[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11512-S11514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO SENATOR SAM NUNN

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, we are rapidly approaching that season when 
we shall witness the departure of many of our colleagues who have 
elected not to serve beyond this Congress.
  Mr. President, I was the 1,579th Senator of 1,826 men and women who 
have served in the U.S. Senate from the beginning. I have seen many 
fine Senators come and go. As I think back over the years, something 
good might well have been said about most, if not all, of these 
Senators. We are prone, of course, to deliver heartfelt eulogies, 
speeches declaring our regrets that our colleagues choose to leave the 
service of this body.
  About all of these Senators whom I have seen depart the Senate, some 
good could be said, unlike Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus, the Roman 
emperor who served from 180 to 192 A.D., one of the few Roman emperors 
about whom nothing good could be said.
  I don't think that any of the Senators that I can recall at the 
moment who voluntarily retired with honor from this body were Senators 
about whom nothing good could be said. But shortly, we will witness the 
departure of one of the truly outstanding United States Senators of our 
time, and when I say ``of our time,'' I mean my time as a Member of 
Congress for 44 years, a Member of this body for 38 years. The 
departure of Sam Nunn will be an irreparable loss. Someone might be 
able to take his place over a period of years.
  I remember the death of Senator Russell, Richard Russell of Georgia, 
on January 21, 1971, 25 years ago. In the course of those 25 years, 
one-quarter of a century, I have to say that I have not seen the 
likeness of Richard Russell, except in Senator Samuel Augustus Nunn.
  So it may be another 25 years, it may be 50 years before we see the 
likeness of Senator Nunn.
  I pay tribute to this distinguished colleague who is retiring from 
the Senate after 24 years--illustrious years. There are many things 
that one can say about Sam Nunn, as he has been consistently 
productive, growing in stature year by year to become, without doubt, 
the leading Senate voice on national defense security and alliance 
issues--the leading voice. His accomplishments, of which there are 
many, are notable and derive from an approach to his work which is 
unfailingly thorough and well-focused. He is blessed with an 
exceptional intellect, and in Senator Nunn's case that sharp intellect 
combines with a much rarer talent for harnessing creative visions to 
practical techniques. Sam Nunn has been especially successful as a 
legislator in this body because of his ability to reduce complicated 
issues to an understandable scope, while avoiding oversimplification. 
Then he works patiently and persistently to build bipartisan support.

  Indeed, his many ideas and initiatives are often shared and supported 
by his colleagues across the aisle. In a day when bipartisanship is as 
rare as platinum and gold and rubies, and certainly as valuable, Sam 
Nunn epitomizes that for which so many of us strive, and often fail to 
achieve--bipartisan consensus which the people so desire and which 
fuels large majorities behind legislative endeavors. The ingredients of 
vision coupled with practicality, and balance between liberal and 
conservative views, mark his spectacularly successful career as a 
Senator and are textbook examples for the younger Members of this body 
and the newer Members of this body in the years to come to heed and to 
emulate.
  Sam Nunn hails from Georgia, where commitment to the Nation's defense 
runs deeply, and from whence some of our greatest legislators on 
national defense have emerged. He has upheld the great Georgia 
tradition so ably begun by his granduncle Representative Carl Vinson, 
with whom I served in the House of Representatives before coming to the 
Senate, and his predecessor, Senator Richard B. Russell.
  While Senator Nunn has only served as the chairman or ranking member 
of the Armed Services Committee for 12 years, his record of achievement 
and the reverence in which he is held in this body are comparable to 
that--and I know--comparable to that of the great Russell. This is a 
feat of enormous distinction. The State of Georgia has to be extremely 
proud to have given such talented sons to our Republic, men who have so 
well borne the mantle of responsibility to protect the defense of our 
Nation and promote its fighting forces.
  Now, if you ask Sam Nunn what he regards as the most important of his 
many, many achievements in affecting and directing U.S. policy in the 
national defense arena, I doubt--and I have never asked him this 
question--but I doubt that he would mention the more widely publicized 
of his achievements, such as his role in developing the Stealth 
fighter; or the many initiatives he authored to reduce the dangers of 
war in the Russian-American relationship; or the meaningful measures 
enacted to reduce and make safer the world's inventories of nuclear 
weapons and fissile materials; or even his role in broadening and 
deepening American leadership in NATO, in Bosnia, in the Persian Gulf, 
or in Haiti. It is in the less heralded, less glamorous but critically 
important area of the morale and welfare of our men and women in 
uniform that is at the top of the list that Sam Nunn might himself cite 
as his most noteworthy achievement in the defense area.
  Senator Nunn was the key player in meeting the needs of the All 
Volunteer Force so that we could attract and retain the kind of men and 
women who could effectively manage and lead our forces across the globe 
in all environments. He constructed a benefits package for the men and 
women who fought so well in the Kuwait Desert in Operation Desert 
Storm. He crafted the post-cold war transition measures that address 
the needs of our military personnel as they make their way from the 
front lines of the cold war back into American civilian society.
  He has worked tirelessly to instill a sense of pride and loyalty in 
our uniformed men and women that is of such great value to the Nation. 
As Edmund Burke said on March 22, 1775,

       It is the love of the people; it is their attachment to 
     their government, from the sense of the deep stake they have 
     in such a glorious institution, which gives you your army and 
     navy, and infuses in both that liberal obedience, without 
     which your army would be a base rabble, and your navy nothing 
     but rotten timber.

  Now I have been privileged to serve with Sam Nunn as a member of the 
Armed Services Committee and with Sam Nunn as its leader. Senators are 
not renowned for their managerial skills, but the Armed Services 
Committee under Sam Nunn's leadership has been superbly managed.

[[Page S11513]]

  In my 44 years in Congress, I have yet to see a chairman of any 
committee who excelled Sam Nunn. In my humble judgment, he is the best 
committee chairman that I have ever seen in these 44 years in Congress, 
including myself. I worked hard at being a good chairman. But Senator 
Nunn, to me, represents the ideal, the model, the paragon of excellence 
as a chairman.
  Unusual among authorization committees in the Senate, he produced, 
from 1987 through 1994, eight straight authorization acts, each of 
which continued major initiatives to build a better managed, sounder 
Department of Defense. He was the key figure behind the so-called 
Goldwater-Nichols Reorganization Act, which decentralized power in the 
armed services, giving more on-the-ground authority to our unified 
commanders in the geographic areas where they had to prepare forces to 
fight in various contingencies. He developed the legislation which 
produced the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, which cut 
through the political snarls involved in closing bases, and has been a 
most effective tool in downsizing the DOD establishment in a fair and 
orderly way.
  Over the years our uniformed leaders have consistently looked to Sam 
Nunn as their champion, as a strong but sensitive force, who empathized 
with their special needs and could be counted on to take the kind of 
action appropriate to best enhance the morale of the men under their 
command. He did not fail them.
  Perhaps some of the most creative ideas that Sam Nunn willed into 
reality came in the knotty area of reducing the quantum of danger in 
the Russian-American relationship. He championed, together with John 
Warner, programs to increase communication between the American and 
Russian leadership, and thus reduce the possibilities of tragic, 
accidental nuclear war. Together with Richard Lugar, he crafted a 
successful program to dismantle nuclear weapons possessed by the states 
of the former Soviet Union. He led the Senate Arms Control Observer 
Group for many years, as my appointee to that group when I was Majority 
Leader, traveling frequently to Geneva, leading delegations of Senators 
to ensure that progress on the INF and START Treaties had the knowledge 
and support of the United States Senate. He traveled extensively to 
Russia, and in turn Russian legislative leaders traveled to the United 
States, to exchange views and develop cooperative solutions to 
problems, thereby increasing the level of confidence and understanding 
between these two superpowers. Lately he has developed additional 
initiatives, again with a leading Republican counterpart, Senator 
Domenici, to tackle the problem of terrorist actions against the United 
States. All in all, Sam Nunn, when he leaves this Chamber and walks out 
of this door for the last time as a Member of this body, can take 
immense pride in his long, intense and patient efforts in the 
superpower relations arena. Those hard-won initiatives have had a 
substantial impact on the measure of safety in our world. It is indeed 
no exaggeration to say that the world today is a safer place in part 
because of the monumental efforts of one man, the senior Senator from 
the State of Georgia--Sam Nunn.
  These achievements and the quality of his dedication and work on 
defense, alliance and international issues, ranging from NATO to arms 
control and reduction, anti-terrorism, and joint U.S.-Russian threat 
reduction and communications measures have propelled his glorious 
reputation far beyond the Senate. He is known internationally and he is 
viewed universally as an expert in the defense field. He is well known 
in official circles around the globe and is widely sought for his wise 
counsel.
  Is it not remarkable that in my time there would have been two 
chairmen of the Senate Armed Services Committee, two ``tall men, who 
lived above the fog in public duty and in private thinking''--Senator 
Richard Russell and Senator Samuel Nunn--both experts in the field of 
national defense. Both of whom sought for their wise counsel,--sought 
out on this floor,--sought out before the bar of the Senate, in the 
well, sought out in foreign capitals for their wise counsel.
  It is not an overstatement to say Sam Nunn's reach and impact have 
been international and characterized by workable, sound proposals and 
brilliant judgment. The global scope of his work has set him apart from 
the vast majority of men who have served in this body and is a 
testimony to his dedication to the addressing of the burning issues of 
sanity and order in our world today.
  While Sam Nunn will undoubtedly be remembered for his Senate service 
in the area of national defense, as if that were not enough, his energy 
and creativity have also been evident in many other areas. The range of 
his thinking and his talents as a legislator and policy maker encompass 
everything from health care, to student loans, to insurance industry 
reform. In his farewell address, announcing his retirement, in Georgia 
on October 9, 1995, he dwelled extensively on the need for America to 
put our youth first, to work on protecting our children from street 
violence and drugs. He spoke eloquently of the need to reverse the 
saturation of our TV airwaves with programs of sex and violence. He 
focused on the need to reinvigorate our educational system in order to 
reincorporate great numbers of American citizens back into the working 
culture of our nation. He has developed successful legislation to lay 
the groundwork for a nationwide ``civilian service corps'' by offering 
education benefits in exchange for public service. As the cochairman of 
the Strengthening of America Commission, a bipartisan group of 
business, educational, labor and academic leaders, he has proposed an 
impressive plan to make radical changes in the income tax code to 
refocus our economy on savings and investment and away from 
consumption.
  Most importantly, and as my fellow Senators well know, Sam Nunn's 
success is in large part attributable to his hard rock integrity.
  A religious man, he does not go around wearing his religion on his 
sleeve; he does not go around making a big whoop-de-do about his 
religion, but he is a religious man, a moral man. Sam Nunn is known as 
a man whose judgment can be trusted. How many times have I heard 
Senators come to the Senate floor to vote on a measure and ask: ``How 
is Sam voting on this one?'' He is a leader in this body, in spite of 
the fact that he has not especially sought to lead. He has not been 
elected to a leadership position, but he has grown into a leadership 
position. He is a natural leader. His is the best type of leadership, 
because it is a leadership that is born of strong character. Horace 
Greeley said: ``Fame is a vapor; popularity an accident; riches take 
wings. Those who cheer today, may curse tomorrow. Only one thing 
endures: character.''

  Sam Nunn epitomizes that great trait, character. The Senate will feel 
the loss of Sam Nunn and feel it deeply. His legacy and achievements 
certainly will grow with time. I am personally deeply sorry that he has 
chosen to go. He will leave an empty place in the Senate.
  Napoleon rejoiced that the ``bravest of the brave,'' Marshal Ney, had 
escaped and had returned across the Dnieper River, even though he had 
lost all of his cannons. Napoleon ordered that there be a salute to 
celebrate the escape and the return of Ney. And he said, ``I have more 
than 400 million francs in the cellar of the Tuileries in Paris, and I 
would have gladly given them all for the ransom of my old companion in 
arms.''
  Had Sam Nunn been an officer in the Grand Army of France, Napoleon 
would have given everything he possessed for another Sam Nunn.
  His great natural talents will continue to bring him to the forefront 
of the national policy discussion, and he will, I know, continue to 
achieve great things in a variety of new settings.
  I have never really felt about a man in the Senate--other than 
Senator Richard Russell--as I have felt about Sam Nunn. I was the 
majority whip in the Senate when Sam Nunn came to the Senate, and I 
urged that he be placed on the Senate Armed Services Committee. As a 
member of the Steering Committee, I cast my vote to put Sam Nunn on 
that committee. That is where he wanted to serve. I watched him grow. I 
have had some differences, from time to time--minor, of course--with 
Sam on some issues. That is not the point. Sam has fulfilled my idea of 
what a Senator ought to be.

  There were 74 delegates chosen to attend the Constitutional 
Convention.

[[Page S11514]]

 The Convention met behind closed doors from May 25 to September 17, 
1787. Fifty-five of those 74 delegates who were chosen participated, 
and 39 of the 74 signed the Constitution of the United States. I can 
see in my mind's eye a Sam Nunn in that gallery. I might well imagine 
that, as they met from day to day, if Sam Nunn had been a participant, 
they would have come, as they come here when Members of this body 
gather in the well, and asked, ``What does Sam Nunn think about this?'' 
I have no difficulty in imagining that. In such an august gathering as 
was that Convention, which sat in 1787, with George Washington, the 
Commander in Chief at Valley Forge and the soon-to-be first President 
of the United States, I can imagine that it would have been the same 
there. They would have said, ``What does Sam Nunn think? How is he 
going to vote?"
  The First Congress was to have convened on March 4, 1789. And only 8 
Senators--less than a quorum--of the 22 were there on March 4, 1789. 
Five States were represented--New Hampshire, Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. And the Senator from Georgia 
who attended that day was William Few.
  It could very well have been Sam Nunn as a Member of that first 
Senate, serving with Oliver Ellsworth, Maclay and Morris, and others. 
And as they met to blaze the pioneer paths of this new legislative 
body, the U.S. Senate, I have no problem in imagining that, often, 
those men would have turned to Sam Nunn and said, ``How are you going 
to vote, Sam?'' ``How is Sam going to vote?''
  I think every Member of this body shares with me that feeling about 
Sam Nunn. He could have been an outstanding U.S. Senator at any time in 
the history of this Republic--not this democracy. When the Convention 
completed its work, a lady approached Benjamin Franklin and said, ``Dr. 
Franklin, what have you given us?'' He didn't answer, ``A democracy, 
Madam.'' He said, ``A republic, Madam, if you can keep it.''
  Now, what is there about Sam Nunn that makes him this kind of man? He 
is not the typical politician that one conjures up in his mind when 
thinking about Senators and other politicians. Senator Nunn is not 
glib. He doesn't jump to hasty conclusions.
  He does not rush to be ahead of all of the other Senators so that he 
will get the first headline. He thinks about the problem, and he 
logically, methodically, and systematically arrives at a decision. Then 
he carefully prepares to put that decision into action.
  I suppose that had he lived at the time of Socrates, who lived during 
the chaos of the great Peloponnesian wars, Sam would have been out 
there in the marketplace debating with Socrates, about whom Cicero said 
he ``brought down philosophy from Heaven to Earth.'' Sam would have 
been a hard man for Socrates to put down because he has that talent, 
that knack of thinking, an organized thinking, and the consideration of 
a matter logically, carefully, and thoroughly. He is truly a man for 
all seasons. His wisdom, his judgment, and his statesmanship have 
reflected well on the profession of public service at a time when 
fierce ``take-no-prisoners politics'' has embroiled the Nation to 
alarming degrees.
  Napoleon did not elect to go into Spain, and Wellington was concerned 
that Napoleon himself might lead. Wellington later told Earl Stanhope 
that Napoleon was superior to all of his marshals and that his presence 
on the field was like 40,000 men in the balance. Sam Nunn, the 1,668th 
Senator to appear on this legislative field of battle, is like having a 
great number in array against or for your position.
  I was looking just this morning over the names of those Senators who 
are leaving, and examining their votes on what is called pejoratively 
the Legislative Line-Item Veto Act of 1995. Of those Senators who are 
leaving, seven voted against that colossal monstrosity, for which many 
of those who voted will come to be sorry. If this President is 
reelected, he will have it within his power to make them sorry. He is 
just the man who might do it.
  Among the departing Senators, Sam Nunn is one of those who opposed 
that bill. Senator Heflin, Senator Johnston, Senator Pell, Senator 
Pryor, Senator Cohen, Senator Hatfield, and Senator Nunn voted, to 
their everlasting honor, against that miserable piece of junk.
  Just wait until this President exercises that veto and see how they 
come to heel--h-e-e-l. They will rue the day. But Sam Nunn voted 
against it.
  For the outstanding quality of his character as well as for the 
brilliance of his service, this Senate and the Nation are eternally in 
his debt. He will always command, in my heart and in my memory, a place 
with Senator Richard Russell.

     God, give us men. A time like this demands
     Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands;
     Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
     Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
     Men who possess opinions and a will;
     Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
     Men who can stand before a demagog
     And damn his treacherous flatteries without winking.
     Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
     In public duty and in private thinking;
     For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
     Their large professions and their little deeds,
     Mingle in selfish strife, lo. Freedom weeps,
     Wrong rules the land and waiting justice sleeps.
     God give us men.
     Men who serve not for selfish booty,
     But real men, courageous, who flinch not at duty.
     Men of dependable character; men of sterling worth.
     Then wrongs will be redressed and right will rule the earth.
     God, give us men.

men like Samuel Augustus Nunn.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. McConnell). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRAHAM. 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. GRAHAM. Mr. President, if Senator Nunn would care to make any 
comments, I would be pleased to defer to him.
  Mr. GRAMS. Will the Senator yield for a moment? I ask unanimous 
consent to follow the Senator's 30 minutes with 15 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NUNN. I am left speechless after listening to my friend Robert 
Byrd. So I will reserve my time. Thank you.

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