[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 12, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6114-S6115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW MAJORITY LEADER

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am very pleased to be able to rise on 
the floor of the Senate today to congratulate my good friend and State 
colleague, Trent Lott, upon his election as the majority leader of the 
U.S. Senate.
  You have to go back to 1937 to find an instance of a Mississippi 
Senator being so close to the powerful position that my friend now 
occupies. Senator Pat Harrison of Dove Port, MS, first was elected to 
Congress to represent the gulf coast district in Congress, and so was 
Trent Lott some many years later, 1972. Senator Harrison came to the 
Senate after serving several terms in the House and rose to become 
chairman of the Finance Committee here in the Senate, and he lost by 
one vote in a race to be the majority leader of the U.S. Senate. 
Incidentally, the Senator who won that election was Alben Barkley of 
Kentucky. After that, he became President pro tempore of the Senate. I 
mention this to put in context what has happened today. For the first 
time in history, a Mississippian has been elected majority leader of 
the U.S. Senate.

  I feel very honored and pleased that I have had the pleasure and the 
privilege of serving with Trent Lott for almost 24 years in Congress, 
first in the House and now in the Senate. I want to commit to him my 
wholehearted support and my cooperation in helping make his service as 
majority leader of the Senate the most successful ever for any Senator.
  We have been very fortunate in our State in having some outstanding 
representation, even though none had ever been chosen to serve as 
majority leader. As a matter of fact, this desk here has written in the 
drawer the names of some of those distinguished Senators, beginning 
with Jefferson Davis, who resigned his seat in the Senate from this 
desk when Mississippi seceded from the Union. It also contains the 
signatures of Pat Harrison, whom I mentioned, and John Sharp Williams, 
who was the minority whip in the House before being elected to the 
Senate.
  So Trent Lott joins a list of very distinguished leaders of both 
Houses in representing our State in this very important capacity.
  We know that the days ahead are going to be difficult. And I know all 
of the Members on our side are going to work very closely together. I 
trust the Members on the other side will, too, to help move the 
business of the Senate along.
  There are some who are predicting gridlock, confrontation, mean-
spirited, election-year posturing. Well, let us not have it happen. I 
challenge the Senate--and I know others feel this way, too--that we can 
achieve results that help solve problems for the American people in the 
time we have ahead of us this year. We can do it under the able, 
energetic, and very experienced leadership that Trent Lott brings to 
the job of majority leader.
  So I appreciate very much having the opportunity of being in the same 
contest with him. Frankly, I learned a lot.

[[Page S6115]]

 I had never run against Trent Lott for anything before. In the 
conference he spoke in a very precise, clear way.
  We were asked in the news conference about the election. I mentioned 
that I started off in this campaign with a small base of support, and 
during the campaign it got smaller. That was because of the proven 
leadership ability of Trent Lott and his obviously excellent 
qualifications for this job.
  I am confident that he will be a great success as majority leader. 
And I am honored to work with him.
  Mr. WELLSTONE addressed the Chair.
  Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I would be pleased to defer to the 
Senator from South Carolina. I ask unanimous consent that I follow the 
Senator from South Carolina.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate Senator Trent 
Lott upon becoming the majority leader of the U.S. Senate. He is a man 
of integrity, ability, and dedication, and, in my opinion, will make 
one of the finest majority leaders that this country has ever had. I 
believe as time goes by that people will see the wisdom of this man 
being elected. We are proud of him. We are proud of the State he comes 
from, the leadership it has produced. We predict great things to happen 
during the term of Senator Lott as majority leader.

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