[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11963]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO SENATOR MARK HATFIELD

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I am honored to salute one of Oregon's 
and our nation's finest legislators and statesmen, my colleague Senator 
Mark Hatfield, who will soon retire from the U.S. Senate. Mark Hatfield 
is one of the Senate's all-time great leaders. His career has been 
marked by a voting record based upon consistency and a deep commitment 
to high principles. The Senator from Oregon will leave behind a very 
distinguished history of public service to his State and country.
  As a young serviceman in the Navy, Mark Hatfield was one of the first 
Americans to see Hiroshima after the atomic bomb was dropped. When he 
returned home, he became a political science professor and university 
dean at his alma mater, Willamette University. In 1951, Mark Hatfield 
was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives where he quickly 
moved up through the ranks and then was appointed Oregon's secretary of 
state. Soon after, he was elected Governor of Oregon for two terms. 
Throughout his career of more than four decades in state and national 
politics, Mark Hatfield never lost an election. In 1966, he was elected 
to the U.S. Senate.
  During two periods as chairman of the Senate Appropriations 
Committee, Senator Hatfield exemplified the perseverance and diligence 
of an experienced legislator. In his role as chairman, he succeeded in 
the challenging task of matching the more local needs of his colleagues 
with the national need to reduce our budget deficits. In the past 2 
years, he has kept his committee on track to achieve a balanced budget 
by the year 2002. For that alone, all Americans should be grateful.
  My friend from Oregon has been one of our most articulate champions 
for arms control and nuclear nonproliferation. These are special issues 
for me as well. He has stood by me as I've worked to reduce the spread 
of nuclear weapons in South Asia. He deserves to feel great pride in 
his untiring efforts to achieve a moratorium on nuclear testing.
  Mark Hatfield also will be remembered as a strong voice for economic 
growth and development. He has pushed to allow more roads and 
responsible logging practices in Federal forests. He has fought to 
protect Columbia River salmon and has demonstrated much concern for the 
interests of Oregon's Indian tribes.
  Senator Hatfield's determination to stand by his principles, even in 
the face of severe partisan pressure, has been admired by all his 
colleagues. Mark Hatfield has always been a consensus builder on bills 
that have become bogged down in partisan politics. For example, he 
voiced his strong concerns about the safe drinking water legislation 
and the need to establish reasonable standards for contaminants. In 
this effort he kept in mind the many concerned States and cities that 
fear the onerous financial burdens the Federal bureaucracy too often 
impose. I applaud my colleague for his many valiant bipartisan efforts.
  The Senate soon will bid farewell to our friend from Oregon, Mark 
Hatfield. His colleagues and constituents can look back on his career 
with great respect and gratitude. Mr. President, as the 104th Congress 
draws to a close, I wish Senator Hatfield all the best in his future 
endeavors. My wife, Harriet, and I wish Senator Hatfield and his lovely 
wife Antoinette continued happiness, joy, and more quality time with 
their grandchildren. I am proud to have served in the Senate with Mark 
Hatfield. I am even more proud to call Mark and Antoinette Hatfield my 
good friends.

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