[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PAUL SIMON

  Mr. METZENBAUM. Mr. President, as the Congress has come back into 
session, and as many Senators at this point will rise to speak on a 
variety of subjects, some will report on fact-finding missions they 
undertook overseas, or on meetings with their constituents. Others may 
describe their plans for the new session of Congress. I will listen 
with interest to what my colleagues have to say.
  But I rise to speak on a somewhat different matter during this second 
day of the second session of the 103d Congress.
  Mr. President, rather than report on what I did over the recess, I 
rise to recognize the dedication and perseverance of the senior Senator 
from Illinois, Paul Simon. He has made a difference. He is my good 
friend. But I do not rise to speak out of friendship.
  I simply think that Paul Simon is a Senator who can--make a 
difference.
  He is a Senator who has made a difference.
  Mr. President, we in Government spend a lot of time patting ourselves 
on the back for our accomplishments, whether real or imagined. Most 
Americans see through this and have taken to wondering whether 
Washington can get anything done at all.
  Paul Simon has spent his career rebutting this image--not with 
rhetoric, but with action.
  Just this past weekend, I was so very proud to read of Paul Simon's 
latest achievement--the latest example of one man making a real 
difference amidst a veritable sea of indifference.
  Mr. President, violence in our society is a concern to us all.
  But for Paul Simon, it was not enough to rant and rave about building 
more prisons, about putting a cop on every corner, about making every 
infraction punishable by death.
  Paul Simon took a more sophisticated approach--he looked at the 
deeper sources of violence.
  It is by now no secret to anyone that Senator Sinmon's analysis 
quickly focused on violence transmitted via television.
  Through public hearings and addresses, Senator Simon has demonstrated 
how television makes violence a pervasive part of our lives. More 
importantly, he has shown how it pervades our childrens' lives.
  Rather than beat the table and make a lot of speeches, Senator Simon 
has made the lessening of TV violence his personal cause celebre.
  Mr. President, taking on TV violence--on both network TV and on 
cable--is not for the faint of heart.
  On the one hand, it meant taking on a popular industry which is ably 
represented by a host of K Street lobbyists.
  On the other hand, it meant taking on a balancing act; balancing 
genuine first amendment concerns against the damage being done by TV 
violence.
  Taking on TV violence meant taking on a truly long-term fight--a 
fight that would mean more headaches than sound-bites--a fight that 
would result in more hard work than press clips.
  Mr. President, Paul Simon took on that fight.
  Sure, there were other players. I am proud to say supported him as I 
did a number of others Members of this body. But he was the engine 
driving the overall effort.
  First, Paul Simon negotiated passage of the 1990 Television Violence 
Act, legislation which provided the networks a 3-year antitrust 
exemption, solely for the purpose of developing a self-regulatory 
scheme for TV violence. That measure expired this past December 1.
  With little progress on the networks' part, Simon, with the help of 
others, turned up the heat. In a series of public hearings and press 
conferences, they made it clear over a 2-year period that inaction, 
lack of action, was unacceptable.
  The industry eventually accepted the notion of a discretionary 
``warning label'' to be aired prior to violent shows. But both the 
networks and the cable companies resisted utilizing new technology, 
technology that would give parents the discretion to block out violent 
programming entirely.
  Mr. President, late last week, the cable companies, followed quickly 
thereafter by the networks, relented. They caved in.
  I believe they realized that Paul Simon had taken on a fight from 
which he had no intention of retreating.
  I believe that they realized that Paul Simon was not someone who 
could be lobbied aside, or negotiated around, or bought off.
  Mr. President, Paul Simon saw a problem. He saw its pitfalls and its 
complications. But he also saw its solution.
  It took over 3 years, but Senator Simon persevered, and he succeeded.
  Mr. President, let the voters be discouraged with Washington--they 
certainly have a right to be.
  Let those who always see obstacles instead of opportunities continue 
in their ways--sometimes their point is well taken.
  But let no one ever try to tell me that one individual--one Senator--
cannot make a difference.
  All of us in our own way can make as much difference as we choose to 
make.
  No one will ever be able to convince me otherwise, because of the 
example Paul Simon has provided for us all.
  Mr. President, I congratulate Senator Simon on what is only the most 
recent example of hanging tough, and of making a difference where it 
really counts.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate go back to the regular order.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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