Medicare that
focuses on wellness and preventative health. Senator
Graham has increased access to the Children's Health
Insurance Program and has pushed Congress to live up to
its commitment to support social services.
Both as Governor and Senator, Bob Graham has been
dedicated to protecting the environment. He has helped
direct millions of dollars to protect the Everglades,
restore wetlands and promote responsible development. In
the Senate, Bob Graham has voiced opposition to drilling
on the Outer Continental Shelf and for an end to the
harmful practice of dredging in the Apalachicola River.
For those of us that have served with Senator Graham in
the Senate we have admired his hard work and dedication to
his constituents. We join him now in celebrating his 18
successful years in this body, a period of time that is
one part of a career of service to the State of Florida.
As Senator Graham moves out of the public eye, he leaves
behind a legacy of accomplishment that will be forever
remembered by his fellow Americans and Floridians. He also
leaves a reputation of integrity and insight. History will
show that this country should have listened to his
warnings about the failed intelligence leading up to the
war in Iraq.
Mr. DASCHLE. Today I would like to say a few words about
eight 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.
Six Democratic Senators are leaving at the end of this
Congress. * * *
The best way I found to stay in touch with the people
who elected me was to drive through every county in South
Dakota every year and just talk to whomever I ran into
about whatever was on their mind. Bob Graham found an
equally effective way of staying in touch with average
Floridians. He calls them workdays. He would spend a day
working in another job.
This year he worked his 400th workday. He spent that day
the same way he spent his first workday 30 years ago: as a
teacher. That is appropriate because, in fact, Bob's
entire career has been a living lesson in public service.
A while back, I was looking over the list of Bob's
workday jobs and I have to tell you, I am amazed! Think
about all the things he has done: NASA payload specialist,
firefighter, bagel maker, bulletproof vest maker, pea
picker, phosphate miner, Air Force Special Operations
gunner, circus worker elf!
Clearly, it wasn't lack of other career options that has
kept Bob in the Senate for 18 years. What has kept him
here is simple. It is his love of Florida, and of this
country. It is a sense of responsibility that he inherited
from his father and that has animated his whole life.
Bob Graham is a Moderate with a capital M. And he is one
of the nicest people you could ever meet. But when it
comes to the people of Florida, when it comes to doing
right by America, strengthening America's economy,
creating good jobs, investing in children, and standing up
for America's veterans and military families, Bob Graham
is a fierce fighter. And when it comes to protecting our
Nation from terrorism, he is a heavyweight fighter.
America is safer today because of his courage and
tenacity.
I suspect the only people who could possibly be sadder
about Bob's retirement than the members of our caucus are
the people who make those Florida ties! We wish Bob and
Adele the very best of luck in all their future endeavors.
* * *
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.
Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I would like to first pay
tribute to my colleague, the Senator from Florida [Mr.
Graham], who just spoke. He has been one of my guiding
lights in my 4 years here. He is someone who exemplifies
the best qualities of a U.S. Senator. His integrity and
wisdom and his careful attention to matters large and
small have been superb during his 38 years of public
service to the State of Florida. It has been just
extraordinary. I wish him well and I will miss him. I will
miss his leadership and his guidance.
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I appreciate the good works of
my good friend from Florida. I see both Florida Senators
are in the Chamber. Of course, Senator Graham is just
about to close out his career in this Senate, and he will
be missed. He was one of my neighbors when I first came
here some 16 years ago, when they were living just not too
far down the street. So I appreciate him and all the
talents and the contributions he has made to this body and
to the country.
I hope he is successful in the Black Angus business in
Florida. He will be going back to his beloved ranch and
probably do a little writing, get a little philosophical.
I know he has done that at times. He can do it in an
environment that is befitting a retired Senator. We
appreciate him.
We do not say goodbye in our part of the country. We
just say so long. Our trails will cross one of these days.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, with the adjournment of the
108th Congress, Bob Graham completes about 40
uninterrupted years of dedicated service to the people of
Florida as an elected public official. Floridians first
elected him to their State house of representatives in
1966, where he served two 2-year terms. In 1970 they
elected him to the State senate, where he served two 4-
year terms. In 1978 Floridians across the State chose him
for their Governor; no one from south Florida had ever
before been elected. He served in that office with great
distinction for two terms, until in 1986 Floridians sent
Bob Graham to the first of three terms in the U.S. Senate.
Bob Graham has not only worked for the people of
Florida; he has worked with them. While a State senator,
he established a workday Program for himself that
regularly took him out of the halls of government and into
literally dozens of different jobs. Since coming to the
Senate, Bob has made time for 214 workdays, which means
that roughly once a month, for 18 years, he has worked
alongside his constituents, all the time learning from
them.
Bob began his workdays while a State senator, teaching a
semester of civics at a Miami high school. Over the years,
though, he has not limited himself to a single form of
employment: on the contrary, he has been an agricultural
worker, a factory worker, a construction worker; he has
worked in the public sector as a policeman and as a trash
collector. Writing in the Washington Post on May 4, 2003,
Michael Grunwald observed that the regular, wide-ranging
workdays became ``a remarkable window'' for Bob Graham's
political education. Working as an auto mechanic, Bob
Graham learned first-hand that ``Florida auto inspections
were a joke. He learned at a nursing home that orderlies
earned only $17 a day. He learned as a parking attendant
that tiny curb cuts changed the lives of disabled
workers.'' Bob used the workday program to learn directly
from his own observation and experience, and not simply
from the reports of others.
Florida is an extraordinarily diverse State in its
demography, its environment, and its economy. In many ways
it encapsulates the broad range of challenges that we
confront not just in our States, but in the Nation at
large. Senator Bob Graham brought to the great debates in
the Congress over education, health care, the economy,
environmental standards, and many other issues, domestic
and foreign, his substantial experience as a State
legislator and Governor. The legislation enacted in 2000
to restore the Florida Everglades was built around a
program that Governor Bob Graham had established in 1983.
It was not only his State that benefited, it was our
Nation; for the Everglades are a precious national
resource. As chairman of the Intelligence Committee in the
107th Congress, Bob Graham provided vigorous and
clearheaded leadership in the aftermath of the attacks of
September 11.
Broadly experienced in public governance as Bob is, he
has had the wisdom to remain a student of government. The
U.S. Senate is both a place to protect and advance the
needs and concerns of constituents, and also a place to
learn; as he put it in his remarks in this Chamber on
December 7: ``The Senate is our country's best graduate
school.'' He leaves the Senate with an abiding and
profound concern for programs to keep our country safe,
improve our children's schools, improve our health care,
and strengthen employment opportunities, among many
others. Above and beyond these programs, however, as he
observed on December 7, is the very institution of the
Senate itself, with a ``unique role'' to play ``in
balancing our government in order to avoid excessive power
falling into the hands of any one person or governmental
institution.''
For over 18 years Bob has worked to ensure that this
body does indeed honor its unique role among our
institutions of government. The Senate is stronger for
having Bob Graham as a Member. He will be greatly missed.