[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 26, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S5685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR DAVID PRYOR

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today for just a few 
moments to express my admiration and appreciation and my respect for 
David Pryor, our colleague, who has announced that he will not be 
running for reelection next year.
  For those of us in Washington and, of course, for those people in 
public life all over the country, we meet all manner of different human 
beings, both in terms of the constituents that we meet and, of course, 
the colleagues with whom we work. While none are bad, some are 
different from others and some are better and some are best. And in the 
category of best, I would put David Pryor, the best kind of a human 
being, the best kind of a friend, the best kind of a public 
representative.
  The people in Arkansas know very well what an outstanding person 
David Pryor is and what a great public servant David Pryor has been. He 
is beloved by virtually everybody in Arkansas to the extent that when 
he ran for reelection last time, he had no opposition, and had he run 
for reelection in 1996, it is undoubtedly true that he would have 
received an enormous majority of the votes cast in that election.
  So David Pryor's record of accomplishment and achievement, the esteem 
in which he is held by people in Arkansas, is well known. Those of us 
here who have worked with him in the Senate are equally well aware of 
what it is that David Pryor has accomplished and what kind of a person 
he is. In my judgment, David Pryor is the best kind of a public 
servant, the best kind of a Senator, for many reasons, chief among 
which, in my judgment, is the fact that he is a person who can and does 
work with all of his colleagues, regardless of which side of the aisle 
they happen to occupy. I believe that is an enormous virtue in a public 
servant, and that it is invaluable in the Senate where, in order to get 
things done in a constructive fashion, in order to keep the place 
working, people have to have a willingness and an ability to compromise 
their differences in order to get things passed, in order to keep 
legislation moving and, more importantly perhaps, in order to assure 
the people that we represent all over the country that this is an 
institution that can work.
  David Pryor understands that as well as anybody I have met in my now 
6 years here in the Senate. He practices that. Although we Democrats, 
of course, know how comfortable and how easy it is to work with him, I 
know it is equally true that Republicans recognize in David Pryor a 
person who, more than anything else, wants to get things done and in no 
way, ever, is interested in just impeding the work of the Senate.
  So he is an outstanding person. Personally, David Pryor, when I came 
here 6 years ago, befriended me immediately. He went out of his way, 
recognizing that I was new to the process, and he went out of his way 
to see to it that I got along here and got to know my colleagues, got 
to know a little bit about how the Senate works, and in every way and 
at every turn, when I ran up against an obstacle or had a problem I did 
not know how to deal with, I felt comfortable talking to him. He was 
always receptive and always willing to put aside whatever it was he was 
occupied with in order to take care of my needs and to help ensure that 
I became a working Member of this body.
  So David Pryor has been not only a great Senator but he has been a 
wonderful human being. I think that we can celebrate what he has 
accomplished in his career here in the Senate and celebrate it in a way 
which really does not, in any way, suggest that his career is over. He 
is not running for reelection in 1996. He says he wants to return to 
the private sector. Whatever he does, he is going to be good and 
effective at it. He is a person of public service, and his career in 
politics may go on at another time in another place and in another job. 
If it does, we will all be very well served.
  So David Pryor, we love you and we respect you. We have great regard 
for what you have accomplished here among us, and we wish you well 
during these next 18 months when you will continue to serve with us. We 
certainly wish you, Barbara, and your family continued good health and 
happiness as you wend your way along the path of life.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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