[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 44 (Thursday, March 29, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3141-S3142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO THE LATE CONGRESSMAN NORMAN SISISKY

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I am joined by my colleague, Senator 
Allen. We would like to address the Senate for a period not to exceed 
10 minutes.
  Mr. President, today, just hours ago, Senator Allen and I were 
informed of the loss of one of our Members of Congress from the State 
of Virginia, Norman Sisisky. It has been my privilege to have served 
with him in Congress throughout his career. Our particular 
responsibilities related to the men and women of the Armed Forces--I 
serving on the Senate Committee on Armed Forces and he on the House 
National Security Committee.
  Our Nation has lost a great patriot in this wonderful man who started 
his public service career in 1945 as a young sailor in the U.S. Navy. 
In total, he served some 30 years, including his Naval service, service 
in the Virginia General Assembly, and in the service of the Congress of 
the United States.
  The men and women of the Armed Forces owe this patriot a great deal, 
for he carried forth his earliest training in the Navy until the last 
breath he drew this morning. They were always, next to his family, 
foremost in his mind.
  Throughout his legislative career in the Congress, many pieces of 
legislation bear his imprint and his wisdom on behalf of the men and 
women in the Armed Forces.
  Mr. President, it is a great loss to the Commonwealth of Virginia, 
this distinguished public servant. It is a great loss to me of a 
beloved friend, a dear friend. My heart and my prayers go to his 
widow--a marriage of some 50 years--and to his family.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I just thank my two colleagues for 
bringing this information to the Senate. I came into the House of 
Representatives with Norman Sisisky. What a terrific person he was to 
work with. He had a wonderful sense of humor, was very dedicated, as my 
friend pointed out, to his country. He was very patriotic, and he was a 
real fighter for his district.
  I want to associate myself with the eloquent words of Senator Warner 
and Senator Allen.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I echo the words of the senior Senator from 
Virginia, John Warner. Norman Sisisky was a man who was loved all 
across Virginia. As the Senator said, he started his career in the 
Depression and served in the armed services. He also was a very 
successful businessman in the private sector. While he was a strong 
advocate for the armed services and the strength of our Nation, he also 
brought forth commonsense business principles of logistics and 
efficiency, whether it was in the days he was in the general assembly 
or in his many years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  He clearly was one of the leaders to whom people on both sides of the 
aisle would look. When there was a need for getting good, bipartisan 
support, obviously, folks would go to Senator Warner. On the Democrat 
side, they looked to Norm Sisisky. Norm Sisisky cared a great deal, as 
Senator Warner said, about the men and women who wear the uniform. He 
wanted to make sure they had the most advanced equipment, the most 
technologically advanced armaments for their safety when protecting our 
interests and freedoms abroad.
  He was a true hero to many Virginians, not just in his district but 
all across the Commonwealth of Virginia, always bridging the partisan 
divides, trying to figure out what is the best thing for the people of 
America and also freedom-loving people around the world.
  I will always remember Norm Sisisky as a person. I will always 
remember that smiling face, and he had that deep voice and that deep 
laugh, hardy laugh.
  He was one who was always exuberant, always passionate, no matter 
what the effort, what the cause. You could be standing on the corner 
waiting for the light to change, and Norm would be carrying on with 
great passion and vigor about whatever the issue was. He would thrive 
on figuring out: Here is the way we will maneuver through the 
bureaucracy to get this idea done.
  He truly was a wonderful individual. Everyone here speaks of him as a 
fellow Member of the House of Representatives.
  When I was Governor, this man went beyond the call of duty. We were 
trying to get the department of military affairs to move from Richmond 
to Fort Pickett to transform that base which had been closed.
  Norm Sisisky spent weekends talking with members on the other side of 
the aisle in the Virginia General Assembly, beyond the call of duty, to 
make sure we could move the headquarters to Fort Pickett and that the 
environmental aspects were cleaned up at no expense to the taxpayers, 
keep the facility open, and transform it to commercial use to benefit 
the entire Blackstone community.
  The people in Southside Virginia will be forever grateful for what 
Norm Sisisky  did in making sure Fort Pickett is there as a military 
facility for guard units in the Army, as well as private enterprise 
efforts and helping protect the jobs and people of that community.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. ALLEN. I will yield shortly.
  Congressman Norm Sisisky was a great Virginian. He was a great 
American. I know our thoughts and prayers are there for his wife Rhoda. 
I know at least two of his sons very well, Mark and Terry, as well as 
Richard and Stuart.
  Our prayers and thoughts go out to them. We tell them: Please realize 
Norm still lives on in you, in your blood, and also his spirit.
  We also share our grief with his very dedicated and loyal staff who 
shared his passion for the people of Virginia and the people of 
America.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, if I may add to what my distinguished 
colleague said, we shall work together to

[[Page S3142]]

see whether or not an appropriate portion of Fort Pickett--he just 
loved that base--can appropriately bear his name. It would mean a great 
deal to the men and women of the armed forces. We will do that.
  Mr. ALLEN. That is a great idea.
  Mr. REID. Will the Senator from Virginia yield?
  Mr. ALLEN. Yes.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as with Senator Boxer, I came to the House 
of Representatives in 1982. One of the freshman House Members was Norm 
Sisisky. Like Senator Allen, I can see that smile. He had an infectious 
smile. He was a friend. I enjoyed my service with that class of 1982. 
Part of my memories will always be Norm Sisisky. 
  I join in the comments made by my friends from Virginia and the 
Senator from California in recognizing a great public servant in Norm 
Sisisky. 
  Mr. WARNER. We thank our colleague for his remarks.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Will the Senator from Virginia yield?
  Mr. WARNER. Yes.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I say to the Senators, oh, the 
gossamer thread of life cut short so quickly for such a great servant 
of the State of Virginia and of the United States of America with whom 
I had the privilege of serving in the House. He never met a man he did 
not like, and he was passionate about Government service. I thank my 
colleagues for calling this sad news to our attention and for the 
opportunity to respond.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we thank our colleague.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, briefly, I do not claim a close 
relationship with Norm Sisisky, but I have had the great privilege of 
serving on the Armed Services Committee with Senator Warner for the 
last 18 years, and I can remember every year when we would go into 
conference with the House of Representatives, Norm would be there. He 
would be championing the positions he felt strongly about and that were 
important to the people of Virginia. I also mourn his loss and 
recognize the important loss it is to Virginia and to this Congress.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, we thank our colleague.

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