[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 40 (Thursday, April 14, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        PUBLIC SERVICE INCARNATE

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, more than four decades ago, a young 14-year-
old boy arrived in Washington, DC, from Florida. He came here to serve 
as a Senate page under the patronage of the late colleague and friend 
of some of us who are still here, Senator Spessard Holland.
  That young Florida boy literally grew up in the U.S. Senate, 
graduating from our Page School, attending George Washington University 
for his undergraduate degree, and finally earning his law degree from 
the American University, most of the time simultaneously serving in 
some capacity here in the Senate.
  During the same period and subsequently, that young man matured into 
a very gifted, qualified, and helpful nonelected official.
  Mr. President, with much regret and with sincere gratitude, I want on 
this occasion to acknowledge the announced retirement from our ranks of 
Walter Joseph Stewart, the current Secretary of the Senate.
  To his legion of friends and associates, Joe Stewart is known simply 
and affectionately as just that--``Joe'' Stewart, and I shall presume 
thus to call him in my following remarks, both from habit and from 
choice.
  In truth, as I indicated, Joe Stewart grew up in the United States 
Senate.
  With a quick wit and an almost uncanny ability to grasp the relative 
significance of details great and small, Joe Stewart mastered the 
advice of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who, when asked the secret of success, 
responded, ``Make yourself necessary to somebody.''
  Indeed, Joe Stewart has made himself necessary to legions of people 
during his various tenures here in the U.S. Senate by guiding the 
confused and the inquiring individuals through the shoals and rapids of 
arcane Senate practice, lo, these several decades.
  Joe Stewart is, in short, a marvel. He speaks quickly, moves quickly, 
and thinks quickly. He is one of the busiest staffers on Capitol Hill. 
Yet, he always has time to attend to the smallest of details. He always 
remembers the thoughtful gesture, the human touch, the personal note. 
Joe Stewart is a unique combination of efficient capability and 
thoughtful, empathetic kindness. He has helped many people over the 
years, and his generous spirit will be long remembered by hundreds of 
current and former employees of the Senate. His gracious assistance to 
my wife and me, and to members of my family and staff has very often 
made difficult situations much more tolerable. For this I personally 
thank him and will remain forever in his debt.
  Joe Stewart is a problem solver. He has a gift for thinking clearly 
and seeing a solution when one is not readily at hand.
  Providence crossed my path with Joe Stewart's not too long after I 
assumed a position on the Senate Appropriations Committee and he 
assisted me, as I served as a member of that committee.
  He later joined my own staff, and after I was elected Senate majority 
leader, Joe Stewart served as Secretary for the majority from 1979 
until January 1981, and as Secretary for the minority from January 1981 
until August 1981. He was an outstanding employee in both very 
difficult and very different positions.
  At that point, Joe Stewart temporarily departed Capitol Hill to serve 
as Vice President for Government Affairs for Sonat, Inc., a private 
firm involved in energy-related matters.
  But in January 1987, I was successful in convincing Joe Stewart to 
return to the U.S. Senate as Secretary of the Senate, a position in 
which he has served with notable distinction ever since.
  Mr. President, to borrow from the vernacular, Joe Stewart is ``a 
Class Act,'' Joe Stewart has brought to every position in which he has 
served on my staff and in related responsibilities a degree of 
dedication and perfection that might have impressed even Zeus on Mount 
Olympus. Joe Stewart has an uncanny ability to gage almost exactly the 
result one desires and then to produce of that ideal a finished product 
of triumphant proportions.
  Moreover, Joe Stewart has been motivated by a sense of patriotism--a 
patriotism of the private citizen and of the public servant that has 
been marked by selflessness in behalf of his country and in behalf of 
the Senate and by unstinting service for the sake of this institution 
and causes that magnify our American heritage.
  What was he doing? Well, he decided to sacrifice hours and hours of 
his personal time when others were off enjoying the weather or the 
weekend to see to essential details of this or that, and always with 
the benefit of the Senate first in his heart. His unceasing efforts in 
service to the United States Capitol Preservation Commission and the 
Commission Advisory Board must also be noted here. As Co-Chairman of 
the Commission with Speaker of the House Tom Foley, I have witnessed 
personally the energies and efforts that Joe Stewart has expended in 
behalf of the restoration and enhancement of this great Capitol 
building--the ``People's Palace''--efforts aimed at making this shrine 
of American Democracy an unforgettable experience for the thousands 
upon thousands of Americans who visit this vast building every year. 
For Joe Stewart, I know this particular endeavor has been a labor of 
love. I believe that Joe still feels as I do, even after all these many 
years, when he looks up at that gleaming, resplendid white marble dome 
in the bright blue air above this fair city.
  My friend Robert Dole often speaks in jest of a view from the White 
House as being the ``best view in town.'' Well, I must say facetiously, 
and yet very seriously, that the White House is not the best view in 
town. The best view in this town or anywhere in the world is from this 
Capitol, this great Capitol, this great palace of the people. This is 
the best view in this town and the best view in any town across this 
land--the Capitol Building of the United States, where the people's 
branch sits, where the House and the Senate sit.
  I believe that Joe still feels the fresh wonder of a boy filled with 
awe and expectation as he gazes upon this symbol of the greatest nation 
on Earth and realizes that he, too, has played a part--that he, too, 
has made a contribution, that he, too, has made a difference. And, 
indeed, what a part he has played, what a difference that young page 
boy has made.
  Mr. President, Joe Stewart will be remaining here in Washington, re-
entering the private sector and making himself further available to 
those who need the borrowed wisdom of a seasoned, serious, and 
perceptive veteran of the legislative process.
  I know that I speak for all of our colleagues and for the army of 
staff people who have been fortunate enough to know Joe Stewart as a 
friend and co-worker, in wishing for Joe Stewart the best of Destiny's 
favors and every fulfillment possible in the years ahead.
  Mr. President,

     It isn't enough that we say in our hearts
     That we like a man for his ways;
     It isn't enough that we fill our minds
     With psalms of silent praise;
     Nor is it enough that we honor a man
     As our confidence upward mounts;
     It's going right up to the man himself
     And telling him so that counts.

     If a man does a work that you really admire,
     Don't leave a kind word unsaid.
     In fear to do so might make him vain
     And cause him to lose his head.
     But reach out your hand and tell him, ``Well done.''
     And see how his gratitude swells.
     It isn't the flowers that we strew on the grave,
     It's the word to the living that tells.

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks recognition? The Chair recognizes 
the Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, before I proceed, let me say that I always 
dislike following the Senator from West Virginia. He is, by all odds, 
the most eloquent Member of this Senate. On top of that, I say to him 
here that he is my friend.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the able Senator allow me to interrupt 
him?
  Mr. HELMS. Certainly.
  Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator for his kind felicitations. The aisle, 
may I say, separates us. But friendship is not separated by an aisle, 
and he and I do not always vote together, as no other Senator and I 
vote together always. But there are many times when I do vote with the 
Senator and I have an admiration for him. He is my friend. And he 
contributes a great service to the Senate.
  Sometimes he makes us vote on matters we do not want to vote on, but 
I honor him for that. And that is what we need. Sometimes we need to 
screw up the courage to vote on tough issues, and I am proud that he 
makes us do it.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator very much. He is my 
role model. I find myself wishing that I knew as much as he does--or 
half as much. Nobody who has ever served in this Senate has upheld the 
traditions of the Senate more highly than he has.
  And besides that, the distinguished Senator from West Virginia and 
the Senator from North Carolina were both born in the same State.

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