[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 67 (Tuesday, April 25, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5659-S5660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  IN MEMORY OF SENATOR JOHN C. STENNIS

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to 
discuss the life and career of Senator John C. Stennis, who passed away 
earlier this week.
  Senator Stennis served in this Chamber for 41 years. His work here 
included 
[[Page S5660]] serving as chairman of the Senate Armed Services and the 
Senate Appropriations Committees and as President pro tempore of this 
body.
  Among his legislative achievements was his ability to bend and flow 
with the times. Once a staunch segregationist, Senator Stennis cast his 
vote for the Voting Rights Act of 1982.
  One area in which he never changed, however, was in upholding the 
safety and security of this great country. Senator Stennis warned 
against overextending our military capacity. He also warned against 
wasteful defense spending. But he never wavered in his support of the 
country's national defense and ensuring that it maintained the military 
capacity to guarantee our freedoms and our liberties.
  During his four decades in the U.S. Senate, Senator Stennis was 
always an abiding example of integrity and fortitude. His respect for 
the institution of the Senate and the law of the United States made him 
an early opponent of the excesses and abuses of Senator Joe McCarthy. 
As a result, he and Senator Sam Ervin were named as the two Democratic 
members on the Watkins committee that investigated the recklessness of 
Senator McCarthy and led to his censorship.
  In July 1965, the Senate created the Select Committee on Standards 
and Conduct, the forerunner of our current Select Committee on Ethics. 
This was a controversial creation, and everyone knew that whoever 
chaired it would be in a difficult position. The Senate had 
traditionally relied upon the voters of a State to discipline a Senator 
for improper behavior, and institutional discipline is a painful 
problem in an institution that depends on the collegiality of its 
Members. The only logical choice for this important and difficult 
leadership position was Senator Stennis. The Mississippi Senator became 
so successful
 and so respected in this position that the committee quickly became 
known as the ``Stennis Committee.''

  Mr. President, the career of Senator John C. Stennis was marked, not 
only with legislative triumphs, but with numerous personal triumphs 
over personal adversity.
  In 1973, he was shot by robbers in front of his house and left for 
dead.
  In 1983, his beloved wife of 52 years, Coy Hines Stennis passed away.
  In 1984, a battle with cancer resulted in the loss of one of his legs 
and confined him to a wheelchair. While in the hospital recuperating 
from the surgery, he was visited by the President of the United States, 
Ronald Reagan. President Reagan later said that he had dreaded going to 
the hospital that day, for he feared the impact such a life-altering 
operation would have on a fiercely independent man like Senator 
Stennis. But the President explained, ``when I left, it was I who had 
been strengthened.''
  He had been strengthened by the Senator's confidence, his faith, and 
his optimism.
  Those qualities defined Senator Stennis' outlook on life. On his 
Senate desk he kept a plaque that simply read: ``Look Ahead.''
  ``That's my philosophy,'' he explained. Don't waste time lamenting 
the past. ``You have got to look ahead. I realize that life's not 
altogether what you make it. But that's part of it, what you make it 
yourself.''
  Senator Stennis made for himself a wonderful life, and the Senate and 
the country can be grateful for it.
  When he retired from the Senate in January 1989, Senate Majority 
Leader Robert Byrd called it ``the end of an era.'' And indeed it was.
  Perhaps a greater compliment came from a Republican Member of 
Congress from Mississippi, who said, ``We'll miss him. Even if he's a 
Democrat, he's a great man.''
  As the Senate Democratic leader, I say that is a great statement, 
even from a Republican.
  In 1988, Congress established the John C. Stennis Center for Public 
Service Training at Mississippi State University. The center covers a 
range of historical projects, including an excellent oral history 
program. When a congressional historian approached him about an oral 
history of his own life and career, Senator Stennis initially opposed 
the idea, saying it would be too self-aggrandizing. The historian 
proceeded to explain that it was not only an honor, it was his duty to 
record for posterity his personal account of the historic events and 
decisions in which he had been involved.
  ``Well, sir,'' responded Senator Stennis, ``If you say its my duty, 
then I must do it, because I've always done my duty.''
  Indeed he did.
  It was not only his legislative accomplishments--and they were many--
for which we so loved and remember him, it was also his commitment to 
God and country.
  No person who has ever served in the U.S. Senate was ever quicker to 
tell you what was wrong with this country. But no person was ever 
quicker to tell you what was right about it, either.
  Mr. President, Linda and I extend our most heartfelt condolences to 
the family of John C. Stennis: we share their grief and their loss. But 
we also thank them for sharing him with us, and I thank the people of 
Mississippi for selecting him to serve in the Senate for seven terms.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.

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