[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 GEORGE MITCHELL

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, tomorrow will be a very important day on 
this side of the Capitol because Republican Senators will meet to elect 
their leaders for the upcoming 104th Congress. It is my hope that I 
will again have the honor of serving as Senate majority leader.
  From Lyndon Johnson to Mike Mansfield to Howard Baker to Robert Byrd, 
the office of Senate majority leader has been filled by public servants 
who have made important contributions to this institution and to 
America.
  But when future historians write about the office of majority leader, 
I think they will conclude that one of the most effective Senators to 
serve in that office was the current majority leader, my friend, George 
Mitchell.
  As I said many times these past months, while Senator Mitchell and I 
may not share a political philosophy or a voting record, one thing we 
have shared these past 6 years is a friendship and a working 
relationship based on complete respect and trust.
  For some, politics is a game of secret strategies and attempting to 
confuse and surprise your opponents.
  For George Mitchell, however, politics and public service are not 
games--they are opportunities to make a difference in the life of our 
Nation and her people.
  As we sought to make that difference, Senator Mitchell never told me 
anything but the truth.
  As Senator Mitchell has said, the values he exhibits every day are 
values he learned from his father, an orphan who worked as a laborer, 
and his mother, a Lebanese immigrant.
  Something else that Senator Mitchell's parents instilled in him was 
the value of an education.
  And the great promise of America is that someone from such humble 
beginnings could--through education and hard work--forge a career which 
included service as a United States attorney, a United States district 
judge, and a United States Senator.
  Many organizations wanted to honor Senator Mitchell before he left 
the Senate. It is typical of Senator Mitchell, however, that he asked 
all efforts be concentrated into one dinner, and that all proceeds be 
used to set up a college scholarship fund for deserving Maine students.
  All of us have been students of George Mitchell these past years--and 
we have all learned a thing or two about honesty, patience, and public 
service.
  And although he is leaving the Senate, I suspect that Senator 
Mitchell--after an upcoming honeymoon--will continue to play an 
important role in the day-to-day work of democracy.
  Mr. MITCHELL addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Akaka). The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. MITCHELL. Mr. President, I thank my colleague very much for his 
generous remarks. They are deeply appreciated.
  One of the pleasures of service in the Senate has been the 
opportunity to work with and to get to know so many outstanding 
individuals. And it has been a great pleasure to work with my friend, 
Bob Dole, who has had a remarkable career going from majority leader to 
minority leader and now back to majority leader. I would give him 
advice on the transition except that he has done it and I have not.
  I congratulate him and wish him Godspeed, and good luck, and thank 
him very much.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is recognized.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for just one moment?
  Mr. COHEN. Surely.

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