[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 124 (Friday, October 6, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SID YATES
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to say, before my friend from
Illinois leaves the floor, that I had the pleasure of serving with Sid
Yates. I served with him in the House, of course, but didn't know him
very well in that large body. I came to know him better after coming to
the Senate and being a member of the Interior Subcommittee on
Appropriations while he was chairman of that committee on the House
side.
We worked very closely together. Everything the Senator from Illinois
has said is absolutely true about Sid Yates. He was a distinguished
man, and a distinguished looking man. When he left the House, he was
almost 90 years old; handsome; stood tall; never faltered a word of his
speech.
Being from the western part of the United States, I will never forget
Sid Yates. He stood for the West. He loved the wilderness, and he
helped us protect the pristine wilderness of Nevada and other places in
the West. Native Americans never had a better friend in the Congress
than Sid Yates.
I didn't know Sid Yates as well as my friend from Illinois, but I
have great respect and admiration for Sid Yates, and I will never
forget him.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I thank the
Senator from Nevada for his comments. I think each one of us who served
with Sid Yates on either side of the aisle will never forget him. When
his retirement came about, Congressman Ralph Regula, a Republican from
Ohio, never missed a retirement event for Sid Yates. I think it showed
that he reached across the aisle and established friendships and
alliances that were not just good for Congress but were good for
America. He was a wonderful man. I am blessed to have known him, to
have served with him, and perhaps to have learned a few lessons at his
side.
I think his legacy will be his efforts for education, for defense of
the arts, for defense of the environment, and for the rights of
Americans.
Our condolences go to Addie and his family. We wish them strength in
this time of loss and tell them we stand by their side.
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