[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7821-S7822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                WELCOMING ZELL MILLER TO THE U.S. SENATE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, today we welcome a new colleague to this 
body, former Governor, now Senator Zell Miller. We welcome Senator 
Miller at the same time that we mourn the passing of his predecessor, 
Paul Coverdell. So it is a bittersweet moment.
  Zell Miller isn't replacing Paul Coverdell. He can't be replaced, 
rather, I prefer to think he is following the footsteps of a consummate 
and formidable legislator. I worked closely with Senator Coverdell to 
move legislation when people thought legislation couldn't be moved. And 
I look forward to working with Senator Miller in that same vain.
  In thinking about what I would say about Senator Miller's arrival to 
the senate, I ran across a quote by the great Senator J. William 
Fulbright. He talked about what it takes to be both a legislator and an 
executive and I think it is a fitting characterization of the work of 
both Paul Coverdell and Zell Miller.
  Fulbright said: ``The legislator is an indispensable guardian of our 
freedom.'' ``It is true,'' he said, ``that great executives have played 
a powerful role in the development of civilization, but such leaders 
appear sporadically, by chance. They do not always appear when they are 
most needed. The great executives have given inspiration and push to 
the advancement of human society, but it is the legislator who has 
given stability and continuity to that slow and painful progress.''
  Zell Miller, to borrow Senator Fulbright's eloquent words, appeared 
in Georgia when he was most needed. As Governor, he advanced the 
prospects of the people of Georgia by creating the HOPE scholarship 
program. The initiative was so successful that President Clinton and 
the Congress made the HOPE scholarship initiative a national program. 
As a result, not only do Georgians have the opportunity to pursue their 
dreams through higher education, so do millions of Americans.
  Looking at his career, you learn that Zell Miller also understands 
Sam Rayburn's dictum that ``you cannot be a leader, and ask other 
people to follow you, unless you know how to follow too.'' Whether it 
was his service in Marine Corps, his tenure in the Georgia State Senate 
or as Lieutenant Governor or Governor, he learned leadership by 
following those who walked the walk before him and then by focusing on 
what matters most to the American people. The central focus of Zell 
Miller's career has been on what he aptly calls ``kitchen table 
issues.'' The issues that affect the daily lives of the American 
people--education, taxes, crime, and health care.
  Some may be surprised to learn that Zell is fulfilling a childhood 
ambition of serving in the U.S. Senate. According to a recent news 
report, he wrote to his boyhood friend, Ed Jenkins, in their high 
school yearbook that ``we will be friends forever until and unless you 
decide to run against me for the

[[Page S7822]]

U.S. Senate.'' His friendship with Ed Jenkins, someone with whom I 
served in the House, is still intact, and Zell will start a new chapter 
in what has been an extraordinary career.
  Finally, Mr. President, Zell brings the attributes of both a 
legislator and an executive to the Senate and I believe they will serve 
him well. And like Paul Coverdell, who through his work brought 
stability and continuity to the Senate, I know that Zell will bring 
great credit to this institution and will serve the people of Georgia 
well. We welcome him to the U.S. Senate.

                          ____________________