[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 54 (Thursday, May 4, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3555-S3557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 504, S. 2370.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2370) to designate the Federal building located 
     at 500 Pearl Street in New York City, New York, as the 
     ``Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, as chairman of the 
Environment and Public Works Committee, I was very proud to report out 
just a couple weeks ago a bill to designate the federal building at 500 
Pearl Street in New York City, New York, as the ``Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan United States Courthouse.'' When I first joined this 
committee, the chairman's seat was occupied by the Senator from New 
York. His generosity and kindness in helping me, a freshman Senator 
from the other side of the aisle, is something I will always remember 
and for which I will be forever grateful. I have since come to rely on 
his advice, counsel and wisdom on issues ranging from transportation to 
Superfund, as have so many of my colleagues.
  Our friend, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, is someone who has 
served this nation with great integrity and true patriotism. He is the 
only person in our nation's history to serve in four successive 
administrations as a member of the Cabinet or sub-Cabinet. He served 
two Republicans and two Democrats--but he would rather tell you that he 
simply served four Presidents of the United States. He was Ambassador 
to India, as well as the President of the United Nations Security 
Council. And since 1977, he has been the cerebral center of the United 
States Senate.
  He is among the most intelligent Senators ever to serve in this body. 
He has taught at MIT, Harvard, Syracuse, and Cornell, and has been the 
recipient of over 60 honorary degrees. Few can match his resume and 
none can surpass his commitment to this nation. He will be sorely 
missed.
  The building to be named for Daniel Patrick Moynihan is a magnificent 
structure in New York City that will be a fitting tribute to the 
distinguished Senator. Completed in 1994 and built to last 200 years, 
the courthouse is an extraordinary work of art inside and out. It will 
serve as an enduring monument to our good friend Senator Moynihan and 
his 47-year career in public service.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to lend my support for the 
naming of the Pearl Street courthouse in New York City as humble 
tribute to our colleague, the distinguished senior Senator from New 
York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who regrettably announced his retirement 
from this body at the conclusion of the 106th Congress.
  It is only fitting that any recognition of the senior Senator from 
New York's achievements should first underscore his limitless passion 
in reflecting the highest ideals befitting the dignity, enterprise, 
vigor and stability of the American government. His singular vision of 
the role of a United States Senator and his deep desire to live up to 
that lofty image is only part of what makes my friend and colleague the 
paragon of public service which he has been for this body, his 
constituents and the American people for nearly a quarter century.
  Since his election to the United States Senate in 1976, Senator 
Moynihan has imprinted an indelible impression upon our Nation's 
Capital in so many estimable ways. His virtues extend far beyond my 
capabilities of statesmanship but, given that the pending matter is the 
naming of a federal building in his honor, I will limit myself to 
simply discussing his unique role in shepherding the physical 
transformation of the federal landscape in Washington, D.C.
  During his tenure in Congress, Senator Moynihan has made a consistent 
commitment to build government buildings well and help achieve the 
potential L'Enfant envisioned here 200 years ago.
  There's a fitting symmetry to Senator Moynihan's career in 
Washington. He started out nearly four decades ago in the Kennedy 
Administration, and his service at the White House end of Pennsylvania 
Avenue continued in the Johnson and Nixon years. Since 1977, he's 
served on this end in the U.S. Capitol as the Senator from New York.
  It fell to him, as one of Kennedy's cadre of New Frontiersman, to 
write a prescription for then-failing Pennsylvania Avenue, whose 
shabbiness had caught the President's eye during the inaugural parade. 
True to his scholar's training, Senator Moynihan went back to basics to 
prepare an eloquent appreciation of L'Enfant's conception of 
Pennsylvania Avenue, ``the grand axis of the city, as of the Nation . . 
. leading from the Capitol to the White House, symbolizing at once the 
separation of powers and the fundamental unity in the American 
government.''
  Little wonder, then, that Senator Moynihan today can look back with 
satisfaction at what has happened to the avenue. He was there at the 
beginning.
  When news came that President Kennedy had been shot, Senator Moynihan 
was having lunch with fellow White House aides to arrange a briefing 
for congressional leaders concerning the new plan for Pennsylvania 
Avenue.
  Senator Moynihan started out, as he once wrote, ``at a time of the 
near-disappearance of the impulse to art'' in public building, 
witnessing a ``steady deteriorating in the quality of public buildings 
and public spaces, and with it a decline in the symbols of public unity 
and common purpose with which the citizen can identify, of which he can 
be proud, and by which he can know what he shares with his fellow 
citizens.'' He called the new Rayburn House Office Building ``perhaps 
the most alarming and unavoidable sign of the declining vitality of 
American government that we have yet witnessed.''
  In his 1962 report which he drafted for President Kennedy, ``Guiding 
Principles for Federal Architecture,'' Senator Moynihan outlined three 
broad principles which still affect federal architecture today: (1) An 
official style must be avoided; (2) Government projects should embody 
the finest contemporary American architectural thought; and (3) Federal 
buildings should reflect the regional architectural traditions of their 
specific locations.
  Senator Moynihan's deep rooted passion for public architecture has 
abated not an iota in the years since he wrote that document. In an 
interview he gave as a freshman Senator newly assigned to the 
Environment and Public Works Committee, he was quoted as saying, ``I 
like buildings, I like things,'' he explained simply, ``and the 
government builds things.'' Later as chairman, he used his vantage 
point to become one of the capital's most persuasive, powerful voices 
for rationality and beauty in the things our government builds.
  Recently, he was asked about the capital's esthetic transformation, 
to which he asked a rhetorical question: ``Do we realize we look up and 
we have the most beautiful capital on earth?''
  I thank Senator Moynihan. I have been privileged to serve with you to 
help transform Pennsylvania Avenue into the great thoroughfare of the 
city of Washington, DC.
  His 1962 vision is Y2K's reality. I sincerely hope that the 
courthouse we name in his honor reflects the legacy of federal 
architecture he leaves and the great vision of this Nation he always 
espoused.
  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise to speak in favor of S. 2370. S. 
2370 names

[[Page S3556]]

the new Foley Square Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street, New York City, 
after Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. But even more, I wish to pay 
tribute to a colleague, a mentor, and a friend.
  When Senator Moynihan retires from the Senate at the end of this 
year, he will be deeply and perhaps uniquely missed because he has 
contributed so much to our debates and, in fact, to our lives. There 
will be plenty of time for extended tributes later.
  Each Senator will stand up and explain in his own words the work and 
wonder of Senator Moynihan, particularly as the session draws to a 
close, and I hope to participate in those tributes at that time.
  The bill we are considering today is also a fitting tribute for two 
reasons: First, one of the many special contributions that Pat Moynihan 
has made to our Nation is the contribution to our public architecture.
  Thomas Jefferson said:

       Design activity and political thought are indivisible.

  In keeping with this, Pat Moynihan has sought to improve our public 
places so they reflect and uplift our civic culture.
  Senator Moynihan, himself, said it well back in 1961. We all know he 
has held many important positions in Government, in fact, so many I 
don't think any of us can remember them all. But only recently did I 
learn that he once was the staff director of something called the Ad 
Hoc Committee on Federal Office Space.
  That is right. He was. In addition to everything else, he once wrote 
a document called the ``Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture'' 
back in 1961. And that remains in effect today. It is one page long. It 
says that public buildings should not only be efficient and economical 
but also should ``provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, 
vigor, and stability of the American Government.''
  For many years, he has worked with energy and vision to put the goals 
expressed in the guidelines into practice.
  As an assistant to President Kennedy, he was one of the driving 
forces behind the effort to renovate Pennsylvania Avenue, to finally 
achieve Pierre L'Enfant's vision.
  He followed through. There is the Navy Memorial, Pershing Park, the 
Ronald Reagan Building, and Ariel Rios. And there are other projects. 
Along with John Chafee, he had the vision to restore Union Station--a 
magnificent building--and then to complement it with the beautiful 
Thurgood Marshall Judiciary Building.
  It is absolutely remarkable, leaving a lasting mark on our public 
places that bring us together as American citizens.
  In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Daniel Patrick Moynihan 
has had a greater positive impact on American public architecture than 
any statesman since Thomas Jefferson.
  That brings me to my second point. The new courthouse in Foley Square 
bears Pat Moynihan's mark. It is the Nation's largest courthouse, for 
the Nation's oldest Federal court.

  Senator Moynihan was the principal sponsor of the bill authorizing 
its construction back in 1987. And characteristically, he followed 
through, paying close attention to details.
  At times, the courthouse has been controversial. But no one can deny 
its grandeur. It preserves history, uses space to great effect, and it 
features a graceful sculpture in the form of a fountain designed by 
Maya Lin, who also designed the Vietnam War Memorial.
  The building itself is designed by a very distinguished American 
firm, Kohn Pederson Fox, and it was designed, as Senator Moynihan 
himself has said, ``with dignity and presence.''
  I am sure Senator Moynihan will correct me later if I am wrong, but I 
believe in St. Paul's Cathedral in London there is an inscription 
memorializing the architect of the cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren. It 
reads:

       If you would see his memorial, look about you.

  If, years from now, you stand outside the Capitol and look west, down 
Pennsylvania Avenue, or you stand on the steps of the Jacob Javits 
Federal Building in New York City and look east at the courthouse that 
will bear his name, you can say the same about Senator Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan:

       If you would see his memorial, look about you.

  Mr. President, this bill is a fitting tribute to a distinguished 
scholar, an outstanding Senator, and a great American. I urge its 
adoption.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
  Mr. MOYNIHAN. May I rise just to say I have no words at this moment 
for what my beloved colleague said. We have been 22 years together on 
the Committee on the Environment and Public Works and on the Finance 
Committee. He will succeed me soon, I hope, as chairman of the Finance 
Committee. He has my profound and lasting gratitude for what he has 
just said. I am sure he will continue in that mode.
  I thank my dear colleague.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise today to applaud my colleagues for 
their unanimous support of S. 2370, a bill to name the stunning Federal 
Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street in Manhattan after Senator Daniel 
Patrick Moynihan, the champion of this project and an esteemed Member 
of this body. I also rise to honor Senator Moynihan, who against the 
wishes of his fellow New Yorkers, myself included, plans to retire at 
the end of this year. I honor Pat Moynihan for all he has accomplished 
throughout his 47-year career in public service as legislator, scholar, 
reformer, teacher, and last, but definitely not least, builder.
  It is especially for his role as builder that we honor him today. The 
Federal Courthouse at 500 Pearl Street embodies the same spirit as 
Senator Moynihan's previous architectural endeavors--an extraordinary 
work of art, inside and out. Completed in 1994, the Courthouse was 
designed by the distinguished architectural firm of Kohn Pederson Fox 
with a dignity worthy of the weighty judicial matters considered within 
its walls. It is a magnificent structure of solid granite, marble, and 
sturdy oak, built to last 200 years, adorned with public art from 
notable contemporary artists Ray Kaskey and Maya Lin.
  Senator Moynihan has always been an important force for architecture 
in New York. He was responsible for the restoration of the spectacular 
Beaux-Arts Custom House at Bowling Green in Lower Manhattan and beloved 
in Buffalo for reawakening that city's appreciation for its 
architectural heritage, which includes Frank Lloyd Wright houses and 
the Prudential Building, one of the best-known early American 
skyscrapers by the architect Louis H. Sullivan--a building which 
Moynihan helped restore and then chose as his Buffalo office. Moynihan 
has also spurred a powerful popular movement in Buffalo to build a new 
signature Peace Bridge over the Niagara River.

  But the project for which he is best known is his beloved 
Pennsylvania Station. In 1963, Pat Moynihan was one of a group of 
prescient New Yorkers who protested the tragic razing of our City's 
spectacular Penn Station--a glorious public building designed by the 
nation's premier architectural firm of the time, McKim, Mead & White.
  It was Pat Moynihan who recognized years ago that across the street 
from what is now a dingy basement terminal that functions--barely--as 
New York City's train station, sits the James A. Farley Post Office 
Building, built by the same architects, in much the same grand design, 
as the old Penn Station. Moynihan recognized that we could use the 
Farley Building to once again create a train station worthy of our 
great City. I had offered a bill last year to name that new train 
station after him, but Senator Moynihan, with characteristic modesty, 
asked that the station keep the Farley name. And I, with characteristic 
persistence, introduced another bill to name the new Federal Courthouse 
at 500 Pearl Street after him.
  Not coincidentally, the Courthouse's presence and elegance befit 
Senator Moynihan, who was most responsible for its creation. Senator 
Moynihan toiled for nearly a decade prodding the Congress, General 
Services Administration, three New York City mayors, and anyone else he 
needed, to see this spectacular Courthouse built. The Courthouse at 500 
Pearl Street will serve as a fitting tribute and provide an enduring 
monument in the heart of the City that Pat Moynihan and I both love so 
dearly, a monument for the millions of New Yorkers and their fellow 
Americans who love and admire Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

[[Page S3557]]

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any additional statements relating to the bill be 
printed the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 2370) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                S. 2370

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN UNITED 
                   STATES COURTHOUSE.

       The Federal building located at 500 Pearl Street in New 
     York City, New York, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse.

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