[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2786-S2787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE LAST BUDGET RESOLUTION MANAGED BY SENATOR LAUTENBERG

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the conference report on the budget 
resolution for fiscal year 2001 has been adopted. I note that this will 
be the last budget resolution to be managed by my good friend from New 
Jersey, Senator Lautenberg. Senator Lautenberg joined the Budget 
Committee in 1985, 2 years after he was first elected to the Senate. 
Since that time, he has become an expert on the Federal budget process. 
He has worked hard. He has been diligent in his business.
  The Bible says:

       Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand 
     before kings.

  Frank Lautenberg has been diligent in his business. His mastery of 
Federal budget matters was aided, to a great degree, by his earlier 
mastery of business matters in the private sector. Frank Lautenberg was 
one of the founding partners of a company called Automatic Data 
Processing. That company now employs 37,000 employees and has a market 
capitalization in excess of $31 billion. Just prior to being elected to 
the Senate, Frank Lautenberg served as both chairman and chief 
executive officer of that company. As a

[[Page S2787]]

businessman, he developed an uncanny ability to perform mathematical 
calculations in his mind. As such, his staff on the Budget Committee is 
usually playing catchup, as Senator Lautenberg restates budgetary 
issues in percentage terms.
  The people of New Jersey, and, indeed, the people of the United 
States, have benefited greatly from the business expertise that Frank 
Lautenberg has brought to the U.S. Senate and especially to his 
assignment as the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. Frank 
Lautenberg rose to the position of ranking member in 1997, following 
the retirement of Senator James Exon of Nebraska. Throughout Senator 
Lautenberg's service on the Budget Committee, he has been an 
extraordinarily able and outspoken advocate of funding for our Nation's 
children, for the environment, and for transportation.

  In addition to serving on the Senate Budget Committee, Senator 
Lautenberg also serves on the Appropriations Committee, where he is 
ranking member of the very important Subcommittee on Transportation on 
which I serve. In that regard, Senator Lautenberg is eminently well 
versed in both the budget and appropriations processes.
  So I commend Senator Lautenberg for his very able service to the 
Senate and to the Nation in his capacity as ranking member of the 
Senate Budget Committee. We will miss not only his contributions but 
also his good humor in future budget debates.
  Mr. President:

       It isn't enough to say in our hearts
       That we like a man for his ways;
       It isn't enough that we fill our minds
       With psalms of silent praise;
       Nor is it enough that we honor a man
       As our confidence upward mounts;
       It's going right up to the man himself
       And telling him so that counts.

       If a man does a work that you really admire,
       Don't leave a kind word unsaid.
       In fear to do so might make him vain
       And cause him to lose his head.
       But reach out your hand and tell him, ``Well done.''
       And see how his gratitude swells.
       It isn't the flowers we strew on the grave,
       It's the word to the living that tells.

  So I say to Frank Lautenberg: Well done.

                          ____________________