[Senate Document 110-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



 
110th Congress, 2nd Session ------------------- Senate Document 110-24

                      TRIBUTES TO HON. CHUCK HAGEL


                                           

                                     Chuck Hagel

                       U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA

                                TRIBUTES

                           IN THE CONGRESS OF

                           THE UNITED STATES






                                      Chuck Hagel


                                      Tributes

                                Delivered in Congress

                                     Chuck Hagel

                                United States Senator


                                      1997-2009








                       U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                            WASHINGTON : 2009










                            Compiled under the direction

                                       of the

                             Joint Committee on Printing
                                      CONTENTS
             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Farewell to the Senate................................
                                                                     ix
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Akaka, Daniel K., of Hawaii....................
                                                                      8
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                      3
                    Allard, Wayne, of Colorado.....................
                                                                     21
                    Bingaman, Jeff, of New Mexico..................
                                                                      8
                    Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky......................
                                                                      7
                    Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
                                                                     30
                    Coleman, Norm, of Minnesota....................
                                                                     24
                    Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                     15
                    Corker, Bob, of Tennessee......................
                                                                     15
                    Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     11
                    Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
                                                                      6
                    Dorgan, Byron L., of North Dakota..............
                                                                     30
                    Durbin, Richard, of Illinois...................
                                                                     12
                    Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                     28
                    Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
                                                                      6
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                      9
                    Inouye, Daniel K., of Hawaii...................
                                                                     26
                    Kerry, John F., of Massachusetts...............
                                                                     16
                    Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                     23
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                     10
                    Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
                                                                     32
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                     21
                    Lieberman, Joseph I., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     10
                    Lugar, Richard G., of Indiana..................
                                                                     26
                    McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                     22
                    Nelson, E. Benjamin, of Nebraska...............
                                                                     31
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                     20
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                     16
                    Salazar, Ken, of Colorado......................
                                                                      5
                    Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine....................
                                                                     33
                    Specter, Arlen, of Pennsylvania................
                                                                     28
                    Warner, John, of Virginia......................
                                                                     13
                    Webb, Jim, of Virginia.........................
                                                                     10
                                      BIOGRAPHY

               Chuck Hagel, Nebraska's senior U.S. Senator, served two 
             terms in the U.S. Senate. Senator Hagel's duties included 
             membership on four Senate committees: Foreign Relations; 
             Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Intelligence; and 
             Rules.
               Chuck Hagel is the author of ``America: Our Next 
             Chapter,'' a straightforward examination of the current 
             state of our Nation that provides substantial proposals 
             for the challenges of the 21st century.
               Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Hagel worked 
             in the private sector as the president of McCarthy & Co., 
             an investment banking firm based in Omaha, NE, and served 
             as chairman of the board of American Information Systems 
             (AIS). Before joining McCarthy & Co., Hagel was president 
             and chief executive officer of the Private Sector Council 
             (PSC) in Washington, DC, deputy director and chief 
             operating officer of the 1990 Economic Summit of 
             Industrialized Nations (G-7 Summit) and president and 
             chief executive officer of the World USO.
               In the mid-1980s, Hagel co-founded VANGUARD Cellular 
             Systems, Inc., a publicly traded corporation. In 1981, 
             President Ronald Reagan nominated Hagel to serve as Deputy 
             Administrator of the Veterans' Administration, a 
             nomination confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Hagel also served 
             as Deputy Commissioner General of the United States for 
             the 1982 World's Fair. From 1977 through 1980, Chuck Hagel 
             was manager of government affairs for the Firestone Tire & 
             Rubber Company in Washington, DC. From 1971 to 1977, he 
             was administrative assistant to Congressman John Y. 
             McCollister (R-Nebraska). Beginning in 1969, Hagel worked 
             as a newscaster and talk show host with radio stations 
             KBON and KLNG in Omaha, NE.
               Chuck Hagel served in Vietnam with his brother Tom in 
             1968. They served side by side as infantry squad leaders 
             with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned 
             many military decorations and honors, including two Purple 
             Hearts.
               Senator Hagel has served on the board of trustees at 
             Manville Personal Injury Settlement Trust and as chairman 
             of the $240 million Agent Orange Settlement Fund. His 
             participation in civic, educational, and charitable 
             organizations has included board of directors, Greater 
             Omaha Chamber of Commerce; chairman, 10th Anniversary 
             Vietnam Veterans Memorial; board of directors and national 
             advisory committee of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans 
             Memorial; board of directors of the Arlington National 
             Cemetery Historical Society; chairman of the board of No 
             Greater Love, Inc.; USO's World Board of Governors; and 
             the World USO chairman's advisory council. He is a life 
             member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, 
             Vietnam Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, 
             and the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
               Among the institutions for which Senator Hagel serves as 
             a board or advisory committee member are the Institute of 
             Politics at Harvard University; International Republican 
             Institute; the German Marshall Fund's Trade and Poverty 
             Forum; director emeritus, the Eisenhower World Affairs 
             Institute; the Private Sector Council; the Ripon Society; 
             the American Red Cross; Bread for the World; and the 
             Council on Foreign Relations. Chuck Hagel is a trustee at 
             Bellevue University and Hastings College. He is co-
             chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Corporate 
             Council, and chairman of the Congressional Study Group on 
             Germany.
                Senator Hagel is the subject of a 2006 book by 
             University of Nebraska professor Charlyne Berens entitled, 
             ``Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward.''
               Senator Hagel has received the 2008 Aspen Strategy Group 
             Leadership Award; 2008 Congressional Award from the 
             Paralyzed Veterans of America; the University of Nebraska 
             at Omaha's 2006 Alumni Award for Excellence in Public 
             Service; 2006 Don Wagner Leadership Award; 2004 Edmund S. 
             Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award; the Boy Scouts 
             of America's Good Scout Award; the National Parent Teacher 
             Association's Outstanding Child Advocacy Award and the 
             Committee for Education Funding's Special Recognition 
             Award; the European Institute's Transatlantic Leadership 
             Award; and numerous others.
               Among other honors Senator Hagel has received are the 
             Commander's Cross With Star of the Order of Merit of the 
             Republic of Poland; the first annual Cordell Hull Award; 
             the Horatio Alger Award from the Horatio Alger 
             Association; the Vietnam Veterans of America Legislator of 
             the Year Award; the 82d Airborne Division Association's 
             Recognition for the ``National Airborne Day'' Senate 
             Resolution; membership in the Consumers for World Trade 
             Hall of Fame; the Center for the Study of the Presidency's 
             Distinguished Service Medal; the American Farm Bureau 
             Federation's Golden Plow Award; the Friend of the Farm 
             Bureau Award; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the 
             University of Nebraska at Omaha; an honorary doctorate of 
             public service degree from the College of William and 
             Mary; an honorary doctor of laws degree from Creighton 
             University; an honorary doctorate of commerce from 
             Bellevue University; the Secretary of Defense's Medal for 
             Outstanding Civic Achievement, the first World USO 
             Leadership Award; the University of Nebraska-Kearney 
             George W. Norris Distinguished Lecturer Award; and the 
             Small Business Administration's Nebraska Veterans Advocate 
             of the Year Award.
               A fourth generation Nebraskan, Chuck Hagel was born in 
             North Platte, NE, on October 4, 1946. He graduated from 
             St. Bonaventure High School, Columbus, NE; the Brown 
             Institute for Radio and Television, Minneapolis, MN; and 
             the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Senator Hagel and his 
             wife, Lilibet, have two children, daughter Allyn, 18, and 
             son Ziller, 16.
                               Farewell to the Senate
                              Thursday, October 2, 2008

               Mr. HAGEL. On January 7, 1997, I took an oath of office 
             in the Senate, an oath to the Constitution, and I became 
             the 1,841st person who has ever served in the Senate. That 
             number struck me that day because I recognized, once 
             again--and soon to come to truly appreciate over a 12-year 
             period in this body--how few people have had the 
             opportunity, the privilege, the honor to serve in the 
             Senate.
               Less than 2,000 Americans in the history of our country 
             have served in the Senate. That does not make us better. 
             That does not mean we are smarter or in any way more 
             privileged. But it does reflect upon the kind of 
             responsibility that we have in this body and the 
             expectations that are placed on each of us, as should be 
             the case, for our service.
               I first thank the people of Nebraska for the privilege I 
             have been given to serve in this body for 12 years. I 
             thank my staff not for their service to me but for their 
             service to this country. I thank my colleagues, 
             Republicans and Democrats, from whom I have learned so 
             much over these 12 years. In particular, I thank Senators 
             Lugar and Biden, from whom I have learned much in serving 
             with them on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 
             the last 12 years. They have been patient with me, have 
             helped me, as well as their staffs.
               The two leaders of this body--Senators Reid and 
             McConnell--I wish to thank. I have had privileged 
             relationships with each. Senator McConnell and I have 
             grown to have a very close relationship, friendship, and I 
             very much value that relationship. I thank Senator 
             McConnell for his many courtesies over the years, as I do 
             Senator Reid. These two men are charged with great 
             responsibilities, and especially over the last 2 years 
             during as difficult a Congress certainly that I have 
             served in, and I suspect most of my colleagues have served 
             in. They have done a remarkably good and effective job.
               Certainly, I thank my family for this privilege and 
             their support and their guidance. They, too, have been 
             privileged and enriched and enhanced by being part of this 
             experience over the last 12 years.
               These last 12 years have been years of global 
             reorientation and historic events. As I have represented 
             Nebraskans during these turbulent times, I have formed 
             judgments and drawn conclusions about America's future.
               The strength of any country is its people. 
             Constitutions, governments, public and private 
             institutions are important, for they form the structure of 
             a society, the boundaries of social behavior. But it is 
             the people, the individuals, who make the difference in 
             life and in the world.
               Americans possess a generous spirit and uncommon decency 
             predicated on faith and family, hard work, fair play, and 
             belief in a better tomorrow. The challenges that face 
             America today and in the future are not just American 
             challenges but global challenges. Everything we do or 
             don't do has global implications, just as everything that 
             happens around the world has implications for us here in 
             our country.
               The Senate is a unique institution. It is unique among 
             all governing bodies of the world. It is imperfect. It is 
             slow. It is tedious. Sometimes it is maddening, certainly 
             frustrating. But the brilliance of our forefathers 
             understood completely and carefully--how, I don't know--
             that the world would at some point come together with a 
             great confluence of complications. The need to have a body 
             whose main responsibility would be to take the longer 
             view--the longer view of legislation, the longer view of 
             actions, the longer view of alliances, of relationships, 
             of all our policies--was its primary focus. Tough 
             questions--questions about consequences of actions, 
             consequences of inaction--that is the essence of the 
             Senate.
               The many lessons I have learned in the 12 years I have 
             been here reinforced my belief in our country but also 
             reinforced my belief in these institutions and, in 
             particular, the Congress of the United States, for the 
             essence of public confidence is transparency and 
             accountability. That is our institutional responsibility. 
             It is our individual responsibility. And a free people 
             know the facts. If free people are living in a world where 
             there is transparency, where there is accountability, that 
             society will prosper. It will fix its problems, and it 
             will deal with its injustices. Oversight--which we hear 
             much about these days, especially in light of the 
             financial crisis we are in today--oversight and 
             accountability are critical components of our 
             responsibilities.
               Article I of the Constitution is about the Congress. We 
             are a co-equal branch of government. If there is anything 
             I have learned in the 12 years I have been here, it is the 
             importance of sharing, participating in the governance of 
             our country, being part of that governance, helping make 
             decisions with the President and the executive branch. The 
             Constitution established three co-equal branches of 
             government: the legislative, the executive, and the 
             judicial--but anytime there becomes an imbalance in 
             governance in a republic and one of those three becomes 
             too powerful and the other too weak or one too weak, there 
             will be a consequence, there will be a reaction, and it 
             will not tilt in favor of an accountable, transparent, 
             open, effective government. So it is like all things in 
             life: We strive for balance. We strive for balance of 
             governance. And the Founders of the Constitution of this 
             great Republic have that as much the central focus as any 
             one part of our government.
               I believe this institution of Congress will be tested 
             more over the next few years. We need a strong President. 
             We need a strong executive branch. For it is the President 
             and the executive branch that we charge to carry out the 
             policies that are made and shaped on behalf of the 
             American people in the Congress of the United States. They 
             must have the flexibility, they must have the authority to 
             carry those out but not without the active participation 
             and partnership of the Congress of the United States. In 
             my opinion, over the last few years, we have allowed that 
             to drift, and I believe it has cost our country dearly.
               I have also learned this lesson: Bipartisan consensus is 
             the only way a democracy will work. No party has a corner 
             on all the virtues, nor all the answers. A country of 300 
             million free people, who have every right to express 
             themselves, question their leaders, question their 
             government, at the end of the day must somehow find some 
             accommodation, some consensus to govern and thereby 
             address the issues and challenges and problems that face 
             our country. Without that bipartisan consensus, we end up 
             in the underbrush of political paralysis. Much of what we 
             have seen in the last 2 years has been, unfortunately, 
             political paralysis. We all have to take some 
             responsibility for that. Bipartisan consensus--that has to 
             be the focus of leadership in any institution.
               I have learned also that a free press is indispensable 
             to a free people. As frustrating as we all know, in this 
             business, the press can be--sometimes we believe we are 
             treated unfairly, and maybe sometimes we are--there is no 
             substitute in a democracy for a free press. A free press 
             is the indispensable element for a free people.
               I have learned too that power corrupts. Lord Acton had 
             it right: Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts 
             absolutely. That doesn't mean we are a nation or a body or 
             an institution of corrupt people or bad people, but the 
             more authority that is concentrated in too small a space 
             is going to end up with not an effect that is in the best 
             interests of a free people. Concentrations of power in the 
             hands of a few is dangerous to a democracy. We all who 
             exercise some power as national leaders must be mindful of 
             this reality and stay vigilant.
               The next President, who will assume as big an inventory 
             of challenges and problems as any President, in my 
             opinion, since Franklin Roosevelt on March 4, 1933, must 
             immediately reach to the Congress to make the Congress a 
             partner, and regardless of who the new President is, he 
             must also reach to the American people and begin building 
             a consensus of governance in this country. There will be 
             differences. There will be strong debates. There must be 
             and should be. But in the end, we must reach some 
             objective, some end point, and that is to fix a problem.
               We did that last night on the floor of the Senate--not 
             that what we passed in this Economic Stabilization Act 
             will fix all the problems; it won't. But it is important 
             that America, our markets, the world bring back some 
             confidence in our governance, in our systems, thereby 
             bringing all that does flow from that confidence in a 
             market system, the elements of commerce and trade and the 
             possibilities to build a better life.
               This next President will be faced with those challenges. 
             So will this next Congress. I believe that will occur, not 
             just because the American people expect it and demand it, 
             but they deserve it. I don't think the next President or 
             the next Congress will fail. There is no perfect solution, 
             no easy answer, but that is why we have leaders. That is 
             why we have governments.
               I wish to go back to accountability for a moment because 
             that is such an elemental part of anyone's life. We are 
             all accountable in life. In our personal lives, private 
             lives, public lives, we are all accountable to someone.
               I would like to read a very short statement. As a matter 
             of fact, I had this hanging in my reception room in my 
             office. This was a handwritten statement that was found in 
             the coat pocket of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was 
             found at the cleaners. This was a note he wrote in his 
             hand on June 6, 1944, the beginning of the Normandy 
             invasion, the invasion of Europe. We all recall that was 
             D-day. This is what then-General Eisenhower, who was the 
             commanding general, wrote in the event that D-day was a 
             failure:

               Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn the 
             troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was 
             based upon the best information available. The troops, the 
             air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to 
             duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the 
             attempt, it is mine alone.

               Now, that is accountability. That is accountability. 
             This one simple, honest, handwritten statement should be 
             as much a guiding point for all of us in public office as 
             any one thing.
               I have also learned over the last 12 years that 
             democracy actually does work. As raw as it is, it works. 
             We in politics, we in government, government itself, the 
             institution of government only reflects society. Politics 
             reflects society. We respond. We react in a democracy. But 
             the countervailing pressures, the countervailing dynamics, 
             the countervailing debates and philosophies and opinions 
             and positions balance the wheel in a remarkable way. I am 
             not nearly wise enough to understand it all. I have 
             observed it. I have participated in it up close for 12 
             years. It works. It works. That is why transparency is so 
             important, so the American people can see it, and feel it, 
             and understand it, and be part of it.
               We live in an imperfect world. There are no perfect 
             solutions. We are all imperfect people. But institutions 
             are important because within the imperfect world and in 
             the process of trying to make a better world--maybe 
             someday a perfect world--the process is important because 
             it gets us to where we want to be. It is a highway. It is 
             a process. We do that well here, as well as anywhere in 
             the world. We are always striving to make it better.
               I occasionally think about this great Republic, how it 
             was formed, when it was formed. A couple of fairly recent 
             things come to mind. When we think of less than 100 years 
             ago, women in America could not vote. Less than 100 years 
             ago, women did not have the right to vote. But we 
             addressed that. We fixed that. We fixed it through 
             amendment XIX in our Constitution.
               Up until the mid-1960s, did anyone really believe that 
             an African American had any hope or possibility to be a 
             nominee for President of the United States, maybe even be 
             President some day? The Voting Rights Act and the Civil 
             Rights Act of the mid-sixties changed that. We know the 
             system can work.
               These are defining times. We are living through a global 
             reorientation. One of the great responsibilities this body 
             will have, the next President will have, we all will have, 
             is to reintroduce America to the world. The world does not 
             know who we are. Part of that is our fault. Part of that 
             is not our fault. There are 6.5 billion people in the 
             world, and 40 percent of those 6.5 billion are under the 
             age of 19 years old. Most people alive today were not 
             alive at the end of World War II. This can be done. It 
             must be done. America is a great country because we are a 
             good people.
               I wish to take my last minute in my comments today to 
             read from a poem I have distributed to friends and staff 
             for 30 years. I do not know the author of this poem, and I 
             never have. I never found out who the author of this poem 
             is. I have put it on a piece of glass and have distributed 
             hundreds and hundreds of copies to people I have worked 
             with over the years in different things I have done.
               I end my remarks, Mr. President, this way this 
             afternoon, by reciting this poem entitled ``The Man in the 
             Glass'' because it reflects on each of us but, most 
             poignantly, it reflects on each of us who has 
             responsibility to serve the public and be accountable and 
             honest:

                                The Man in the Glass
             When you get what you want in your struggle for self
             And the world makes you king for a day,
             Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
             And see what that man has to say.
             For it isn't your father or mother or wife
             Whose judgment upon you must pass.
             The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
             Is the one staring back from the glass.

             You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum
             And think you're a wonderful guy.
             But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
             If you can't look him straight in the eye.
             He's the fellow to please--never mind all the rest,
             For he's with you clear to the end.
             And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test
             If the man in the glass is your friend.

             You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
             And get pats on the back as you pass.
             But your final reward will be heartache and tears
             If you've cheated the man in the glass.
?

                                           

                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                     CHUCK HAGEL
                              Proceedings in the Senate
                                          Wednesday, September 24, 2008
               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, Senator Pete Domenici, who 
             is retiring from the Senate this year after serving since 
             1972, once said to me that we don't say goodbye in the 
             Senate very well. As a matter of fact, we don't say hello 
             very well either. We have a little orientation program, 
             but we abruptly arrive and leave. We leave in the midst of 
             a lot of turmoil and discussion with very little time to 
             say goodbye. Yet in between that arrival and leaving, we 
             have very intense personal relationships. We virtually 
             live with each other. We see each other often for 
             breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We see each other more than 
             we see our families. So when there is a time for saying 
             goodbye, we look for ways to say it a little better.
               There are five Members of our body, all of them 
             Republicans, who have announced their retirement for this 
             year. While I won't be speaking at length about them here 
             today, I want to recognize their service. I will do it in 
             the traditional way in the Senate, which is to start with 
             seniority. By ``seniority,'' I mean from the time I have 
             known them. ...
               Chuck Hagel of Nebraska is like the rest of us Senators. 
             We are all accidents. None of us could have guessed we 
             would be here. It is hard to plan your way into the Senate 
             because we come from all different directions.
               Senator Hagel, who is Nebraska's senior Senator, is 
             retiring after only two terms in the Senate, but he has 
             had a full life so far, starting a business or helping to 
             start one that became a public company. While we have a 
             great many patriots in the Senate, men who are honored for 
             their service in the military--such as Congressional Medal 
             of Honor winner, Senator Inouye; Senator Stevens, who flew 
             the first plane to land in Beijing after World War II 
             ended; Senator McCain, whose story is well known, while he 
             never discusses it--Senator Hagel's heroism and service 
             serving side by side with his brother in Vietnam is one of 
             the most fascinating, heroic stories of any Member of the 
             Senate.
               With that sort of independent background, you can 
             imagine he brought to this body a sense of independence, a 
             great knowledge of the world. Along with Senator Lugar on 
             this side of the aisle, he understands the world better 
             than almost anyone, and he works hard at it. He has been 
             independent in his views, willing to criticize those he 
             thought were wrong, including those in his own party. He 
             has recently written an excellent book about the future of 
             our party. We will miss Senator Hagel. ...
               I say to all five of those Senators, we will miss them. 
             We are grateful for their service. I know people must look 
             at the Senate in many different ways.
               Let me conclude by telling a story about how some 
             teachers look at it. We have a tradition in the Senate of 
             making a maiden address. It is kind of a funny name, but 
             we still call it that. We pick the subject of most 
             interest to us. My subject was to put the teaching of U.S. 
             history and civics back in its proper place in the school 
             curriculum so our children would grow up learning what it 
             means to be an American. There is not too much the Federal 
             Government can do about that, but what we were able to do 
             is to begin summer academies for outstanding teachers and 
             students of American history. One group of those teachers 
             was here in July, one from each State. I brought them on 
             the Senate floor early one morning. I took them to Daniel 
             Webster's desk, which is occupied by the senior Senator 
             from New Hampshire right here by me. I took them back to 
             that part of the Senate where Jefferson Davis' desk is, 
             occupied by the senior Senator from Mississippi, and told 
             them the story of how the marks in the desk are because a 
             Union soldier came in during the Civil War and started 
             chopping on it with his sword. His commanding officer came 
             in and said, ``Stop that. We are here to protect the 
             Union, not to destroy it.''
               This Chamber is full of history, full of our country. 
             Anyone who stands on this floor and sees the engravings of 
             ``In God We Trust'' or ``E Pluribus Unum'' and gets a 
             sense of what has happened here has respect for it. The 
             teachers had that respect. When we got to the end of our 
             visit, one teacher said to me, I think it was the teacher 
             from Oregon, ``Senator, what would you like for us to take 
             home to our students about our visit to the Senate 
             floor?''
               I said, ``I hope you will take back that each of us 
             takes our position a lot more seriously than we take 
             ourselves. We understand we are accidents, that we are 
             very fortunate and privileged to be here, that each of us 
             reveres our country, and we respect this institution. I 
             can only speak for myself, but I think it is true of 
             Senators on both sides of the aisle that we get up every 
             day thinking first of how we can make a little 
             contribution before we go to bed at night that will help 
             the country be a little better off than it was in the 
             morning. That means serving in the Senate is a very great 
             privilege. I hope you will take that back to your 
             students. I don't know what they see on television or read 
             in the newspaper about the Senate, but that is how we feel 
             about the privilege we have to serve here.''
               To these five Senators--Warner, Domenici, Craig, Hagel, 
             and Allard--we say goodbye. They are members of our 
             family. We appreciate their service. We know they have 
             believed it has been a very great privilege to serve in 
             the Senate. For us it has been a great privilege to serve 
             with them.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I wish to make a few 
             comments about some of our departing colleagues who will 
             not be joining us for the next session of Congress. They 
             are great colleagues, people whom I have enjoyed working 
             with in my 3\1/2\ years here in the Senate. They include 
             Senator Allard from Colorado, Senator Pete Domenici from 
             New Mexico, Senator John Warner from Virginia, Senator 
             Chuck Hagel from Nebraska, and Senator Larry Craig from 
             Idaho. ...
               Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska has likewise been one 
             of those voices of independence, putting public purpose 
             above partisanship and being a great example for all of us 
             in doing so. He has some deep connections in Colorado, 
             including his sister Claire who lives there, and his 
             family whom I have met over time. Even though he teases me 
             occasionally on the battleground between Nebraska and 
             Colorado with respect to the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the 
             University of Colorado Buffaloes, he has done a remarkable 
             service in the Senate as a great Senator and someone whom 
             I will sorely miss. ...
               I will miss my five colleagues. All of them are 
             Republicans who are departing. Many of them brought a true 
             spirit of bipartisanship and working together, which is 
             worthy of the emulation of many Members of the Senate who 
             will serve in this Chamber in the next Congress and in 
             many Congresses to come.
               I yield the floor.
                                           Thursday, September 25, 2008
               Mr. DOMENICI. I wish to take this time to pay tribute to 
             Chuck Hagel, the senior Senator from Nebraska, who is 
             retiring after serving for two terms in the Senate.
               Senator Hagel, a fourth generation Nebraskan, has served 
             his State and his country in many ways. He served as an 
             infantry squad leader with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry 
             Division and is a decorated Vietnam veteran, having been 
             awarded many honors including two Purple Hearts. As a U.S. 
             Senator, Chuck Hagel has served on four committees: 
             Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; 
             Intelligence; and Rules.
               During his time in the Senate, coinciding with mine, it 
             has been my pleasure to work with the distinguished 
             Senator on issues affecting our Nation. I can recall a 
             chance meeting between a member of my staff, one of my 
             constituent groups from New Mexico and Senator Hagel, in 
             which he took time out of his busy schedule to speak with 
             my New Mexico constituents to offer his insights and share 
             some very kind words. Such a small genuine instance like 
             this made all the difference in their trip to our Nation's 
             Capital.
               As I said, when he came here, for some reason, I think I 
             became one of his very first friends. He must have decided 
             that I was a big chairman, and when I went on a trip with 
             the Budget Committee to Europe, I asked him if he would 
             go, and he jumped to it. So we got to know each other 
             during the first 2 or 3 months of his term on a trip to 
             Europe where we learned about the new monetary system that 
             was about to be established in Europe. We did a number of 
             other things together.
               Obviously, he has been an exemplary Senator in all 
             respects. He will return to his State and to America 
             filled with ideas and ready to do other things for this 
             great land. My wife Nancy and I wish Chuck and his family 
             all the best.

               Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I recognize the work 
             of an outstanding colleague, Senator Chuck Hagel. As he 
             leaves the Senate, there are many things he will be 
             remembered for, and I will add a few to that long list.
               I have had the pleasure of serving with Senator Hagel on 
             both the Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees, 
             where I have seen what a thoughtful and dedicated public 
             servant he truly is. He has been an outspoken and 
             independent voice on foreign policy, and against the 
             current administration's reckless foreign policies, 
             including the disastrous war in Iraq.
               In our time serving together in the Senate, we have 
             worked on a number of bills relevant to our work on the 
             Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees. Senator 
             Hagel and I authored a bill to address the serious threat 
             posed to our national security by gaps in our intelligence 
             gathering. Building on the work of the 9/11 Commission, 
             our legislation would establish an independent commission 
             to improve how the U.S. Government collects and analyzes 
             information, so that we can head off emerging threats. 
             Senator Hagel has brought critical attention to this 
             issue, and I have no doubt he will continue to do so in 
             the years ahead. I also appreciate Senator Hagel's 
             commitment to strengthening our citizen diplomacy, which 
             is so important to improving the image of the U.S. abroad. 
             His support for my Global Services Fellowship Program Act, 
             and past efforts on this issue, has been just one more 
             example of Senator Hagel's willingness to reach across the 
             aisle to work on issues important to our country.
               As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee 
             on African Affairs, I particularly appreciate Senator 
             Hagel's support for a more peaceful, secure, and 
             prosperous Africa. He has supported efforts to help 
             protect civilians and provide them with access to basic 
             services. His voice has been one for political solutions 
             to conflict, and for initiatives that would bring long-
             term stability to the continent.
               Senator Hagel has served the people of Nebraska, and 
             America, with great dedication and skill. I will miss 
             having him as a colleague, but I value his service and his 
             friendship, and I wish him all the best as he leaves the 
             Senate.

               Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to my 
             distinguished colleague from Nebraska, Senator Chuck 
             Hagel, who will be retiring from the Senate at the 
             conclusion of the 110th Congress.
               I have worked with Chuck since coming over to the Senate 
             in 1998. I have also had the privilege of serving on the 
             Senate Banking Committee with Chuck. He is a man of 
             integrity and patriotism. Chuck has served his country 
             proudly throughout the years, whether it be working as a 
             staffer for Congressman John McCollister of Nebraska, as 
             deputy administrator of the Veterans' Administration, as 
             U.S. Senator, or earning the Purple Heart while defending 
             the freedoms we enjoy today. He has a servant's heart, and 
             the people of Nebraska should be proud to have been 
             represented by a man of his character.
               I am honored to know him and to have worked with him. I 
             would like to thank Chuck for his contributions to the 
             Senate and to the country we both love. I wish him and his 
             family the best in all of their future endeavors.
                                             Friday, September 26, 2008
               Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I want to take just a few 
             minutes to speak about our colleagues who have announced 
             their plans to retire at the conclusion of this 110th 
             Congress. We obviously will miss them. There are five 
             individuals about whom I wanted to say a brief word: 
             Senators Allard, Hagel, Craig, Warner, and Domenici. They 
             have all brought their intelligence, principles, and 
             perspectives on the issues confronting our Nation. The 
             Nation is better for their efforts.
               Senators Allard and Hagel both came to the Senate in 
             1996. ...
               Chuck Hagel of Nebraska forged a very successful career 
             in business and broadcasting, civic organizations and 
             government, but first he served our country as a sergeant 
             in Vietnam. It was an honor to work with him on the 
             Vietnam Memorial Visitors Center legislation. He has 
             championed that cause, knowing first hand how much it 
             means to have lived through the experience of that war. He 
             has a wide knowledge of the world, and he has informed his 
             thoughtful and well-considered positions on foreign policy 
             and arms control and national security issues with that 
             knowledge.
               He can always be counted on for a straightforward 
             approach and an honest statement of his views.

               Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I wish to make a few 
             comments about some of our departing colleagues who will 
             no longer be with us next year. I have known some of them 
             for just a little while, others I have known for a long 
             time. And, to all of them I bid a fond farewell and mahalo 
             for their service to their State and to this country. They 
             are dear colleagues and friends of mine and I know that 
             even if they leave this fine establishment, our 
             friendships will continue long into the future.
               The Senators that I am referring to are Senator John 
             Warner from Virginia, Senator Pete Domenici from New 
             Mexico, Senator Larry Craig from Idaho, Senator Chuck 
             Hagel from Nebraska, and Senator Wayne Allard from 
             Colorado. Please allow me just one moment to reflect on my 
             service with each of these valuable Members. ...
               Another veteran that is leaving the Senate and a dear 
             friend of mine is Senator Chuck Hagel. While he has 
             elected to leave the U.S. Senate after serving two terms, 
             his service to this country started long before he became 
             a U.S. Senator. In 1968, he and his brother served in 
             Vietnam, where he earned multiple military decorations and 
             honors, including two Purple Hearts. His long career in 
             public service began during his tenure as an 
             administrative assistant to Congressman John Y. 
             McCollister from Nebraska in 1971 and lasting until 1977. 
             In 1981 he was nominated and confirmed to be Deputy 
             Administrator of the Veterans' Administration where had 
             the privilege and honor to work for our Nation's veterans. 
             Senator Hagel has served the State of Nebraska with great 
             distinction and will be missed by all.

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I have really enjoyed 
             working with Chuck Hagel.
               Senator Hagel honorably served our country by enlisting 
             in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war.
               While in Vietnam, he received the Vietnamese Cross of 
             Gallantry, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, and the 
             Combat Infantryman Badge.
               After working as Deputy Administrator of the VA, he 
             became a successful entrepreneur and business leader.
               In 1996 Chuck Hagel was elected to the U.S. Senate.
               Six years later, he was overwhelmingly reelected with 
             over 83 percent of the vote, the largest margin of victory 
             in any statewide race in Nebraska history.
               His knowledge and experience building a business and 
             creating jobs was invaluable to the Senate.
               He was a leader on the Foreign Relations Committee and 
             represented the U.S. Senate admirably as chair of the 
             Senate Global Climate Change Observer Group.
               On a personal note, he always sent me a souvenir from 
             the College World Series in Omaha when the University of 
             Texas or Rice University was in the finals, which I am 
             proud to say was almost every year.
               I will miss Chuck Hagel, and I wish him well.
                                           Saturday, September 27, 2008
                        ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
               Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
             that the tributes to retiring Senators that appear in the 
             Congressional Record be printed as a Senate document and 
             that Senators be permitted to submit such tributes for 
             inclusion until Friday, November 21, 2008.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                             Monday, September 29, 2008
               Mr. LIEBERMAN. ... I offer thanks and best wishes to 
             other colleagues who are leaving--Senators Allard, Hagel, 
             and Craig.

               Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I know this afternoon at some 
             point the majority leader intends to speak about the 
             service of a number of the Members of this body who are 
             going to be retiring at the end of the year. But seeing 
             that people are elsewhere right now, I thought I might 
             seize this moment and say a few words about two of my 
             Republican colleagues with whom I have had long 
             relationships, and both of whom I respect a great deal, 
             and to wish both of them success as they leave this body. 
             ...
               Mr. President, I also wish to say a few words today 
             about Senator Chuck Hagel, who will be leaving this body.
               Chuck Hagel and I have known each other for more than 30 
             years. We both came to Washington as young Vietnam 
             veterans, determined to try to take care of the 
             readjustment needs of those who had served in Vietnam. 
             Senator Hagel had been an infantry sergeant in Vietnam; 
             wounded, came up, worked in the Senate for awhile, became 
             a high-ranking official in the Veterans' Administration. 
             He later ran the USO before he came to this body. He is 
             known in this body as an expert on foreign affairs.
               Again, as with Senator John Warner, he is someone who 
             puts country first, who puts the needs of the people who 
             do the hard work of society first. It has been a rare 
             privilege for me to have made a journey with someone, 
             beginning in the same spot in the late 1970s and ending up 
             here in the Senate. I know this country will hear more 
             from Chuck Hagel in the future. I certainly wish him well.
                                            Tuesday, September 30, 2008
               Mr. DODD. ... I wanted to mention as well a couple of 
             other colleagues who are also retiring. If I could, one is 
             my great friend from Nebraska, Chuck Hagel, with whom I 
             have served on both the Banking and the Foreign Relations 
             Committees for the past 12 years, truly a wonderful 
             person. We have worked together on a number of issues.
               He got his first job at 9 years of age when he began to 
             help his family economically. He was 16 when his dad died 
             and took over raising his family along with his mother. I 
             believe most of my colleagues are aware that he was a true 
             hero of the Vietnam war. He saved his brother who, in 
             fact, was serving with him in that conflict.
               He has done a remarkable job in his public service years 
             as well. We serve on the Foreign Relations Committee 
             together and the Banking Committee. Whether the issue has 
             been Iraq, Serbia, or Croatia, Cuba, regardless of who 
             comes before our committee, no one asks tougher questions 
             or gets straighter answers than Chuck Hagel.
               On Cuba, for instance--again, an explosive issue 
             politically--Chuck and I offered a resolution to end the 
             embargo in Cuba because we agreed that the current policy 
             toward the island has failed the Cuban people and the 
             American people alike and because we refused to let 
             America wait on the sidelines while the future of one of 
             our closest neighbors is determined by others.
               It is that kind of courage that he brings to the debate, 
             kind of blows through it all and says: What is the right 
             thing for our country and, in this case, the people of 
             Cuba?
               On the Banking Committee, Chuck and I worked for months 
             to reinvent the infrastructure of our Nation with the 
             creation of a national infrastructure bank, 2\1/2\ years 
             developing that bill. In fact, it was Chuck who convinced 
             me we ought to announce the outcome of our work one day in 
             August last year. I argued with him a bit. I said, ``No 
             one will pay any attention to announcing an infrastructure 
             bill in August. Who wants to hear about infrastructure in 
             August.''
               Chuck said, ``No, let's have that press conference and 
             let people know what we are doing.''
               We met in the gallery at 10 a.m. I think we had two 
             reporters who showed up. I said, ``I think I was right, 
             Chuck. No one cares about infrastructure.''
               By 5 o'clock that afternoon, Chuck Hagel and I were on 
             every TV screen in America because, regrettably, of the 
             great tragedy in Minneapolis that occurred that afternoon. 
             The bridge collapsed. Of course, infrastructure was the 
             subject matter for the next weeks to come. So, once again, 
             Chuck Hagel understood the timing of an issue in bringing 
             it up and how important it was for our Nation. Little did 
             we know that tragedy would fall on Interstate 35-W over 
             the Mississippi River.
               There again was Chuck Hagel, standing with a colleague 
             of a different background, putting aside ideology and 
             politics to work together to find new and innovative ways 
             to address the Nation's most urgent priorities. That is 
             Chuck Hagel, a remarkable person and a very good Senator 
             over the years. Patriotic, never partisan, tough but fair, 
             always engaged, sometimes even confrontational, but never, 
             ever, belligerent, a strong Member. This institution will 
             miss Chuck's ability to transcend politics and serve the 
             American people. As such, the people of Nebraska deserve 
             our thanks for sending Chuck Hagel to serve with us over 
             these past 12 years. I will miss him. We all wish him the 
             very best. He served our Nation very well during his 
             service.

               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, 12 years ago when I came to 
             the Senate, I was joined by a new Senator from Nebraska, 
             Chuck Hagel. Chuck became a friend, and we have worked 
             together on a number of issues over the years. He also, in 
             a weak moment, agreed to do my cable show. I went to his 
             office. We talked about his background; first, his service 
             in Vietnam, something I particularly admire, the courage 
             he showed in volunteering to serve in our Army, and then 
             coming together with his brother in the same unit and both 
             of them under fire. Both of them served our country in 
             combat. He came back and was a successful businessman. He 
             went on to serve the people of Nebraska and eventually to 
             serve in the Senate.
               We have worked together over the years. I have always 
             found him to be a gentleman. His word is good, and he has 
             the courage to step up and take a position once in a while 
             that may not be popular, even in Nebraska.
               I know his leadership on the issue of the war in Iraq 
             will be remembered because, during the last 2 years when 
             we struggled to find a way to bring this war to a close, 
             he is one who would cross the aisle and join us in an 
             effort to find a reasonable way to end this conflict in an 
             honorable manner. I respect him so much for that.
               I have one special little measure of gratitude for Chuck 
             Hagel. There is a bill I introduced which is as near and 
             dear to me as any I considered. It is called the DREAM 
             Act, to give literally tens of thousands of children 
             across America who came to this country, were brought here 
             by undocumented parents, grew up as Americans, never 
             knowing any other life, any other culture, maybe not 
             knowing any other language but English, and now find 
             themselves graduating high school with no country. They 
             are told officially by American law they are not wanted or 
             needed and asked to leave. They have nowhere to go. This 
             is home. They want a chance, just a chance to be part of 
             America's future in a legal way.
               This DREAM Act has been controversial because it relates 
             to immigration, and that is not an easy issue. Chuck Hagel 
             stepped up and co-sponsored that legislation with me, and 
             I will never forget it. It meant a lot for him to show 
             that kind of courage.
               Even though we did not prevail, someday we will, and 
             when that day comes, I will honor him on the floor for his 
             exceptional courage on this matter that means so much to 
             so many young people across our country. ...
               Those Senators leaving our ranks leave positive memories 
             for this Senator from Illinois. The fact that I have been 
             able to serve with them, know them, and count them as 
             friends, I count as one of the real blessings of my 
             service in the Senate.
                                             Wednesday, October 1, 2008
               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today, as one of those 
             who made the weighty decision not to seek reelection, to 
             share my most personal thoughts--tributes--to my esteemed 
             colleagues who will quietly, humbly, and with a deep sense 
             of gratitude to their States, to our Nation, bring to a 
             conclusion their public service as U.S. Senators.
               This is a diverse group of Senators. Whether we hail 
             from small farms, small cities or, in my case, from major 
             metropolitan areas, we bring different backgrounds, 
             different interests. That diversity gives the Senate its 
             strength to serve equally all Americans. What we share, 
             however, is an unwavering love for our States, our country 
             and for the institution of the U.S. Senate.
               We aspire to Winston Churchill's quote: ``We make a 
             living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.''
               It has been my privilege, over my 30 years in the 
             Senate, to serve with a total of 261 Members. Each, 
             almost, shall be remembered as a friend. ...
               Senator Chuck Hagel has served his native Nebraska and 
             his country with true heroism. When I was privileged to 
             serve in the Department of the Navy during the war in 
             Vietnam, Chuck Hagel, together with his brother, both 
             served with courage in the same Army unit in South 
             Vietnam. He was awarded the Purple Heart not once but 
             twice for his heroism and sacrifice in combat leadership.
               His career has spanned the spectrum from public servant 
             to entrepreneur, and this has given him a perspective on 
             the world and global affairs, as well as of Main Streets 
             in the hometowns and cities of his State.
               Senator Hagel will be remembered for his efforts on 
             behalf of his fellow veterans and men and women in 
             uniform, together with their families. At one time he 
             served as president of the USO.
               One of his proudest achievements will surely be his work 
             with my colleague from Virginia, a former highly decorated 
             Marine, Senator Jim Webb, who also served in Vietnam. The 
             two of them started a very tough assignment, and that was 
             to rewrite the existing GI bill. And along the way, two 
             ``old-timers,'' both World War II veterans--Senator 
             Lautenberg and I--enlisted in their ranks as co-sponsors.
               Our goal was to give to today's generation of men and 
             women in uniform a level and diversity of benefits that 
             approaches what the World War II generation received from 
             a grateful Nation at the conclusion of that conflict. The 
             GI bill at that time enabled any soldier, sailor, or 
             airman--and there were up to 16 million who served in 
             World War II--to go to almost any university or college of 
             his or her choice, and the funds were nearly sufficient to 
             fund the costs for tuition, room and board, and school 
             books.
               But through the ensuing years, the successive GI bills 
             were not quite as fulsome; they did not keep pace with the 
             rising cost of education. Prior to the Webb bill, today's 
             generation was barely able to get enough funds to attend 
             educational institutions in their home States, let alone 
             some of America's better-known educational institutions. 
             This bill recognizes the great contributions of our 
             military men and women and increases significantly the GI 
             bill benefits. It will make a great difference in the 
             lives of so many of this generation, a generation that I 
             believe is in every way equal to the Greatest Generation 
             of World War II, for it faces even greater challenges as 
             the uncertainty of threats and the advance of complexity 
             of weapons face them today in a growing number of places 
             worldwide.
               I so admire this strong American, Chuck Hagel, who 
             symbolizes ``duty, honor, country.''
               In public service, his compass is precise; for he always 
             follows the needle as it points to what course of action 
             is ``best for America.'' ...
               I am proud to say I have come to know each of these fine 
             men. And I firmly believe that this is but yet another 
             beginning in all of our lives, for, to quote Churchill 
             again, ``the chain of destiny can only be grasped one link 
             at a time.''
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. CORKER. Madam President, there are a number of 
             distinguished Senators who are leaving this body this 
             year. I know there have been a number of tributes given to 
             all of them and their service. ...
               Chuck Hagel, who exercises this tremendous independence, 
             somebody with whom I have really enjoyed serving on 
             Foreign Relations; ... I honor all of them. I wish them 
             well. I think we are all better having had the opportunity 
             to serve with them.

               Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, as this Congress comes to a 
             close we bid a fond farewell to our colleague Chuck Hagel. 
             As a Member of this body, Chuck is completing 12 years of 
             outstanding service to the people of Nebraska and to the 
             country. But I expect that he will find new ways to 
             contribute to the mission we all share: making the United 
             States stronger, safer, and more prosperous.
               Chuck's first legislative service was as a U.S. Senator. 
             I like to think that those of us who were not seasoned 
             legislators when we arrived here draw on a diverse set of 
             experiences as we find our way to become effective 
             lawmakers. Chuck Hagel's background was probably more 
             varied than most--decorated war veteran, businessman, 
             broadcaster, and Deputy Administrator of the Veterans' 
             Administration, just to mention a few of the areas in 
             which he has distinguished himself. His successes in these 
             many disciplines undoubtedly helped him develop the 
             independent voice that we grew accustomed to hearing over 
             his dozen years in our midst.
               For several years, we served together on the Budget 
             Committee, a legislative environment in which 
             bipartisanship isn't always easy. Chuck was always 
             forthright and honest in our sometimes contentious 
             deliberations and was never afraid to go where the facts 
             led him--even if it meant irritating a colleague on his 
             own side of the aisle.
               We will miss him as a friend and as a fellow Senator, 
             but I expect the Nation will hear from Chuck Hagel again. 
             We wish him the best as he looks for new challenges.

               Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, for the past 12 years, I have 
             had the privilege of serving in the Senate with my friend 
             Chuck Hagel. Upon his retirement from the Senate, I wanted 
             to take a moment to tell him how much he will be dearly 
             missed. Chuck Hagel will be missed not just by his 
             colleagues in the Senate, but also by those Americans for 
             whom he dedicated his career to fight for while serving in 
             Washington, DC.
               Although we sit on opposite sides of the aisle, I have 
             found myself standing with Senator Hagel on numerous 
             occasions. Just in the past couple of years, we have 
             fought for increased pay for our troops, establishing a 
             center dedicated to the rehabilitation, treatment, and 
             research of servicemembers blinded in combat, and 
             advocating for additional mental health care resources for 
             servicemembers returning from combat.
               Because of Senator Hagel's dedication to stand up for 
             those who have fought for our country, we have a 
             modernized GI bill. We have a GI bill that more accurately 
             reflects the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform 
             are making. We have a modernized benefits package that 
             will cover the majority of tuition costs for our returning 
             servicemembers, and I was proud to stand with him in that 
             effort as well.
               His service to our country has been truly admirable. 
             Senator Hagel has had a truly remarkable career 
             representing the State of Nebraska. I thank him for his 
             service to our country. I wish him the best in his future 
             endeavors.
                                              Thursday, October 2, 2008
               Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to spend just a few 
             minutes today talking about Chuck Hagel, the Senator from 
             the State of Nebraska.
               I was raised in an environment where things were 
             physical--football, baseball, boxing, fighting, and being 
             tough. That was important. And as I have looked through 
             the Senate over these years, there is no one that fits 
             that bill more than Chuck Hagel. The senior Senator from 
             the State of Nebraska is both physically and mentally very 
             tough.
               Senator Hagel is a person who suffered multiple broken 
             noses playing high school and college football and, as we 
             read in his book, an occasional scuffle off the field. 
             Senator Hagel is a man who won a football scholarship to 
             go to college because of his athletic prowess but had to 
             change his plans when injury left him with an 
             uncorrectable pinched nerve in his neck.
               Senator Hagel is a man who risked his own life on many 
             occasions, but on one occasion risked his own life and 
             suffered terribly to save his brother's life in the jungle 
             of Cambodia during the Vietnam conflict. Senator Hagel is 
             a man who still carries shrapnel from his heroic uniformed 
             service to our Nation.
               Senator Hagel tells the story in his book about his 
             childhood, that when he and his brother Tom were growing 
             up, the Hagel family moved around Nebraska to seven 
             different houses in small Nebraska towns. The seven places 
             he lived formed a loop around the State. So when Chuck 
             first ran for the Senate in 1996, he could go almost 
             anyplace in Nebraska and tell local crowds, ``it's good to 
             be home.''
               When Chuck Hagel's draft number was called in 1967, he 
             was given an order to ship out to Germany after being 
             inducted. But he said, ``I don't want to go to Germany. 
             The war is in Vietnam.'' So he asked to change his orders 
             to go to Vietnam where the action was. What this young man 
             from Nebraska believed was that fighting a war meant going 
             to the front lines, not someplace thousands of miles away. 
             So that is where he wound up.
               Since the Sullivan brothers' deaths in World War II, it 
             was not very often that siblings found themselves in the 
             same combat zone fighting, but that isn't what happened in 
             this situation with the Hagel brothers. No one really 
             knows how--they think it was a stroke of luck, but it 
             remains a bit of a mystery--Chuck Hagel and Tom Hagel 
             wound up in the same infantry, same fighting unit, 
             fighting shoulder to shoulder in the jungles of Cambodia.
               Mr. President, in the span of less than a month, these 
             two brothers each had the chance to save the other's life. 
             Not only did they have the chance, but they took that 
             chance and they were successful. Here is one account:

               One of the soldiers ... hit a trip wire, setting off a 
             mine that had been placed in a tree so that it would 
             detonate at face level. Bodies, body parts and shrapnel 
             were blasted back into the ranks as the squad was crossing 
             a stream. Tom picked himself up and looked for his 
             brother. What he saw was a ``geyser'' of blood gushing 
             from Chuck's chest. Tom, then only 19, stanched the 
             bleeding and bandaged the wound, only then noticing that 
             he'd been hit himself in the arm. Twenty-five days later, 
             it was Chuck's turn to rescue Tom when their troop carrier 
             hit a hand-detonated mine as it emerged from a village in 
             the delta. Tom had been in the turret behind a .50-caliber 
             machine gun. He was unconscious, not obviously alive, when 
             his brother got to him. The blast had blown out Chuck's 
             eardrums and severely burned his left side, but knowing 
             the carrier might soon explode, he worked feverishly to 
             pull Tom from the wreckage, then threw his body on top of 
             Tom's as Vietcong fighters in ambush sprayed the area with 
             gunfire.

               For this remarkably courageous service, Sgt. Chuck Hagel 
             was decorated with the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, the 
             Army Commendation Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and 
             two Purple Hearts.
               After the war, Chuck Hagel came to Washington and worked 
             on Capitol Hill. By the age of 26, he was chief of staff 
             to Congressman John McCollister of Nebraska. Within 10 
             years, he was appointed by President Reagan to be the 
             second highest ranking official in the Veterans' 
             Administration. But very typical of Chuck Hagel, after 
             just a few months during his term of service, he spoke out 
             against a cut in benefits to Vietnam veterans and quit the 
             Department in protest. This was not the steppingstone to 
             an impressive career in Washington, as some had thought, 
             because Chuck Hagel spoke out against something he thought 
             was wrong.
               When Senator Hagel left Capitol Hill, he scraped 
             together whatever money he could find by selling a car and 
             cashing in life insurance policies to invest in an upstart 
             business that built networks for wireless phones. Within a 
             few years, Chuck Hagel's company was one of the most 
             successful cellular telephone providers in America. He 
             entered the American system of free enterprise and was 
             extremely successful. But after succeeding in business, 
             Chuck returned his attention to politics and won a seat in 
             the Senate in 1996.
               I have served with Chuck Hagel in the Senate for 12 
             years. One would be hard pressed to find a more 
             conservative Member than the senior Senator from Nebraska. 
             Although our political philosophies differ, I know Chuck 
             Hagel to be one of the bravest and most fiercely 
             independent Members of this legislative body. He has been 
             a deficit hawk when others in his party abandoned fiscal 
             restraint.
               He crossed the aisle and worked with my predecessor, 
             Senator Daschle, as well as Senator Kennedy and Senator 
             Martinez on the Republican side, to seek a comprehensive 
             immigration plan that would be both tough and 
             compassionate but, above all, fair.
               He served the people of Nebraska well as a member of the 
             Foreign Relations Committee; the Banking, Housing, and 
             Urban Affairs Committee; the Intelligence Committee; and 
             the Rules Committee.
               I will be forever grateful for the courage Senator Hagel 
             has shown on the Iraq war. He spoke out early against the 
             war, he spoke out often, and he was right. As all Senators 
             know, speaking up against a hallmark policy of one's own 
             party is no easy task. With Senator Hagel's help, we were 
             able to move the debate forward and to finally provide 
             some oversight on the incompetent management of the war. 
             Although Senator Hagel will not see the end of the war as 
             a Member of this body, there is no doubt that his courage 
             has brought us closer to that day.
               One of the most remarkable days in my political career 
             was the time when we were working on how to do something 
             to change the course on the war in Iraq. I visited Senator 
             Hagel in his office. As you walk in, you see a picture of 
             Tom and Chuck Hagel in a mechanized vehicle in the jungles 
             of Cambodia--or Vietnam. I don't know exactly where it 
             was, but Southeast Asia. He is very proud of his military 
             career. But we visited, and I probably wouldn't be a very 
             good salesman, selling automobiles or a house because it 
             was hard for me to close the deal, saying, ``Chuck, will 
             you vote with me?'' At home that night, he called me and 
             said words to the effect: I listened to you; I'm going to 
             vote with you.
               His vote made the difference. It allowed us to carry the 
             day and send a bill to the President that the President 
             vetoed. Senator Hagel didn't wait for me to close the 
             deal, he closed the deal. I have great admiration and 
             respect for him and what he did that night. I think he 
             changed the direction of the country and how it felt about 
             the war in Iraq, and it allowed the people in America to 
             know that we could do something, that we are not 
             powerless.
               It is well known that Senator Hagel has been considered 
             on more than one occasion as a candidate for President or 
             Vice President. Here is what he said, though.

               I don't have to be President. I don't have to be a 
             Senator. I just have to live with myself.

               So whatever path Chuck Hagel follows next, he, his wife 
             Lilibet, and their daughter Allyn and son Ziller, should 
             have the deepest pride in the lasting impact of Senator 
             Chuck Hagel's patriotism and service for the betterment of 
             the Nation we love through both the military and the 
             Senate, where he has served so gallantly.

               Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise this morning to 
             recognize and pay tribute to several colleagues who are 
             concluding distinguished careers in the Senate. These 
             gentlemen have distinguished themselves. They have 
             dedicated themselves to representing their States and 
             representing the best interests of the Nation. ...
               Finally, let me pay tribute to a dear friend and 
             colleague. We entered the Senate together 12 years ago. 
             Senator Chuck Hagel has represented Nebraska with rare 
             insight and extraordinarily good humor for 12 years. He is 
             one of those individuals who is respected and liked by 
             everyone because he is an extraordinarily decent person, 
             someone who takes his job seriously but himself not so 
             seriously. He is someone I have had the privilege to 
             travel with across the globe--Russia, Afghanistan, 
             Singapore, the Philippines, northern Africa, and back 
             again to Afghanistan and Iraq. He, too, has a rare 
             dedication to the men and women of the armed services, 
             born of his own personal experiences. As a young man he 
             chose not only to join the U.S. Army but to serve in 
             Vietnam. He had the opportunity to be posted to Germany. 
             He would have served out his time and left. But he decided 
             he had to march to the sound of the guns. His brother was 
             already there. Together in the same unit, he and his 
             brother served the U.S. Army. He was wounded in action and 
             received the Purple Heart. He came back as a veteran and 
             continued his education and then built a very successful 
             business career. But he never lost sight of those men and 
             women who serve in uniform. He is very active in the USO. 
             He is someone who was active in veterans affairs. Then, 
             finally, when he was elected to the Senate, he took his 
             learning, his experience, and appreciation, and played a 
             major role on the Foreign Relations Committee. His 
             commitment to a broad multinational policy of using our 
             alliances, of building our power not just through our 
             military power but through diplomatic and reputational 
             power has made a significant contribution to the country, 
             not just for the moment but for many years. He is leaving 
             the Senate to pursue other endeavors. I wish him well. He 
             has been a remarkable friend. He, Lilibet, and their 
             children, Allyn and Ziller, are a remarkable family. I 
             will miss him particularly. I salute him, thank him. He, 
             to me, is the very model of a Senator who has served his 
             country in different ways and now has chosen to continue 
             to serve in other ways. I am sure he will continue to 
             contribute to the country.
               To these Members, I wish them well. I thank them 
             personally for their kindness to me and their 
             thoughtfulness on so many other occasions.

               Mr. ALLARD. ... Another individual I wish to recognize 
             who is retiring is Senator Chuck Hagel from Nebraska; 
             again, one of the neighboring States of Colorado. The 
             State of Nebraska is downstream from Colorado. So we have 
             ribbed each other a little bit about water issues. 
             Basically, though, we have been partners on water issues. 
             We have been able to work together on many issues that 
             have improved the management of water in the Platte River 
             drainage system, which is one of the many rivers that 
             originates in Colorado and flows downstream. I also worked 
             with Senator Hagel on the Banking Committee. He was one 
             who pushed early on for the reform of Fannie Mae and 
             Freddie Mac. He brought to this institution a great deal 
             of experience. Again, he has decided to retire the same 
             year as I have. I will always remember Senator Chuck Hagel 
             and our relationship and how we have been able to work 
             together, I think for the betterment of both of our 
             States.

               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment 
             to recognize and express my appreciation for my friend and 
             colleague Senator Chuck Hagel. I have served in the Senate 
             with Chuck Hagel for the past 12 years. During that time, 
             he has established himself as one who is able to rise 
             above partisanship, and he is respected on both sides of 
             the aisle for his honest appraisals.
               For the past 2 years, I have had the opportunity to work 
             with Chuck on our bipartisan efforts to change our course 
             in Iraq. We have served together on the Intelligence 
             Committee. When we have agreed on policy, he has been a 
             thoughtful and effective partner; and when we have not, 
             those same qualities served the Senate well nonetheless.
               Chuck Hagel has brought to the U.S. Senate a deeply held 
             commitment to our Nation's troops and veterans and an 
             equally deep understanding of their needs. With that 
             perspective, he has served as an honest broker between 
             parties and positions, and he has been an effective 
             advocate for our brave men and women in uniform as well as 
             for the people of Nebraska.
               He understands the power of this Nation's values, not 
             just of our military, and he has eloquently represented 
             those values. He has defended his extraordinary 
             independent streak with great courage.
               I extend my thanks to Chuck and wish him and Lilibet all 
             the best in their future endeavors.

               Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, with the end of a session 
             fast approaching, it is time once again to say farewell to 
             some of our favorite colleagues in the Senate. And today 
             that includes our friend, the senior Senator from 
             Nebraska.
               Chuck Hagel's long record of service is well known to 
             many. What some may not know is that that record of 
             service long predates his time in Washington.
               Responsibility was thrust upon Chuck at an early age. A 
             fourth generation Nebraskan, Chuck became the man of the 
             house at the young age of 16 after the death of his 
             father.
               And he accepted the responsibility head on, working hard 
             to support his mom and younger brothers.
               But even then working hard was nothing new to Chuck 
             Hagel, who had taken his first job delivering papers at 
             the age of 9.
               As a young man, Chuck answered the call and volunteered 
             to serve in Vietnam, and Chuck's fellow soldiers turned to 
             him for leadership.
               One of the soldiers who served right alongside Chuck was 
             his younger brother Tom. By coincidence, the Hagel 
             brothers ended up in the same unit and rode together in 
             the same armored personnel carrier.
               In a defining act of heroism, Chuck once dragged his 
             brother out of that carrier after it had struck a landmine 
             and burst into flames. The blast left Chuck badly burned 
             and ruptured both his eardrums. Yet despite serious 
             injuries to himself, he brought his brother through enemy 
             fire to safety.
               After returning home from Vietnam, Chuck worked his way 
             through college and got his first taste of Washington 
             working for Omaha Congressman John McCollister.
               Later, Chuck would show his drive and his leadership in 
             the business world. Taking a risk, he sank his entire 
             savings into a business venture that eventually paid off.
               And then, 12 years ago, he took another gamble. And we 
             are glad he did.
               A political newcomer, Chuck defeated Nebraska's sitting 
             State attorney general in a primary, and then a popular 
             incumbent Governor in the general election for a seat in 
             the U.S. Senate.
               I will note, Mr. President, that the Governor he beat is 
             now the junior Senator from Nebraska. And in a sign of 
             Chuck's character and commitment to the people of 
             Nebraska, the two former rivals have worked in tandem on 
             many issues for the good of the people of their State.
               I know Senator Nelson would agree that Senator Hagel's 
             departure is a great loss for this Chamber and for the 
             people of the Cornhusker State.
               Chuck's advocacy for the people of Nebraska was 
             reaffirmed 6 years ago when the voters sent him back to 
             Washington for a second term.
               In a sign of his effectiveness and his popularity, he 
             won reelection to the Senate by the biggest margin 
             Nebraska has ever seen.
               The one-time political newcomer trounced his opponent, 
             winning 83 percent of the vote--and all 93 counties in the 
             State.
               In two terms in the Senate, Chuck has earned the respect 
             of his colleagues and risen to national prominence as a 
             clear voice on foreign policy and national security. He 
             has consistently fought to expand free trade, particularly 
             with Vietnam.
               Chuck's stature as a leading voice in foreign affairs 
             has earned him a reputation, in just 12 years in the 
             Senate, as one of Nebraska's great statesmen. This is a 
             tribute to his intelligence, hard work, and devotion to a 
             country that he has served his entire adult life.
               Elaine and I have enjoyed getting to know Chuck, 
             Lilibet, and their family over the years. I know Chuck's a 
             proud dad. And his kids should be proud of their dad.
               Chuck, it has been an honor, and a pleasure, to serve 
             with you. We all wish you well in whatever future 
             endeavors you choose to take on.
               I am confident that, even though Nebraska is known as a 
             flat State, whoever succeeds Charles Timothy Hagel in the 
             U.S. Senate is going to have a very steep hill to climb.

               Mr. KYL. Mr. President, when the 111th Congress convenes 
             next year, the Senate will be without Senator Chuck Hagel. 
             Senator Hagel has decided to retire from the Senate after 
             two terms. His career in public service, however, long 
             predates his service in Congress.
               Like many public servants, Senator Hagel entered 
             politics after first serving the Nation in the Armed 
             Forces. He saw combat in Vietnam and served with valor, 
             receiving two Purple Hearts among other decorations. He 
             would later serve as a congressional staff member, and in 
             1981, President Reagan tapped him as Deputy Administrator 
             of the Veterans' Administration.
               When Senator Hagel came to the Senate, his actions often 
             reflected his experience as a combat veteran. He did what 
             he believed was best for the men and women in uniform, and 
             he defended his positions forcefully.
               Senator Hagel has continued to protect and defend the 
             country, notably through his work on the Foreign Relations 
             and Intelligence Committees. He had strong opinions, and 
             he was never shy about letting them be known.
               I wish Senator Hagel all the best in his pursuits after 
             the Senate. I expect that he will devote much of his time 
             to his wife Lilibet and their family, but I imagine he 
             will save some time to follow his Nebraska Cornhuskers.

               Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, one of the first experiences 
             of a new Senator is to open the drawer in their desk here 
             on the floor and learn a special lesson in Senate history. 
             Traditionally, Senators do what we prevent sixth grade 
             boys from doing: we write our names into our desks. When I 
             first opened my drawer here, I saw decades of people who 
             had occupied this particular desk, and it told me that for 
             however long I am here, I am a temporary occupant. Many 
             came before me and many will come after me. So at each 2-
             year interval, we say goodbye to many of our colleagues 
             and await the new.
               I will be particularly sad to say farewell to the senior 
             Senator from Nebraska, Mr. Hagel. He came to this body 
             with an extraordinary career in communications, finance, 
             and international business. He was like a Senator of a 
             bygone era, when Members of this body often were the 
             national experts in their fields.
               He made a tremendous contribution to the world of the 
             Senate because he had first-hand knowledge of the dynamism 
             and transformational nature of the global economy all 
             around us. He is the kind of decisionmaker that is shaping 
             the new economy, and it has been so valuable to have him 
             among us.
               Chuck Hagel's whole life expresses his conviction that 
             the world can and should be a better place, and it will 
             not get that way by itself. He is fully engaged in a 
             lifelong effort to make the world a better place, and he 
             applies every waking hour to the quest. I know that 
             ``retirement'' is not the word for his departure from this 
             place--in a way he is released from this responsibility to 
             pursue his passion of public service in multiple other 
             ways. He is the embodiment of the ideal of a life of self-
             sacrifice for the betterment of others.
               Senator Hagel brought his analytical, probing mind to 
             the Foreign Relations Committee, where I served with him 
             these last 6 years. His contributions to the committee's 
             work were always thoughtful and challenging--and that was 
             just his Halloween costumes.
               Chuck Hagel is one of the most energetic people I have 
             ever met. When you look at the list of organizations he 
             supports with this ideas and his leadership, it looks like 
             the combined resume of five people. He works with veterans 
             organizations, antipoverty organizations, international 
             cooperation organizations and the list goes on and on. He 
             has been honored by dozens of organizations for excellence 
             in public service.
               For some reason, Nebraska has a habit of sending 
             independent-minded Members to this body, and they play a 
             key role in our deliberations. Perhaps because Nebraska is 
             kind of a plains State, kind of a Midwestern State, kind 
             of a Western State, and in that way unique, Nebraskans 
             have contributed a great deal of independence to our 
             deliberations, which is so valuable in the Senate's search 
             for consensus.
               We in Minnesota are glad to be a part of Chuck Hagel's 
             life. Since some of his education occurred at the Brown 
             Institute in Minneapolis, we too claim a piece of him.
               We thank the people of Nebraska for sharing him with the 
             Nation as a Member of the Senate. We will certainly miss 
             his razor sharp analytical mind and his wonderfully 
             engaging personality. I am personally grateful to him for 
             the way he introduced me to the habits and ways of the 
             Senate and for helping me understand how to do my best for 
             the people of my State.
               In the history of this Nation, different kinds of men 
             and women have given some of their talents and vision to 
             this place for the benefit of the whole Nation. We thank 
             Senator Hagel for his willingness to serve and for the way 
             he made the most of every moment of his time here in the 
             Senate.
                                              Monday, November 17, 2008
               Mr. INOUYE. Madam President, I rise to recognize the 
             service of a great public servant and an outstanding 
             leader.
               Senator Hagel has been a committed and avid servant to 
             his home State of Nebraska. He has served in Congress for 
             two consecutive 6-year terms with ardent fervor for the 
             welfare of Nebraskans and all Americans.
               Senator Hagel has always placed the well-being of 
             Nebraska and our Nation ahead of partisanship and personal 
             feelings. He has been an earnest supporter of 
             bipartisanship, recognizing the productivity that can 
             accompany joint labor. His devotion to the people of his 
             State and this Nation is apparent to any who know him. He 
             has distinguished himself as a soldier and public servant 
             of the people, demonstrating an exemplary character of 
             which Nebraskans can be proud.
               Madam President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
             paying tribute to this magnificent Senator.
                                           Wednesday, November 19, 2008
               Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I wish to take this 
             opportunity before the 110th Congress adjourns to honor 
             our distinguished colleague and my good friend, Chuck 
             Hagel, who will be leaving the Senate after 12 years of 
             achievement.
               Senator Hagel has applied his estimable talents to many 
             of the most critical areas of public policy. Throughout 
             his time in the Senate he was a stalwart member of the 
             Foreign Relations Committee, where he became one of the 
             Senate's experts on international affairs.
               Upon Chuck Hagel's arrival in the Senate in 1996, he had 
             already distinguished himself in service to his country. 
             He was decorated for his service as an infantryman in the 
             U.S. Army during the Vietnam war. He went on to careers as 
             a congressional staffer, a Deputy Administrator of the 
             Veterans' Administration, and a successful businessman.
               When Chuck came to the Senate, it was clear that his 
             unique background would be an asset to the Senate Foreign 
             Relations Committee. I encouraged him to join the 
             committee and was pleased that he did so. In the Senate, 
             Chuck embraced responsibility for U.S. national security 
             as few Senators have in recent decades.
               Senator Hagel's years in the Senate will be remembered 
             for his willingness to challenge conventional wisdom and 
             his ability to see issues from multiple perspectives. He 
             has been a determined advocate for an independent point of 
             view, but also a good listener who has often forged 
             compromises that benefited our Nation.
               For the last 9 years Chuck has sat next to me through 
             hundreds of Foreign Relations Committee hearings and 
             meetings. I greatly enjoyed the opportunity to exchange 
             ideas with him, to compare perspectives on our witnesses, 
             and to develop common approaches to problems. He was 
             always candid and thoughtful in both his public statements 
             and his private advice.
               He understands that the world's problems are our 
             problems; that our economic health is tied to the 
             prosperity of the rest of the industrialized world; that 
             the cleanliness of our environment is deeply affected by 
             the environments of those even beyond our continent; and 
             that our access to global natural resources and energy 
             supplies depends on maintaining stable conditions in some 
             of the most volatile regions on Earth. In a ``Memo to the 
             Candidates'' written last summer, he underscored the 
             interconnected nature of our world, saying:

               America's long-term security interests are directly 
             connected to alliances, coalitions, international 
             institutions, and our standing in the world. The next 
             President will have to reintroduce America to the world in 
             order to regain its trust in our purpose as well as our 
             power.

               Chuck contributed greatly in recent years to the 
             committee's efforts to improve our government's 
             stabilization and reconstruction capacity, to elevate the 
             priority of energy diplomacy, to facilitate NATO 
             expansion, to reauthorize the PEPFAR Program, to prevent 
             the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and to 
             safeguard the international environment.
               I have greatly appreciated his personal friendship and 
             thoughtful remembrances of events in my public and private 
             life. My entire office benefited from his personal 
             generosity in 2001 when the Senate endured the anthrax 
             attack. My staff and I were displaced from our office for 
             more than 3 months. Senator Hagel stepped forward and 
             offered us a large room in his suite in the Russell Senate 
             Office Building, which became the nerve center of my 
             Senate office while we were displaced. Senator Hagel's 
             thoughtfulness allowed us to continue operations during 
             this difficult period.
               I will greatly miss Chuck's presence in the seat next to 
             me at committee hearings, and I know that the Senate as a 
             whole will miss his wisdom and well-deserved reputation 
             for humor. But I have no doubts that he will encounter 
             other opportunities to serve the United States. His 
             counsel on foreign and defense policy will be sought out 
             by Members of Congress and Presidential administrations 
             for many years to come. I look forward to many insightful 
             conversations with my friend and to witnessing all that he 
             will achieve in the future.

               Mr. SPECTER. Senator Chuck Hagel's intellectualism and 
             independence will be sorely missed in the Senate. Chuck 
             Hagel's service in Vietnam, where he earned military 
             decorations and honors including two Purple Hearts, has 
             given him special standing on key defense issues. With 
             that background, he enjoys a sort of immunity from a 
             charge of being soft on defense and his views are more 
             closely followed.
               Senator Hagel will be especially missed by the few 
             Republican moderates who were encouraged by his 
             independence.
               My sense is that Chuck Hagel will stay in public life in 
             one form or another, but I would have preferred to have 
             seen him stay in the Senate to promote the resurgence of 
             moderation within the Republican ranks and bipartisanship 
             extending across the aisle for important legislation.
                                            Thursday, November 20, 2008
               Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, soon the last remaining items 
             of business on the legislative calendar will be taken up 
             and the current session of Congress will draw to a close. 
             When it does, several of our colleagues will be returning 
             home and leaving public service. We will miss them, their 
             good ideas and the touch of creativity they brought to our 
             work in the Senate during their years of service to the 
             people of their home States.
               When I am asked about the Members with whom I have had 
             the privilege to serve during my Senate career, Chuck 
             Hagel will certainly come to mind. I don't think anyone 
             has a more interesting life story to tell than Chuck and 
             certainly few have achieved the level of success he has 
             been able to attain in his public life and in the business 
             world.
               Chuck grew up in a small Nebraska town where he learned 
             the value of a day's work at an earlier than usual age. 
             Chuck found his first job when he was only 9 and he's been 
             hard at work ever since. When he lost his father at the 
             age of 16 it fell to him, as the oldest child, to help 
             raise the younger ones of his family.
               That was also about the time that Chuck made his first 
             run for office. When he was in high school he decided to 
             run for student council president. He knew he would have 
             to do something different in his campaign to separate 
             himself from the others who were running, so he tied a 
             chicken to the hood of his car and drove around the school 
             announcing the reasons why he was in the race. No one had 
             ever seen anything quite like that before and he won quite 
             easily I am sure.
               After his high school years, Chuck heard the call to 
             serve his country and he and his brother joined the Army 
             and served in Vietnam. He was seriously wounded twice and 
             received two Purple Hearts during his military service. 
             During one of his missions, he and his brother were 
             trapped in their armored personnel carrier when an enemy 
             mine exploded beneath them. Chuck pulled his unconscious 
             brother to safety and probably saved his life. It took 10 
             years for him to fully heal from the effects of the 
             injuries he suffered that day.
               When he graduated from the University of Nebraska he 
             began his political career in earnest. He joined the staff 
             of a Republican Congressman from Nebraska and impressed 
             him and his staff so much that he steadily rose in 
             responsibility to be his top aide.
               Equally impressive has been Chuck's success as a 
             businessman. He sold almost all he had to begin a cellular 
             phone company with two partners. His hard work and 
             determination to succeed paid off and his investment was 
             multiplied many times over.
               That kind of success would have been enough for most 
             people, but not for Chuck. Chuck felt the call to bigger 
             things and he set his sights on going to Washington to 
             make life a little better for the people back home in 
             Nebraska.
               That was his platform when Chuck ran for the Senate in 
             1996. The experts thought he was a long shot and a lot of 
             people said he didn't stand a chance. Once again, Chuck 
             defied the odds and relied on the judgment of the people 
             of Nebraska instead of the predictions of the experts. The 
             people of Nebraska knew a good thing when they saw it and 
             Chuck was sent to the Senate to represent them.
               Chuck and I were part of the same freshman class and 
             when we arrived we both looked forward to being named to 
             the committees on which we would serve so we could make a 
             difference for our States and the Nation. Chuck was very 
             pleased and proud when Senator Lugar offered him an 
             invitation to join the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
               Chuck took full advantage of the opportunity and made it 
             the focus of his efforts in the Senate. He made a point of 
             visiting other countries and meeting with foreign leaders 
             to increase his expertise on foreign policy. Working 
             closely with Senator Lugar and Senator Biden, he has been 
             a voice on the committee that is sought after for his 
             perspective on the issues that involve our relations with 
             other countries.
               Over the years I have enjoyed serving with Chuck and 
             working with him on two of his top priorities, cutting 
             Federal spending and making our tax system more workable 
             and more responsive to the needs of our national economy. 
             He can be very proud of all he has achieved, especially 
             his support of fast track authority so the President could 
             negotiate trade deals that cannot be changed by the 
             Congress. His work in the area of international trade has 
             made a great difference throughout the United States and 
             helped improve our relationship with our trading partners.
               Now Chuck's Washington years are coming to a close and 
             he will be moving on together with Lilibet to something 
             new and different in their lives. Diana and I have always 
             found that when one great adventure ends another one takes 
             its place. That is our wish for you. Whatever the future 
             holds for you and Lilibet we wish you all the best. The 
             only good part about saying goodbye is the knowledge that 
             you will keep in touch with us and continue to offer your 
             good advice and the unique brand of common sense that you 
             learned from your service in Washington, your success in 
             your business, and your years growing up in Nebraska, 
             Wyoming's neighbor to the east.

               Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
             the order from September 27 regarding tributes to retiring 
             Senators be modified so that Senators be permitted to 
             submit such tributes for inclusion in a Senate document 
             until Friday, December 12, 2008.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                              Tuesday, December 9, 2007
               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I came to know Senator Hagel in 
             1997 when we worked together on the Byrd-Hagel Resolution 
             related to the Kyoto Protocol. We made a good team because 
             our effort was approved unanimously, by a vote of 95 to 0.
               In our work together, I made a new friend because I 
             found Senator Hagel to be a likeable and cooperative 
             person as well as a knowledgeable and hard-working 
             Senator.
               My respect for this dynamic Senator increased as I 
             watched him become one of the Senate's most outspoken 
             critics of Mr. Bush's war in Iraq. Several of us were 
             already pointing to the disastrous results of the Bush 
             administration's flawed and failed Iraqi war policies. But 
             Senator Hagel's opposition to the war carried very special 
             impact. He is a conservative, a member of the President's 
             own political party, and a military veteran. In fact, he 
             still carries shrapnel in his chest and remnants of burns 
             to his face from his service as an infantryman in Vietnam. 
             Senator Hagel now calls Mr. Bush's war in Iraq ``an 
             absolute replay of Vietnam.''
               I will miss my friend and colleague. The Senate needs 
             strong, independent voices like Senator Hagel--lawmakers 
             who are willing to put the best interests of our country 
             and American people over partisan politics.
                                           Wednesday, December 10, 2008
               Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Mr. President, I rise tonight to 
             recognize and pay tribute to my colleague from Nebraska, 
             Senator Chuck Hagel, who is retiring from the Senate. When 
             I entered this body nearly 8 years ago, Senator Hagel 
             welcomed me, and since then we have worked together on a 
             number of important issues for the good of our great State 
             and our country. We teamed up to seek Federal assistance 
             to help Nebraskans recover from natural disasters, such as 
             floods, ice storms, and drought; to win congressional 
             approval for naming the new FBI Building in Omaha after 
             our esteemed late colleague, Senator J. James Exon, and on 
             numerous other Nebraska projects.
               Like me, Chuck Hagel grew up in small communities in 
             Nebraska. It is a special experience to be raised among 
             Nebraskans under the wide open skies of the Great Plains. 
             Helping hands are always nearby and opportunities seem 
             limitless. From our families, friends, and neighbors, we 
             both learned the bedrock values of love, of community, of 
             faith, responsibility to others, and devotion to country. 
             These values have been evident during Senator Hagel's 
             tenure in this body.
               Also evident has been an important perspective he 
             shared, one only a few Senators know first hand, about the 
             reality of war, gained as a decorated U.S. Army sergeant 
             on violent battlefields in the Vietnam war and later as 
             Deputy Secretary Administrator of the U.S. Veterans' 
             Administration during the Reagan administration.
               Here in the Senate, he represented the people of 
             Nebraska and the United States well as a member of the 
             Foreign Relations Committee; the Banking, Housing, and 
             Urban Affairs Committee; the Intelligence Committee; and 
             the Rules Committee. He will long be remembered as one of 
             our most outspoken and candid Members, as a patriot, and 
             as one who took seriously his duties. Particularly through 
             expressing his views on foreign policy, he fiercely 
             advocated the constitutional principle that the 
             legislative, executive, and judicial branches of 
             government are equal partners.
               I take this opportunity to commend him for his honorable 
             service to our State and Nation over these many years. And 
             whatever path Chuck Hagel embarks on next, I wish him and 
             his wife Lilibet, daughter Allyn, and son Ziller only the 
             best in their lives. It has been an honor to serve with 
             him.
                                            Thursday, December 11, 2008
               Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I rise to acknowledge the 
             work and commitment of a colleague whom I have had the 
             pleasure of serving with for the last 12 years here in the 
             U.S. Senate. Senator Chuck Hagel joined the Senate in 1997 
             after an already successful career in business and public 
             service, both in his home State of Nebraska and here in 
             Washington, DC.
               While in the Senate, Chuck has been a strong independent 
             voice for all Nebraskans and citizens of this country. He 
             is not afraid to share what is on his mind and he is 
             certainly not afraid to reach across the aisle to work 
             with all Senators. In one of his first acts of 
             bipartisanship, Senator Hagel joined me as a co-sponsor of 
             the Landmine Elimination Act of 1997. I worked with Chuck, 
             who was himself injured by landmines while in Vietnam, to 
             ban new deployments of antipersonnel landmines.
               Senator Hagel has demonstrated an incredible alacrity on 
             defense and foreign policy issues. While it was not 
             popular within his own party, he made the difficult 
             decision to support a timeline for the withdrawal of 
             troops from Iraq. This is just one example of many stances 
             he has taken in Washington that demonstrates how Chuck 
             Hagel was an independent voice that Nebraska is proud to 
             call their own.
               I am also pleased to know Chuck and Lilibet as wonderful 
             travel partners. The last trip we took together, in May 
             2007, was to the Middle East to assess regional conflicts 
             in Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and the West Bank. Trips like 
             these provide the opportunity to get to know Senators and 
             their spouses beyond the day-to-day encounters in 
             Washington, and I cherish the time we had together.
               I am pleased to call Chuck a friend and voice of reason 
             in the U.S. Senate. I will miss him as both a friend and 
             colleague. Marcelle and I wish him and Lilibet well in 
             whatever way he will next serve Nebraska and our Nation.
                                              Friday, December 12, 2008
               Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to express my enormous 
             gratitude and deep appreciation to my good friend and 
             colleague, Senator Chuck Hagel, for his 12 years of 
             sterling leadership and steadfast service in the U.S. 
             Senate.
               A man of deep-seated principle, honor, conscience, and 
             conviction, Senator Hagel has been a stalwart legislator 
             and an unwavering guardian of the first branch of 
             government during his remarkable two-term tenure in the 
             Senate. And, having served with Chuck side by side for 
             that entire period--including, in the 107th Congress on 
             the Senate Committee on the Budget, and subsequently for 
             the remaining three Congresses on the Senate Committee on 
             Intelligence--I can attest first hand to the tremendous 
             intellect, independence, and integrity that he has brought 
             to his office and to some of the most consequential 
             debates of our time.
               Anyone familiar with Senator Hagel's background will 
             notice readily how a fourth generation Nebraskan steeped 
             in the time-honored traditions and mores of the heartland 
             was well equipped with the bedrock character and 
             unshakable foundation necessary to reach the highest 
             heights in both the public and private sector. Whether 
             serving as President Reagan's Deputy Administrator of the 
             Veterans' Administration, demonstrating keen 
             entrepreneurial acumen as an early leader in the cell 
             phone industry, heading the World USO, or eventually 
             running successfully for the U.S. Senate from Nebraska, 
             the common denominator, time and again, pervading Senator 
             Hagel's life--and what has shaped his renowned trajectory 
             of accomplishment in every undertaking he has pursued--has 
             been his unwavering love for his country and abiding faith 
             in its founding principles.
               Nowhere was Senator Hagel's devotion to our Nation more 
             paramount than when his country called on him to serve in 
             Vietnam, where he and his brother Tom, having bravely 
             enlisted together, fought shoulder to shoulder as infantry 
             squad leaders with the U.S. Army's 9th Infantry Division. 
             Both displayed enormous heroism on the field of battle and 
             were decorated soldiers, with Chuck earning two Purple 
             Hearts.
               As you can imagine, it has been a privilege over these 
             past 12 years to witness the courage and candor of this 
             American hero and esteemed colleague, whether on measures 
             addressing war, specifically in Iraq, or matters 
             concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, 
             FISA. Senator Hagel was indeed my compatriot and 
             ideological soulmate on the Senate Intelligence Committee. 
             If you must go into battle whether in war or in politics, 
             you want to engage your opponents with someone of Chuck 
             Hagel's mettle and fortitude.
               A true conservative who believes in limited government--
             and that the diffusion of power and authority are the 
             surest check against despotism and the best hope for 
             democracy--Senator Hagel has demonstrated a visceral and 
             unending passion for this institution and for the 
             possibilities of effective governance by people of good 
             will. And Senator Hagel crystallized this deeply held 
             belief in his farewell speech on the floor of the Senate 
             when he emphasized to his colleagues that:

               ... Article I of the Constitution is about the Congress. 
             We are a co-equal branch of government. If there is 
             anything I have learned in the 12 years I've been here, it 
             is the importance of sharing, participating in the 
             governance of our country, being part of that governance, 
             helping make decisions with the President and the 
             executive branch.

               Finally, as a Mainer, I must say how fitting it was that 
             a few years ago Senator Hagel was recognized as one of the 
             esteemed recipients of the Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished 
             Public Service Award. Senator Hagel exemplifies the best 
             of the Muskie tradition which was built upon certain 
             irrefutable, sterling standards for high intellect, 
             unassailable integrity, and a lifetime of legendary 
             service.
               To his wife Lilibet, their daughter Allyn, and son 
             Ziller, thank you for sharing your husband and your father 
             with us for these 12 years. And to Chuck, we will miss 
             your voice and your vision. By your words and in your 
             deeds, you bring to mind the Greek playwright and poet, 
             Aeschylus, who wrote that ``his resolve is not to seem the 
             bravest, but to be.'' You have been a brave steward of the 
             public trust, and we are forever thankful.
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