[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 22 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 3, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        A TRIBUTE TO TED NUGENT

  Mr. WALLOP. Madam President, once in a while on this floor, we have 
the privilege to leave politics behind and recognize outstanding 
achievements of Americans. So today I would like to pay tribute to a 
great friend and a great American, Mr. Ted Nugent. A few Senators, and 
most of their children, will know him as one of the world's great rock 
stars, a man who has sold over 20 million albums in his impressive 27-
year career, and who continues to sellout arenas and stadiums across 
the globe. His musical abilities are truly legendary.
  Madam President, I know a different Ted Nugent. Ted Nugent is a 
hunter who happens to be a rock star, not a rock star who happens to be 
a hunter.
  I teamed up with Ted last fall to launch a program called Hunters for 
the Hungry in Wyoming. The program is classically simple. It is all 
volunteer. Hunters and their families team up with meat processors 
across the State to distribute game meat that they harvest to the 
tables of the hungry. The success was absolutely phenomenal. Although 
the final numbers are not yet in, Becky Massengill, president of the 
Wyoming Food Bank, tells me that in this first year of the Hunters for 
the Hungry Program, Wyoming hunters donated thousands of pounds of game 
meat to hungry families in our State.
  I know it seems strange to some Members of Congress that we did not 
build a single Federal bureaucracy in order to achieve these amazing 
results. There was no big Government and no redtape. Let me emphasize 
again that it was all volunteer. And it is a testament for what 
reinventing Government should be all about. Get Government out of the 
way, and people can do incredible things.
  Ted Nugent flew out to our great cowboy State, and we began with a 
rally at the University of Wyoming, where Ted mesmerized an audience of 
college students and their friends with his music and his presence. He 
emphasized the importance of hunting in America and how it builds 
strength in family members. It is a family value, especially in a State 
such as ours.
  Ted and I then embarked on an antelope hunt as guests of Deborah 
Bradbury at the Bradbury Ranch in Glenrock, WY. Our hunt--our amusing 
and exciting hunt--was captured by the Nashville Network's ``Celebrity 
Outdoors'' program which aired last month.
  After a successful hunt, we donated our game to the Wyoming Food 
Bank.
  What most impressed me about Ted Nugent is his commitment to the real 
America. His message is clear. He cares about our country. He cares 
about our family, his family, and others of America, and he leads by 
example.
  In an industry that is filled with self-importance and has been the 
topic of some conversation within the Senate and within Congress, he 
has avoided all the self-importance, all the greed, all the moral 
corruption, and stands out above it. He is a cheerleader for the real 
hard-working folks, the law-abiding folks of America.
  He is so committed to America's children that he is a national 
spokesman for the Drug Abuse Resistance Program called DARE. Many 
Senators know about it. He donates his time to remind our children of 
the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
  Madam President, I said that Ted leads by example. DARE could not 
have a better example. Ted Nugent never had a drink of alcohol, never 
smoked, and never used drugs in his life--this is in an industry known 
to be completely surrounded by all of these events.
  Ted is also a founder of a something called KAMP for kids. It is a 
place where youngsters in America learn the importance of the out of 
doors and woodsmanship and conservation. His antidrug message is a 
cornerstone of that organization.
  I encourage any family in America with children to look into this 
truly wonderful program. Once again, it is free from the twisting, 
strangling arms of Government. It is the brain-child of a great 
American entertainer.
  Ted's message is being heard through a variety of media. He is not 
only an accomplished author but is the editor and publisher of his own 
outdoors magazine. He is heard on hundreds of radio stations throughout 
the country as the official rock and roll hunting conservation 
representative for Rush Limbaugh's program.
  So I would just say, Madam President, to Ted Nugent, thank you for 
your message, thank you most of all for your unselfish actions, thank 
you very much for being a tremendous example to youngsters in America 
who love rock music and see that it can be done without filth, without 
drugs, without alcohol, with a great example, with the enthusiasm and 
fun which is what music should always be.
  Let me say once again Ted Nugent is a hunter who just happens to a 
rock star, a rock star who is an example for all of us, hunters or not.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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