[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11948-S11949]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PRYOR

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the service 
and the friendship of Senator David Pryor of Arkansas.
  Mr. President, Senator Pryor's story begins in much the same way as 
another retiring Senate colleague, Paul Simon--as a journalist. After 
graduating from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1957, 
Senator Pryor founded a weekly newspaper, The Ouachita Citizen. He 
entered politics in 1960, winning a seat in the Arkansas House of 
Representatives, to which he was reelected in 1962 and 1964, while 
simultaneously earning a law degree from the University of Arkansas.
  His career in public service carried him to Congress in 1966, to the 
Governor's office in 1974 and then to the U.S. Senate in 1978. 
Following him to the Governor's office that same year was the young 
attorney general of Arkansas, William Jefferson Clinton.
  Mr. President, my association with Senator Pryor began with my 
joining the Senate in 1993. As it happened, we both share a deep 
interest in the issues affecting older Americans. Whether the issue is 
nursing homes, the price of prescription medications, fighting fraud 
and abuse, consumer protection, or, perhaps most importantly, the 
reform of our system of providing long-term health care, Senator Pryor 
has been a leader.
  In his position as chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, and 
now in his role as ranking member, Senator Pryor has been this 
Chamber's pre-eminent voice on aging issues. It was no surprise that he 
was selected last year to chair the White House Conference on Aging.
  Perhaps most crucially, Senator Pryor has helped Americans to see 
that we must all face the inescapable fact of growing older and the 
issues that fact presents. He has argued that issues of concern to our 
senior citizens

[[Page S11949]]

are not special interest issues, but have an impact on all other 
generations as well. When we are debating and voting on these issues, 
we are debating and voting on our own futures. In Senator Pryor's eyes, 
we are all, in fact, in this together, and one of the measures of our 
society is how well we treat one another.
  Mr. President, America's senior citizens are losing a knowledgeable 
and effective advocate as David Pryor retires, and the U.S. Senate is 
losing a gentleman and a friend. I have enjoyed working with Senator 
Pryor, and I wish him and his family all the best as he takes his leave 
of an institution he has served so well.

                          ____________________