[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 SENATOR DENNIS DeCONCINI

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator 
Dennis DeConcini, whose long record of service to this institution will 
soon come to an end.
  Senator DeConcini's work in the U.S. Senate has been broad and his 
achievements many. He has been especially effective in the fight 
against crime and illegal drug use. His crime-fighting credentials 
extend back to his days as Pima County district attorney, and he has 
never forgotten the evidence he saw there of crime's terrible impact on 
families and communities.
  Senator DeConcini has provided a strong voice in the fight against 
illegal drugs and has led efforts to encourage drug-exporting countries 
to cut off production at the source. He has also successfully pushed 
for major increases in drug interdiction funding.
  It was not until this Congress that majorities of the House and 
Senate could agree to ban assault weapons, which may belong on the 
battle field but not the streets of America. But Senator DeConcini has 
been trying to ban the sale of these terrible weapons since 1989.
  He heard the complaints and fears of police officers about the 
extraordinary firepower being trained on them by criminals, and he 
decided to do something about it. It may have taken 5 years for the 
rest of this Congress to come around to Dennis DeConcini's view on 
this, but the fact that we eventually did stands as a testament to his 
foresight and courage.
  Senator DeConcini has not only tended to the security of our families 
but to the security of our Nation. As chairman of the Intelligence 
Committee, Senator DeConcini has been thoughtful and persuasive in his 
contention that our intelligence community must do more to adjust to 
the post-cold-war world. He has honed in on the cultural and procedural 
problems at the Central Intelligence Agency that made it possible for 
Aldrich Ames to go undetected for so many years. He has also supported 
efforts to reign in the CIA's budget; declassify more of its records, 
and depoliticize its analysis.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Children, I will particularly miss 
Senator DeConcini's advocacy on behalf of the youngest Americans. He is 
one of the Senate's foremost advocate of the Women, Infants and 
Children Program, commonly known as WIC.
  Senator DeConcini has argued eloquently that on this issue at least--
making sure infants and expectant mothers have enough to eat--we should 
agree. And he has succeeded in bringing literally millions more 
individuals into this program.
  He wrote legislation that established a national background check to 
ensure that persons who work as child-care providers do not have a 
criminal history of child abuse. He also established Project Alert, a 
nationwide program to allow retired Secret Service, FBI, and other law-
enforcement personnel to help find missing children.
  At the same time that Senator DeConcini acted forcefully on the 
national stage, he carefully tended to the interests of his 
constituents. More than anything else, he has said he wants to be 
remembered as a Senator ``who put his constituents first.''
  He estimates that during his three terms in the Senate, his office 
has performed constituent service for 100,000 Arizona residents, with 
Senator DeConcini personally involved in 15,000 of those.
  I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say that Dennis 
DeConcini will be missed. I wish him well in all his future endeavors.

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