[Senate Document 109-31]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



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

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


                                S. Doc. 109-31
                             
 
                  TRIBUTES TO HON. WILLIAM H. FRIST



                                          
                        William H. Frist

                      U.S. SENATOR FROM TENNESSEE

                              TRIBUTES

                        IN THE CONGRESS OF

                        THE UNITED STATES



                                           


                                           

             
             

                    William H. Frist


                          Tributes

                    Delivered in Congress

                        William H. Frist

                     United States Senator

                           1995-2007


                                           

               U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                     WASHINGTON : 2007


                                           


                Compiled under the direction

                            of the

                   Joint Committee on Printing
                                          


                            CONTENTS


             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Farewell to the Senate................................
                                                                     xi
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                  7, 18
                    Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
                                                                      9
                    Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky......................
                                                                     30
                    Clinton, Hillary Rodham, of New York...........
                                                                     25
                    Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
                                                                     33
                    DeWine, Mike, of Ohio..........................
                                                                     27
                    Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     27
                    Dole, Elizabeth, of North Carolina.............
                                                                     35
                    Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
                                                                     19
                    Durbin, Richard, of Illinois...................
                                                                 10, 17
                    Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                      3
                    Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
                                                                     11
                    Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
                                                                     32
                    Hagel, Chuck, of Nebraska......................
                                                                      6
                    Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
                                                                     23
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                     31
                    Kennedy, Edward M., of Massachusetts...........
                                                                     18
                    Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                     26
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                     25
                    Martinez, Mel, of Florida......................
                                                                     28
                    McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                     15
                    Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
                                                                      9
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                      7
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                 13, 28
                    Salazar, Ken, of Colorado......................
                                                                     11
                    Santorum, Rick, of Pennsylvania................
                                                                     22
                    Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine....................
                                                                     29
                    Specter, Arlen, of Pennsylvania................
                                                                     22
                    Stevens, Ted, of Alaska........................
                                                                     32
                    Warner, John, of Virginia......................
                                                                     12
                                      Biography

               Born February 22, 1952, in Nashville, TN, Bill Frist was 
             raised with a passion to serve others. His earliest 
             memories are of his physician father leaving the family 
             dinner table with his black doctor's bag in hand to make 
             nightly rounds at the hospital. This sense of service to 
             community has been the consistent driving force throughout 
             Bill Frist's life.
               True to the family profession of healing, Bill Frist 
             enrolled in Princeton University knowing he would devote 
             his life to serving through medicine. While at Princeton, 
             he began to cultivate an interest in medicine that 
             extended beyond one-on-one health delivery. He spent his 
             junior and senior years specializing in health care policy 
             and international relations at the Woodrow Wilson School 
             of Public and International Affairs.
               His Wilson School experience led him to a summer 
             internship with veteran Tennessee Congressman Joe Evins 
             (D) in Washington, DC. The dean of Tennessee's 
             congressional delegation counseled the young intern that 
             should he ever want to serve in Congress, he should first 
             excel in a profession other than politics. The seed to be 
             a ``citizen legislator'' was planted.
               Bill Frist noted the advice and, after graduating from 
             Princeton in 1974, earned his medical degree at Harvard 
             Medical School. He graduated with honors in 1978 and spent 
             the next 6 years in heart surgery training at 
             Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston and 
             Southampton General Hospital in England. His training 
             culminated with his selection as chief resident in heart 
             and lung surgery at MGH.
               At each stage of his life, Bill Frist acts to find new 
             solutions to seemingly insurmountable problems. When 
             Boston decided not to undertake the brand new, risky field 
             of heart and lung transplantation, Bill Frist left 
             Massachusetts for California to pursue his dream of 
             helping pioneer the emerging dramatic therapies for what 
             were then considered ``untreatable and uniformly fatal 
             diseases.'' In 1985 he joined the team of innovative heart 
             transplant surgeon Dr. Norman Shumway. An outside-the-box, 
             visionary thinker, Shumway's philosophy of ``Conceive it. 
             Believe it. Do it.'' became Bill Frist's mantra for life.
               After completing his fellowship at Stanford and equipped 
             with a strong foundation of transplant expertise, Bill 
             Frist returned to his hometown of Nashville with a goal to 
             create the region's first multi-organ, multidisciplinary 
             transplant center. In 1986 he became director of 
             Vanderbilt University Medical Center's heart and lung 
             transplantation program. He also taught and operated at 
             the Nashville Veterans Administration Hospital.
               Bill Frist immediately began building on his vision for 
             a first-of-its-kind, innovative transplant facility that 
             would gather into a single center transplant specialists, 
             scientists and ethicists from a broad range of disciplines 
             who would not otherwise have worked together. In 1989 he 
             founded the multi-organ Vanderbilt Transplant Center. 
             Under his leadership, the center became recognized as one 
             of the premier, full service transplant facilities in the 
             United States.
               During his 20 years in medicine, Dr. Frist performed 
             over 150 heart and lung transplant procedures--including 
             the first lung transplant and the first pediatric heart 
             transplant (his youngest patient was a 6-day-old neonate) 
             in Tennessee and the first successful combined heart-lung 
             transplant in the Southeast. With a focus on developing 
             innovative, meaningful solutions to seemingly 
             insurmountable problems and then applying them clinically, 
             he was equally comfortable in the basic science laboratory 
             as he was in the operating room. He authored over 100 
             articles, chapters and abstracts on medical research and 
             was coauthor of his first book, ``Grand Rounds in 
             Transplantation.'' He was board certified in both general 
             surgery and cardiothoracic surgery.
               Dr. Frist had risen to the top of the medical profession 
             at a remarkably young age. And he was devoting his life to 
             what he loved the most--healing and giving hope to people 
             by curing their fatal diseases with new therapies he had 
             helped develop.
               But Bill Frist believed he could do even more for 
             medicine, for patients, and for the people of Tennessee 
             and the United States of America. To address the critical 
             shortage of organ donors for those thousands of potential 
             recipients who were dying as they waited, Bill Frist 
             reached beyond the operating room to educate the American 
             people about the need. In 1989 he wrote and published his 
             second book, ``Transplant: A Heart Surgeon's Account of 
             the Life-and-Death Dramas of the New Medicine.'' He sought 
             to examine the social and ethical issues of 
             transplantation, dispel the myths about transplantation 
             and encourage people to become organ donors. He lectured 
             nationally on the subject and led a successful campaign to 
             return the organ donor card to the back of the Tennessee 
             driver's license. He witnessed how public education and 
             public policy could exponentially save people's lives. He 
             saw that public policy matters.
               So it was only natural that Bill Frist then began 
             exploring the idea of seeking public office. Healing one 
             on one as a physician could be expanded to healing a 
             community, he reasoned. In 1990 he met with fellow 
             Tennessean Howard Baker and talked with the former U.S. 
             Senate majority leader and White House Chief of Staff 
             about the benefits and burdens of public service. Baker 
             counseled Bill Frist that the U.S. Senate would provide 
             the most appropriate forum for his talents and expertise, 
             even though Frist had never served or run for any public 
             office. Go straight where you can make the most 
             difference, Baker told Frist.
               Bill Frist, remaining active in the research laboratory 
             and in the operating room, kept up his public involvement 
             as well. He wrote newspaper columns about health care 
             policy and chaired a statewide task force on Medicaid 
             reform. After another meeting with Baker in 1992, Bill 
             Frist began traveling across Tennessee and listening to 
             people's ideas and hopes, considering a possible run for 
             the Senate. Bill Frist officially launched his campaign in 
             1994, a political novice who had a dream to serve.
               After defeating five opponents in a hard-fought primary, 
             Bill Frist faced a popular three-term incumbent Senator 
             who had been slated to be the next leader in the Senate. 
             The campaign unfolded as a battle between a career 
             politician and a populist outsider whose life was 
             dedicated to healing. Frist won by a resounding 13 
             percentage points, the only challenger to beat a full-term 
             incumbent Senator that cycle. He became the first 
             practicing physician elected to the Senate since 1928.
               Six years later Senator Frist won reelection with 66 
             percent of the vote and received more votes for statewide 
             office than any political figure in Tennessee history, a 
             record that stands today. During that time, he wrote a 
             third book--``Tennessee Senators 1911-2001: Portraits of 
             Leadership in a Century of Change.''
               As a Senator, Bill Frist emerged as one of the leading 
             voices on health care issues in America, serving for a 
             period as chairman of the Senate's Subcommittee on Health. 
             He fought hard to strengthen Medicare, provide seniors 
             with affordable access to prescription drugs, expand 
             children's health, eliminate health care disparities, 
             bolster public health and make health care more affordable 
             and available to every American.
               Senator Frist is consistently recognized among the most 
             influential people in health care in America. He is 1 of 
             only 2 individuals who have ranked in the top 10 of each 
             of the last 5 well-recognized Modern Healthcare magazine 
             annual surveys of the most influential people in health 
             care in the United States, ranking 3d in 2006.
               Bill Frist's professional expertise in infectious 
             diseases enabled him to lead the fight against one of the 
             new, most existential threats to the health and security 
             of our Nation--bioterrorism. Following the October 2001 
             anthrax attacks along the East Coast, Frist was a calming 
             voice during a frightening time. He quickly led passage of 
             landmark legislation to bolster America's defenses against 
             bioterrorism. He then wrote his fourth book, ``When Every 
             Moment Counts: What You Need to Know about Bioterrorism 
             from the Senate's Only Doctor,'' to educate families as to 
             what they could do to prepare for and respond to potential 
             future attacks with biological agents. All profits were 
             donated to charities in Tennessee to assist with local 
             preparedness plans.
               As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Bill 
             Frist served as one of only two congressional 
             representatives to the U.N. General Assembly in the 107th 
             Congress. Having personally treated patients with HIV, 
             Bill Frist also served as a strong advocate for increasing 
             funding and expediting new therapies for global HIV/AIDS. 
             He led the fight in the Senate for the unprecedented $15 
             billion commitment to fight AIDS throughout the world, the 
             largest commitment a nation has made against a single 
             disease. Bill Frist has called HIV the single greatest 
             moral, humanitarian and public health challenge of our 
             times.
               And as he did with bioterrorism, Bill Frist has taken 
             the fight against global HIV/AIDS beyond the Senate 
             Chamber. At least once a year, he travels as a doctor to 
             Sub-Saharan Africa as part of World Medical Mission to do 
             surgery and care for those stricken with disease. He has 
             been a tireless advocate for clean water around the world, 
             and he introduced ``using medicine as a currency for 
             peace'' into our national public diplomacy.
               America's children have been another top priority for 
             Senator Frist. The author of the original Ed-Flex 
             legislation that gave local schools greater flexibility in 
             exchange for more accountability, he strongly supported 
             President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act, which provides 
             regular testing, local control, more Federal funding and 
             greater accountability and flexibility to our public 
             education system. Reducing childhood obesity, halting 
             childhood vaccine shortages and fighting methamphetamine 
             drug abuse have served as focal points of Senator Frist's 
             efforts to improve the health of our children.
               Many people rise to the top of one demanding profession 
             in their lifetime. Senator Frist has risen to the top of 
             two.
               The Senator's colleagues chose him to serve in 
             leadership positions throughout his service in the Senate. 
             In 1999 he served as a deputy whip. One year later his 
             colleagues elected him chairman of the National Republican 
             Senatorial Committee. There Bill Frist accomplished 
             another first. Under his leadership, the party of the 
             President took back majority control of the Senate in a 
             first mid-term election for the first time in history.
               Bill Frist was chosen unanimously to serve as the 16th 
             majority leader of the U.S. Senate on December 23, 2002. 
             Two years later he was reelected unanimously. When first 
             elected leader, he had served less total time in Congress 
             than any Senator in history to hold that position.
               During his service as majority leader, Bill Frist 
             recorded a number of legislative accomplishments: the most 
             comprehensive national security reforms since the creation 
             of the CIA in 1947, the third largest tax cut in American 
             history, the Nation's first comprehensive national energy 
             policy, enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, 
             establishment of SMART education grants to increase the 
             country's economic competitiveness in the 21st century's 
             global economy, extensive reforms to reduce lawsuit abuse 
             throughout the judicial system, authoring the Medicare 
             Modernization Act that provided access to affordable 
             prescription drugs for 43 million seniors in its first 
             year of implementation, a ban on partial-birth abortion, 
             landmark bioterrorism preparedness legislation, 
             championing American leadership in the global fight 
             against HIV/AIDS and ensuring access to clean water served 
             as a cornerstone of foreign assistance. Bill Frist also 
             shepherded the confirmations of Supreme Court Chief 
             Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito 
             through the Senate.
               Senator Frist served his country as a true ``citizen 
             legislator,'' just as Congressman Evins had suggested to 
             him as a young man. In 1994 he pledged to the people of 
             Tennessee that he would go to Washington to serve two 
             terms and would then return home. He did just that, 
             voluntarily stepping down as majority leader of the Senate 
             to return to Nashville with his wife Karyn and live in the 
             same house--and with the same values--in which he was 
             raised.
               Anyone who knows Frist knows his family is his number 
             one priority. He refers to Karyn and their three sons--
             Harrison, Jonathan and Bryan--as his ``foundation and 
             inspiration in life.''
               Doctor-Senator Frist spends his spare time running (7 
             marathons in the last 10 years), flying (commercial and 
             instrument ratings), writing (6 books), and completing 
             annual medical mission trips. His passion is simply to 
             serve.
                               Farewell to the Senate
                             Thursday, December 7, 2006

               Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, about 2 months ago, late 
             Sunday afternoon, when no one was around, I came into this 
             Chamber to carry out a time-honored tradition, nearly as 
             old as the institution itself. I came over to this desk 
             and I opened the drawer and the tradition of carving your 
             initials or your name into the bottom of that drawer was 
             carried out. As you open these drawers, as many of us do 
             when we are sitting here listening and debating, you tend 
             to look at the names that are there. I see Robert Taft at 
             the bottom of this drawer, Hugh Scott, Everett Dirksen, 
             Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Trent Lott, and the list goes on. 
             And with the quiet here, you begin to reflect a little 
             bit. But then all of a sudden you start thinking, as you 
             are carving your name into that drawer, that there aren't 
             very many things that you leave that are permanent around 
             here, but that is one.
               It confronted me, as it hits me with such force today, 
             that our time here, indeed, is temporary, and that we are 
             here to occupy these seats at these desks just for a 
             period of time. We can never forget that we don't own 
             these seats. We don't own our presence in this U.S. 
             Senate. It is with that recognition that I address my 
             colleagues today.
               I have reflected a lot over the last several weeks, and 
             I think back to that nonpolitician who came to this city, 
             this body, 12 years ago with a whole lot of hope for the 
             people of Tennessee and a whole lot of hope for this 
             country. I think back to the people who put their trust in 
             that man's hands.
               Indeed, it was 12 years ago that Karyn and I came to 
             Washington. I came as a citizen legislator with absolutely 
             no political experience. I was a doctor. I spent 20 years 
             in the profession of healing. In my acceptance speech back 
             12 years ago, I pledged at that time to my fellow 
             Tennesseans that Karyn and I would go to Washington, that 
             we would serve for 12 years, for a limited amount of time, 
             and that we would go back to Tennessee and live under the 
             laws that we helped enact. And that is exactly what we 
             will do. We are going to go back to Tennessee in a few 
             weeks, and I am going to live in the very same house that 
             I was born in 54 years ago.
               I still remember coming to the Hill early on, and I know 
             a number of new colleagues are coming to the Hill. I think 
             back, and my former chief of staff, who was very green at 
             the time--I just told you how green I was at the time--I 
             remember standing right in front of the Capitol, and we 
             had to stop somebody and ask: Where is this building 
             called the Russell Building? And they told us. Luckily, I 
             don't think they knew who I was at the time.
               But I did come believing deeply in the promise that I 
             had made. I believed in my heart that with determination--
             and I had seen it in surgery and in the operating room--
             one can make a difference in this world. Today, I look 
             back and I see that I was only half right. One person can 
             make a difference, and each of us do in our own ways. But 
             to make a difference, we can't do it alone.
               I certainly couldn't have done it without people who 
             stood both behind me and with me over the last 12 years. I 
             agree with all of my colleagues. I know they know Karyn. 
             And, indeed, she has honored me by her unwavering love 
             each step along the way. Her grace in carrying out her 
             official responsibilities, her commitment to the 
             development of character in our three boys, her moral 
             support, her spiritual support for me and our family, she 
             has been that guiding river that has kept us on course as 
             we traveled two very different professions/occupations: 
             that of being a heart surgeon and that of serving as a 
             U.S. Senator.
               Our three boys most of you know as well. You have 
             watched them grow up over the last 12 years: Bryan, 
             Jonathan, and Harrison. Obviously, we are so proud of each 
             of them. I will speak directly to them because they, as 
             with anybody growing up, faced the huge challenges of 
             growing up in public life, taking in stride the various 
             swipes that the media takes from time to time, but doing 
             so with real dignity and strength. The boys know that 
             Tennessee is home. They have been able to take in the rich 
             texture that is afforded all of us as we raise children 
             here in this town. And they have grown from three young 
             boys when we came here to three young men.
               I want to thank staff members, and we never do that 
             enough, those staff members who have been with me from the 
             very beginning: Emily Reynolds, Ramona Lessen, Bart 
             VerHulst, Cornell Wedge, Mark Winslow, and Carol 
             Burroughs. I thank my series of chiefs of staff: Mark 
             Tipps, Lee Rawls, Howard Liebengood, Eric Ueland, Andrea 
             Becker, Bart, and Emily, and all those who have come in 
             and out of these doors since that very first day 12 years 
             ago when, yes, I, like somebody every cycle, was 100th in 
             seniority. It is the staff that puts the needs of this 
             country before their own needs. And with a lot of hard 
             work and a lot of passion and a lot of hope, they have 
             accomplished so much.
               A few moments always stand out in my mind, and I will 
             not recite all of them, but a few do stand out in my mind, 
             victories like the $15 billion in funding for global HIV/
             AIDS. I have seen firsthand the power in the hundreds of 
             thousands and, indeed, I would say millions of lives that 
             have been saved by American leadership there; the 
             prescription drugs for seniors; confirming John Roberts 
             and Sam Alito.
               And through all of this time, we have borne witness to 
             days that have literally changed the face of this Nation 
             and the face of this Capitol, things like the Capitol 
             shootings, September 11, anthrax and ricin, and Katrina. 
             But through all of that, we kept it the best way we could, 
             with hard work and a lot of hope.
               I thank my colleagues who placed their faith in me to 
             serve as their leader. As I said four Decembers ago, when 
             you elected me, it was and has been ever since, every day, 
             a very humbling experience. On that day 4 years ago I 
             quoted Proverbs: In his heart a man plans his course, but 
             the Lord determines his steps.
               And what fulfilling steps have been afforded me as 
             leader. I cannot let today pass without expressing 
             gratitude for the close friendships of people who are here 
             and some people who have passed through this Chamber: 
             Howard Baker, the great Republican leader from Tennessee 
             whose shoes as majority leader I have done my best to 
             fill. He has counseled me over the years both as a Senator 
             and as leader. His sage advice I have relied upon many 
             times in those capacities.
               You have to be very careful going around a room, but 
             behind me, people like Pete Domenici, who became a mentor 
             to me on that very first day in 1995; and people like John 
             Warner, whom we saw in action just a few minutes ago on 
             the floor and, yes, on the Gates nomination; and former 
             Senators, people like Don Nickles who so wisely set the 
             stage for the Republican tax cuts of the last several 
             years; my colleague and confidant, Mitch McConnell, whose 
             wisdom and service has been indispensable to leading the 
             Republican majority, who ascends in party leadership, who 
             will be sitting at this desk in a few weeks, a temperament 
             and skill with which no one is better prepared; my 
             Tennessee colleagues, Fred Thompson and now Lamar 
             Alexander, two great statesmen with whom I have had the 
             honor to work side by side as we have addressed the needs 
             of our constituents.
               I thank the two Democratic leaders, Tom Daschle and now 
             Harry Reid. As Harry and I have said publicly many times, 
             everybody sees the public contrast between one leader and 
             the other, between Harry and me. But what people don't see 
             are the daily conversations, the private conversations off 
             the floor where views are mutually respected, where 
             burdens are shared, and where family is discussed. Karyn 
             and I leave this body with tremendous respect for Harry 
             and for Landra, for their contributions to this country.
               To all my colleagues who have reached across the aisle 
             and across differences when you could, thank you.
               Twelve years ago, it was people in Tennessee who took a 
             big chance, who took a great chance. They took a chance on 
             a doctor who was little known, who had never served in 
             public office, obviously had never run for public office. 
             They began by opening their minds and then opening their 
             homes and then opening their lives and then opening their 
             hearts. And I am eternally grateful to them for giving me 
             that trust and taking that chance.
               On this floor many times I have mentioned my parents and 
             I mentioned my dad. Dad used to say: ``It is a powerful 
             thing to know where you are going in life, but it is 
             equally powerful to know where you have come from.''
               To the good people of Tennessee, I thank you for never 
             letting me forget where I have come from. You never let me 
             forget those promises made on the trail over a decade ago, 
             the promises that have been the heart of everything that 
             we have done. Yours are the voices that have called out to 
             me from Mountain City in East Tennessee to Memphis in the 
             west, the people out there who are working hard every day 
             to raise a family, to grow a business, to run a farm, to 
             get ahead. As long as I live, I will never forget those 
             voices. Those voices are clear, those voices of common 
             sense that called out and counseled me time and time 
             again.
               Two people who won't hear me thank them today are two 
             who were at my swearing in but who have since passed on: 
             my parents Dorothy and Tommy Frist. They have left a 
             fascinating legacy that the five children--I am the last 
             of those five--have been the beneficiaries of, a legacy of 
             honesty, of civility, of fairness, of hard work, and of 
             service. And we all--at least I try to--struggle to 
             capture what they did in passing that legacy on to our 
             children.
               My own brothers and sisters, Mary, Bobby, Dottie, and 
             Tommy, all in their own way, with their children and 
             grandchildren, have been successful in living lives of 
             service to others. Many friends are here today, including 
             Jean Ann and Barry Banker and Denise and Steve Smith. It 
             is that friendship, that team, that gives people, I 
             believe, the strength and foundation to carry out that 
             mission of serving this great country.
               In the past few weeks, I have spent a lot of time 
             reflecting about the future of this institution. As I 
             prepared to leave here and return to my home, many people 
             have asked, don't you ever regret the promise that you 
             made to serve just for 12 years, two terms? Did you regret 
             it when you became chair of the RNC or majority leader? If 
             you knew then what you know today, would you have made 
             that promise 12 years ago? My answer is yes, because I 
             believe today, as I believed then, in the ideal. It is, I 
             guess, that ideal of a citizen legislator. It might seem 
             bittersweet today, but it is right.
               I hope that in some way, as I leave here, that my 
             service--people may say it was effective or ineffective, 
             and that is all very important--is an example of someone 
             who had never, ever run for public office, never served 
             before, and who had spent his lifetime--in fact, twice as 
             much time as I spent in the Senate--pursuing another 
             profession, coming here like so many people today and 
             starting at 100th in seniority over in the basement of the 
             Dirksen and rising to majority leader over that 12-year 
             period; an example of a committed doctor who is able to 
             find purpose and fulfillment in serving others, as all of 
             us do as Senators, through elected office. I hope that 
             will inspire others to seek office and to do public 
             service. It is my hope that those who come to serve after 
             me as a true citizen legislator will bring perspective and 
             new ideas in a small way, a serendipitous way, or maybe a 
             large way, and make this country a little better and 
             contribute to this institution.
               You have heard me talk about, and champion at times, 
             term limits. Most people don't like them. They were 
             popular for a period of time. I am a great believer in 
             self-imposed term limits. Every morning you get up, you 
             say I have 3 more years, 2 more years, or 1 year, or a 
             half year, or 10 days, and you know that as every day goes 
             by. If you don't have an understanding that there can be 
             an end, you tend to forget that. Self-imposed term limits 
             are the extreme exception here today, not the practice of 
             this city. I think as a consequence we are moving toward a 
             body that has too much of a 2-year vision, governing for 
             that next election, rather than a body with a 20-year 
             vision governing for the future.
               As we consider the future of the institution, I urge 
             that we ask ourselves what it is our forefathers 
             envisioned. Is today's reality what they foresaw? I urge 
             that we consider our work in this Chamber. What is it all 
             about? Is it about keeping the majority? Is it about red 
             States versus blue States? Is it about lobbing attacks 
             across the aisle or is it about war rooms whose purpose is 
             not to contrast ideas but to destroy or is it more? When 
             the Constitutional Convention met in 1787, delegates 
             considered how best to structure this legislative branch 
             of new Government. They were determined not to repeat the 
             mistakes made in the Articles of Confederation, which had 
             a single, unicameral legislature. Speaking to the 
             convention, Virginia's James Madison set forth the reasons 
             to have a Senate. His words:

               In order to judge the form to be given to this 
             institution, it will be proper to take a view of the ends 
             to be served by it.

               These were, first, to protect the people against their 
             rulers and, second, to protect the people against 
             transient impressions into which they themselves might be 
             led.
               I think we need to remember this vision of the Senate 
             that the Framers established--that the Senate is to 
             protect people from their rulers and as a check on the 
             House and on the passions of the electorate. Let us not 
             allow these passions of the electorate to be reflected as 
             destructive partisanship on this floor.
               Taking the oath of office, which many of our good 
             colleagues will be doing shortly, commits each Senator to 
             respect and revere the Framers' dream. To my successor, 
             Bob Corker, and to all the Senators who will follow me in 
             service to this great Nation, I urge you to be bold, make 
             the most of your time here, and look at problems with 
             fresh eyes and the steely determination to give the 
             American people a reason to believe in you and to hope for 
             a better tomorrow.
               To serve in this grand institution has been a labor of 
             love. To lead here is a challenging responsibility that is 
             set out before me and each of us. It has been a profound 
             honor to serve.
               I will close with just one story. It happens in southern 
             Sudan. As many of you have heard me say, because it is 
             such an important part of my life, I go to Sudan just 
             about every year--1,000 miles south of Khartoum and 500 
             miles west of the Nile River. I started going there in the 
             mid to late 1990s. I had been there operating back in the 
             bush, and I was ready to come home. Actually, it was in 
             January. The State of the Union was a few days off. We 
             finished operating in a hut. I operated by flashlight late 
             at night. Somebody in a little hut said, ``I want to see 
             the American doctor.'' Well, I didn't want to go. I wanted 
             to get back home. I wanted to get on the plane and come 
             back home, but I went to see him. I was tired. I walked 
             over and pulled the curtain aside--the rug that was used 
             as a curtain--and in the back there was somebody smiling. 
             You could see the bandages on his hands and legs, and I 
             went over; and through a translator I said, ``I am the 
             American doctor.'' He said, ``Thank you to the American 
             doctor.'' As a physician, I am accustomed to that because 
             when you operate on somebody, they say thank you. So I 
             said, ``you're welcome,'' and I got ready to leave. He was 
             frustrated and he said, ``Come back.'' He said. ``Thank 
             you for being the American doctor.'' I still didn't quite 
             get it. He picked up his arm and said, ``I lost my arm 
             fighting in this civil war. I lost my leg 8 days ago. It 
             was about 2 years ago that I lost my wife and my two 
             children. Thank you for being the American doctor.''
               And then I started to get it. He was saying thank you 
             for being the American doctor. Then he said, basically, 
             that: It is you who are a representative of America, and 
             for democracy and liberty and freedom I sacrificed my wife 
             and my children and my arm and my body. Thank you for what 
             you represent.
               Then all of a sudden, it began to hit me. To me, that 
             image cuts through just about everything that we do. It is 
             about preserving as best we can the great hope that we 
             represent here in America, which is embodied in this 
             institution, the freedom, the responsibility, the 
             opportunity, the compassion, and the basic decency that is 
             at the heart of who we are as Americans. Beyond Democrat 
             or Republican--which came out of the campaign--now is the 
             time to again remind ourselves and state again and again 
             that beyond being Democrats and Republicans, we are 
             Americans. Together, we are one people. It is our 
             responsibility to uphold the dream and protect that hope 
             for every American and indeed the people around the world 
             who seek that freedom.
               I opened by saying that our time here is temporary; we 
             are just passing through. Now is the time to close. Your 
             patience has been generous. As I have spent a lifetime 
             learning, to everything there is a season. We say that and 
             hear it and tend to repeat it when there are changes. But 
             to everything there is a season, and my season here draws 
             to a close. Tomorrow is the time for birth and rebirth. 
             Tomorrow is a day and a time for new rhythms.
               My dad did a great thing that I shared with some of you. 
             Each of us should do this for our children or for the 
             people we care about. He knew he was going to die in the 
             next couple of years. We asked him to write down his 
             thoughts, advice, and counsel for the next generation--not 
             just his kids and theirs, but for the great-great-
             grandkids that he would never see, a simple 4 to 5 pages. 
             He ended that letter to his great-grandchildren with the 
             following words:

               The world is always changing, and that's a good thing. 
             It's how you carry yourself in the world that doesn't 
             change--morality, integrity, warmth, and kindness are the 
             same things in 1910, when I was born, or in 2010, or 
             later, when you will be reading this. And that's a good 
             thing, too. Love, Granddaddy.

               So under the dome, it is time for fresh faces and fresh 
             resolve. Change is good. Change is constructive. The 
             Senate changes, the people who serve here change; but what 
             doesn't change is that every one of us who serves believes 
             deeply in the genius of the American democracy.
               It is with the deepest appreciation that Karyn and I 
             thank you all for 12 wonderful years. There are no words 
             to describe the honor it has been.
               I yield the floor.
               (Applause, Senators rising.)

                                          a

               Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I will be very brief. I want 
             to speak on another matter. I know we want to get to the 
             hour of pre-vote time here shortly.
               Hopefully, tomorrow will officially end the 109th 
             Congress. At the end of the day tomorrow, if we do our 
             work today successfully, and tonight, the Senate will be 
             able to adjourn. That will also mark, once we adjourn, 
             this official change in leadership and change in the 
             Senate agenda. I know many of my colleagues and many of my 
             conservative allies view this change with a bit of 
             trepidation, but change is good, change is constructive. 
             It can be difficult, it can be painful, and it can be 
             messy, but change forces us all to reexamine who we are, 
             where we are, and where we want to go; what we know, what 
             we believe.
               I believe it is our responsibility to protect 
             traditional, commonsense American values. I believe when 
             we give the American people the freedom to invest their 
             money as they choose, the economy is going to flourish. It 
             is going to have more freedom to grow. At the end of the 
             day, I believe good leaders don't talk about principles--
             but good leaders lead on principle. They act, and they act 
             with solutions, even if they don't know that the outcome 
             is going to be 100-percent successful every time a bill is 
             taken to the floor.
               That is one of the things at least I tried to do. That 
             is not to say let's only take to the floor what will 
             necessarily pass but what is the right thing to do, on 
             principle; what is the right thing for us to be 
             considering.
               During my tenure in public office, it is what I tried to 
             do, to lead on principle and act with solutions. It does 
             come from that surgical approach of fixing things, of 
             operating, of action.
               For example, for 10 years we grappled with the issue of 
             Internet gambling. We watched the industry mushroom from a 
             $30 million industry in 1996 to a $12 billion industry 
             today. We watched an addiction undermine families, dash 
             dreams, and fray the fabric of a moral society.
               So we acted with a solution by passing the Internet 
             Gambling Prohibition and Enforcement Act to provide new 
             enforcement tools to prosecute illegal Internet gambling.
               Let me give you a few more recent examples of how we 
             have led on principle, and acted with solutions.
               We passed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act 
             which creates a national sex offender registry, 
             strengthens measures to prevent child pornography, and 
             reinforces laws against child porn.
               We passed the Trafficking Victims Protection 
             Reauthorization Act, which renewed the first Federal law 
             to strengthen prosecution efforts against human 
             traffickers.
               We passed legislation securing the right to prayer in 
             U.S. military academies.
               We passed legislation protecting the Mount Soledad 
             Memorial Cross.
               We passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, which 
             allows for the 10-fold increase of FCC fines for indecency 
             violations.
               We passed Cord blood legislation that harnesses the 
             power of stem cells in cord blood to develop new cures for 
             life-threatening diseases.
               We passed the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act, which 
             prohibits the gestation of fetal tissue in order to use it 
             for research.
               We passed the Stem Cell Research Alternatives bill, 
             which provides Federal funding for a variety of stem cell 
             research that does not involve destroying human embryos.
               And perhaps most notably, we confirmed John Roberts 
             Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Samuel Alito as an 
             Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
               We confirmed 18 circuit court nominees and 87 district 
             court judges, including 6 previously obstructed nominees. 
             America needs judges who are fair, independent, unbiased, 
             and committed to equal justice under the law and we made 
             sure that's what America got.
               Over the past 12 years, what Republicans have done has 
             changed our economy, our country, and our way of life for 
             the better.
               Our record of success, combined with the lessons of 
             November's election, ensures that our party will 
             rededicate itself to serving the interests of America, 
             both here at home and around the world.
               That vision--optimistic, forward-looking, hopeful--will 
             be grounded in the fundamentals of commonsense 
             conservative values best found on Main Street and in 
             families with whom we have the privilege of interacting 
             all across the country.

                                          a

                              Friday, December 8, 2006

               Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as we serve in a class of 
             Senators, we have several roles. We wear several hats. 
             Probably the most important one is to represent the people 
             who elected us, and that is our constituents back home in 
             our home States. That has been for me a real honor over 
             the last 12 years, to serve the people of Tennessee.
               In addition to that, of course, we serve America as 100 
             individuals representing this entire country. That is a 
             real privilege. If you are elected to leadership, you have 
             other responsibilities.
               Twelve years ago, the people of Tennessee entrusted me 
             with the responsibility to serve their interests in the 
             Senate. I have done my best each and every day to meet the 
             Volunteer State's needs and to serve the people of my home 
             State with dignity and honor. What an honor it has been to 
             follow in the footsteps of former Senators Howard Baker 
             and Bill Brock. What a tremendous privilege it has been 
             representing the interests of the people of Tennessee.
               And serving alongside true statesmen such as Fred 
             Thompson and Lamar Alexander--men who have dedicated so 
             much of their lives to the people of Tennessee--has been a 
             remarkably rewarding experience.
               When I first stood for election in 1994, I pledged to 
             all Tennesseans that I would serve two terms in the Senate 
             and then return home to live under the laws I had helped 
             enact.
               I made that commitment because I believe strongly in the 
             concept of the citizen legislator--spending years 
             developing real world experience outside the political 
             arena as I did in medicine and then bringing that 
             expertise to the legislative process for a period of time, 
             only to make way for the next citizen with his or her 
             fresh perspectives and new ideas.
               As the time comes to resume my private life in the Music 
             City, I have spent countless hours reflecting on the 
             milestones in my service to Tennessee from which I derive 
             particular pride.
               I think about accomplishments such as establishing a 
             prescription drug benefit that provides quality, 
             affordable coverage for more than 700,000 beneficiaries in 
             Tennessee.
               I think about the State sales tax deduction, which I 
             hope we will soon extend for 2 more years. Enacting that 
             provision corrected a 15-year inequity in the Tax Code by 
             allowing Tennesseans to deduct their State sales tax 
             expenses from Federal income tax returns--and it resulted 
             in additional savings of nearly $500 in taxes for more 
             than 530,000 families across the State.
               I recall the hours spent combating methamphetamine, a 
             drug epidemic that has plagued Tennessee and dozens of 
             other States.
               I helped develop minimum Federal standards restricting 
             access to the ingredients that produce methamphetamine, 
             the drug our Nation's local law enforcement officials have 
             ranked as our greatest problem.
               I also enjoyed working with other members of the 
             Tennessee delegation to establish a statewide 
             methamphetamine task force and develop a statewide crime 
             tracking system--all in an effort to eradicate this 
             devastating drug from our communities.
               During my time as majority leader, we also enacted a 
             tobacco buyout that ended an outdated quota system that 
             hurt Tennessee's farmers by providing fair compensation 
             that will bring a total of $767 million to tobacco 
             communities in the State over the next decade.
               And we passed my National Park Fee Equity Act, a law 
             that provides the Great Smoky Mountain National Park with 
             an additional $200,000 to $300,000 each year by allowing 
             the park to keep 100 percent of the user fees it collects.
               I was also pleased earlier this year when the Senate 
             confirmed the final member of a TVA board modernized by 
             legislation I nursed through the legislative process over 
             a 9-year period--legislation that resulted in the first 
             African-American board member, the first West Tennessee 
             board member, and the first chief executive officer in TVA 
             history.
               In addition, we passed legislation I authored allowing 
             TVA to refinance its debt at lower rates, thus saving 
             roughly $100 million per year.
               These reforms will help increase accountability and 
             oversight at TVA, which benefits both the utility and its 
             ratepayers.
               I have also worked extensively with my colleagues on the 
             HELP Committee to extended health care and support 
             services to Nashville, Memphis, and other emerging 
             metropolitan communities disproportionately affected by 
             HIV/AIDS through reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE 
             Act.
               The CARE Act provides funding for low-income, uninsured 
             and underinsured individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, but 
             none of Tennessee's cities met the legislation's original 
             criteria to receive support--a fact I knew we had to 
             correct and one which we rightly remedied.
               I have dedicated significant energy to strengthening 
             Tennessee's research infrastructure, and bringing both the 
             Spallation Neutron Source Project and the National 
             Leadership Computational Facility to Oak Ridge 
             demonstrates our State's leadership in advanced science 
             and technology.
               I was also pleased to play a central role in the 
             development of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation and the 
             revitalization of the Central Medical District in Memphis 
             by securing $8.1 million for these efforts.
               And to ensure that we encourage the bright young men and 
             women of our State to pursue an education in these fields 
             that are vital to America's competitiveness in the 21st 
             century's global economy, I also created the SMART Grant 
             program--a $3.75 billion initiative that provides 
             financial assistance to students seeking degrees in math, 
             science, engineering, technology, and foreign languages 
             critical to national security.
               I have tried to encourage economic growth in other ways, 
             however, working closely with communities throughout 
             Tennessee to provide the Federal assistance that can often 
             enable local governments to pursue opportunities that will 
             benefit their citizens for generations.
               I secured $100 million to construct sections of 
             Interstate 69 in Tennessee from Dyersburg to Memphis--a 
             highway that will one day serve as an economic engine for 
             much of West Tennessee.
               When community leaders in the Chattanooga area asked for 
             assistance with the crumbling Chickamauga Lock and Dam, a 
             structure providing access to hundreds of miles of 
             waterway used for economic economy in East Tennessee, I 
             helped ensure the authorization of a new 110 ft.-by-600 
             ft. replacement lock.
               Construction funding for the replacement structure has 
             been successfully secured in each year since 2003, and 
             after a long period of hard work and difficult discussion, 
             the White House agreed to include the project in its most 
             recent budget request.
               Several years ago, violent tornados ravaged Jackson, and 
             local leaders sought my assistance in rebuilding badly 
             damaged neighborhoods and city infrastructure.
               I was honored to secure almost $11 million from the 
             Department of Housing and Urban Development to rebuild 
             public housing lost as a result of the devastating storms 
             and an additional $2.1 million for the city's police 
             department to improve communications during such 
             emergencies.
               Nashville long sought a light rail system that could 
             help alleviate the burden placed on its roadways and 
             improve the flow of consumers into downtown--the heart of 
             its economic marketplace.
               So I went to work and eventually secured $24.6 million 
             in funding necessary to start and complete the Music City 
             Star East Corridor Commuter Rail Project, which allowed 
             Tennessee's first commuter rail passenger service to begin 
             between the Riverfront Station in downtown Nashvil1e and 
             the city of Lebanon in Wilson County just 3 months ago.
               And when the city of Memphis began redeveloping its 
             riverfront, I lent my support to the cause and secured 
             nearly $8.7 million for the Cobblestone Landing and Beale 
             Street Landing projects.
               To help advance this work, I facilitated an agreement 
             that will allow the University of Memphis Cecil Humphreys 
             School of Law to relocate to the Postal Service Front 
             Street Station in downtown Memphis--a move that will act 
             as a cornerstone of riverfront redevelopment and reshape 
             the law school's future.
               I have also tried at every turn to provide steadfast 
             support for Tennessee's brave men and women in uniform as 
             a sign of my gratitude and respect for their extraordinary 
             efforts on behalf of our Nation.
               Because they deserve only the best facilities, I secured 
             $32 million to construct a new headquarters facility for 
             the Tennessee Army National Guard in Nashville and an 
             additional $31 million to consolidate personnel previously 
             located in 22 different buildings into a single, state-of-
             the-art command headquarters for the 101st Airborne and 
             other units at Fort Campbell.
               Because they and their families deserve basic economic 
             fairness, I helped secure passage of the Fort Campbell Tax 
             Fairness Act, which now ensures Volunteer State residents 
             working at Fort Campbell are spared from a State income 
             tax like all other Tennesseans.
               I could spend many hours on the Senate floor recalling 
             the countless ways in which I have worked to meet 
             Tennessee's needs during my 12 years as a Member of this 
             body.
               But instead, I would rather thank the people of 
             Tennessee for the opportunity.
               I will forever treasure the experience--and the many 
             individuals I have had the privilege of befriending across 
             our great State along the way.
               Electing me to serve two terms in the Senate is the 
             greatest honor the citizens of Tennessee could have ever 
             given me.
               No words could ever express my deep appreciation.
               I look forward to returning home and continuing my 
             efforts to repay their generosity in the years to come.

                                          a

               Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today we were able to finish 
             up our work in a very successful way before we leave for 
             the year. We passed a continuing funding resolution, the 
             critical tax extenders package, and a number of important 
             legislative items, as well as a list of executive 
             nominations. We have had a long week--a productive week--
             and I do want to thank all my colleagues for their 
             patience and their dedicated efforts.
               As we close, I also want to thank all of the staff at 
             the desk and those in the offices above this Chamber and 
             below this Chamber who will be here long after we adjourn, 
             preparing and finalizing all of the business we have just 
             completed.
               I would be remiss if I did not recognize the pages who 
             are with us tonight, and those who are not with us 
             tonight, but those who have all left their home States to 
             come to Washington for the semester to work in this 
             Chamber.
               We thank each and every one of you for your tremendous 
             work. It is 4:34 a.m. now, and we have finished a long 
             day, and people always laugh when I say being Senate 
             majority leader is like doing heart transplants. But times 
             like this make it all very clear that they are very 
             similar because at about 4:34 a.m. in the morning, we 
             would be putting those last few stitches in the 
             transplanted heart. And as you do that, you begin to feel 
             that anticipation of that heart, all of a sudden starting 
             to beat again and coming alive, which gives new life and 
             rebirth to an individual who would otherwise die.
               I say that because that is what I would be doing if I 
             were not here, as I was doing 12, 13 years ago. I may well 
             be doing it next year. But that sort of change is good. 
             And change can be, as I said yesterday, constructive. It 
             can be rebirth. And it can give real hope.
               I gave my formal remarks on leaving the Senate 
             yesterday, but the words I speak over the next 2 minutes 
             are the very last I will ever give in this Chamber. In 2 
             minutes, maybe less, that door closes, and the chapter 
             ends.
               After I gave my farewell address yesterday, I had dinner 
             last night with Karyn and with my three boys, Jonathan, 
             Bryan, and Harrison, who had all come back to hear my 
             farewell address yesterday. They had to fly in from New 
             York, take a train from New Jersey, and come up from 
             Tennessee. And because we are empty nesters, they are all 
             out of the house now. It is getting increasingly rare that 
             we are all together.
               But one of the things we did last night is we sat around 
             a table--it happened to be at a restaurant--and thought a 
             little bit about past experiences. And you can imagine how 
             their lives have changed over 12 years. We knew this night 
             would come, this final minute or so would come, for a long 
             time. I have known for 12 years, and that is the normal 
             life cycle that one can expect if you are a citizen 
             legislator, which I have said again and again that is what 
             I tried to be in self-limiting my period here in the 
             Senate.
               But over that period, we have seen these three young 
             boys--all very young--grow into three robust young men. I 
             have seen a wife grow more beautiful by the day. I have 
             seen a relationship of family, and a relationship between 
             a husband and a wife, grow stronger over these 12 years 
             through this opportunity the people of Tennessee have 
             given me and Karyn and my three boys to serve them.
               I have seen faith strengthened and challenged by the 
             responsibility the people of Tennessee give us as elected 
             officials when they select us to represent their hopes and 
             their dreams.
               I have also seen in this body, in watching my colleagues 
             and being with my colleagues, a group of men and a group 
             of women who are very good people, with good intentions, 
             who are unselfish, who are people of faith, people of 
             vision, people with real dreams, not perfect, as we all 
             know--and we all have our foibles, and we all have our 
             weaknesses--but people who are good.
               My dad always used to say: ``Good people beget good 
             people.'' And I think that as we go through periods of 
             change here, we can have that tradition of good people in 
             this body begetting good people to continue.
               I will close, again quoting from Dad's letter I 
             mentioned yesterday that he wrote to future generations 
             prior to his death.
               I mentioned yesterday that that is a great thing for all 
             of us to do later in life. What advice would you give 
             people you will never see a generation or two generations 
             later? I will close with his words from that same letter. 
             This was after a list of things he wrote, giving his 
             counsel and advice--very simple things, by the way, 
             commonsense things. He said:

               Finally, I believe it is so terribly important in life 
             to stay humble. Use your talents wisely and use other 
             people's talents to help other people.

               ``Help other people.''


                                           

                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                  WILLIAM H. FRIST
                              Proceedings in the Senate
                                            Tuesday, September 26, 2006
               Mr. ENZI. ... I would like to recognize two departing 
             members of the [HELP] committee [Health, Education, Labor, 
             and Pensions]: Majority Leader Frist and Senator Jeffords. 
             We are fortunate they chose to serve, and we are grateful 
             for their contributions. Senator Jeffords is a past 
             chairman of the committee, and, of course, Majority Leader 
             Frist has been the doctor on the committee and provided a 
             perspective no one else could. I am proud of the work we 
             have done here on the committee these past 2 years. By 
             working together, we have established a track record of 
             success. ...
                                             Friday, September 29, 2006
               Mr. ENZI. Mr President, soon the last remaining items of 
             business on the legislative calendar for the 109th 
             Congress will be taken up and the current session of 
             Congress will end. When it does, several of our colleagues 
             will be returning home and leaving public service. We will 
             miss them and we will especially miss the good ideas and 
             creative spirit they brought with them to add to our work 
             here in the Senate.
               One of our colleagues we will all miss is Bill Frist, 
             our good friend from Tennessee. In his two terms of 
             service he has compiled quite a remarkable record of 
             accomplishments as one of Tennessee's Senators and as 
             majority leader here in the Senate.
               Bill's interest in serving in the Senate began while he 
             was attending Princeton as an undergraduate. He was an 
             intern in the House when Representative Evins of his home 
             State encouraged him to run. But, before you do, he said, 
             do something else for 20 years or so. Then you will be 
             ready to run for office.
               He knew that was good advice so he began a career that 
             interested him and challenged him as much as politics did. 
             Bill Frist became a surgeon and established a reputation 
             as one of the best transplant surgeons in the Nation.
               We were fortunate that he chose that path in life, 
             because his in-depth knowledge of the practice of medicine 
             and our Nation's health care system has been an invaluable 
             addition to the debates we have had on those issues. His 
             familiarity with health care from the perspective of the 
             physician and his concern about rising costs as a Member 
             of the Senate helped to guide our efforts as we took up 
             these and other matters in committee and on the Senate 
             floor.
               In the years he has served in the Senate, he has put his 
             medical skills to practical use several times. When a gun 
             battle had taken the lives of two Capitol Police officers, 
             he went to the scene to help. Although he was unable to 
             save the life of either officer, he was ultimately 
             successful in saving the life of their assailant. On 
             another occasion, we were fortunate to have him with us 
             when Strom Thurmond collapsed on the Senate floor and 
             needed assistance. Finally, he was able to revive and save 
             the life of one of his own constituents who had been the 
             victim of a heart attack.
               Many of our constituents remember Bill Frist from the 
             days in 2001 when the Senate was attacked with anthrax. 
             Once again, Bill Frist was there to provide support and 
             encouragement, and in that calm, reassuring manner of his, 
             let the Nation know that we were doing everything we could 
             to minimize the present danger and return the Senate to 
             our normal pattern of work as soon as possible. The 
             anthrax attack was a challenge that had never been faced 
             before in the Congress, and Bill Frist showed his 
             credentials as a leader during that difficult time for us 
             all.
               During his service in the Senate, Bill has taken an 
             active role in the consideration of a great many thorny 
             and complicated issues that regularly come before the 
             Senate. We were fortunate to have a doctor as our leader 
             because, on many occasions, it was only Bill's bedside 
             manner that helped him to forge agreements and develop 
             bipartisan agreements on the Senate floor.
               Looking back, the record will show that one of Bill's 
             greatest successes was the Medicare drug benefit. This new 
             addition to the Medicare Program is helping seniors to pay 
             for their prescription drugs and it is having a great 
             impact on the quality of the health care we provide our 
             Nation's seniors. Although it is still going through its 
             initial stages as it is introduced to the public, and we 
             are working to ensure people understand the benefits it 
             provides them, there is no doubt that we wouldn't have had 
             a prescription drug benefit program enacted into law at 
             all--if not for the role Bill Frist played in the effort. 
             Working with program opponents and organizations in the 
             public sector that opposed the new program, Bill was able 
             to resolve many of the doubts and uncertainties that 
             surrounded it and ultimately get it enacted by the 
             Congress and signed into law.
               In addition, and in what was perhaps his biggest 
             achievement, Bill led a successful effort to pass an 
             initiative to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean. He 
             had a heartfelt interest in the legislation and firsthand 
             knowledge of the problem it was designed to address 
             because he had done volunteer medical work for many years 
             in Africa. His witness of the impact of the disease on the 
             population of that country inspired him to do everything 
             he could to address and try to put an end to the suffering 
             it caused. Bill can be very proud of the great result he 
             achieved in that effort. That initiative is his legacy and 
             it will save more lives over the years than we will ever 
             be able to count.
               The record is clear. During Bill Frist's service in the 
             Senate, especially his years as majority leader, the 
             Senate and the Nation have faced challenges and addressed 
             issues we had never had to deal with before. The war on 
             terror, the detention of terrorists, the quality and 
             definition of life, the future of our Nation's school 
             system, partial birth abortion, stem cell research, and so 
             many more controversial issues have found their way onto 
             the Senate floor for our consideration.
               Through it all, Bill Frist's knowledge, deep 
             understanding of the issues involved, and determination to 
             develop a consensus on them, so typical of his leadership 
             style, enabled the Senate to be a proactive and fully 
             involved deliberative body. The results he achieved during 
             his years of service in the Senate will be his legacy and 
             help provide the foundation for the work we will do 
             together during the 110th session of Congress.
               Now Bill and his wife Karyn will have the time they have 
             always wanted to spend with their children as Bill 
             considers his next opportunity for public service. Bill 
             Frist has been a major part of our day-to-day routine in 
             the Senate for 12 years and we will miss his presence, his 
             influence on our legislative routine, and his expertise on 
             the issues we have considered on 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. ...
               I conclude my recognition of our colleagues who will be 
             leaving us at the end of this Congress by recognizing our 
             leader, Senator Bill Frist, from Tennessee.
               Senator Frist has been referred to, as we all are, in 
             many ways and in many terms. ``Renaissance man'' has been 
             one of those terms that have described Bill Frist. This is 
             a unique individual. This is a man whose life has much 
             been about serving others.
               For his leadership in the Senate during a very difficult 
             time, this body owes him a great deal of thanks and 
             gratitude. He will go on to continue to do significant 
             things with his ability, his talent, his life, and we wish 
             him well. We will miss him. We will miss his ability to, 
             in an always steady way, help reach a consensus.
               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. ...
               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, especially one of them, my 
             colleague, Senator Bill Frist, from Tennessee.
               I can still remember when Bill Frist came to my office 
             in Nashville in 1994 and said he wanted to run for the 
             Senate. I didn't know what to think. Bill Frist lived in 
             the neighborhood where I lived in Nashville, but I didn't 
             know him very well. Our ages are a little bit different 
             and he had been away while I was Governor of Tennessee, 
             practicing medicine and honing his skills.
               What I did know about him was that he was extraordinary. 
             He was one of the pioneers in our country of heart and 
             lung transplants. He performed the first one in Tennessee, 
             the first one in the Southeast. When he decided to run for 
             the Senate, only a handful of physicians in the world had 
             made as many heart transplants as Dr. Bill Frist.
               He had almost no chance of being elected to the Senate 
             in 1994. However, he was elected. He had almost no chance, 
             after having been elected, to help the Republicans gain 
             the majority in 2002, but he did that. No one expected him 
             to be the majority leader of the Senate, but he has been 
             and he has done it very well.
               As we look at the record of the accomplishments over the 
             last 4 years, Senator Frist can take credit for his 
             leadership in creating an environment where we have had 
             tax cuts that have benefited Americans, where we have 
             confirmed judges who will interpret the law rather than 
             make it up as they go along. His hand was in the Medicare 
             prescription drug benefit which benefits millions of 
             seniors. We would not have had the $15 billion for HIV/
             AIDS in Africa had it not been for Bill Frist.
               In Tennessee, we have had a sales tax deduction against 
             our Federal income tax and a new governing board for the 
             Tennessee Valley Authority, neither of which would have 
             been accomplished were it not for Bill Frist. When Lyndon 
             Johnson was majority leader, he often said, having Lyndon 
             Johnson as majority leader is good for the country and 
             hasn't hurt Texas one bit. I would say, having Bill Frist 
             as majority leader has been good for the country and it 
             hasn't hurt Tennessee one bit.
               He has been the perfect colleague. His ego has been 
             completely under control in a body where that is rare and 
             difficult. And one thing is certain: Anyone who knows Bill 
             Frist won't underestimate him again. History has proven 
             that is a dangerous thing to do. I don't know very many 
             people who have ever been in public life who have as many 
             interesting and important and viable options open to him 
             as he does as he looks forward to the next step in his 
             contributions to public service.
               One of the joys of being a Senator is simply the 
             privilege of serving with other Senators. Each one of the 
             Senators has something remarkable and special. For 
             example, Senator Frist was president of the skydiving club 
             at Princeton when he was there. He spends vacations in 
             Sudan, doing surgery on poor people. He once got up at 4 
             in the morning and went to the National Zoo to operate on 
             the heart of a gorilla--which I guess is a pretty good way 
             of preparing for coming to the Senate floor and dealing 
             with what he has to deal with here. He is not the only one 
             who is a very special Senator. ...
               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. ... Senator Bill Frist is our leader in the 
             U.S. Senate. We have had some battles, of course, as you 
             would. But we have also shown respect to one another, and 
             I respect the job that he has done and wish him the very 
             best. I might say of Senator Bill Frist that his 
             commitment to public service doesn't end with the Senate. 
             He has taken his amazing skills as a heart surgeon to some 
             of the poorest places on Earth, spending spare time which 
             he could have had with his family or relaxing somewhere, 
             instead in some of the most outlying sections of the world 
             helping the less fortunate. That speaks volumes about the 
             heart of Bill Frist.
               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. ...
               A number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
             will be departing in January, as well. ...
               Finally, I wish to thank the majority leader, Senator 
             Frist, for his service to this body and this Nation. He is 
             a man of remarkable skill and dedication, and he will now 
             return to serving his constituents in the way he knew 
             first--as a healer. I am sure each of his future patients 
             is already grateful for his skill and wisdom returning to 
             touch their lives directly.
               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. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute 
             to Senator Bill Frist, who has served Tennessee in the 
             U.S. Senate for the last 12 years, the last few in the 
             esteemed and challenging position of Senate majority 
             leader.
               Senator Frist was my partner on the Senate Foreign 
             Relations Committee's Subcommittee on African Affairs for 
             several years in which we both served as chairman or 
             ranking member. I have appreciated his knowledge and 
             passion for issues affecting Africa and the deep 
             commitment he brings to the global fight against HIV/AIDS. 
             I also have great respect for his commitment to bringing 
             his medical expertise to remote areas in Africa. There is 
             no doubt that he has personally made a significant 
             contribution to helping improve the lives of people around 
             the world living with HIV/AIDS.
               I have also had the honor of sharing with Senator Frist 
             the important work of the Center for Strategic and 
             International Studies, CSIS, Task Force on HIV/AIDS. 
             Together with many distinguished experts, we have been 
             able to contribute to the fight against the HIV/AIDS 
             pandemic. We set course on a bold agenda to help nearly 40 
             million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world today. 
             Senator Frist understands the impact of this disease that 
             continues to ravage individuals, families, communities, 
             and entire economies. While we have much work left ahead, 
             Senator Frist has been pivotal in the efforts we have made 
             thus far in the fight against this devastating disease.
               Here in the Senate, we will miss Senator Frist's 
             dedication to Africa and his hard work to find a cure for 
             HIV/AIDS. I thank him for his service and wish him all the 
             best in his future endeavors. ...
                                             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.
               First, I would like to say a few words about our 
             distinguished majority leader, Senator Bill Frist. You 
             know, in this post-September 11, 2001, world, we think of 
             national security as the most important issue of the day. 
             Certainly, Bill has worked hard in that area over the 
             years--not only as majority leader but as a hard-working 
             member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But, 
             right behind national security comes the issue of the 
             health of our citizens, and Bill Frist has been at the 
             forefront of every major piece of health care legislation 
             during his 12 years in the Senate.
               Whether it has been ensuring that America's seniors have 
             access to a sorely needed Medicare prescription drug 
             benefit or whether it has been his efforts to encourage 
             the use of new technology in medicine so that the 
             knowledge of one doctor in one part of the world could 
             help a doctor and a patient in another part of the world, 
             Bill Frist has improved the health care system for all 
             Americans.
               The Senate will no doubt miss Bill Frist's leadership, 
             but I have no doubt that his public service will continue, 
             particularly his heartfelt health care work in 
             impoverished areas of the world. I wish him, and his 
             magnificent wife Karyn all of the best in their future. 
             ...
               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. REID. Mr. President [Mr. Cheney], parting really is 
             sweet sorrow. Mr. President, thank you very much for being 
             here today honoring not only Senator Frist, our majority 
             leader, but the entire Senate.
               On the surface, some may ask how the Senate and the 
             operating room are the same. What do they have in common? 
             Senator Frist has shown us that helping people is what he 
             did as a doctor and what he has done as a Senator. Serving 
             others is a trait, as we have observed by knowing this 
             good man, that he learned from his family. His father was 
             also a doctor. As a young man he was obviously 
             academically very talented. He wanted to follow in his 
             father's footsteps. He went to Princeton University, which 
             shows that he is someone who is talented academically and 
             socially. He graduated from that great American learning 
             institution and decided he was going to go to Harvard, 
             which speaks well, again, of his intellect and, of course, 
             his ability to get along with people. His surgical 
             training came at Massachusetts General Hospital and 
             Southhampton General Hospital in England.
               Senator Frist was a pioneer, but he learned his 
             transplant surgery from the pioneer. I have heard Bill 
             Frist talk about Norman Shumway on many occasions--the 
             first doctor to perform a successful heart transplant in 
             the United States. Senator Frist--then Dr. Frist--started 
             Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Heart and Lung 
             Transplant Center. I don't know if anybody knows--I am 
             sure someone knows--how many heart and lung transplants 
             Senator Frist has done, but most say it was nearly 200. 
             Think about that. Some of these operations took many 
             hours, and some of them took days.
               I heard Dr. Frist talk about those first transplants, 
             where he actually went and got the organs and personally 
             brought them back to the operating room.
               Things have changed since then. Pioneer, doctor, Senator 
             Frist has and will write a lot about his success as a 
             surgeon and as a Senator. And not only will he talk with 
             his family and his friends about this, things will be 
             written about his service as a doctor and as a Senator.
               When we talk about these nearly 200 transplants, we are 
             talking about 200 human beings whose lives have been saved 
             by virtue of his talent. Senator Frist helped hundreds of 
             people continue their lives. Here, as a public servant, a 
             Senator, he has affected the lives of millions of people.
               I have had the good fortune of serving with Senator 
             Frist during his 12 years in the Senate. I knew him before 
             I became the Democratic leader and, as all of you know, I 
             spend a lot of time on the floor and I worked with him 
             very closely.
               Over the years, we have had our ups and downs. It has 
             been tough. These jobs, I can tell my colleagues up close, 
             are not real easy. We have had problems over budgets, over 
             committee structure, disagreements about schedules--oh, 
             yes, about Senate rules. I have never once doubted that 
             what Senator Frist was doing he was doing because he 
             believed in his heart it was the right thing. That is why 
             I, Harry Reid, at his home on a very personal level, told 
             Senator Frist he should run for reelection. I don't 
             believe in term limits. I truly believed then, as I do 
             now, that he should have run for reelection. I told his 
             good wife Karyn the same thing in their home.
               I have come to learn a number of things about Bill 
             Frist. He loves medicine. He has done his work in the 
             Senate. But the thing that is first and paramount in his 
             mind and his heart every minute of the day is Karyn and 
             his three boys.
               All of you out here have seen our fights publicly, and 
             we have had them, but they have been fair. I can remember 
             only once has Senator Frist ever raised his voice at me, 
             and it was right from here because, even though I didn't 
             mean to, he thought I had said something that reflected 
             upon his family, and I apologized to him. This man loves 
             his family and is an example of how people should treat 
             their family.
               Karyn is a wonderful woman. She has treated my wife--my 
             wife is a very shy person. She has always been very shy. 
             Karyn has taken good care of her, and I will always, 
             Karyn, appreciate that.
               In the years that go on, I, frankly, will never think 
             about or, if I try, not remember any of the differences we 
             had on the Senate floor, but I will always remember the 
             friendship I have developed with the good man from 
             Tennessee, a citizen legislator.
               Senator Frist, Karyn, I wish you the very best. You are 
             a good man. I love and appreciate everything you have done 
             for the country and for me.
               (Applause.)

               The VICE PRESIDENT. The majority whip is recognized.

               Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I, on behalf of all the 
             Members on this side of the aisle--and Senator Reid 
             acknowledged the same as well--am grateful for your 
             presence here today. Being here today to help honor our 
             outgoing majority leader, I know, means a lot to him. It 
             means a lot to all the rest of us.
               Rare is the person who rises to the top of one 
             profession, not to mention two. We are honoring today a 
             man who has done that--he has risen to the very top of not 
             one but two extraordinarily difficult professions. And I 
             am absolutely certain, as all of his colleagues are, that 
             he will excel in whatever challenge he takes on next.
               Bill Frist embodies what our Founding Fathers meant when 
             they spoke of ``citizen legislators.'' By his early 
             forties, he had already risen to prominence as a renowned 
             heart and lung surgeon. But Bill felt a call to public 
             service. After achieving enormous success in that field, 
             he came to us in the Senate and rose to the top here as 
             well. He had not sought the leader's office, but in some 
             ways it could be argued that it sought him and, once 
             again, he was top in his field.
               After 4 years, Bill has been an effective and courageous 
             leader. I have been here for a pretty long time now, Mr. 
             President, and I can honestly say that the last 4 years 
             have been some of the most productive years in the Senate 
             that I have seen.
               Under Bill Frist's leadership, we have made the lives of 
             people across America better and safer. More opportunity 
             lies ahead for today's children than ever before. Most of 
             all, Bill has never relented in leading this Senate to 
             fight the war on terror. America is more secure thanks to 
             his tenacity and thanks to his talents.
               Bill is leaving us, as we all know, sticking to his 
             promise to the voters of Tennessee to serve only two 
             terms. Legend holds that Cincinnatus, the Roman farmer, 
             became ruler of Rome at the behest of his fellow citizens. 
             But after leading them to victory against invaders, he 
             gave up the mantle of power and returned to his farm.
               Whether Bill returns to medicine or continues to serve 
             the public in some other way, we can be sure of this: He 
             will continue to be one of America's great leaders. And if 
             he does return to public office, it will be because he was 
             asked by his fellow citizens to serve and to lead.
               Words such as ``sacrifice,'' ``duty,'' and ``service'' 
             mean something to Bill Frist. This Senate and this country 
             are the better for it.
               It has been a joy to know Bill's lovely family--his 
             wife, Karyn, and his three sons, Harrison, Jonathan, and 
             Bryan. They are all proud of their father and husband.
               I am going to miss you, Bill. It has been a great honor 
             working with you every day over the last 4 years, and it 
             will be an honor to take the baton from Bill to lead 
             Senate Republicans during the 110th Congress.
               Just as Kentucky and Tennessee share a border 320 miles 
             long, Bill and I share a bond as Senators, party leaders, 
             and, yes, as friends. I can see that all of our colleagues 
             on both sides of the aisle feel the same way I do. It is 
             sad to see you leave. You have done a magnificent job. 
             People come and go in the Senate over the years and, 
             candidly, I guess some of them didn't make a whole lot of 
             difference. But you did, and you will be remembered with 
             great pride by all of us. Thank you for your service.
               (Applause.)

               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coleman). The Democratic 
             whip.

               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I join in this chorus of 
             salutations and praise for the retiring majority leader. I 
             listened carefully to Senator Frist's recollection of his 
             public service, and I noted the first item on his agenda 
             was the $15 billion in the fight against global AIDS. It 
             is an issue on which we joined together many times, an 
             issue where President Bush showed extraordinary 
             leadership, and there was extraordinary bipartisan support 
             for what he was trying to achieve.
               As one reflects on his life and his background, it was 
             no surprise that that led the list. Senator Frist 
             dedicated his time before the Senate to the healing arts, 
             and I think he brought some of that same dedication to his 
             role in the Senate, trying to use his post as the Senator 
             from Tennessee and as a leader in the Senate to heal the 
             world and our Nation. I thank you for all your efforts in 
             that regard.
               I know when he came to this job, it was thrust upon him 
             rather quickly. I know he had his critics, and there might 
             even have been a few on this side of the aisle from time 
             to time, but, by and large, I think his leadership has 
             been symbolized by a lack of cunning, a lack of sharp 
             elbows and an effort to try and patch up our differences 
             and get things done. Once again, you were the healer when 
             you had the chance to do it.
               I have traveled to Africa, as he has, probably not as 
             often. I have seen some of those dusty villages where 
             there is no one to be seen for miles around. But I cannot 
             imagine your taking your surgical skills to those villages 
             and those huts and operating under a flashlight, hour 
             after hour, day after day, week after week. That defines 
             Bill Frist, in my mind--a person who may not have been 
             recognized by anyone on the road to that village, did some 
             good, and left a legacy that will be remembered.
               To you, to Karyn, to your family, let me add my voice in 
             saying you left a great legacy in the Senate, and I wish 
             you all the very best.
               (Applause.)

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.

               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, former Senator Lyndon 
             Johnson used to say about himself that having Lyndon 
             Johnson as majority leader was good for the United States 
             of America and it hasn't hurt Texas one bit.
               When I think of our country and Bill Frist, I think of 
             lower tax rates, I think of two Supreme Court Justices, I 
             think of a record number of judges who would interpret the 
             law, rather than make it up as they go along. I think of 
             the personal imprint of Senator Frist on the prescription 
             drug Medicare benefit millions of Americans need and are 
             enjoying, and I think of the $15 billion generous gesture 
             of this country toward Africa to combat HIV/AIDS, which 
             would not have happened were it not for Bill Frist.
               When I think of Bill Frist and Tennessee, I think of our 
             new TVA board to keep our rates low and reliable. I think 
             of our ability to deduct our sales tax from Federal income 
             tax and dozens and dozens of other things that have been 
             good for Tennessee.
               When I think of Bill Frist, I think of civility, of 
             decency, a good smile, hard work, and an ego that is 
             surprisingly under control for a Senator in the midst of 
             all of this and an example of which his parents would be 
             proud. So I think we can say today, and Lyndon Johnson 
             wouldn't mind, that having Bill Frist as majority leader 
             of the U.S. Senate has been good for our country and it 
             hasn't hurt Tennessee one bit.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts is 
             recognized.

               Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I join my friends and 
             colleagues in paying tribute to a friend and a 
             distinguished colleague. When Bill Frist arrived here, 
             there were at least some of us with some qualms on this 
             side of the aisle because he ran successfully against one 
             of our dear friends, Jim Sasser. So, initially, there was 
             a natural reluctance among some of us about this doctor 
             who had defeated a great friend and a great Senator.
               But early on it was clear that Bill was special. As 
             someone who had been trained in medicine, in my own State 
             of Massachusetts no less, he brought a new and fresh 
             perspective to our national debates.
               He was obviously a person of impressive skill, and it is 
             no surprise that he rose so quickly to become majority 
             leader. The roles of Senators and physicians are 
             profoundly different in many ways, but at their core their 
             missions are identical--to help others to the maximum 
             extent of our ability. And that is what Bill Frist has 
             done from the day he set foot in this Chamber.
               He was one of the first to understand the very real 
             threat of bioterrorism to our Nation, and that was well 
             before 9/11 or the anthrax attacks. Senator Frist knew 
             firsthand that our public health infrastructure was 
             incapable of meeting the threat of a massive natural 
             epidemic, let alone a deliberate biological attack. It was 
             a privilege to work with him on the first bio-terrorism 
             legislation, which because of his leadership we were able 
             to pass before 9/11.
               He has also been a pioneer in the effort to bring modern 
             information technology into all aspects of health care, 
             and to end the enormous human and financial costs caused 
             by medical errors and by the needless administration of 
             health care with outdated paper records. He has also 
             helped shine a bright light on the serious problem of 
             health disparities in our country.
               He has inspired each of us with his commitment to 
             address the horrific tragedy still unfolding in the world, 
             especially in Africa, because of AIDS. He has dedicated 
             himself to this issue for years, giving of himself 
             personally, and urging Congress to act more expeditiously. 
             He made time to continue these missions of mercy, even 
             after he became majority leader, and I was deeply touched 
             by it every time.
               I have had the good opportunity to meet his family, and 
             I know, as others have said, where his values come from 
             and how committed he is to them. I hope he'll be able to 
             enjoy more time with them now without the burden of 
             running the Senate.
               We wish Bill Frist the best as he prepares to leave the 
             Senate. We know he will have great success, and we thank 
             him for his service to our country. We will miss the 
             majority leader, but we know he will continue to use his 
             immense talent to make a very real difference for all 
             humanity in the years ahead, and continue to make us proud 
             to call him our friend.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is 
             recognized.

               Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I wanted to say a few words 
             before the leader left. I even hate to call him leader or 
             majority leader. He has become a great friend. I don't 
             know how to explain it, but I didn't really think coming 
             to the Senate that I would have a chance to meet somebody 
             like our good departing leader. I have met all kinds of 
             people here. Former Senator Henry Bellmon once said: If 
             you sit down with all 100 of them, no matter what you have 
             said about criticizing them, there are no better 100 men 
             put together in America than the 100 Senators who serve. I 
             believe that is true. I am wondering now about whether the 
             Senator wouldn't rival military leadership.
               But the point is, I didn't think Bill--I know we can't 
             do that in the Senate, use first names--but I didn't think 
             I would ever meet in the Budget Committee of the U.S. 
             Senate--sitting in the very last seat available was this 
             man whose name is so simple, but I had so much trouble 
             with it. Do you remember? I didn't say ``Frist,'' I kept 
             saying ``First.'' I don't know why, but I did that for a 
             long time, and then it became sort of a--people would come 
             up and punch me so I would say it right. But whether it is 
             ``Frist'' or ``First,'' I guess they mean about the same 
             thing to me. You are truly first.
               What we have gone through personally will not be 
             reflected in the Record. People know I have had a few 
             years of illness. It is mostly gone now. But I found out 
             he was a superb doctor, and eventually I found out there 
             weren't too many better anywhere. That made it easy 
             because I had a ready-made doctor and he was the best. And 
             we would meet in his office, and people would think it was 
             always business, but they had no idea that it was half 
             business, a little bit family--we got to know each other's 
             families, and what a terrific and exciting thing that was 
             for me--and I got to know about his excellence as a 
             doctor.
               It will be a different Senate, there is no question.
               You have been dealt some cards that are not right. The 
             years you were here, the things that were accomplished 
             were not quite presented to the people as accomplishments 
             or as big accomplishments, as they are. But if there is 
             anybody interested in searching the Record during his term 
             and during his leadership period to see what he 
             accomplished, I believe you will have to end up saying 
             there was nobody during his time here who accomplished 
             more for his State and for the country. I believe an in-
             depth search of what he has done may even rival the best, 
             even though he does not know how to legislate, and there 
             is no question about that, and he does not know how to 
             appropriate, and there is no question about that. He might 
             not even know how to bring an appropriations bill up, and 
             there might be no doubt about that. He may doubt it, but 
             this Senator doesn't, and I am his best friend, but I have 
             great doubts whether he knows how to get an appropriations 
             bill up and passed.
               But I still believe the business of the Senate is not 
             done in those very overt ways that people think. It is 
             done as you sit down for long hours on a conference report 
             and come out with a health bill that all of a sudden is 
             better than anything we have had before. When you find out 
             who did it, it might not have been named for the Senator 
             or for the chairman of this or that, but you will find out 
             that for many hours, many trips were taken to his office, 
             and many times, he said: Wait and we will do it in the 
             morning, and I will tell you how to do it. And that 
             happened.
               I could go on for much longer, but I really wanted him 
             to know that I just waited for my time. Being the fifth or 
             sixth eldest here in seniority, I waited for my time here, 
             and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow or the next day 
             in fear that I would not find time or that the Senate 
             would not accommodate. So I thought I would, as usual, be 
             late for a next appointment, but I have a good excuse for 
             being late for this next one.
               I had to come here and say goodbye in a very interesting 
             way, although it is not a goodbye. But I do think it is 
             true that this will be a very major change in our 
             friendship, in the way we react to each other, and the 
             time we get to spend with each other. So it is an 
             occasion, this leaving of the Senate, because you won't 
             come back very often. Even though you say you will, you 
             won't, and we won't get to see you. I really believe we 
             will remember you, and probably we will call you more 
             times than you will call us because I think we may just 
             from time to time figure out more times than you will that 
             we need some advice, and it will probably run in your 
             direction, not in ours, in the ensuing years.
               Good luck in whatever you do. It is not going to be this 
             little return to being a country doctor, if that is what 
             you are saying. You can't sell me on that. You are not 
             going to be a little country doctor; you are not even 
             going to be a regular doctor. You are going to do 
             something much bigger than that. It is just waiting. 
             Somebody is going to place it in front of you, and then 
             you will do it and it will be something big and exciting 
             for America and for our people, probably more exciting 
             than you did here, so that will be a third one--one, the 
             heart transplants and all that, one here with us, and then 
             you will have a third one. In the meantime, you can do a 
             lot of duck hunting, no problem with that. You can 
             probably go with me, if you want. But if you shoot too 
             well, I won't bring you anymore because it is 
             embarrassing. It has to be sort of a modest hunt, not so 
             superb that I am embarrassed. So we will have to work that 
             out some way. And your son--he can't come anymore because 
             he shoots too well. It is truly not the right thing to do. 
             He should not be hunting with an old man like me. No way. 
             But if it happens, we will accommodate it some way.
               Having said all that I should and much more, I will say 
             goodbye and thank you.

               Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition to 
             discuss a number of matters briefly.
               First, I want to join my colleagues in paying tribute to 
             our majority leader, Senator Bill Frist, who has done such 
             an outstanding job in the past 12 years.
               Senator Frist came to this Senate as a real all-
             American. He has displayed extraordinary talents, 
             academically, professionally, in public service, as a 
             family man, as a friend, at Princeton and Harvard Medical 
             School, as a renowned heart and lung transplant surgeon, 
             then selected to be the majority leader and has taken this 
             body through a very difficult 4 years and a very 
             productive 4 years.
               A great deal has been said about Senator Frist earlier 
             today. I just wanted to add my personal congratulations to 
             him on his service and to wish him well. ...

               Mr. SANTORUM. ... I thank our leader, Bill Frist, my 
             first leader I served under as a member of the leadership, 
             Trent Lott, and the leader I served under when I came to 
             the Senate, Bob Dole. Each and every one of them in their 
             own way led differently. But in the case of Senator Dole, 
             he was a larger-than-life figure to me, coming over to the 
             Senate as a 36-year-old Senator. He was on his way to run 
             for the Presidency. He took the time to be concerned about 
             the issues that were important to me. He put me on the 
             committees I needed to be on and gave me the opportunity 
             that I will never forget and certainly will always be 
             thankful for--to manage and work on the welfare reform 
             bill back in 1996.
               Of all the things I accomplished in the Senate, there is 
             nothing I am more proud of than what we did in 1996 to 
             reform the welfare system and transition it so millions 
             and millions would fall off the rolls, find gainful 
             employment, and change their lives and the lives of their 
             families. I owe that to Bob Dole. He gave me the 
             opportunity to stand at that manager's chair for months in 
             my second year in the Senate and taking on what I would 
             argue was the most important piece of legislation in that 
             session of the Congress, the Republican revolution.
               I thank Trent Lott not only for his tutelage and 
             mentoring me in the time I have been here as a leader, but 
             for helping me in gaining leadership and being involved in 
             the leadership in the Senate.
               I thank Bill Frist for his friendship. His coming in as 
             a leader when I was already in the leadership was a little 
             different. He didn't come in and point the finger and boss 
             us around, he came in to learn. He came in to engage, to 
             try to take the knowledge that was in the leadership group 
             and use it to build a stronger group. I appreciate that.
               There is a humility in Bill Frist. It is a very 
             attractive quality and, I might also add, a rather rare 
             quality if one is in the Senate, but a very attractive one 
             and a very important one in Senators and leaders. ...

               Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that 
             today I honor our distinguished majority leader, Senator 
             Bill Frist. After serving with Bill for the last 12 years, 
             I have come to know that he is a fine leader, an 
             accomplished physician and a wonderful person. He is a man 
             of compassion and conviction who has served our country 
             and this body well.
               It is only fitting that the majority leader of the U.S. 
             Senate be a person who has dedicated his life to serving 
             others.
               We all know of Bill's remarkable service to people 
             around the world as a transplant surgeon for over 20 
             years. We have applauded him on several occasions as he 
             has embarked on pilgrimages to help bring needed medical 
             expertise to impoverished countries. We have seen him 
             fight to secure over $15 billion in Federal funding to 
             fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. We have marveled 
             at his dedication to serving the people of Tennessee. And 
             time and again, we have witnessed him here on the floor of 
             the U.S. Senate in the middle of the night conducting the 
             people's business and ensuring the legacy of the Senate 
             continues in the most professional manner.
               I hope everyone understands what a sacrifice it is to 
             take on leadership duties here in Washington. The Federal 
             Government never sleeps. When elected representatives come 
             to Washington, they bring with them the hopes, dreams, and 
             aspirations of each one of their constituents. Those who 
             take this responsibility seriously spend every waking 
             moment addressing concerns and working for the people they 
             represent. That is quite a responsibility to bear. When 
             you add to that responsibility the duties of being a 
             leader and looking out for the interests of those you 
             lead, the duties are immense and the sleepless nights 
             really start to mount. I, for one, am grateful for Bill's 
             exemplary service and willingness to spend his life 
             looking out for the interests of others.
               Over the last 4 years, as Bill has been majority leader, 
             I have had several occasions to seek him out and ask for 
             his advice and counsel. In every instance, he has made 
             himself available. There have been times when I have been 
             working on issues of great importance to the citizens of 
             Utah until 1, 2, or even 3 in the morning and, even though 
             the items we were working on did not impact Bill or his 
             constituents, he and his staff were gracious enough to 
             stay up and work with me. For that I am grateful.
               As a highly trained physician, Bill has changed the way 
             the Senate approaches health care policy. As a member of 
             the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
             Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, two committees 
             with jurisdiction over health care issues, Bill has used 
             his insight and training to shape and move legislation 
             which greatly improves the health of Americans and the 
             health care system in general. His skill as a physician 
             has greatly improved the knowledge of this body and has 
             made the lives of countless people better.
               Tennessee's storied history of capable Senators is long 
             and includes such names as Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, 
             Howard Baker, and, my good friend, Fred Thompson. These 
             men represented the best of what America has to offer, and 
             Bill Frist has done much to add to this great legacy. As 
             majority leader, Bill has shepherded through some very 
             important legislation, including the Medicare prescription 
             drug benefit legislation, scores and scores of tax cut 
             legislation for the American people, legislation to reduce 
             health care disparities among races, legislation to make 
             health care more affordable and accessible, legislation to 
             bolster America's defenses against bioterrorism, 
             legislation to reduce childhood obesity, legislation to 
             prevent childhood vaccine shortages, and legislation 
             fighting drug abuse.
               Bill's willingness to support Federal funding for stem 
             cell research this year made a huge difference in the 
             national debate. I truly appreciated Bill's support 
             earlier this year to pass legislation that would make more 
             embryonic stem cell lines available for Federal funding. 
             Stem cell research is one of the most important issues we 
             face today. Stem cell research gives hope to millions of 
             people who have none. More than 100 million Americans 
             suffer from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, 
             Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and so many other life-
             threatening and life-debilitating diseases. Thanks to 
             Bill's support, on July 18 of this year, the Senate passed 
             H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, by a 
             vote of 63 to 37. H.R. 810 would have allowed Federal 
             funding for stem cell research using stem cell lines 
             derived under strict ethical requirements from excess in 
             vitro fertilization embryos, regardless of the date they 
             were derived. I am grateful to Bill for taking such a bold 
             and courageous stand on this issue for those suffering 
             from these dreaded diseases and who will be helped by this 
             research.
               In closing, Bill is a consummate family man who 
             cherishes family and the values family represents. He has 
             been married to his wife Karyn for 22 years and, even as 
             majority leader of the U.S. Senate, he has always made 
             time for his three sons: Harrison, Jonathan, and Bryan.
               There is no doubt Bill will be successful in any 
             endeavor he undertakes as he leaves this great body. He 
             has proven himself time and again and there is no question 
             in my mind, he will be successful in the future.
               Mr. President, I appreciate the efforts and service of 
             our good majority leader, Bill Frist. He is a great man, a 
             great patriot, and a great friend, and I wish him well in 
             his future endeavors.

               Mrs. CLINTON. ... 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. Mr. President, I have a few more minutes 
             before the 10:30 vote, and I take this time to say a few 
             words about some of my colleagues who are retiring. We had 
             a good bit of time yesterday devoted to their tremendous 
             contributions, and as each of us, the 100 of us, do know 
             each other pretty well, I have come to the floor to say a 
             few things about several of the colleagues I have had the 
             distinct pleasure of working with very closely.
               Mr. President, one is, of course, Senator Bill Frist, 
             our retiring majority leader. I had the wonderful 
             opportunity to be invited to travel with Senator Frist. I 
             guess you could say it was clearly an opportunity. It was 
             not necessarily a pleasurable trip in the sense that the 
             first trip I took with him was to tour the devastation of 
             the tsunami. Soon after he assumed the role of leader, the 
             tsunami hit the Indian coastline. It was one of the 
             largest disasters in the recent history of the world.
               I had a chance to go to that region with Senator Frist. 
             I actually saw him firsthand don his doctor's coat and 
             take off, if you will, his hat as Senator and put on his 
             coat as doctor and operate. I agreed to go on that trip 
             with him under one condition, that I myself would not have 
             to go with him into the operating rooms. So I stayed 
             outside and talked with people while he went in and 
             actually did the hard work of saving people's lives and 
             bringing them back to health.
               But what I will most remember about that trip--and there 
             were about six of us on it--is that he was the first one 
             awake in the morning, the last one to go to bed at night, 
             constantly working until the point where those of us said 
             we are unlikely to ever travel with him again because we 
             could not get any rest through the entire week and were so 
             exhausted when we got back. We said: If he calls again to 
             ask us to travel, tell him I am doing something else. I am 
             kidding, of course. But I say that with the greatest 
             admiration for a man who has an extraordinary work ethic. 
             And through so many ups and downs, literally, of these 
             helicopters and trips, I remember him staying so steady 
             and so calm, even when we saw some of the most horrific 
             sights you can imagine.
               But he has led this Chamber and brought his own style of 
             leadership and his own gifts that God has given him to 
             this Chamber. I am a Senator who truly admires that 
             particular aspect of his service and wanted to put that 
             into the Record in a small way this morning. ...
               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. 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 were all impressed with the comments of our 
             majority leader, Bill Frist, yesterday. I wish him 
             Godspeed in his new endeavors. He certainly has been a joy 
             to work with as part of the Republican leadership because 
             of his good temperament, his wise counsel, his knowledge 
             of human nature, and his deep commitment to this body, the 
             people of Tennessee and, most importantly, to the United 
             States of America. ...
               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. ... Bill Frist and I came to the Senate 
             together in 1995. Karyn and Bill are very good friends. 
             Bill has been an unbelievably accessible leader. We share 
             a passion for fighting the spread of AIDS. Bill's public 
             role in that cause is obvious and apparent to everyone. 
             But what is not so obvious and what is little known is 
             what Bill Frist has done behind the scenes, what his role 
             has been in working with so many people, working with the 
             White House and others to get this job done. No one has 
             played a bigger role. And when the history is written, 
             Bill Frist's name will be there in bold print as someone 
             who has saved so many, many lives. ...
               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. ...
               Last but not least--the departing majority leader, Bill 
             Frist of Tennessee. His leadership position has only been 
             the cap on a lifetime of accomplishment. Bill Frist is a 
             leading transplant surgeon who has performed more than 150 
             heart or lung transplants, as well as a highly successful 
             medical businessman. The same drive that fueled him in 
             politics, medicine, and business also inspired him to earn 
             his pilot's license and complete seven marathons. Senator 
             Frist will be remembered as a competent majority leader, 
             not to mention as the first medical doctor elected to the 
             Senate since 1928.
               After pursuing his medical career for nearly two 
             decades, Bill Frist established himself in Tennessee 
             politics and was elected to the Senate in 1994 and was 
             reelected in 2000 with the highest vote total for any 
             statewide election in his State's history. As the Senate's 
             only medical doctor at the time, he attended to the 
             victims of the 1998 Capitol shooting, and he also served 
             as a respected spokesman on anthrax and bioterrorism 
             following the terrorist attacks of 2001.
               Besides leading the Senate since 2003, Bill Frist found 
             recognition for his outspoken positions on Medicare 
             reform, judicial nominations, and social issues. He also 
             worked to establish a nuanced position on stem cell 
             research. Though we didn't always see eye to eye, we were 
             able to work together on important legislation, including 
             bills on obesity prevention and food allergies. And I 
             think I can speak for all of my colleagues when I thank 
             him for his hard work in running the Senate for the past 3 
             years--or, as a predecessor put it, ``herding cats.''
               Bill Frist is returning to his philanthropic work and 
             his medical practice, where I am sure he will find his 
             success undiminished and his skill undulled. I wish him, 
             his wife Karyn, and their three sons many happy years.

               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, 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. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, today, I rise to 
             acknowledge and honor the good work and service of my 
             colleague from Tennessee, Senator Bill Frist. As a Senator 
             for the past dozen years, and majority leader for the past 
             4, Senator Frist has been a leader of strong resolve on 
             behalf of his home State and our entire Nation. His work 
             in the U.S. Senate will be remembered for a long time to 
             come, and I personally owe Senator Frist a debt of 
             gratitude.
               He has been an advocate of the offshore drilling 
             agreement that would benefit not only the people of my 
             home State of Florida, but millions of Americans living in 
             the gulf coast region--this plan would reduce America's 
             reliance on foreign sources of energy and is vital to our 
             future. I applaud Senator Frist for recognizing and acting 
             so decisively on this important issue.
               Senator Frist has also been a dedicated leader on 
             immigration reform and I thank him for taking on this 
             divisive, yet necessary issue with such a keen 
             understanding of what our Nation needs. I also know how 
             passionate Senator Frist is about national security and 
             defense. We were able to travel to and around Iraq 
             together, and while there, we had the opportunity to 
             personally thank some of our troops for their courage and 
             incredible sacrifice. I was appreciative to have that 
             experience with someone who certainly knows the meaning of 
             service.
               On a personal note, Senator Frist made sure that I would 
             be able to pay my respects to Pope John Paul II--and I 
             cannot say enough about how much that has meant to me and 
             to my family. Thank you for that and for your relentless 
             leadership. Thank you for your time and for your counsel. 
             Thank you for your friendship.
               Senator Frist is a fine Senator and a true gentleman. We 
             will miss him a great deal here in Washington. Yet all of 
             us know how well he will do as he returns to his long and 
             distinguished career in medicine. The people of Tennessee 
             are fortunate to have back their revered Dr. Frist. I wish 
             my best to Senator Frist and his family always. ...

               Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Senator 
             Bill Frist, whose sense of public service harkens back to 
             ancient Athens when every citizen, in order to be called 
             an Athenian, served in a public capacity for the good of 
             the State. And it is more than fitting that this Senator, 
             this son of Tennessee, comes from the only place in the 
             United States with a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, 
             for Bill First--like the Athenians of old--sees himself 
             first as a citizen above all else.
               Senator Bill Frist and I arrived in the U.S. Senate in 
             the same class in 1994. And only 9 years later, he was 
             chosen Senate majority leader--a rapid ascent by anyone's 
             count. In the time that Senator Frist has served his 
             country in the position of leader, he has worked 
             ceaselessly to translate ideals and principles into 
             tangible improvements in the daily lives of the American 
             people. For me, it has been a tremendous privilege over 
             the years to work closely with him on many issues and 
             serve with him on the Senate Budget Committee and the 
             Senate Committees on Commerce, Small Business, and 
             Finance.
               Senator Frist's allegiance to serving others has been 
             nothing short of exemplary. He went into medicine because 
             he cared about people. His profound dedication to public 
             service--to the American people and the people of 
             Tennessee--grew out of an earlier devotion to thousands of 
             men and women whose dilemmas and struggles Dr. Frist came 
             to understand firsthand. No wonder he takes such great 
             pride in being known as a ``citizen legislator''--and with 
             good reason.
               As he prepares to leave this Chamber, we recall that 
             when the leader spoke about America's uninsured or the 
             rising cost of health care or about the dangers posed to 
             our communities by the threat of bioterrorism, his 
             insights are rooted, not in theory, but in years of up-
             close and personal contact with the people who sent him to 
             Washington in the first place. We also remember that 
             Senator Frist was the first practicing physician to occupy 
             a U.S. Senate seat since 1928--in fact the sign on his 
             office door didn't say ``majority leader''--it fittingly 
             read, ``Dr. Bill Frist, M.D.''
               He has held his oath of office with distinction, just as 
             he has kept to the 2000-year-old Hippocratic precept ``to 
             do no harm,'' and in fact, he has gone well beyond that 
             tenet, as he has done and will continue to do a world of 
             good. We will miss his perspective and leadership and wish 
             him and Karyn all the best as they pursue this next phase 
             of their life and service together. ...

               Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute 
             to the Republican Members of the Senate who will not be 
             returning in the 110th Congress. Senators George Allen; 
             Conrad Burns; Lincoln Chafee; Mike DeWine; Dr. Bill Frist; 
             Rick Santorum; and Jim Talent have served their 
             constituents with honor and distinction during their 
             tenure here in the U.S. Senate. All care very deeply for 
             this great Nation and I hope they will have continued 
             success in their future endeavors. ...
               Majority leader Bill Frist has run the Senate through 
             difficult and trying times and he has done it well. 
             Senator Mike DeWine, my neighbor to the north, has 
             represented the Buckeye State with great distinction and 
             has committed over 30 years of his life to public service. 
             Senator George Allen represented the Commonwealth of 
             Virginia in the U.S. Senate for 6 years, and he worked 
             closely with me to make America safer by helping usher 
             through important legislation to arm cargo pilots. Senator 
             Jim Talent has had a great career in Congress and wrote 
             the blueprint to the welfare reform bill of 1996. And 
             Senator Lincoln Chafee has continued the proud legacy set 
             forth by his father and my friend, Senator John Chafee.
               Mr. President, I would like to again commend all of our 
             departing Republican Senators. I am proud of what they 
             accomplished here in the U.S. Senate. They will all be 
             missed, and I wish all of them the very best.

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. ... Mr. President, I would like to 
             conclude with Dr. Bill Frist, who has dedicated his life 
             to helping people.
               Though many of us have come to know Dr. Frist best in 
             his current role as our leader, his contributions to 
             America exceed elected office.
               Dr. Frist first came to Washington in 1972 as an intern 
             for Tennessee Congressman Joe Evins. Congressman Evins 
             told the young intern that should he ever want to serve in 
             Congress, he should first excel in a profession other than 
             politics and then bring that experience back to 
             Washington.
               Dr. Frist did just that.
               During a stellar 20-year career in medicine, Dr. Frist 
             performed over 150 heart and lung transplant procedures, 
             including the first lung transplant and the first 
             pediatric heart transplant in Tennessee and the first 
             successful combined heart-lung transplant in the 
             Southeast.
               He always hoped to one day serve America at a broad 
             policy level, where he could advance medicine and improve 
             the quality of life of the Nation.
               Dr. Frist returned to Washington in 1994, becoming the 
             first practicing physician elected to the Senate since 
             1928. As a U.S. Senator, Bill Frist has been one of the 
             leading voices on health issues in America today.
               He moved quickly up the leadership ranks, becoming 
             deputy whip in 1999, chairman of the NRSC in 2000, and 
             finally majority leader in 2002.
               In the Senate, Dr. Frist has worked tirelessly to 
             strengthen Medicare, provide seniors with better access to 
             prescription drugs, reduce health care disparities among 
             races, and make health care more affordable and 
             accessible.
               He has also been one of America's strongest advocates 
             for increasing funding for global HIV/AIDS. He sponsored 
             landmark legislation to provide $15 billion to combat 
             global HIV/AIDS in African and Caribbean nations hardest 
             hit by the disease. This law will literally save millions 
             of lives and stands as one of the greatest public health 
             accomplishments in modern history.
               Many of us also remember Dr. Frist utilizing his medical 
             skills in 1998, when a gunman shot and killed two U.S. 
             Capitol Police officers in the Capitol. The gunman was 
             also shot and seriously wounded during the incident. Dr. 
             Frist came to the aid of Officer Jacob Chestnut, who later 
             died of his wounds, as well as the gunman, who survived 
             because of Dr. Frist's actions.
               After the event, Dr. Frist told Capitol reporters:
               At the time, I did not know he was the alleged gunman, 
             and in truth, as a physician, you try to focus on 
             resuscitation.
               People have said ``If you knew that, would things have 
             changed?'' And the answer is, ``No.''
               ``As a physician, you're trained to focus, and that's 
             what you do year after year. You're not a judge; you're 
             not a jury. You're a physician.''
               Dr. Frist never stopped being a physician. Throughout 
             his 12 years in the Senate, he always had the Nation's 
             health in mind. He was always a champion of medicine, and 
             his class and integrity is unquestioned.
               The Senate will truly miss his leadership, and we will 
             miss all of our departing friends.
             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, it has been an honor and a 
             privilege to work with Senator Bill Frist for the past 12 
             years. Bill has been a solid leader for our party and he 
             has served the people of Tennessee with distinction.
               Senator Frist came to politics through a nontraditional 
             route--through the operating room. Bill got involved in 
             politics because he believed he could do even more for his 
             patients--and the people of Tennessee--in the Senate. And 
             he was right. Bill's meticulous approach to this job is 
             exactly what you would expect of a person with his 
             training. He never gave up on his goals and worked 
             tirelessly to see them into law.
               I became President pro tempore of the Senate close to 
             the time when Bill became our majority leader. I enjoyed 
             working by his side and thank Leader Frist for including 
             me--as President pro tempore--in all leadership meetings. 
             Senator Frist also traveled with us to China for U.S. 
             Interparliamentary Group meetings. Once our meetings were 
             finished, he continued on to Africa for medical mission 
             work.
               As majority leader, Bill carried the administration's 
             message. He fought hard for the President's judicial 
             nominees. And as we saw yesterday during his farewell 
             address, Bill leaves us with great honor and recognition. 
             Our leader will now return to where, in some ways, his 
             heart has always been--the practice of medicine. But deep 
             in my heart, I feel that public service will again call 
             Bill to give of his time and talents to help preserve our 
             democracy and our freedoms. Catherine and I will miss 
             being with Bill and Karyn. ...

               Ms. COLLINS. ... Mr. President, as we come to the close 
             of a Congress that has seen too much partisan struggle, it 
             has been heartening to observe the bipartisan outpouring 
             of deep respect and kind regard for the retiring senior 
             Senator from Tennessee, Dr. Bill Frist.
               I join in that praise. Senator Frist has exemplified the 
             collegial traditions of the Senate, balancing forthright 
             advocacy for his views and for his party's positions with 
             courtesy and respect for those who disagreed with him. He 
             has been an effective Senator for his beloved State of 
             Tennessee, a skillful leader for his party caucus, and a 
             gentleman in his dealings with Senate colleagues.
               We all know that many of our fellow citizens are cynical 
             about Congress, seeing this branch of government as a 
             haven for politicians fixated on short-term political 
             advantage and personal aggrandizement. They should take 
             note of people like Senator Frist, who is truly an example 
             of a Renaissance man in government.
               If a writer created a protagonist with the interests and 
             accomplishments that Senator Frist has shown, an editor 
             would be nervous about taxing readers' credulity. Yet the 
             facts are plain. Our friend from Tennessee is not only a 
             hard-working and successful political leader, but also a 
             surgeon, a teacher, a philanthropist, an author, an 
             aircraft pilot, a marathon runner, and a devoted family 
             man.
               Members of Congress have many opportunities to enact 
             measures that will protect, enrich, and save lives. But we 
             usually act at a distance, as agencies use the authorities 
             and carry out the mandates we create. Few of us can take 
             credit for personally saving lives as Dr. Frist has done 
             many times at the operating table. And few of us can bring 
             to bear the combination of professional training and 
             personal dedication that he has displayed on his repeated 
             medical missions to Africa and in his policy work on the 
             HIV/AIDS crisis. He was also the first doctor on the spot 
             for the 1998 shootings of two Capitol Police officers, and 
             he ably served as an informed spokesman for Congress 
             during the 2001 anthrax attacks in the Capitol mail 
             system.
               Senator Frist has served his party well. As chair of the 
             National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002, he 
             helped restore the party's majority in the Senate. As the 
             unanimously elected majority leader, he served both his 
             party and his country well on policy matters like tax-law 
             changes that eased burdens on citizens and encouraged 
             growth in business activity and employment.
               Senator Frist also supported the Medicare prescription-
             drug benefit and the creation of health savings accounts--
             measures that have saved billions of dollars for the 
             elderly and given millions of Americans new opportunities 
             for controlling their health care costs. These are 
             especially helpful legislative initiatives in States like 
             my native Maine, where the proportions of senior citizens, 
             small business owners, and the self-employed are 
             significant.
               Senator Frist leaves this Chamber with an overflowing 
             and bipartisan store of goodwill and gratitude. I am 
             pleased to be among the many Senators offering thanks for 
             his years of service and best wishes for many years of 
             good works to come. ...
                                                Monday, January 8, 2007
               Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, it is an honor indeed to pay 
             tribute to a number of fine individuals who I am fortunate 
             to call not just my colleagues, but also dear friends: 
             Senators Bill Frist, George Allen, Conrad Burns, Lincoln 
             Chafee, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum and Jim Talent.
               One of the greatest losses to the Senate is the 
             departure of our majority leader, Dr. Bill Frist. I first 
             became acquainted with Bill when he called me during my 
             time as president of the American Red Cross to say that he 
             would travel to Africa with us to volunteer as a surgeon.
               Back then, I immediately recognized Bill's intelligence, 
             integrity and compassion for others. I saw how dedicated 
             he was about sound policy--especially health care policy--
             and how dedicated he was to helping those most in need, 
             whether they be in America, in Africa, or anywhere in the 
             world. And I saw how his colleagues quickly came to 
             respect him, to rely on his judgment, and to value his 
             counsel.
               In fall 2001, when terrorism hit home in the U.S. 
             Capitol, we saw how Bill's colleagues immediately turned 
             to him for his guidance and expertise, and Bill responded 
             to the challenge. For example, he quickly transformed his 
             Senate Website into the best source of information for 
             Senate staff on the issues surrounding possible anthrax 
             exposure. And he was willing to speak with each and every 
             Member of the Senate community to allay concerns with 
             accurate medical information. Bill utilized his expertise 
             to write legislation to help protect the entire Nation 
             from the scourge of bioterrorism.
               For the past 2 years, I was honored to serve as a member 
             of Bill's leadership team. As our leader, Bill displayed 
             extraordinary integrity, care and thoughtfulness in 
             dealing with every Senator, and he worked tirelessly to 
             bring together his colleagues for the betterment of our 
             Nation.
               Bill's record of achievement as our majority leader is 
             exemplary. As a result of his steady leadership, we 
             succeeded in securing historic tax relief that has helped 
             put more money in the pockets of hard-working Americans 
             while paving the way for today's stunning economic 
             recovery. His leadership improved life for our seniors by 
             lowering the cost of prescription drugs. He helped 
             spearhead important reforms of our tort system and 
             bankruptcy code. Under Bill's leadership, we passed a 
             comprehensive energy bill that reduces our reliance on 
             foreign oil. And to help keep our Nation's fiscal house in 
             order, Bill led the fight to pass a landmark deficit 
             reduction plan that put some brakes on mandatory Federal 
             spending. Perhaps most important, Bill's leadership was 
             indispensable in helping place men and women on our 
             Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, who will 
             strictly interpret the law rather than try to legislate 
             from the bench.
               During Bill's 12 years in the Senate, our Nation faced 
             many challenges and many changes. But Bill retained his 
             strong sense of direction, his dedication to reaching out 
             to those most in need, and his devotion to his family--
             Karyn, Harrison, Jonathan, and Bryan. As he has done in 
             medicine and in public service, I know that in future 
             endeavors Bill will continue to serve and help his fellow 
             man. ...
               As these men--Bill Frist, George Allen, Conrad Burns, 
             Lincoln Chafee, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum and Jim 
             Talent--conclude their service in the U.S. Senate, let me 
             say that I am so proud to have worked with individuals of 
             such character, strength, and intellect. Our Nation is 
             grateful for their many contributions. And as they each 
             will undoubtedly continue to contribute to our country's 
             greatness, their leadership and vision will be missed here 
             in the U.S. Senate.
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