[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12300-S12301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO WENDELL H. FORD

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President I rise today to pay tribute to our 
esteemed colleague from Kentucky, the Minority Whip, Senator Wendell H. 
Ford. I wish him well. All of us know that we have not heard the last 
from this dedicated and effective public servant.
  His retirement from the Senate will end a formal career of public 
service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States which has 
lasted over three decades. After first serving in the Kentucky Senate, 
he was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1967 and then Governor of 
Kentucky in 1971. In 1974, he was elected to serve in the United States 
Senate.
  Mr. President, in the history of this body, few Senators have 
protected the interests of his or her state as doggedly as Wendell 
Ford.
  Whether the issue was aviation, tobacco, telecommunications or farm 
legislation, Senator Ford has always put the people of Kentucky first. 
And even though we have disagreed on a key issue or two, I know that he 
is guided by what he believes is best for the people of his state.
  As the senior Senator from Kentucky put it himself: ``If it ain't 
good for Kentucky, it ain't good for Wendell Ford.''
  And the people of Kentucky have shown their deep appreciation to 
Senator Ford in return. In 1992, he received the largest number of 
votes ever

[[Page S12301]]

recorded by a candidate for elected office in the Commonwealth.
  In March of this year, he became the longest serving United States 
Senator from Kentucky in history.
  Mr. President, although New Jersey and Kentucky are very different 
states, Senator Ford and I share many things in common. First of all, 
our vintage--we were born in the same year. We both fought for our 
country in World War II. We both ran businesses before we entered 
public life.
  These common experiences helped make Wendell Ford an instant friend 
and mentor to me when I arrived in the Senate. His extensive knowledge 
and public service experience has made him an invaluable asset to our 
caucus' leadership.
  And he has been quite a leader, now as Minority Whip, first as 
Chairman and then Ranking Member of the Rules Committee, and in prior 
years, the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
  Mr. President, Senator Ford has left a formidable legacy to the 
nation as a whole, in addition to his legendary status in Kentucky. He 
was the chief sponsor of the National Voter Registration Act, also 
known as the ``motor voter'' law.
  This law helps ensure that more of our citizens are officially 
registered to participate in our democracy. He was also instrumental in 
the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age 
Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1986, and many other 
landmark aviation and energy laws.
  The Senior Senator from Kentucky will be greatly missed here in the 
United States Senate. We will miss his leadership, his experience and 
also his great wit. But our personal loss will be the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky's gain.
  I wish him, his wife Jean, their children and grandchildren Godspeed 
as he returns to Owensboro.

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