[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 12 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO JIM FLANAGAN ON HIS RETIREMENT

 Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today in 
recognition of a gentleman who is known to many of us here in the 
Senate and in the House of Representatives, Mr. Jim Flanagan, who is 
now retiring after more than 35 years of representing electric utility 
interests here in Washington.
  A graduate of St. Michael's College in Vermont, and an Army veteran 
who served as a guided missile instructor, Jim Flanagan worked for many 
years as the Washington Representative of New England Electric System, 
and later for Yankee Atomic Electric Company. It is in that capacity 
that many of us came to know Jim as a wise counselor on the intricacies 
of electricity and tax legislation. Jim always had a firm grasp on the 
issues, he often had an innovative approach to solving a problem, and 
he was unfailingly respectful of the political process and the 
difficult decisions that elected representatives face when supporting 
or opposing legislation.
  I came to know Jim personally under just such circumstances. He was 
an advocate for licensing the Seabrook nuclear plant in my state of New 
Hampshire, arguably the most controversial construction project ever 
undertaken in this country. Throughout good times and bad, through the 
many legislative attempts to derail the project, Jim Flanagan stood his 
ground, he argued with facts not rhetoric, and he represented his 
company's interests with integrity and passion. We eventually licensed 
that plant, something I am personally proud of, and today Seabrook is 
one of the safest, best-performing nuclear plants in the world. Without 
the efforts of Jim Flanagan, that would not have happened.
  Jim had another, equally important, side to him. Beyond the issues of 
the day, Jim Flanagan was a loyal friend, a gentleman who looked out 
for others and who would take that extra step to do someone a favor. He 
was a believer in young people, and took it upon himself to be a mentor 
to many here in Washington, including members of my staff. Many of us 
who know Jim know that he has a bad knee, but few of us realize that he 
got that bad knee teaching Little Leaguers how to slide into second 
base more than 40 years ago. From his hometown of Waltham, 
Massachusetts, to here in the Nation's Capital, Jim Flanagan cared 
about people.
  In an industry that has gone through several sea changes, and in a 
town where people and ideas come and go, Jim Flanagan was a constant--
you could always count on him. Jim will be sorely missed--some say the 
Edison Electric Institute will not survive without him--but he will 
certainly not be forgotten. Jim's wife Beth, and his two grown children 
Billy and Lisa, should be very proud of him.

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