[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 156 (Tuesday, October 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR SAM NUNN

  Mr. JOHNSTON. Mr. President, just for one moment, I want to 
congratulate, of course, the Senator from Texas for her leadership, but 
the Senator from Georgia for his leadership on this issue, which is 
just another one of those issues in which, through the years, he has 
led this Senate, has led this country in its political thinking.
  Most Senators of this body are content to properly represent their 
people, to reflect their political views, to be popular in the polls, 
to vote right, to vote in the national good. Other Senators like to 
think of themselves as being effective enough to be able to take the 
ideas of others which they agree with, to take the speeches, to take 
the bills, to take the thoughts of others and effectively represent 
those thoughts and feelings and bills out here on the floor of the 
Senate so as to move the country in the right direction.
  There are occasional Senators, Mr. President, by virtue of their 
wisdom, their training, their background, their effort, their industry, 
their dedication, their devotion, but mainly by virtue of their God-
given gifts, who are able to lead, to conceive the ideas by which the 
country ought to move, to determine what those policies are and, in the 
process, to serve as the beacon, the guidepost by which the rest of us 
Senators may guide our thoughts and our policies and our votes.
  The Senator from Georgia [Mr. Nunn] is one of those rare individuals. 
As Senator Byrd said here on the floor not too many months ago, Senator 
Nunn will stand out in the history of this country through the 200 
years of this Senate as one of the outstanding leaders, not just for 
the 1990's or the 1970's when he came, but throughout the history of 
the country.
  He really gives lie to that old aphorism that no one is essential 
because, Mr. President, when Senator Nunn leaves this body, there will 
be left a tremendous hole. Of course, in his experience, and know-how 
and technique, but really in that kind of wisdom that guides the 
country, that forms policy, that gives Americans, and especially gives 
Senators, the confidence that the country is moving in the right 
direction. As long as Senator Nunn was here, we always knew there was a 
voice on foreign policy matters upon which we could rely, and defense 
matters.
  He will be greatly missed and, I suspect, if he is ever replaced, it 
will be many, many decades before we ever develop a man of his ability 
and wisdom and judgment.
  Mr. President, he will be greatly missed and, from a personal 
standpoint, I can say that many of us will miss him and certainly his 
wife, Colleen, who is one of the most beloved Senate wives in this body 
and certainly one greatly beloved by me and my family.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. NUNN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Louisiana for his 
kind remarks, for his friendship and leadership. As he well knows, I 
have the greatest esteem for him. We have been colleagues from day one. 
He tried to claim seniority when he first came here and had to be 
awakened to the fact that he did not have it. I was the senior Member 
of the new class of 1972, now ancient.
  Mr. JOHNSTON. If the Senator will yield, I have only said I was 
second to ``Nunn'' in seniority.
  Mr. NUNN. The Senator is corrected on that. I appreciate his kind 
words and leadership. I appreciate him coming to the floor. He has 
basically been a keen observer of the national security scene and the 
NATO scene for a long, long time. All of us who have had dealings in 
this area realize that this is a subject that needs some really careful 
consideration. So I thank the Senator from Louisiana for his comments.

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