[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 18 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1188-S1189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN MEMORY OF SENATOR ABRAHAM RIBICOFF

  Mr. HOLLLINGS. Mr. President, today I would like to pay tribute to my 
friend Senator Abraham Ribicoff and his remarkable legacy. His passing 
has left a void in public service that will be difficult to fill. Over 
more than 40 years of public service, he set a standard for integrity, 
dedication, and wisdom that is difficult to match.
  Abe Ribicoff's journey to the Senate was an arduous one. He was born 
not to power, but rather to poverty. His father was a Polish Jewish 
immigrant who worked in a factory and as a peddler. After graduating 
from high school, young Abraham Ribicoff worked for a year at a zipper 
and buckle factory in New Britain, Connecticut, to earn money to attend 
New York University. After a year, he transferred to Chicago. There, he 
was such an assiduous and gifted student that he was admitted to the 
University of Chicago law school--one of the most prestigious in the 
nation--without an undergraduate degree.
  After graduating from law school, Abraham Ribicoff realized his 
calling was that of the public servant. He entered politics at an early 
age, but without the benefit of well-placed connections or cronies. He 
worked his way up from the lower house of the Connecticut legislature 
by mastering complicated legislation and earning the respect of his 
peers, and after ten years he was elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives. In 1954, Abraham Ribicoff was elected Governor of 
Connecticut.
  His personal experience of poverty instilled in Sen. Ribicoff a 
compassion and a desire to serve the public good that never faded. The 
desire to help the unfortunate and marginalized members of our society 
was the hallmark of his political career. As Governor of Connecticut, 
he established a strong, progressive record. As the Secretary of the 
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Kennedy 
administration, he promoted policies to improve the living conditions, 
working environment, and health care of all Americans. And as a Senator 
during the 1960s and '70s, he was one of the strongest supporters of 
Medicare, education funding, environmental protection and regulation, 
and auto safety standards.
  Most of all, I remember Abe Ribicoff as a man of integrity who never 
wavered from his convictions or sacrificed his principles for political 
expediency. He was a statesman who disregarded opinion polls and 
governed by

[[Page S1189]]

conscience. His death marks the passing of a great public servant, and 
it reminds us that America could use many more like him today.

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