[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 141 (Thursday, October 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12269-S12270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ON LEAVING THE U.S. SENATE

  Mr. EXON. Mr. President, this will be my final speech as I conclude 
18 years in the U.S. Senate. Measured in length, it may be my best in 
the opinion of many of my valued colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
  What will I miss? Not the Washington DC morning traffic, and driving 
the obstacle courses. My Ford Taurus will get a reprieve from this pot 
hole capital of the world. My pocketbook will be spared from the $35 a 
shot in used hubcap replacement, experienced 10 times in only the last 
2 years. With any luck, the Whitehurst freeway and its tributaries will 
be fully operable for 90 consecutive days sometime in the 21st century.
  I leave this place with the confidence that we will continue to build 
our bridges to the future of America on the firm footings of national 
security policy. I have labored on the Armed Services Committee for the 
past 18 years. We won the cold war, after spending a lot of money, 
without firing a shot. I suggest that that is the best way to win wars. 
As the only true superpower of the world, we have the dual 
responsibility of providing for a strong national defense and, just as 
important, using our statute to lead and promote peace and 
understanding, including ratification and implementation of 
international agreements. To that end, a keen disappointment has been 
the failure this year to ratify in a timely fashion the chemical 
weapons convention.
  A bright spot has been the signing at the United Nations 10 days or 
so ago of the compenhensive nuclear test ban treaty. This treaty is one 
that this Senator has been very much involved with. When I was in New 
York for that signing event, it was inspiring as a giant leap for 
mankind's survival. An editional from the Omaha World-Herald dated 
September 5, 1996, makes the case very well and I ask that it be 
printed in the Record immediately following my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (See Exhibit 1.)
  Mr. EXON. In my retirement I will surely miss my Senate colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle. However, my loss of personal associations goes 
even further than that. I thank my personal staff here in Washington 
and in my Nebraska offices, many of whom have been with me for all 
those 18 years and indeed a few who were with me back when I was 
Governor of Nebraska.
  The staff of the Budget, Armed Services, and Commerce Committees all 
were more of personal relationships and coworkers than just staff. The 
same is true of the Cloakroom personnel who have been so helpful and 
considerate over the years.
  It has been the opportunity of a lifetime to serve in the U.S. Senate 
which is a collection of talented and dedicated individuals. I thank 
and appreciate all of you and I thank the people of the great State of 
Nebraska for making it possible for me to serve here. God bless and 
good luck.
  Thank you, all. All of you have been great, and I shall always be 
indebted to you for your understanding and for your help.
  Mr. President, I thank the Chair and, for the final time, I yield the 
floor.

                              [Exhibit 1]

             [From the Omaha World Herald, Sept. 25, 1996]

                      A Step Toward a Safer World

       Leaders of more than 60 nations have given the world a 
     fitting symbol of peace and hope to mark the approach of a 
     new century.
       On Tuesday, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 
     they signed a treaty agreeing not to set off nuclear 
     explosions as a means of testing weapons. The signers 
     included the main nuclear powers--the United States, Russia, 
     France, the United Kingdom and China. Also signing were 
     nations, such as Israel, that either have a covert nuclear 
     program or the resources to start a nuclear weapons program 
     if they wanted to.
       President Clinton signed for the United States. He wrote 
     his name with a pen used by President John Kennedy to sign a 
     limited nuclear test ban treaty in 1963. The gesture in honor 
     of Kennedy was appropriate. Kennedy's 1963 pact eliminated 
     most open-air nuclear tests, as well as tests underwater and 
     in space. Since then, most nuclear testing has been conducted 
     underground. The agreement signed Tuesday adds underground 
     tests to the ban, eliminating testing by explosion. It was 
     hailed as a major step toward the elimination of nuclear 
     weapons.
       Certainly it would be premature to assert that the total 
     elimination of nuclear weapons is likely, or even practical. 
     India, a potential nuclear power, refused to sign, which is 
     troubling. North Korea and Libya voted against the treaty in 
     the United Nations, an illustration of the danger that 
     remains when law-abiding nations disarm.
       Caution is essential, as even a leading proponent of 
     nuclear disarmament has written. Robert S. McNamara, who was 
     Kennedy's defense secretary, wrote last year that he believes 
     in total disarmanent ``insofar as is practical.'' With that 
     language, he said, he meant to call attention to ``the 
     necessity of maintaining protection against the covert 
     acquisition of nuclear weapons by terrorists or nations 
     violating the nuclear disarmanent agreements.''
       But it's a good time to act. The end of the Cold War and 
     the collapse of communism have brought about a climate in 
     which significant reductions in force can be realisitcally 
     considered. Rising affluence tends to act as a brake on 
     warlike behavior.

[[Page S12270]]

     The spread of democracy has reduced tensions. High-speed 
     communications make it harder for dictators to maintain the 
     regimented societies that start was against their neighbors.
       Kennedy took a risk in 1963 when he limited the ability of 
     the United States to test nuclear weapons at the height of 
     the Cold War. The result was one of his greatest 
     accomplishments. It demonstrated that good-faith negotiations 
     could make the world safer and more secure. A treaty can't 
     convert an evil heart into a good one. But it can reduce 
     misunderstandings that sometimes lead to war.
       Kennedy's treaty also laid a foundation of understanding on 
     which further agreements could be negotiated. In 1974, the 
     nuclear powers outlawed the testing of the largest nuclear 
     weapons. In the 1980s, the inventory of U.S. and Soviet 
     warheads and delivery systems was cut back in a series of 
     arms-reduction pacts. In the 1990s, the drawdown of warheads 
     continued and the nuclear nonproliferation pact was extended.
       Yes, the practically of eliminating nuclear weapons may 
     continue to be debated. But it shouldn't be abandoned as a 
     goal. Dramatic progress has been made in the past three 
     decades toward making the world less warlike. More progress 
     can reasonably be assumed, even if it occasionally means 
     taking a calculated risk.

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