[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 140 (Wednesday, October 2, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12165-S12166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RETIRING SENATORS

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I want to take a few movements to salute all 
of our colleagues who are retiring from the U.S. Senate. These are 
individuals of uncommon character and devoted service--individuals who 
have strengthened their Nation and enriched each of us who has had the 
opportunity of serving with them.
  We all know who these 13 Senators are. In retiring, they will 
undoubtedly affect the composition and character of this important 
legislative body. Over the weeks, these Senators have been recognized 
by their associates, colleagues, friends and constituents. Many 
tributes have been offered here on the floor.
  Today, I would like to express my personal gratitude not only to all 
13, but to several Senators who had a particular influence on me, the 
committees on which I serve, and our agendas in those respective 
committees.
  Senator Howell Helfin is retiring after three terms as the honorable 
Senator from Alabama. In our years of working together--getting to know 
each other in our service to the North Atlantic Assembly--I have grown 
to appreciate and admire this great gentleman. He has judicial 
temperament, one that I imagine was carefully cultivated in the many 
years which prepared him for his service here in Washington.
  Senator Heflin has a keen understanding of diplomacy and America's 
eminent position in the world. His dedication to the North Atlantic 
Assembly, our international interests, along with his service in the 
Senate, and to his fellow Alabamans qualify him for that honored 
distinction of statesman. And I feel richly rewarded for the time I've 
been able to spend with him.
  Senator David Pryor, also retiring after three terms, is another 
colleague I want to salute personally. He's the other half of the fly-
before-buy duo. Together we worked to create the operational and live 
fire testing laws for weapons. He was critical in our efforts, 
instrumental to our success.
  Many authors and military personnel have documented the lives saved 
as a result of problems discovered and corrected in operational live 
fire tests. In other words, there are men and women today who, perhaps 
unknowing, owe a great deal of gratitude to Senator Pryor and his 
tenacity in seeing this legislation through.
  Despite many attempts to ignore and circumvent these laws by the 
defense buying bureaucracy, Senator Pryor and I provided rigorous 
oversight, regardless of which party controlled Congress. When the 
Democrats were in

[[Page S12166]]

charge, Senator Pryor chaired the hearings. I chaired when Republicans 
were in charge. Our objective was never lost, and the work moved 
forward. Our commitment was always to the courageous soldier in the 
field--the individual dependent on the weapon systems.

  Another Senator with whom I've had the pleasure of working closely is 
Sam Nunn, one of the most honorable, fair and bipartisan leaders I've 
known. Sam and I have alternated between chairing and serving as 
ranking minority member on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations 
since 1981. On many occasions, our staffs worked together on joint 
investigations.
  We launched the first congressional investigation identifying crack 
cocaine as a significant drug problem. We investigated airline safety, 
and explored the Justice Department's handling of the Jackie Presser 
ghostworkers issue. Senator Nunn has been a staunch opponent of waste, 
fraud, and abuse, and he has gained world renown as an expert in 
matters of defense and foreign affairs.
  Most recently, he and I launched the first investigation of Russian 
organized crime activities in the United States, continuing PSI's 
longstanding history of being Congress' primary organized crime 
investigator.
  I am also grateful to Senator Nancy Kassebaum and her leadership in 
health care. Nancy is another one of the profoundly thoughtful Senators 
who serve as the catalyst for important policies and laws. She was 
certainly a catalyst in the effort to successfully pass the medical 
savings account demonstration program, as part of our effort to make 
health care more accessible for Americans.
  Another retiring Member of the Senate, after five terms in Senator 
Mark Hatfield, a man whose dedication to principle has distinguished 
his career in the State House as well as on Capitol Hill. Among his 
many legislative successes, I'm grateful for Senator Hatfield's work on 
behalf of Amtrak, as well as his objective analysis and contributions 
to debates and initiatives through the years.
  Likewise, Hank Brown, and his rugged, no-nonsense approach in 
promoting a strong foreign policy and fiscal responsibility. Hank and I 
have served together on the North Atlantic Assembly, and we have joined 
efforts to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His 
eloquence and clear logic make him unusually effective and a pleasure 
to work with--not to mention his love for St. Bernards--another 
devotion we share.
  I appreciate Bill Cohen, our distinguished senior Senator from Maine. 
Senator Cohen is a noted novelist, a poet. I've found many of his 
speeches brilliantly enriching, especially a speech he gave a few years 
ago about the changing culture around us. Bill has been a dogged 
proponent of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse on the Government Affairs 
Committee, and he has been active in our efforts to understand and 
build relationships of trust with the nations of the Pacific. He will 
be remembered not only for his work with ASEAN, but for his efforts on 
behalf of NATO, and his chairing of the Munich Conference.
  Finally, Mr. President, I want to recognize Senator Alan Simpson, a 
good friend and revered colleague. There are few men who become legends 
in their own time, but Al is certainly one of them. His easy-going, 
affable manner and ready wit were equal to his majestic stature and 
trademark smile. There hasn't been a time when Al's opened his mouth to 
speak that I haven't waited in anticipation for some new sparkling gem 
of wisdom, a witty turn of phrase, or an outright joke.
  Al taught us, as his mother taught him, that humor is the 
irreplaceable solace against the elements of life; hatred corrodes the 
container it's carried in. With his humor, he could diffuse even the 
most impassioned and tensely difficult moments.
  It was Al who, during one very difficult period--a period of some 
contention on this floor--told us of the successful marriage philosophy 
he shares with his wonderful wife, Ann. It was a simple philosophy: 
``Never go to bed angry * * *'' he said. ``Always stay up and fight!''
  During another heated moment, in the middle of the confirmation 
hearings on Judge Robert Bork, Al reminded us, with his western charm, 
the ``Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own 
facts.''
  And it was Al who taught us how to deal with the media. Once, when 
pressed for his church preference, he answered: ``Red brick!''
  Indeed, as the liberal commentator, Mark Shields, has recognized, 
``Al Simpson is a man of uncommon wisdom.'' With his retirement, he not 
only leaves behind a rich legislative legacy, and dear memories for 
friends, but a reputation akin to that which attends Will Rogers. I can 
only imagine that in the years and decades ahead, Al, like Mark Twain, 
Will Rogers, Winston Churchill, and other great wits, will come to 
inherit aphorisms and jokes that he never told. But then, those of us 
who know him, realize that he truly deserves such an honor.
  It has been my pleasure to serve with Senators Simpson, Cohen, Brown, 
Hatfield, Kassebaum, Nunn, Pryor, and Heflin--as well as with Senator 
Simon, who we saluted with our bowties last week, Senator Bennett 
Johnston--four successful terms from Louisiana, Senator Exon, and 
Senator Bradley, who I've had the pleasure of serving with on the 
Finance Committee. And I appreciate Senator Pell, another fine leader 
who leaves a great legacy, both at home and abroad. Mr. President, I 
salute all those who are retiring this year. Each has lived a life in 
deeds, not words, and in their actions have written their legacy on 
tablets of love and memory.

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