[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 105 (Thursday, July 22, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8980-S8982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO JOHN F. KENNEDY, JR., CAROLYN BESSETTE KENNEDY, AND LAUREN 
                                BESSETTE

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise with great sadness today to pay 
tribute to the lives of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife Carolyn, and her 
sister, Lauren Bessette. My thoughts and prayers are with these 
families, for at this very moment, as we know, they are at sea to bring 
these wonderful, outstanding young Americans to a final rest.
  We in the Senate, of course, feel very close to this tragedy because 
of our affection for our own colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy. We in 
Maryland feel very close to this family because we are the home to 
Eunice and Sarge Shriver, to Mark Shriver, who has taken his place in 
the House of Delegates, and our own Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, 
who lost a brother just a few months ago. As the eldest of

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the Kennedy cousins, she has endured much. She is living a life of 
service that certainly would make her father as proud as those of us in 
Maryland.
  The entire Kennedy family has suffered so much. They have also given 
so much. It is a family of war heroes, Senators, Congressmen, and a 
President of the United States. They are also defenders of the poor, 
environmentalists, educators, and artists. They fight to give every 
American an opportunity to build better lives for themselves and to 
build stronger communities.
  Many of us in this Senate were inspired to lives of public service 
because of John F. Kennedy. As a young social worker, I thought he was 
talking to me when he called our generation to service. When he said, 
``Ask not what your country can do for you--but what you can do for 
your country,'' I believed it. I wanted to do something. That is why I 
committed myself even more forcefully to my own career in social work.
  He practiced passionate, active idealism that was different from 
anything we had seen before in politics. That is why we hoped his son 
would continue that legacy. In many ways he had already begun to do 
that.
  John Kennedy, Jr., could have lived the life of the idle rich, but he 
did not. He worked several years as a D.A. in New York, and recently he 
created a magazine to bring young people into politics who were 
indifferent to it. He endured intense press interest with grace and 
good humor. It seemed as if he understood his family was a part of the 
lives of all Americans.
  While we all know the Kennedys, we cannot forget the Bessette family. 
They are suffering unimaginable pain with the death of two of their 
daughters. Carolyn Bessette Kennedy also lived in the spotlight. She, 
too, handled the attention with grace and charm. She had the same 
passion for life as her husband. Her sister Lauren was also making her 
own career in investment banking.
  Wherever we turn, the Kennedys have touched America. We have been 
there for their hopes, their dreams, and their good days. We want our 
dear friend, Senator Kennedy, the entire Kennedy family, and the 
Bessettes to know they are not alone today. We mourn with them, and we 
thank them for their contributions to America and for their own call to 
duty and to public service.
  God bless them and God bless America that we have in our midst a 
great legacy.
  I thank the Chair.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
expressing grief over the passing of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife 
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and Lauren Bessette; as well as extending 
condolences to the Kennedy and Bessette families over their losses.
  It is difficult to express the sense of tragedy and loss that all of 
us feel over the passing of these three young, dynamic, and charismatic 
individuals. Clearly, John F. Kennedy, Jr. captured the hearts and 
imagination of millions of Americans, and his untimely and violent end 
has saddened all those who felt some sort of connection to this 
promising and handsome young man. Certainly the tremendous outpouring 
of sympathetic gestures we are witnessing in Massachusetts, New York, 
and here in Washington stand as testament to the high regard in which 
he was held.
  To be frank, I did not know John F. Kennedy, Jr. all that well, 
though I have certainly been well acquainted with his family through 
the years. Here in the United States Senate, I have had the distinct 
pleasure and honor of serving with his father and both his uncles; and 
in years past, I worked closely with Representative Joe Kennedy on an 
issue of great mutual concern. Clearly this is a family that values 
public service and has sought to make a contribution to the nation 
through policy, politics, and activism. The passion and intensity which 
the Kennedys--particularly John, Bobby, and Ted--brought to Washington 
and directed toward their policy goals are commendable and enviable. 
Few people have approached their careers in government with the same 
vigor and enthusiasm than have the members of the Kennedy family.
  Though John F. Kennedy, Jr. had not entered politics, he was someone 
who shared his family's desire to make a difference. He was involved in 
any number of philanthropic and charitable undertakings, and typical of 
a family that seeks to help others, he was personally involved in these 
endeavors. His reputation was of a sincere, kind, and high minded man. 
There is little doubt that had John F. Kennedy, Jr. decided to follow 
the path that his father, uncle, and cousins had taken and sought 
elected office, he would have had a bright political future and would 
have made an even greater mark on society and history.
  There is great sadness in the fact that this tragedy not only snuffed 
out the promising light of John F. Kennedy, Jr., but took the lives of 
his wife and sister-in-law as well. It is impossible to comprehend how 
fate could be so cruel to these families, for these young individuals 
deserved to enjoy long and rich lives. Certainly, this tragedy is only 
intensified for the Bessettes who lost two daughters suddenly and 
unexpectedly, and it is impossible for any of us to truly know the 
grief they are feeling. Hopefully with time, they will come to some 
sort of peace and understanding with this inexplicable event.
  Earlier today, the ashes of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, and 
sister-in-law were committed to the sea and a sad chapter of American 
history is drawn to a close. To our friend and colleague, Senator Ted 
Kennedy, we extend our deepest condolences on the loss of your nephew 
and we commend you on your stoicism in exercising your responsibilities 
as the patriarch of your family. This was an unenviable task, yet one 
you carried out with dignity, strength, and reserve.
  Coming to terms with death is never an easy or pleasant task, but I 
have always found that it is best to remember a person for the things 
he or she did during their life, keep that person in your heart and 
mind, and to try and honor their memory in your actions. If people 
follow this course with John F. Kennedy, Jr., I think that they will 
remember a man who tried to make a difference with his life, and 
hopefully they will be inspired to emulate his commitment to public 
service.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, for several days, we have waited anxiously 
for evidence of news I did not want to believe. I did not want to 
believe that tragedy could come again to the Kennedy family. I did not 
want to believe that the Bessette family could lose two beautiful 
daughters in one tragic accident. But as of yesterday afternoon, I was 
confronted with reality. I am profoundly saddened by the tragic death 
of John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and her 
sister, Lauren.
  My relationship with President Kennedy goes back almost 40 years. In 
1960, I formed the first Young Democrats organization at Utah State 
University and worked hard as a young college student for the election 
of President John F. Kennedy. On the wall in my Senate office, I have a 
letter from Senator Kennedy written a few weeks written a few weeks 
before his inauguration as President in 1961. That letter is a 
thoughtful and considerate note thanking me for my efforts as a campus 
organizer.
  As a young law student in Washington, I worked at night as a Capitol 
Police Officer. On more than one occasion, I remember President 
Kennedy's visit to the Capitol. In fact, in my capacity as a police 
officer, I walked past President Kennedy's casket while it laid in 
state in the Capitol Rotunda.
  For three generations, the Kennedy family has contributed much to the 
political and cultural life of our Nation. Three members of the Kennedy 
family have served the Nation as U.S. Senators, and other members have 
served in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Ambassadorial Corp and 
other important positions of state. They also serve as leaders, in 
business and in the world of cultural affairs.
  Historians will one day write that the Kennedy family is the most 
remarkable family in our Nation's history. They have endured tragedy 
after tragedy. But despite adversity, this family has persevered and 
found the will and strength to make our nation a better place. Since 
the presidency of John F. Kennedy, the Kennedy family has become part 
of the American family. For us in government, the Kennedy family is 
synonymous with the finest in American politics. They inspire us to 
dream; they teach use to enjoy life; they make us feel noble.

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  John F. Kennedy, Jr. had large shoes to fill as the son of a great 
President and a beautiful, elegant and strong mother. While John F. 
Kennedy, Jr. was born into the privilege and the fame of his family, he 
handled it better than anyone I know. His dignity, his sense of style, 
his connection to ordinary people was unsurpassed.
  Finally, I admire the strength and courage of my friend and 
colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Kennedy is the patriarch of 
this great family. He has served the Nation and the people of 
Massachusetts with distinction in the U.S. Senate for almost four 
decades and the people of Massachusetts have repeatedly shown their 
gratitude for his service. Senator Kennedy has given much to this 
country and yet he has never forgotten the legacy of his distinguished 
family. To Senator Kennedy, to the entire Kennedy family, and to the 
Bessette family, I extend my condolences.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, our State of New York has lost three of 
its finest citizens. I want to add my voice to the condolences to John 
Kennedy's sister Caroline, to his entire family, and to his wife's 
family, as well, for their double loss. Anyone who knew these three 
people knew they were the finest of New Yorkers and the finest of 
Americans. They were decent people; they were concerned people; they 
were people who cared about average folks.
  As was noted, John, in particular, would never go by somebody and 
make them feel they were less significant than he was, despite his 
enormous wealth, attractiveness, good looks, his grace, and everything 
else about him. He and his wife were a man and woman of grace. I am 
told that her sister was as well, although I did not know her.
  So we in New York particularly mourn our loss. John had become a real 
New Yorker, and the Bessette girls always were. There is nothing we can 
do but pray that they have met their final reward, and that the wounds 
that are so deep in their families, with God's help, heal quickly.

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