[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 7 (Thursday, January 12, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S820-S821]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SENATOR CRAIG THOMAS

  Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, just a few moments of remarks, a moment 
to reflect. You do not get many of those here in this Chamber.
  It was a great honor and privilege last week to escort Wyoming's new 
Senator, my good friend, my old friend, Craig Thomas, to the well of 
the Senate Chamber for his swearing-in ceremony. That meant a great 
deal to me, and I think to us both, as he took the oath and became 
Wyoming's Senator, and for me, indeed, as I watched my old boyhood 
friend mark another and very significant and great accomplishment in 
his own life.
  It is a rare opportunity for me to serve with someone I have known 
nearly all my life. We go back a long way, growing up in Cody, WY. He 
was born in Wapiti, WY. Many say that is called Wapeaty, but it is not. 
It is the word for ``elk,'' Wapiti. And then he moved into Cody, 20 
miles away, to my hometown. It was great fun to share those days 
together in the town founded by Buffalo Bill Cody himself, and we 
became friends and neighbors. In fact, we lived just across the alley 
from each other. He was a year behind me in high school, but he was the 
kind of person you noticed. He was fair, strong, good-hearted, very 
well liked by all his classmates, and none of us are at all surprised 
at how well Craig Thomas has done. In fact, we are all very proud of 
him. I will say that we called him Lyle in those days. I should not 
bring that up. That was his name.
  During those early years, Craig and I were each blessed to have two 
strong parents who nurtured, guided us, and were very patient with us. 
Craig's father was a schoolteacher. My dad was a lawyer in Cody, on the 
school board, very actively involved in education issues as well. Dad 
knew there was nothing more important than a good education. He had 
learned that from his father, Craig from his father. Both of our 
fathers instilled that goal in us, and we worked very hard to get it 
done. A lot of whatever success has come our way we owe to our parents.
  Craig's dear mother is living. She was here the other day on that 
proud day. So is mine. Our families knew each other. Our loving parents 
were always a strong presence in our lives. And as I say, Marge was 
here and sons Patrick and Greg and, of course, a sister who was a 
classmate of my brother's and daughters-in-law and others of the 
family.
  So then we, after high school, went to the University of Wyoming and 
not only hit the books but hit the tackling dummies. We played freshman 
football together for the Cowboys. And he went off to the Marines; I 
went off to the infantry.
  Many years passed. Politics attracted us both. And now we find 
ourselves serving together in the Senate. Along the way we met and 
married two very special women. It seems we are very fortunate to have 
overmarried. I think 
[[Page S821]] the road to this arena, the Senate, would have been a lot 
rockier had Ann and Susie not been strong and capable partners in our 
lives. Craig's wife Susie has dedicated her time, her energy, and her 
talents to the service of teaching, teaching of the learning disabled. 
And my wife Ann was a teacher, too, when we married over 40 years ago 
and has long been involved in many educational, artistic, and mental 
health issues. They have both been an inspiration to all who know them 
and are well dedicated to their strong commitment in making a 
difference in their communities, whether Wyoming or here.
  Susie Roberts Thomas comes from Barnum, WY, a town so small that the 
zip code is a fraction. In fact, a fellow who lived there said once it 
was so small he thought its name was ``Resume Speed.''
  Her father was Harry Roberts, who was superintendent of public 
instruction in Wyoming, a very wonderful man, and her mother Toni.
  Well, the road here is not an easy one. As someone said, on the high 
road of humility in Washington, DC, you are not bothered by heavy 
traffic, and that is true. But nobody has paid his dues more generously 
and willingly than Craig Thomas, and the toughness he picked up during 
his service in the Marine Corps has served him well in life and 
politics. It is a contact sport.
  So Craig began his service in Wyoming and pursued his interests and 
his business and his activities and his work with the Wyoming Farm 
Bureau, the American Farm Bureau, and the Wyoming REA. I recall he used 
to lobby me on those issues with his remarkable brand of 
straightforwardness and candor. Now he is on the other side of that 
fence, and he will be the object of other lobbying efforts. I cannot 
wait for the REA to show up and begin to work him over on the budget. I 
hope I can sit in.
  We both came to this Congress with ties to our State government. He 
served in the statehouse from 1985 to 1989. I served there for about 13 
years. We did not serve concurrently, but we both kept the lines of 
communication wide open on issues of concern to Wyoming. And then in 
1989, President George Bush selected Dick Cheney to be his Secretary of 
Defense. Craig had already built a strong network of friends and 
supporters, so he was tapped to ``lead the charge'' for Dick's seat. To 
no one's surprise, he won--and worked very hard to do it. Soon after, 
he was asked by the media if he would be another Dick Cheney, and he 
quickly quipped that he would not. He said, ``Where Dick would have 
accomplished something but perhaps would have done it through the 
`insider route,' I would probably fuss more.'' And so he has. And 
Wyoming has been all the better for his ``fussing.'' He said once that 
no one would have been more pleased to see Dick Cheney Secretary of 
Defense than he in his whimsical, wry way of humor. He has never been a 
game player except on the sports field. He always tells you exactly how 
he feels and why, and he has a quality of outspoken honesty that is 
greatly appreciated out West where still to some their word is their 
bond.
  And so now he has jumped in and become wet all over. As our old 
college coach said, ``Jump in and get wet all over.'' Now he comes here 
and joins the Committees on Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign 
Relations, Indian Affairs, and Environment and Public Works. It will be 
great having Craig and our new Representative, Barbara Cubin, too, the 
first woman Congressman to represent Wyoming in the Equality State's 
history--and we are known as the Equality State--it will be an honor to 
serve with her.
  So we have swiftly ``jump started'' this session. We have all hit the 
ground running this year. There has been dramatic change in our lives, 
and the resulting challenges we face may be a bit tougher than in past 
years, but the rewards will be great, too.
  His dedicated spirit will help us all. It gives me a genuinely warm 
feeling and a great deal of pride to welcome Craig Thomas to the 
Senate. I cherish his friendship. He is a wonderful man, of great 
strength, great rich good humor. I hope neither one of us will recite 
the ``Cremation of Sam McGee'' from memory, certainly not in the 
Chamber. But perhaps at some time we will certainly do that for you.
  So I look forward to working with him, my old friend, during this 
historic 104th session of the Congress. God bless him and his work for 
Wyoming.
  I thank the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota, under the 
previous order, is recognized for 30 minutes.



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