[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO BILL SPRING OF BOSTON

  Mr. KENNEDY. Madam President, as we conclude this session of 
Congress, I would like to take a moment to recognize a valued adviser, 
an extraordinary public servant, and an able advocate for high quality 
education and job training for all our citizens, Bill Spring of Boston.
  Tragically, Bill was severely injured in an accident 2 weeks ago as 
he was walking home from work and he remains unconscious today. We are 
all very optimistic that Bill will regain good health. Our hearts go 
out to his wife Micho and his children. I want them to know how proud 
we are to have Bill as a friend and colleague. Our thoughts and prayers 
are with them at this difficult time.
  Many of us in the Senate know Bill and worked with him during his 
years as a staff member of the Senate Labor Committee or as a senior 
adviser to President Carter. He has also served as a professor at 
Harvard and at Boston University, as a vice president of the Federal 
Reserve Bank of Boston, as a member of the Boston School Committee, and 
in many other valuable positions. In each capacity, Bill has always 
brought a brilliant intellect, an unyielding commitment to the 
principles of fairness and opportunity, an extraordinary creativity, 
and an unfailing ability to find a way forward, even in the most 
difficult times.
  His leadership on education and job training has been outstanding. 
His understanding of the basic issues and his tireless pursuit of 
better policies and programs to improve the quality and quantity of 
opportunities for all Americans have made an immense contribution to 
public policy and to the lives of tens of thousands of individuals and 
their families.
  In the policy arena, Bill Spring has been a leader in every 
significant debate and legislative achievement by Congress on 
employment and job training for over three decades. His judgment, his 
evaluation of alternatives, and his understanding of the needs of the 
people who need our help the most have been indispensable to the 
bipartisan progress we have made.
  He has devoted special attention and energy to the serious problems 
of poor and minority youth. From the unprecedented youth employment and 
training program of the Carter administration to the current Out-of-
School Youth Initiative in the pending work force development 
legislation, unanimously reported to the Senate last month, Bill 
Spring's guidance and direction have been superb.
  In Boston and Massachusetts, Bill has had a key role in all the 
progress we have made in meeting the employment and training needs of 
workers and the needs of students for quality education and effective 
links between their learning and the work force.
  The nationally renowned Boston Compact could not have been achieved 
without Bill Spring's design, support, and direction. The compact has 
become the most successful effort in the country to keep young men and 
women in school and assist their transition from school to their future 
careers. Thousands of youths in Boston now have different and better 
lives because of Bill's creativity and energy.
  The new and successful relationship between the Boston Police 
Department, juvenile justice system, and the Boston school system is 
another of Bill Spring's major achievements. The success that Boston 
has achieved in reducing juvenile crime, including the elimination of 
juvenile murder for over 2 years, is an extraordinary tribute to his 
insight and leadership.
  We wish him a speedy and full recovery, and a quick return to his 
leadership on all these vital issues.

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