[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 85 (Tuesday, June 11, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S6063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR BOB DOLE

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise at this time to speak in concert 
with so many others who have spoken today about the career of Senator 
Bob Dole who today moved on to a new role and new responsibilities and 
left behind a legacy that is virtually unsurpassed in the history of 
the Senate. Obviously, the accomplishments that Bob Dole achieved, both 
as a leader in the Senate as well, in his earlier career, as a Member 
of the House of Representatives, have been chronicled pretty thoroughly 
both by the media as well as by Senator Dole himself today. It is a 
legislative record that any of us would be, I think, immensely proud to 
have at the end of our careers here in this institution.
  So, what I thought I might do instead was to just spend a minute or 
two talking about the personal side of Bob Dole, the side that many of 
us here in the Senate know but which is maybe not as well known to the 
American people.
  I have certainly come to know Bob Dole as a friend. He is somebody 
who, from the very day that I arrived in the Senate, had a door that 
was open to me, and I know it was open to others in the freshman class 
that makes up this 104th Congress. He is a man who did not view himself 
as a senior Member and we as, somehow, junior Members not to be on the 
same playing field, but somebody who viewed us all as Members of this 
institution, as equals, who treated us that way, as he treats 
everybody.
  He is a man of great compassion, a person who, through his own life's 
experiences, I think, probably cares about and sympathizes and 
understands the problems that his fellow citizens have more than 
virtually anybody else in national leadership. He is a person who, I 
think, personifies the words trust and honesty and integrity more than 
anybody I have ever worked with in the political process or in the 
private sector. I have never known anybody who has served with Bob Dole 
who has not said that his word was good, that his word was always one 
that you could count on. That is clearly a reason why he is held in 
such high esteem on both sides of the political aisle.

  These qualities, his capacity to be a good friend, his compassion for 
his fellow citizens, the honesty, the trust and the integrity that he 
brought to his service here in the Congress of the United States, make 
him a giant, in my opinion, a giant who will be remembered far beyond 
the balcony which today was named after him. But he will be remembered 
along with the names of Webster and Clay, Johnson, Mansfield, and 
others who have served and who are remembered as the important 
ingredients in the formation of our democracy and its continuation.
  I would just say this. Although my tenure in the Senate has lasted 
only a year and a half, I am extraordinarily proud that I had the 
chance for that year and a half to serve with Bob Dole. I happen to be 
one of those who believes that his career in public service is not 
coming to an end today but that in just a few months he will be back in 
a different role, working together with us. But I am proud that I had 
the chance to serve as a fellow Member of the U.S. Senate with him.
  Some people come to this Chamber and perhaps never are given the 
opportunity to work closely with one of the giants of our Nation's 
history and of the Senate's history. I feel very lucky and fortunate to 
have had that chance, even if it was only for a year and a half.
  I wish him and his family great good fortune as they move on to a new 
challenge in this political campaign, and the best of luck and best 
wishes for the future.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.

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