[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 135 (Thursday, September 26, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11418-S11419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR JIM EXON

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, before Congress adjourns for the year, I 
wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to Senator Jim Exon, who is 
retiring this year.
  For more than a quarter-century, Jim Exon has served the people of 
Nebraska as Governor and as United States Senator. He has represented 
his state well. Jim Exon has been a leader on budget issues, a good 
friend to agriculture and the needs of rural America, and an 
accomplished legislator in the areas of transportation and national 
defense policy.
  I was privileged to serve on the Senate Budget Committee with Jim 
Exon. He joined the committee in 1979, and in 1995 became the ranking 
member. Senator Exon and I usually saw eye-to-eye on budget issues, 
probably because we share Midwestern values about the need to control 
spending and keep our Nation's fiscal house in order. Senator Exon 
worked hard for passage of the balanced budget amendment. But his 
support for the amendment did not stop him from speaking out frankly 
this year when he believed the issue had become a political football, 
rather than an honest effort by those who truly wanted to balance the 
budget. Jim Exon also worked for years to draw attention to our 
skyrocketing national debt, because he understands that this debt is 
not a legacy we want to leave for future generations.
  Senator Exon has also been a good friend to our Nation's family 
farmers. Throughout his time in the Senate, he fought for sensible 
agricultural policies and a safety net for our Nation's producers. 
Senator Exon and I were a terrific team on the Senate Budget Committee, 
ensuring that deficit reduction efforts treated agriculture fairly. Jim 
Exon always understood the special needs of rural areas, and promoted 
programs like Essential Air Service, that are so important to smaller 
towns and cities.

[[Page S11419]]

  During the last Congress Senator Exon chaired the Commerce 
Committee's Subcommittee on Surface Transportation. In 1994 he 
succeeded in ensuring the termination of the ICC would occur in a 
manner that still protected the needs of agricultural shippers who 
needed effective oversight of the rail industry. Senator Exon was also 
a champion of rail safety issues, and in 1994 led the fight to 
authorize rail safety programs and ensure minimum safety standards for 
railroad cars.
  Senator Exon has also worked for some time on nuclear weapons testing 
issues, at one time chairing the Armed Services subcommittee with 
jurisdiction over this issue. He joined Senator Hatfield and former 
Majority Leader George Mitchell in 1992 in support of a measure to 
restrict and eventually end U.S. testing of nuclear weapons. Just this 
week we have seen the fruits of those efforts, with the signing of a 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty at the United Nations. Senator 
Exon attended that signing, and should be proud that through the 
efforts of many, the world will be a safer place for our children and 
grandchildren.
  Senator Exon will soon return to his home in Lincoln. With more time 
for leisure activities, I am certain he won't miss many baseball games 
when the St. Louis Cardinals are playing. But Jim Exon's dedication and 
expertise on many issues will be missed greatly in the U.S. Senate, 
even as Nebraskans welcome him home. I will miss my good friend and 
colleague.

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