[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10657-S10660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SALUTING THE SERVICE OF HOWARD O. GREENE, JR.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to the consideration of Senate Resolutions 293 and 294, and
I ask unanimous consent they be considered en bloc.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I ask that the clerk read the resolution which is the
resolution pertaining to the former Sergeant at Arms.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 293) saluting the service of Howard
O. Greene, Jr.:
S. Res. 293
Whereas, Howard O. Greene, Jr. has served the United States
Senate since January 1968;
Whereas, Mr. Greene has during his Senate career served in
the capacities of Doorkeeper, Republican Cloakroom Assistant,
Assistant Secretary for the Minority, Secretary for the
Minority, Secretary for the Majority, culminating in his
election as Senate Sergeant-At-Arms during the 104th
Congress;
Whereas, throughout his Senate career Mr. Greene has been a
reliable source of advice and counsel to Senators and Senate
staff alike;
Whereas, Mr. Greene's institutional knowledge and
legislative skills are well known and respected;
Whereas, Mr. Greene's more than 28 years of service have
been characterized by a deep and abiding respect for the
institution and customs of the United States Senate;
Therefore be it resolved,
That the Senate salutes Howard O. Greene, Jr. for his
career of public service to the United States Senate and its
Members.
Section 2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a
copy of this resolution to Howard O. Greene, Jr.
Providing for Severance Pay
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the second resolution.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 294) to provide for severance pay.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the resolutions?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolutions.
Mr. FORD. I ask unanimous consent I be made a cosponsor of the
resolution commending Howard Greene.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. I ask unanimous consent that all Senators have an
opportunity through the remainder of the day to add their names as
cosponsors, if they so desire.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, Howard Greene traveled across the
Chesapeake Bay from Lewes, DE, to the Senate in 1968, and he has been
present in the Halls of the Capitol ever since. He developed a deep
knowledge and understanding of the Senate as he rose through the ranks
from Doorkeeper to Cloakroom assistant to Secretary for the Minority
and Majority to Sergeant at Arms. His loyal service spans from
Republican leaders Everett Dirksen, Howard Baker, Bob Dole, and Trent
Lott. He served almost three decades.
Members have come to rely on Howard's ability to help count noses. I
know I did when I was whip in the Chamber here for 8 years.
While sometimes it seemed that Howard had a crystal ball, it was his
careful analysis, knowledge of the issues, understanding of the
Members, and his hard work that provided information that usually made
his forecasts correct. Vice Presidents, in their role as Presidents of
the Senate, have relied on Howard's assistance and experience
particularly during times when debates were intense and votes could be
close.
We have been able to count on Howard for almost 30 years, and he has
been there when he was needed by the Senate. But better than that, he
has been able to participate where he could be of help. He has not had
to be asked. His colorful descriptions of everyday situations and sense
of humor helped lighten the atmosphere during some of our longer and
longest days and nights. He was here on some of the longest ones.
Those of us who traveled with Howard over the years know what a fine
traveling companion he really is. One of his sad tasks was to arrange
for Senators to travel to funerals or memorial services for departed
Senators. When Howard made those arrangements, the appearance of
Members of the Senate was one of dignity, organization, and meaningful
caring for those who survived one of our former colleagues.
Mr. President, I believe Senators on both sides of the aisle know
that Howard's allegiance to the Senate and his loyalty to its Members
and his love of our country would be hard to match. Many Senators and
staff members who have retired would echo my words of tribute to my
friend.
Today, as his service in the Senate is about to end, I have asked for
permission to request the Senate to pay this special tribute to Howard
Greene. He will be missed by many of us.
I understand there will be time up to 15 minutes for Members of the
Senate to add their comments, but let me first ask unanimous consent
that the resolutions be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the
motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, and statements made to
these resolutions appear at this point in the Record.
The second resolution is comparable to that which was offered for
several other Sergeants of Arms and recognizes their service by a
provision for terminal leave compensation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolutions (S. Res. 293 and S. Res. 294) were agreed to.
The preamble to Senate Resolution 293 was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 294) is as follows:
S. Res. 294
Resolved, (a) That the individual who was the Sergeant at
Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate on September 1, 1996, and
whose service as the Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the
Senate terminated on or after September 1, 1996 but prior to
September 6, 1996, shall be entitled to one lump sum payment
consisting of severance pay in an amount equal to two months
of the individual's basic pay at the rate such individual was
paid on September 1, 1996.
(b) The Secretary of the Senate shall make payments under
this resolution from funds appropriated for fiscal year 1996
from the appropriation account ``Miscellaneous Items'' within
the contingent fund of the Senate.
(c) A payment under this resolution shall not be treated as
compensation for purposes of any provision of title 5, United
States Code, or of any other law relating to benefits
accruing from employment by the United States, and the period
of entitlement to such pay shall not be treated as a period
of employment for purposes of any such provision of law.
Mr. SPECTER addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my distinguished
colleague, Senator Stevens, in praising Howard Greene. During the 16
years that I have had the privilege of serving in the Senate, I have
come to know Howard Greene and have great admiration and respect for
him.
Senator Stevens talked about the Republican majority leaders Dirksen
and Baker and Dole and what great service they received from Howard
Greene. In a sense, Howard Greene was a leader's leader because he
would always provide information and insights of enormous value to the
leadership.
We are blessed, in the Senate, to have personnel who serve in the
capacity of--you might call them clerks, or you might call them
directors, or you might call them, in effect, assistant leaders. When
Howard Greene was here, I would frequently go to him, as would most of
my colleagues, and want a prediction about what was going to happen.
People who may watch the Senate intermittently on C-SPAN do not know
that our schedules are very unpredictable. Some times people ask,
``When will the Senate adjourn?'' I customarily say, ``When the last
Senator stops speaking.'' Howard Greene customarily had a good idea as
to when the last Senator would stop speaking.
When he was promoted to the Sergeant at Arms, a very important and
prestigious position in the Senate, I was, in a sense, sorry to see it
happen, because no longer would Howard Greene patrol the floor. That
familiar sight when he would come out of those double doors, straighten
his tie and adjust his coat and walk down that step. Even Elizabeth
Greene laughs at the recapture of Howard Greene entering
[[Page S10658]]
the Senate Chamber. He was always busy. Howard Greene was really a
great aid and comfort to all the Senators. When the going got rough, I
would call him in the evening or call him on weekends, and he was
always available to help over the rough administrative hurdles.
I know my colleague Senator Roth has come to the floor, and he
intends to talk about Howard Greene as well. But I think Howard Greene
was a tremendous asset to the U.S. Senate. I, for one, am very sorry to
see him terminate his service here. But I wish him the very best in the
years ahead, and I know we will all continue to work with him and
admire him and respect him for his contribution to this body.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. FORD. Mr. President, may I just take a moment to associate myself
with the remarks of the distinguished Senators from Alaska and
Pennsylvania, as they relate to our friend Howard Greene.
I think you have to understand the institution to understand the
value of an individual like Howard Greene. I think you have to
understand the fairness, you have to understand that your word is good,
that when you tell a Senator something, that is the way it is. If
something happens that it cannot occur that way, you have the good
judgment to come back and say to that Senator it cannot happen now, and
tell him why.
I have never talked to Howard Greene and asked for anything, but what
I received the most courteous attention as if I was the only one
seeking any kind of information or help from him.
So I will miss Howard Greene. I think the Senate will miss Howard
Greene. I hope those who are taking Howard's place will understand that
they are filling very, very large shoes.
To my friend Howard, I wish him well. I hope his days ahead are full
of pleasure, and I hope that he can find something that will fulfill
him as much as his operation here in the Senate.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota.
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I join in the tribute to Howard Greene.
I worked with him here in my 17\1/2\ years in the Senate. He has been
very helpful to me. He has been a friend of mine. He has been an
outstanding public servant, a man of conviction and honesty and hard
work.
I do not know if the public realizes how hard some of these staff
people work around here to keep this place going. I saw it firsthand,
in many cases when we were in session at night.
Howard Greene certainly exemplifies hard work and honesty and
goodness. I join my colleagues in paying tribute to him here today.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I just want to pay my respects to Howard
Greene for being such a good friend and a solid worker around here in
the U.S. Senate. Wherever he has worked he has served with distinction,
he served with a great deal of verve, and he has been a very good
friend for all of us. I would feel very badly if I did not get out here
and say a few nice things about him, because Howard has always had an
open mind, he has always been willing to listen, he has always tried to
help. He has helped me on a number of occasions, as I know he has every
Senator, and he deserves our respect, and I certainly want to pay my
respect to him today.
I am sorry he is retiring, but I wish him the very best in his
retirement, and I hope, if there is ever any occasion for me to give
any assistance or help to him, I would certainly like to be there for
him. He is a great person who I think served this U.S. Senate with
great distinction. I just wanted to say those few words here today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, it is fitting for me to offer a few words
concerning Howard Greene and his service to the U.S. Senate. Howard is
from my home State of Delaware. He began his service to the Senate in
1968, as a doorman in the gallery. At the time, he was only 26,
attending the University of Maryland. His objective was to become a
history teacher. Howard was an ambitious young man--bright and
extremely able. In this environment, he gained the attention of
Senators and became more and more interested in the political process--
especially the daily proceedings here on Capitol Hill.
When an opportunity presented itself in the early 1970's, Howard
moved into the Republican Cloakroom. After this important promotion in
Howard's young life, you can imagine his surprise when his mother said,
``Congratulations, Dear. Does that mean you'll be hanging up the
Senators' coats?'' It was while in the Cloakroom that Howard
distinguished himself as one who could get things done. His attention
to detail, and service to others became defining qualities, as did his
keen insight into complex legislative issues.
Those who knew Howard, trusted his insights, and his activities drew
him into even greater involvement with the daily affairs of the Senate.
They prepared him well for a new assignment as Assistant Secretary for
the Minority, under Mark Trice.
With the election of Ronald Reagan and the Republican majority,
Howard was appointed Secretary by Howard Baker. It was while he served
in that capacity that many of us came to appreciate his organizational
skills, his diplomacy, and leadership.
Howard has now served 2 years as Sergeant at Arms. His love for the
Senate and the legislative process have continued. In his years of
service, he had done Delaware proud.
From his upbringing in the small town of Lewes, to his work in the
most powerful legislative body on Earth, Howard Greene is, indeed, a
smalltown boy who made good.
Mr. President, I yield back the floor and suggest the absence of a
quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, when I came to the Senate, I can say
without any equivocation, Howard Greene was one of those individuals to
whom I and my colleagues--we had one of the largest classes of Senators
at that particular time; took our oaths in 1979--but he was the man to
whom we looked for a lot of advice and guidance.
The distinguished Senator, Mr. Howard Baker, was then our leader on
the Republican side. And it was clear that Mr. Baker placed in Howard
Greene a great deal of confidence and respect, and indicated to Mr.
Greene, to the extent he could be of assistance to the newcoming
Senators, to do so. That early experience with him led to many, many
times that we worked together.
I find him to be a person extremely knowledgeable about the rules of
the Senate. While the rules of the Senate are the subject of great
discussion many, many times, there is a lot that is not in the rules.
But, nevertheless, Senators are expected to follow the traditions. And
he was particularly astute about all the unwritten traditions of the
Senate. And certainly in my class--and I hope it will always be a part
of Senate life--we were very anxious to comply with the rules of the
Senate, be they written or unwritten, as a part of tradition.
Howard Greene played a very valuable role to my class. I see my
distinguished colleague here from Wyoming, Senator Simpson. He
remembers well Howard Greene and how he worked with our class, and in
the years thereafter. He was also pretty tightlipped. There were many
times he sat in on meetings. I found that he was able to hold those
exchanges that sometimes were heated between Senators, and do it very
well.
So speaking for myself, and I hope others will join me, we wish him
very well in his next challenge in life professionally. I wish to
express my fond farewell and my gratitude in terms of what he did for
me individually, what he did for my class of Senators, and
[[Page S10659]]
what he did for almost three decades of service in the U.S. Senate. I
hope that younger persons now coming along and seeking to have a role
in the Senate will look upon Howard Greene as one that set standards
that they should strive to accept. Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. MURKOWSKI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues in paying
tribute to Howard Greene for the service that he has provided this
body. My personal association with Howard goes back to my election to
the Senate and coming to this body in 1980. I had little association
with Washington, DC, and little association with Senate procedure, and
I found Howard extraordinarily talented in addressing the egos of some
100 individual Members of this body.
He always reminded me of a person who had the ability to keep all the
balls up in the air, all at once if necessary, and in meeting the
needs, the desires, not only of the Members during the normal course of
business, but oftentimes it would be necessary to phone him after
hours. I found him more than willing to go beyond just accommodating
Members in the normal activities of our daily lives, but to make an
effort to accommodate the needs of family and family members.
I think it is fair to say that as I look back on my career in the
Senate, approaching some 16 years, I look back on it with fond memories
of my association with Howard.
The occasional traveler. Howard was, in my opinion, a white-knuckle
flier. He had some inhibitions about the ability of the particular
craft to get him to where he was going and, more importantly, back. One
night we were flying over the Atlantic, and I do not know whether we
were in the Azores or where, but we had to refuel. And we were in an
old Boeing 707 that the Air Force had, and occasionally the gear did
not go down. One of the gears locked up on this particular night, would
not go down. The normal procedure for eliminating that experience was
to put the plane in a slide dive and pull up rather abruptly, and that
theoretically would drop the gear. Of course, the Air Force aircraft
are not known for their public address systems. Some of us had some
idea of the procedure, and Howard was simply terrified through the
entire process, which I think resulted in some libation of some nature,
or at least a visit to a watering hole when we hit the ground, to which
he was entitled and probably all of us as well.
I cite a more recent visit that I had with Howard when I had an
opportunity to participate as chairman of the United States-Canadian
Interparliamentary where we flew out of Prince Rupert, British
Columbia, with many of our Canadian counterparts, Members from
Parliament from both the lower house and the upper house, and then took
an Alaskan ferry on up through Ketchikan and Juneau, and then went on
past the Yukon Railroad out to Whitehorse where we were again joined by
members of the Yukon territorial parliamentary body. And I found his
insight, his long memory of the Senate, particularly some of the
humorous sides of our relationships with one another, to be very
interesting and rewarding.
So I just add, that Howard Greene's contribution to the Senate will
be long remembered by those who served with him, who knew him, and who
loved him. I join others in wishing him well as he proceeds with what
is ahead of him in his life. And I thank him for his friendship and for
his accommodation. I wish him well. I yield the floor, Mr. President.
Mr. SIMPSON. I thank my friend from Alaska, Mr. President.
Just let me pay my own personal tribute for a moment to Howard
Greene. When I came here to the Senate with Senator Warner, our first
meeting, our first official conduct, our first official briefing, was
with one Bill Hildenbrand and with Howard Greene, very special people,
both of them. They worked so well together. These two smoothed my path
in this place, and certainly Howard Greene was, in my role as assistant
leader of the Senate, always there. He was there. He gave me full
measure of himself, as so many have here who do the work of the Senate.
Those who are here today who knew Howard, worked with him closely, he
was always there for me in my role as assistant leader. As I say, he
gave me full measure--loyal, helpful, persistent, a source of good
counsel--and a strong, yes, yes, strong, taskmaster. He was good at
organizing things, the official visits, the trips, the Presidential
funerals, the official trips we had to do, and he was always well
organized.
He will be remembered for his love and loyalty to the Senate as an
institution, for he loved this place from his youth and from his early
beginnings. He was my strong right arm in my work, and I owe him my
deepest thanks and respect. I shall miss his good humor, ribald as it
was. I wish him well. There is much more for him to do in life. I wish
him well. I wish him peace of mind. I wish him good health. He has many
friends. He can certainly always know that this is one. Ann and I wish
him the very best. God bless him in his new endeavors of life.
I thank the Chair.
Mr. FORD. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in paying
tribute to Howard Greene and in saying words about our good friend. He
has been my good friend for the past 20 years.
I came to the Senate, and Bill Hildenbrand and Howard Greene were two
people who took me under their wings. My own judgment at the time was
that Bill Hildenbrand knew almost everything that needed to be known
about Washington. He seemed to be a man of consummate experience, a
person who had been involved in campaigns but, likewise, in the running
of the Senate from time immemorial. Howard Greene seemed to be his
deputy, his teammate, a person of great vigor, who would stride up and
down the aisles of this Hall with determination and always with success
in finding the person, the bill, the detail that was required.
It was exciting to watch them. It gave me confidence that some people
had confidence in what was being done, and I thought if I watched
carefully I might learn more, and I did from both of these gentlemen.
During recent years, Howard's growing responsibilities have been a real
pleasure--seeing his own growth as a person, as an administrator, as
one who has served Government well, has served the people of the United
States, really, with distinction, in large part because he helped all
of us to be more effective and to have some idea of what we were doing
and how we might do it better.
I am delighted to have this opportunity, and I appreciate the leader
giving us the opportunity today, to say good words about people who
have meant a lot to us, and especially about the person that we honor
on this particular afternoon, Howard Greene.
Mr. FORD. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I noticed that some of my colleagues
commented about the service of Howard Greene, retiring as Sergeant at
Arms of the Senate. They referred to their long years of experience
with Howard and the great service that he has rendered to the Senate
during those years.
I am a relatively new Senator and don't have that kind of experience
to draw on, but I can offer the perspective of a relative newcomer to
this body and to the service that Howard Greene provided when I was
trying to find my way around. I found very quickly that if I wanted an
answer to a question, I went to Howard Greene and I always got one--
quickly, accurately, and sometimes very, very succinctly. Howard is not
a man who wastes words.
I found when I needed assistance in working through possible
committee
[[Page S10660]]
assignments and understanding the program and how it all works, Howard
Greene was there at my side to give me the assistance I needed and
helped me find my way through that, which could be so confusing to a
newcomer. Subsequently, as a member of the Legislative Branch
Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, I had the opportunity to
interact with Howard during appropriations hearings that he was called
upon to attend as the Sergeant at Arms. I found that he was not only
concerned about Senators and taking care of the needs of Senators, he
was also very concerned about the people under his jurisdiction. The
Capitol Police come to mind as one area where Howard focused primarily
on the personal needs of the members of the Capitol Police.
When I made a suggestion in the subcommittee about something that
could be done within the law that would make life better for the
Capitol Police, Howard picked up on it immediately and said, ``We will
do that.'' A little while later, I checked back and said, ``Has anybody
followed through on this?'' I needn't have done that checking back. It
was Howard Greene who said, ``We will do that,'' and the staffers
looked at me and said, ``Yes, Senator, that is in the bill.''
So as he moves on to another circumstance and phase in his life, I
want him to know that he goes with not only the good wishes of some of
the old-timers around here, but a few of us newcomers as well recognize
the service he has rendered, the friendship that he has offered, and
the excellence with which he has performed his job.
I wish Howard the very best in whatever he now undertakes and tell
him that the Senator from Utah will always look fondly upon Howard
Greene as one of his friends.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I, too, would like to join with my
colleagues this afternoon in paying special respect here on the floor
of the U.S. Senate to our friend Howard Greene. He has served this
institution with great dignity, with great candor, and certainly with
great understanding and respect for the Senate of the United States and
for each and every Senator.
He has respected and served and answered to not only the Senators on
that side of the aisle, but he has been most respectful and most
helpful also to the Senators on the Democratic side of the aisle.
Howard Greene is the type of individual who makes the U.S. Senate not
only unique, but I think that because of his service to the Senate and
his years involved with the Senate, the U.S. Senate is better today
because of his years of very, very distinguished service. He is a part
of the heart and the nerve and the sinew that makes the U.S. Senate
what it is today, Mr. President.
I take great pride in being able to add this humble voice as a vote
of confidence for this fine man and as one who has worked with him and
alongside him for a number of years. Mr. President, it gives me great
pleasure to add my words of support and best wishes to this fine
servant of the people of our country and the U.S. Senate, Howard
Greene.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, each day the Senate is in session, at
least one Member rises to pay tribute to a friend, a constituent, or a
colleague who has distinguished himself, or has decided to leave
Government service. Today, Most members of this body are taking to the
floor to say ``goodbye'' to a gentleman who has not only been a fixture
of the U.S. Senate for many years, but has grown to be a friend to most
of us, Sergeant at Arms Howard Greene.
Howard is one of those unique individuals who has spent most of his
adult life here on Capitol Hill. Beginning his career just outside this
chamber as a doorkeeper, Howard worked hard and moved up the ladder of
administrative jobs in the Senate, taking over the position of
Secretary to the Majority at the beginning of the 104th Congress, later
assuming the duties of the Sergeant at Arms. In every job he held,
Howard distinguished himself as an individual of ability, dedication,
and character, and he earned the respect of Members from both sides of
the aisle for his thoroughness and commitment.
As the Republican Party had not held control of the Senate since the
1980's Howard had a challenging task before him at the beginning of the
104th Congress. No doubt, his encyclopedic knowledge of the history,
traditions, and procedures of this great body aided him greatly as he
administered to his tasks as Secretary to the Majority and Sergeant at
Arms. I am certain that all would agree that the transfer of power from
the Democrats to Republicans was smooth, and that the functions over
which Howard had responsibility functioned efficiently and effectively
during his tenure.
Mr. President, as you know, Howard Greene is about to end his service
to the U.S. Senate. He can be proud of the work he has done as a part
of this institution during his many years on the Hill, and I know that
each of us wishes him good health, great success, and much happiness in
the years to come.
Mr. EXON addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to
speak as in morning business.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________