[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3191-S3194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF DAVID PACKARD

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, 3 days ago in Palo Alto, CA, a very 
remarkable and truly great American died, David Packard. David Packard 
deserves ranking with the most innovative and outstanding builders and 
manufacturers in our Nation's history.
  He and his partner, Bill Hewlett, were the fathers of the electronic 
industry in Silicon Valley. Starting just 60 years ago, literally, in a 
garage, David Packard and Bill Hewlett began building an innovative 
audio oscillator

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under the name of the Hewlett-Packard Co. How did they choose the name 
Hewlett-Packard? To decide whose name came first, they flipped a coin, 
and Dave lost. His name came second. From that humble beginning, just 
60 years ago, grew a company that today has more than 100,000 employees 
and sales last year of $31.5 billion. It is a worldwide leader in the 
electronics industry.
  What a success story. A great part of the success, Mr. President, of 
Hewlett-Packard has come about because of the management style which 
could be called managing by objective, namely, setting goals and giving 
employees wide latitude in achieving those goals. This was the style 
that Dave Packard believed in deeply. Obviously, it works.
  But David Packard's achievements went beyond his success with 
Hewlett-Packard. He was a philanthropist who did much more than write 
out a check. He became deeply involved with the projects to which he 
contributed.
  A case in point: The Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital in 
Palo Alto, which the Packard family gave to Stanford University Medical 
School and which I have had the privilege of visiting. This is a 
children-friendly hospital, built for children, and one in which 
children can feel safe at home. Dave and Lucile Packard made sure that 
was the way it was built. Let me give an illustration: The registration 
desk in this hospital when you come in--usually, a very forbidding 
structure--has peepholes in it at a child's level, so when a child 
comes in with his or her parent, the child can look through the 
peephole and see what is going on behind this forbidding desk.
  The Packards founded and funded the Monterey Bay Aquarium, first 
opened 11 years ago, in 1985. Dave Packard was deeply involved with the 
innovations at that aquarium. He designed and built, in his own 
workshop, some of the wave-generating equipment that is in that 
marvelous aquarium. The Monterey Bay Aquarium, with an annual 
attendance of over 1.5 million people every year, is the second-most 
popular aquarium in the United States of America.

  In his book called ``The HP Way,'' Dave wrote the following: ``The 
word `philanthropy' is derived from a Greek word that means `lover of 
mankind.' '' I think this is the phrase that best describes David 
Packard. It was his enduring belief that his efforts, both individual 
and corporate, could make this world a better place for all to live in.
  In 1969, David Packard became Deputy Secretary of Defense, and that 
is when I came to know him, because I was, at the time, appointed 
Secretary of the Navy. My distinguished colleague from Virginia also 
came to know Dave Packard at the same time, when the distinguished 
Senator from Virginia was appointed Under Secretary of the Navy. For 3 
years I had the privilege of working with Dave Packard and came to 
admire him greatly. He had the ability to cut right to the heart of a 
problem. He was laconic. He was not a great talker or backslapper. 
Indeed, he had a semi-gruff-appearing visage, but he was extremely 
fair, and he was helpful if one ran into a problem. Most of all, he 
wanted to see the job done and done well.
  He made extremely valuable contributions to our Nation as Deputy 
Secretary of Defense, especially in the procurement area. During the 
years we were together in the Defense Department, my wife Ginny and I 
came to become friends with David and Lucile Packard. It was a 
friendship we greatly valued. They were truly a team--and a wonderful 
one. Lucile was a lovely lady in every way.
  Dave was always a bit bemused by the abundance of aides and 
assistants one had in the Pentagon. I remember him commenting that he 
and Bill Hewlett ran Hewlett-Packard Co. sharing one secretary and one 
office.
  Always a good athlete and an outdoor sportsman, Dave played 
basketball and football at Stanford, and later, while working for 
General Electric in Schnectady, NY, in the depths of the Depression, in 
1935, he made a few extra dollars a week playing professional 
basketball. A hunter and fisherman since boyhood, he maintained those 
interests throughout his life, and was a major contributor to 
conservation organizations.
  Dave Packard was an extremely thoughtful person and would go out of 
his way to help an individual. I was the beneficiary of his kindness in 
many areas, many times, including a special tour for Ginny and me of 
the aquarium, by he and Lucile, contributions of his, and his personal 
appearances at various political fundraisers for me in San Francisco 
and hospitality at his Palo Alto home.

  In his death, I feel like a great oak tree has fallen in the forest. 
I have lost a real friend, and our Nation has lost a unique and 
extraordinarily constructive and thoughtful patriot.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I add my comments to those of my 
distinguished colleague and my former boss in the Department of the 
Navy, Secretary John Chafee of Rhode Island. Those are days that 
neither of us will ever forget.
  It is interesting to go back in history. When President Nixon was 
searching for a Secretary of Defense--and I will test the recollection 
of my colleague--there was much thought about one of the most famous 
Members, contemporary Members of the Senate, Scoop Jackson, taking the 
post. Senator Jackson did consult with the President, but there came a 
time when Jackson felt he could fulfill his goals with the Senate. They 
were extraordinary goals, which, indeed, he did fulfill, and that is by 
continuing in the Senate. But Jackson pointed this out to Secretary 
Laird, then-Congressman Laird from Wisconsin, ranking member of the 
Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations. I remember Laird saying that it 
was difficult for him to give up a life in the House of Representatives 
and in the Congress and representing his State, which he loved so 
dearly. But he did it.

  But, as a condition, he said, ``Mr. President, I want to pick my team 
in the Department of Defense,'' thereby deviating--and at that time I 
was in the transition office of President Nixon--from the White House 
sort of selecting the principal deputies. It was Melvin Laird who 
selected David Packard, and it became known as the Laird-Packard team. 
We must also remember that, at that time, our Nation was engaged in the 
peak of the war in Vietnam, and the responsibilities on the leadership 
in the Department of Defense were enormous, particularly that of 
Secretary Laird, who had to be before the Congress with great 
frequency, and all across the Nation, to answer the question, ``Why 
must we continue in this war?''
  I spoke briefly today with Secretary Laird. He remembers that Dave 
Packard and Melvin Laird were the architects of Vietnamization under 
the guidance of President Nixon. That was the first time this Nation 
began to focus on how, with honor and dignity, we could begin to allow 
the Vietnamese people--South Vietnam--to assume the burden of the war 
and to begin the withdrawal of the American forces.
  I remember so well Secretary Laird telling me, when he arrived at the 
Pentagon, that there was not a single plan as to how, eventually, the 
United States could turn over the burden of that war to others. They 
worked together. The responsibilities on Dave Packard were greater than 
on any Deputy Secretary of Defense, because of the war. It was a team. 
As was mentioned, Packard was awesome. He was awesome in size--over 
six-foot-four, in perfect physical condition, proportionately. He was 
awesome not only in physical stature but in intellectual ability. His 
hallmark was humility. Would the Senator not share that opinion?
  Mr. CHAFEE. Yes. He certainly was awesome. He was a big six-foot-
four. He took charge. He had what you might call ``command presence.''
  Mr. WARNER. That is correct.
  Mr. CHAFEE. I remember, when I first got in the Pentagon, the phone 
rang from Mr. Packard, and I stood up before I answered it.
  I would like to say one other thing. I remember Secretary Laird 
saying this when he was seeking a deputy. He asked all through the 
business world, and he knew what he wanted. He wanted somebody who 
could handle the procurement side of the Pentagon. Mel Laird and David 
Packard worked out what you might call a ``Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside'' 
team, in which Mel Laird would deal with the Congress. He knew George 
Mahon, head of the Appropriations Committee, intimately. He knew

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Senator ``Scoop'' Jackson, and so forth--

  Mr. WARNER. And Senator Stennis, of course.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Senator Stennis, of course. Mel Laird would handle the 
legislative side of matters, the appropriations, the relationships with 
the White House and with the Congress. That is no easy job. Dave 
Packard was assigned what you might call the inside of the Pentagon. He 
was the man that we would consult with on procurement problems. We were 
deep into procurement problems--the F-15, the F-14, the 963 destroyers, 
the 688 class submarines, and on and on it went. Those are the matters 
we would report to David Packard on. He would watch over how we were 
doing and whether we were coming in on cost, whether we were meeting 
our milestones in the construction, and the whole process.
  Mr. WARNER. On that, we also want to mention Senators Thurmond, 
Tower, and Goldwater.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Yes, and Margaret Chase Smith.
  Mr. WARNER. Who all had great reverence for him. I remember one 
contract very clearly. It was a contract for the new antisubmarine 
aircraft, the S-3. At that time, the contractor was having severe 
financial difficulties. Packard called me in and he said, ``Look, we 
are not going to award this contract until you determine that there is 
a financial program by which this contractor can go through and assume 
the enormous responsibilities of the carrying costs of this contract.'' 
I worked under the tutelage of Dave Packard for some several weeks, 
and, finally, we made the decision to give that contractor the 
opportunity to build it. They did build that plane, and it became a 
workhorse of the U.S. Navy. That contractor today, although merged, is 
still one of the major contractors in national defense. But he wanted 
to give the opportunity to the industrial base to prove itself. He held 
them accountable, I say to my friend from Rhode Island, in those days.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed at the conclusion of our 
colloquy today a statement by the former Secretary of Defense, a former 
Member of the U.S. Congress, Melvin Laird, who contributed quite a 
documentary on Dave Packard upon learning of his death.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See exhibit 1.)
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. Laird told me today, in a saddened voice, that he had 
just talked to Dave not more than a week ago, as they did almost every 
week of their lives after leaving the Pentagon. They were like 
brothers. That is one of the rich heritages of those privileged to have 
served in Federal service--bringing, from all across America, people to 
work in the departments and agencies of the Federal Government, and the 
forming of lifetime friendships as a basis for that public service.
  So I say to my friend, I am privileged to join with him. I think the 
Senator covered his contributions in the field of health and, indeed, 
the military services. They have their own educational facility now for 
the purpose of preparing young men and women for doctors and medical 
assistants.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Actually, I did not touch on that.
  Mr. WARNER. That is an important contribution.
  Mr. CHAFEE. I failed to mention that. The Uniformed Services Medical 
College.
  Mr. WARNER. That was his dream.
  Mr. CHAFEE. It came from Dave Packard. He was the principal proponent 
of it. He felt we were having trouble getting physicians in the 
military service forces, and that we had these major research hospitals 
and outstanding hospitals, Walter Reed and Bethesda, and we needed our 
own medical school, which we did get.
  Mr. WARNER. You touched on the procurement reform. Each time Congress 
goes back in an effort to try to strengthen procurement reform, they go 
back time and time again to that report.
  I want to conclude with a personal note. Back to the word 
``awesome.'' There was a certain amount of trepidation each time we had 
to encounter David Packard. One of the principal avenues to soften him 
was his lovely wife, who was called Lou. She was a statuesque, 
beautiful woman, and very quiet and dignified. She, and she alone, 
could handle Dave Packard. That is my recollection.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Well, the Senator is absolutely right. There was a 
certain trepidation when you got a call that ``Mr. Packard wants to see 
you in his office.'' I would hustle around to see if I missed out 
somewhere, or if I left something undone that I ought to have done. It 
was sort of like when you were in school and being called to the 
principal's office. I tell. It kept you on your toes.

  Mr. WARNER. Indeed it did.
  We should also mention that the concept of the All-Volunteer Force 
originated under Secretaries Laird and Packard. We accept it today, and 
it has worked far beyond the expectations of any of us. But there was a 
lot of concern when we initiated that. Would we see a precipitous 
dropoff in the ability of the United States to attract quality young 
men and women to the uniformed services? They were the men that had the 
vision to give us the opportunity to prove it, and it has worked. And 
it has worked well.
  So the achievements of the Laird-Packard team were monumental and--
with the exception of the present company of the Senator and myself--
they were able to draw from all quarters of the United States the 
finest to come and serve in the Department of Defense in the three 
military departments. The introduction of greater responsibility for 
women in the military services indeed was during that period of time. 
They laid the foundation for the service academies being opened to 
women.
  As I remember, as I succeeded Senator Chafee, one of the last things 
on my watch was opening up Annapolis to women. And that has worked 
exceptionally well.
  So, Mr. President, it is a privilege for me to join with my former 
boss and dear friend to say these brief remarks on behalf of our lost 
company.
  I thank the Chair. I thank the Senator.

                               Exhibit 1

          Remarks of Former Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird

       A giant of a man in every way, David Packard helped me in 
     the '50s as a young congressman when I was ranking member of 
     health, education, and welfare and labor developing the 
     university programs for NIH, Health and Education research. 
     He also helped me as my deputy while I was serving as 
     Secretary of Defense. His contribution in both cases was 
     monumental.
       We established the draft lottery system and created the All 
     Volunteer Service, ending the draft, managed the orderly 
     withdrawal from Vietnam, an organized the Defense Department 
     procurement policies.
       His contribution to our nation and the world will be an 
     everlasting memorial to him.
       He was a true friend, a great contributor to the best 
     things our nation stands for. We all will be forever in his 
     debt, a true friend for whom I will always have the deepest 
     love.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, David Packard is a legend in 
California, and will forever remain a treasured part of California's 
proud history.
  A man of humble beginnings, through sheer ingenuity and 
determination, David Packard became one of the most influential 
entrepreneurs in American business.
  One of the original cofounders of computer giant Hewlett-Packard, he 
was considered the patriarch of hi-tech's famed Silicon Valley. His 
innovation sparked the technology revolution that put California on the 
map as the information leader of the world.
  But it was his leadership that inspired generations of hi-tech 
wizards to break new ground and reach new heights. He truly believed 
that nothing was impossible if the spirit to succeed was there. And 
David Packard believed in the American spirit.
  David Packard set a standard of excellence for business schools all 
over the world with his ideas of ``management by objective'' and 
``management by walking around.''
  And he put a human face on success by never climbing out of the reach 
of the people who worked for him. ``The HP Way'' broke barriers between 
management and employees, fostering teamwork and a pride of ownership 
that reached every level of his company.
  David Packard also served his country as Deputy Secretary of Defense 
under President Nixon, and, with his wife Lucile, was unmatched as our 
Nation's most dedicated and generous philanthropist. The David and 
Lucile

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Packard Foundation last year distributed more than $116 million to more 
than 700 recipients.
  His contributions to Stanford University, my alma mater, leave a 
legacy that will touch many future generations, who will stand on his 
shoulders and continue to lead this Nation to new heights of 
excellence, compassion, and greatness.
  David Packard will be sorely missed.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may be 
permitted to proceed as if in morning business for 10 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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