[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 8 (Friday, January 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     THE DEATH OF JAMES T. FLEMING

 Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, I rise today to express my deep 
sorrow at the death of James T. Fleming, one of the most talented and 
professional individuals to ever work in the Congress, and one of the 
finest gentlemen I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
  For the past 20 years, Jim Fleming served as administrative assistant 
for the senior Senator from Kentucky, the Honorable Wendell H. Ford. He 
also served as counsel to Senator Ford on the vast array of legislative 
matters under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources. It was in this capacity that the committee members and staff 
came to know Jim and to appreciate his wry sense of humor, his great 
personality, his warmth, and his enormous expertise.
  Jim's contributions were invariably grounded in good common sense, a 
keen understanding of good government, and a realistic point of view. 
He was absolutely dedicated to working for the people of Kentucky and 
Senator Ford's agenda.
  Much of the legislation written by the Energy Committee reflects Jim 
Fleming's influence, including natural gas policy, the Nation's coal 
program, the uranium enrichment program, and natural resource 
protection and utilization.
  Mr. President, the future meetings of the committee will not quite be 
the same without Jim Fleming there to offer his unique expertise. I 
fondly recall that as past committee deliberations would proceed with 
senatorial formality, Jim Fleming could be counted on to listen with a 
poker face, weigh all options, and then with a profound wit and twinkle 
in his eye, offer a perspective that would be both illuminating and 
constructive.
  Jim Fleming will be sorely missed. In the words of the former Speaker 
of the House, the Honorable Thomas ``Tip'' O'Neill,--``So long, old 
pal. So long.''


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