[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO LARRY PRESSLER

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, earlier today, we witnessed the oath of 
office being given to the new junior Senator from South Dakota, the 
Honorable Tim Johnson. I join with all my colleagues in welcoming him 
to the U.S. Senate. I wish him well. However, I do want to take a 
moment to pay tribute to the gentleman he succeeded--a man of 
integrity, of kindness, and of singular achievement--Senator Larry 
Pressler.
  I have known Larry Pressler throughout his entire 22 year career of 
public service in the Congress, beginning with his first election to 
the House of Representatives in 1974. Though a young man when he first 
took the oath of Office, he already had distinguished himself in other 
fields--as student body president at the University of South Dakota, a 
Rhodes Scholar, a U.S. Army Lieutenant in Vietnam, and a Harvard Law 
and Kennedy School graduate.
  I knew then that the people of South Dakota had sent an exceptional 
human being. I didn't realize how right I was at the time. In 1978, he 
was elected to the Senate--the first of several Vietnam veterans we are 
honored to call our Senate colleagues. For 18 years--three terms in 
office--he served the Senate, his State and his country ably and 
responsibly.
  All who know or have known Larry Pressler are keenly aware how much 
he holds public service in high regard. He considers it his life's 
calling, and he certainly responded well to the call. He knows that 
effective public service begins with public trust at home--the faith 
that he chose to represent their views and interests in Washington will 
do so with honor and integrity. Little did Larry know that not long 
after he came to the Senate, that basic principle of public trust would 
be put to the test. It would come in the form of FBI agents posing as 
Arab sheiks who attempted to bribe Larry as part of their so-called 
ABSCAM investigation. Larry strongly refused. His response drew 
national acclaim. The Federal District Judge who presided over the 
trial singled out Larry's action, stating that he ``acted as citizens 
have a right to expect their elected representatives to act.''
  That single act, perhaps more than any other, capsulized and defined 
the values of Larry Pressler--the values he was brought up to practice 
first on his father's farm in Humboldt, SD, and the same values he 
practiced every day for 22 years in Congress. Just as important, his 
action during ABSCAM reminded all of us of that vital link between 
effective public service and sustained public trust.
  Public trust was not just a core value Larry Pressler practiced in 
his own life, but a basic principle he sought to instill in government 
practice. He worked overtime to be sure South Dakotans were treated 
fairly by the Federal Government, whether it was as routine as a timely 
Social Security check, or as complex as environmental protection 
enforcement.
  Larry was the first to oppose President Clinton's nomination of Zoe 
Baird because he sensed early on that her past actions damaged the 
level of public trust needed in our Nation's chief law enforcement 
officer. He was right.
  Larry has been a superb watchdog of Federal agencies that oversee air 
safety because of his concern both for the safety and security of air 
travelers, and the faith travelers place in these agencies and carriers 
to ensure their safety. He was right on the mark again.
  Larry also has been an outspoken champion of our efforts to reform 
the cancerous corruption and waste that has infected the United Nations 
to the point of near ineffectiveness. As a supporter of the United 
Nations, Larry is concerned that continued United Nations mismanagement 
would erode the public's support and trust in the world body. Some 
people in the United Nations are listening. Indeed, largely because of 
the persistence and diligence of our friend and former colleague from 
South Dakota, the United Nations today now has an inspector general to 
investigate waste, fraud and abuse, and is beginning to take seriously 
this body's demands for real, concrete reform.

  Persistence and diligence--that best describes the style of Larry 
Pressler's approach to public service, and it has paid off for the 
State of South Dakota and the Nation. His last campaign slogan was 
``Fighting and Winning for South Dakota.'' That's a good example of 
truth in advertising. Whether it was rail service or air service, wheat 
prices or cattle prices, Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City or the 
EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, Larry Pressler fought and won for 
South Dakota.
  Internationally, Larry Pressler is known and respected for his 
efforts on nuclear nonproliferation, and human rights causes in China, 
Cyprus, Armenia, Turkey, and Kosova. I'm sure there are many around the 
world who will miss Larry Pressler's commitment to these and other 
important causes.
  But perhaps Larry Pressler's greatest achievements as a Senator came 
in his last 2 years in office, when he served as chairman of the 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Chairman Pressler 
presided over one of the most productive and bipartisan periods of 
legislating by a single Senate committee perhaps in the history of this 
body. At the end of the 104th Congress, I had the opportunity to detail 
this extraordinary record of accomplishment. Chairman Pressler reported 
97 bills and resolutions out of the Commerce Committee--more than any 
other Senate Committee during the 140th Congress. Of those, 87 became 
law.
  Of that 87, perhaps the most heralded was the Telecommunications Act 
of 1996, the most important economic growth legislation to become law 
in a decade. This piece of legislation was Larry Pressler's life for 
well over a year.
  It's fair to say that the Telecommunications Act would not be law 
today if not for Larry Pressler. It passed with extraordinary support 
because Larry Pressler took the time to work with virtually every 
Member of Congress--House and Senate--to see that their concerns were 
addressed. He demonstrated bipartisanship, fairness as well as 
toughness, but perhaps most important are the two qualities I mentioned 
earlier--persistence and diligence.
  Those qualities also were shared by Larry Pressler's staff. Indeed, 
both his personal and committee staff deserve a tribute and our thanks 
as well. They were a great team. Many are from South Dakota. Many have 
served with Larry Pressler for more than a decade. Several for as long 
as he was a Senator and a select few even worked for him in the House. 
Larry, one of our more regular participants at our weekly Senate Bible 
study, often joked that Abraham died leaning on his staff. Well, it's 
safe to say Larry Pressler succeeded leaning on his staff. I know Larry 
Pressler is very proud of all his dedicated staff. I also know that all 
the staff are proud of Larry Pressler--proud to have worked with him 
and for the people of South Dakota.
  They are not alone. All of us are proud to have worked with our 
distinguished colleague from South Dakota. I say this not just as a 
colleague, but as a dear friend. My wife, Tricia, and I have enjoyed 
the countless times we have spent with Larry, his lovely wife, Harriet 
and their wonderful daughter, Laura. I am hopeful there will be many 
more good times ahead.
  F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote: ``Vitality shows in not only the 
ability to persist but the ability to start over.'' I have seen the 
vitality of Larry Pressler as a persistent and dedicated public servant 
for his state and nation. I am confident Larry will demonstrate that 
same vitality as he starts a new, a private life that will bring 
professional success and personal satisfaction.
  So today, Larry Pressler finds himself in a position all of us will 
be placed in--a point where past service is subject not to the approval 
of voters but to the scrutiny of history. Mr. President, it is safe to 
say history will treat Larry Pressler quite well, and will see him as 
we do--as a model public servant. To paraphrase the words of Saint Paul 
known and referred to often by my friend from South Dakota, Larry 
Pressler stayed the course, fought the good fight and kept the faith.

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