[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                           SENATOR JIM SASSER

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am deeply honored to be here tonight and 
to follow my friend, Senator Riegle, who will be sorely missed. I spent 
quite a few moments on this floor the day that he decided he would not 
seek reelection, saying that the people who work for a living, who work 
with their hands, who are not privileged, are going to miss Don Riegle. 
I reiterate that today, and I wish him every wish.
  You can tell from the emotion in his voice that he is very torn. It 
was his decision to leave here voluntarily. Some of the rest of us do 
not have that privilege.
  By the way, I have lost an election in my life. It is a very 
difficult thing. But, you know, when you lose an election, there are a 
lot of reasons. In the case of my friend, Jim Sasser, it had nothing to 
do with him. It was a much greater force that was at work. I want him 
to understand that and to know that.
  I want to take a little different tack. I want to thank the people of 
Tennessee for sending us this man for 18 years. For me, it was a gift.
  When I came here--I have only been here 2 years--I wanted to get on 
his committee, his Budget Committee. I had served over in the House for 
10 years. I had spent 6 years on the Budget Committee and I watched Jim 
Sasser work, and this was someone I wanted to work with. I wanted to 
help.
  I have to say, he was very tough. He wanted to make sure that I had 
the stuff, that I was going to be able to make the tough votes, because 
it is not easy on that committee. He really made sure before he 
supported me that I would be able to cast those votes, that I had what 
it took, that I would be there when maybe I had to cast a vote that was 
not popular. And, of course, I respected him all the more for making me 
pass this test.
  When I got on the committee, I really became a student of Jim Sasser. 
In many ways, he has been a teacher here in the U.S. Senate, a teacher 
on the economy, a teacher on many, many issues; a teacher on how to be 
a good Senator, how to be brave and courageous and true to yourself, 
but yet understand the art of compromise that it takes to make things 
happen here.
  If you think it is easy to get a budget resolution through this 
place, then you simply have not watched the U.S. Senate. And this man 
did it over and over and over again. Why? Because he is so respected 
and so trusted.
  So I say to the people of Tennessee, we in politics have to accept 
what happens at election time. For some of us, this was a painful 
election; for others, it was a joyous election.
  I can tell you, when I watched what happened in Pennsylvania, and my 
friend Harris Wofford lost a very close race, we lost a voice of reason 
and sanity and common sense and compassion.
  And when I look to Tennessee, I lost my chairman of the Budget 
Committee and the people of this country lost more than they really 
will ever understand.
  So I am a very fortunate person that I was able to serve with Jim 
Sasser for 2 years on his Budget Committee, on the Banking Committee. 
We have become very good friends. I will consider him forever to be a 
mentor, and if he is willing to be an adviser to me, I would consider 
myself very fortunate.
  I think it is important to note that many of us here wanted him to be 
our leader. I do not think that should go unsaid. There are very few 
people--very few people, indeed--that win the trust of their colleagues 
the way this man has done. And it is because of his decency and his 
integrity and his caring and, yes, his toughness.
  The other day, the people of Tennessee suffered a terrible natural 
disaster. It was a hurricane, I think. I quickly thought, how lucky 
they are to have Jim Sasser out there fixing it, making sure the 
Federal Government responded. And I caught myself and I said, ``But he 
is only going to be here for a few more days.''
  And so I understand the people of Tennessee, am I right, have never 
really sent back a Senator more than three terms? Is that correct, 
Senator Sasser? Once they did? They had a second time to do it in 
history, and they chose to go for change. They will decide if they made 
the right decision.
  But I can just say as someone who really for the first year watched 
what went on here and watched who the leaders were and watched who the 
consistent people were and watched who the compassionate people were, 
and watched for the people who really cared about the people who may 
not be able to afford to put on a pin-stripe suit and fly down here and 
make their case, I watched for who those people were here. And one of 
those people was my chairman, Jim Sasser.
  I hope when he gets over the pain of this that he will sit back and 
smile at what he has been able to do for this Nation. Senator Riegle 
touched on it. Senator Glenn touched on it. We had an economy in this 
country that was falling apart. We had a budget deficit that was going 
through the roof. We had a President who went to Japan for a trip and 
tried to tell the Japanese to lower their interest rates, and he got 
sick in Japan, and that image became the symbol of our economic 
weakness.
  But with this new President and Jim Sasser serving on the Budget 
Committee, we are getting our economic house in order. And I say to my 
friend, how many people in America could ever know that they played 
such a role? I say, I do not know of anybody else, personally. It is 
extraordinary and it was hard. My image of Jim Sasser I will always 
have: In this Chamber, with his charts and his pointer and his sense of 
knowing exactly what had to be said to make the point.
  There are so many other things I could say about what Jim Sasser did 
for Tennessee's environment, the Smoky Mountains, all the things he did 
for people who will never meet him and never know what he did.
  I will close and say to my friend, having lost an election myself, 
your life is definitely not over. It just takes a different twist and a 
different turn. There are so many ways that the voice of Jim Sasser 
must be heard, and I am completely confident--completely confident--
that it will continue to be heard.
  He knows that I feel very strongly about the kind of person he is, 
and I will never, never forget his friendship, his help, and the many 
wonderful times that we spent together in the U.S. Senate.
  To his family, I say you are lucky to get to see him a little more 
these days. And to his constituents in Tennessee, thank you for sending 
him back to us for 18 years. You made a gift to this Nation and this 
Nation will ever be grateful.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. MATHEWS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Campbell). The Senator from Tennessee [Mr. 
Mathews] is recognized.

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