[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 73 (Thursday, May 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S6163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   DAVID PRYOR: A TRUE PUBLIC SERVANT

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I could not help but listen to the 
distinguished Senator from Arkansas just a moment ago. All of us will 
greatly regret his absence beginning in the next Congress.
  As we all know, last week, the distinguished Senator from Arkansas, 
Senator Pryor, announced his plans to retire.
  As the Senate Democratic leader, I feel like pleading with him not to 
go; to change his mind.
  What we heard just this afternoon was another illustration of the 
value that he is to all of us, the unique individual that he truly is.
  While he has been known around town as one of the President's closest 
friends on Capitol Hill, he is one of my most indispensable allies in 
the Senate and one of the closest friends that most of us have here in 
the Senate.
  I have constantly drawn on his experience and wisdom for advice and 
guidance. And I have constantly found his calming influence amidst many 
a Senate tempest to be essential for my own personal well being as well 
as that of the U.S. Senate.
  But while I recognize that he is a kind, southern gentleman of the 
first order, I also warn, do not let that calm demeanor fool you. In 
the Senate, there is not a more tenacious or aggressive fighter for the 
causes in which he believes than David Pryor.
  Shortly after his election to the House of Representatives, 
Congressman Pryor went undercover as an orderly to investigate 
conditions in nursing homes. When the House refused to conduct hearings 
on the plight of America's elderly, he rounded up volunteers from local 
colleges, rented a trailer, and conducted his own hearings in an 
abandoned gas station a few blocks away from the House Office Building. 
When the Speaker of the House refused to establish a Committee on 
Aging, then-Congressman Pryor turned his trailer into the ad hoc House 
Trailer Committee on the Aging and continued its investigation.
  The House finally established--to no surprise of anyone who watched 
all of this--a Select Committee on Aging.
  When OPM claimed to have cleaned up its act and made Government jobs 
accessible to all applicants, Senator Pryor sent his office interns 
down to that agency to apply for jobs.
  He then called them to testify before his Subcommittee on Federal 
Services, where they informed the Senate about the continuing abuses in 
that most important Federal job recruiting agency.
  The list does not end.
  He has taken on the IRS and authored and steered to passage the 
taxpayers' bill of rights to make our tax system fair and equitable to 
every citizen and every business.
  He has taken on the Beltway Bandits, as he has conducted hearings and 
demanded more than 40 GAO reports on Government use of what he calls 
America's shadow government--private consultants.
  He has taken on the pharmaceutical companies for the high prices they 
charge for prescription drugs.
  He has stopped production of unsafe and unworkable chemical weapons, 
even though it meant jobs in his State of Arkansas.
  He has conducted a longstanding crusade against what he considers 
time-consuming and time-wasting Senate procedures like filibusters, 
dilatory floor tactics, quorum calls, and extended rollcall votes.
  But throughout his fights, Senator Pryor hss remained the gentleman 
that he is. His fights have always been constructive, not destructive, 
to the national interest, We need more, not less, positive-minded, 
cooperative, dedicated Senators like David Pryor.
  While I am tempted to ask him to stay, as his friend, I fully 
understand and support his reason for leaving.
  He has given a lifetime of public service. As a teenager, he worked 
in Washington, first as a page for Representative Oren Harris, and then 
in the post office in the House of Representatives.
  He had successful careers as an editor-publisher and as an attorney, 
but he always came back to public service. In 1960, he was elected to 
the first of three terms in the Arkansas State Legislature.
  In 1966, he was elected to the first of four terms in the U.S. House 
of Representatives. He served two terms as Governor of Arkansas.
  Since 1979, he has served in the U.S. Senate. His work in this 
Chamber has consumed so much of his time and attention. In addition to 
his most important work as chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, 
he has been active on the Finance Committee, the Committee on 
Agriculture, the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress, the 
Governmental Affairs Committee. And, yes, event the Ethics Committee.
  In addition to all that, he has also served as Democratic Conference 
secretary.
  Senator Pryor now wants to enjoy life after politics--and there is 
much to say for that kind of life. Senator Mitchell told me so just the 
other day.
  Senator Pryor's love for the Senate is exceeded only by his love for 
his family and his love for the beautiful State of Arkansas--both of 
which he will now be able to enjoy even more. I wish Senator Pryor, 
Barbara, and his family the best in the years ahead and can only say 
that their gain is our loss.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, what is the pending business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pending business is H.R. 956, and the 
Gorton amendment is the pending amendment.

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