[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S9611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         GERALD R. AND BETTY FORD CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today, pleased to urge 
bipartisan support for and passage of H.R. 3506, the Gerald R. and 
Betty Ford Congressional Gold Medal Act.
  Mr. President, this bill commemorates a number of anniversaries that 
few individuals succeed in reaching. This year is quite a milestone for 
our former thirty-eight President and First Lady. First and foremost, 
Gerald Ford celebrated his 85th birthday on July 14 and Betty Ford 
celebrated her 80th birthday on April 8.
  This October marks another anniversary well worth mentioning--the 
50th wedding anniversary of Gerald and Betty Ford. In 1948, they were 
wed only a few weeks before Gerald Ford won his first term in the House 
of Representatives. The Fords returned to Washington every term 
thereafter until 1974. Gerald Ford served as House Minority Leader from 
1965 to 1973.
  And finally Mr. President, this year commemorates the 25th 
anniversary of Gerald Ford becoming the first Vice President chosen 
under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Less than a year later, 
he succeeded the first President ever to resign.
  President and First Lady Ford led our country with bravery and 
dignity during a time that he declared upon his inauguration, ``. . . 
troubles our minds and hurts our hearts.'' Gerald Ford was faced with 
seemingly unsurmountable tasks when he took the oath of office of the 
Presidency on August 9, 1974. There were the challenges of mastering 
inflation, reviving a depressed economy, solving chronic energy 
shortages, and trying to ensure world peace.
  For their first twenty five years in Washington, Betty Ford not only 
was instrumental in rearing the four Ford children, she supervised the 
home, did the cooking, undertook volunteer work, and took part in the 
``House wives'' and ``Senate wives'' for Congressional and Republican 
clubs. In addition, she was an effective campaigner for her husband. In 
1974, Mrs. Ford set aside personal need for privacy when she openly 
discussed her experience from radical surgery for breast cancer. She 
reassured troubled women across the country with her openness, care and 
bravery.
  H.R. 3506, a bill authorizing the President to award Gerald R. and 
Betty Ford the congressional gold medal, passed the House by unanimous 
consent on July 29, 1998. It is my sincere hope that the Senate act 
expeditiously on this legislation.
  Mr. President, this honor, the highest award bestowed by the United 
States Congress, is a fitting tribute to life-long public service and 
dedication bestowed upon the American people by the thirty-eight 
President and First Lady, Gerald and Betty Ford. In addition, it is a 
wonderful way for all of Congress to commemorate and congratulate the 
Fords on their fifty years of commitment to one another. On behalf of 
all my colleagues, I wish them many more happy years together.

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