[Senate Document 109-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



From the Senate Documents Online via GPO Access
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From the Senate Documents Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]


                                  S. Doc. 109-29
 
                     TRIBUTES TO HON. MARK DAYTON




                                           
                             Mark Dayton

                      U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA

                                TRIBUTES

                           IN THE CONGRESS OF

                           THE UNITED STATES



                                           


                                           

             
             

                          Mark Dayton


                           Tributes

                     Delivered in Congress



                          Mark Dayton

                    United States Senator

                           2001-2007

                                           


              U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                     WASHINGTON : 2007


                                           

                  Compiled under the direction

                              of the

                  Joint Committee on Printing


                                           
                           CONTENTS


             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Farewell to the Senate................................
                                                                     ix
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                      9
                    Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
                                                                     10
                    Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
                                                                      3
                    Clinton, Hillary Rodham, of New York...........
                                                                     17
                    Coleman, Norm, of Minnesota....................
                                                                      6
                    Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                     16
                    Dayton, Mark, of Minnesota.....................
                                                                   5, 7
                    DeWine, Mike, of Ohio..........................
                                                                     20
                    Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     20
                    Durbin, Richard, of Illinois...................
                                                                     11
                    Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
                                                                     24
                    Hagel, Chuck, of Nebraska......................
                                                                      7
                    Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
                                                                     18
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                     23
                    Kennedy, Edward M., of Massachusetts...........
                                                                     15
                    Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                     20
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                     18
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                     22
                    Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
                                                                     10
                    Obama, Barack, of Illinois.....................
                                                                     13
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                      9
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                     21
                    Salazar, Ken, of Colorado......................
                                                                     12
                    Stevens, Ted, of Alaska........................
                                                                     24
                    Warner, John, of Virginia......................
                                                                     14
                                      Biography

               Born January 26, 1947, Mark Dayton is the eldest of four 
             children born to former Dayton Hudson Corp. chairman Bruce 
             Dayton and the late Gwendolen Brandt Dayton. He is the 
             great-grandson of George Dayton, a one-time banker who 
             opened a dry goods store in 1902 that became a national 
             retailing powerhouse.
               Mark attended Long Lake Elementary School in Hennepin 
             County and then Blake School in Minneapolis, where he 
             graduated, cum laude, in 1965. Like many Minnesota kids, 
             Mark was a hockey fanatic. He spent his free time on the 
             ice practicing to be a star goalie. His hard work earned 
             him a place on Blake's ``All State'' first team in his 
             senior year.
               Following high school, Mark attended Yale University 
             where he majored in psychology, played varsity hockey, and 
             graduated, cum laude, in 1969. While at college, he joined 
             Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, whose then-president was 
             now-President George W. Bush.
               After working as a hospital orderly for three summers 
             during high school he thought he wanted to become a doctor 
             so he completed pre-med course requirements while at Yale.
               However, Mark decided medicine was not the right fit for 
             him so after graduation he took a job teaching at P.S. 65, 
             a tough school on New York's Lower East Side, and lived 
             part of the time with a family on welfare. With 3 years of 
             teaching under his belt followed by experience as a 
             counselor for runaways, then as chief financial officer of 
             a Boston social service agency, Mark felt a call to public 
             service.
               Mark's interest in public service led him to join the 
             Washington staff of then-Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale 
             in 1975. He focused on education, children and youth, and 
             small business. Mark never dreamed that a quarter-century 
             later, he would inhabit his own office in the same 
             building as Senator Mondale once did.
               When Presidential candidate Jimmy Carter selected 
             Senator Mondale as his running mate the following year, 
             Mark joined the campaign. At the campaign headquarters in 
             Atlanta, he worked as a driver, midnight-to-dawn telecopy 
             operator, and all-around go-fer. Immediately following 
             Carter's election victory, Mark returned to Minnesota to 
             work for incoming Governor Rudy Perpich and was asked to 
             head the Minnesota Department of Economic Development. He 
             served in that position for nearly 2 years.
               In 1978, Mark married Alida Rockefeller, whose brother, 
             Senator Jay Rockefeller, is currently one of Mark's Senate 
             colleagues. They have two sons: Eric, age 23, and Andrew, 
             age 20. Alida and Mark were divorced 8 years later; 
             however, they remain dedicated parents and close friends.
               Spurred by a growing recession and national energy 
             crisis that hit rural Minnesota particularly hard, Mark 
             founded and led the Minnesota Project in 1979. This 
             economic development and public policy organization 
             continues to support the social, environmental and 
             economic health of Greater Minnesota communities.
               Soon after Ronald Reagan was elected President, Mark 
             began his own campaign for the U.S. Senate. He defeated 
             former Senator Eugene McCarthy in the DFL primary; but in 
             the 1982 general election, lost to incumbent Senator David 
             Durenberger.
               The following year, reelected Governor Rudy Perpich 
             appointed Mark the commissioner of an expanded Minnesota 
             Department of Energy and Economic Development. During his 
             tenure, he set up the newly created Minnesota Economic 
             Development Authority, which offered tax and other 
             financial incentives to businesses willing to locate or 
             expand and create jobs in Minnesota. He developed the 
             Minnesota Star City Program, an initiative begun by his 
             predecessor, which trained local officials, business 
             owners, and other community leaders throughout the State 
             to retain existing businesses and recruit new businesses 
             into their cities. He also organized another new program 
             established by the legislature, under which he named the 
             first enterprise zones in Minnesota.
               Mark left State government 4 years later and founded the 
             Vermilion Investment Company. During this time, he also 
             went through a 28-day alcohol treatment program. For the 
             next few years, he devoted himself to his recovery, 
             business, and family.
               In 1990, Mark ran for State auditor and won. He served 
             one 4-year term in a position he describes as ``the 
             taxpayers' watchdog.'' During this time, he formed a 
             special investigations unit to uncover misuse and theft of 
             public funds in cities, counties, townships, and school 
             districts throughout Minnesota. He also served on the 
             boards of the State Executive Council, the State Board of 
             Investment, the State Land Exchange Board, the Public 
             Employees Retirement Association, and the Minnesota 
             Housing Finance Agency. Mark also successfully led the 
             opposition to corporate attempts to use public pension 
             funds to prop up their financially ailing operations.
               Following his time as State auditor, Mark co-chaired the 
             reelection committee of his long-time friend, Senator Paul 
             Wellstone, and served as its finance chairman. In 1997, 
             Mark launched his own campaign for Governor of Minnesota; 
             however, he lost in the DFL primary to then-Attorney 
             General Skip Humphrey.
               In early 2000, Mark was eager to once again have a role 
             in statewide politics. Early in the year, he announced his 
             candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Senator 
             Rod Grams. After hearing from hundreds of Minnesotans 
             during his gubernatorial campaign, Mark launched a series 
             of bus trips to Canada, funded by donated Senate salary, 
             called the ``Rx Express.'' These trips continue today to 
             provide seniors with a way to buy much-needed prescription 
             medicines at substantially lower prices. He also created 
             the ``Healthcare Help Line,'' which is in its 4th year of 
             assisting Minnesotans with problems they have with their 
             insurers.
               In September, Mark won the DFL primary and 8 weeks later 
             was elected to the U.S. Senate. On January 3, 2001, he was 
             sworn in as the 33d Senator from Minnesota and as the 
             1,846th Senator in the Nation's history.
               Mark served on four Senate Committees: Agriculture, 
             Nutrition, and Forestry; Armed Services; Governmental 
             Affairs; and Rules. He was also a member of the House-
             Senate Joint Committee on Printing, which he chaired in 
             2003.
                               Farewell to the Senate
                             Thursday, December 7, 2006

               Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, it has been almost 6 years 
             since I was sworn in as Minnesota's 33d U.S. Senator with 
             my friend and colleague Paul Wellstone at my side. I began 
             my term hopeful and optimistic. The Senate was evenly 
             divided, with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and 
             President-elect George W. Bush was promising to change the 
             tone in Washington with a new era of bipartisan 
             cooperation.
               Our country enjoyed peace and relative prosperity. 
             Outgoing President Bill Clinton, a Republican-controlled 
             Congress, and over 6 years of economic expansion had 
             combined to create the first annual surpluses in the 
             Federal Government's on-budget account in 39 years, and 
             they were projected by OMB to continue for at least the 
             next decade.
               The Social Security trust fund's annual surpluses were 
             going to be saved in a lockbox for the upcoming 
             retirements of a large baby boom generation. There was 
             even discussion of paying down the national debt to 
             further strengthen our financial position. Yet we still 
             would be able to increase funding for such essential needs 
             as public education, affordable health care, seniors' drug 
             coverage, and infrastructure improvements.
               Just 6 years later, our country's condition has changed 
             drastically, and mostly for the worse. We are mired in a 
             disastrous war in Iraq despite the heroic efforts and 
             sacrifices by our Armed Forces. The fiscal integrity of 
             the Federal budget has been destroyed, with record-high 
             annual deficits continuing, despite budget gimmickry and a 
             modest economic recovery. The Federal tax base has been 
             decimated by huge tax giveaways to the rich and superrich 
             that will burden our children and grandchildren. The 
             Social Security trust fund's surpluses have been spent 
             every year on what the nonpartisan Concord Coalition has 
             called ``the most reckless fiscal policy'' in our Nation's 
             history.
               The Bible says if the leaders don't lead, the people 
             perish. Unfortunately, the Bush administration and the 
             Republican majority in Congress have not led this country 
             well, and our people are suffering the consequences: lost 
             jobs, businesses, and farms; lost incomes, standards of 
             living, and security; and lost loved ones killed or maimed 
             in Iraq.
               We have lost the national unity which followed the 
             terrible atrocities of September 11, 2001, and the Bush 
             administration has lost the world's support which they had 
             after that awful attack. The President's decision to 
             invade Iraq unilaterally, the absence of weapons of mass 
             destruction that had been the initial justification for 
             that invasion, and his administration's disastrous 
             mismanagement of Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam 
             Hussein has squandered most of our national unity and 
             international goodwill.
               The Congressional Record will show that I opposed those 
             failed policies and supported other and better 
             alternatives. I was 1 of 23 Senators to vote against the 
             Iraq war resolution. I opposed the large tax giveaways to 
             the rich and superrich. In fact, during my 6 years in the 
             Senate, I voted 29 times to raise my own taxes. Why? 
             Because our country needs those tax revenues, and I can 
             darn well afford to pay my fair share of them, as can all 
             other Americans with my good fortune.
               I tried seven times unsuccessfully to get the Senate to 
             honor its 30-year promise to school districts and 
             schoolchildren and fully fund special education. The 
             Senate did pass my ``Taste of Our Own Medicine'' amendment 
             limiting Members of Congress's prescription drug coverage 
             to what they provided to senior citizens through Medicare. 
             However, my amendment was discarded by the House-Senate 
             conference committee.
               It has pained me deeply to see the Senate's majority 
             lead our country into what I consider the wrong direction. 
             Our Nation's founding principle was ``we the people,'' and 
             it remains so today. If we are not always united by the 
             common cause, we are bound together by a shared destiny. 
             If the laws this Senate passes are successful, ``we the 
             people'' benefit together. If those laws fail, we suffer 
             together. Some Americans will suffer more than others as 
             unfair victims of social and economic injustices, but 
             ultimately all Americans cannot escape our common national 
             fate. United we stand and succeed; divided we fall and 
             fail. I regretfully believe that during my Senate term 
             this administration and its congressional followers have 
             caused too many divisions, declines, and failures.
               Thus, I leave the Senate with strong feelings of 
             frustration and disappointment. I have been unable to pass 
             most of what I believe was most important to Minnesota, to 
             our country, and to the world. I remain convinced that 
             those policies would improve the lives of most Americans 
             far better than what the majority here enacted.
               A cornerstone of democracy, which I honor, is that the 
             majority prevails. Winning, however, does not make them 
             right and, unfortunately, it does not make them wise. In 
             those decisions with which I have disagreed, time will 
             tell us and the American people who was right and who was 
             wise.
               I do want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the 
             aisle for the privilege to serve these last 6 years with 
             them. I am grateful for the friendships I have made, which 
             I hope will continue after my departure.
               I thank my excellent staff, those here in Washington and 
             those in Minnesota, for their tremendous dedication and 
             many hours of hard work. Most of the successes I have 
             enjoyed here have been the result of their dedication and 
             their abilities, and I thank them again for their support.
               I especially want to thank the people of Minnesota who 
             gave me this extraordinary opportunity to serve them in 
             the Senate. Our democracy is, through all of human 
             history, throughout the entire world, the most advanced 
             and successful form of self-governance that human beings 
             have ever devised. It is far from perfect, but it is far 
             better than anything else. We who are elected as its 
             leaders and its stewards have sacred duties to uphold its 
             principles, to elevate its policies, and to improve its 
             practices before we bequeath them to our successors. I 
             have done my very best to fulfill those duties before I 
             pass them on to my outstanding successor, Senator-elect 
             Amy Klobuchar. We in the Senate and in the House of 
             Representatives also have the duty to serve the best 
             interests of all Americans. To be successful and 
             sustainable, our Government must improve the lives of all 
             of our citizens.
               Unfortunately, here in Washington, the people who 
             already have the most keep getting more than anyone else. 
             The excessive influences of their money and political 
             power on the Federal Government are serious threats to our 
             democracy. They skew decisions and laws in favor of the 
             rich and powerful, often at the expense of other 
             Americans: the hard-working people who pay their taxes and 
             hope their elected representatives will look out for them 
             in Washington. It isn't too much for them to expect. 
             However, it is too often more than they are getting.
               They are told repeatedly that new laws and policies will 
             improve their lives. Yet their real lives become worse, 
             not better. They experience a deep disconnect between what 
             they are told will happen and what is actually happening 
             to them.
               In attempts to hide those disparities, the words used in 
             Washington are often carefully selected by very clever 
             people in order to disguise reality rather than to 
             describe it. For example, legislation that stripped many 
             Americans of their bankruptcy protections for major 
             medical expenses was named the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention 
             and Consumer Protection Act. Another bill that would have 
             increased industrial pollution was entitled the Clear 
             Skies Act. No Child Left Behind has knowingly underfunded 
             Head Start, title I, and special education, which has left 
             millions of schoolchildren behind.
               These discrepancies and the disparities they create will 
             be even more destructive to the American people's trust in 
             their Government in the years ahead. That is because the 
             choices facing Congress will become even more difficult as 
             the needs of an aging population grow but revenues do not. 
             In about a decade, the Social Security trust fund's large 
             annual surpluses will be replaced by deficits, and its 
             IOUs from the general fund will add to that fund's own 
             chronic deficits. If combined with today's enormous and 
             unsustainable balance of trade deficits and a continuing 
             erosion of our manufacturing job base, the consequences 
             could be catastrophic.
               That somber forecast has replaced my hope and optimism 
             of 6 years ago to my deep regret. Following the wisdom of 
             ``speak truth to power,'' I present my truth to the 
             world's most powerful legislative body, the U.S. Senate, 
             and one of the two institutions that must act to keep our 
             Nation strong. I hope that you will. I will pray for your 
             wisdom to discern what is right, for your courage to act 
             accordingly, and for your success on behalf of our great 
             Nation and the world.
               Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the 
             absence of a quorum.


                                           

                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                     MARK DAYTON
                              Proceedings in the Senate
                                             Friday, September 29, 2006
               Mr. BYRD. ... Mr. President, I say farewell to Senator 
             Dayton. Seldom has a freshman Senator made more of an 
             impression on me than has Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota 
             who has announced that he will be leaving us at the end of 
             this session of the Congress.
               From the start of his service in this Chamber, I have 
             been struck by Senator Dayton's determination to learn the 
             rules, to learn the traditions, to learn the customs of 
             the Senate.
               When Senator Dayton presided over the Senate, which is 
             one of the responsibilities of freshman Senators, he 
             always did so with attention and dignity. His demeanor was 
             inspiring. It reassured my belief in the future of this 
             great institution.
               When I meet with new Senators, as I often do, about the 
             duties of the Presiding Officer, I urge them to use that 
             gavel on that desk vigorously to bring the U.S. Senate to 
             order.
               I recall one instance when Senator Dayton banged the 
             gavel so hard that he nearly fell out of his chair. That 
             is the way it should be. I thought to myself: Bang that 
             gavel, bring the Senate to order so that the Senate can 
             conduct the Nation's business.
               I am also impressed about the reverence that Senator 
             Dayton shows for our Nation's most basic, most important 
             document, the Constitution of the United States.
               Many people who have served in this Chamber will have to 
             answer to history for the way they have ignored and 
             trampled upon our Constitution. As President Lincoln once 
             reminded the Members of Congress: ``We cannot escape 
             history.''
               I am confident that history will hold Senator Dayton in 
             high regard.
               Time after time, this freshman Senator has stood with me 
             and the Constitution of the United States on the important 
             issues before us. Senator Dayton was one of the lonely 23 
             Senators who voted not to go to war with Iraq. I have 
             been, as I say, 48 years in this body, and it is the 
             greatest vote I ever cast, the vote of which I am most 
             proud of all the 17,000 and more votes that I have cast.
               Senator Dayton was willing to defy public opinion and 
             the forces of war because he, Senator Dayton, was 
             determined not to hand over to President Bush, or any 
             President, Democrat or Republican, any President, the 
             power to declare war. No. Why? Because the Constitution 
             says Congress shall have the power to declare war.
               With firm belief in our constitutional doctrines of the 
             separation of powers and checks and balances, Senator 
             Dayton was the only person on the Senate Governmental 
             Affairs Committee who voted against the flawed Department 
             of Homeland Security bill that this White House pushed.
               How I have admired the courage and the fortitude of this 
             man, Senator Dayton, this Senator and his firm belief in 
             our constitutional system.
               How I have wished that he would change his mind. I have 
             spoken to him numerous times about that. I wish we had 
             more like him, more who would say: Come one, come all, 
             this rock shall fly from its firm base as I.
               I thank Senator Dayton for standing shoulder to shoulder 
             and toe to toe with me on so many constitutional issues, 
             and I thank him for the reverence he has shown this 
             institution, the U.S. Senate.
               Senator Dayton is a descendant--get this--Senator Dayton 
             is a descendant of Jonathan Dayton, who was a delegate to 
             the Constitutional Convention of 1787 from the State of 
             New Jersey. I know that Jonathan Dayton is up there 
             somewhere today looking down and smiling upon his kinsman 
             who has worked so hard to preserve and to protect the 
             Constitution, the sacred document that he, Jonathan 
             Dayton, helped to create along with George Washington, 
             Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison.
               Senator Dayton has brought to the Senate a vigor and a 
             vision of public policies that is both refreshing and 
             needed; yes, needed.
               Mark Dayton has devoted his life to public service. And 
             why he ever decided to leave the Senate is beyond me. I 
             have done the best I could talking with him time and time 
             again, but he remains firm.
               His public service included teaching school in the lower 
             east side of New York City, also known as the Bowery, and 
             serving as a social worker in Boston, the great city of 
             Boston. Senator Dayton's social and political activism 
             landed him on President Richard Nixon's infamous ``enemies 
             list''--which he, Senator Mark Dayton, probably considered 
             a badge of honor--and on the staff of Senator Walter 
             Mondale, one of our fine Vice Presidents.
               Senator Dayton brought his concerns for the less 
             fortunate and the powerless with him to the Senate. As a 
             freshman Senator, he proposed a new farm bill to help 
             struggling family farms. He proposed a prescription tax 
             credit plan to help Medicare beneficiaries offset the 
             costs of their medications. He established a health care 
             help line to assist working families in his State in 
             getting health coverage from their insurance companies 
             that they had paid for. He proposed a global trade 
             agreement to limit the President's ability to negotiate 
             trade deals by giving the Congress the power to reject 
             parts of negotiated trade deals if they violated existing 
             laws.
               I expected great things from this Senator. He had been 
             serving in this Chamber for only 2 years, when on March 
             13, 2003, I predicted that Senator Dayton would have a 
             ``long career, if he wishes to make it a long one.''
               I was surprised, I was disappointed, I was saddened to 
             learn that he has chosen instead to make a short career in 
             the Senate. I hope he does not retire from public life 
             because our country--especially our less fortunate--will 
             always need public servants like Mark Dayton.
               But whatever he chooses to do, I wish him happiness and 
             success. And I will always be grateful for my friendship 
             with Mark Dayton and the work--yes, the work--that we have 
             done together.

               Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, will the Senator yield 
             briefly?

               Mr. BYRD. I do yield.
               Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 8\1/2\ minutes 
             remaining.

               Mr. BYRD. I yield to the Senator 2 minutes. Is that 
             sufficient?

               Mr. DAYTON. I will be very brief.
               I thank the Senator from West Virginia for those 
             gracious words. I am deeply honored because they come from 
             the mouth of one of the greatest Senators in the history 
             of this country. And whatever I have learned to apply with 
             my understanding of the traditions of the Senate, the 
             integrity of the Senate, the dignity of the Senate, I 
             heard first and foremost from the great Senator from West 
             Virginia, who has been a mentor, a guide, a leader, for 
             whom I have the utmost respect. And when I did preside and 
             listen to the Senator speak about such subjects as the 
             U.S. Constitution, I learned more from his wisdom than I 
             have learned in the previous 55 years of my life.
               I was honored to stand with him, really behind him, when 
             he led the public outcry against the war resolution. And I 
             was honored to be 1 of those 23 Senators, and history has 
             proven us also correct. For his incredible service to his 
             State for which he was cited as the Greatest West 
             Virginian of the last century, and I expect will be cited 
             as the Greatest West Virginian of this century as well, 
             and for that same quality of devotion to our country and 
             incredible leadership to our entire Nation, we are all--
             all of the country men and women--in great debt to him. I 
             am, again, deeply honored by his words.

               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished 
             Senator, and I will always cherish, as long as I live, his 
             words. ...

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.

               Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I see my colleague from 
             Minnesota, Senator Dayton. He will not be here in January, 
             and I come to the Senate to associate myself with the 
             praise of my distinguished colleague from West Virginia 
             [Mr. Byrd] for Senator Dayton.
               We live in very partisan times. We live in times where 
             there is great cynicism about politics. We come from 
             opposite sides of the political aisle, and there are 
             moments we are butting heads on issues and press releases, 
             but I have to say my colleague's heart is pure. On issue 
             after issue, when Mark Dayton, the Senator from Minnesota, 
             says something, he says it because he believes it and he 
             is passionate about it.
               We worked together to try to make sure our troops, when 
             they were on leave from Iraq, came home at no cost. We 
             came together.
               Earlier today, we were in the Senate talking about 
             agricultural disaster assistance for Minnesota farmers. 
             The public does not see all the times we work together. 
             They do not look into a man's heart. I have been here 4 
             years, and what I call the pureness of the heart, the 
             commitment to public service, a lifelong commitment to 
             public service, again and again at level after level on 
             the State and now in the U.S. Congress is something to be 
             celebrated.
               I express to my colleague and my friend--and we use that 
             word rather loosely on occasion here, but he is my 
             colleague and my friend--thanks for your service. Thank 
             you for giving me the opportunity to work with you on 
             behalf of the people of Minnesota and the people of this 
             country.

               Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent I 
             might have 1 minute to respond.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.

               Mr. DAYTON. Mr. President, I thank my friend, and I mean 
             that sincerely, and my very distinguished colleague from 
             Minnesota for those very kind words.
               The Senator said we don't agree on everything, but we 
             are not meant to agree on everything. That is part of the 
             wisdom of the process here.
               I have endless respect for the Senator from Minnesota. 
             He was elected to the Senate by the people of our State 
             under very difficult circumstances in the immediate 
             aftermath of the tragic death of his predecessor. He 
             handled that situation with great dignity and class, and 
             he has continued to do so.
               He represents our State with effectiveness, success 
             beyond his young years. That is demonstrated by the high 
             regard he is held in by most of the citizens in our State.
               I thank him for his friendship. I thank him for the 
             opportunity to work with him. I wish him continued success 
             after I leave the Senate.
               I yield the floor.
                                              Tuesday, December 5, 2006
               Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President ... As we recognize, it is a 
             distinct privilege and high honor to serve our country in 
             any capacity, and certainly none higher than in uniform. 
             But it is especially important that we recognize those who 
             have given years of their lives, sacrificing their 
             families, their own time, to help make a better world for 
             all of us. I know of no capacity in which we serve our 
             country that has given those who have had this rare 
             opportunity to serve in the Senate anything more noble 
             than trying to shape a better world from this Senate.
               These individuals who will leave the Senate, some on 
             their own terms, some on the terms of the election, but, 
             nonetheless, in their own specific way have contributed a 
             great deal to this country.
               I take a few minutes to recognize each. ...
               Senator Mark Dayton from Minnesota, a neighbor. I served 
             on two committees with Senator Dayton, the Rules Committee 
             and the Foreign Relations Committee. He is a unique 
             individual who served in many ways, beginning with his 
             service to Senator and then Vice President Walter Mondale. 
             Senator Dayton has a rich history and understanding of 
             this institution and his State. We will miss Senator 
             Dayton's character, his ability to also cross party aisles 
             and help resolve the issues of our day. ...
               Mr. President, in conclusion, it is not easy to put 
             one's self on the firing line and offer one's self as a 
             candidate for any office. It takes a certain amount of 
             courage and, I suspect, a little dose of insanity. But 
             nonetheless individuals who believe deeply enough to 
             commit themselves to a cause greater than their own self-
             interests need to be recognized. Having nothing to do with 
             me or you or any one individual, but it is the essence of 
             our country, it is the very fabric of our democracy that 
             makes it all work and probably gives rise to, more than 
             any one reason, why we have been such a successful nation 
             for over 200 years--because people from all walks of life, 
             in every community, in every State, offer themselves for 
             office. Whether it is a mayor, a Governor, city 
             councilman, county official, a sheriff, these individuals 
             deserve recognition.
               We all make mistakes. That is who we are. But in the 
             end, it is not unlike what Teddy Roosevelt once referred 
             to in his magnificent quote about the man in the arena. 
             And it is the man and the woman in the arena who change 
             our lives. It makes a better world that shapes history, 
             that defines our destiny. And for these individuals who 
             will no longer have that opportunity to serve our country 
             in the Senate, we wish them well, we thank them, and we 
             tell them we are proud of them and their families and wish 
             them Godspeed.
               Mr. President, I thank you for the time and yield the 
             floor.
                                            Wednesday, December 6, 2006
               Mr. REED. Mr. President, this is an opportunity to 
             recognize the service of several of our colleagues who are 
             departing from the Senate. To Senator Jeffords, Senator 
             Frist, Senator DeWine, Senator Talent, Senator Santorum, 
             Senator Burns, and Senator Allen, let me express my 
             appreciation for their service to their States and their 
             service to the Nation and wish them well. I particularly 
             want to comment, though, on three colleagues with whom I 
             have had the privilege of working very closely. ...
               Finally, let me say a word about my colleague and 
             friend, Senator Mark Dayton. He is retiring after 6 years 
             in the Senate. He began his public life much earlier, in 
             1990, as a public school teacher in New York City, and 
             throughout his work he has dedicated himself to help the 
             people of Minnesota and the people of this great Nation. 
             He has placed himself on the front lines to provide better 
             health care for seniors in Minnesota. He has worked 
             closely on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, 
             LIHEAP. He has a good head and a great heart and he served 
             with distinction. I wish him well as he leaves the Senate.
               To all my colleagues who served and conclude their 
             service, let me once again express deep appreciation for 
             their friendship and for their service to the Nation.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, we are coming to the end 
             of the session and 10 of our colleagues are retiring. I 
             want to say a word about them ...
               Mark Dayton's interest in the environment in Minnesota 
             has been so exceptional. ...
               When the most recent class of Senators was sworn into 
             office nearly 2 years ago, in the gallery were three 
             women. One was the grandmother of Barack Obama. She was 
             from Kenya. One was the mother of Senator Salazar, a 10th 
             generation American. One was the mother of Mel Martinez, 
             the new Republican National Committee chairman, who, with 
             her husband, put her son on an airplane when he was 14 
             years old and sent him from Cuba to the United States, not 
             knowing if she would ever see him again.
               In a way, each one of us who is here is an accident. 
             None of us knew we would be here. Each of us is privileged 
             to serve, and one of the greatest privileges is to serve 
             with our colleagues. We will miss them and we are grateful 
             for their service.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, as the time for my departure 
             from the Senate draws near, on behalf of the greatest 
             blessing in my life, my wife Susan, and on behalf of 
             myself, I thank all of my colleagues for their many 
             courtesies and friendships that have been forged during 
             the past 6 years. I offer a few concluding reflections 
             about our time here together, as well as about the future 
             of our Republic. ...

               Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I see others who 
             wish to speak, and I will make a couple of brief comments.
               In the comments of the Senator from Virginia [Mr. 
             Allen], his final couple of comments recalled for me a 
             statement made in the closing of the Constitutional 
             Convention in Philadelphia, when on the back of the chair 
             of the presiding officer was a sunburst. Someone opined in 
             that Constitutional Convention: Dr. Franklin, is that a 
             rising sun or is it a setting sun? And Franklin ventured 
             to say that with the birth of the new Nation, with the 
             creation of the new Constitution, that he thought it was a 
             rising sun.
               Indeed, it is that hope of which the Senator from 
             Virginia has just spoken that motivates this Senator from 
             Florida to get up and go to work every day, and to look at 
             this Nation's challenges, not as a Democratic problem or a 
             Republican problem, but as an American problem, that needs 
             to be solved in an American way instead of a partisan way.
               We have had far too much partisanship over the last 
             several years across this land, and, indeed, in this 
             Chamber itself. And of the Senators who are leaving this 
             Chamber, I think they represent the very best of America, 
             and on occasion have risen in a bipartisan way. It has 
             been this Senator's great privilege to work with these 
             Senators: Allen of Virginia, Burns of Montana, Chafee of 
             Rhode Island, Dayton of Minnesota, DeWine of Ohio, Frist 
             of Tennessee, Jeffords of Vermont, Santorum of 
             Pennsylvania, Sarbanes of Maryland, Talent of Missouri.
               As the Good Book in Ecclesiastes says: There is a time 
             to be born and a time to die. There is a time to get up, 
             and a time to go to bed. There is a time for a beginning, 
             and there is a time of ending.
               For these Senators who are leaving, it is clearly not an 
             ending. It is an ending of this chapter in their lives, 
             but this Senator from Florida wanted to come and express 
             his appreciation for their public service, to admonish 
             those where admonishment is needed when this Chamber, 
             indeed, this Government, has gotten too partisan, but to 
             express this Senator's appreciation for the quiet moments 
             of friendship and reflection and respect in working 
             together, which is the glue that makes this Government 
             run.
               Whether you call it bipartisanship, whether you call it 
             friendship, whether you call it mutual respect, whatever 
             you call it, the way you govern a nation as large and as 
             complicated and as diverse as our Nation is--as the Good 
             Book says: Come, let us reason together--that is what this 
             Senator tries to be about. And that is what this Senator 
             will try to continue to do in the new dawn of a new 
             Congress. So I wanted to come and express my appreciation 
             for those Senators who will not be here, for the great 
             public service they have rendered.
               Mr. President, I am truly grateful for their personal 
             friendship and for their public service.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. DURBIN. ... Mr. President, Mark Dayton served 
             representing the State of Minnesota. Business was his 
             background, not politics. But Senator Dayton developed a 
             passion for politics at an early age. While his parents 
             supported Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1968, Senator Dayton 
             found another hero in Bobby Kennedy. As a college student 
             at Yale, he protested the Vietnam war. He began using a 
             share of his family's fortune to support progressives.
               In return, he made it on an enemies list. He was 
             investigated by the FBI, targeted by the IRS, and had that 
             dubious distinction of being on Richard Nixon's enemies 
             list, a distinction that he now wears as a badge of honor.
               He has devoted his entire adult life to public service, 
             broadly defined. Born into privilege, he fought for those 
             less fortunate from the start, especially for poor 
             children. After college he taught science in New York City 
             and counseled runaway children in Boston. Returning to his 
             Minnesota roots, he served as an aide to Walter Mondale, 
             then as Minnesota's State economic development 
             commissioner, and later State auditor. Mark Dayton was 
             elected to the Senate 6 years ago on his second try. His 
             first 2 years in the Senate he had that great colleague, 
             Paul Wellstone. For the last 4 years, Mark Dayton, like 
             many of us, has tried to carry Paul Wellstone's standard, 
             to fight for the people that Paul Wellstone used to call 
             ``the little fellers,'' who don't have expensive lobbyists 
             to watch out for them in the Senate.
               Mark Dayton has been a consistent voice for fairness. He 
             has used his own Senate salary to pay for seniors to 
             travel to Canada to purchase less expensive prescription 
             drugs. He has been a strong advocate for ethanol, 
             renewable energy, strengthening America's energy security, 
             reducing global warming, and boosting the income of family 
             farmers.
               Senator Dayton was 1 of only 23 Senators who voted 
             against the Iraqi war resolution in 2002. He has used his 
             seat on the Senate Armed Services Committee to ask hard 
             questions of those who planned and are overseeing the war. 
             He has demanded accountability from them while he has 
             continued to show consistent support for the men and women 
             in uniform.
               I look forward to seeing how Senator Mark Dayton will 
             serve America next, and I wish him the very best. ...
               I wish all of my colleagues who are retiring well as 
             they begin the next chapters of their careers.

               Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell 
             to several of my friends here in Washington. Too often we 
             get caught up here in the back-and-forth of politics and 
             lose sight of the contributions of those with whom we work 
             every day. It is only at moments such as these, at the end 
             of a cycle, that we have a moment to reflect on the 
             contributions of our colleagues. And while we may not 
             always see eye to eye, this Senate is losing several 
             admirable contributors who have made many sacrifices to 
             serve our democracy. ...
               Then there is my colleague on the Agriculture Committee, 
             Senator Mark Dayton of Minnesota. For much of his life, 
             Senator Dayton has dedicated himself to public service, 
             both in Minnesota and in Washington--as a leader on 
             economic development for his home State and later as State 
             auditor before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. 
             The Twin Cities may be cold this time of year, but we all 
             know that Minnesota DFLers will welcome him home warmly 
             after his service in the Senate. ...
               America, when held to its finest ideals, is more than a 
             place on the globe or a work in progress. It is the 
             inspiration to those around the world and here at home to 
             seek out excellence within themselves and their beliefs. 
             It has been a pleasure to work alongside each of these 
             gentlemen, who have helped me as I have found my way, 
             sometimes literally, through the halls of the Senate, in 
             the pursuit of these greater ideals that we all share: 
             security, prosperity, and an America that we leave better 
             than when we arrived. These ideals will resonate here long 
             after we all are gone and another generation stands in our 
             place making the decisions of its day.

               Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell 
             to a decent and principled Member of this body, Mark 
             Dayton. Over the past 6 years, Senator Dayton has proven 
             his dedication to the highest ideals of this body through 
             his devotion to economic justice, education, and health 
             care concerns.
               In October 2002, Mark Dayton voted against the Iraq war 
             resolution, despite the fact that President Bush was 
             presenting fairly convincing evidence that Saddam Hussein 
             had weapons of mass destruction and most of the Nation was 
             supportive of the decision to go to war. Mark Dayton held 
             to his convictions, and history will judge him favorably 
             because of it.
               As a Senator, Mark has donated his entire Senate salary 
             to help his constituents pay for prescription drugs. His 
             salary goes to the Minnesota Senior Federation for ``Rx 
             Express'' bus trips to help senior citizens buy cheaper 
             prescription drugs in Canada. In the Senate, he has fought 
             to make such trips less necessary by proposing the Meeting 
             Our Responsibility to Medicare Beneficiaries Act to permit 
             the Government to negotiate prescription drug prices with 
             pharmaceutical companies. He has also introduced the Taste 
             of Our Own Medicine Act to require Members of Congress to 
             share the same prescription drug benefits as Medicare 
             recipients.
               Mark Dayton's 6 years in the Senate are a continuation 
             of his lifelong commitment to public service. He 
             previously worked as a teacher on the Lower East Side of 
             New York, as a counselor for runaways, and as the chief 
             financial officer for a social service agency in Boston. 
             He worked for Senator Walter Mondale and campaigned with 
             him during his Vice Presidential bid with President Jimmy 
             Carter. Mark also served twice as commissioner of the 
             Minnesota Department of Energy and Economic Development.
               Mark Dayton has used the economic experience he gained 
             as commissioner, and as Minnesota State auditor to help 
             American workers during his time in the Senate. He has 
             supported extended unemployment assistance and an increase 
             in the minimum wage while opposing outsourcing of American 
             jobs.
               Senator Dayton has been a strong supporter of increased 
             funding for education. He introduced the Nontraditional 
             Student Success Act and the Restore the Dream Act to help 
             students pay for higher education. He has repeatedly 
             insisted that Congress live up to its promise to America's 
             public schools and children by offering amendments to 
             fully fund the Federal Government's commitment to special 
             education. Mark has also fought for additional career and 
             technical training.
               During his time in this body, Mark Dayton has nobly 
             stood up for the American people. In a speech on the 
             Senate floor, he noted:

               A government of the people, by the people, and for the 
             people is a government that tells the truth to its 
             citizens. If it doesn't, it is not a government of them, 
             not by them, and certainly not for them. It is imperative.

               Although Mark Dayton's voice will no longer be heard on 
             the Senate floor, I know that he will continue to do great 
             work for Minnesotans and for all Americans. I am proud to 
             have served with him and wish him all the best.
                                             Thursday, December 7, 2006
               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I have had the privilege of 
             being here for the 28th year beginning shortly. I 
             calculated not long ago that I have served with 261 
             individuals. I am not about to try and review all of the 
             many magnificent friendships I am privileged to have 
             through these years. Indeed, if one looks at the rewards, 
             of which there are many serving in this historic 
             institution, the Senate, it is the personal bonds, the 
             friendships that we so firmly cement and that will last a 
             lifetime as a consequence of our duties of serving the 
             United States of America and in our respective States.
               We are called ``United States'' Senators. I often 
             believe it is the first obligation, our Nation, the 
             Republic for which it stands. ...
               I would also like to pay tribute to nine other U.S. 
             Senators who will retire from the Senate in the coming 
             days. ...
               Now, I would like to take a few moments to salute our 
             majority leader, Senator Frist, as well as Senators 
             Chafee, Burns, Santorum, DeWine, Jeffords, Talent, and 
             Dayton. Each and every one of these U.S. Senators has 
             served his State and his country with great distinction.
               Without a doubt, I could speak at-length in honor of 
             each of these outstanding individuals. In light of time 
             constraints, however, and the fact that so many of my 
             colleagues wish to similarly pay tribute, I shall endeavor 
             to keep my remarks brief. ...
               Senator Dayton was elected to the Senate in 2000, and 
             throughout his years in the Senate I have had the 
             privilege of serving with him on the Senate Armed Services 
             Committee. As a hardworking member of that committee, Mark 
             was a strong advocate for our Armed Forces. Notably, he 
             was a strong supporter of increasing the death benefit 
             gratuity for survivors of deceased members of the Armed 
             Forces from a little more than $12,000 to $100,000. Thanks 
             in part to his efforts, this increased death benefit 
             gratuity is now law.
               Senator Dayton also reached across the aisle and worked 
             closely with me in support of efforts to provide Medicare 
             beneficiaries with a prescription drug benefit. Together, 
             we introduced legislation to provide America's seniors 
             with a refundable tax credit to help offset the costs of 
             prescription drugs.
               In conclusion, over the years I have served with each of 
             these 10 Senators, each has not only been a trusted 
             colleague, each has also been my friend. I will miss 
             serving with each of them in the Senate but know that each 
             will continue in public service in some capacity. I wish 
             each and every one of them well in the years ahead.
               Mr. President, I see a number of colleagues here anxious 
             to speak, and I have taken generously of the time the 
             Presiding Officer has allowed me to speak.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity 
             to commend our colleague Mark Dayton, the Senator from 
             Minnesota, for his distinguished service in the Senate and 
             for his commitment to helping our country live up to its 
             highest ideals at home and abroad.
               Mark's life has been about service to others. Whether as 
             a teacher in the bowery of New York, a counselor to 
             troubled teens in Boston, an aide to our beloved Fritz 
             Mondale, a State economic development leader working to 
             bring quality jobs to his constituents, or a Senator, Mark 
             Dayton has consistently answered the call of public 
             service throughout his long and outstanding career.
               He has been a champion of the right to quality and 
             affordable health care for all Americans, and I know how 
             frustrated he has often been by our inability to make 
             greater progress on this critical domestic issue. Sadly, 
             it will be harder to get there without him, but I am 
             optimistic that we will still be able to accomplish it, 
             and I have no doubt that Mark will continue with his 
             commitment and compassion to help lead the charge from 
             outside the Senate.
               As a Senator, he had an indispensable role in our effort 
             to expand the availability of prescription drugs. His 
             heart went out to the senior citizens in Minnesota whose 
             only hope to afford the drugs they desperately needed was 
             to cross the border into Canada. Fortunately, in its 
             effort to build a legal fence to keep them out, the drug 
             industry more than met its match in Senator Mark Dayton. 
             Even my constituents in Massachusetts loved Mark, as they 
             boarded buses from Boston to Minnesota to catch the 
             lifesaving bus to Canada to get their medicine.
               Mark also has had the courage to stand against the 
             administration when it launched the tragic and misguided 
             war in Iraq.
               He never wavered in the Senate from what he believed was 
             right, and we will all miss the skill and eloquence, the 
             decency, honor, and generosity he brought to our Senate 
             debates.
               We regret very much that he won't be here with us in the 
             debates ahead, and we wish him well. Perhaps he will be 
             able to make that Arctic trek to the North Pole that he 
             had to put on hold when he came to the Senate 6 years ago. 
             But I know that whatever new course he chooses, he will 
             continue to be a strong and vital voice in improving the 
             lives of others.
               As Robert Kennedy said:

               Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to 
             improve the lot of others, or strikes out against 
             injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and 
             crossing each other from a million different centers of 
             energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can 
             sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and 
             resistance.

               Throughout his brilliant career, Mark Dayton has sent 
             forth many ripples of hope, and I'm certain he'll send 
             forth many more in the years ahead. We'll miss you, Mark.

               Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute 
             to a retiring colleague, Senator Dayton of Minnesota.
               Mark Dayton has made a career of public service, in the 
             very best sense of the term. After graduating from 
             college, he taught public school in New York City and 
             served as a counselor to teenage runaways before returning 
             to Minnesota. For 20 years, he served in a variety of 
             positions in State government in Minnesota, from 
             commissioner of economic development to State auditor.
               In the Senate, Mark Dayton has been an independent voice 
             in the tradition of our former colleague, Paul Wellstone. 
             He eschewed political expediency and instead relied on his 
             conscience in making important decisions. For example, he 
             agonized over his vote on the Iraq war, before ultimately 
             deciding to join the small minority of Senators who voted 
             against it.
               I have worked most closely with Mark on agriculture and 
             other issues affecting rural Americans. Throughout his 
             Senate service, he has been a strong and consistent voice 
             on behalf of family farmers. He has helped lead the fight 
             for much needed disaster relief. He has opposed misguided 
             cuts to commodity and conservation programs. And he has 
             been a leader in calling for a significant expansion of 
             ethanol and other renewable fuels that can benefit our 
             rural economies and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
               Senator Dayton has also been a strong voice on behalf of 
             our troops and their families at home. He has called for 
             better armor and equipment. He has insisted on better care 
             for veterans. And he spearheaded efforts to ensure that 
             soldiers on leave could get all the way home to visit 
             their loved ones rather than simply being dropped off at 
             remote cities and asked to pay last-minute airfares to get 
             home.
               Mark Dayton has insisted on integrity and honesty in 
             every aspect of his public life. He has been a true 
             champion for Minnesota. Lucy and I wish him well as he 
             goes on to other ventures. ...

               Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the 
             great service of retiring Senators Paul Sarbanes, Mark 
             Dayton, and James Jeffords. ...
               I will also express a fond farewell to Senator Dayton.
               It has been an honor to serve on the Armed Services 
             Committee with Senator Dayton.
               He has done a wonderful job for the people of Minnesota. 
             In his time in the Senate Senator Dayton worked hard to 
             live up to the legend of Senator Wellstone, to honor the 
             values that Senator Wellstone championed in this body.
               One example: I was grateful to Senator Dayton for his 
             support of the Nontraditional Student Success Act, a piece 
             of legislation to help more people attend college while 
             working and raising families--to open the doors of 
             opportunity wider for more and more Americans.
               I am grateful to Mark Dayton for his work to honor his 
             values, and I know he leaves this body having made the 
             people of Minnesota proud. ...
               Finally, I also wish the very best to my Republican 
             colleagues who will leave the Senate at the conclusion of 
             this Congress. The Senate, at its best, is a body that 
             promotes bipartisanship, deliberation, and cooperation, 
             and the dedication to shared values. It has been a 
             privilege to work with my departing colleagues on the 
             other side of the aisle.
                                               Friday, December 8, 2006
               Ms. LANDRIEU. ... To all of our retiring Members, I say 
             thank you. Thank you for your efforts on behalf of my 
             State when you were needed and thank you for your service 
             to America.

               Mr. HARKIN. ... Mr. President, I would like to follow 
             that up by expressing my respect and admiration for a 
             longtime friend of mine, my neighbor to the north, so to 
             speak, who is also retiring this year; that is, our 
             Senator from Minnesota, Mark Dayton.
               Senator Dayton is a public servant in the purest sense 
             of that term. He did not come to the Senate 6 years ago in 
             search of status or celebrity or power for power's sake. 
             He has never sought the spotlight. He came here for one 
             reason: to serve the people of Minnesota and of the United 
             States. He has done so in a diligent, consistent, and 
             selfless manner.
               I especially appreciate the way Senator Dayton has 
             followed in the progressive tradition of Minnesota's great 
             Senators, Hubert Humphrey, Gene McCarthy, Fritz Mondale, 
             and Paul Wellstone. On issue after issue, he has fought 
             for working people and their families, for seniors, and 
             for the least fortunate among us. To take just one case in 
             point, no Senator has been more persistent and eloquent in 
             fighting to allow seniors to purchase prescription drugs 
             in Canada where pharmaceuticals are oftentimes less 
             expensive. He has donated his entire Senate salary to the 
             Minnesota Senior Federation to help finance trips on the 
             ``Prescription Express'' to purchase cheaper drugs in 
             Canada, and he has gone to bat for seniors when they were 
             harassed by border agents upon their return.
               To his everlasting credit, Senator Dayton voted against 
             a resolution effectively authorizing the war in Iraq. He 
             spoke out passionately against the dangers of launching 
             that war. He has used his seat on the Armed Services 
             Committee to take the administration to task for its 
             multiple mistakes and failures in conducting that war. 
             There has been a singular absence of effective oversight 
             of this war on the part of this Congress, but as an 
             individual Senator, Mark Dayton has done his best to fill 
             that vacuum. On the Armed Services Committee he has been 
             courageous and outspoken, and we will remember him for 
             that.
               Throughout his adult life, Mark Dayton has been devoted 
             to serving others and looking out for those in the shadows 
             of life. After graduating from Yale, he could have gone on 
             in the family retail business. He could have coasted on 
             his family's wealth, but he chose a very different course. 
             He chose to work as a teacher for 3 years in a pretty 
             tough public school on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Later 
             he went to work as a counselor for runaway young people, 
             as chief financial officer of a social service agency in 
             Boston, and then as a staffer to Senator Walter Mondale. 
             After returning home to Minnesota, he also served as the 
             commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Energy and 
             Economic Development. He was elected State auditor in 
             1990.
               I think the first time I met Mark Dayton, I was a 
             Congressman in Iowa and he was running for the Senate in 
             Minnesota, and that was 1982. I went up to campaign for 
             him. I had been involved in agriculture and agricultural 
             endeavors, and so I went up to meet with them and met this 
             young guy running for the Senate. He was unsuccessful that 
             year--I hope not due to the fact that I went to campaign 
             for him. He was unsuccessful that year, but he never gave 
             up. He never gave up trying to find new avenues to serving 
             the people of Minnesota.
               As I said, that culminated in him serving as the 
             commissioner of the Department of Energy and Economic 
             Development for a number of years under Governor Perpich 
             and then being elected in his own right as the State 
             auditor in 1990. Under his leadership as State auditor of 
             Minnesota, he did a lot to make sure that State government 
             was running efficiently and effectively and transparently 
             and making sure the auditor's office kept a check on all 
             the different agencies in Minnesota to make sure they were 
             expending the taxpayers' dollars wisely and legally and 
             transparently.
               So I was delighted when, even though in 1982 he didn't 
             make it to the Senate, he then made it in the year 2000. 
             In the last 6 years, again, as I said, Mark Dayton has 
             devoted himself selflessly to helping people less 
             fortunate in our society. His common theme has been 
             amplified powerfully: his passion for public service and 
             his commitment to looking out for others. So I have no 
             doubt that Mark will pursue other avenues of public 
             service in the years ahead.
               I will miss his friendship here on the Senate floor, but 
             our friendship will continue. I know that in whatever 
             capacity he can find, he will do what he can to make 
             Minnesota and our country a better, fairer, and more just 
             place for all its citizens. I certainly wish my good 
             friend Mark Dayton the best in the years ahead.

               Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I also will say a word about a 
             couple of my colleagues who are leaving, and I will be 
             brief. ...
               I know we all move on at some time and that none of us 
             is irreplaceable. But by the same token, these colleagues 
             of ours who will be leaving will be missed and they will 
             be remembered for their great service to the Senate, to 
             their States, and to the United States of America.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. DeWINE. ... Mr. President, I want to wish the best 
             to all of my fellow Senators who were defeated this fall 
             or who are retiring this year--Senators Frist, Santorum, 
             Talent, Burns, Allen, Chafee, Dayton, and Jeffords. They 
             are all good people and all good friends. I wish them 
             well. ...

               Mr. DODD. ... Mr. President, today I pay tribute to my 
             departing colleagues who have, for a time, lent their 
             talents, their convictions, and their hard work to this 
             distinguished body. I may have had my disagreements with 
             them, but the end of a term is a time for seeing 
             colleagues not simply as politicians, but as partners who 
             have ``toiled, and wrought, and thought with me.'' Each, 
             in his own way, was distinctive; and each, in his own way, 
             will be sorely missed. ...
               I would also like to recognize Senator Mark Dayton of 
             Minnesota. Senator Dayton's talents have long been 
             apparent, whether graduating cum laude from Yale 
             University, starting in goal for the college hockey team, 
             or spending time as a teacher on the Lower East Side of 
             New York City. Senator Dayton has long been involved in 
             public service and Minnesota politics, serving on Walter 
             Mondale's Senate staff in the 1970s and working in the 
             1980s and 1990s for economic development in his home 
             State. Senator Dayton was elected State auditor in 1990, 
             serving a 4-year term fighting the misuse and theft of 
             public funds. In 2000, he once again entered State 
             politics, defeating an incumbent to win a term in the 
             Senate.
               Mark Dayton took many principled stands during his time 
             in the Senate, from his opposition to the Iraq War 
             resolution to his work to fully fund special education. 
             Senator Dayton was also known for his engagement with the 
             needs of his Minnesota constituents. He won $3 million for 
             a Minnesota National Guard program to provide soldiers 
             with postcombat counseling and support, worked to hire 148 
             additional patrol agents to secure the United States-
             Canada border, and even donated his Senate salary to pay 
             for bus trips to Canada so seniors could buy cheaper 
             prescription drugs.
               Senator Dayton chose to retire after serving out his 
             term, but he declared that ``everything I've worked for, 
             and everything I believe in, depends upon this Senate seat 
             remaining in the Democratic caucus in 2007.'' Senator 
             Dayton's wish came true when Amy Klobuchar won an election 
             to fill his seat; and I trust she will continue in Mark 
             Dayton's tradition of capable and hard-working 
             representation for the people of Minnesota. Senator Dayton 
             is returning to private life in his home State, and I wish 
             him all the best. ...

               Mr. REID. Mr. President, the great Senator Daniel 
             Webster once remarked that the Senate is a place ``of 
             equals of men of individual honor ... and personal 
             character.''
               He was right, and we can see what he was talking about 
             in the fine men the Senate is losing to retirement at the 
             end of this Congress: Senator Frist, Senator Sarbanes, 
             Senator Jeffords, and Senator Dayton.
               On previous occasions, I have talked about how much I 
             appreciated serving with Senators Frist and Jeffords. 
             Today, I would like to say a few more words about Senators 
             Sarbanes and Dayton. ...
               Mr. President, Mark Dayton has served in the Senate just 
             one-fifth of the time Paul Sarbanes served here. But he, 
             too, has made his mark. He's been a fine public servant, 
             and an even better friend.
               Of course, Senator Dayton's service has always been 
             closely intertwined with that of our dear departed 
             colleague Paul Wellstone. Paul was a legend in our 
             country, but Mark has kept his legacy alive these last 4 
             years by fighting for the working people of Minnesota.
               Mark was born in Minnesota in 1947. He graduated from 
             Yale University in 1969, where he majored in psychology 
             and played varsity hockey. Mark had many options coming 
             out of college, but he chose to become a teacher at a 
             public school on New York City's lower east side.
               It was an unselfish choice, and it would not be the last 
             time Mark chose a path in life that put the public's 
             interest ahead of his own self-interest.
               In 1957, after his years of teaching, Mark came to 
             Washington, where he worked on the staff of then-Senator 
             Walter Mondale. When Mondale was selected the running mate 
             of Jimmy Carter in 1976, Mark was there to serve.
               In 1990--following jobs in the Minnesota State 
             government and the private sector--Mark ran for Minnesota 
             State auditor and won. In 2000, he came to the Senate, 
             where he has served ever since.
               Mark is known here as a strong advocate for the people 
             of Minnesota. He has used his Senate salary to send 
             busloads of seniors to Canada for prescription drugs. He 
             has used his power in the Senate to help low-income 
             constituents get the oil they need to heat their homes. 
             And he has created a ``healthcare help line,'' which is 
             available to Minnesotans who have problems with their 
             health insurers.
               Mr. President, Mark Dayton, like Paul Sarbanes, like Jim 
             Jeffords, like Bill Frist, will be missed.
               The Senate--and our country--are better off because of 
             their service.

               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as Senator Mark Dayton 
             prepares to leave this body, I would like to share with my 
             colleagues a few thoughts about his service. In September, 
             I had the pleasure of speaking on Senator Dayton's behalf 
             at a dinner paying tribute to the retiring Senators, and I 
             ask that my remarks from that event be printed in the 
             Record.
               There being no objection, the material was ordered to be 
             printed in the Record.

               On the night six years ago when Minnesota voters chose 
             him as their 33rd Senator, Mark Dayton told the cheering 
             crowd: ``No matter what your political party or personal 
             philosophy, no matter who you voted for today or even 
             whether you voted at all, I'll work for you. When, next 
             January, I become Senator Dayton, please--call me Mark. 
             Because I'm your public servant. I'll work for you.''
               For the past six years, Mark has kept that pledge, 
             because those words were not the rhetoric of a campaign; 
             they were a reflection of Mark's deeply-held beliefs. Mark 
             Dayton treats everyone--from the wealthiest to the least 
             fortunate--with the same sense of fairness and compassion, 
             and he carries himself with a humility to which we can all 
             aspire. Mark's lack of guile has characterized his service 
             here, where political calculating is an accepted reality.
               When Mark came to the Senate, he brought with him a 
             broad range of experience. In the private sector he had 
             worked as a public school teacher in a challenging New 
             York City school; as a counselor to runaway youth; as a 
             chief financial officer for a non-profit group; and as 
             head of an investment group. In public life, he had served 
             as a Senate aide to Walter Mondale; as head of Minnesota's 
             Department of Energy and Economic Development; and as 
             State Auditor, among many other capacities.
               That path of service to Minnesota led to his own 
             election to the Senate. Mark and I serve together on both 
             the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Permanent 
             Subcommittee on Investigations. As the ranking member on 
             both committees, I have witnessed in Mark a Senator who is 
             passionately dedicated to public service. Mark reads the 
             long reports, he attends the dry meetings, he masters the 
             difficult material, and he asks the tough questions with a 
             disarming directness and quizzical curiosity.
               On the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Mark 
             has been a strong voice in our hearings examining abusive 
             tax shelters and offshore tax havens. Mark has been a 
             leader on prescription drug issues, and he even donates 
             his Senate salary to help seniors buy prescription drugs 
             they could not otherwise afford. And Mark has been a great 
             battler on issues common to our two States, including 
             fighting on behalf of our steel and mining industries and 
             to strengthen our Northern Border.
               As part of our work on the Armed Services Committee, 
             Mark traveled with Chairman Warner and me and six other 
             Senators to Iraq, where we saw firsthand Mark's deep 
             dedication to the men and women of our Armed Forces. After 
             allegations surfaced that our troops in Iraq had been 
             given contaminated water by a contractor, it was Mark's 
             insistence that led to an ongoing investigation into the 
             contractor's actions. And Mark has been a true champion 
             for our National Guard and Reserve forces, working 
             forcefully to ease their difficult transition back to 
             civilian life when their tours of duty finally end.
               As Mark writes the next chapter in his own life, he can 
             return home to the people of his beloved Minnesota knowing 
             that he has served them honorably and well. Some of them 
             will probably insist on calling him ``Senator.'' But, for 
             most, this idealist with a good heart never stopped simply 
             being ``Mark.''

               We shall miss Mark Dayton and wish him well as he leaves 
             us. ...

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. ... Mr. President, I wish Senator Dayton 
             well as he departs from the Senate.
               During his 6 years serving the citizens of Minnesota as 
             their Senator, I got to know Senator Dayton by working 
             together with him on the Committee on Rules and 
             Administration. I have seen firsthand Senator Dayton's 
             tireless efforts to protect the interests of his State.
               During his political career, Senator Dayton has held 
             many leadership roles for Minnesota, including 
             commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Energy and 
             Economic Development, State auditor, and, most recently, 
             U.S. Senator.
               As the eldest of four children, he grew up knowing what 
             it meant to set a good example. I have no doubt that 
             Senator Dayton will continue to serve as a shining example 
             for his two sons.
               I know that Senator Dayton's love for public service--
             and for Minnesota--will remain strong in the future, and I 
             wish him well. ...
             UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--TRIBUTES TO RETIRING SENATORS
               Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to 
             retiring Senators be printed as a Senate document and that 
             Senators be permitted to submit tributes until December 
             27, 2006.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                           Wednesday, December 27, 2006
               Mr. STEVENS. ... Mr. President, Senator Mark Dayton's 
             path to the Senate was marked by years spent in service to 
             others. As a teacher, a counselor to troubled children, 
             and then as an administrator of a Boston social service 
             agency, Mark has long fought for those less fortunate--and 
             his service in the Senate reflects this commitment.
               It was my pleasure to travel to China with him this past 
             August for meetings with the U.S.-China Interparliamentary 
             Group. He was a fine addition to our bipartisan 
             delegation. During those meetings he brought a unique 
             insight and perspective to many issues.
               I commend Senator Mark Dayton on his public service to 
             the people of Minnesota. Catherine and I wish him the best 
             in the years ahead.
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