[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 146 (Monday, October 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13074-S13082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF SENATOR JOHN CHAFEE

  Mr. ROTH. Madam President, today is a sad day for America; today is a 
sad day for the Senate, for Rhode Island, but especially for John 
Chafee's family.
  Senator Chafee was, indeed, a remarkable man and a good friend. Our 
thoughts and prayers are with his family--his wife Ginny and five 
children--as they pass through this most difficult time.
  I believe it can be said without hesitation that few individuals have 
served America with the distinction that John Chafee exhibited in his 
many years of public service. From his active duty in the Marine 
Corps--where he saw action in both the Second World War and Korea--to 
his early years as a member of the Rhode Island House of 
Representatives, to his years as Governor and his work as Secretary of 
the Navy, to, of course, his 23 years of service in the Senate, John's 
patriotism was beyond philosophical; it was pragmatic and it was 
concrete.
  He had a keen sense of duty--a profound sense of responsibility. As a 
Senator, he knew his constituents, and he served them with such 
devotion that he was elected in 1976 and returned to Washington four 
times, despite the fact that he was a Republican in an overwhelmingly 
Democratic State. Much of his effectiveness was in his ability to find 
bipartisan cooperation, and to stand fast on issues that were important 
to the individuals and families he represented. Among these issues was 
a deep concern for the environment and for quality and affordable 
health care.
  He was a tireless advocate of the underprivileged and a strong 
proponent of American leadership and economic opportunity. I understand 
how important these issues were to John--not only because we served for 
so many years as colleagues and friends on the Senate Finance 
Committee--but because, like John, I represent a small coastal State in 
the Northeast, much like you, Madam President. Many of the issues and 
concerns we faced were the same. In fact, one of the truly great honors 
I have received as a Senator is to be given the Ansel Adams Award by 
the Wilderness Society. It is the highest award that prestigious 
organization gives out, and there are only two Republican Senators who 
have ever received it. And I must say that it was awarded to John 
first--2 or 3 years before me.
  Madam President, along with you and all our colleagues, I am saddened 
by his death. But I am grateful for the time we spent together; I am 
grateful for his leadership and example; and I am grateful for his 
supportive family. Along with all my colleagues, I express my 
condolences to them as well as my most profound gratitude for sharing 
Senator Chafee with America.
  Madam 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. NICKLES. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. NICKLES. Madam President, I, like countless Americans, am very 
saddened over the news that John Chafee is no longer with us. The news 
of his death was a shock to me. I was with Senator Chafee just last 
week. I teased Senator Chafee about the fact that he was using a 
wheelchair, and I was accusing him of doing wheelies and racing down 
the aisles. He spent at least an hour with many of us in the Finance 
Committee discussing a number of issues, including health care, which 
was one of the issues in which he was most interested and of which he 
was a real champion for all Americans. This is a loss for so many, 
because of his great service to this country.
  John Chafee spent 23 years in the Senate. He was concluding his 
fourth term as a U.S. Senator. He had a very exceptional Senate career 
that encompassed many areas. He was a leader in education, health care, 
the Environment and Public Works Committee, of which he was chairman, 
dealing with issues such as clean air and clean water, and 
reauthorization of many very vital programs.
  His service was not only limited to the Senate, however. In addition 
to his 23 years in the Senate, he served 6 years as Governor of Rhode 
Island. He also had about 7 years as a marine. He fought in both World 
War II and in the Korean war. He fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
  I remember when I was on a trip speaking with leaders in Korea, and I 
wanted to learn more about the Korean war. They suggested I read a 
book. I believe the name of the book was ``This Kind of War.'' It is a 
very thick book. I read it with great interest, and I read about Capt. 
John Chafee, who was a hero during the Korean war. That was something 
he never mentioned. If you wanted to find out he was a hero, you had to 
talk to somebody else.
  If you go all the way back to his service as a marine officer in 
World War II and the Korean war, his service in Rhode Island in the 
State legislature and as Governor, and his 23 years in the Senate, it 
has been a record of exemplary service. I think it is a total of 44 
years of public service, not counting his 7 or 8 years as a marine. In 
over 50 years of public service, John Chafee has dedicated his life to 
serving his State and his Nation. What great service, what great 
sacrifice he has made for our country.
  I also was pleased to get to know him fairly personally. John and his 
wife Ginny were married 49 years. What a wonderful, beautiful example. 
I knew him also as a wrestler. He was inducted into the National 
Wrestling Hall of Fame, which is quite an honor. Not many people know 
that he was captain of the Yale wrestling team and undefeated in his 
wrestling career prior to the war. That is pretty special; that is not 
an easy accomplishment. It shows that he had a certain amount of 
toughness and will.
  He was always willing to compromise and always willing to negotiate, 
but he was tough, he was sincere, he was energetic, he was a tireless 
campaigner and a tireless worker. He was a very dedicated individual.
  John Chafee is going to be missed in the Senate. His State will 
surely miss him to. They have so much for which to be grateful, to have 
had him as their leader, one of the real valued leaders, both as 
Governor and Senator, as a captain in the Marines, and as a fantastic 
colleague, devoted husband for 49 years, father of John, Jr., Lincoln, 
Zechariah, Quentin, and his daughter Georgia--five wonderful kids who, 
I know, are very proud of their father.
  I know John was very proud of his children. I was with Senator Chafee 
and his son ``Linc'' last week at a campaign event. You could sense, 
when Senator Chafee was introducing his son, the love and the bond they 
had between them. It was a wonderful thing to behold.
  I have a special comment about Senator Chafee and his wife Ginny. I 
have had the pleasure of knowing them for my 19 years in the Senate. I 
have been in their home--a wonderful, beautiful, loving couple. I just 
want Ginny to know that our thoughts are with her and with her 
children. We want them to know we share their loss and they are very 
much in our thoughts and our prayers. I want them to know what a great 
honor it has been for me personally, and I think for all Senators, to 
have the privilege and pleasure of serving with John Chafee in the 
Senate. He will be missed in Rhode Island, and he will be missed 
throughout the country.

  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, in this era of partisanship, harsh sound 
bites and bitter politics, John Chafee wanted to have none of that. He 
was, in my view, the gold standard as far as public service is 
concerned. He wasn't full of himself, always humble and low key, always 
bipartisan.
  I especially admired that he was always standing up for people 
without power and without clout. I think of all the times over the 
years I had a chance to serve with him--close to 20 years--

[[Page S13075]]

that John Chafee stood up for children, stood up for the disabled, 
stood up for folks who are always falling between the cracks in the 
health care system, people who never had a voice.
  Reflecting on his background--a family of means, Ivy League 
education--one would not think a person with those roots would be there 
for the kind of causes and the kind of people John Chafee was for again 
and again during these years in public service.
  His contributions are going to be documented in many areas but 
especially in the areas of health care and the environment. We all 
ought to take some time and reflect on what John Chafee contributed to 
our country. His fingerprints are on every hallmark piece of 
environmental legislation, going through two decades, in terms of clean 
air and clean water.
  John Chafee, in his low-key, dignified way, always made it clear we 
should push to do better. In debates where various interest groups 
said, it isn't possible, Mr. Chairman, to get as far as you would like; 
we can't do it without wrecking the economy, John Chafee would always 
point out time and time again when we pushed ourselves we could make 
these huge strides in terms of cleaning up the environment.

  One of the measures of an individual and an individual's work on 
Capitol Hill is what his staff thinks of him. I don't know of any staff 
on either the House or the Senate side who stayed with a Member of 
Congress longer than John Chafee. Those were the most loyal people in 
Washington. It was because they were working for an individual who they 
knew was in public service for only honorable reasons.
  I hope in the days ahead we think about what John Chafee contributed, 
think about his approach to solving problems, always trying to find the 
common ground, always trying to bring people together in a bipartisan 
way for the kind of government people have a right to expect in the 
21st century. That is the kind of government Americans believe will 
help solve the intractable challenges of the day.
  I hope when the rhetoric next gets a bit shrill in this body--it 
happens from time to time--we remember that great Senator who sat just 
a few feet from the dividing line between Democrats and Republicans in 
this Chamber, and that all Members remember John Chafee's contributions 
which were so extraordinary in areas including health and the 
environment but were especially significant because of the way he 
brought Members together.
  Personally, I was involved in half a dozen conferences where tempers 
got short and late at night everybody was ready to throw in the towel 
and wrap it up for the day. John Chafee would have put in longer hours 
than anybody and he would keep people at it, trying to almost breed 
that kind of good will and bipartisanship that were his trademark.
  This is a sad day for our country. It is a sad day for the Senate. I 
hope all Members remember that very special John Chafee style in the 
days ahead. That will be the Senate at its very best.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, I listened to the comments by my 
colleague from Oregon, Senator Wyden, and he expresses, as do all 
Members of the Senate, our profound sadness over the death of our 
friend and our colleague, Senator John Chafee from Rhode Island.
  Senator Chafee was one of a kind. The 100 Members of the Senate, men 
and women who come from across the country, work hard and fight hard 
and get involved in a lot of public debate about some very 
controversial issues. We all have very different styles and different 
ways of approaching all of these issues, and John's was unique.
  Senator Chafee was in the Senate for a long while. He had 
achievements that will last forever. He was quite a remarkable Senator. 
He was, as the Senator from Oregon indicated, about as bipartisan a 
Senator as there was in this Chamber. He cared about results. He cared 
deeply about a wide range of public policy, including children, the 
environment, and so many other areas.
  I used to visit with John a lot about his grandchildren. John 
Chafee's grandchildren played soccer with my children. The way to bring 
a gleam to Senator Chafee's eye was to go over to the area of the 
Chamber where he sat and talk about his granddaughter Tribbe and her 
soccer exploits. He so dearly loved those grandchildren and was so 
proud of them.
  Senator Chafee was a war hero. He was a graduate of Yale University 
and Harvard Law School. Most important, he served this country in a 
very distinguished way. As proud as I have been to be able to serve in 
the Senate, one of the extraordinary opportunities to serve here is to 
be able to work with people such as the late Senator John Chafee. I add 
my voice to those of so many other colleagues who come here today to 
say the Senate has lost truly a great Senator. I know all of us grieve 
with his family and loved ones and so many Americans across this 
country today.
  Senator Chafee worked right through last week. Towards the end of 
last week, I asked Senator Chafee how he was feeling because he 
obviously was experiencing some difficult health challenges. But as was 
always the case, last week when I asked him how he was feeling he said, 
``Oh, fine,'' because he was not someone ever to complain. They say 
hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their 
sleeves, some turn up their nose, and some don't turn up at all.
  When people think of Senator John Chafee, they will always remember a 
unique Senator who always turned up his sleeves and said let's get to 
work together. The result of that is a legacy of accomplishment in the 
Senate in so many areas: The children's health insurance grant program; 
the CARE Independence Act; extending Medicare coverage to poor women, 
children, and disabled individuals; LIHEAP--so many areas. As the 
chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, he was probably 
the leading voice in this country in crafting the Clean Air Act of 1990 
which strengthened the pollution emission standards; the Safe Drinking 
Water Act--so many different areas of accomplishment.
  But most of us in the Senate who had the privilege of working with 
him will not remember him so much for his accomplishments as we will 
his capacity as a human being. He was a colleague and friend. We will 
miss him dearly. I join with my colleagues today to say that. His 
daughter Georgia and son-in-law John have been dear friends for many 
years. I talked to his daughter today. She indicated, again, how proud 
she was of her father and how strongly she feels about the expression 
of sentiment today from Members of the Senate about her father and her 
father's work. We will all miss him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska is recognized.
  Mr. STEVENS. Madam President, it is with great sadness that I come to 
the floor today to speak about John Chafee. I first met Senator Chafee 
standing in line to register for Harvard Law School in 1947. We had 
both returned from World War II and completed college and were freshmen 
in law school that year.
  When you met John Chafee in those days, you knew you were meeting a 
man. He was really an extraordinary man, very capable physically and 
mentally. I remember kidding him a little bit that he was going to have 
a tough time in one of our first classes because his uncle was the 
professor. His uncle, Zechariah Chafee, was one of the great professors 
of Harvard Law School in those days.
  But John Chafee finished law school, and then he went back to war. He 
went to Korea. He really never gave up his commitment as a patriot to 
this country because he then became the Secretary of the Navy under 
President Nixon. I think he served with great distinction here as one 
who had knowledge of what it means to have been in a war and was trying 
to assure peace.
  He served with great distinction, as others have mentioned here 
today, on various committees of the Senate. It was not my privilege 
ever to serve with John on one of the committees in the Senate; our 
paths were different. As a matter of fact, at times we disagreed. But I 
was chairman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee the year he 
got elected.
  He had a very distinguished record as Governor of Rhode Island, and 
he came to us with a unique approach, really, of

[[Page S13076]]

a very straight thinking man. He was not bound by partisan politics. He 
had a Republican philosophy, but he had a commitment to this country 
that was very deep and one from which I never saw him waiver. I never 
saw him waiver from something in which he believed. He really didn't 
care if he was the only person voting the way he decided was the best 
to vote for his constituents and his country.
  I sat here last week and talked to him. He was, as we all know, then 
in a wheelchair. I was very surprised to see John in a wheelchair, for 
just 2 weeks ago today we had gathered together here, after the Senate 
recessed, a group of some 60 of our Harvard classmates, to be with John 
after he had made his decision not to run for reelection next year. It 
was sort of a preretirement party, you might say, with the people he 
had known and still knew very well from throughout the country. It was 
a great tribute to John, again as a man, because our colleagues came 
from the west coast, Florida, all over the country, to be with him and 
Ginny at his first retirement party. Sadly, it was his last because by 
Friday, when I saw him on the subway, he was again in his wheelchair 
and was quite despondent about his health at the time. It was sad to 
see him in that condition, knowing what a vigorous man he was and a 
great friend.
  The Senate has been much better off for having John Chafee for so 
many years because he brought us such an extremely broad scope of 
opinion from his own experience in life. He was a graduate of Yale, and 
then he went to Harvard Law School. That didn't happen much in those 
days, but he decided he would pursue education where his family had a 
presence. I think his work in the Senate has been extremely significant 
because of his background in law and his background as a marine. I know 
those who served with him when he was Secretary of the Navy swore by 
him as one of the best.
  It is sad to see the passing of another one from my generation. When 
I came here, I think 70 percent of the Senate had served in World War 
II. I don't know if I am counting right, but I think we are down to 
about 7 now--about 7 percent. We see in his passing, really, the 
beginning of the end of an era, of the generation that fought the last 
great world war. One of these days, I am going to have to write that 
book of the story that was written by our generation. I have not done 
that. But if there was any person who ever served in this body who was 
a great, shining example of that generation, it was John Chafee.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi is recognized.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, this is a sad day for the Senate. I 
know a number of Senators have spoken in memory of Senator Chafee. I 
must add I really feel a sincere sense of loss today, and I know the 
Senate feels that collectively because we truly have lost one of our 
finest Members.
  John Chafee was a person who was not afraid to say what he thought 
about any issue that would come before the Senate. He had, to use the 
cliche, the courage of his convictions. He had the courage to stand up 
and say what he thought should be said on any issue, without regard for 
how it would affect the way he would be viewed by Members of the Senate 
or by the general public, but simply he felt compelled to say what he 
thought because he thought it was right and should be said and that was 
why he was here: to express his views, to try to be an influence in the 
process, to try to shape policies and legislation in a way he thought 
would be helpful and for the good of the country.
  I admired him considerably and respected him enormously. He was a 
person of unquestioned character and integrity in every sense you can 
say those words. He was someone we could all look up to because of 
those traits, and we will miss him very, very much.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, there is a great sadness hanging over 
the Senate today. I come to the floor to share in our personal thoughts 
and recollections of a wonderful man. We have all lost a dear friend. 
John Chafee was an extraordinary man, someone respected and loved and 
admired on both sides of the aisle. I think all of us are stunned and 
deeply saddened by this loss.
  John Chafee was one of the most reasonable and, increasingly, one of 
the most respected and important voices in the Senate. The fact that 
his voice has been silenced is a loss not only to the people of Rhode 
Island but to the people of our country.
  He was a public servant in the fullest and finest sense. He was a 
soldier, a State representative, a Governor, a Secretary of the Navy, 
and a Senator.
  There aren't many people who have served or who are serving who 
dedicated themselves more to public life and to public service and did 
so with such integrity, such conviction, as did John Chafee. Few will 
leave a more significant legacy.
  It has been noted on the floor that John was an accomplished wrestler 
in high school. Whatever talents he had physically, intellectually John 
continued to wrestle with ideas throughout his life. Ideas mattered to 
John Chafee. He didn't care whether they were liberal or conservative 
ideas, Republican or Democratic ideas. He didn't care whether they were 
his ideas or someone else's. John Chafee loved ideas and wrestled with 
them daily.
  There was certainly nothing doctrinaire about him. He was a man of 
deep political conviction and unusual political courage. It seems 
fitting that the last desk he occupied on the Senate floor was once 
used by another independent and equally principled voice: Senator 
Margaret Chase Smith.
  His achievements in education, in the environment, on health care, on 
maritime issues, and for the people of Rhode Island will live on long 
after those of us who served with him are gone. As ranking member and 
as chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, no 
one was more instrumental in passage of the major environmental 
legislation of the latter part of this century than was John Chafee.
  The clean air and water laws, the efforts he made on the construction 
of important public projects throughout America, were his ideas. They 
were his accomplishments. But it seems to me that of all of the bridges 
John Chafee helped build, it wasn't a bridge across a river as much as 
it was the bridge that spanned political divisions that represents his 
greatest achievement.
  John Chafee knew how to build bridges. He built them here every day 
when he came to work. They spanned the divisions based on race and 
gender and ethnicity and income and generation and every other sort of 
arbitrary decision we all too often tend to make.
  The blue-blooded son of a Rhode Island family, he was a man of 
uncommon gift and privilege. Yet he had such a common touch. He 
believed in the concept of noblesse oblige. He believed that to those 
to whom much is given, much is expected. And he kept that faith, that 
dictum.
  In an interview with the New York Times in June of 1995, John Chafee 
worried aloud about the possible effects of the cuts of Medicaid then 
being proposed. He said: There are not many lobbyists around here for 
poor children or poor women. Today, sadly, there is one less lobbyist 
in the Senate for poor women and children, one less leader, one less 
friend, one less advocate, one less giant.
  It is right that we offer praise and admiration for John Chafee 
today. He more than earned it. But it seems to me the best tribute we 
can offer our friend is to try to fill the considerable void he leaves 
now, to try, as he did, to build bridges instead of walls, to try a 
little harder to respect each other's opinions and see things from each 
other's perspective, to speak for the people and principles he 
championed so eloquently for more than 40 years as a public servant 
from the State of Rhode Island.
  John Chafee deserves at least that much from us. He was an 
extraordinary man. He was an extraordinary inspiration. Each of us can 
be proud to say we knew him and could call him our friend.
  Our hearts and our prayers go out to Virginia and to all the Chafee 
children and grandchildren.
  I yield the floor.

[[Page S13077]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska is recognized.
  Mr. HAGEL. I thank the Chair.
  I wish to follow behind the distinguished minority leader, Senator 
Daschle, in his remarks about a great loss for the Senate and for our 
country; that is, the loss of the senior Senator from Rhode Island, 
John Chafee. We have all lost a friend. We have lost a man of immense 
dignity, a man of immense courage.
  I have had the privilege of serving in this body for almost 3 years. 
One of the individuals with whom I became acquainted early was Senator 
Chafee. As our friendship developed, he and I would talk about his 
service in World War II in the South Pacific, where it happens that my 
father served at the same time, same places, Guadalcanal, Philippines, 
Solomon Islands, Australia. My father served in the Army Air Force; 
John Chafee served as a marine. Chafee never penalized my father for 
less service, being in the Army Air Force. If my father were alive 
today, he would be very proud of the friendship I established with John 
Chafee. In fact, my father died when I was 16 years old. My father was 
just a day younger than John Chafee.
  We don't often have an opportunity to get to know our colleagues in 
intimate ways, in ways that show the younger Senators what has 
developed this amazing Senator, a Senator's Senator, but as you spend 
time with your colleagues, you appreciate how they were molded, how 
they were shaped, and why they had, in the case of John Chafee, such an 
immense capacity to serve--as has been noted this afternoon, the 
illustrious career of this magnificent individual.
  Let me share for a moment a couple of personal stories. When Senator 
Chafee and I were in Kyoto, Japan, in December of 1997, we were on the 
opposite sides of that issue. He used to say to me: Hagel, you're a 
bright boy. One of these days you will understand what I am trying to 
teach you about the environment.
  So after 4 days at Kyoto, I said to Senator Chafee: Why don't I take 
you to China. Senator Chafee had been to China a number of times, as I 
had been. So we went to China for 5 days, and I took him deep inside 
China where he had never been. We spent some time at fertilizer plants. 
On one occasion we were out in the field with a farmer in China, and he 
took a picture of me. Then he had a picture taken of both of us around 
a two-wheeled garden tiller. He had that picture framed when we came 
back to the United States, and he inscribed it and sent it to my 
office. It still hangs in my conference room. It says: To my friend, 
Chuck Hagel, just another typical day out on the Nebraska prairie with 
a Nebraska tractor. Signed, your friend, John Chafee.
  I am very proud of that picture, which will hang, as long as I am in 
the Senate, in my conference room. And whenever I leave this great 
institution, I will take that photo with me. I think he was always a 
little amazed that I was able to get us in to see the Premier of China 
during that trip. He asked me that night, after we were having dinner, 
how I did that. I said I used his name. He was quite astonished that 
his name would have that much appeal to the Chinese but actually the 
Chinese knew all about Senator Chafee.
  It is rare that an individual leaves an institution so much better 
than he found it, as John Chafee leaves the Senate; it is rare that an 
individual leaves the world so much better than he found it, as did 
John Chafee. We shall miss him for his counsel, his wit, his 
friendship, but we will probably miss him most because he always 
elevated the debate. He did it with eloquence, elegance, and dignity.

  As an old army sergeant, I sign off to a Secretary of the Navy, and I 
do so with great pride and great humility, knowing that we are all 
better off because John Chafee touched us. We salute you, Secretary 
Chafee.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota, Mr. Wellstone, is 
recognized.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Madam President, I found out this morning, as many 
other Senators, that Senator Chafee passed away. I see the beautiful 
flowers on his desk. I have been in the Senate now for 9 years, and 
while I did not know Senator Chafee as well as some Senators here, I 
admired him. I think he was tough in debate. He had positions that he 
took on issues, but he was substantive. In a way, I think he was a 
model of what we are about because he was interested in the debate on 
the issues. He was always a civil, warm, good person.
  Sheila and I were talking to support staff today and they were saying 
what a nice man Senator Chafee was. That is what they said, that he was 
such a nice man. I think Senator John Chafee was a kind, decent, caring 
human being. He was a great Senator with a highly developed sense of 
public service for Rhode Island and for the country. I know we are 
going to miss him and the country is going to miss him. I want to 
extend my love, as a Senator from Minnesota, to Senator Chafee's family 
and to the people of Rhode Island.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina, Mr. Thurmond, 
is recognized.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I am deeply saddened to have to note the 
unexpected passing of our friend and colleague, Senator John Chafee of 
Rhode Island.
  I doubt that anyone expected that this week would begin by learning 
that Senator Chafee had been felled by a heart attack last evening. He 
was a man of relatively young age, great vigor and vitality. He was in 
his last year of a distinguished Senate career of almost twenty-five 
years, and I know he was looking forward to returning to Rhode Island 
to enjoy life with family and friends in what is a beautiful, coastal 
state.
  Senator Chafee was a proud New Englander, and he exhibited many of 
the fabled characteristics of those who live in the northeastern region 
of our nation. He was a thoughtful man, as was demonstrated by both his 
consideration for others, as well as the careful examination he would 
give to the issues put before him. John Chafee marched in lockstep with 
no one, he was guided by his principles and beliefs and by a firm 
conviction of what was right and wrong.
  Though most of us knew John Chafee from his tenure in the United 
States Senate, he was already a committed public servant long before he 
was elected to this chamber in 1976. As a United States Marine, he 
risked his life in two conflicts, World War II and Korea, and like so 
many of his generation, John sought to make a difference through public 
service. He held office as a member of the Rhode Island House of 
Representatives, as Governor of Rhode Island, and as Secretary of the 
Navy under President Richard M. Nixon. Unquestionably, the experience 
he gained throughout his career was most beneficial to him as a United 
States Senator, for he always demonstrated a mastery and depth of 
issues that was almost unparalleled. Furthermore, John was a gentleman, 
and no matter how heated the debate, one could always count on him to 
weigh-in with what was a considered opinion; and, more often than not, 
was one that reflected that famous common sense approach for which New 
Englanders are renown.
  Through his work, Senator Chafee leaves an impressive legacy of 
legislation, and his contributions to this body and the United States 
will not soon be forgotten. For his wife Virginia, daughter Georgia, 
and sons John, Jr., Lincoln, Quentin, and Zechariah, he leaves an even 
more important and valuable legacy, that of a loving and devoted 
husband and father. We mourn for the loss the Chafees suffered, we 
mourn for the loss of our colleague, we mourn for the loss of a good 
friend and a good man.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, is 
recognized.
  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, 30 years ago this fall, I met John 
Chafee. President Nixon had just been elected and he had appointed 
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. I aspired to be the Secretary of the 
Navy. Laird called me to his office and he said, ``I want you to meet a 
very special person.'' Now, mind you, I had been closely associated 
with then-Vice President Nixon and worked on his campaign. Senator 
Chafee had been very closely associated to Governor Nelson Rockefeller. 
There was a little bit of a difference between Vice President Nixon and 
Nelson Rockefeller. I felt that I should be the Secretary of the Navy 
because Chafee

[[Page S13078]]

hadn't been quite the supporter that I had been for these many years. 
But Laird said to me, ``I am going to introduce you to a man that you 
will respect, work for, and end up loving.'' I will never forget that. 
And so late in November, the two of us were informed, and he became 
Secretary of the Navy and I became his Under Secretary.
  We served under Melvin Laird for 3 years of the most difficult period 
of the war in Vietnam. Unlike myself, with very modest military service 
in the closing days of World War II and again in Korea, John Chafee had 
been a rifleman at Guadalcanal. Those of us who had been privileged to 
wear marine green in the generation of the World War II era we knew 
full well that those who had served on the canal had seen the roughest 
of the fighting. It was referred to as the ``old breed.'' Those who 
came in later years were never quite the same as the old breed.
  In the many years that I had been with John Chafee, very closely 
associated, I never was able to get out of him all the facts--to this 
day--about his service in Guadalcanal. One day just a few weeks ago, we 
were walking down the hall. I can't remember exactly the occasion, but 
we saw a Marine general who had medals from up on the shoulder all the 
way down to his waist. I said: John, that is different than the old 
days, where occasionally a decoration was given in the Corps. It must 
be different today. He said, ``Yes.''
  I said to him: Did you ever get a decoration besides the Purple 
Heart? He said: No; didn't deserve it; didn't get it. Mind you, he 
served on Okinawa, on Guadalcanal, survived, got malaria, went to 
Australia, recovered, was picked to go to officer candidate school, and 
served in officer candidate school. He became a platoon leader on 
Okinawa. He survived the kamikaze attacks going in, and the fighting in 
that battle was as rough as any of them. The Japanese knew they had 
their backs against the wall. It was very tenacious, very rough and 
tenacious.
  He told me a few facts about those years. But then just a few years 
after World War II, surprisingly--4 or 5 years--suddenly we were in 
another war. We were in Korea. John called up for active duty. I am 
sure he could have found a way not to have gone because he had served 
so much in World War II. But he went. When he reported for duty and 
went to Korea, he became a company commander. In the Marine Corps and 
in the Army, and the other services, that unquestionably is the 
toughest of all jobs, with 230-plus men depending on you, with a 
reinforced company, an infantry company, whatever it may be. But John 
was there.
  I remember not long ago the author of this book, ``The Coldest War,'' 
came through and visited with John and me. I had been in Korea, but I 
had been in an air wing as a communications officer. He used to joke 
with me about how I slept in the tent with a little bit of a stove, 
which was true, and he slept in a bunker out in the open. He always 
used to tease me. But in this book, they captured John Chafee. The 
author discussed his bravery as a company commander and his love for 
his men--any man who served under John Chafee--whether it was in the 
Marine Corps or, indeed, in this institution.
  How privileged I was to sit just in front of my distinguished big 
brother in this Senate. Any man who served with John Chafee inherited a 
great deal. I say that modestly. But we all profited so much from our 
personal association with this marvelous man.
  I called former Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird and talked to him 
by phone. He sent me a short memo.
  I ask unanimous consent that it be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         Statement of Melvin R. Laird on Senator John H. Chafee

       Our close and lasting friendship goes back for more than 45 
     years and will always be remembered. All of John's friends 
     will remember his quick smile, his lack of pretense, his 
     loyalty, his warm compassion, his good common sense judgment, 
     and his special quality as a person. John, in every way, 
     showed he cared about all of us, his Rhode Island 
     constituents, and our country in a most wonderful way.
       But his real love was his family. Ginny, most of all, was a 
     very special love. John loved his children--Zechariah (Zach), 
     Quentin, Lincoln, John Jr., and Georgia, and was a special 
     grand dad to his many grandchildren. They will all miss him 
     very much.
       There were many unusual associations we had over these past 
     45 years--going back to Republican National Conventions, his 
     service as Governor, his service as Secretary of the Navy, 
     and his years in the United States Senate. His last interview 
     in office occurred just last Friday with Dale Van Atta, who 
     is working on a book on the Laird-Packard Pentagon Team.
       I remember the call I received from John back in 1965 when 
     he was the Governor of Rhode Island criticizing me for my 
     planned attendance at a fund-raiser for my Democratic 
     colleague in the Congress, John Fogarty. The Brick Layers 
     Union had built a special library and so-called ``outhouse'' 
     in John Fogarty's Rhode Island back yard. The dedication 
     ceremony turned into a fund-raiser for Democrat John Fogarty 
     and it upset John Chafee somewhat that I, as a Republican, 
     was the speaker at the Fogarty building dedication and fund-
     raiser. I told John of the close working relationship John 
     Fogarty and I had as the ranking members on the House, 
     Education, Welfare and Labor Appropriations Committee. My 
     advice to John was that the best thing he could do as far as 
     his future political career in Rhode Island was concerned, 
     was to be at the dedicatory program. John showed up and he 
     never regretted his attendance.
       I remember calling John in December 1968 and asking him to 
     be Secretary of the Navy on the Laird-Packard Team in the 
     Pentagon. There were many candidates suggested for this 
     position--President Nixon had a candidate, as did Senator 
     Dirksen (IL), Senator Hugh Scott (PA), Senator George Murphy 
     (CA), and many others. Under the arrangement I had with 
     President Nixon, it was my choice and I never regretted that 
     choice--John Chafee was terrific!
       John was an outstanding Secretary of the Navy. I hated to 
     encourage him to leave the Pentagon and return to Rhode 
     Island to prepare for a Senate bid, but knew that was his 
     heart's desire. The responsibilities of Secretary of the Navy 
     were turned over to his very capable Under Secretary, John 
     Warner. We had a Change of Command ceremony at the Marine 
     Corps base here in Washington and although we had a great 
     replacement (our friend John Warner) there was much sadness 
     in seeing John Chafee return to Rhode Island. We were all so 
     very proud of his accomplishments for the Navy and our 
     country, but sorry to see him leave the Pentagon. His 
     election victories for the United States Senate followed.
       His magnificent record in the United States Senate is known 
     by all of you. John's leadership ability to forge a consensus 
     on highly contentious issues of our times is unparalleled in 
     the United States Senate. He will truly be missed.

  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, Mel Laird was a great public servant, 
and he still is. He said about John Chafee:

       Our close and lasting friendship goes back for more than 45 
     years and will always be remembered. All of John's friends 
     will remember his quick smile, his lack of pretense, his 
     loyalty, his warm compassion, his good commonsense judgment, 
     and his special quality as a person.
       John Chafee knew who he was. He never had to boast, he 
     never had to brag, he never stopped to take credit, because 
     this man knew who he was. He had tremendous inner self-
     confidence and a tremendous ability to be self-effacing.

  Laird goes on:

       John, in every way, showed he cared about all of us, his 
     Rhode Island constituents, and our country in a most 
     wonderful way. But his real love was his family. Ginny--

  I talked to Ginny this morning at the crack of dawn. We exchanged a 
few words. Then we immediately recalled the happy days together 
throughout these 30 years--and laughter, for both of us, for a few 
minutes on the phone. She had the courage, like John, to muster 
laughter in a moment such as this.
  He loved his children--Zechariah, ``Zach,'' Quentin, Lincoln, John 
Jr., and Georgia, and was a special granddad to his many grandchildren. 
They will miss him very much.
  Yes, John was a hero in every sense of the word. But he was the 
greatest hero to his family.
  Laird goes on:

       There were many unusual associations we had over these 45 
     years--going back to Republican National Conventions, his 
     service as Governor, his service as Secretary of the Navy, 
     and his years in the U.S. Senate. His last interview in 
     office occurred just last Friday with Dale Van Atta, who is 
     working on a book on the Laird-Packard Pentagon Team.

  That was the team John and I joined 30 years ago.
  For 2 hours I worked with John last Friday setting up a hearing on 
the Environment and Public Works Committee, where I was privileged to 
be his deputy, second always in command. I will never be first. Even 
though he is not here, I will still get his orders. But we were there 
working last Friday.
  Yes, he was a little less spry in his step as he was recovering from 
his operation. But we have to remember

[[Page S13079]]

every day in this great institution that, yes, we have our debates, we 
have our differences, but the man or the woman to your left or right in 
this magnificent institution could be gone the next day by the will of 
God. I always think of that. We have to treasure and value every moment 
we have with each other in this great institution because it brings us 
together.
  This paragraph in Laird's letter I am amused by:

       I remember calling John in December of 1968 and asking him 
     to be Secretary of the Navy on the Laird-Packwood Team in the 
     Pentagon. There were many candidates suggested for this 
     position--President Nixon had a candidate, as did Senator 
     Dirksen, Senator Hugh Scott, Senator George Murphy, and many 
     others. Under the arrangement I had with President Nixon, it 
     was my choice, and I never regretted that choice--John Chafee 
     was terrific.

  There are so many. I think in the days to come I will seek the 
privilege of speaking again of John Chafee solely for the purpose of 
introducing into the Record some marvelous statements. I worked with 
his personal staff today in collecting some of his statements and with 
the staff of the Environment and Public Works Committee. There are so 
many lives this great American touched.
  He loved his work in the Pentagon for those 3 years because it 
brought into focus everything he had learned as a young marine on 
Guadalcanal, as the platoon commander on Okinawa, and as a company 
commander in Korea.
  I remember one day so well. Laird called us up. Laird was short, got 
on that phone, and issued an order quickly. It was Saturday. Of course, 
we worked Saturdays. The war was on. Absolutely, we wanted to be there. 
It was our choice. It was a heavy burden and responsibility. We were 
losing tens of thousands of casualties every week.

  We just finished this engagement in Kosovo casualty-free. In Vietnam, 
thousands of men and women were killed and wounded week after week. It 
is so hard to believe now. It is so hard to explain war to the current 
generation.
  But anyway, Laird called up, and he said: You two guys go down to The 
Mall and give me a report on what is going on.
  There was a demonstration down there. Chafee and I were dressed in 
our blue suits as worn by the Navy today. We stripped them down and put 
on some old khakis. We had some tennis shoes. He and I used to play a 
little squash in the Pentagon. We put on a couple of old T-shirts. We 
got into an old car. We had chauffeur-driven cars in those days. Forget 
them. We got in an old car and drove down to The Mall. I will never 
forget that sight. There were over 1 million young men and women, in a 
peaceful way largely, demonstrating against that war in the heart of 
the Nation's Capital on The Mall between this building and the 
Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. There they were--1 
million.
  I could see John was so terribly upset because it brought back the 
carnage he had seen in his previous military experience when the whole 
nation, every American, was solidly behind every person in uniform 
(abroad or at home). The Nation stood in solid support.
  We went back to the Pentagon that afternoon, and we sat in Laird's 
office.
  As I reminisced this morning, Laird had only been in office a 
comparatively short time and there was a lot of thought about how we 
were going to get America disengaged from that conflict, how we were 
going to stop the casualties. John Chafee from that moment on became a 
very special counselor to the Secretary of Defense and, indeed, to the 
President on the need to bring that conflict somehow to a termination 
with regard to these losses. Over 50,000 young men and women were 
killed in uniform in that conflict in Vietnam.
  Tough? Yes, he was a tough man. He was tough as they come. They used 
to say at Yale he was a wrestler; you will not get John Chafee's 
shoulders to the mat; you will not get them to the mat. No one ever got 
them to the mat. I never did. I tried. I don't think in his 
distinguished career anybody in this great body ever did.
  The interesting thing about that man, so full of courage and so full 
of toughness, I never heard him use a word of profanity, never a curse 
word. When John would get upset and he was concerned about something, 
he would say: ``Oh, dear.'' Remember that, colleagues? How many of you 
heard him say, ``Oh, dear''? That was his way of saying, hey, we have a 
problem, but we are going to solve it. A remarkable man.
  We will remember him for his modesty. I searched his web page: 40 
years of public service condensed to one page. A modest man, never 
boasted. He had the self-confidence. I was asked, Who will take his 
place? Without thinking I simply said: No one. No one will take his 
place.
  God bless you, John, and your family.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.
  Mr. DODD. Madam President, I thank our wonderful dear friend from 
Virginia for his very moving and eloquent personal comments about his 
wonderful friend, a friend of all Members, John Chafee, whom we lost 
today.
  Let me begin by expressing my deep sympathies to the Chafee family, 
to Ginny and the children and the grandchildren. I have come to know 
them over the years, being the neighboring Senator of the wonderful 
State of Rhode Island. I express to his family, the people of Rhode 
Island, and to his staff and friends and acquaintances over the years, 
what a terrible loss the death of John Chafee is, to all who care about 
public service and care about this country.
  The words of ``scholar,'' ``soldier,'' ``athlete,'' and ``statesman'' 
I use quite frequently to describe people. But in the case of John 
Chafee, each one of those words has special meaning. He was truly a 
great scholar as we know from his academic work at Yale and Harvard Law 
School. He was truly a wonderful soldier, as John Warner has recounted. 
If one did not take the time to discover the service John Chafee gave 
to this country in both World War II and Korea, one would not know it 
if one solely depended upon John Chafee to describe it.
  John Chafee saw service in uniform to his country as not an 
extraordinary action but one that any good citizen would engage in 
during a time of serious conflict. Certainly his service in the Marine 
Corps and the Pacific, and again in Korea, were remarkable periods of 
our Nation's history. He served our Nation so wonderfully well in that 
capacity.
  He was also a great athlete. Captain of the Yale wrestling team in 
1941, he went undefeated. He was also quite a squash player. My 
brother-in-law, Bernie Buonanno, is from Rhode Island. Bernie and John 
Chafee were regular squash competitors in Providence. I heard great 
tales about the battles between my brother-in-law and John Chafee on 
the squash courts. I know Carl Levin and John Warner and others play 
not very far from this Chamber. They have wonderful times there. He was 
always in great shape, always had a tremendous amount of energy he 
brought to his work in the Senate.
  Last, he was a statesman. That is hardly last. I first got to know 
John Chafee almost 40 years ago. I was a freshman in college in 
Providence, RI, when John Chafee became Governor of the State of Rhode 
Island. He was elected with an overwhelming margin of 398 votes in that 
year. He went on in 1964 and 1966 to huge margins. At that time in 
Rhode Island, Governors only had a 2-year term. During my entire career 
as a college student, John Chafee was the Governor of the small State 
of Rhode Island. What a wonderful reputation he had as a Governor of 
that State.
  During the latter part of that term, the Vietnam war issue, which 
John Warner talked about, began to boil over on campuses. John Chafee 
handled that leadership role as a Governor of his State with great 
style and with great leadership in terms of understanding the diverse 
constituency, even of a small State such as Rhode Island.
  In 1976, as we know, he came to the Senate. I arrived in 1981 and had 
the privilege of serving with him for the past 20 years. We didn't 
serve on committees together. I never had the privilege of being a 
member of one of the committees of which John Chafee was a member. 
However, he certainly led in so many areas, particularly in 
environment. There were few who were John Chafee's peers when it came 
to their longstanding concern about being good custodians and guardians 
of this planet Earth. Certainly throughout his career

[[Page S13080]]

on numerous pieces of legislation John Chafee was the leader, the 
voice, that we all looked to when it came to deciding what path to 
follow as we tried to determine the best course of action, balancing 
the economic and environmental interests of our Nation.
  The Presiding Officer knows this year, as someone who has been deeply 
interested in child care legislation, I lobbied hard to the Presiding 
Officer if she would be a cosponsor with me of my child care bill. I 
will never forget Senator Collins saying to me: I will go along with 
you on your bill on one condition. I am thinking, here it comes; what 
is the condition, some new provision has to be written in, some new 
amendment added. And she said: The condition is, if you can get John 
Chafee to support your child care amendment, then I will join in your 
child care bill.
  I talked to John Chafee. I said: John, if I can have your support, I 
can think of at least one or two, maybe four or five other Members of 
this body who will work with us on this issue. He gave his support to 
that issue.
  This calendar year we have had four votes on child care amendments, 
and each has carried because John Chafee decided to be a working 
partner on this issue.
  That is another example of the kind of quiet leadership John Chafee 
could give to an issue that was important to not only his constituents 
but to many across the globe and across this country, particularly.
  The Presiding Officer, coming from New England, will appreciate this 
as well. We oftentimes find in antiques stores or flea markets the New 
England samplers. They are oftentimes framed. Home Sweet Home is the 
one with which most are familiar. There is another sampler we can find 
from time to time throughout New England. The sampler says: Leave the 
Land in Better Shape Than When You Found It. It is an old New England 
tradition. Our land was not particularly well suited to agricultural 
interests when that expression was coined; the rocky soil, the 
difficult winters make it hard to eke out a living. Each generation of 
New Englanders over the years has tried to clear another field, build 
another barn or shed, in some way make the land they pass on to the 
next generation healthier and better suited to serve the next 
generation.
  John Chafee was the quintessential New England statesman, in my view. 
He was not tight when it came to a dollar, but I called him a fiscal 
conservative when it came to budgetary matters. He was also a person 
who believed one ought to carefully invest capital in areas that would 
be critically important to the well-being of any enterprise. And in 
public life, investing in the environment of our country, investing in 
the educational needs, the transportation needs, seeing to it that all 
Americans have a chance to enjoy the wonderful opportunities of our 
Nation, and the Tax Code, are all wonderful examples of John Chafee 
making wise investments, the wise New England approach to the well-
being of our Nation.
  So in many ways, John Chafee epitomized, I suppose--for me, anyway--
what a good Senator from New England ought to be. In many ways, as I 
think about that old sampler you can find in these bazaars in New 
England from Maine to Connecticut, ``Leave the Land in Better Shape 
Than when You Found it,'' John Chafee epitomized that simple 
expression.
  Wherever he is at this moment--and I know he is with our good Lord 
and Savior--he will be looking down knowing--and he should know--that 
even for that brief amount of time, the few short years, 77 years, he 
had as a scholar, as a soldier, as an athlete, and as a statesman, John 
Chafee truly left his State and his country and the world in which we 
live far better than when he found it. For the immense difference he 
has made, we thank him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I understand the junior Senator from Rhode 
Island is on the floor and would like to make remarks, too. I ask 
consent he be allowed to succeed my remarks in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. Madam President, this morning I was actually in Lexington, 
KY, with my son and daughter and grandson. I think in a way that made 
me even more melancholy and mournful about this day and the loss of our 
good friend John Chafee.
  I started thinking about John and his life. It made me realize that, 
day by day, in our regular duties, we go busily about our business and 
we do not stop, sometimes, to look at the beautiful surroundings, this 
historic building we are in. We don't stop, sometimes, to thank the 
staff member who has been particularly helpful to us. Also, sometimes 
we don't stop to think that we walk with men and women in this 
institution who have been giants in their lives. John Chafee was one of 
those men. Sometimes we just forgot John Chafee had done so much for 
his country, for his fellow man, for his State, and for his Nation. It 
was easy to do that because John was not the kind of guy who demanded 
attention and demanded he be treated with reverence or any 
extraordinary respect. He was a soft-spoken gentleman, and he was truly 
a ``gentle'' man. The word fit him perfectly.
  I was just talking to Senator Warner, his good friend, his successor 
as the Secretary of the Navy. I never had quite thought about one other 
thing: John Chafee was not one given to temper, not one given to 
profanity. He was just a dedicated, hard-working, good Senator for his 
State and for our country. So I believe we truly have lost one of the 
best servants we have had in the Senate in my time here, our friend 
John Chafee, the senior Senator from Rhode Island.
  I first got to know John Chafee some 30 years ago; it is hard to 
believe, I say to Senator Warner, who was his deputy over there at the 
Navy Department. John was the Secretary of the Navy. I had the occasion 
to meet with him as a staff member because there was a little 
disagreement between his State and my State about a Seabee base. But he 
was always so fair in all his dealings; it impressed me then. I didn't 
realize at the time that he had already been Governor and he had such a 
distinguished military career. There he was, the Secretary of the Navy.
  Then, of course, he went on to be elected to the Senate. Only after I 
came to the Senate did I realize he truly was a war hero, a marine. He 
was very proud of it. He defended his country, and he was a highly 
decorated combat veteran. He served his people so well as Governor of 
that State, and he also served the people of that State as a Senator 
since 1976.
  I have given a lot of thought about Senator Chafee today; also, the 
fact the last time I saw him and spoke to him personally, last 
Thursday, he was not feeling particularly well. He wanted to know if 
there were going to be any more votes. But he was staying right back 
here, waiting to see if he was going to be needed anymore, attending to 
his duties, even on Thursday night of last week.
  I think it is belated but appropriate that we say a few kind words 
about Senator Chafee and his service. We extend our best to his wife 
Ginny and to his family.
  By the age of 39, John Chafee was already a combat veteran in two 
wars. You will not find it in his official biography, but he earned at 
least two Purple Hearts, among many other service distinctions. He had 
left his undergraduate studies at Yale University to first enlist in 
the Marines. He served in the original invasion forces of the Battle of 
Guadalcanal during World War II. Following that, he resumed his studies 
at Yale and went on to earn his law degree at Harvard.
  John was recalled to active duty in 1951, and while in Korea he 
commanded Dog Company, a 200-man rifle unit in the 1st Marine Division. 
Perhaps Senator Warner has already recounted all of that, but it is 
such an impressive part of the man he was.
  After 6 years in the Rhode Island General Assembly, including 4 years 
as his party's leader in the House of Representatives, John was elected 
Governor of Rhode Island in 1962 by 398 votes--not one to waste any 
votes, or anything else for that matter. He was reelected in 1964 and 
1966 by the largest margins in Rhode Island's history.
  The newly-inaugurated President Nixon appointed John Chafee to be 
Secretary of the Navy in 1969, a post he held for 3\1/2\ years. He was 
elected to his

[[Page S13081]]

fourth term in 1994 with 65 percent of the vote. He was the first 
Republican elected to the Senate from Rhode Island in 68 years.
  In the Senate, he rose to become chairman of the Environment and 
Public Works Committee where, once again, he worked very aggressively 
on issues about which he felt strongly. He was a Senator who really did 
care about the environment. But he tried to make it an issue where we 
reached across the aisle to each other. He wasn't interested just in 
making a statement or trying to drive up his ratings with one group or 
another. He wanted to get results.
  I remember he came to me when I had first been elected majority 
leader in 1996. He said: I believe we can pass this safe drinking water 
bill. It had been stalled in the Senate and the House, and it was 
stalled in conference.
  I said: John, it's too late. We can't do it.
  He said: If we come to agreement, will we get it up for a vote?
  I said: If you can get Dirk Kempthorne and the others involved and 
get Democrats involved, and we can get a bill that will be good for 
America, to have safe drinking water, why, surely we will do it.
  I think it was the last day of the session, but right at the end we 
got it done because John Chafee would not give it up. He wasn't 
interested in making a statement. He was interested in getting a good 
bill for his country--Safe Drinking Water--a worthy cause and one of 
which John Chafee was very proud.
  Even recently, he was working on efforts that are certainly 
worthwhile and have been very difficult to bring to closure. The day 
will come when we will get a new Superfund bill, and when we do, we 
ought to dedicate it to the memory of John Chafee because he has 
charged that mountain as a good marine, time and time again. We never 
have quite made it. One of these days we will top the crest, and we 
will all think about John Chafee when we do.
  He was an important member of the Finance Committee. He chaired the 
Social Security and Family Policy Subcommittee. Again, just last week I 
arrived late at a Finance Committee meeting before we went out to mark 
up a bill providing assistance for hospitals, nursing homes, and home 
health care, a bill that would put back some Medicare money as a result 
of the balanced budget agreement. It was about to come apart. The 
wheels were coming off. Senators were disagreeing. It looked as if what 
was going to be a bipartisan package, easily passed out, that had been 
crafted by the chairman, Senator Roth, and the ranking member, Senator 
Moynihan of New York, was going to fall apart right there in that 
little anteroom before we went into the Finance Committee meeting.
  One of the last people to speak was John Chafee. He said: Good work 
has been done on this; it is not everything we would want--typical of 
John Chafee to say that--but it is a good step. We ought to do it. We 
ought to go out here right now, take this bill up, and pass it out of 
the Finance Committee.
  Thirty minutes later, by a voice vote, with only two dissenting 
audible nays, we passed that bill out.
  He did his part on the Finance Committee, too. He served as a member 
of the Select Committee on Intelligence, where he had a real interest 
in making sure about the intelligence capabilities of our country, to 
make sure we did not drop our guard in that area, and we started 
rebuilding our intelligence community after years of problems, going 
back, I guess, to the 1970s.
  He was chairman of the Senate Republican Conference for 6 years, the 
No. 3 leadership position in the Senate.
  In the Senate, we knew John as a genuinely independent New Englander, 
respected on both sides of the aisle, who worked to bring opposing 
sides together for the common good. All of us regretted his decision 
announced earlier this year to leave the Senate, but it was 
characteristic of John to work to the very end. He leaves behind 5 
children, 12 grandchildren, and a legacy of a lifetime of service to 
Rhode Island and to his Nation.
  If the Biblical quote ever applied to any Senator, this quote should 
apply to John Chafee: Well done, thy good and faithful servant.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Fitzgerald). The Senator from Rhode 
Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to join the majority leader and my 
colleagues in paying tribute to the senior Senator from Rhode Island, 
John H. Chafee. I do so not only on my own behalf but on behalf of the 
people of Rhode Island, for they have suffered a grievous loss.
  First, I extend my condolences to Mrs. Chafee and the Chafee family. 
Above all else, John Chafee was a devoted husband, a devoted father, 
and a loving and caring father and grandfather. Indeed, his family is a 
living tribute to his remarkable life.
  This is a personal loss to his family, to his friends, to his 
colleagues, but it is also a personal loss to the people of Rhode 
Island. For over 40 years, he has played a central role in the life of 
our State, and Rhode Island is a special place for many, many reasons, 
but it is a special place in particular because it is a place where 
everyone knows everyone else, and literally every Rhode Islander knew 
Senator John H. Chafee.
  If you had to ask Rhode Islanders what they felt and thought about 
this man, one word would come quickly to their lips: respect. This 
respect transcended party politics, social position, every category 
that we ascribe, sometimes arbitrarily, to people.
  This respect was a function of a recognition, first, of his qualities 
as a man. He was a man of integrity, intelligence, tenacity, and 
fairness. He was a gentleman. When I arrived in the Senate--and 
previously as a Member of the other body--he treated me with 
graciousness and cooperation and help, and I thank him for that from 
the bottom of my heart.
  The respect which Rhode Island holds for this great man is also a 
function of his selfless service to the Nation. He began that service 
as a young marine on Guadalcanal. He spent his 20th birthday there. 
John Chafee, the son of privilege, could have found an easier way to 
serve his country during World War II, but he chose the very hardest 
way, so typical of the man. He chose to go ashore with the invasion 
force of Guadalcanal at a time when it was not clear we would prevail. 
It was only clear we would give everything to win, and John Chafee was 
prepared to do that for his country, for his community, indeed, for 
decency throughout the world.
  Later, after serving in World War II and going back to law school, he 
was ready to assume the privileges and the rights which such service 
won him. But another war beckoned, and characteristically, John Chafee 
heard the summons of that trumpet and went to Korea to lead a marine 
rifle company. Again, he could have found less dangerous assignments 
but, once again, if American sons were at risk, John Chafee would lead 
them.
  After his service in the Marine Corps, he did return home, finished 
his law school studies, and came back home to Rhode Island. He served 
as a member of our general assembly with distinction, and in 1962, he 
was elected Governor of our State, clearly the most Democratic State in 
the country, but through arduous campaigning and through his personal 
qualities, he was elected by over 300 votes. Not a landslide, but 
enough to give him a chance to serve the people of Rhode Island, and 
serve he did.
  Long before it was popular and chic to be an environmentalist, John 
Chafee was an environmentalist. With innovative visionary legislation, 
he began our State's acquisition of open spaces so our quality of life 
would not be diminished by economic development. In fact, long before 
many others, he recognized that a good economy and a good environment 
not only can go hand in hand but must go hand in hand. This was the 
early sixties, long before Earth Day, long before the organized 
environmental movement, but he knew in his heart that quality of life 
was important to maintain. He knew also that our environmental legacy 
is a gift from God which we must revere, we must cherish, and we must 
pass on. And he did so.
  He was also a builder because it was this time in our history that 
route 95 was being developed right through the heart of Rhode Island, 
and he was there. In fact, he joked that it was a great opportunity for 
a Governor because every time they completed 2 or 3 miles of 
interstate, he could hold a

[[Page S13082]]

press conference and talk about the progress. But it was something that 
was close to him, not because of notoriety, but because he saw this as 
a way to improve the economy of Rhode Island, to link us more closely 
to the national economy. Indeed, even up to his last days, he was 
working to improve the infrastructure, particularly the transportation 
infrastructure of Rhode Island, a mission he began as our Governor more 
than 30 years ago.
  As my colleague, the senior Senator from Virginia, pointed out, he 
served with great distinction as Secretary of the Navy. After his 
family, his State of Rhode Island and the Marine Corps were his great 
loves. These two passions--his State and the naval service--helped mold 
his life and, indeed, he in turn helped mold these great institutions--
our State and the naval service.
  He served with distinction at a time when the Navy was being 
stretched, the tumult of Vietnam was spilling out into our streets, and 
still we had to fight a superpower adversary in the form of the Soviet 
Union. He served with characteristic vision, innovation, and 
distinction.
  He was then elected to the Senate, and for four terms he has shown us 
all what it is to be a Senator. In fact, it is characteristic that 
Senator John H. Chafee literally died on active duty serving his Nation 
and serving his State as a Senator. He spent his whole life in service 
to the Nation.
  The respect for Senator Chafee also emanated from the recognition 
that he always had an unswerving commitment to principles. He was 
schooled in the hardest test: Always do the harder right rather than 
easier wrong.
  There are extraordinary numbers of examples to attest to this 
dedication of principle. I can think of several, but let me just 
suggest that, again, before so many people took up the cause of gun 
control, Senator Chafee stood solidly to control the violence in the 
life of America, to reasonably restrict access to weapons, to ensure 
that the lives of our children are protected.

  I can recall being with him at a rally he organized in Providence, 
RI, where he had Sarah Brady come in. We were literally enveloped by a 
large group of counterdemonstrators with bullhorns, pressing in on us, 
trying to literally disrupt this rally to control guns in our society.
  But anyone who waded ashore at Guadalcanal and fought in Korea was 
not easily intimidated. And he was not. He not only stood his ground 
that day, but he stood his ground every day to try to argue for more 
sensible rules with respect to handguns. And that is just one example 
of where he did, in some respect, the unpopular thing because it was 
the right thing to do.
  This respect also emanates from the recognition by my fellow Rhode 
Islanders that, more than so many others, he always sought to find the 
common ground that would bring different groups together, that would 
result in progress, both in terms of legislation but more importantly 
progress in terms of the lives of the American people.
  He was a pragmatist. He was committed to advancing the well-being of 
his constituents and the people of this country, and, indeed, the 
people of the world. He was always looking for practical ways to do 
that. He was wedded to the strong principles of the Constitution. But 
he was able to find ways, through the details, to advance those 
principles, to bring others aboard, to move forward.
  When he became impatient, it was an impatience borne of the 
distractions that we sometimes find ourselves in in this institution 
and the posturing that we sometimes find ourselves in in this 
institution--because he was here to do the job of the people of Rhode 
Island: To improve their lives, to give them more opportunities, to 
give them more freedom, so they can use it not only for their 
advancement and the advancement of their children but the advancement 
of this great country.
  He had a special concern for children and those Americans with 
disabilities. It was a concern that he did not trumpet about, but it 
was a concern that resonated throughout his entire legislative career.
  Today, we have done much to ensure that the poorest children of 
America have health care through our Medicaid Program. And that was the 
handiwork of John Chafee--not through press releases but through the 
hard work of legislation, the detailed intricacies of the Internal 
Revenue Code, and the Social Security laws. He expanded coverage 
because, while others would be disheartened by failure of comprehensive 
reform, he dug in and every day advanced the cause of health care, 
particularly for children in this country.
  He always had a special place in his heart and in his service for 
disabled Americans. I know that because the disabled citizens in Rhode 
Island revere and treasure this great man for what he has done--again, 
long before public acclaim or public notoriety. And why did he do it? 
Because it was the right thing to do.
  In March of this year, Senator Chafee announced he was leaving the 
Senate and going home. Last evening, he began that final journey home--
home to Rhode Island, a State made infinitely better by his effort and 
example, a place that mourns but will forever revere his service and 
take pride in his achievements and inspiration from his life.
  In the words of the Poet William Butler Yeats:

     The man is gone who guided ye, unweary,
     through the long bitter way.
     Ye by the waves that close in our sad nation,
     Be full of sudden fears,
     The man is gone who from his lonely station
     Has moulded the hard years. . . .
     Mourn--and then onward, there is no returning
     He guides ye from the tomb;
     His memory now is a tall pillar, burning
     Before us in the gloom!

  Senator Chafee will allow us to mourn, but insist that we move 
forward to do the unfinished work, which is the hope and promise of 
America. And with him as a guide we shall. And he would want it that 
way.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LOTT addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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