[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 66 (Monday, May 19, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4683-S4684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DEATH OF JEFFREY J. DYE

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, it is with a heavy heart that I rise 
to observe the untimely death late last month of my former Senate staff 
member, Jeffrey J. Dye, the young executive director of the Tennessee 
Democratic Party, and the only son of Dennis and Janell Dye.
  After serving less than 2 months in his new position, and reportedly 
meeting every challenge that this difficult job had to offer, Jeff was 
struck down in the very prime of life, at 27, by an epileptic seizure.
  It was a tragedy to his family, his friends, and the party he served 
with such fire and dedication.
  Jeff's passing has a very personal impact, Mr. President, because he 
worked for me for 2\1/2\ years, first as a research assistant and later 
as a legislative correspondent, until he obtained a coveted

[[Page S4684]]

position with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee [DLCC] last 
July.
  As a Senate staffer, Jeff displayed the thirst for knowledge and 
eagerness to serve that characterizes many idealistic youth who come to 
Washington, He fulfilled his duties capably and supported me and my 
legislative staff in my Senate responsibilities. He gave much, Mr. 
President, and he learned much about the duties and responsibilities of 
public service.
  But it was clear from the start that Jeff chafed to do more. His 
endless interest in the political drama of our times, coupled with his 
youthful energy, finally turned him to the arena that he truly was born 
for: electoral politics, the art and science of political campaigning.
  Never was there an operative so constitutionally fitted for the rock 
and roll of modern, media-age politics as he. Jeff loved the ups and 
downs of elections, the eat-or-be eaten nature of the democratic 
process, whether in the form of a Presidential campaign or a race for 
the local school board. He had a Texas-size appetite where these things 
applied.
  But Jeff was not merely interested in the process. He was driven by a 
real concern for the people of our country. He had a passion to help 
ordinary Americans, and an abiding confidence in the ability, and 
indeed the obligation, of government to help the less fortunate. That 
is why he worked long hours, well into the evenings, to learn more 
about the political profession.
  Indeed, Jeff had a personal vision, one that he shared with some of 
my staff. He hoped to use the Internet as a communication tool for 
campaigns. His idea was to establish a multicandidate, multiparty 
bulletin board on the Internet for campaign literature and party 
platforms. Through this means, he hoped that everyone might have access 
to the information they needed to make better decisions about 
candidates and campaigns. Campaigns would thus be fairer and more 
informed.
  So when Jeff left my office last July to take up a position with the 
DLCC, the organization within the national Democratic Party that 
focuses on electing Democrats to State legislatures, I felt the loss of 
his departure but understood that he was going forward in the right 
direction. And when I heard that his success at the DLCC led to a 
position with the Tennessee Democratic Party, I knew he had found his 
dream.
  Jeff's unexpected death the third Monday in April was thus double 
tragic, for in addition to his youth, he seemingly had at last found a 
position that exactly meshed with his temperament, interests, and 
abilities. His opportunities appeared boundless.
  But if Jeff was taken from us just as he appeared to be fully engaged 
in life, we must remember that he died doing that which he truly loved. 
How many of us can say the same?
  Mr. President, Jeff's years among us were far too few, but let us 
take comfort in the knowledge that he lived them fully. May his parents 
and loved ones take solace in his bright memory.

                          ____________________