[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 36 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S2391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORRIS K. UDALL

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, yesterday this body paid tribute to one 
of the greatest men to serve in Congress in the twentieth century, 
Morris ``Mo'' Udall from Arizona. Yesterday, I was proud to sign the 
resolution honoring him, and I would like to pay tribute to him now.
  Mo Udall was a giant. For thirty years, he straddled politics in 
Arizona and America. He was a statesman as well as a legislator, and an 
intellectual as well as a politician. Although Mo believed passionately 
in many causes and was a Democrat through and through, his wit and 
warmth helped him forge many productive, bipartisan relationships with 
his colleagues across the aisle. Mo's intelligence, commitment, and 
personal touch helped him create a legislative legacy that still shines 
bright today, almost forty years since he entered the House of 
Representatives.
  As everyone who follows public affairs knows, Mo Udall hailed from a 
family with a rich tradition in politics and public service. His 
ancestors were pioneers who helped transform the Arizona Territory into 
a great state. Mo entered Congress after winning a special election in 
1961 to replace his brother, Stewart, whom President Kennedy had tapped 
to head the Department of the Interior.
  Today, the Udall name continues to resonate in Congress. Mo's son, 
Mark, and his nephew, Tom, both were elected to the House in 1998. I 
know they will carry on the great tradition of public service and 
Congressional achievement set by their fathers.
  Mo was such a modest and easy-going man that one sometimes overlooks 
the enormity of his legislative record. After rising to the 
chairmanship of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, a 
position he held until his retirement in 1991, Mo wrote much of the 
nation's most important environmental legislation. He pushed through 
important regulations concerning land, water, mineral, and timber use. 
Mo also helped reform America's postal system and our campaign finance 
laws, and he was instrumental in reforming the seniority system in 
Congress.
  In addition to being a great legislator, Mo Udall was a great man. He 
bridged divisions and always sought to bring people together to work 
for the good of the country.
  Like many of my colleagues, I believe Mo's wit and self-deprecating 
manner were largely responsible for his successes. Perhaps the best way 
to illustrate his humor is to relate a joke he loved to tell about one 
of his campaign visits to New Hampshire during his 1996 Presidential 
race. At one stop, Mo approached a group of men to tell them he was 
running for President, only to be told, ``Yes, we were just laughing 
about that.''
  Mr. President, if ever a public servant deserved to be taken 
seriously, it was Mo Udall. It is a sign of his stature as a man that 
despite his many accomplishments, he never took himself too seriously.
  Today I am honored to pay my respects to my friend Mo Udall, whose 
legacy of public service and bipartisan achievement will be remembered 
for many lifetimes.

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