[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]

 
                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR JIM SASSER

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay a tribute to Senator 
Jim Sasser of Tennessee, who will be leaving the Senate at the end of 
this session of Congress. Senator Sasser has served his State and the 
country extremely well during his three terms in the Senate, and next 
year this body will be a lesser institution without him.
  It has been an honor and a real privilege to serve with Senator 
Sasser, and work with him in the Budget Committee. He has chaired that 
committee with great skill, searching for realistic, achievable 
solutions to one of our Nation's toughest problems--cutting the Federal 
budget deficit.
  He has put a great deal of energy and thought into putting our fiscal 
house in order, and in the coming years we will truly miss his 
experience and his insights on that very complex and difficult issue.
  Every year for 6 years, Chairman Sasser had the immensely difficult 
job of finding consensus among conservative, moderate and liberal 
members of the Budget Committee in one of the toughest annual political 
battles on the Hill. Several major reconciliation bills were enacted on 
his watch, and he has earned our thanks and appreciation for guiding 
that legislation skillfully through the Senate.
  I was proud to have worked closely with my friend from Tennessee on 
legislation reforming the procurement practices in the Department of 
Defense and on legislation to get our allies to pay more for the 
defense we provide them.
  The Senator from Tennessee also established a national toll-free 
fraud hotline, which he intended to be used to report fraud and waste 
in the Federal Government. Mr. President, that hotline has been used by 
thousands of people reporting wasteful Government practices, and has 
helped save taxpayers millions of dollars.
  Jim Sasser's innovative ideas for cutting unnecessary spending, and 
his steadfast devotion to sound fiscal policies have made a significant 
and lasting difference in this country. Without the leadership of 
Senator Sasser, many important reforms may have never come to pass.
  Jim Sasser has also served the needs of his State extremely well. He 
fought to create jobs for Tennessee and bring economic opportunity to 
the nation as a whole, and has been a leader in the fight for many 
other programs important to his State.
  He has always kept the needs of Tennessee in the forefront of his 
thinking--his constituents can be proud of the job he has performed.
  It is with great sadness that we say farewell to the Senator from 
Tennessee. He will be missed in this Chamber, and I wish him the very 
best as he returns to private life.

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