[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO FIVE SENATORS LEAVING THE SENATE: SENATORS DIRK KEMPTHORNE,
JOHN GLENN, DAN COATS, WENDELL FORD, AND DALE BUMPERS
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, five Senators will move on at the closing
of this session of the 105th Congress. And they are Senators that have,
with the exception of one, been here ever since I joined this body back
in 1989.
Dirk Kempthorne from Idaho was elected after I was. And now after one
term he has elected to go back to his home State of Idaho.
It seems like it becomes more and more difficult, as time goes by, to
attract men and women to public service, and especially to public
service when there are elections.
He brought a certain quality to this Senate. On his work on the
Environment and Public Works Committee, he was sensitive to the
environment and all the public infrastructure that we enjoy across this
country. It just seemed to fit, because he had come here after being
the mayor of Boise, ID. And his very first objective was to tackle this
business of unfunded mandates. He took that issue on and provided the
leadership, and finally we passed a law that unfunded mandates must be
adhered to whenever we tell local government, State government that it
is going to take some of your money to comply with the laws as passed
by the Federal Government.
He, like me, had come out of local government. He knew the stresses
and the pains of city councilmen and mayors and county commissioners
every time they struggle with their budget in order to provide the
services for their people, when it comes to schools and roads and
public safety--all the demands that we enjoy down to our neighborhoods.
We shall miss him in this body.
To my friend, John Glenn of Ohio, who has already made his mark in
history that shall live forever, he has left his tracks in this body.
And not many know--and maybe not even him--but I was a lowly corporal
in the U.S. Marine Corps when he was flying in the Marine Corps. So my
memory of John Glenn goes back more than 40 years to El Toro Marine
Corps Air Station in Santa Anna, CA.
As he goes into space again at the end of this month, we wish him
Godspeed. He gave this country pride as he lifted off and became the
first American to orbit the Earth. And he carried with him all of the
wishes of the American people.
To Dan Coats of Indiana, a classmate, we came to this body together
in 1989. Our routes were a little different, but yet almost the same--
he coming from the House of Representatives and me coming from local
government.
He is a living example of a person dedicated to public service. But
it never affected his solid core values. He has not changed one iota
since I first met him back in 1989.
The other principal is on the floor today. It is Wendell Ford of
Kentucky. I was fortunate to serve on two of the most fascinating and
hard-working committees in the U.S. Senate with Senator Ford: The
Commerce Committee and the Energy Committee. Those committees, folks,
touch every life in America every day.
We flip on our lights at home or in our businesses. We pick up the
telephone, listen to our radio, watch our televisions, move ourselves
from point A to point B, no matter what the mode --whether it is auto,
train or plane. Yes, all of the great scientific advances this country
has made, and research and the improvement of everyday life and, yes,
even our venture into space comes under the auspices of the Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee and the Energy Committee. Those
two committees play such a major role in the everyday workings of
America.
Wendell Ford was one great champion and one of the true principals in
formulating policies that we enjoy today. He played a major role in
each and every one of them.
Again, it was my good fortune to work with Senator Bumpers on two
committees: The Small Business Committee and the Energy Committee.
There is no one in this body that has been more true to his deeply held
beliefs than Senator Bumpers. Our views did not always mesh--and that
is true with Senator Ford. It was their wisdom and the way they dealt
with their fellow Senators that we worked our way through difficult
issues and hard times with a sense of humor. I always say if you come
from Arkansas you have to have a pretty good sense of humor. My roots
go back to Missouri; I know we had to develop humor very early.
Nonetheless, it was the integrity and the honesty that allowed us to
settle our differences, even though we were 180 degrees off plumb.
I think I have taken from them much more than I have given back to
them. This body has gained more than it can repay. This Nation is a
better Nation for all of them serving in the U.S. Senate.
In our country we don't say goodbye, we just say so long. But we say
so long to these Senators from our everyday activities on the floor of
the U.S. Senate. I am sure our trails will cross many times in the
future. Should they not, I will be the most disappointed of all.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
Mr. FORD. Mr. President, let me thank my distinguished friend from
Montana for his kind remarks. I understand Montana a little bit. My
mother's brother married a lady from Montana and she persuaded him to
move there. So I have been to Montana on many occasions and have
enjoyed the friendship, the rugged mountains, the pristine areas and
the big blue sky. I have enjoyed it very much--and the trout are not
bad when you catch them and have a shore dinner. I understand Montana
and I can understand why you love it. I can understand why anything we
might copy from you would make our State a little bit better.
I say to my friend from Montana, I thank him for his kind remarks. I
thank him for his friendship. I thank him for his ability to sit down
and talk things through where we might move forward and help the
country and talk about those things we couldn't agree upon at a later
date. I thank him for his friendship.
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