[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 191 (Monday, December 4, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17876-S17877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ALAN SIMPSON

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I was very saddened to learn of the 
retirement of Senator Alan Simpson of Wyoming. He and I came here 
together in the class of 1978 and have served with each other on the 
Judiciary Committee, tackling some contentious nominations and other 
high-profile issues. He has emerged as a true leader on many issues 
including immigration and population issues. He is someone I would term 
a ``character,'' for he is certainly one of the more colorful and 
humorous individuals to have ever served in the Senate. His quick wit 
is legend, and many of us--Democrat and Republican alike--have been 
victims of it at one time or another over the years, but, much more 
often the beneficiaries of it. He uses it both ways--to score a point 
but more often to break an unresolved impasse.
  Senator Simpson is the son of former Wyoming Governor and Senator 
Milward Simpson and has been in and around politics all his life. Born 
in Denver, CO, in 1931, he earned both his bachelor of science and law 
degrees at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. He served in the U.S. 
Army from 1954 to 1956 and began his career as a litigator, raising his 
family in Cody, WY, 

[[Page S 17877]]
and serving as assistant attorney general of Wyoming and in the State 
legislature. He was elected to the Senate in 1978 and quickly became a 
rising star in his party. He was seriously considered for the Vice 
Presidential nomination in 1988 and has led the fight for passage of 
many major legislative efforts. His service as his party's whip was 
outstanding, but in matters of conscience, he never lost his 
independence.
  Of course, our friend from Wyoming is best known here and throughout 
the country for his colorful personality. He is widely known for having 
one of the best senses of humor in Washington and one of its most 
acerbic tongues on occasion. He has entertained friends with his keen 
sense of comic timing, his witty delivery, and a standard portfolio of 
jokes and anecdotes, many of which could not be printed in the 
Congressional Record or other reputable publications. When he leaves 
the Senate, he could pursue a number of different careers. He has the 
talent to be another Johnny Carson. He could successfully pursue many 
other fields, for he has a brilliant legal mind and has the ability to 
get to the core of an issue rapidly.
  I count him as one of my closest friends. His beautiful, thoughtful, 
and gracious wife, Ann, is likewise a superb individual and my wife and 
I will never forget their genuine kindness and concern when Elizabeth 
Ann suddenly became ill on an overseas trip earlier this year.
  It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve with Senator Alan 
Simpson over the last 17 years, and I look forward to our last year 
here together. I congratulate him on an outstanding career, and hope 
that we have not seen the last of him in the public arena. We need his 
leadership, his passion for the issues, and his humor to help lighten 
our load.

                          ____________________