[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1607-S1608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ALAN CRANSTON

  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, one of the first times I ever came to the 
Dirksen Senate Office Building, a location where I now have my Senate 
office, was on December 12, 1969, some 20 months after my injury in 
Vietnam, when I was summoned to appear before the Senate Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs about how the Veterans Administration was handling 
returning Vietnam war veterans. That meeting was chaired by a tall, 
lean Senator from California named Alan Cranston and it was the start 
of a three decade friendship. Thus, in 1974 after experiencing what 
hopefully will prove to be my only electoral defeat, in the Democratic 
Primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, one of the first people I 
turned to was Senator Cranston, who generously accepted my offer to 
come out to California to campaign for his successful re-election. 
Then, after the General Election, he came to my aid by serving as 
guest-of-honor at a fund-raising dinner to pay off my campaign debt. 
And to top it off, Senator Cranston helped me get a job as a special 
investigator for the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, which is where 
I was serving when President Carter selected me to head the VA, in no 
small part because of the strong recommendation of Alan Cranston.
  I hope this short discourse makes it clear the debt of gratitude that 
I personally owed to Senator Cranston, but more importantly, it is 
indicative of the kind of man Alan was: dynamic, thoughtful, 
compassionate. He touched many lives, including veterans who benefited 
from his tireless commitment especially on behalf of Vietnam era 
veterans, future generations of Americans who today and for all time to 
come will benefit from his far-sighted commitment to the protection of 
our land, air and water and for citizens of the world who benefit from 
his long-time commitment to world peace, a cause he continued to pursue 
till the end of his life through the Global Security Institute.
  Another part of the Cranston legacy is perhaps somewhat less known to 
the general public: his efforts on behalf of the disabled. When Alan 
Cranston came to the Senate in 1969, those with disabilities had 
virtually no legal protections against various forms of discrimination 
and indeed faced many barriers, physical and otherwise, to just getting 
in to the halls of government. To Alan Cranston, that was unacceptable. 
He led the efforts to enact the landmark Federal Rehabilitation Act of 
1973 which outlawed discrimination against the disabled in all 
federally funded programs.
  Among its many provisions, the 1973 law: Required federally funded 
buildings to be made accessible; promoted the hiring and advancement of 
qualified persons with disabilities by the Federal Government; and 
established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance 
Board, which has responsibility for setting standards for accessibility 
and for assisting and enforcing compliance with accessibility laws. I 
was honored to be named to that Board by President Carter in 1979.
  Throughout the remainder of the 1970's Alan worked to revamp 
federally assisted State vocational rehabilitation programs by his 
sponsorship of laws that gave priority to the most seriously disabled 
and, most importantly, required a focus and follow-through on 
employment. In 1980, he sponsored successful legislation to make these 
same improvements in vocational rehabilitation programs for veterans. 
And in 1990, Senator Cranston was a leading co-sponsor of the Americans 
with Disabilities Act, which in many ways was a culmination of two

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decades of leadership by Senator Cranston on behalf of fairness and 
opportunity for persons with disabilities.
  It was a great honor to have known and worked with Alan Cranston. Our 
country is a better place because of his achievements, which we 
celebrate today.

                          ____________________