[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 5, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO THE REVEREND DR. RICHARD HALVERSON

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, in one of his books, Dr. Halverson 
wrote, ``It is foolish to say there is no God. But it is infinitely 
more foolish to say there is and to live as though there were not.'' 
Dr. Halverson's special grace was in his way of helping us to bridge 
the gap between faith and practice. As a preacher, Chaplain Halverson 
fought against unbelief but, as a pastor, he was equally concerned 
about hypocrisy.
  Dick, as he was known to all of us in the Senate, loved his country, 
loved the Senate as an institution, but more importantly he loved us as 
individual Members of the Senate. His deep caring spirit was evident in 
his availability at all times to attend to the needs of Senators and 
our families. He knew us all and, even so, managed to love us whatever 
our backgrounds may have been. And, not only the Senators, Dick loved 
the staffers, the elevator operators, the police officers, and everyone 
he met in the course of a day on the Hill. No one knew more people than 
did Dick.
  His daily prayers in the Senate acted as a reality check for each of 
us. One morning his prayers began:

       Gracious Father in Heaven, help us to keep our priorities 
     straight. In this center of power, secondary matters have a 
     way of preoccupying our attention and preempting our time. 
     Help us not to take ourselves too seriously, forgetting that 
     we are fallible human beings with many needs. Deliver us from 
     VIP syndrome which expects or demands preferential treatment.

  It is these actions and thoughts which live on in our hearts and 
minds as we think of Dick. His words and love taught us much and each 
of us is the better for having known him. He was a special gift to us 
and we shall remember him.

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