[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 165 (Friday, November 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15066-S15067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RICHARD ALLEN LAUDS THE LATE BUD NANCE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I have at hand the printed text of the 
beautiful remarks by Richard Allen, National Security Advisor to Ronald 
Reagan during those eventful years of the Reagan presidency. Mr. Allen 
spoke last evening, November 18, in Greensboro, N.C.
  Mr. Allen's ``Tribute to Bud Nance'' was an assessment of the 
remarkable career of Admiral James W. Nance, a distinguished retired 
Navy officer. All of us knew and admired Bud Nance, who was a beloved 
and admired chief of staff of the Senate Committee on Foreign 
Relations.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Richard Allen's address 
be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
  There being no objection, the address was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                          Tribute to Bud Nance

       Just last Friday I flew from Tokyo to Munich, Germany where 
     I met up with President George Bush, who received an 
     important honor in connection with the celebration of the 
     Fall of the Berlin Wall. In his acceptance speech, he said 
     something that struck me as both important and generous: he 
     remarked, ``I am here tonight to accept this award not 
     because of what I did, but because I am standing on the 
     shoulders of giants who made this possible, and in the first 
     instance I refer to my great predecessor in office, Ronald 
     Reagan.''
       It was an emotional moment for me, for twenty-one years ago 
     this very month my wife, Pat, who is here with me tonight, 
     and I accompanied Ronald Reagan on his very first trip to 
     Germany. We went to Berlin, and stood in front of the 
     monstrous Wall. Reflecting on what it signified, he tensed, 
     turned to Peter Hannaford and to me and said: ``We've got to 
     find a way to knock this thing down.'' Nine years later, as 
     President, he again stood in front of the Wall, and demanded 
     that Mr. Gorbachev come to Berlin to ``tear down this Wall.''
       Ronald Reagan was one of the giants to whom George Bush 
     referred, but my thoughts turned to this Thursday evening 
     event, and the reflection that one more giant who made all 
     this possible, and upon whose sturdy shoulders Ronald Reagan 
     leaned for years, is my friend of many years, Senator Jesse 
     Helms.
       So, this evening I have the special honor to pay tribute to 
     two friends with whom I have worked for many years. Both have 
     a special place of honor in my memory and in my heart, and 
     both have given me the great gifts of constant friendship and 
     unfailing loyalty.
       You must recognize, ladies and gentlemen, that in the world 
     of politics, policy and public affairs, the essential human 
     qualities undergird all relationships. Trust and the ability 
     to rely on another's word are among the most valuable 
     qualities in any life, and nowhere are they better reflected 
     in the lives of Senator Jesse Helms and Admiral James W. 
     Nance.
       For nearly forty years I have lived in and around 
     Washington and have been an eager student of foreign affairs. 
     I began my first active years as an academic, then worked in 
     the 1968 election as Richard Nixon's foreign policy 
     coordinator, later serving twice with him in national 
     security and international economic affairs in the White 
     House.
       In the mid-1970s I had the opportunity to meet the freshman 
     Senator from North Carolina, and in 1976 the first real 
     opportunity to work closely with him. In that year, his 
     principled determination made possible a close race between 
     Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Neither side would allow the 
     other to write the foreign policy platform, and so I was 
     asked to take on that task. It was a special opportunity, and 
     I quickly accepted. Determined to write a platform that 
     reflected real American principles, I finished my draft and 
     flew to Kansas City. There, Senator Helms was shaping the 
     work of the Platform Committee, and the issue of Taiwan was 
     of great importance. With the delegates, Senator Helms and I 
     were able to collaborate in shaping a fair, realistic and 
     helpful plank to support Taiwan against its constant threat, 
     Mainland China. The important point in all this was that 
     every time Jesse Helms gave his word, he delivered, never 
     trimming, never flinching, always sticking to fundamental 
     principles--no matter how strong the opposition.
       Ever since, he has exemplified the crusade for what is 
     right. Fred Barnes said it best in 1997, when he wrote, 
     ``Next to Ronald Reagan, Jesse Helms is the most important 
     conservative of the last 25 years. No conservative, save 
     Reagan, comes close to matching Helm's influence on American 
     politics and policy--he has led on everything--he has made 
     history. He's an event-making politician, not merely one 
     who's served in eventful times.''
       So, ladies and gentlemen, this is why I am especially 
     honored to be here to participate in a tribute to a great 
     Senator, a true leader, a man who always keeps his word.
       The Jesse Helms Center Foundation at Wingate University has 
     a distinguished board of Directors, one of whom is Mrs. 
     Dorothy Helms (Roger Milliken, that champion of good causes). 
     But another of those distinguished persons is not with us 
     this evening, and it is about him--a very special person--
     that I am honored to speak some heartfelt words.
       I refer, of course, to Admiral James W. Nance, and 
     extraordinary patriot who was laid to rest on May 19th at 
     Arlington National Cemetery. He was perhaps the Senators' 
     closest confidant after Mrs. Helms, and was a man with whom I 
     was privileged to have a close relationship for nearly two 
     decades.
       It's just not possible to capture either the depth of 
     sorrow that reigned over Washington when Bud Nance departed 
     this earth,

[[Page S15067]]

     nor is it possible to capture in words the grandeur and 
     beauty of the successive honors and tributes so justly 
     showered upon him as we celebrated his extraordinary career, 
     his lifetime with his loving  family and with us.
       Bud Nance and Jesse Helms, two distinct persons, friends 
     since they were little boys and friends for life, men who 
     knew and understood each other as stalwart loyalists to God, 
     Family and Country, and who fought side by side for freedom, 
     democracy and just causes. To evoke the name of one is to 
     remind us of the other, and this had a special meaning for 
     me.
       I had worked for four years with Ronald Reagan in his 
     approach to the 1980 presidential campaign, serving as his 
     foreign policy advisor. Following his landslide victory and 
     during the transition, the Chairman-designate of the Senate 
     Agriculture Committee called to ask if I would meet with a 
     recently retired admiral. As the Chairman put it, ``this is 
     good ole boy I've known for a long time; he's worked in the 
     Pentagon and he knows how to fly planes on and off aircraft 
     carriers. He is tough, smart and loyal.'' The Senator told me 
     he might be interested in ``some kind of junior staff job at 
     the National Security Council,'' which I had been designated 
     to head.
       Bud Nance came aboard that transition team steaming at 
     thirty knots, said he liked tough assignments, could execute 
     them well, and what did I have for him to do. For starters, I 
     asked him to take on the task of ``cleaning out'' the Carter 
     National Security Council Staff. Bud said: ``Oh, I get it, 
     I'm supposed to be just like a vacuum cleaner, just blow 'em 
     all out of there?'' And he did just that. It was not the last 
     time that Bud would be called upon to clean up an 
     organization!
       At the honors for Bud in May, Secretary of State Madeleine 
     Albright--who was one of those staffers Bud was assigned to 
     show out the front door--reminded me that Bud had called her 
     for a meeting. Some of the Carter staffers actually thought 
     they should be kept on, and Bud was going to make certain 
     that the delusion was quickly erased. Madeleine Albright, a 
     feisty lady, said to Bud, ``Why are you talking to me? I 
     don't want to work with you people anyway!! As it turned out, 
     she was certainly right. But Bud wasn't taking any chances.
       Instead of a ``junior position'' on the National Security 
     Council staff, I asked Bud to become my number one Deputy. I 
     knew he would work well with me, but more important, with 
     President Reagan. I was right about that.
       Bud Nance was just about the finest associate and the 
     hardest working man a fellow could ever have. He insisted on 
     doing the heavy lifting, and served the National Security 
     Council and his President faithfully and well. On one 
     occasion, in the summer of 1981, the Navy decided to run a 
     very important operation into the Gulf of Sidra, near Libyan 
     waters, to establish freedom of navigation there. After we 
     approved the operation, I flew to California with the 
     President for continuing budget discussions. Bud insisted on 
     sleeping the night in the Situation Room, in order to 
     supervise the operation. At about midnight on the West Coast, 
     I got a hotline call from Bud, who in a matter-of-fact tone 
     said, ``Dick, we sent our carrier in there, and two Libyan 
     fellas came flyin' out at us in Russian Migs. We put up our 
     planes, and now the Libyans ain't flyin' any more because 
     they locked their radars onto our boys, and their planes got 
     all tore up with our missiles, and those Libyan boys are 
     definitely down in the drink. Now, if I was you, I'd be 
     callin' the President, and I'm goin' home to get some 
     sleep.''
       If I were to recite the extraordinary career and 
     accomplishments of this very special man, I'd merely repeat 
     what more than twenty Senators of both parties related to 
     eloquently in their special tributes on the floor of the 
     Senate--filling fifteen solid pages of the Congressional 
     Record. Or I'd retell what his granddaughter, Catherine, and 
     son Andrew said so movingly at the memorable funeral services 
     for this patriot.
       Leaving the White House in 1982, Bud worked for the Grace 
     Commission on Waste and Fraud in Government, and then for 
     Boeing until Senator Helms drafted him to come up to Capitol 
     Hill and take charge of the Foreign Relations Committee in 
     1991. After the Navy, after the White House, after the Grace 
     Commission, after Boeing, he again accepted the call to duty. 
     Everyone in Washington knew the basis on which he agreed to 
     work again--he declared that he would work free, saying that 
     his pension and Social Security were quite enough, thank you, 
     and that ``America has been good to me.'' He was not 
     permitted to do that, and had to accept the minimum wage of 
     $2.96 a week, later raised by cost of living increases, and 
     eventually was forced to accept the munificent sum of $4.53 a 
     week.
       Each of us who knew, respected and loved him miss him very 
     much.
       On May 19th, the motorcade that left the Lewinsville 
     Presbyterian Church in McLean enroute to Arlington National 
     Cemetery stretched for nearly two miles. The cannon fired 
     their salute, the rifles cracked, the bugler played Taps, the 
     Honor Guard stood by, and Bud's pastor asked us to stand for 
     the flyover.
       North across the Potomac they came, four magnificent F-18 
     Navy jets, flying in precise formation; as they roared 
     directly over the assembled mourners, three proceeded 
     straight ahead while one ignited his afterburner, peeled off 
     in a long and beautiful arc, flying straight up into the 
     heavens, at once symbolizing Bud's career and the passage to 
     his Maker. It was a profound moment, reminiscent of how much 
     Bud liked that little placard that President Reagan put on 
     his desk on the first morning of his presidency. Its 
     inscription said. ``There's no limit to what a man can do or 
     where he can go if he doesn't mind who gets the credit.''
       That was Ronald Reagan's unspoken message to his staff and 
     to his Cabinet. Some read and heeded it, others did not. Bud 
     Nance did, because he was just the sort of man who did his 
     job well, and never did mind who got the credit.

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