[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 84 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5986-S5987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO SAM NUNN

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, on August 4, 1789, in the first year of 
existence, the U.S. Senate approved legislation to establish the 
Department of War. In the nearly 207 years since that date, the Senate 
has always devoted a great deal of attention to matters of national 
security.
  Few Senators in that time, however, have devoted as much attention as 
Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia, who will leave this Senate next January 
after 24 years of service. While Senator Nunn and I have not agreed on 
every issue, I am just one of many Republicans who has always respected 
his expertise and admired his patriotism.
  I especially recall the affection and admiration which our former 
colleague Barry Goldwater had for Senator Nunn. During the first 6 
years of the Reagan administration, Senator Goldwater and

[[Page S5987]]

Senator Nunn worked on a bipartisan basis to rebuild America's 
military.
  Senator Nunn has also worked with another military expert, Senator 
Richard Lugar, in working with the former Soviet Republic to relinquish 
their nuclear weapons.
  On nondefense matters, I have appreciated Senator Nunn's strong 
support for a balanced budget amendment, product liability reform, and 
anticrime and antidrug efforts.
  The high respect in which Senator Nunn is held in Washington, DC, is 
echoed in his home State of Georgia. In 1978, Senator Nunn won 
reelection with 83 percent of the vote. In 1984, he received 80 
percent, he ran completely unopposed.
  It goes without saying, then, that Senator Nunn could have won 
reelection this year. He has chosen to leave on his own terms, and I 
have no doubt that his voice will continue to be an important one for 
many years to come.

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