[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]

 
                     FAREWELL TO SENATOR JIM SASSER

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I want to pay tribute to a departing 
colleague who will be sorely missed in the Senate. A review of Senator 
Jim Sasser's record and commitment is a reminder of how much one 
individual can contribute through public service.
  We all are hearing the charge that Congress has lost touch with the 
people we represent--that the beltway is a border of sorts between the 
lives of Members and the lives of people we work for. I hope to never 
allow that wall come between my service here for West Virginians and 
the people
  If you want to find an example of a colleague at work who not only 
disapproves that view of Congress, you turn to Senator Jim Sasser. His 
energy and his deep affection of the people of Tennessee he represents 
set the standard for how we should be involved in the life of our home 
States.
  I have always been amazed at how Jim managed to visit each and every 
one of Tennessee's 95 counties each and every year. This is a man who 
hiked through Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest every year to check 
on how fish are affected by water pollution. For 18 years, Jim Sasser 
has been a fixture in Tennessee even as he has been such an effective 
leader in Washington--and we all should learn from his example.
  Senator Sasser's departure will leave us short of a role model for 
senatorial grace, excellence, and achievement. He never wore this 
office as a title. Rather, he worked across geographic, political, and 
ideological lines with a very real, very serious sense of 
responsibility. This is a trust to be earned and to be maintained, and 
we will miss the way Senator Sasser made the entire institution look 
better for his seriousness and integrity.
  Senator Sasser has earned some private peace and quiet. He fought 
some of the toughest battles here in the Senate--not in the spotlight, 
but in the trenches where our real work gets done. As chairman of the 
Budget Committee, he had the unenviable task of setting spending levels 
for thousands of programs. And determined to be true to his principles 
of honesty, fiscal prudence, and progress, he had to wage hard-fought 
battles to persuade his own colleagues to make real choices and tough 
choices. Jim Sasser was a voice of fiscal reason and common sense when 
a path of lesser resistance would have been much easier. As our 
Nation's economy grows and strengthens, this country owes Jim Sasser 
for the dividends of his difficult work.

  The standard of excellence Senator Sasser helped set will be a 
challenge to match. I have always respected his moderate, even-handed 
leadership and I frequently was amazed at the quiet way he so 
effectively went about his business. This style is something I hope 
future Members will embrace and appreciate.
  Jim Sasser learned from his father, an agricultural official who 
traveled all over rural Tennessee working on Government programs, that 
Government should be an active, helpful, nurturing, and encouraging 
force in people's lives.
  Because of that background, because of that personal history, he kept 
the Senate from losing sight of the world beyond Capitol Hill. He 
pushed us to have the courage to ignore political expediency, because 
being a Senator is about hard work and hard decisions that sometimes 
have hard consequences.
  That has been Jim Sasser's role in the Senate for nearly 20 years and 
that work ethic has made Tennessee proud. Even when you did not agree 
with Jim, he always dealt with you honestly and respectfully. If the 
Senate is supposed to be a place for individuals to disagree, Senator 
Sasser maintained that practice with aplomb.
  But that willingness to work together and to seek common ground 
should never be taken for weakness or apathy. The famous Southern 
streak of independence is alive and well. Senator Sasser followed his 
heart in the face of pressure, stood firm when yielding was just plain 
wrong, and was never outworked.
  I know that in Tennessee colloquialism, when you show someone how to 
do something, you ``learn'' them. Well, I think Jim Sasser ``learned'' 
many of us on how to go about our business with dignity and care.
  Pearl Buck said of Tennessee, ``It appears to be a very American 
State, this Tennessee, and inhabited by very American people.'' Senator 
Jim Sasser definitely reflected that sentiment--he came to Washington 
with his sleeves rolled up. He took his work seriously for his 18 years 
here and he took great pride in not just what he did, but in what the 
entire Senate achieved. He has been a straight-forward, low-key, 
dignified, and determined Senator. And he's never let the 600-plus 
miles that separated his home State from his work here weaken his 
Tennessee roots.
  I wish Senator Sasser the greatest happiness and success as he leaves 
Congress. He has done himself, his marvelous family, his State, and all 
of us--his colleagues--so very proud. Tennessee and the 104th Congress 
will feel a void as Jim Sasser leaves here, and he leaves with my 
greatest admiration, respect, and wishes for his next challenge.

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