[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15363-S15364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DEDICATION OF THOMAS J. DODD RESEARCH CENTER

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, yesterday I addressed my 
colleagues about the dedication of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center 
at the University of Connecticut this past Sunday, October 15. I asked 
that remarks made by President Clinton at the dedication be included in 
the Record but, unfortunately, part of that speech was not reprinted.
  I ask to have printed in the Record the full text of the President's 
remarks. I also ask that the remarks of my colleague, Senator Chris 
Dodd, at the dedication ceremonies also be printed in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

 Transcript of President Clinton's Remarks at Dedication of Thomas J. 
                 Dodd Research Center, October 15, 1995

       Thank you very much, President Hartley. Governor Rowland, 
     Senator Lieberman, members of Congress, and distinguished 
     United States senators and former senators who have come 
     today; Chairman Rome, members of the Diplomatic Corps; to all 
     of you who have done anything to make this great day come to 
     pass; to my friend and former colleague, Governor O'Neill, 
     and most of all, to Senator Dodd, Ambassador Dodd, and the 
     Dodd family: I am delighted to be here.
       I have so many thoughts now. I can't help mentioning one--
     since President Hartley mentioned the day we had your 
     magnificent women's basketball team there, we also had the 
     UCLA men's team there. You may not remember who UCLA defeated 
     for the national championship--(laughter)--but I do remember 
     that UCONN defeated the University of Tennessee. And that 
     made my life with Al Gore much more bearable. (Laughter.) So 
     I was doubly pleased when UCONN won the national 
     championship. (Applause.)
       I also did not know until it was stated here at the outset 
     of this ceremony that no sitting President had the privilege 
     of coming to the University of Connecticut before, but they 
     don't know what they missed. I'm glad to be the first, and I 
     know I won't be the last. (Applause.)
       I also want to pay a special public tribute to the Dodd 
     family for their work on this enterprise, and for their 
     devotion to each other and the memory of Senator Thomas Dodd. 
     If, as so many of us believe, this country rests in the end 
     upon its devotion to freedom and liberty and democracy, and 
     upon the strength of its families, you could hardly find a 
     better example than the Dodd family, not only for their 
     devotion to liberty and democracy, but also for their 
     devotion to family and to the memory of Senator Tom Dodd. It 
     has deeply moved all of us, and we thank you for your 
     example. (Applause.)
       Tom Dodd spent his life serving America. He demonstrated an 
     extraordinary commitment to the rule of law, beginning with 
     his early days as an FBI agent then federal attorney. He was 
     equally passionate in his opposition to tyranny in all its 
     forms. He fought the tyranny of racism, prosecuting 
     civil rights cases in the South in the 1930s, long before 
     it was popular anywhere in the United States, and helping 
     to shepherd the landmark Civil Rights of 1964 into law. He 
     fought the tyranny of communism throughout his years in 
     elected office. And while he bowed to none in his devotion 
     to freedom, he also stood bravely against those who 
     wrapped themselves in the flag and turned anti-communism 
     into demagoguery.
       Tom Dodd was in so many ways a man ahead of his time. He 
     was passionate about civil rights, three decades before the 
     civil rights movement changed the face of our nation. In the 
     Senate, he pioneered programs to fight delinquency and to 
     give the young people of our country a chance at a good 
     education and a good job. And that is a task, my fellow 
     Americans, we have not yet finished doing. He saw the dangers 
     of guns and drugs on our streets, and he acted to do 
     something about that. Had we done it in his time, we would 
     not have so much work to do in this time.
       Tom Dodd's passion for justice and his hatred of oppression 
     came together, as all of you know, most powerfully when he 
     served as America's executive trial counsel at the Nuremburg 
     War Crimes Tribunal. It was the pivotal event of his life. He 
     helped to bring justice to bear against those responsible for 
     the Holocaust, for the acts that redefined our understanding 
     of man's capacity for evil. Through that path-breaking work, 
     he and his fellow jurists pushed one step forward the 
     historic effort to bring the crimes of war under the sanction 
     of law.
       Senator Dodd left many good works and reminders of his 
     achievement. Some bear his name--the children who have 
     followed in his steps and served the public, who carried 
     forward his ardent support for an American foreign policy 
     that stands for democracy and freedom, who maintain his 
     commitment to social justice, to strong communities and 
     strong families. They have also upheld their father's 
     tradition of loyalty. And as one of the chief beneficiaries 
     of that lesson, let me 

[[Page S 15364]]
     say that I am grateful for it, and again, grateful for its expression 
     in this remarkable project which will help the people of 
     Connecticut and the United States to understand their 
     history.
       I am delighted that this center will bear the Dodd name 
     because it is fitting that a library, a place that keeps and 
     honors books and records, will honor Tom Dodd's service, his 
     passion for justice and his hatred of tyranny. Where books 
     are preserved, studied and revered, human beings will also be 
     treated with respect and dignity, and liberty will be 
     strengthened.
       Dedicating this research center today, we remember that 
     when the Nazis came to power, one of the very first things 
     they did was burn books they deemed subversive. The road to 
     tyranny, we must never forget, begins with the destruction of 
     the truth.
       In the darkest days of the war, President Roosevelt, with 
     those awful bonfires fresh in his memory, reflected upon how 
     the free pursuit of knowledge protects our liberty. And he 
     put it well when he called books ``the weapons for man's 
     freedom.'' I am glad that Tom Dodd will be remembered here, 
     in this place, in this building, with this center, in the 
     state he loved, with the very best arsenal for the freedom he 
     fought to defend his entire life.
       Thank you very much. (Applause.)
                                                                    ____


                 Remarks of Senator Christopher J. Dodd

       Mr. President, Governor Rowland, President Hartley, 
     colleagues distinguished guests, members of my family, 
     friends: On behalf of my family--allow me to express my 
     thanks to you, Mr. President, for your presence here today. 
     You honor my father, my family, my State and our University. 
     You are the first sitting American President to ever visit 
     this University in the 114 year history of this institution, 
     we are grateful.
       We are grateful as well to those of you with whom my father 
     worked over the years--his colleagues--his staff--his 
     constituency and friends for being here to join with us in 
     the celebration of his life of public service.
       For nearly 40 years my father served his State and Nation. 
     It was a full life--a life of engagement with the great 
     issues of his time.
       We are here to dedicate a new home for his papers and 
     artifacts of the past. In so doing, we preserve delicate 
     fragments of history which this and future generations should 
     find instructive.
       We are also here today to remember the achievements of 
     those who came before us--who made and recorded the history 
     on which our present world is built. My father is one such 
     person. Today we commemorate--and celebrate--his faith, his 
     love of country, and his life of service.
       Today we recall not only my father's accomplishments, but 
     the achievements of his generation. It is now 50 years since 
     the end of World War II, a war which tore apart a western 
     civilization. It is 50 years since thousands of young 
     Americans fought and died to defend tyranny. It is 50 years 
     since the effort to rebuild that civilization began with the 
     Nuremberg Trials--truly the trial of the century.
       Many recall the stern justice rendered at Nuremberg against 
     those who committed the atrocities of Nazism. But we should 
     also remember that 3 of the accused at Nuremberg were 
     acquitted. In those verdicts of acquittal, as well as in the 
     verdicts of guilt, the United States and her allies helped to 
     reassure the world that justice could, indeed, would prevail 
     over evil and chaos.
       After Nuremberg, my father's generation rebuilt Europe and 
     Asia. The Marshall Plan, NATO, the United Nations--these were 
     extraordinary acts of collective sacrifice, vision, and 
     political courage in the fact of significant opposition here 
     at home.
       In remembering the achievements of that generation, it is 
     fitting that we here today are joined by President Bill 
     Clinton. In 1995, President Clinton has not forgotten the 
     lessons of 1945.
       Like my father's generation, Mr. President, you understand 
     that no nation which proclaims the virtue of freedom can 
     ignore the deprivation of others.
       Mr. President, you understand that though the Soviet Empire 
     no longer threatens our world, the job of securing the peace 
     is still far from complete.
       Over the past 2\1/2\ years you have demonstrated over and 
     over and over again the role we must play in the cause of 
     freedom and justice.
       Ireland, Haiti, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and 
     most recently, in Bosnia, have profitted from our principled, 
     patient insistence that all men and women have a right to 
     shape their own destiny.
       At the same time, there remain many parts of the world that 
     still desperately need our engagement and example.
       Abroad and at home, you Mr. President, carry within your 
     heart the same wise and generous spirit that guided the 
     generation of my father. You have proven yourself to be a 
     worthy inheritor of their unbending faith in a future where 
     people can live not in fear but with hope. For that, Mr. 
     President, you have earned our everlasting gratitude.
       On behalf of the Dodd family, the University of 
     Connecticut, and our Constitution State, we thank you for 
     honoring us with your presence.

                          ____________________