[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S12455]]
                   RETIREMENT OF SENATOR DALE BUMPERS

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I have been honored to have the 
opportunity to hear Senator Bumpers share his perspective on public 
service and his personal odyssey. His story is the story of the South--
depression, hardship, tough economic times, small businesses, and the 
son of a shopkeeper. I, too, am the son of a storekeeper and can 
understand and identify the qualities that have shaped Senator Bumpers' 
life.
  I have had the opportunity to personally observe his service in this 
body for just 2 years, but in that short time I have been able to 
appreciate his many excellent qualities. He does indeed reflect the 
character of the people of Arkansas. He is part of that State; he comes 
from its people; and, he shares its values. As an attorney who has 
tried many cases, I have had the pleasure to see him work on the floor 
of the Senate. He is articulate, able, well prepared, logical, and 
persuasive. He states his case very effectively. I can just imagine him 
before a jury in Arkansas as he boils down complex issues to their 
essence and appeals to their sense of values. I can see just why people 
refer to him as an outstanding lawyer. Many denigrate that profession, 
and I have been a strong critic of some of the abuses of the legal 
profession, but the skills possessed by the Senator from Arkansas are 
those skills that make a lawyer most valuable. He cuts straight to the 
heart of the matter in words that are comprehensible by all.
  Again, I am pleased to have served with the distinguished senior 
Senator from Arkansas and I wish him well in his future service. He has 
conducted himself with high standards and has not done anything to 
bring discredit on this body. He has stood courageously, alone if 
necessary, for the values that he believed in. There is no doubt, I say 
to the children and grandchildren of the distinguished Senator from 
Arkansas, that your father and grandfather has been an able and noble 
practitioner in this great deliberative body of the greatest nation in 
the history of the world.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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