[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11956-S11957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SENATOR DAVID PRYOR

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, as we approach the end of another Congress, 
we engage in our biannual tradition of bidding farewell to those 
Senators who will not be returning in January. This practice epitomizes 
the wonderful circle of closure and renewal that marks our service in 
the U.S. Senate. Senators who have been blessed to serve their country 
move on to accept new challenges, and fresh lawmakers, intent on 
serving their constituents and their Nation, take that place. All, of 
course, of these exits are not always voluntary because they are also 
contingent on the desires and wishes of the people we represent. But, 
in some cases, our fellow Members decide on their own, sometimes 
against the wishes of their constituents, that they will no longer 
serve in the U.S. Senate. Such is the case this year.
  Mr. President, the 105th Congress will be a much different place come 
January 1997, whether it is controlled by Democrats or Republicans. 
Come January, some of America's finest public servants will be moving 
on to fresh challenges and embracing new goals.
  For more than 200 years, some of our Nation's greatest thinkers and 
most eminent legislators have served in this body, from John Calhoon, 
Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster to Lyndon Johnston, Everett Dirksen, and 
Richard Russell.
  Those who are retiring this year, both Democrats and Republicans, are 
a distinguished and impressive group of lawmakers.
  Mr. President, we unfortunately live in an era where the level of 
partisanship and the level of brinkmanship, I believe, threatens the 
very foundations of this institution. When compromise has become 
synonymous with failure, and name calling, too often, and scoring 
political points is taking the place of legislating, the 13 Senators 
who are retiring represent, in my view, the spirit of compromise and 
bipartisanship that must invigorate this institution if we are to 
regain the abiding faith of the American people.
  These legislators--these 13, in my view--are the sort of legislators 
who have sought common ground, not partisan advantage. They have 
strived to build bridges to their opponents instead of using wedge 
issues to divide us as a people and as a nation. They are exactly the 
type of lawmakers I believe our Founding Fathers had in mind when they 
created this institution more than 200 years ago.
  Over the past 2 years I have come to the floor on several occasions 
to bid farewell to our retiring colleagues. Today I would like to focus 
my remarks on two Members who I know will be particularly missed.
  Throughout my 16 years as a Member of the U.S. Senate, I have had the 
great honor to serve alongside David Pryor. I mean that both 
figuratively and literally, as he has been my neighbor here on the 
Senate floor for the past 12 years. David Pryor is one of the body's 
most distinguished and best loved Members. He is an able legislator 
and, most of all, a very close and dear friend.
  Mr. President, the small State of Arkansas has an impressive 
political tradition. By all accounts, it has given this country some of 
its most influential and distinguished leaders and lawmakers. William 
Fulbright was a giant in the area of international relations.

[[Page S11957]]

 Senator Bumpers, our colleague in the Senate, is truly one of the 
great orators of this institution and one of the most passionate voices 
who has ever served in the U.S. Senate. And, of course, our President, 
William Clinton.
  But for all of those wonderful politicians who have served the State 
of Arkansas, David Pryor remains by all accounts the most popular and 
the most beloved politician in all of Arkansas. This is certainly no 
accident, because throughout his career in politics, from the House of 
Representatives to the Arkansas Governor's mansion to the U.S. Senate, 
David Pryor never forgot where he came from and he never lost touch 
with the people who elected him.
  Our colleague, Dale Bumpers, said of David Pryor that he personifies 
``the nobility of public service.'' Mr. President, I could not agree 
more.
  As a freshman Senator in 1979, David sent his Senate staff back to 
Arkansas to work alongside their constituents to learn firsthand the 
concerns of Arkansans, and as a young House Member he investigated 
nursing homes by donning an orderly's uniform and going undercover into 
nursing homes. That subterfuge is one of many burdens David Pryor took 
on for our Nation's elderly.
  Throughout his hard work, he helped establish the Special Committee 
on Aging. And he never stopped fighting to keep drug prices down for 
elderly patients. David and I didn't always see eye to eye on this 
issue. In fact, we disagreed on this particular question. But our 
policy differences never resulted in personal differences. Most 
importantly, they never got in the way of our friendship and genuine 
affection for each other.
  David Pryor has also long been a tireless advocate for American 
taxpayers, working from his position on the Senate Finance Committee to 
smooth relations between the Internal Revenue Service and taxpayers.
  Here in the U.S. Senate he has worked as hard as any Member to 
encourage civility and a family-friendly atmosphere. Time limits on 
votes and recess schedules remain a lasting part of his senatorial 
legacy.
  But, most of all, David Pryor brought a quiet humility and gentle 
demeanor to a place that too often is known for its sharp elbows and 
short tempers. He has earned the respect and admiration of both 
Republicans and Democrats, which is no easy feat in this day and age.
  I doubt there is a Member who isn't genuinely saddened to see David 
Pryor leave the U.S. Senate. He personifies all that we must continue 
to strive for as politicians and lawmakers, and as national leaders.
  For myself and all of those whose lives he has touched and for all of 
those in this Chamber, he will be sorely missed. I wish he and Barbara 
a happy and healthy and busy retirement.

                          ____________________