[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10082-S10084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING MARK McGWIRE OF THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS FOR BREAKING THE
HISTORIC HOME RUN RECORD
Mr. BOND. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 273.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The bill clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 273) recognizing the historic home
run record set by Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals on
September 8, 1998.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate
consideration of the resolution?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. BOND. Madam President, it is a great honor and with pleasure that
I introduce this resolution for myself, Mr. Ashcroft, the Senator from
California, and others who may wish to join us.
Yesterday, I was on this floor describing a very difficult
predicament that Major League baseball was encountering. It seemed, as
of early yesterday morning, that the Internal Revenue Service might say
that a fan who caught a historic home run ball hit by Mark McGwire and
turned it back to him might be liable for $150,000 or more in gift
taxes on that ball. We pointed out that that made no sense. I am proud
to say that we had bipartisan support for that proposition, Madam
President. There are very few things that have brought this Chamber
together more than that one simple proposition.
I was very pleased yesterday afternoon to have a call from
Commissioner Rossotti of the IRS, who understood the magnitude of the
problem this could cause. He advised me that he has issued a release
from the IRS saying that, while resolving gift tax issues is as
difficult as figuring out the infield fly rule, it made sense that we
congratulate a fan who returns the baseball rather than hit him with
taxes. That is particularly good news to Deni Allen, a 22-year-old
marketing representative from Ozark, MO, Mike Davidson, a 28-year-old
St. Louis native, and Tim Forneris, a 22-year-old from Collinsville,
IL, a member of the St. Louis grounds crew. They all just wanted to
give Mark McGwire the baseball and didn't want to be taxed on it.
Thanks to the support of this body and the action of the Commissioner,
they will not be taxed. I am very pleased with that.
I was also pleased to join many friends and colleagues last night in
rooting for the historic home run hit by Mark McGwire. Mark McGwire's
achievements are there for all to see on television, or to read about
in the sports page, because this is one tremendous athlete. He hit home
run ball No. 62 in his 144th game of the season.
The purpose of our resolution is to recognize that historic
contribution to baseball. But I also want to just spend a minute on
Mark McGwire, the person. I have in my hand a copy of Sports
Illustrated, which features a picture of Mark McGwire and his son, Matt
McGwire. The article is entitled ``One Cool Dad.'' I think a lot of
people who watched Mark McGwire in the year he has been in St. Louis,
and probably before that in California, know that he is a dedicated
father and he is a community leader. He has shown his willingness to
serve his community by his generosity.
This man is a great role model for young people in our country today,
and the way he approached this record-setting mark, with due
recognition for Roger Maris--also a tremendous athlete, one I greatly
respected, who held the record prior to him--reflects extremely well on
Mr. McGwire. I hope that I will have many cosponsors who will join in
this resolution. I see several colleagues on the floor who want to
discuss it, but suffice it to say that Mark McGwire has made a historic
contribution to baseball. He has brought the country together. The only
thing we are talking about in Missouri is Mark McGwire, not a lot of
the other problems. His dedication to leadership and family values, his
spirit of community contribution and leadership mark him as an
outstanding gentleman who I trust all of us in this body are willing to
recognize.
Mrs. BOXER addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California is recognized.
Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Missouri for
his eloquent remarks, and I thank both Senators for introducing this
resolution.
I rise to salute a native son of California, a man who grew up in the
playing fields of southern California, a graduate of California public
schools and honed his skills at the University of Southern California
and developed into a mature professional in Oakland, CA, where I saw
him play many a game; a man who has since settled in Missouri, but will
always remain a favorite son of California; a man who brought immense
talent, hard work, energy, enthusiasm and, above all, dignity and grace
to one of America's most revered institutions.
I grew up, when I was a kid, six blocks from a Major League ballpark.
I heard the sound of those home runs all through the years I was
growing up. I went to many a game and sat in the bleachers. I am a
baseball fan. Yet, I haven't seen such excitement in so many years that
we have seen in the last month or so.
This man has really helped reinvigorate the game of baseball, further
enshrining it as our national pastime. He has thrilled countless
lifelong fans of baseball, and he has made millions of new fans who
knew very little about the game. This is a man who has put us in touch
with baseball heroes of the past, and he has inspired baseball heroes
of the future--a giant of a man, playing a game that we learned to love
as children, and who has made us all feel like little kids again at a
time when we need that every once in a while. Of course, I speak of
Mark McGwire.
I think it is also important to recognize the Cubs' Sammy Sosa. Both
of these men have pursued Babe Ruth's and Roger Maris' home run
records, and they did it under intense pressure, but with grace and
joy, rooting for each other, appreciating their fan support, and
infecting us all with good humor, poise and good sportsmanship.
Today is a day of heroes--one particular hero, Mark McGwire. I wanted
to say on behalf of all of California--and I know Senator Feinstein
joins me in this--that we are very proud of Mark McGwire.
In closing, I want to say that it is hard to join a nexus between one
thing and another here. But I have two heroes here today on the floor
of the Senate--Russ Feingold and John McCain--because I am really proud
of the way they have pursued their goal, a goal that I think will make
this democracy stronger, a goal of good, solid campaign finance reform.
On the one hand, we laud the baseball heroes. I wanted to laud a
couple of Senate heroes of mine on campaign finance reform.
[[Page S10083]]
Let me again thank the Senators from Missouri for giving us a chance
to get to see this praise in writing in the Record for all time.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
Mr. ASHCROFT addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized.
Mr. ASHCROFT. Madam President, let me extend my appreciation to the
senior Senator from the State of Missouri, Senator Bond, for having
presenting this important resolution; and my thanks as well to the
Senator from California, Senator Boxer.
I was elated when I saw what we had all anticipated for so long--that
Mark McGwire would learn uniquely how to pay the price for greatness,
would achieve something that some had said could never happen. We
watched and I watched in anticipation as I believe it was in the fourth
inning last evening when the first pitch was, incidentally, not what I
would call a home run pitch. It looked to me like it was a borderline
strike zone, low and away, and Mark reached out and, on the low and
away pitch, pulled the ball like a rifleshot over the wall in Busch
Stadium in St. Louis.
I stand today to commend him for his outstanding baseball. To see him
and Sammy Sosa embrace and salute each other in a friendly kind of
competition that brings out the very best is a story about what America
really needs and ought to be--how we don't have to be, because we are
opponents, enemies. Those two are opponents in most every way and in
every sense of the word. But, my goodness, they are not enemies. They
elevate each other's performance, and they bring out the best in each
other. What a tremendous thing.
Of course, I was so happy to see this happen in St. Louis, MO, a city
whose baseball heritage is--well, frankly, it is just unparalleled; a
city with baseball fans who understand the game, who know what it means
to take a pitch, to hit behind the runner, to make the sacrifice. They
know baseball. They know character. They saluted Mark McGwire last
night, and properly so.
I was very thrilled to see the Missouri fans be consistent in wanting
to share the achievement with Mark McGwire, but not necessarily to take
it from him, and the willingness of Missouri fans over and over again
to give the baseballs back--to make them part of Mark's heritage and
history, to make them part of the national treasure. It is kind of an
inspiration at a time when some would lead us to believe that America
is nothing but a place of greed.
Too often, sports heroes themselves have participated in the idea
that the memorabilia is so valuable that it is only to be sold. I think
of these fans who would sort of teach some of our sports heroes lessons
that the memorabilia is so valuable that it is not to be sold but it is
to be shared. I salute those in St. Louis who decided that this part of
American history was too valuable to be sold but it was so valuable
that it ought to be shared.
Let me make a few remarks about Mark.
In the pictures--and I just hope the rest of America sees these
pictures, if they haven't seen them--in the pictures we see a picture
of what we need to be, how we need to think, and how we need to act.
Perspective and balance are perhaps the most important characteristics
of life. Knowing where you stand at the magic of the moment is
certainly a valuable thing. Understanding where you stand in the
perspective of history is a valuable thing. Having a respect for the
future is a valuable thing. In just one tight little moment there on
national television, as Mark McGwire finished rounding the bases, he
showed us that he was a person who not only understood the magic of the
moment--driving the ball over the left field wall and celebrating the
incredible exhilaration and joy of that personal achievement, the
crowning achievement of years of training, practice, and insistent
persistence toward a goal--he understood the magic of the moment, but
he also told us that he understood his place in history, because he
went to the stands and he embraced the family of Roger Maris. Roger, of
course, died tragically young as a result of cancer. But his family was
there to understand not only his place in history but to understand
that history marches on. Mark McGwire not only understood the moment
but he understood his place in history. He embraced history.
America needs again to have a lesson in embracing history, in
respecting our past and understanding that it is only from the
greatness of our past that we draw inspiration for surpassing events in
the future.
What a tremendous thing that picture was of Mark McGwire with those
huge arms around the Roger Maris family.
Then, perhaps as inspiring as anything else, there was the fact that
when he rounded the bases and was trading high fives, really before he
got into the serious commendations of the rest of his teammates, Mark
picked up Matt, the future. He understood that, yes, the past is
important, and the magic of the moment is to be cherished, but there is
also always the future that is ahead of us. He picks up young Matt, and
he elevates young Matt to a position above his father. What a
tremendous picture that is. If we as Americans would have an
understanding of our youngsters that we need to place them ahead of
ourselves, place their interests above our interests, invest in the
future, if we would, indeed, hold up our youngsters and elevate them to
a place of understanding and the opportunities for greatness, what a
tremendous lesson that would be.
So I really have a degree of excitement that is difficult to contain
about the tremendous lesson that we can all take out of the joy and
exuberance of celebrating the achievements of one whose acts really
just stun us and marvel us.
There is just one last point.
There were lots of people--I have been among them--who have said,
``Well, Babe Ruth's record and Roger Maris' record''--Babe Ruth, if you
wanted to count one game at one game level, and Roger Maris at
another--``would never be broken.'' I am kind of glad that Mark McGwire
straightened me out on the breakability of those records, because I
believe that maybe as much as anything else, Mark McGwire tells us that
the best is yet to come, that every record in the book is one we should
look to break, that America is not a place whose primary and monumental
achievements are all behind us, but America is a place where the best
is yet to come.
Last night, Mark McGwire set a new record of 62 home runs. He might
set another record the next time he bats. I am confident that he will
set another record before the end of this season over and over and over
again.
I think part of the American spirit is such that we should all think
about America as a place where the best is yet to come. When we learn
to pay the price, maybe when we have the balance and perspective that
Mark demonstrated, understanding the magic of the moment, respecting
history, and having a full dedication to the fabulous future, maybe
that is when we will begin to understand that the best is yet to come
and we can be part of it.
To Mark McGwire, to the fans of St. Louis, to Sammy Sosa, who
happened to be there when it happened and who, with such class, saluted
Mark, I say thanks for an inspiring game, which turns out to be a
lesson teacher far bigger than just a game. I am delighted to commend
them and thank them for the greatness that they remind us should be a
part of all that America is and stands for.
I yield the floor.
Mr. BOND addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mr. BOND. Madam President, the Senator from North Dakota, Mr. Conrad,
wants to be added as a cosponsor to this resolution and to note that
Roger Maris, who was a great hero in St. Louis, was a North Dakotan. We
are very proud of the Maris family. We extend our very best wishes to
Sammy Sosa, and we hope he gets into the sixties.
If there are other Senators asking to add their names to the
resolution, I would be happy to do that.
May I add the Presiding Officer, the Senator from Maine, Ms. Collins,
the Senator from Utah, Senator Bennett, and I believe the Senator from
Connecticut, as cosponsors.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, I came to the floor to speak about
campaign finance reform, and I will do that
[[Page S10084]]
in a moment, but I thank my colleague from Missouri for adding me as a
cosponsor of the resolution. As is obvious to my colleagues, I am
neither from Missouri nor California, so my claim to being added is my
status as a baseball fan. And even though my colleagues may think I am
reaching, the fact is that when Roger Maris set the record I was in
college together with the junior Senator from Missouri. So it gives me
some standing.
I do want to identify myself with his comments just to stress the
obvious personal achievement here that has inspired the country, and
also the way in which Mark McGwire did it. It was an act of fate, but
somehow so correct, that he tied the record at the 61st homer on the
day of his father's 61st birthday, because baseball, in my experience
in this country, is very much a matter of one generation passing on the
experience to another.
My own memories of baseball, first memories, come from my dad taking
me to games, and they are cherished memories. I can tell my
colleagues--I hope I am not violating her privacy--when my youngest
child was 4 days old, in March, I held her up to a TV set and said,
``Sweetheart, this is baseball, and you're going to love it.''
Fortunately, for me, she has, and we have shared that experience. As
Senator Ashcroft indicated, Mark McGwire beautifully continued that
with his son there as a batboy.
The second is the obvious rapport between Mark McGwire and Sammy
Sosa, as they compete for this but do it with extraordinary mutual
respect. To make the point that is obvious but maybe still worth
making, here we have one person whose family has been in this country a
long time, from a family of relative success and comfort, another a new
American born in poverty in another country, coming here, joined
together in this remarkable American game to I think this year break
records that were previously thought to be impossible.
And a final word about Roger Maris, who did set the record in the
younger days of both my life and Senator Ashcroft's life. I felt that
Mark McGwire probably brought the whole country to give more tribute to
Roger Maris than he ever had before, and we owed it to him. So I am
proud to be added as a cosponsor.
Did the Senator from Missouri wish to add anything before I proceed
to the topic of campaign finance reform?
Mr. BOND addressed the Chair.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. If so, I yield the floor.
Mr. BOND. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to
the resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 273) with its preamble reads as follows:
S. Res. 273
Whereas, since becoming a St. Louis Cardinal in 1997, Mark
McGwire has helped to bring the national pastime of baseball
back to its original glory;
Whereas, Mark McGwire has shown leadership, family values,
dedication and a love of baseball as a team sport;
Whereas, in April, Mark McGwire began the season with a
home run in each of his first four games which tied Willie
Mays' 1971 National League record;
Whereas, in May, Mark McGwire hit a 545-foot home run, the
longest in Busch Stadium history;
Whereas, in June, Mark McGwire tied Reggie Jackson's record
of thirty-seven home runs before the All Star break;
Whereas, in August, Mark McGwire became the only player in
the history of baseball to hit fifty home runs in three
consecutive seasons;
Whereas, on September 5, Mark McGwire became the third
player ever to hit sixty home runs in a season; and
Whereas, on September 8, 1998, Mark McGwire broke Roger
Maris' thirty-seven year old home run record of sixty-one by
hitting number sixty-two off Steve Trachsel while playing the
Chicago Cubs: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and congratulates St.
Louis Cardinal, Mark McGwire, for setting baseballs' revered
home run record, with sixty-two, in his 144th game of the
season.
Mr. BOND. I thank the Chair, and I thank all of my colleagues for
their courtesy in allowing me to proceed.
Mr. LIEBERMAN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Madam President, if I may continue the stretch to link
the two subject matters, baseball and campaign finance reform, may I
say that unlike the Brooklyn Dodgers of old, those of us who support
McCain-Feingold are not willing to wait until next year, and since
McGwire and Sosa are setting the standard for doing what we thought was
impossible, we hope they are an eye-opener for those who think adopting
campaign finance reform is impossible for this Chamber this year.
I make the comparison without wanting to set it too closely, but
wouldn't it be great when this is over if we could refer to McCain-
Feingold as the legislative equivalent of McGwire and Sosa?
I will cease and desist and proceed with my remarks.
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