[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 138 (Thursday, September 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12753-S12754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   TRIBUTE TO SENATOR CLAIBORNE PELL

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, when our colleague from Rhode Island 
announced his retirement, I could not help but think of what a 
gentleman he is and what an example he has set for this body over the 
course of his 35-year career in the Senate. He is the walking 
embodiment of civility, a reminder of the days when politics and public 
service were indeed kinder and gentler.
  First elected in 1960, Claiborne Pell is not only Rhode Island's 
senior public servant, but also one of the Nation's senior statesmen. 
Only Senators Thurmond and Byrd have served here longer. He is one of 
the best arguments around today against term limits on Members of 
Congress. Senator Pell's father, Herbert Claiborne Pell, Jr., served as 
a Congressman from New York from 1919 to 1921 and was a close friend of 
Franklin Roosevelt and minister to Portugal and Hungary. He had five 
other relatives who served in Congress as well.
  The younger Pell himself served as a foreign service officer for 
several years, then settled in Newport, along with the Vanderbilts and 
Auchinclosses. Most of us know him as the quiet, deliberate, thoughtful 
chairman, and now ranking member, of the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee. He was present at the birth of the United Nations in San
 
[[Page S 12754]]

Francisco 50 years ago, and today carries a copy of the U.N. Charter in 
his coat pocket. This ``eccentricity,'' as one news account called it, 
is a testament to the importance Senator Pell has always placed on an 
international organization aimed at promoting world peace and 
cooperation.
  Senator Pell's greatest legacy probably will lie in the field of 
education. He is the second-ranking Democrat on the Committee on Labor 
and Human Resources and for years chaired the Subcommittee on 
Education, the Arts, and Humanities. He made a particular mark in 
setting up a grant program for needy college and university students. 
These Pell grants, as they are officially called, have become familiar 
to a generation of students. He has also been a leader in promoting 
ocean research.
  A statement Senator Pell made in his retirement announcement 
summarizes his philosophy and approach to public service. He said,

       I consider . . . the United States Senate a marvelous 
     institution. . . . And I continue to believe that government, 
     and the federal government in particular, can, should, and 
     does make a positive impact on the lives of most Americans.

  There is no doubt that Claiborne Pell has contributed significantly 
and tangibly to that positive impact over the last 3\1/2\ decades.
  In his announcement, Senator Pell also thanked the people of Rhode 
Island for having tolerated his eccentricities. If those eccentricities 
include a quiet, unassuming manner characterized by thoughtful 
reflection, meditation, honesty, and courtliness, then we should all 
aspire to be eccentric in the ways that our dear friend from Rhode 
Island is eccentric. He is eccentric in the best sense of the term. I 
congratulate Senator Pell, look forward to serving with him for the 
remainder of this Congress, and wish him all the best for the future.


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