[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 145 (Friday, October 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               TRIBUTE TO GOVERNOR LOWELL P. WEICKER, JR.

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Lowell 
Weicker, our former Senate colleague who will be leaving public office 
when his term as Connecticut Governor ends in January.
  Governor Weicker is tough and tenacious, opinionated and outspoken, 
caring and compassionate. For proof of his credentials as a maverick, 
one need look no further than the fact that for years he was known as a 
``liberal Republican.'' When his chosen party had moved too far to the 
right for him, he formed his own party and carried its banner into the 
Connecticut Governor's mansion.
  Lowell Weicker began his Senate career in 1970, and he quickly became 
a passionate advocate for Government reform and accountability. He made 
his first big splash nationally during the televised Watergate 
hearings. One might have expected a first-term Republican Senator to 
stick up for his party's leader, or at least to sit quietly with his 
hands folded in front of him. But that wouldn't have been his style. 
Instead, he was a relentless, probing, inquisitive questioner. His 
priority wasn't defending his party or sticking up for his President: 
He wanted to know the truth.
  Senator Weicker was once questioned about his political philosophy by 
a reporter. He responded that he served the Republican Party best ``by 
not striving to be a great Republican, but by striving to be a good 
Senator.'' Senator Weicker's achievements were many. He fought hard 
against organized school prayer, which he saw as an affront to the 
Constitution. He strenuously opposed cuts in health and education 
funding proposed by President Reagan.
  He created a new program within the Education of the Handicapped Act 
to provide educational and rehabilitative services for disabled 
infants. He also launched a Federal initiative to encourage medical 
schools to offer specialities in geriatrics.
  Lowell Weicker served in the Senate until 1988, when my friend and 
colleague, Joe Lieberman, defeated him by 10,000 votes. But Lowell 
Weicker didn't simply recede from the scene in Connecticut. He decided 
to run for Governor in 1990 under the banner of a new party, called ``A 
Connecticut Party.'' His campaign slogan was ``Nobody's man but 
yours.'' In a three-way race, he won with 40 percent of the vote, 
become the first third-party Governor in Connecticut since the Civil 
War.
  Governor Weicker inherited a terrible fiscal situation. In 1991, 
Connecticut's deficit was proportionately the largest in the United 
States. Jobs were vanishing from the State, and the mood was grim. 
Governor Weicker knew that tough medicine was called for, and he 
delivered it. He proposed a State income tax and painful spending cuts.
  As one would expect, a storm of protest ensued, but Governor Weicker 
didn't ride it out in the Governor's mansion. He took to the streets to 
confront the protesters, some of whom literally spat on him. He took to 
the air waves to take calls on radio talk shows. He sought out his 
opponents wherever he could find them in order to make his case that 
the route he had taken was the only one available to fiscal stability.
  When the legislature refused to enact his plan, he declared a state 
of emergency and shut down all nonessential services; 13,000 State 
employees were put on indefinite furlough. The legislature then 
acquiesced and passed the Governor's plan.
  At the same time he was bringing the State's books back into balance 
he was dramatically improving Connecticut's business climate. He made a 
concerted effort to make Connecticut more attractive to business. He 
cut corporate taxes and directed the Department of Economic Development 
to fight aggressively to retain existing employers and attract new ones 
to the State.
  After nearly 4 years in Office, the results on Governor Weicker's 
policies are in. The State of Connecticut now enjoys a surplus. The 
economy is far from robust, but it has come a long way from the dark 
days early in this decade. And further improvements are on the horizon.
  As governor, Lowell Weicker has many other considerable achievements. 
Under his leadership, Connecticut became only the third State in the 
Nation to restrict the sale of military-style assault weapons. he also 
has sought voluntary, regional solutions to racial segregation in the 
problem. Governor Weicker has continued his lifelong advocacy for 
children and the disabled. He is chairman of the board of the 
International Special Olympics Summer Games, which will take place in 
New Haven, CT next year.
  Governor Weicker announced a year ago that he would not seek 
reelection. It was time, he said, to devote himself to his family and 
to interests in the private sector.
  I suspect, however, that one way or another we will be hearing again 
from Lowell Weicker. It would not be like him to simply go quietly into 
that good night. Whatever Lowell Weicker chooses to do next, I wish him 
all the best, and I commend him on his three decades of public service.

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