[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RETIREMENT OF DALE BUMPERS

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an 
extraordinary person, a respected and honorable man, a true friend, and 
one whom I am truly saddened to see leave the Senate--Senator Dale 
Bumpers.
  Mr. President, Senator Bumpers is, more than most, a true advocate 
for the citizens of the United States. I know of no better person who 
embraces issues with the passion and intellect that he demonstrates. 
His oratory skills are well-known and rarely matched. Dale is a true 
champion of the public's interests, and particularly when that clashes 
with special interests.
  Throughout his decades of public service, as Governor of Arkansas and 
United States Senator, Senator Bumpers has carried with him a strong, 
unyielding belief in a few basic ideas, ideas that have driven him in 
his tireless efforts to make our country--and the world--a better 
place.
  Senator Bumpers believes in ensuring equal opportunities for all, 
including the poor and indigent. He believes in providing high quality, 
comprehensive education and health care. He believes in the sanctity of 
our Constitution. He believes in the value of the arts and humanities 
in developing human creativity and a national culture. He believes in 
the importance of environmental conservation and preserving our natural 
resources. He believes in eliminating needless corporate subsidies and 
reducing wasteful defense spending. And he believes in the need to slow 
the growing gap between the rich and the poor.
  Senator Bumpers has never shied away from taking on the powerful 
special interests, year after year, even when he knows the odds are 
stacked against him and he is often disappointed with the results. But 
he has kept on trying.
  We have all been witnesses to his eloquent and powerful discourses on 
a number of subjects. Every one of his presentations before us and 
before the country have been grounded in personal experience and 
intellectual strength. When Senator Bumpers speaks, we know that he 
speaks from his heart.
  Mr. President, in 1995, the Senate debated an amendment that would 
require zero tolerance for youth who had any amount of alcohol in their 
blood. Senator Bumpers revealed his personal story about his parents 
and their friend who were killed by a drunk driver while returning from 
their small farm, just across the Arkansas River. Senator Bumpers was 
in law school at the time, far away in Chicago.
  Dale, more than most, has the power to sway with his words. That 
amendment was swiftly adopted.
  Mr. President, also three years ago, the Senate was considering an 
amendment to add funds to the National Endowment for the Humanities. 
Now, the NEH is a small agency that can, and does, often come under the 
budget knife as an insignificant agency. Not to Senator Bumpers. 
Senator Bumpers took to the Senate floor, and told all of us about his 
high school English teacher, Miss Doll Means. He touched us with a 
personal story that was a turning point in his life. When he was a 
sophomore, Miss Doll Means told him, after he had read a page of 
``Beowulf" that he had a nice voice and he read beautifully. That one 
statement, from an English teacher in a town of 1,000 people, did more 
for his self-esteem than anybody, except, he said, his father. Not only 
does he indeed have a nice voice and he reads beautifully, he is among 
the best orators this Senate has ever seen.
  Mr. President, earlier this year during the Appropriations Committee 
passed an amendment naming a vaccine center at NIH after Dale and Betty 
Bumpers. For almost 30 years, the two of them have worked tirelessly on 
a crusade to vaccinate all children--and because of their efforts and 
others, we have made great progress toward that goal.
  Mr. President, when the Senior Senator from Arkansas leaves this body 
in a few weeks, there will be a noticeable void. We will lose a 
tireless champion for the underserved; a champion for the public's 
interest; a champion for responsible spending, not wasteful spending; 
and a champion for equal opportunity, for our environment, and for the 
arts and humanities. Senator Bumpers has our respect, and he has the 
people's respect. We will miss him.
  Mr. President, I wish my friend and his wife Betty, their children 
and grandchildren the very best for the future.

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