[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11246-S11248]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATOR CLAIBORNE PELL
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise this morning to speak not to an
issue but to speak to a man--about a man.
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Mr. President, I rise this morning on the floor of the Senate to
perform a task that I am anxious to perform but, at the same time,
reluctant to perform.
I have been in the Senate now for 24 years. I have had the
opportunity in those 24 years to serve with some very famous,
significant political figures in modern American history. When I
arrived here in 1972, Richard Nixon was President. The Senate was
markedly different in terms of its makeup and membership, so much so
that I now find myself--I was No. 100 in seniority--I now find myself
somewhere in the low teens in seniority, and finding only a half a
dozen or so Democrats who have been here longer than I have.
The reason I bother to mention that is I have had an opportunity to
meet and work with and become friends with some truly great and famous
Members of the U.S. Senate. The loss--in some cases by death, such as
in the case of Hubert Humphrey and Dewey Bartlett and others; in some
cases as a consequence of having lost an election, in the case of
people like Frank Church and other great leaders such as Jacob Javits;
the loss in some cases on the part of a Senator deciding he did not
wish to run again, like Senator Mansfield and others--has impacted on
the Senate and has impacted on the country.
I know my Grandfather Finnegan--God rest his soul--was right when he
always used to say, ``Joey, don't forget Paddy's a 9-day wonder. When
you're gone, you're gone.'' In one sense that is true. In another sense
it is not true because every once in a while someone passes this way.
Every once in a while someone assumes a position in the U.S. Senate, or
takes the place on the floor of this august body, who changes not only
the nature of our laws and the attitude of our country about major
issues but who impact upon how this institution functions.
In my mind, and I believe I reflect the view of the American public
in this case, one of the things that is most troubling in our discourse
is a growing lack of civility, not only in our public discourse but in
our private discourse.
You need only go down this long aisle to the next, patterned after
the Parliament in Great Britain. Look out this door. Many people who
watch us on C-SPAN don't realize that you walk through the door of this
institution, this floor, and look out that door, and you look straight
all the way through, you will see a similar set of doors at the other
end that lead into another Chamber called the House of Representatives.
For years and years, we have avoided the kind of invective that seems
to have infected the debate on that end of the Capitol. And one of the
reasons we have avoided it is because there have been men and women on
the floor of this Senate who will not tolerate that kind of discourse
and constantly remind us of our moral conscience: that we, as the
greatest institution--not as individuals, but as an institution--should
not stoop to the level of engaging in uncivil conduct.
If the Presiding Officer, the former Governor of Missouri, will
excuse my personal reference, it is like using profanity. You know that
one may engage in using profanity in the locker room with a bunch of
guys when you are in high school, but you would never do that in front
of your mother. You would never do that in front of your grandmother.
You would never do that in front of the people you most respected, even
if you slipped and did it in front of the guys.
Well, the presence of Claiborne Pell on the floor of the U.S.
Senate--just, literally, his physical presence on the floor--
inhibits Members from yielding to the temptation of engaging in uncivil
conduct, in conduct that, quite frankly, we should all realize is
beneath us and demeans the public debate and demeans this institution.
And I can say, without reservation, that in the 24 years I have served
here there is not a single, solitary person whose mere physical
presence in a committee, in a caucus room, on the floor of the U.S.
Senate--just his presence inhibits negative behavior on the part of all
of us. He is a man of such character, such gentility, such class, and
such persuasion by his actions. I mean it. Think about it. I say to my
colleagues who may be listening to this in their offices: Name for me a
single solitary person with whom we have ever served who has that kind
of impact--he walks into a room, and his mere presence exposes
demeaning conduct that any of us, including myself, may be engaging in
in the course of political discourse.
He likes to point out--and he never lectures, but he likes to point
out--that he has never negatively referred to any one of his opponents.
I remember one of the highest compliments I ever received. We were at
a candidate forum. The chairman and I, Senator Pell, a Democratic
candidate, were getting ready for the last election. And one of the
leading political advertisers for Democrats was up there showing us the
latest ad, all the Members of the Senate who were running in the 1990
race, when Senator Pell and I ran together the last time. He was
saying, ``This is what works, and this is what the Republicans are
doing, and this is what we should do.'' This particular guy has great
wit and was actually the guy doing my advertising, and may have been
the one doing Senator Pell's as well. I can't recall. His name is Bob
Squire, one of the leading political advertisers in the country, and a
fine man. Actually he was doing the President's campaign, if I am not
mistaken. Bob Squire with his dry wit looked down at all of us, and
said, ``There are only two men in America that do not get it''--that
you must respond to negative ads and you must be negative.
And I do not know whether it is true, if it was only two. It does not
matter for purposes of what I am going to say. He literally said,
``Claiborne Pell and Joe Biden.'' Just for me to be mentioned in the
same sentence with Claiborne Pell--just to be mentioned in the same
sentence--was one of the highest compliments I have received since I
have been in the Senate.
I am not in Claiborne Pell's class. Few are. If you will forgive me,
as we say, a point of personal privilege here, when I first came to the
Senate, I say to the Presiding Officer, I came under circumstances that
were not the most ideal. I was not anxious to come. There had been an
accident involving my family, and I lost my wife and daughter.
Almost everybody, when I came, embraced me, Democrat and Republican,
and they were very generous with their time and their concern. But I
remember four people, only one of whom I will name today: Claiborne
Pell. Claiborne Pell came to me, and in his inimitable way. He did not
do what Hubert Humphrey did. Hubert Humphrey literally came over to my
office and sat on my couch and cried with me, I mean literally cried
with me. Claiborne Pell did not do that.
I give you my word that there was not a week that went by without him
at least twice a week personally coming to me and inquiring of me how I
was doing, inviting me to his home, inviting me to stay with him in his
home, offering me a room in his lovely home in Georgetown because he
knew I commuted and my boys were still in the hospital. And that did
not stop when my boys became healthy. That has continued for 24 years.
And his wife, Nuala, is equally as wonderful.
In addition to that, Claiborne Pell did something few were able to do
for me at the time, and again continuing on this point of personal
privilege. He invited me to dinner parties, private parties, private
dinners at his home, knowing that it was important for me, in
retrospect, just to get out, just to be somewhere with someone. He
never did it in a way that made me feel beholden. He never did it in a
way as if he were doing me a favor. He never did it in a way other than
the way he does everything: in a purely genuine, straightforward,
embracing way.
Mr. President, that has characterized everything about Claiborne
Pell.
Let me conclude by saying that everything about Claiborne Pell's
public life has in fact emulated his private life. There are not many
people who can say there is simply no distinction between their private
conduct and their public conduct. Claiborne Pell would not say that,
but he can say that, and I can say that for him.
The last point I wish to make, and I will elaborate on this later
when we finish this treaty or at another time before we leave, is this
man is a man who is, to use a trite-sounding phrase, a quiet visionary.
This is a fellow who wrote about the transportation system in the
Northeast and predicted what would be needed and used a word I
[[Page S11248]]
learned as an undergraduate that no one had ever heard of--
``megalopolis''--and he talked about Richmond to Boston and what would
have to be done to accommodate the needs of this area of the country.
He is the guy who came up with the notion of ACDA. He has been the
single most consistent, persistent spearheader of the notion of
bringing about the diminution of the number of nuclear weapons that
exist in this world. He is the man who has been devoted to the notions
and concepts embodied in the United Nations. He is a man who has been
the leader in education and learning, a man who comes from considerable
standing in terms of his own personal wealth and education but has bent
down to make sure that people of competence, regardless of their
economic status, would be able to achieve the same intellectual
competence, capability, and background as he has achieved.
This is a wonderful man, I say to my friends. You all know it. But
not many have passed this way who have his personal characteristics and
capabilities, and I doubt whether very many will come this way again. I
will truly miss his presence in the Senate.
I yield the floor and thank my colleagues.
Mr. HELMS addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I appreciate the remarks of the
distinguished Senator from Delaware. He was unable to come to a meeting
of the Foreign Relations Committee this morning at which we spent 1\1/
2\ hours paying tribute to this wonderful man, and I agree with
everything that Senator Biden has said about Senator Pell.
At the meeting this morning, a resolution of commendation for Senator
Pell was adopted by standing ovation, and I ask unanimous consent that
this resolution be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the resolution was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Resolution of Commendation for Services Rendered by The Hon. Claiborne
deB. Pell
Whereas Senator Claiborne deB. Pell has been a member of
the Committee on Foreign Relations since January 8, 1965;
served as Ranking Minority Member from January 5, 1981 until
January 6, 1987; served as Chairman from January 6, 1987
until January 3, 1995; and served again as Ranking Minority
Member from January 4, 1995 until the present;
Whereas by serving as Chairman of the Foreign Relations
Committee, Senator Pell became the second Rhode Islander,
following The Honorable Theodore F. Green, to serve the State
of Rhode Island as Chairman of this distinguished Committee;
Whereas as a Member and Chairman of the Committee Senator
Pell has always been courteous, extending to all Members true
respect for their views, and leaving an indelible mark on the
Committee as a true gentleman of diplomacy;
Whereas in the discharge of his duties as chairman, Senator
Pell has at every opportunity encouraged the development and
furtherance of a bipartisan foreign policy;
Whereas Senator Pell, having served on the International
Secretariat of the San Francisco Conference which drew up the
Charter of the United Nations, has always worked to find
international solutions to global problems in such areas as
the environment, the oceans, climate control, human rights,
the plight of refugees, and the rights of oppressed
minorities throughout the world;
Whereas Senator Pell has steadfastly argued for greater
contact and dialogue between all nations so as to reduce
tensions, resolve differences, and promote the development of
democracy, advocating negotiations and diplomacy as an
alternative to armed conflict and military action;
Whereas Senator Pell has been instrumental in the
initiation of arms control accords such as the Environmental
Modification Treaty and the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, in
the successful Senate consideration of numerous arms control
treaties with such goals as the limitation, reduction and
elimination of various classes of nuclear weapons, in the
passage of legislation to restrain the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, and in the inception, fostering
and strengthening of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency;
Whereas Senator Pell, through his energy and vision, has
contributed immeasurably to the development of United States
leadership in world affairs and the establishment of better
relations among nations;
Whereas Senator Pell has announced his intention to retire
from the Senate in January 1997; and
Whereas Senator Pell's leadership and wisdom will be sorely
missed by his colleagues on the Committee and his many
friends in the Senate: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Relations expresses
its warm and deep affection for Senator Claiborne Pell, its
profound appreciation for his devotion to duty and its
sincere gratitude for the outstanding service which he has
rendered to the Committee, the Senate, the United States of
America, and to the entire world through his great ability,
initiative, and statesmanship.
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