[Senate Document 108-26]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Doc. 108-26
TRIBUTES TO HON. ERNEST F. HOLLINGS
Ernest F. Hollings
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T7210.001
Ernest F. Hollings
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Ernest F. Hollings
United States Senator
1966-2005
a
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
Trent Lott, Chairman
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell..............................................
ix
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
30
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
18
Burns, Conrad, of Montana......................
10
Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
11
Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
27
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
26
Daschle, Tom, of South Dakota..................
34
Dayton, Mark, of Minnesota.....................
18
Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
23
Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
28
Dorgan, Byron L., of North Dakota..............
9
Edwards, John, of North Carolina...............
18
Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
17
Graham, Bob, of Florida........................
3
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
37
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
29
Inhofe, James M., of Oklahoma..................
23
Inouye, Daniel K., of Hawaii...................
31
Lautenberg, Frank, of New Jersey...............
18
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
32
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
35
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
18
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
30
Sarbanes, Paul S., of Maryland.................
41
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
16
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
28
Stevens, Ted, of Alaska........................
36
Biography
``Performance is better than promise.'' That's the creed
by which U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings modeled his lifetime
of public service. He was committed to generating economic
growth for South Carolina; promoting education and equal
opportunity; and providing the opportunity for all
citizens to have healthy, secure and productive lives. He
recognized early on that government must be fiscally
accountable to the people in order to achieve these goals.
A brief examination of Senator Hollings's record of
legislative achievement reveals that he remained true to
his mission throughout a distinguished political career.
Fritz Hollings fought for South Carolina most of his
life. A native of Charleston, he graduated from the
Citadel in 1942 and immediately received a commission from
the U.S. Army. He served as an officer in the North
African and European campaigns in World War II, receiving
the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons. When he
returned from the war, he entered the University of South
Carolina School of Law. Working through holidays and
summers, he graduated in 1947--less than 3 years after he
began.
The following year, at age 26, he began his long career
of public service when he was elected to the South
Carolina House of Representatives. In his second term, his
peers voted him speaker pro tempore, a post to which he
was re-elected in 1953. Two years later, he became
Lieutenant Governor. In 1958, recognizing his leadership,
achievements and dedication to public service, the people
of South Carolina chose him for the highest office in the
State. At 36, he was the youngest man in the 20th century
to be elected Governor of South Carolina.
Progressive Governorship
As Governor, Hollings established his well-deserved
reputation for economic common sense and laid the
foundation for the economic growth that has made South
Carolina a modern success story. South Carolina was
stalled in the late fifties, mired in an outdated economy
with a budget in the red. Hollings balanced the State's
budget for the first time since 1895 and, under his
leadership, South Carolina became the first southern State
to earn the coveted AAA credit rating.
He was also the father of technical education in South
Carolina, starting the statewide system of technical
colleges. With this training, South Carolinians who grew
up on farms and in mill towns were able to learn
marketable vocational skills for the first time-- skills
that enabled them to obtain better jobs and wages. Thanks
to Senator Hollings's vision of education that emphasizes
job training, South Carolina has attracted multinational
companies like BMW and Michelin. The State also enjoys one
of the lowest rates of unemployment in the Nation.
Early Senate Years
In 1966, South Carolinians elected Hollings to the U.S.
Senate to fill the unexpired term of Olin Johnson, an
office to which he's been elected seven times. Early in
his Senate career, Senator Hollings focused on the poverty
and hunger that gripped the rural South and urban areas of
the country. In 1968 he embarked on his now famous hunger
tours, which spawned his acclaimed 1970 book The Case
Against Hunger: A Demand for a National Policy and
fostered a new government commitment to improving programs
for the poor. Senator Hollings believed it was ``better to
feed the child than to jail the man'' so he co-authored
national legislation that created the Special Supplemental
Food Program for Women, Infants and Children, popularly
known as WIC, which was modeled after a pilot program in
South Carolina's Beaufort County.
Senator Hollings was also quick to establish what has
become a long-standing commitment to environmental
policies when, in 1972, he wrote and steered through
Congress the National Coastal Zone Management Act, the
Nation's first land use law designed to protect coastal
wetlands. In the early and mid-seventies he also pushed to
establish the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), authored the Marine Mammal
Protection Act, and fought for passage of the Ocean
Dumping Act and the Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.
Recent Senate Work
Senator Hollings was elected to the Senate for the
seventh time in 1998. In 2004 he was the fourth most
senior Member of the Senate.
Senator Hollings served as ranking member on the
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee where he
championed a wide range of issues such as
telecommunications, transportation security, consumer
protection, coastal preservation and research, and trade
policy. As a principal author of the 1996
Telecommunications Act, Hollings worked throughout his
career to promote competition within the
telecommunications industry and to ensure that consumers
benefit from innovative technologies at reasonable prices.
As a result of the September 11 attacks, Hollings led the
effort to pass transportation security legislation for our
Nation's port, railroad, and aviation systems in an effort
to bolster national security and protect American
citizens.
In terms of U.S. trade policy, Senator Hollings sought
to reinvigorate economic competitiveness and protect
American jobs, while improving U.S. manufacturing and
production capabilities. Additionally, Hollings believed
that greater understanding and improved management of
ocean and coastal ecosystems were essential to maintain
healthy coasts and to prepare communities for natural
hazards such as hurricanes. He worked to better the lives
of South Carolinians and the people of our Nation.
Senator Hollings also served as the longest-serving
member of the Senate Budget Committee where he worked to
take the country down the path to ``true surplus.'' He was
the first voice in the Senate to decry the practice of
looting Social Security, Medicare and other trust funds to
camouflage the size of the deficit. Hollings continued to
fight for fiscal responsibility, and he constantly pressed
Congress to put the Nation back on a ``pay-as-you-go''
basis rather than burdening future generations with
escalating Federal deficits and debt.
As the third ranking Democrat on the Senate
Appropriations Committee and the ranking member of the
Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary Appropriations
Subcommittee, Senator Hollings used his seniority,
experience and know-how to fight for responsible
government and South Carolina's fair share. He initiated a
nationwide effort to combat breast and cervical cancer by
utilizing his seat on the Appropriations Committee to
secure funding for a pilot screening program. Thanks to
Senator Hollings, South Carolina was among six States
selected for this landmark initiative, which screened
115,000 South Carolina women and detected more than 1,300
occurrences of cancer. With Senator Hollings's help, the
State received funding for this program as well as others
to complete new infrastructure projects, improve public
education, attract new businesses, and protect the
environment in South Carolina.
Senator Hollings was raised in a family with four
siblings and a hard-working mother and father. He is the
father of four children and has seven grandchildren. He
and his wife, Peatsy, are very involved in South Carolina
as well as in the Washington community. From World War II
officer to South Carolina legislator to Governor to U.S.
Senator, Senator Hollings dedicated his life to public
service. He worked to generate economic growth for South
Carolina, promote education and equal opportunity, and
advocate a progressive, national public policy. An
independent leader who tells it like it is, Hollings does
not rely on rhetoric. His record speaks for itself.
Farewell Speech
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, my distinguished colleague,
Senator Graham, has been more than generous, and I thank
him not just for today but for the years to come. I do so
genuinely in the sense that his coming here as a Senator
is like going over on the wall and turning on the lights.
Here I had somebody diligently working to get things done.
That is why I came to the Senate, to get things done for
South Carolina. And Senator Graham has not only worked
hard--we all work hard; there is no lazy Senator in the
100 Senators--but he has that secret of making friends.
After all, this is a political body, and you cannot get
things done unless you make friends.
He instantly came to the Chamber and started working
with Democratic Senators, which was a surprise to me.
Things are so confrontational at the present time in
politics, to see that occur, I said: That fellow is going
to be here a long time. And I believe it. He is going to
be here a long time.
Just this past week, he got on to my crusade of trying
to get jobs and industry. He's following in the footsteps
of our distinguished former colleague, the senior Senator
from Kentucky, Wendell Ford, who is on the floor and
graces us. He makes me feel like old times when he was our
whip, and no one, as chairman of the Rules Committee, did
a better job. But Lindsey Graham went out of his way to
get things done.
This past week he has been taking around Ambassadors
from various countries to prompt their interest in
investing in South Carolina. As Governor, I started going
on trips in 1960 to encourage businesses to move to South
Carolina, and now we have 134 German companies in South
Carolina. We have French Michelin, and we have Japanese
Hitachi, Fuji, and others. Now, Senator Graham is working
the beat. He is a realist, and he knows how to get things
done.
I cannot thank him enough for being already
distinguished, not just because we gave him the title, but
because I have heard from colleagues on both sides of the
aisle: That fellow, Lindsey Graham, is really a fine
fellow. He is working, and you really ought to be proud of
him.
I address the distinguished Senator from South Carolina
by saying that the only way I can show my gratitude is to
make sure he gets this desk. I have the John C. Calhoun
desk. You will laugh, Wendell. When I got here I told
Senator Russell, ``I would like to have this desk.'' He
said: ``Colleague, colleague, colleague''--you know how he
talked--``I guess you would like to have this desk. My
father sat at this desk, my mother sat at this desk, and I
am sitting at this desk.''
I said: ``Excuse me, I didn't know all three of them
had been there.''
He came to me the night before he left, and gave me the
Calhoun desk, and I am going to make sure the Sergeant at
Arms gets this desk to Senator Graham.
This is my chance to thank my colleagues for putting up
with me for 38 years. I thank the distinguished staff, not
just my staff and the committee staff, but particularly
this afternoon the floor staff, Marty and Lula and
everybody else. We couldn't get anything done without
their wonderful help. And I thank the poor reporters. If
you can understand what I am saying--They are always
asking later, Mr. President: What did he say and how did
he say it?
I will never forget politicking for President. I went
up to Worcester, MA. I kept calling it Worcester. I
knocked on the door and the lady said: Who are you? I
said: Fritz Hollings. She thought it was a German trucking
company. I do thank the reporters who have done an
outstanding job for me over the many years.
I started my career as a trial lawyer, and I made
enough as a good trial lawyer to afford to come to
Washington and be in the U.S. Senate. Senators don't make
enough money. You ought to double their pay, and I say
that before leaving. I have said that along with Ted
Stevens for years. No little young fledgling lawyer, such
as Hollings, can afford to run, keep up two homes, and
everything else. It can't happen anymore. You all are just
politically using the salary and not really attracting the
best of the best.
I don't leave with the idea that the Senate is not what
it used to be in the sense of personnel. We have a way
better group of Senators. We had five drunks or six drunks
when I came here. There is nobody drunk in the U.S.
Senate. We don't have time to be drunk and, more than
that, we have the women. We had one woman [in the Senate]
early in my career. She was outstanding, but she was
outstandingly quiet. That was Margaret Chase Smith from
Maine, a wonderful lady. Now we have 14, and you can't
shut them up. They keep on talking and talking and
talking. If you get into a debate with Barbara Mikulski or
Barbara Boxer, they will take your head off, I can tell
you that. They know how to present a viewpoint, and that
is very valuable.
The Senators have done a wonderful job. The Senate
itself is the greatest of institutions, but I know we can
do better. As a trial lawyer, I was overjoyed. When I came
here, we had the proceeding to learn the truth and we
could hear the best of witnesses. I had better clients as
a U.S. Senator, and obviously, I could make the final
argument to the jury and then go in the jury room and
vote. That, to me, is a trial lawyer. I had reached the
ultimate.
Yet as I am leaving, I am very sensitive to the full
docket of unfinished business. I am constantly being asked
about legacy, legacy, legacy. I am thinking the things we
ought to have done long ago and have not done because
rather than seeking the truth--and I say this advisedly--
we have obscured it.
Take right now the issue that is going to confront us
tomorrow afternoon or Thursday of raising the debt limit.
I read the business page of The New York Times this
morning. We are spending at the rate of $600 billion more
than we are taking in. That is a deficit.
Don't give me this doubletalk of on-budget deficit,
off-budget, or government debt and public debt. We are
spending $600 billion more than we are taking in, which is
6 percent of our GNP. In the European Union, if you exceed
3 percent of your gross national product, you are not
eligible to be in the European Union. Here we are telling
the world what they ought to do in diplomacy,
international affairs, defense affairs, and fiscal
affairs, and we would not even be eligible to be in the
European Union.
We have, Mr. President, the economy on steroids. Add it
up. Add up the deficit of 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004--
those 4 years--and you have $1.7 trillion that we have
goosed into the economy with these tax cuts. We have not
increased spending on the war $1.7 trillion. No, no. We
have tax cut, tax cut, tax cut, and they still want more
tax cuts. I am talking bipartisan because both sides are
guilty. I am not talking in a partisan fashion.
We have to do something about that deficit. I was here
when we balanced the budget without Social Security in
1968. President Clinton got the government back into the
black. But when Bush came in he turned a $6 trillion
projected surplus to a $5 trillion projected deficit, and
now we have to increase the debt limit. Now the dollar is
in a deep dive. Interest rates are going to have to go up.
We are depending on financing our debt some $700 billion
by the Japanese, $170 billion by the Chinese, and $67
billion by Korea. Can you imagine going with a tin cup to
Korea, begging: Please finance my debt because I need
another tax cut?
What about Social Security? Let's tell the truth about
it because there isn't any question that we have been
spending Social Security moneys for any and everything but
Social Security, in violation of the law.
And don't give me this thing about, oh, yeah, Lyndon
Johnson used Social Security. He did not. Look at the
record. He balanced it, and we did not spend Social
Security moneys until the seventies when Wilbur Mills, the
chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on the House
side, started giving these inordinate COLAs. We started
draining the fund.
We appointed the Greenspan Commission in 1983. The
Greenspan Commission came out with an inordinately high
tax to take care of the baby boomers in the next
generation. Don't misunderstand me. They act like the baby
boomers are coming along as a new problem. We foresaw that
in 1983. We said, as a result of this high tax, do not
spend this money on anything but Social Security.
I fought like a tiger, but we finally got it into law.
On November 5, 1990, George Herbert Walker Bush signed
into law section 13301 that says that the President and
the Congress cannot use Social Security moneys for budget
purposes.
I was talking a minute ago to my distinguished
colleague from South Carolina. He is going to try, I
guess, to raise taxes. I would support it so long as we
are not raising taxes for anything and everything but
Social Security. You are going to have to increase the
age. You are going to have to get some revenues to make it
fiscally sound. But if we started immediately with the
Social Security surplus going to just the Social Security
Trust Fund, we immediately have $160 billion, and with
that $160 billion in 7 years, we would have $1 trillion
and you wouldn't have to worry until 2045 or 2050, and
there would not be any crisis. We ought to study that.
It is the same with trade. Everywhere in the land
people cry: Free trade, free trade, free trade. There is
no such thing; never has there been and never will there
be free trade. I know about freer governmental
restrictions, subsidies, and quotas, but that is not going
to happen.
People ought to remember that we built this industrial
giant and power, the United States of America, with
protectionism. The Brits corresponded with the Founding
Fathers, and they said: Under David Ricardo's comparative
advantage, what needs to be done is we will trade with you
what we produce best and you trade back with us what you
produce best. Free trade, free trade, free trade.
Hamilton wrote the Report on Manufacturers. He said to
Britain: Bug off, we are not going to remain your colony.
We are going to maintain our own manufacturing capacity.
The second bill that ever passed this Congress in history,
on July 4, 1789, was a 50-percent tariff on articles and
we started with protectionism, linking the steel mills
with protectionism. Roosevelt came in with protective
subsidies on agriculture. Our friend, President
Eisenhower, had import quotas on oil--protectionism.
President Kennedy came in with a 7-point program to
protect textiles. More recently our good friend President
Ronald Reagan put in voluntary restraint agreements on
automobiles, steel, hand tools, and semiconductors.
Ask Andy Grove if he would have Intel today if
President Reagan had not put in that protectionist
measure. There would not be any Intel.
We did that with Sematech and everybody knows it. But
we were treating trade as aid in the war of capitalism
versus communism right after World War II. We had the only
industry. So we sent over, with the Marshall Plan, money,
experts, equipment, and we started giving away my textile
industry--giving it away.
Right now 70 percent of the clothing I am looking at is
imported; 86 percent of the shoes on the floor are
imported. It is all gone. All that time they said: Don't
worry. We are going to be a service economy. My light bill
in South Carolina is administered in Bangalore, India. So
we have lost the service economy. We have lost the
manufacturing economy and capacity.
What happens is your security is like a three-legged
stool. You have the one leg, your values as a nation.
Around the world we stand for individual freedom and
democracy. We have the second leg, unquestioned, as a
military superpower. The third leg--the economy--has been
fractured intentionally and we are happy about it because
capitalism has defeated communism in Europe, in the Soviet
Union, and in the Pacific rim. And it is defeating it
right now in China. Let's not disturb it and what have
you, except to begin to compete. As Akio Morita says:
``That world power that loses its manufacturing capacity
will cease to be a world power. What we need to do is to
rebuild.''
We can begin to immediately rebuild by changing the
culture, the mindset, the legislation. Around here we
passed, 4 weeks ago, a $50 billion tax cut bill that was
supposed to represent foreign credit sales. Instead, it
subsidized the export of jobs, the outsourcing of jobs
overseas.
We are still treating trade as aid. If you are going to
open up Sununu Manufacturing, before you open the door you
have to have a minimum wage, clean air, clean water,
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, plant closing notice,
parental leave, OSHA, a safe working place, safe
machinery, and I can go all the way down. And in
Manchester, NH, your competition has moved to China
because they can operate and produce there for 58 cents an
hour and none of those requirements. If you don't move to
China yourself, you are going broke. You will go bankrupt.
The policy of the crowd that is hollering and wailing
and moaning about the outsourcing of jobs is exactly the
policy of the very crowd that is causing that outsourcing.
If you head up a multinational, you are supposed to
compete and make a profit.
We are supposed to create a strong economy and produce
jobs. The Congress of the United States, the Senate, we
are the guilty parties. We have to put in a change of the
culture. We need a Department of Trade and Commerce, and
to put the Special Trade Representative over there and to
do away with the International Trade Commission, because
this is just a sop. The International Trade
Administration--and not Commission--should find the
penalty rather than having that separate hearing and say
there is no injury and everything else of that kind.
I have worked with the lawyers. We need a Deputy
Attorney General for Trade in the Justice Department. We
have one for antitrust. We have one for civil rights. We
have one for taxation. We don't have one for trade. We
need somebody enforcing those laws. We need, by gosh, to
turn around and start competing the way they have done.
Let me just say what we need to do is get ahold of
ourselves and realize we have a problem. I was at a
meeting earlier today where one of the Senators was
counseling the new Senators: ``Don't take too many
committees. The new ones are going to take all the
committees.'' Our time has come. We want it all. So we
want all the committees.
The rules ought to say a Senator should not be on any
more than two committees. You can't keep up with it. I am
on the Appropriations Committee. They used to have 17
members; now they have 29 members. You know, the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has 19 members. You
can't hardly get a quorum for the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Defense. Everybody wants to be on all the
committees, so you have your staffs doing all the work,
because you can't keep up.
But the main culprit, the cancer on the body politic,
is money: Money, money, money. When I ran 6 years ago, in
1998, I raised $8.5 million. That $8.5 million is $30,000
a week, every week, for 6 years. If you miss Christmas
week, you miss New Year's week, you are $100,000 in the
hole and don't you think we don't know it and we start to
work harder at raising money.
As a result, the Senate doesn't work on Mondays and
Fridays. We have longer holidays. The policy committee is
adjourned and we go over to the campaign building because
you can't call for money in the office. So we go over to
the building and call for money and obviously we only can
give attention to that. We don't have time for each other.
We don't have time for constituents, except for the
givers. Somebody ought to tell the truth about that.
Unless and until we excise this cancer, the Congress and
government are going to languish alone because it has to
be done.
When I helped write the Federal Election Campaign
Practices Act in 1973, we said each Senator would be
limited to so much per registered voter. That meant that
Strom Thurmond and I were limited to $637,000. Fast
forward 25 years, add in inflation, and give me $2.5
million. Quadruple it, $2.5 million but not $8.5 or $10
million that you have to spend because all your time is on
the campaign and not the country. I can tell you right now
we are in real, real trouble.
I worked with John McCain and Russell Feingold on the
McCain-Feingold bill; I worked with Senator Biden on
public finance. What really needs to be done, and I tried
20 years ago, is to put in a constitutional amendment that
Congress is hereby empowered to regulate or control
spending in Federal elections.
Then we can go back to the 1973 act: So much per
registered voter. When you are limited to $2.5 million,
you have limited the campaign. You have limited the time
of the campaign; you have limited the expenditures of the
campaign. Then you have time for constituents. Then you
have time for problems.
When I came here, Mike Mansfield would have a vote at 9
o'clock just about every Monday morning and we would work
to Friday at 5 o'clock. We all stayed here on the weekends
and we didn't have all of these long holidays we have now.
But if you want to limit campaigning and if you want to
change--as Abe Lincoln said--disenthrall ourselves of the
dogmas of the quiet past that are inadequate for the
stormy present of money grubbing, then we have to think
anew and act anew. We need to disenthrall ourselves from
this money grubbing and go to work finally for the country
instead of the campaign.
That is our situation. I have watched it. I have
studied it. I have seen it. They don't have me going to
meetings. They have me going to the telephone and calling
and calling, traveling all over the country for money.
Money is a cancer on the body politic.
Other than that, I have spoken seriously about trying
to face up to some of these problems that we have
confronting us. There are a lot of opportunities.
They are talking now about immigration. Mexico is not a
foreign country. They are our neighbor. All you have to do
is put down the billions that we spend: Give them a
Marshall Plan, increase their standard of living just like
Canada. Then you don't have immigration. I can tell you
right now, the money spent on immigration, drugs, and
border patrol, and financing that government out of the
banks in New York and then refinancing it on us taxpayers,
we could have a Marshall Plan and solve the problem.
There are a lot of problems that we can solve. But if
there is a last word, it is one of gratitude. This has
been the finest experience I have ever had. When you come
right down to it, I was always worried that I couldn't
make enough money to stay in Washington. Now I have looked
at my trial lawyer colleagues who made a lot of money.
Most of them are dead. Those who are alive are looking for
a new golf course and a new drink and they don't know
anything about what is going on and they are not
interested in anything going on. If you really want to be
enriched in your life be a U.S. Senator. The best
postgraduate course is to run and be in this Senate.
It is with heartfelt gratitude I thank the colleagues
for their indulgence this afternoon, particularly my
colleague, Senator Graham. We just have a fine time
working together, and I know he will be representing us in
the Senate for years to come.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
TRIBUTES
TO
ERNEST F. HOLLINGS
Proceedings in the Senate
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina. Mr. President, the task at
hand for me is a difficult one. I want to take some time
to talk about my senior Senator, Senator Hollings, who is
retiring. Trying to do justice to his career is going to
be a difficult task for me, but I will do my best.
I want the people of South Carolina to understand that
whatever differences I may have with Senator Hollings,
they are political in nature. They have never been
personal, and I cannot thank him enough for the time he
has dedicated to the transition from the House to the
Senate for our office. Senator Hollings has been a
tremendous benefit to me personally. He has made the
transition from the House to the Senate very enjoyable. He
has helped my staff. He has been indispensable in our
getting started in the Senate. I want to thank him
personally and thank him for the kindnesses he has shown
to me.
Trying to follow Senator Thurmond and Senator Hollings
is a tough act. South Carolinians have relied on these two
great gentlemen for literally my entire lifetime. With the
retirement of Senator Hollings, I think it is going to be
hard to put in words how much he will be missed by the
Senate and South Carolina.
But when you start talking about a man, trying to give
tribute to him, I think the first thing you have to start
with is what means most to that person, to the man
himself, and to his family. His wife Peatsy is one of the
most delightful people you ever hope to meet. She is
beloved by the colleagues in this Chamber and their
spouses on both sides of the aisle. She is a joy to be
with. She is a lot of fun, and she has been a great
soulmate to Senator Hollings for many years. I know he is
equally proud of his children. He lost a daughter. It is a
terrible thing to have happen. He is the father of four
children and I think he has seven grandchildren.
For those people listening in South Carolina, the
demands on one's time in this job are immense, and your
family sacrifices in a variety of ways, whether it is
going back home on the weekend to try to say hello to
constituents or to be in a parade. I don't think we stress
enough how important families are to Members. Senator
Hollings has enjoyed the support of a first-class group of
family members who have represented South Carolina very
well.
Wherever Peatsy Hollings goes, South Carolina goes, and
there is no better way to be introduced in our State than
to meet her.
Senator Hollings's time in the Senate will be coming to
an end. He has chosen to retire. It is a lifetime of
public service that I will try to talk about in the next
10 or 15 minutes.
As his generation is noted for ``The Greatest
Generation,'' the World War II generation, he seems to
have been there every time his State and his country
needed him. He was a graduate of the Citadel. He graduated
in 1942.
As you can tell by his accent, which is the ultimate low
country accent, he is from Charleston. If you had to
create an image of a Senator, he would be my model. He
looks like a Senator and he sounds like a Senator, and he
also acts like a Senator. I mean that in the highest form
of a compliment.
He has represented my State since 1996 in the Senate but
that is not the first time he has represented my State. It
is not the first time he has served this country. As I
mentioned, in 1942 he graduated from the Citadel. That was
the class that got their diploma in the morning, got
commissioned in the afternoon, and their orders the next
day and they went off to fight a war. He is very
emblematic of that generation. They never really had a
chance to be young because the day they graduated college
they went off to take on a vicious enemy.
People talk about 1-year tours and the stress it puts on
families--that is true--but in World War II you signed up
for the duration. You didn't know when you were coming
home and you didn't know if you were coming home. You were
coming home when the war was over, when Berlin fell and
when Tokyo fell. His generation never enjoyed the benefits
of getting out of college and being young men or young
women because they had a tough task at hand at an early
age.
Let it be said for Senator Hollings and an entire
generation, you handled the job exceedingly well. You rose
to the occasion. You made the world free. If the Senator
had done nothing else, that would have been a pretty good
legacy for life. He went on to fight in North Africa and
Europe. He fought the Nazis. He received the Bronze Star
and seven campaign ribbons. He was in the action. He did
his job well. He commanded troops in combat.
At the ripe old age of 26 he went back to South
Carolina, but a 26-year-old back then is not like a 26-
year-old in normal times. I would argue that the 26-year-
olds who come back from Iraq are going to be a little bit
different, too. I can only imagine how war matures and
ages you. It makes you able to put in perspective what is
important. And his entire generation has had that
perspective from the time they came back from the war and
for the rest of their lives.
It was shown in Senator Thurmond's and Senator
Hollings's lives. Both are World War II veterans. When he
came back to South Carolina, he was elected to the House
of Representatives at the age of 26. Shortly thereafter,
he became speaker pro tempore. So his colleagues saw in
him something of a leader at an early age. They saw what
the rest of South Carolina has seen for decades: Somebody
who will speak their mind. You can be on the receiving end
of speaking that mind--I have been on the receiving end--
but he is fair. He has been tough on everybody. But people
know he has a good heart. And he also has a good heart for
South Carolina. That is why his colleagues put him at a
young age in charge in the House.
In the Brown v. Board of Education litigation, one of
the first cases that came about was the South Carolina
case involving Clarendon County. Senator Hollings
participated in that case. It was a life-changing
experience.
In 1953, he became Lieutenant Governor. In 1958, he was
elected Governor, the youngest Governor in South Carolina
history at that time. From 1959 to 1963, he was a young
Governor who had served in World War II, participated in
one of the greatest legal cases of our time, and he took
that experience and changed my State for the better.
From 1959 to 1963, if you open up any history book,
particularly in the South, these are tremendously
troubling times. Social change is abounding. The old way
of doing business is being challenged. People are fighting
and sometimes dying throughout the South to bring about a
new way of doing business.
I never will forget Senator Hollings telling me about
the court appearance in the Supreme Court when an African
American lawyer stood up and talked about fighting in the
war, coming back home and being told to go to the back of
the bus. And Senator Hollings said, ``that ended it for
me. There was no way that I was going to be a voice for
segregation.'' It hit him like a ton of bricks.
One of his best legacies for my State and the Nation and
the power of the Governor from 1959 to 1963--no lives were
lost in South Carolina--as he was leaving the office,
there are all kinds of speeches going on in the South by
Governors. Some people were standing in front of a
schoolhouse and saying: You are not coming in; segregation
now and segregation forever. Senator Hollings said that in
South Carolina we will be a government of laws, not men.
He challenged my State to accept the inevitable. He
challenged my State to respect the Supreme Court decision.
He led the way to the successful integration of Clemson
University in 1963.
The list goes on and on of what he has done to empower
African Americans in South Carolina. He has been a
champion for racial fairness his entire time. It is
fashionable now. It is the politically correct thing to do
now. But in 1963 it was not the politically correct thing
to do in South Carolina or any other southern State. But
he chose the path less traveled. Our State is better off
for it, and because of his leadership and others who
followed, we were able to do things in South Carolina in a
way of which we should all be proud. Hats off to you for
that, Senator Hollings.
During the time as Governor, he did some things
economically that we have the benefit of today. Our
technical school program, for those who are not familiar
with South Carolina, is No. 1 in the Nation. If you are
looking at doing business in South Carolina, we have a
technical school system that will meet your needs. We will
design a training program for your employees, specifically
for your business. We have thousands of South Carolinians
receiving college level education through our technical
schools in an affordable manner. We have 16 colleges now,
over 160 career programs and high-tech professionals who
have made the Michelins, BMWs, and Fujis possible to come
to our State. He is the father of that legislation.
If he had done nothing else, that would have been a
great tribute, but there is a lot more that he has done.
He created the South Carolina public broadcasting system,
one of the best in the Nation, if not the best in the
Nation. South Carolina ETV is known all over the world,
really.
As a young Governor, he took the road less traveled; he
invested in education in a new and different way that pays
dividends today. That is something he should be proud of
and I am proud of on his behalf.
In 1966, as a young man, he came to the Senate. I don't
have the time to read his legislative accomplishments
because it would take most of the afternoon. It is fair to
say that since Senator Hollings has been in the Senate he
has not let any grass grow under his feet. He has been one
of the most proactive Senators I have ever known. Almost
anything that has been done in South Carolina with Federal
assistance has been as a result of his efforts and that of
Senator Thurmond.
Primarily, Senator Hollings has led the charge on the
Appropriations Committee in making sure South Carolina was
as well taken care of in terms of Federal Government
assistance as humanly possible. You will be missed,
Senator Hollings.
I will have, along with Senator DeMint, a very tough act
to follow. We will try our best. But the Senator has done
some things that I don't think most people know about but
which have had a huge impact on who we are as a State and
really the Nation.
The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 was Federal
legislation for the first time addressing the coastal
areas of the United States. In 1972, you were so far ahead
of your time. The Coastal Zone Management Act allowed
Senator Hollings to be named Environmentalist of the Year
by about every group in the Nation. Because of that act,
we have come up with a plan to manage our coastline in
terms of erosion.
The Senator has also contributed to the clean health of
the ocean, in 1976, with the Ocean Dumping Act and the
Maritime Transportation Act, a series of legislation that
Senator Hollings offered that has changed the way we treat
our coastlines as a nation.
He probably has the most proactive environmental policy
that we have had as a nation dealing with our coastal
areas. It was a result of his efforts. Long after he is
gone, the coastline of South Carolina and every other
coast in the United States will be the beneficiary of his
time in the Senate.
He was talking about deficits before it was fashionable.
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings was an attempt in the eighties to
bring fiscal sanity to the Congress. By the time the
nineties came along, it becomes the way we campaign. About
10 years after his efforts--along with his colleagues,
Senators Gramm and Rudman--it got to be the fashionable
thing in politics to talk about not running up the debt.
Senator Hollings was talking about the social integrity
of Social Security before anyone else I have ever known.
What are we talking about today? We are going to save
Social Security. I hope we do. It would be wise to listen
and learn from what he has been trying to instruct us to
do.
The first national park and only national park in South
Carolina happened a couple years ago, the Congaree Swamp.
That will be a monument to a balance between development
and the environment for the rest of the time that South
Carolina exists. Long after we are gone the Congaree Swamp
will be well taken care of.
There are so many things. The Ace Basin is probably one
of the best monuments to our Creator. God has been good to
South Carolina. When you travel through our State from the
mountains to the sea, you will see some nature that is
beyond description. From the mountains to the sea, Senator
Hollings has been integrally involved in preserving what
God has given us. The Ace Basin is a project he helped
fund that has saved some coastal areas and some waterways
in South Carolina. The whole basin is a monument to the
environment. We worked together preserving over 30,000
acres in perpetuity in South Carolina. The Congaree Swamp
is in the middle.
As we look back over Senator Hollings's time in the
Senate, you can see that he used his power in the Senate
to make sure that future generations of South Carolinians
would enjoy the things he has experienced as a young man.
What better legacy to leave than a State that maintains
its beauty.
He has been aggressive when it comes to changing the
fabric of the education climate in South Carolina with
technical schools. One thing he should be most proud of is
the Hollings Cancer Institute at the Medical University of
South Carolina. South Carolina has pockets of health care
problems that are Third World in nature. One day we are
going to conquer these problems, but we have a litany of
health care problems in South Carolina. My mother died of
Hodgkin's disease. The Hollings Cancer Institute and the
Medical University of South Carolina is doing some
research that will pay great dividends in the future in
terms of conquering this disease called cancer.
My personal commitment to Senator Hollings is that I
will continue to build upon what the Senator has started.
It is my hope that the National Cancer Institute will
designate this and we will try our best to make sure this
happens as a tribute to the Senator.
Again, I could go through legislative enactments,
specific projects that have helped South Carolina, but I
would like to end by saying that life is short. No matter
how long it seems you have been around, it really is a
small time in the scheme of things. South Carolina has
enjoyed two long-serving Senators: Senator Thurmond and
Senator Hollings. Both will have departed the Senate come
next January. Let it be said about Senator Hollings that
his time in the Senate will be felt by South Carolinians
as long as there is a South Carolina. What the Senator has
been able to do with the power entrusted to him by the
people of South Carolina is to bring about a lot of good,
Senator Hollings. The Senator has made our State a better
place to live. The Senator has preserved things that would
have been lost without the Senator. The Senator has talked
about the future in responsible terms. The Senator has
served our Nation during peace and war. The Senator has
served South Carolina and the Senate well.
I am honored to call you my senior Senator. It is my
wish that you have many more years to help my State, help
our State, and help our Nation. I hope that comes to pass.
As I try to go forward as a Senator from South Carolina,
I hope I am smart enough to draw upon what you have done
and look at the model you have created and build upon that
model.
I am a Republican; Senator Hollings is a Democrat. That
means something, but it really does not mean that much
because we are both Americans, and we both love South
Carolina.
God bless, Godspeed, and well done.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I wanted to come to the floor
to say that this Senator is going to miss the booming
voice and the southern drawl of the Senator from South
Carolina who is one of a few who has relentlessly, over a
long period of time, talked about the issue of
international trade. He has talked about how it relates to
our country's economy. Very few come to the floor to talk
about the doctrine of comparative advantage and Adam Smith
and the kind of things that I have had the privilege of
hearing from Senator Hollings.
As one who comes to the floor to talk about trade a lot,
I am going to miss very much the work which has been done
by Senator Hollings and which he has been doing for so
many years. He is absolutely right about these issues.
They will take a look at statements and say, well, he is
a protectionist. I don't view Senator Hollings as wanting
to put up walls around this country. I think if the charge
is that Senator Hollings or I or others want to protect
the economic interests of the United States, we ought to
plead guilty quickly. That is why I am here and why he has
served this country for so many decades. We want to
protect the economic interests of this country.
I wanted to say, having heard the comments just offered
by my colleague from South Carolina, how proud I am to
have served with him. Being here when Senator Hollings was
here and when Senator Byrd has been here and a few others
is a very special privilege for someone like myself.
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, will the distinguished
Senator yield?
Mr. DORGAN. Of course, I yield.
Mr. HOLLINGS. I wanted to thank the distinguished
Senator from North Dakota. He has been in the vanguard. He
headed up our policy committee and we have learned more. I
was on the original policy committee under Senator
Mansfield. But it has been quite an education. He has
really put the program so we can learn about the issues. I
thank him for that. But I particularly want to commend him
for his leadership on trade because he has been leading
the way on that score. I thank him very much.
Mr. DORGAN. I thank my colleague from South Carolina and
wish him well.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. BURNS. I came down here today to talk about other
men who will be leaving this Senate, including Senator
Hollings from South Carolina. He was chairman of the
Commerce Committee when I first came here in 1988 and
1989. I was up to my eyes in confusion, trying to drink
out of a fire hydrant to take it all in. My former
chairman of the Commerce Committee was part of my
education, a very important part of it, in understanding
the work done in the committees and this business of
setting policy that conforms to the wants and desires of
our States and what is good for the country.
One time I offered a little amendment that had a far-
reaching effect in the debate of regulating the cable
industry. I didn't want to do that but I wanted to give
him a little competition to make them better. I offered an
amendment without telling anybody on the committee,
without telling a soul.
I will tell the Presiding Officer I know what it is like
to sit way down at the end of the committee because when I
came here my seniority was S100.
I remember the chairman, Mr. Hollings, saying, I've
never heard of anything like that. It was pretty obvious
we were going to have to go to a vote. He didn't know if
he had enough votes to defeat it and I didn't know if I
had enough votes to pass it. An instance such as that
calls for a little backroom sitdown, talk about this, and
see what it does to the issue.
I was right there with him. Senator Inouye from Hawaii
was also in the meeting. One can start to learn the ways
of the Senate especially in the areas of committee work.
I will miss Ernest Hollings because he has been an
institution here serving from the 89th through the 108th
Congress. That is a great tradition.
The Presiding Officer knows and understands Ernest
Hollings. We may disagree on philosophy but we did not
disagree on America. * * *
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. BYRD. Mr. President, the end of the 108th Congress
marks the end of an era. It marks the end of a remarkable
career of a remarkable man.
I will not say goodbye to Senator Hollings. His
personality, his sense of humor, his achievements, his
legacy will forever be a part of this Chamber. But I do
take a few minutes of the Senate's time to thank Senator
Ernest Hollings.
I thank him for being an outstanding Senator. I thank
him for his service to our country. I thank him for being
a friend. I have been honored to call him my colleague for
almost 40 years.
The man who is destined to become a legend in the
political history of South Carolina politics was a New
Year's Day baby. He was born on January 1, 1922. After
graduating from the Citadel, he served in the U.S. Army
during World War II. This combat veteran, who served in
North Africa and in Europe, was awarded seven campaign
stars and was discharged with the rank of captain.
After the war, he earned his law degree from the
University of South Carolina in 1947 and then began his
extraordinary career in public service in 1947. That was
the year in which he earned his law degree.
In 1947, at the age of 26, he was elected to the South
Carolina State Legislature where he served until 1954,
while 1947 was the year in which I was sworn in at the
West Virginia House of Delegates in Charleston, WV.
During his last 3 years in the South Carolina State
Legislature, he served as its speaker pro tempore.
In 1954, at the age of 32, he was elected Lieutenant
Governor of South Carolina.
Four years later, in 1958, at the age of 36, he became
one of the youngest men ever elected Governor of his
beloved State. From what I understand, he was an
outstanding Governor. Senator Hollings would be
outstanding in any office in which he would ever serve. He
earned a reputation as the education Governor because he
raised teachers' salaries, launched new and innovative
educational programs, including a superb technical
training program, and set up a commission that improved
the State's higher education system.
In 1966 he was elected to the Senate. Here he has stayed
for 38 years. I am glad he stayed. He has been a very
colorful Senator, an outstanding and outspoken Senator
with a booming voice.
The stentorian voice could be heard, I am sure,
throughout this Chamber, without a public address system.
When he first came here we had no public address system in
the Senate. When I first came here, we had no public
address system in the Senate, but we had Senators who
could be heard. It was a practice in those days for other
Senators to gather closer to the Senator who was speaking.
It was also a practice for other Senators to be informed
when a new Senator was going to speak. New Senators did
not speak the first week or the first month, but only
after several months did they speak. Before they spoke,
the word went around that so and so was going to deliver
his maiden speech or her maiden speech. In those days
there was one lady in the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith of
Maine. But we didn't have any public address system.
I recall when we started to discuss having a public
address system in the Senate, I was opposed to it. I
wanted the Senate to remain the Senate of the decades that
had preceded our own times.
But he was colorful and he was a Senator who had that
booming voice that could be projected and heard in the
galleries, and today Senator Hollings does not need a
microphone.
He was from the old school of Senators who placed public
interest over partisan politics. Oh, that we had more
Senators like that, more Senators like Senator Hollings
who put first the public's interest, the interest of those
people who are watching through that electronic eye just
behind the Presiding Officer's desk; the eyes of the
people come through that electronic eye, which extends the
galleries beyond the capacity that we see here. It extends
those galleries out to the outermost parts of the country,
north and south, out to the Pacific, out to the great
Rocky Mountains, out to the broad prairies, out to the
farms, out to the hills of West Virginia, that great
medium.
This Senator from South Carolina, unlike so many
Senators of today, placed the public interest over
partisan politics. And he still does. He never hesitated
to criticize a President of his own political party as
well as the opposition party when he knew in his heart and
in his conscience that President was wrong. If it were a
President of his own party, let it be.
While in the Senate, Senator Hollings has served on the
Senate's Budget and Appropriations Committees, served as
chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, served as
chairman of a number of Senate subcommittees. Just as he
had been a loyal and proud servant of his own State of
South Carolina, he has been a loyal and proud servant of
our country. In the Senate, he has been a forceful
advocate of a responsible energy policy. In fact, as early
as 1967, Senator Hollings was warning that our country
faced a future of energy crises, and he was calling for a
national energy policy.
He authored legislation to create the Department of
Energy and the Automobile Fuel Economy Act that requires
the miles-per-gallon sticker on new cars.
He has been a determined advocate of a cleaner and
healthier environment. In this effort, he formulated
legislation to protect our marine environment, sponsored
legislation to prevent the dumping of polluting materials
in the ocean, and authored the Coastal Zone Management Act
to protect our coastal waters and tidelands. He is the
recognized legislative ``father'' of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA.
In the Senate, Senator Hollings continued promoting
technical training as he fought to establish trade schools
that specialize in retraining workers and offer
alternatives for people who choose not to pursue a
university degree.
In the Senate, Senator Hollings has tenaciously opposed
trade deals that threaten American jobs. Oh, if there were
more like him. His fights in this area have involved
opposing Presidents, opposing Presidents whom he charged
were ``giving away the store'' in our trade treaties. He
has fought to protect and increase Social Security
benefits for our elderly Americans.
Concerned about the widespread poverty across the South,
in 1968, he undertook a series of ``hunger tours'' that
highlighted the issue. He later authored a powerful study,
The Case Against Hunger: A Demand for a National Policy
that advocated programs to address the persistence of
abject poverty in the United States. Putting his words
into action, he helped lead the congressional effort to
establish the Women, Infants and Children--WIC--
Nutritional Assistance Program, and he helped to advance
the Nation's community health centers, which provide
primary and preventive health services in underserved
communities.
Long before the Bush administration's record-breaking
budget deficits, long before today's incredible $7
trillion national debt, Senator Hollings was an eloquent
and powerful advocate of budget discipline. I did not
always agree with his efforts, such as the Gramm-Rudman-
Hollings law, but I never questioned Senator Hollings's
dedication to trying to restore fiscal sanity to America's
deficit addictions.
Although he has long been a Senator of power and
influence, during the great majority of his time in this
Chamber, he remained the junior Senator from his State.
Even after serving 36 years in the Senate, he was still
outranked by his colleague from South Carolina, Senator
Strom Thurmond, making Senator Hollings the longest
serving junior Senator in history, whatever that means. I
have often wondered, having been a junior Senator and
being a senior Senator now, what we mean by ``junior
Senator''? Well, we know what it means, but that is all.
It was at the age of 80 that Senator Hollings finally
became the senior Senator from South Carolina. He had
earned it. He had earned it just as he has earned the
respect and the gratitude of the people of South Carolina
and the men and the women in this Chamber.
Now, unfortunately, my friend and colleague is leaving
us. Again, I will not say farewell to him. I will only
thank him for his service and wish him well in his private
life.
I will always remember and cherish our years of working
together on the Appropriations Committee and for the best
interests of our great country.
It isn't enough that we say in our hearts
That we like a man for his ways;
And it isn't enough that we fill our minds
With psalms of silent praise;
Nor is it enough that we honor a man
As our confidence upward mounts;
It's going right up to the man himself
And telling him so that counts.
Then when a man does a deed that you really admire,
Don't leave a kind word unsaid,
For fear to do so might make him vain
Or cause him to lose his head;
But reach out your hand and tell him, ``Well done,''
And see how his gratitude swells;
It isn't the flowers we strew on the grave,
It's the word to the living that tells.
Now, unfortunately, my friend and colleague--a strong
colleague on the Appropriations Committee, where we two
have served all these many years--is leaving us. Again, I
will not say farewell to Senator Hollings. I will only
thank him for his service and wish him well in his private
life. I will always remember and cherish our years of
working together.
I shall always remember, too, that loyal, dedicated,
devoted helpmate, Peatsy, who stood always at his side,
always there to be his best confidant. Yes, Erma and I
will miss Peatsy.
In closing, then, let me speak just a few words from the
``Character of the Happy Warrior'' by William Wordsworth,
because I think they represent my feelings toward Ernest
Fritz Hollings:
Who is the happy Warrior? Who is he
That every man in arms should wish to be?
* * * 'Tis, finally, the Man, who, lifted high,
Conspicuous object in a Nation's eye,
Or left unthought-of in obscurity,--
Who, with a toward or untoward lot,
Prosperous or adverse, to his wish or not--
Plays, in the many games of life, that one
Where what he most doth value must be won:
Whom neither shape or danger can dismay,
Nor thought of tender happiness betray;
Who, not content that former worth stand fast,
Looks forward, persevering to the last,
From well to better, daily self-surpast:
Who, whether praise of him must walk the earth
For ever, and to noble deeds give birth,
Or he must fall, to sleep without his fame,
And leave a dead unprofitable name--
Finds comfort in himself and in his cause;
And, while the mortal mist is gathering, draws
His breath in confidence of Heaven's applause:
This is the happy Warrior; this is he
That every man in arms should wish to be.
Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I would like to take a few
minutes to talk about our departing colleague, the senior
Senator from South Carolina, the senior Senator after many
years of waiting in the wings, and that is Senator Fritz
Hollings.
I first got to know Fritz Hollings after I came to the
Senate in 1986. My wife Annette and I have worked with
Fritz and his wife Peatsy. We have traveled around the
United States with them. We have been with them in their
home. We visited them in Charleston. We traveled around
the world with them.
He is a unique individual, to say the least, but he has
had, as the Presiding Officer knows, a distinguished
career as a State senator in his native South Carolina and
then Lieutenant Governor and Governor of his State before
he came to the Senate I believe in 1966.
He has had a distinguished career as chairman of the
Commerce Committee for many years and as a senior member
of the Appropriations Committee and chairman for many
years, and ranking member now, of the Appropriations
subcommittee dealing with State-Justice.
Fritz, we are going to miss you. We are going to miss
your humor. We are going to miss your frankness. We are
going to miss your wisdom. And we are going to miss your
wife Peatsy about whom we all care and love. You have
invited a lot of us to visit you in Charleston. I hope you
add some more rooms to that House there because a lot of
us will be coming to see you. You have been a great
American.
In addition to public service to his State and to the
Nation, Fritz Hollings was a young graduate of the Citadel
in his hometown of Charleston before the Second World War,
and he served with distinction as an officer in Europe for
a long time through many battles.
I respect you, Fritz. I commend you for your service,
and I look forward to visiting you both here and in
Charleston in the years to come.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Fritz Hollings is a passionate
advocate for the people of South Carolina, a true
statesman, and a fine gentleman. He is one of the most
senior Members of our body and, to all of us, he is a
friend, a mentor and a guide. He has devoted his life to
public service.
Fritz Hollings has always shown courage, conviction, and
an ability to get things done. His work has touched every
corner of our country and every American's life.
Fritz helped our Nation confront its spiraling budget
deficits, maintain a strong posture against the Soviet
Union, integrate our schools, and create the WIC Program.
His work has helped protect our coastal ecology, preserve
our oceans, and defend our transportation networks from
terrorist attacks. And, when a family eats dinner without
interruption, free from never-ending telemarketing calls,
well, we can all thank Fritz for that too.
On trade, on spending, on taxes, on military issues, and
on Senate pay, he has never been afraid to speak his mind,
even when his own party, or sometimes even most of the
Senate, disagrees with him. In the end, he has always been
a winner thanks to his grace and honor. A summary of
Fritz's legislative achievements reads an astounding eight
single-spaced pages. He's always campaigned on the creed
that: ``Performance is better than promise.'' And he has
lived up to it.
We'll all miss Fritz: His friendship, his principles,
and his willingness to tell it like it is. We wish Fritz
and Peatsy all the best and want them to know that they
will always have a home, a family and a place in the
history of the U.S. Senate.
Mr. EDWARDS. I thank my fellow Senate retirees Senator
Breaux and Senator Hollings. One thing I guarantee you:
Our accents will be missed here on the floor of the
Senate. Hopefully, there will be others who will be able
to speak the way we speak.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to make some
comments about our friends who are departing the
Senate. * * *
I also want to say how much I am going to miss Fritz
Hollings, an amazing man; protector of the consumers,
guardian of the budget. * * *
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. 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. * * *
So for all of these names I have mentioned, in the great
poem ``Ulysses,'' ``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.
First of all, Fritz Hollings, the most senior Member
leaving the Senate at this time, had a distinguished
career in public service. It started in 1942, the same
year I joined the Army. After he graduated from the
Citadel and he received a commission from the U.S. Army,
he served as an officer in the North African and European
campaigns in World War II. He had a lot of time in combat.
He got the Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons.
In 1948 he was elected to the South Carolina House of
Representatives. Ten years later, and still only 36, Fritz
Hollings was elected Governor of South Carolina. As
Governor, he showed his fearlessness and independence as a
progressive southern Democrat, especially when he
integrated Clemson University.
In 1966, Fritz was elected to the Senate. I don't have
time to list all of the things he has done in 30 years in
the Senate or 56 years in public office, but early in his
Senate career Fritz focused on poverty and hunger that
gripped the rural South and urban areas of the country. In
1968, he embarked on his now famous hunger tours. In 1970,
he wrote about what he saw in a highly acclaimed book
entitled The Case Against Hunger: A Demand for a National
Policy. What a wonderful program that was.
He followed up by co-authoring a bill that created the
Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and
Children. We call it WIC.
In 1972, continuing this very active campaign of writing
legislation, he wrote the National Coastal Zone Management
Act, the Nation's first land use law designed to protect
coastal wetlands. He played a pivotal role in establishing
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Ocean Dumping Act, and
the Fishery Conservation Management Act.
Perhaps he is best known for his tireless fight for fair
trade and being a true fiscal conservative. Who can forget
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings? I served with him many years on the
Committee on the Budget and I can attest to his
determination to put our Nation on the pay-as-you-go path
rather than burdening future generations with escalating
Federal deficits and debt.
On a parochial note, I thank the Senator from South
Carolina on behalf of the people of New Jersey. After
September 11, he made our ports safer by helping to get
security funding for our ports. Fritz Hollings gallantly
laid out an inspiring vision for the future of passenger
rail service in our country. Through it all, Fritz
Hollings has always been a southern gentleman and a
Senator's Senator.
Fritz's remarks in committee and his speeches in the
Senate have always been worth listening to even if some of
us had difficulty deciphering them. He has been a true
original, and the Senate will be poorer for his departure.
I know he wants to spend more time with his beloved
Peatsy, his children, and his seven grandchildren.
Fritz, we will miss you. I never stop being surprised
when Fritz Hollings recalls things he did 20 or 40 years
ago and recall them with fairly precise detail. He always
has colorful language--except in places like the Senate--
that attract attention and yet he completes his serious
mission with humor, candor, and courage.
I ask unanimous consent a press release entitled ``38
Years in the Senate, 38 of His Greatest Hits'' be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
38 Years in the Senate, 38 of His Greatest Hits
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Washington, DC.--In 38 years in the U.S. Senate, Fritz
Hollings has compiled one of the most remarkable
legislative records of any Senator in the last century.
From his first days in office to his last, he has written
legislation that has changed America. Following are 38
ways the Nation will remember him:
1. Started the Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Program, one of the most successful government health care
measures ever undertaken. It has reduced infant mortality,
low birth rates, and premature births. Today, WIC provides
nutritional counseling and access to health services for
low-income women and children in 10,000 nationwide
clinics. Impetus for the program came from Senator
Hollings's 1970 book The Case Against Hunger.
2. Championed the Community Health Center Program to
bring medical care to low-income Americans. In 1969, South
Carolina opened one of the first community health centers
in the Nation, and today the centers nationally provide
primary and preventive health services for 10 million
patients in underserved communities.
3. Initiated the nationwide breast and cervical cancer
screening program. Begun in 1990 as a project in South
Carolina and five other States, the program quickly
expanded to a highly successful national effort. Through
the years, Senator Hollings also has led efforts to
significantly boost funds for cancer research and to
double the National Institutes of Health's budget.
4. The father of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) Standards, Senator Hollings wrote the law in 1975
forcing automakers to build more fuel-efficient cars.
Thirty years later, CAFE standards save more than 3
million barrels of oil per day.
5. Authored the Aviation Security Act immediately after
September 11. It created the Transportation Security
Administration and set up the screening system now
underway for airport passengers. Always a strong believer
in the need for security, Senator Hollings knew the
aviation system, and America's economy, would not recover
without government's help. He authored the legislation at
age 80.
6. Authored the Maritime Security Act, also immediately
following September 11. Concerned for many years that
ports and borders were the weak link in America's security
system, he pushed the legislation through--the first ever
aimed at increasing security at America's ports.
7. The father of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), he established the agency in just
his fourth year in office. He did it at a time when the
ocean was not the popular topic it is today. In 2000, he
created the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy to help
Congress determine the future of the Nation's oceans.
8. Authored the National Coastal Zone Management Act of
1972, which established Federal policy for protecting
coastal areas. It also authorized grants to States to
establish and operate coastal zone management programs.
9. A friend of marine mammals, he wrote the legislation
in 1972 to protect whales, dolphins, sea otters, and other
mammals. It became the model for other countries.
10. Authored the Ocean Dumping Act of 1976, which
extended Federal authority over previously unregulated
dumping of pollutants in the ocean. It banned dumping by
U.S. vessels, or vessels sailing from a U.S. port.
11. Wrote the Oil Spill Bill in 1990, following the
disaster of the Exxon Valdez. Senator Hollings led the
Senate investigation of the oil spill, and pushed the
legislation requiring more effective cleanup, and forced
oil companies to use double-hull ships, which are less
likely to have a spill.
12. At the forefront of promoting American technology,
he created the Advanced Technology Program in the Commerce
Department, which invests in high-risk research projects
that promise big payoffs and widespread benefits to the
Nation.
13. Co-authored Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, the landmark
legislation that broke budget gridlock in the mid-
eighties. By making automatic spending cuts, it reversed
20 years of increased Federal spending and cut tens of
billions from the budget deficit.
14. Was the first Senator to decry the practice of
looting Social Security, and made truth in budget
reporting a priority. In 1990, his legislation required
that the President and Congress, when reporting a budget,
do not count Social Security surpluses to mask the true
size of the deficit.
15. Has been the voice for fiscal sanity on the Senate
floor for three decades, but too often the lone voice.
Twenty-two years ago, he was the first to offer a budget
freeze, and has offered them many times since. He has
slammed tax-cutting Republicans for voodoo economics. He
promised he would jump off the Capitol dome if ever there
was a balanced budget, but because too few listened to the
only original member of the Senate Budget Committee, the
country has a $600 billion deficit, and Senator Hollings
retires without jumping.
16. The Senate's loudest voice on trade issues, he
opposed NAFTA, GATT, and trade deals with China and
Africa--all of which have sent massive jobs overseas. Time
has proven him right. He opposed giving the President
fast-track negotiating authority, constantly reminding his
colleagues of Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution:
``Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with
Foreign Nations.''
17. Textile's best friend in the Senate, he has
pressured every President since Lyndon Johnson to protect
the industry so important to South Carolina.
18. Created the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Centers in 1988 to help small manufacturers survive and
grow. Now with 350 locations around the country, they
annually help almost 20,000 companies. In honor of the
Senator, Federal legislation was passed to rename them the
Hollings Centers.
19. A friend of the consumer, he created a competitive
telecommunications industry through the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, the first major rewrite of the Communications
Act of 1934. He fought to ensure it provided new services
to consumers at affordable rates.
20. Strengthened online privacy and gave Internet users
control over their own personal data with legislation he
authored in 2000 and 2002.
21. Gave millions of Americans freedom from
telemarketers, by co-authoring the do-not-call list law in
2002, and the law that banned computer voiced telephone
calls and restricted junk faxes in 1991. Calling it
``telephone terrorism'' Senator Hollings has given tens of
millions of Americans quiet evenings at home.
22. Reined in the cable TV monopolies, as the driving
force in the early nineties for the Cable and Consumer
Protections Act. Persistent service and rate abuses by TV
cable companies around the country prompted Senator
Hollings to lead the charge in giving the Federal
Communications Commission authority to regulate basic
cable TV rates and set minimum service standards.
23. Authored the 1990 Children's TV Act, requiring
stations to carry educational programming for children and
limiting the amount of commercials aired during children's
programming.
24. Wrote laws to drug-test transportation employees and
military enlistees. By requiring mandatory random drug and
alcohol testing for safety-sensitive transportation
employees, he has made America's roads safer. The law has
allowed the military to confront drug abuse in uniform and
has significantly increased overall readiness.
25. Was one of the first to rebuild America's defense in
the eighties, authoring amendments in the 1980 budget that
provided the first significant increase in defense
spending in the post-Vietnam era.
26. Saved the Department of Education through budget
amendments, after Ronald Reagan took office with the
express purpose of abolishing the Department. In the mid-
nineties he stopped House Republicans from radically
cutting student loan programs.
27. Authored energy conservation standards for Federal
buildings, during the 1970 energy crisis, resulting in
millions of dollars of savings for taxpayers.
28. Led the efforts to fund innovative law enforcement
programs, such as Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) that put more than 100,000 police officers on the
streets in 13,000 communities across the country.
29. To prevent crime that has hit American schools, he
steered through the Senate his Safe Schools Initiative,
putting police officers on patrol in schools nationwide.
30. Authored legislation to nail criminals involved in
church burnings, by strengthening Federal authority to
prosecute them.
31. For the first time in American history, he got the
full Congress to give its highest honor, the Congressional
Gold Medal, to a farmer, gas attendant, maid, and preacher
for the hardships they faced in desegregating South
Carolina's schools. The medals were presented in 2004, the
50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.
32. Champion for American Embassies across the world, he
fought hard to ensure government preserves their historic
significance.
33. The longest serving junior Senator in American
history, he served 36 years as a junior Senator before
becoming South Carolina's senior Senator at age 81 in
2003.
34. As Governor of South Carolina from 1959 to 1963, he
was the first modern southern Governor to bring about
economic and social progress. He started South Carolina's
technical education system that now trains 235,000
students annually; balanced the State's budget for the
first time in 65 years; obtained the State's first AAA
bond rating; traveled 200,000 miles around the world to
bring industry to South Carolina; and peacefully
integrated Clemson University while other southern
Governors resisted the civil rights movement.
35. Was the Senator with no poll in his pocket. He gave
unforgettable floor speeches where he spoke his mind and
told the truth. No one dared debate him, because they'd
lose.
36. He brought different points of view to complex
situations and identified solutions long before others
recognized there were even problems.
37. Though many of his favorite bills never passed, he
never stopped pushing for what he believed. He is still
calling for tax hikes to pay for the war on terrorism;
legislation to protect children from violence on
television; and a constitutional amendment permitting
limits on campaign expenditures, preventing wealthy
candidates and their friends from buying elections.
38. He leaves at the top of his game, writing meaningful
legislation for America and working for his constituents
until his last day in office.
It is amazing to see how many things Fritz
Hollings has touched in his life. Once again, he
will be sorely missed. * * *
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.
Fritz Hollings has now served with two generations of my
family. He served with my father briefly, and over the
last 24 years we have served together in this Chamber. I
have not had the pleasure of serving with Fritz Hollings,
except once on the Budget Committee for a few years.
We have become very good friends though. We have
traveled together. We have spent a lot of time together. I
have been to his State. I have gone to South Carolina at
his invitation to speak to South Carolinians. Inviting
this swamp Yankee from Connecticut to come south of the
Mason-Dixon line was a source of tremendous joy and
pleasure, especially to be with Fritz Hollings, his lovely
wife Peatsy, and their constituents not too many months
ago, on a St. Patrick's Day event in Charleston, SC.
Fritz Hollings has done a remarkable job for his State
of South Carolina, as well as for his Nation, beginning
with his career in the military, serving in North Africa
and in Europe during World War II. He was awarded the
Bronze Star and seven campaign ribbons; elected to South
Carolina's House of Representatives at the age of 26, the
youngest Governor in that State in the 20th century; and
during his 4 years as Governor, balanced the State budget,
dramatically improving South Carolina's economy.
He was elected to the Senate in 1964. His resume
included an incredible list of legislative
accomplishments. Anyone who would have accomplished any
one of these things could have considered their career a
successful one. He was the author of the Women, Infants
and Children Program, the WIC Program. During my early
years in the Senate, I had the pleasure of working with
him on the famous Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act in 1985, which
was called by the Brookings Institution one of the most
significant pieces of legislation in the 20th century.
He wrote the first law designed to protect our coastal
wetlands, and initiated a nationwide effort to encourage
women to screen themselves for breast and cervical cancer.
Over the past few years he spoke forcefully about the
dangers facing this country due to the outsourcing of
jobs.
Senator Hollings has always been a strong and loud voice
against fiscal irresponsibility in our government and in
favor of creating American jobs.
Fritz is an American original. The Senate is not likely
to see his like here again. Whatever else you may have
thought, he was direct and forceful, and spoke with great
passion about the things he believed in. It is the kind of
public service and the kind of stewardship in this body
that others could duplicate in years to come. They would
do well to follow the example of Fritz Hollings, a
wonderful Senator, a delightful friend. I shall miss his
service here, but I am very confident I will see him over
and over again in years to come. And I wish, as my
colleagues have, that he, Peatsy, and his family have many
years of joyful retirement. * * *
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. CONRAD. Mr. President, for the past 38 years,
Senator Hollings has served the State of South Carolina in
the U.S. Senate with honor, grace, and, most famously, a
fiery wit. It is an understatement to say that the Senate
will not be the same without him. During his 38-year
career, he has been an outspoken champion of fiscal
discipline, an early proponent of maintaining Social
Security solvency, and a fighter against trade agreements
that put the domestic textile industry at an unfair
disadvantage.
I will particularly miss Senator Hollings whenever I
attend meetings of the Budget Committee. Senator Hollings
is the only Senator who has served on the Senate Budget
Committee since it was created in 1974. As the last of the
original members of the committee, his institutional
knowledge and passion for fiscal discipline will be
missed.
Budget issues have always been a passion of Senator
Hollings, and he shares my penchant for using charts to
prove a point. Senator Hollings's favorite chart shows
gross debt, and I am sure he will be taking it with him
when he leaves. Senator Hollings was tireless in his
efforts to educate his Senate colleagues and the public on
the dangers of gross Federal debt and the need to use
honest numbers in describing our budget outlook. His
dedication to bringing truth to budgeting was unsurpassed.
Senator Hollings also relentlessly defended Section
13301 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990--
requiring official budget numbers to exclude Social
Security. As a number of OMB and CBO Directors came to
discover, Senator Hollings was not one to sit quietly
through a Budget Committee hearing while they attempted to
obscure deficit figures by including Social Security
revenues in their budget calculations.
Perhaps most of all, Senator Hollings will be remembered
for his efforts to protect Social Security, long before
protection of this entitlement became fashionable. As we
move into a new debate over the future of this vital
program, the Nation will surely regret that we did not
earlier pay heed to his warnings to prepare for the baby
boom retirement by paying down Federal debt. Senator
Hollings will be missed in the coming discussion over
Social Security, but I am sure he'll make his views well
known with his uncanny ability to describe complex issues
in simple and straightforward terms.
Finally, I will remember Senator Hollings for his fierce
criticism of trade agreements that threatened the textile
and agricultural sectors of South Carolina. He spoke out
against GATT and NAFTA, and continued to fight for fair
trade throughout his service. His strong opposition to
unfair trade agreements will be sorely missed by the
workers and farmers for whom he fought.
Given his long history in the Senate, and his penchant
for speaking out with a cutting wit on important issues, I
know that Senator Hollings will continue to fight for the
causes in which he believes. However, his individuality,
his respect for learning the complexities of issues, and
his dedication to South Carolina and the United States
will be missed in the Senate. I wish him well as he heads
home to Charleston, and thank him for his many years of
hard work.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the retirement of our
colleague from South Carolina, Mr. Hollings, signals the
end of an era in southern politics. He succeeded as few in
our section of the country did in leading us through a
troubled time of transition. From segregation to
integration in our public schools, and from an agrarian
economy to a more modern and diversified industrial
economy, he led with political courage and keen insight
about what was right and what was wrong, and what was
hopeless and what was possible.
I have always admired Fritz Hollings because he acted on
his convictions. But, he was not a gadfly. His efforts to
enact new budget rules under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings
bill were an example of his effective leadership to impose
restraints on Federal spending.
He was an effective leader on the Budget Committee, the
Appropriations Committee, and the Commerce Committee in a
wide range of issues including national defense, trade,
communications, ocean policy, budget policy, education,
and foreign relations.
I always enjoyed hearing Fritz tell stories about his
fellow southern Governors. He will be missed for many
reasons, but especially for always being himself, without
pretense or apology.
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. * * *
The Senate is also losing a legend with the retirement
of Senator Fritz Hollings. For 38 years, he has fought for
South Carolina, bringing home jobs and economic
development, and he has made a lasting impression on the
lives of Americans across this country.
Senator Hollings helped start the Women, Infants and
Children--WIC Program, one of the most successful
government health care measures ever undertaken, helping
reduce infant mortality, low birth weights, and premature
births nationwide.
He is the father of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration--NOAA. Senator Hollings pushed through the
legislation that created NOAA during his very first term
as a Senator.
And he co-authored Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, the landmark
legislation that broke budget gridlock in the mid-
eighties. By making automatic spending cuts, it reversed
20 years of increased Federal spending and cut tens of
billions from the budget deficit.
Senator Hollings's strong leadership and sense of humor
will be deeply missed in this Chamber.
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.
Ernest ``Fritz'' Hollings devoted his entire adult life
to public service. He admirably served 7 terms as a U.S.
Senator and today he is the fourth most senior Member of
the Senate, and he also holds the distinction of being the
longest serving junior Senator in history.
His service to our country began immediately after he
graduated from the Citadel in 1942 when he received a
commission from the U.S. Army. Throughout his honorable
military service Senator Hollings received the Bronze Star
and seven campaign ribbons. He served as an officer in the
North African and European campaigns during World War II.
After returning from the war, Fritz attended the
University of South Carolina School of Law where he
completed his Juris Doctorate in less than 3 years. At the
age of 26, Fritz Hollings launched his public service
career when he was elected to the South Carolina House of
Representatives. He went on to become speaker pro tempore,
Lieutenant Governor, and at the age of 36, Governor of
South Carolina becoming the youngest man in the 20th
century to be elected Governor of South Carolina.
It has been a great honor to work with Fritz Hollings
over these many years. We were able to work together while
serving on the Senate Budget Committee and the Senate
Appropriations Committee together. He consistently fought
for fiscal responsibility and a reliable government for
the people.
As a principal author of the 1996 Telecommunications
Act, Senator Hollings was a perfect candidate to serve as
the ranking member on the Commerce, Science, and
Transportation Committee during the 108th Congress.
Through this position, Senator Hollings developed
legislation to strengthen national security for our
Nation's port, railroad, and aviation systems.
Senator Hollings has served the Senate in so many ways
over the past 42 years it is impossible to know where to
begin showcasing his contributions. Therefore, I would
just like to say that he has continued over the years to
work to better not only the lives of South Carolinians,
but all the people of our Nation.
Senator Hollings will certainly be missed around here. I
bid him farewell and extend my best wishes to him and his
family.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
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.
From the day I first arrived in the Senate, until today,
Senator Hollings has been a force in the Senate. His
institutional memory, his command of the issues, and his
speaking style are recognized from both sides of the
aisle.
He has been a tireless advocate of his State and his
political beliefs, earning him a role as one of the
Senate's elder statesmen.
Senator Hollings fought in World War II, won his first
election at age 26, served as the youngest Governor of his
State, and was elected to seven terms in the Senate.
Incredibly, Fritz Hollings was in public service since
1948 and somehow managed to be his State's junior Senator
until 2 years ago. It must be something in the water in
South Carolina.
During his career, Senator Hollings has had an impact on
a wide range of legislation, including measures to protect
the environment, balance the budget, and update
telecommunications law.
I am very appreciative of his initiation of a nationwide
effort to combat breast and cervical cancer by utilizing
his seat on the Appropriations Committee to secure funding
for a pilot screening program. This will be one of the
many lasting legacies of Fritz Hollings. * * *
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. Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes
talking about the Senators who will not be here when the
Senate starts over again this January. The first I ever
heard about Senator Fritz Hollings was while watching a
television program where Senator Hollings was running for
President, and he said, during a Presidential debate, when
the issue of the day was whether there should be a nuclear
freeze, which had been propounded by Alan Cranston,
another candidate, when asked about the nuclear freeze,
Senator Hollings said, ``Until a few days ago, I thought
this was a new kind of dessert.'' That wit is typical of
Fritz Hollings.
Mr. President, Fritz Hollings is a man who is, as far as
I am concerned, the epitome of what it means to be a
Senator. He is a person who looks the role and is
everything that I am not--tall, handsome, with flowing
white hair, and very articulate. This is a man who was one
of the original southern politicians who thought it was
appropriate to start talking about the evils of
segregation. Fritz Hollings is a man with a great voice, a
great sense of humor; and he is somebody for whom I have
the greatest respect. I will miss him so much.
He, Peatsy, and I have traveled. He is someone who has
been so good to the State of South Carolina. I have been
to his home. He has given me a tour of Columbia, SC, where
he is a legend in his own time. He showed me the place
where he was born.
I want to extend through the magic of television to
everyone within the sound of my voice the fact that Fritz
Hollings is a great Senator and will go down in the
history of the Senate as one of the great Senators.
I also want Fritz and Peatsy to know how much I care for
them, and I appreciate very much their generosity and
friendship to Landra and me over these many years.
Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues
in tribute to Senator Ernest ``Fritz'' Hollings. I will
miss my good friend from South Carolina, who in 2003, at
the age of 81, finally became his State's senior Senator--
after 36 years as a junior Senator.
In addition to being remembered as a co-author of the
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings legislation that cut tens of
billions of dollars from the Federal budget deficit, Fritz
Hollings has left an indelible mark on our Nation in the
areas of health care, environmental protection, resource
conservation, technology development, job creation,
transportation security, and law enforcement, to name a
few.
Immediately after the September 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks on America, Senator Hollings worked to protect the
safety of our traveling public by authoring the Aviation
Security Act which created the Transportation Security
Administration. Similarly, recognizing that America's
ports and borders were our Nation's weak security links,
Senator Hollings championed legislation to increase
security at America's ports.
As the father of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Senator Hollings recognized the extent to
which the ocean environment sustains us--from human uses
in commerce and recreation to being the original cradle of
life on our planet. He knew the importance of taking
appropriate steps to be responsible stewards of this rich,
yet fragile resource.
His oceans legacy includes authorship of the National
Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, which established
Federal policy for protecting coastal areas, and the
Marine Mammal Protection Act, which also became the model
for other countries, for the protection of dolphins, sea
otters and other mammals. In a continuing effort to do
what is best for our ocean environment, Senator Hollings
created the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy in 2000, to
review the accomplishments of the last 30 years, and
recommend actions for the future. Upon the issuance of the
report, Senator Hollings laid the groundwork for
legislation to adopt the recommendations of the Ocean
Commission. I am the proud co-sponsor of two of those
measures, S. 2647, the Fritz Hollings National Ocean
Policy and Leadership Act, and S. 2648, the Ocean Research
Coordination and Advancement Act.
Beyond the oceans, Senator Hollings worked to make our
communities and schools safer, through programs such as
Community Oriented Policing Services--COPS--that put more
than 100,000 police officers on the streets in 13,000
communities across the country. The COPS Program is also
the largest source of dedicated funding for interoperable
communications for public safety officers.
Senator Hollings brought competition to the
telecommunications arena which resulted in new services to
consumers at affordable rates.
I will miss Senator Hollings's wisdom, vision, and wit,
but, most of all, his friendship.
I wish Fritz and his wife Peatsy a fond aloha.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to
a legend of a man who has spent his career dedicated to
working for the great people of South Carolina. There is
nothing small about Senator Hollings. From his height, to
his storied career, to his large booming voice and
southern drawl you can always hear calling ``yea'' or
``nay'' during rollcall votes, Senator Hollings is a
giant. A reporter once said that if you sent to central
casting for a Senator, you got Fritz Hollings. I have had
the pleasure of serving with Senator Hollings for all 30
of my years in the Senate and during that time he, and his
wife Peatsy, have been dear friends.
Before setting foot in this Chamber, Senator Hollings
had amassed a career that any man would be proud of. He
attended the Citadel, the military college of South
Carolina, and upon his graduation in 1942 accepted a
commission in the U.S. Army. He served our country
honorably in the campaigns in North Africa and Europe
during World War II, and received a Bronze Star for his
valor. Senator Hollings began his political career when he
was 26 as he was elected to the South Carolina House of
Representatives. During his second term he was voted
speaker pro tempore and a short 4 years later he was
elected Lieutenant Governor. In 1958 at age 36 he was
elected as Governor, the youngest Governor of South
Carolina in the 20th century.
Senator Hollings was first elected to the Senate in 1966
and has subsequently been reelected to six additional
terms, making him the ninth longest serving Member of this
body. Throughout his entire career the Senator has been a
leader, fighting to protect our ports, our neighborhoods
and American manufacturing jobs. He has been an outspoken
advocate for fiscal responsibility, for civil rights and
against hunger.
In 1974, he led the creation of the Women, Infants and
Children--WIC--Nutritional Assistance Program. In 1978, he
sponsored legislation and helped secure funding for South
Carolina's first National Park, Congaree Swamp. He has
stood tall in protecting our oceans and coasts. He
authored the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Oceans
Act of 2000, which created the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy.
Since 1967 Senator Hollings has been a member of the
Commerce Committee and from his co-authorship of the 1996
Telecommunications Act that deregulated the telecom
industry to his work on the FTC ``Do Not Call List,'' he
has consistently looked out for the best interests of
consumers. In 2000, Senator Hollings and I, along with
Senators Sarbanes and Wyden, were successful in beating
back the wholesale Federal preemptions of State consumer
protection laws during negotiations of the e-commerce bill
which I sponsored.
Senator Hollings is the longest serving Democrat on the
Budget Committee, and is the only Democrat to have served
on the committee every year since its creation. In 1984
Senator Hollings collaborated with Senators Phil Gramm and
Warren Rudman to establish the Gramm-Hollings-Rudman
deficit reduction legislation that helped reduce the
deficit by $70 billion in its first year of enactment.
I have had the pleasure to serve with Senator Hollings
on the Appropriations Committee, where he has served since
1971, and is currently the third highest ranking member.
From this position he has helped important initiatives
both in South Carolina and nationally, such as a cause I
have always strongly supported, the battle against cancer.
Senator Hollings helped create a nationwide program to
screen women for breast and cervical cancer and worked to
establish a cancer center at the Medical University of
South Carolina that bears his name.
Earlier this fall more than 600 friends came together to
celebrate Senator Hollings's career in the Senate, an
event that raised $2 million for the Hollings Cancer
Center. We toasted his accomplishments and his incredible
career of public service that has spanned more than five
decades in State and national politics. I joined this body
in 1974 and I immediately learned that Senator Hollings is
a man who always speaks his mind. His straightforward
manner, dynamic personality and unwavering integrity are
qualities that make me proud to call him my friend. I have
valued his friendship and his camaraderie over these past
30 years, and I wish Fritz and his wife Peatsy the best of
lives in their beloved South Carolina.
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. * * *
Another remarkable Senator who is retiring this year is
Fritz Hollings.
I used to joke with Fritz Hollings that he is the real
reason C-SPAN first started its closed-caption broadcasts.
Fritz's deep Charleston accent, like the man himself, is
an American classic.
When you look inside Fritz Hollings's desk on the Senate
floor, you see the names of giants: John Calhoun, Huey
Long, Russell Long, Wayne Morse--courageous men who never
hesitated to speak their minds. Fritz has earned the right
to stand with those legends.
He was 36 years old when he was elected Governor of
South Carolina. As Governor, he wrote the book on
governing in the New South. He raised teacher salaries,
invested in education and training, and laid the
foundation for South Carolina's economic transformation
from an agrarian State to a high-tech, high-wage State.
One of the amazing things about Fritz Hollings is how
often he has been able to see the future before others--
not just on matters of race, but on issue after issue.
He was the first Deep South Governor to acknowledge the
existence of widespread hunger in his State. He was also
the first southern Governor to understand that you can't
create a modern economy simply by cutting taxes, you have
to invest in education and training.
He has been a relentless advocate of balanced budgets
and fiscal discipline since long before they became
political buzzwords. In 1984--years before Ross Perot
uttered the words, Fritz Hollings made deficit reduction a
central plank in his Presidential bid.
He has been fighting for fair trade, and against the
export of American jobs, his entire career. He has been
calling for a long-term, comprehensive energy plan since
before the first OPEC oil crisis in 1973. He wrote
America's first fuel-efficiency standards--in 1975.
He was in the forefront of the movement to protect
America's oceans in the early seventies. He saw the future
of telecommunications before a lot of Americans knew what
``surfing the Internet'' meant. He was pushing for
increased port and air security before September 11.
If some people have occasionally found Fritz a little
difficult to understand, I suspect it was not so much
because of his wonderful Charleston accent but because he
was so often ahead of his time.
Now Fritz and Peatsy are moving home to live full time
in their beloved South Carolina, but they will always have
a special place in the Senate family. We wish them the
very best.
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. STEVENS. Mr. President, I have served here long
enough now that I have witnessed a lot of the comings and
goings of many fine public servants whom I have known on
the floor of the Senate.
Today, I would like to comment about those who are
leaving us, and I want to start, first, with my good
friend from South Carolina. Fritz Hollings and his wife
Peatsy are very close friends of ours. They have been
friends since we first came to the Senate. Fritz and I
served in World War II. We have traveled to places where
he served and I served in World War II, and we are
comrades in the deepest sense of that word.
He is a very interesting man. I remember earlier this
year, when I was asked to cut a tape to be used at a
retirement dinner for Senator Hollings, I told my press
secretary I did not think I could do it. As a matter of
fact, I ended up appearing in person. As I told my staff,
I really cannot conceive of the Senate without Fritz
Hollings. It will be a different Senate. We have not
always agreed, but we have always been friends.
There have been good times together. I can remember some
of the fish that Fritz and Peatsy caught in Alaska, and I
can remember tales about some that they did not catch, the
big ones that got away.
But I do know that having visited with them in their
home in South Carolina, and visiting with their friends in
Charleston, they have a really great life to go home to.
They are wonderful people, and we are going to miss them a
great deal.
I will say this, that when I first heard of Senator
Hollings, it was in a story about his role as Governor of
South Carolina. He had become Governor, and as he entered
the grounds of the Governor's House, he found there were
places inside the grounds where prisoners were kept. There
were literally, at that time, I think, cells that were
partially underground. Fritz did not like that any more
than I would have, and he found ways to free those people
and to give them another life. As a matter of fact, I
remember meeting one of them who was very devoted to
Senator Hollings.
Senator Hollings is a man with a great heart and a great
mind and a great spirit and a temper almost as bad as
mine. We are going to miss him, miss him terribly.
I hope he will come back often and visit us. I think he
has the longest career of all of those who are retiring,
obviously, because he is the oldest. But he was one of the
Ten Outstanding Men of the Year in the United States when
he was young. I don't like to tell stories about him, but
I think he actually attended a Republican Convention at
one time.
As a member of the statehouse, as Governor, and as a
member of the Hoover Commission, he distinguished himself
in many ways, in commissions where he was appointed by
both President Eisenhower and President Kennedy.
We are losing a man who has had a great role in public
service. I hope we will all wish him well as he departs
the Senate.
Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, when the man who sits right
next to me across this aisle over here, the senior Senator
from South Carolina, Fritz Hollings, retires at the end of
this Congress, this body will lose one of its most
distinctive and eloquent voices. We will lose a master
legislator, a person who will go down in history as one of
the truly consequential Senators of the second half of the
20th century. Of course, we will lose the presence of a
great friend, a colleague whose passion and wit burn just
as intensely today as when he first entered this Chamber
nearly four decades ago.
As I said, Senator Hollings sits directly across the
aisle to my left, at the desk that was once occupied by
another extraordinary individual from South Carolina,
Senator John C. Calhoun. But Calhoun was a voice of the
Old South, a defender of slavery in the great debates
prior to the Civil War. Fritz Hollings, first as Governor,
and for the last 38 years as a Senator, has epitomized the
New South.
Fritz Hollings became Governor in 1958, at the tender
age of 36. He immediately set about diversifying South
Carolina's textile and farming economy. He planted the
State thick with technical colleges. He aggressively
recruited new industries to the State. But, most
important, he set in motion the peaceful transformation of
racial relations in South Carolina.
Now, remember--I remember it well; I was a senior in
high school just going into college at that time--this was
a time when other southern Governors were pledging massive
resistance to integration. They literally stood in the
schoolhouse door. They incited people to keep African
Americans from going into school or sitting at lunch
counters or riding on buses.
But Fritz Hollings charted a different course as
Governor. He showed tremendous leadership, real political
courage, as he orchestrated the peaceful integration of
Clemson University. So Fritz Hollings epitomizes the New
South.
He also epitomizes the Greatest Generation. In World War
II, right out of the Citadel, he served as an Army officer
in North Africa and later in Italy earning seven campaign
ribbons and the Bronze Star.
But I have always believed that what made the Greatest
Generation truly great was not just what they did during
the war but what they did after the war. As I said, Fritz
Hollings played a transformational role in South Carolina.
Then he came to the Senate, and he played an equally
dramatic role on the national stage.
In 1968, he conducted a series of ``hunger tours''
across South Carolina, exposing poverty and Third World
living conditions. He went on to co-author national
legislation that created the Supplemental Food Program for
Women, Infants and Children, which we now know today as
the WIC Program. He championed the Community Health Center
Program, bringing medical care to the poor and
underprivileged. And now thousands of community health
centers dot the landscape in every State of our Union.
Fritz became a passionate advocate for medical research
and the National Institutes of Health, especially cancer
research. I know how proud Fritz is of the nationally
respected cancer research and treatment center at the
Medical University of South Carolina, now known
appropriately as the Hollings Cancer Center. In fact, at
his farewell gala a couple months ago that I went to
downtown, Fritz Hollings raised more than $2 million for
the center's programs.
Well, it would take a long time to stand here and do
justice to Senator Hollings's legacy of legislative
accomplishments. I will not do so. I am tempted to do so
because there is so much there. But those of us who have
served with him over the decades know there is no more
dedicated fighter for fiscal conservatism in this body or
anywhere in this Congress. There is no one who has fought
harder for what I call fiscal rationality in our spending
and taxing programs than Fritz Hollings.
There is no one who has done more when it comes to
protecting our oceans and coasts. It was Senator Hollings
who passed the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972, the
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Oceans Dumping
Act of 1976, and the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996. So
the next time you go out to look at whales or you see the
dolphins swimming, the next time you walk along a beach
and you don't see all that junk washing up on the
shoreline, thank Fritz Hollings. He led the charge on it.
And long before it became fashionable, Fritz Hollings
was speaking out against the indiscriminate outsourcing of
American jobs, first in the textile industry, then jobs in
the steel industry and manufacturing. In literally scores
of speeches on this floor, he has educated Members of this
body about the fallacies and human costs of so-called free
trade. That is not fair trade. He has spoken out with
passion and persistence for fair trade and a fair shake
for American workers.
Fritz Hollings leaves a personal legacy in this Senate.
We will always remember his sharp mind in debate, his wit,
and a very sharp tongue that could cut to the quick and
get at the essence of what the debate was all about. And
there is no one who had a greater sense of humor or was
more generous and more kind than Fritz Hollings. He could
craft humor about others, and he could craft humor about
himself--a great individual, Fritz Hollings.
I would be remiss if I did not also publicly pay a big
thank you to Fritz Hollings for the opportunity he gave me
16 years ago. I had just been elected to the Senate. I was
in my first term. It was 1988. Lawton Chiles, who was then
a Senator from Florida, was retiring as chairman of the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education.
I was a freshman Senator. I was at the bottom of the
ladder. So Lawton left that position and went back to
Florida. Most of the Democrats ahead of me--the Democrats
were in charge at that time--had other subcommittee
chairmanships they didn't want to give up. So it came down
to Fritz Hollings and me. I knew of the passion that Fritz
had for health and education issues. So I assumed he was
going to take chairmanship of that subcommittee. But I
called up Fritz. I let him know that if he didn't take it,
I was next in line, that I always had a great interest in
this area. Well, he said he would take that into
consideration. I will never forget it. I was at home on a
Sunday night. He called me up and said: Well, Tom, I have
been thinking about this. He said I would really like to
have the Labor, HHS, Education; this is in my interest. I
have spent so much time on health issues.
Well, I thought this was his nice way of telling me, I
am sorry, Tom, I am going to take the chairmanship, tough
luck. But at the end, he said: Well, I want you to know I
am going to stay with the Commerce-State-Justice
Subcommittee.
I could hear him laughing. He had kind of strung me out
during this whole phone call, leading me to the point
where he was going to say, I am really sorry, Tom, but I
am going to take it. Then he turned 180 degrees and said:
I am going to stay with Commerce-State-Justice. I could
hear him chuckling in the background, knowing that he had
given me a great gift.
It was a huge opening for me as a freshman Senator to
chair the second largest Appropriations subcommittee. I
will always be grateful for the confidence and the trust
that he had in me at that time. I hope I have not
disappointed him.
Fritz Hollings has cast more than 15,000 votes here. He
has passed major bill after major bill. He has spoken out
courageously on issues of war and peace, trade and budget,
civil rights and human rights. He has been a voice for the
poor and for the sick and for those who have no voice in
the political arena. I know Fritz is very fond of a
particular quote from Elihu Root, Teddy Roosevelt's
Secretary of State. Those of us who were at the farewell
banquet for Fritz in September heard him repeat it on that
occasion. He said:
Politics is the practical art of self government, and
someone must attend to it if we are going to have self
government. The principal ground of reproach against any
American citizen should be that he is not a politician.
For more than five decades, Fritz Hollings has been a
proud politician, an extraordinary public servant, one of
the truly magnificent Senators in the history of this
body. We will remember his legacy. I am going to miss him
as a friend and as someone I could converse with, gain
insight from, and share a laugh with, listening to Fritz
go on about fiscal responsibility.
Peatsy and Fritz have been a team. I was fortunate to
have taken a congressional delegation trip with Fritz and
Peatsy last December. We went down to Brazil, looking at
all the different things in Brazil--everything from rain
forests to agriculture to labor conditions. It was truly a
magnificent week to spend with Fritz and Peatsy. I will
never forget it. I will never forget both of them. So I
wish both Fritz and Peatsy a long and wonderful retirement
in their beloved Charleston, SC.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, with the retirement of
Senator Fritz Hollings, the Senate is losing its fourth
most senior member, an extraordinary and important
repository of institutional history. The people of South
Carolina are losing an outspoken and respected
spokesperson for their needs and concerns. All of us who
have served with him are losing an effective colleague, a
wise counselor, and a good friend.
Fritz Hollings has spent well over half a century in
public service, beginning with nearly 3 years of military
service during World War II in the North African and
European theaters. He returned to civilian life, received
his law degree at the University of South Carolina, and in
1948 was elected to the South Carolina House of
Representatives, where he served three terms, two of them
as the House speaker pro tempore. In 1954 he was elected
Lieutenant Governor, and 4 years later he was elected
Governor. He was then 36 years old--the youngest Governor
of South Carolina in the 20th century.
Over many years and on many issues, Fritz Hollings has
shown himself to be a public servant with solid common
sense. He is also a visionary. Very early he foresaw the
need for technical education, and as Governor nearly 50
years ago, he established South Carolina's system of
technical colleges. In the late fifties, when other
Governors in the South were setting out plans to preserve
legal segregation notwithstanding the Supreme Court's
decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the young
Governor of South Carolina rallied the people of his State
to comply with the law. ``He managed the peaceful
integration of Clemson University back when other Southern
Governors were fighting to keep their universities all-
white,'' Mike Wallace has observed.
The people of South Carolina, the Members of this body,
and people in every corner and region of the United States
have seen Fritz Hollings's forceful combination of common
sense and vision at work on issues like hunger, the
environment, jobs, and fiscal policy. Soon after coming to
the Senate, he helped focus the Nation's attention on
hunger; WIC, the Women, Infants and Children's Special
Supplemental Food Program, was modeled on a pilot program
in South Carolina. For more than three decades he has
played a major part in the vital movement first to
establish, then to maintain and strengthen the legislative
framework for protection of the natural environment. It
was Fritz Hollings who wrote this Nation's first land-use
law to protect coastal wetlands. Admiral James Watkins,
USN (Ret.), who chairs the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy, recently recognized his efforts saying: ``Senator
Hollings' tireless work on behalf of this Nation's oceans
and coasts will help preserve and protect our precious
marine and coastal resources for generations to come . . .
. (including) his work to establish the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) over 30 years ago .
. . .''
It was his concern for jobs in South Carolina that led
him to establish the State's technical colleges while
Governor, and in recent years has made him a forceful
critic of policies that facilitate outsourcing. ``In South
Carolina,'' according to the Chief Justice of the State
Supreme Court, Jean Toal, ``we have heard him talk about
the debt and outsourcing jobs for 30 years, and all of
that is now what the American public is so focused on. He
was always ahead of his time.''
Fritz Hollings believes in the good that government can
accomplish. In a recent interview on ``Sixty Minutes,'' he
said: ``We believe in feeding the hungry, and housing the
homeless, and educating the uninformed and everything else
like that . . . in `We the people in order to form a more
perfect Union.' '' In his many years of service to the
people of South Carolina and of this Nation, Fritz
Hollings has faithfully honored that principle. His common
sense, his vision, and his great humor will be missed, but
surely not forgotten.