[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 26, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H2846-H2847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HONORABLE EDMUND S. MUSKIE

  (Mr. LONGLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LONGLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty this afternoon to inform 
the House of the passing of Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine this morning 
at about 4 a.m.
  Senator Muskie was 81 years of age, a graduate of Bates College and 
Cornell University Law School, a very distinguished public servant of 
the citizens of Maine and of the United States. He served three terms 
in the Maine House of Representatives in 1946 and 1948 and 1950, 
including a final term as the Democratic floor leader. In 1955, he was 
elected Governor, he served a second term, and he followed that with a 
career in the U.S. Senate that began in 1958.
  In 1968, he was Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United 
States and built and earned a tremendous national reputation for his 
decency, his compassion and his moderation during that difficult time 
during the end of the Vietnam war. He also served as Secretary of State 
in the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981.
  While there are many distinctions that we can discuss, not the least 
among them is the Senator's accomplishment in creating a second party, 
making Maine a two-party State, which is in the best interest of all of 
our citizens, but certainly as his legislative accomplishments on the 
national level are beyond peer, particularly in the area of 
environmental protection.
  Senator Muskie was the author of many of the first pieces of 
legislation that this body passed back in the early 1960's dealing with 
the need to protect the quality of our air and our water. There are 
other issues that I could mention, but I think none more important than 
the fact that Senator Muskie was a kind and decent man who exercised 
and practiced respect for all of his constituents and all those with 
whom he had dealings. His demeanor is going to be missed. Certainly his 
integrity and his honesty are universally respected.
  So we mourn his passing and we also express to his wife, Jane, and 
his five

[[Page H2847]]

children, Steven, Ellen, Melinda, Martha, and Edmund, Jr., our deep and 
sincere regret at his passing.

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