[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 154 (Thursday, November 6, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11896-S11897]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  REPRESENTATIVE HAMILTON RECEIVES THE EDMUND S. MUSKIE DISTINGUISHED 
                          PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, it was my singular honor this 
past September to attend the annual dinner of the Center for National 
Policy where Representative Lee Hamilton of Indiana received the Edmund 
S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award. Representative Hamilton's 
distinguished record of public service exemplifies, both in spirit and 
deed, the principles which the late Senator Muskie brought to public 
service.
  The Congress and the American people will deeply miss Lee Hamilton's 
wisdom, sound judgment, and the 30 years of dedicated and independent 
representation he gave to his fellow Hoosiers. These values were 
tangibly evidenced in Lee Hamilton's acceptance speech which 
demonstrated why he is one of the most respected and listened to 
Members of Congress. His plain Hoosier common sense and high standards 
of public service have well served the Nation.
  It is most fitting that he should receive this award named for 
another distinguished American legislator and that Congressman 
Hamilton's remarks be recorded for posterity. Mr. President, I ask that 
they be printed in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

   REP. LEE H. HAMILTON--REFLECTIONS ON THE CONGRESS AND THE COUNTRY


remarks to center for national policy upon receipt of edmund s. muskie 
                   distinguished public service award

       I really do not recall enjoying speeches any more than I 
     have tonight. Thank you one and all. Some I thought could 
     have been a little longer, others I found a bit restrained, 
     but overall it has been an immensely satisfying evening.
       I shall think often of this evening and the high honor you 
     have paid to me. I've always wanted to walk off the stage 
     before I was shoved off, and your nice gesture makes me think 
     I have done that.
       Politicians do a lot of things very well but I'm not sure 
     retiring is one of them. I've always felt that you should 
     leave when others think you should stay.
       It has occurred to me in times past that the United States 
     government needed the equivalent of a House of Lords for 
     retired politicians. I'm beginning to think more favorably of 
     that idea. I'm not quite sure what its purpose would be and I 
     know that the taxpayers wouldn't tolerate it, but it would be 
     a nice gathering place for a bunch of has-been. It would keep 
     us out of mischief and perhaps more importantly keep us off 
     the television, and an occasional good thought or deed might 
     from time to time emerge.
       No award comes to one person alone. All who receive an 
     honor stand on the shoulders of many others. I acknowledge no 
     all-inclusive list tonight of people who share this award 
     with me, but among them most importantly are: my wife, Nancy, 
     and our children, Tracy, Debbie, and Doug; I cannot begin to 
     tell you the contributions they have made--but for a sample 
     consider not having their husband and father around the house 
     for 30 weekends a year for 30 year; the man who got me 
     started in this political business, and he has remained a 
     trusted friend and advisor, Dick Stoner, and his wife, 
     Virginia; and, of course, a long list of outstanding staff 
     members, without whose help I would have accomplished very 
     little. The best advice for any Member remains--hire a staff 
     a lot smarter than you are; and I have done that.
       The award is all the more meaningful because it is named 
     for Edmund Muskie. I still remember the clarity and 
     persuasiveness of his statements on the budget, the 
     environment, and foreign policy.
       Mike Barnes and Mo Steinbruner have been doing an excellent 
     job of continuing his important work at the Center for 
     National Policy. As Madeleine Albright correctly noted last 
     year, CNP is more than a think tank, it's an action tank.
       And a word of special appreciation to Hank Schacht, the 
     Chairman and CEO of Lucent Technologies. If you want a model 
     for an American business executive, look no further. He 
     combines all the skills of an outstandingly successful 
     business executive with a commitment to the public interest 
     that is simply extraordinary.
       I've been asked to reminisce for a few minutes. Obviously 
     they didn't expect anything too heavy from me this evening, 
     and I'm pleased to comply.


                        early years in congress

       I've been fortunate to serve many years in Congress. I've 
     served with 8 Presidents; I've worked with 11 Secretaries of 
     State; and when I complete my 17th Congress, I'll be one of 
     only around 80 Member in the history of the House who have 
     served that long.
       I remember, of course, my early years in Congress. I 
     remember that the Speaker of the House then, John McCormack, 
     could not remember my name. He called me John and Henry and 
     Carl on various days. Then one day before the Democratic 
     caucus to elect the Speaker he called me on the phone. I told 
     him I wouldn't vote for him, but would vote instead for Mo 
     Udall. That's probably not the smartest judgment I ever made. 
     From that day on, however, he knew my name, and the next time 
     he saw me in the hall he called me Lee. And to his eternal 
     credit he never held it against me.
       I remember those early days when Members of Congress could 
     put a new post office in every village and hamlet, and I did. 
     I build 17 in my first year in Congress.
       And I remember needing only one staffer to help me answer 
     constituent mail, and getting only an occasional visit from a 
     lobbyist. I also remember that I could accept any gift 
     offered, and make any amount of money of outside income, 
     unrestricted and unreported. I even remember--in those pre-
     Vietnam and pre-Watergate days--people believing and trusting 
     what government officials and politicians said.
       I remember that when I first ran for Congress in 1964, my 
     total campaign budget was $30,000, compared to $1 million 
     last election.
       And I remember many close personal relationships across the 
     aisle. Early in my career, I made a parliamentary mistake on 
     the floor. A senior Republican (and good friend) came over, 
     put his arm around me, and gently pointed out my mistake and 
     how to correct it--and this was a bill he opposed. I can't 
     imagine that happening today.
       I remember walking into the House Foreign Affairs Committee 
     room, which was then a small room now occupied by the House 
     TV-radio gallery. I was told by the staff director there were 
     no seats at the Committee table for me or the other two 
     freshmen Democratic Members. He told me that if I wanted a 
     seat I had to arrive before the lobbyists and the spectators 
     came in. But it really didn't matter whether I came or not; 
     as a freshman I was not going to be recognized to speak.


                   unforgettable members of congress

       I remember some unforgettable Members of Congress, 
     including the awesome--even fearsome--Chairman of the 
     Judiciary Committee, Emanuel Celler. I was the designated 
     spokesman when a group of us went to talk to him about the 
     President's proposal to extend the term of House Members from 
     two to four years. We favored the bill and had introduced it. 
     And I asked him how he stood on the bill. His response has 
     become a part of Washington lore. He said, ``I don't stand on 
     it, I'm sitting on it. It rests four-square under my fanny 
     and will never see the light of day.'' And of course it 
     didn't, and we learned something about congressional power.
       I remember Chairman Jamie Whitten, who would bring the most 
     complicated appropriations bill, thousands of pages in 
     length, to the floor of the House and spend his entire 
     allotted debate time on a conference report thanking everyone 
     under the sun, and saying nothing about the bill. The first 
     few times he did it I thought he might not be smart enough to 
     explain the bill. I finally figured out that he was too smart 
     to explain it, and he never did, and he always got it passed.
       I remember how deeply disappointed President Johnson was 
     when I offered the first amendment to reduce U.S. involvement 
     in Vietnam, It was a switch of position for me, although 
     others had preceded me. I was one of his favorites from the 
     class of '64, and he had come to campaign for me in '66. He 
     had taken a special interest in my career. I will never 
     forget his eyes when he asked me, ``How could you do that to 
     me, Lee?
       I remember Hale Boggs addressing President Nixon and 
     members of his entire Cabinet in the Cabinet Room. He made an 
     impassioned plea as only he could do on a subject

[[Page S11897]]

     I've long since forgotten, and as he left the room he did so 
     with the observation, ``Now Mr. President, if you'll excuse 
     me, I have some important people waiting to see me in my 
     office.''
       The memories go on and on in an endless line of splendor. 
     With each on of them it reminds me that serving in the House 
     of Representatives has been a high privilege, but a good bit 
     of fun too.


                              good advice

       And I remember the good advice I got. I got good 
     financial advice from President Johnson. He had the 
     freshmen gather in the Cabinet Room. I don't remember much 
     of what he said except one thing; he told us ``Buy your 
     home.'' He said, ``If you're like most politicians it'll 
     be the only decent investment you'll ever make.'' I did 
     and it was.
       I remember Tip O'Neill putting his arm around me as we 
     walked down the hall and giving me some advice. He called me 
     Neal for my first decade here because I reminded him of a 
     Boston baseball player by the name of Neal Hamilton. He said, 
     ``Neal, you can accomplish anything in this town if you're 
     willing to let someone else take the credit.''
       I remember Wilbur Mills, a marvelous man, a superb 
     legislator, who came, of course, to an unhappy ending. One 
     evening we walked out of the Capitol together. His picture 
     was on the cover of Time magazine; he was known all over the 
     country; he was the foremost legislator in Congress--people 
     sought his advice and clamored to speak with him even for a 
     few seconds. I asked him where he was going, he said ``I'm 
     going back to Arkansas. I'll have a public meeting.'' He 
     mentioned some small Arkansas town and said ``There'll be 
     about 15 or 20 people there.'' I never forgot it. As we 
     departed he said ``Lee, don't ever forget your constituents. 
     Nothing, nothing comes before them.''
       And I remember Carl Albert who said always respect your 
     colleagues and never forget that each one of them serves in 
     this House because they were elected to do so by the American 
     people.


                   public attitude toward government

       But let me go beyond the specific remembrances and turn 
     more serious for a moment as we conclude.
       There's been a massive change of attitude toward the role 
     of government since I first came here. In the early 1960s 
     many were brimming with optimism over the potential of 
     federal programs to solve all kinds of problems--alleviating 
     poverty, curbing racial discrimination, providing health 
     coverage, rebuilding American's cities.
       Today the mood has shifted toward pessimism about what 
     government can achieve that is worthwhile. Many believe that 
     government creates more problems than it solves.
       Over these past 30 years I've been struck by the decline in 
     public respect for government. In recent years it has 
     threatened the ability of government to make good policy. Of 
     course skepticism has always been a healthy strain in 
     American thinking. Our Constitution reflects that with all of 
     its checks and balances. And we all know that government can 
     be inefficient, inaccessible, and unaccountable. But when 
     healthy skepticism about government turns to cynicism, it 
     becomes the great enemy of democracy.
       I think the operative question in American government today 
     is the same as it was at Gettysburg when Lincoln asked ``Can 
     this nation so dedicated and so conceived long endure?'' That 
     question may put it in rather apocalyptic terms, but it 
     nonetheless is on the mark.
       A constituent put the right question to me the other day, 
     ``What's the most important thing you can do to restore 
     confidence in government?''


                   restoring confidence in government

       You'll be happy to know I'm not going to try to answer that 
     question in any length tonight.
       But my basic response to my constituent was that to restore 
     confidence in government we have to make government 
     responsive, accessible, and workable.
       I believe that representative democracy is our best hope 
     for dealing with our problems. We live in a complicated 
     country of vast size and remarkable diversity. When I was in 
     high school we had 130 million people. Today we have almost 
     270 million. So in my working lifetime the population of the 
     country has more than doubled. Our voters are many; they've 
     spread far and wide; and they represent a great variety of 
     races, religions, and national origins. It isn't easy to 
     develop a system that enables such a country to live together 
     peacefully and productively.
       Representative democracy, for all of its faults, permits us 
     to do that. It works through a process of deliberation, 
     negotiation, and compromise--in a word, the process of 
     politics. Politics and politicians may be unpopular but 
     they're also indispensable. Politics is the way that we 
     express the popular will of the people in this country. At 
     its best, representative democracy gives us a system whereby 
     all of us have a voice in the process and a stake in the 
     product.
       In many ways, we have lost what the founding fathers 
     possessed--the belief that government can work. Government is 
     certainly still needed to provide for our national security 
     and help promote our general welfare. Sometimes government 
     gets in our way, but other times it can be helpful to 
     ordinary people in their effort to succeed, to have 
     opportunity, and to correct instances of oppression and 
     injustice.
       Those of us who see important reasons for government to act 
     must be willing not just to criticize government and try to 
     improve its operations, we must also work to improve public 
     understanding of what government can do, what it cannot do, 
     and what it has done. I simply do not see how it is possible 
     to deal with many of our problems without a minimal public 
     confidence in government.
       I know that many people say the government and Congress 
     don't work very well. And it's certainly not difficult to 
     point out instances when they don't. But on the other hand, 
     given the size of the country and the number and complexity 
     of the challenges we confront, my view is that representative 
     democracy works reasonably well in this country. I do not for 
     a moment agree with those who think that the American system 
     has failed or that the future of the country is bleak.


                    improving operations of congress

       My main interest during my years in Congress has been to 
     make government responsive, accessible, and workable. Part of 
     that representative democracy system, of course, is the role 
     of Congress.
       Congress is an enormously important and resilient 
     institution. I'm impressed almost daily with the way it 
     tackles difficult national problems, manages conflict in the 
     country, acts as a national forum, reflects diverse points of 
     view, and over time usually develops a consensus that 
     reflects the collective judgment of a diverse people. It has 
     helped create and maintain a nation more free than any other. 
     It is the most powerful and most respected legislative body 
     in the world.
       It is not, of course, perfect. It has some major flaws. It 
     doesn't think enough about the long term, for example; it can 
     be much too partisan; and the system by which we finance our 
     elections is a mess. But I nonetheless believe that Congress 
     is--overall but not perfectly, often but not always--
     responsive to the sustained and express will of the American 
     people. It's a much more responsive body than people think. 
     Congress does usually respond to public opinion if that 
     opinion is conveyed strongly by the American people, as we 
     have seen in the recent work to balance the budget.
       I have seen many changes over the years, but I think 
     America is a better place today than it was when I came to 
     Congress in 1965: The Cold War is over, and we are at peace; 
     as the preeminent military power in the world, we do not 
     worry about an imminent threat to our national security; it 
     is hard to find a place on the map where the U.S. is not 
     engaged in some manner trying to make things better; we enjoy 
     the world's most competitive economy; the new global trading 
     system means new challenges and a host of new opportunities; 
     the Internet brings a world of knowledge to the most remote 
     classroom or the most remote home; we have greatly improved 
     the lot of older Americans with programs like Social Security 
     and Medicare; women and minorities have had new doors opened 
     to them like never before; and, by far the most important of 
     all, this still is the land of opportunity where everyone has 
     a chance, not an equal chance unfortunately, but still a 
     chance to become the best they can become.
       Congress did not single-handedly bring about all of these 
     changes. But it played a major role in every one of them. 
     Congress is still the protector of our freedom and the 
     premier forum for addressing the key issues of the day.
       As I receive this award from the Center for National Policy 
     and look back over my years in Congress, I'm not cynical, 
     pessimistic, or discouraged. I'm optimistic about Congress 
     and about the country. I am grateful for every day I've been 
     a part of this body and I do not know of any place in the 
     world that I would have preferred to be. I believe that inch 
     by inch, line by line, I've had a small--very small--part in 
     making this a more perfect union and making this country 
     stronger, safer, and freer.
       What more could anyone want?

                          ____________________