[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2928-S2929]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              THE DEATH OF FORMER SENATOR EDMUND S. MUSKIE

  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today with a heart full of sadness, 
reflection, and fond memories of one of the true giants of this 
institution--former Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine.
  Like millions of Americans across the country, I awoke Tuesday to the 
news of Ed Muskie's passing. My heart goes out to his wonderful wife, 
Jane, their five children, grandchildren, and the entire Muskie family. 
I hope that their grief is tempered with the knowledge that their loss 
is shared by a Nation grateful for the life of a man who gave so much.
  Like many other Members of this body, upon hearing the news, I found 
myself looking back on the remarkable career and lasting legacy of this 
first son of Maine who became one of the legendary figures in American 
political life.
  Ed Muskie was a gentle lion. He sought consensus, but backed down 
from no one. He fought for what he believed in, and was loyal to his 
country. His greatest goal was to leave this Earth a better place for 
generations of Americans to come. And he succeeded.
  Mr. President, as every citizen of my home State knows, Ed Muskie 
transformed the political landscape of Maine. Before he was elected 
Governor in 1954, Ed was fond of saying ``the Democrats in Maine could 
caucus in a telephone booth.'' Well, much to the chagrin of some 
Republicans, Ed Muskie's election as Governor changed all that. He was 
literally the creator of the modern Democratic Party in Maine. After 
two 2-year terms as Governor, he went on to become the very first 
popularly elected Democratic Senator in Maine's history. And 
ultimately, his distinguished career culminated in his service to this 
Nation as Secretary of State.
  But of all the positions he held in public service, it was here--as a 
Member of this institution, Mr. President, that Ed Muskie left his most 
indelible mark on history.
  Whenever Washington gets mired down in partisan battles, I think of 
the example set by Senator Muskie and his Republican colleague, the 
late Senator Margaret Chase Smith, who died last year. They worked 
together across party lines on behalf of the people of Maine and the 
Nation. Although they may have had differences, they were united in 
their dedication to public service and to reaching consensus. They 
represented the best of what bipartisanship has to offer.
  In our present-day budget battles, I think of Senator Muskie, who 
helped shape the modern budget process as the first-ever chairman of 
the Budget Committee. Ed possessed a rare wisdom and discipline which 
allowed him to express in very simple terms why it is so difficult to 
achieve fiscal responsibility in the Congress. ``Members of Congress,'' 
he once said ``have won reelection with a two-part strategy: Talk like 
Scrooge on the campaign trail, and vote like Santa Claus on the Senate 
floor.''
  Ed brandished that incisive wit many times in this very Chamber, Mr. 
President, and perhaps it was this humor, along with his commonsense 
approach to political life, that made Ed Muskie so effective throughout 
his remarkable career.
  During his 21 years in the Senate, Ed Muskie was known for his 
moderation but he did not hesitate to tangle with his colleagues when 
he felt passionately about an issue. His reputation as a fighter was 
established early in his Senatorial career when he went head-to-head 
with another giant of this body, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson.
  One day, as the story goes, the freshman Senator from Maine decided 
he just could not support the majority leader on a particular issue. 
Now, crossing the leader of your party is always risky, but that risk 
took on added significance when the leader was Lyndon Baines Johnson. 
But possessing a stubborn streak of downeast yankee independence that 
perhaps only a fellow Mainer can understand, Ed held his ground. He 
would not give in.
  So, in his typically forgiving--and nonvindictive--way, LBJ promptly 
assigned the freshman Senator his fourth, fifth, and sixth committee 
choices.
  From this rather dubious beginning, Ed Muskie landed a seat on the 
not-so-choice Public Works Committee. The rest, as they say, is 
history. It did not take him long to leave his mark on Washington--or 
on the land that stretches from the Allagash Wilderness of Maine, to 
the Florida Everglades, to the Redwood forests of California.

  You see, growing up in western Maine, Ed had developed a deep 
appreciation for the environment. Thoroughly committed and visionary, 
Senator Muskie helped transform the Public Works Committee and went on 
to become the founding father of environmental protection in America by 
sponsoring both the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act of 1972. 
These two landmark pieces of legislation have both produced enormous 
benefits to the health and well-being of our Nation and its people. It 
is his unwavering commitment to environmental protection that is, 
perhaps, Ed Muskie's single greatest legacy to the American people. He 
was indeed Mr. Clean.
  With the news of his passing, my thoughts went back almost 2 years 
ago to the day--because Ed Muskie's birthday is March 28--when Ed and 
Jane Muskie, accompanied by their children and grandchildren, came to 
celebrate Ed's 80th birthday at the Blaine House, Maine's executive 
mansion, as the guests of my husband Gov. Jock McKernan and me. It was 
a great privilege for us to give Ed and Jane and their family an 
opportunity to come back to a place that held some of their fondest 
memories. It was a very special time for all of us. And they spent the 
night. It was a truly honorable moment in my life.
  That evening, Ed spoke passionately about the opportunities he 
enjoyed as a young man, and of the commitment

[[Page S2929]]

and dedication that his parents had to their family and their 
community. And he spoke of the love and devotion that his father--a 
Polish immigrant--had for his new Nation.
  He spoke of how much his roots in the small town of Rumford, ME, 
meant to him. It was those deep roots, along with his strong sense of 
family, that gave Ed Muskie the foundation upon which he would stand as 
he became a leading figure in American political life. And he cherished 
his father's roots, and from the standpoint that he viewed it as 
America giving every opportunity to anybody who sought to achieve.
  I was struck with a very real sense of history listening to his 
reminiscences during that visit. I do not think it is possible for any 
Maine politician, regardless of party affiliation, to have come of age 
during the Muskie era and not have been influenced in some way by his 
presence. He was that preeminent in the political life of my State.
  Ed Muskie was a towering figure in every sense of the word. In his 
physical stature, in his intellect, in his presence on Capitol Hill, in 
the extent of his impact on the political life of Maine, and in the 
integrity he brought to bear in everything he did.
  And Ed was thoroughly and proudly a Mainer, with the quiet sense of 
humor associated with our State. Each year, the distinguished senior 
Senator entertained guests at the Maine State Society lobster dinner at 
the National Press Club by rubbing the belly of a live lobster, causing 
it to fall asleep, something only a real Mainer would know how to do.
  Personally, I will always remember and be grateful for the warmth, 
friendship, and encouragement that Ed Muskie gave me over the years. 
When I entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1979, I was the 
newest member of the Maine congressional delegation. Ed was the dean of 
the delegation. We were congressional colleagues for only a year and a 
half, but our friendship lasted throughout the years. And when I was 
elected to the seat which he had held with such distinction, I was 
touched by his kindness, and grateful for his advice and counsel.
  Throughout his life, he never failed to answer the call of duty. He 
answered the call from the people of Maine * * * He answered the call 
from America's rivers and streams * * * And he answered a call from the 
President of the United States and a worried Nation when Senator Muskie 
became Secretary of State Muskie in a moment of national crisis.
  Mr. President, 75 years before Edmund Muskie was born, another famous 
Mainer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, captured what I believe is the 
essence of the wonderful man we remember today. Longfellow wrote:

     Lives of great men all remind us
     we can make our lives sublime,
     And, departing, leave behind us
     footprints on the sands of time.

  Ed Muskie's footprints remain on those sands. They are there as a 
guide for those of us who would follow in his path. They are big 
footprints, not easily filled. But we would all do well to try.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I think we are still waiting for the 
distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia, Senator Byrd. And 
while we wait, I would like to ask consent that I be permitted to speak 
for 5 minutes as if in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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