[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 77 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5844-S5846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SERVING IN THE SENATE

  Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the distinguished Senator from South Carolina, 
Strom Thurmond, for his service to our country and to this body as 
President pro tempore.
  I offer my hearty congratulations to Senator Robert C. Byrd in 
returning to this high position this morning. Between these two men, 
the Senate enjoys 90 years of service. The wisdom they have given 
Members is beyond measure.
  I thank my partner, my counterpart, Senator Lott. This is the second 
time this year Senator Lott and I have switched roles. To us, this is 
just another in a series of challenges he and I have faced already this 
year. Every time we have been presented with these challenges, we have 
come through with our working relationship and our friendship not only 
intact but, in my view, strengthened. It is my hope and my expectation 
that we will continue to be able to work together in this manner.
  Finally, there is another person who deserves special recognition. 
That is Senator Jeffords. Last week, I was deeply touched by Senator 
Jeffords' courageous decision and his eloquent words. The Senator from 
Vermont has always commanded bipartisan respect because of the work he 
does. Regardless of where he sits in this Chamber, his work will 
continue, and America will be better for it.
  This, indeed, is a humbling moment for me. I am honored to serve as 
majority leader, but I also recognize that the majority is slim. This 
is still one of the most closely divided Senates in history.
  We have just witnessed something that has never happened in all of 
Senate history--the change of power during a session of Congress.
  At the same time Americans are evenly divided about their choice of 
leaders, they are united in their demand for action. Polarized 
positions are an indulgence that the Senate cannot afford and our 
Nation will not tolerate.
  Republicans and Democrats come to this floor with different 
philosophies and different agendas, but there are beliefs we share. 
Both Republicans and Democrats believe in the power of ideas. Both 
Republicans and Democrats believe in fashioning those ideas into sound 
public policy. The debate on that policy is what I like to call the 
noise of democracy. Sometimes it is not a very stereophonic sound. 
Sometimes there is too much sound from the right or from the left. But 
it is a sound that, in my view, is beautiful--especially in comparison 
to the noise of violence we hear in so many places all over the world 
today.

  In this divided Government--in spite of the passion with which we 
hold these ideas, in spite of the fervor with which we come to the 
floor to represent them--we are required to find common ground and seek 
meaningful bipartisanship. As I have said before, real bipartisanship 
is not a mathematical formula; it is a spirit. It is not simply finding 
a way to reach 50 plus 1. It is a way of working together that 
tolerates debate. It means seeking principled compromise. It means 
respecting the right of each Senator to speak his or her mind and to 
vote his or her conscience.
  In this Senate, at this time, on this historic occasion, each Member 
has something to prove. We need to prove

[[Page S5845]]

to the American people we can overcome the lines that all too often 
divide us. We need to prove we can do the work the American people have 
sent us to the Senate to do.
  I came to the Congress 22 years ago. I have had the good fortune of 
having many mentors. My friends know that I often speak of one, in 
particular, whose advice continues to guide me. His name: Claude 
Pepper. He was a Congressman from Florida and at one time a Senator in 
this body. He told me once that, as fervent and as passionate a 
Democrat as he was, it wasn't really whether one was a ``D'' or an 
``R'' that mattered; it was whether one was a ``C'' or ``D''--it was 
whether one was ``constructive'' or ``destructive'' in the political 
and legislative process.
  I hope I can prove to my colleagues on this side of the aisle that I 
can be a constructive leader. I hope we all recognize the difference 
between constructive and destructive politics and legislative work. I 
hope that we can live up to the expectations of the American people and 
people such as Claude Pepper.
  As we address the agenda this body has before it, I hope we can be 
constructive Republicans and constructive Democrats.
  I thank my colleagues for their trust. I thank my colleagues for 
their friendship. I am prepared to go to work.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican leader.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let me first join Senator Daschle in 
expressing my personal appreciation and great admiration to Senator 
Thurmond, for the job he has done for so many years for the people of 
South Carolina and, yes, the people of America. Today he is with the 
President of the United States, in Bedford, VA, for the dedication of a 
memorial to those who lost their lives in Normandy. As our colleagues 
know, Senator Thurmond landed at Normandy and served so honorably 
there. The energy and strength he exhibited in Normandy continues to 
this very day in the Senate. He is a legend in his own time. We all 
admire him and appreciate him so much.
  Also, I congratulate Senator Byrd for assuming this position of 
President pro tempore of the Senate. He certainly is going to need no 
briefing on the rules. He is the paragon regarding the rules of the 
Senate. He is the guardian of the rules. He certainly knows the rules, 
and he will administer them fairly and reside in the chair in a way we 
all will appreciate and admire.
  So to you, Senator Byrd and Mr. President, thank you for what you 
have done and what I know you will do as President pro tempore of the 
Senate.
  I also thank our staff members. There are so many people to recognize 
who have served the Senate during the period of time I have been 
majority leader. The officers, those who are here day in and day out, 
into the night, do such a great job for the Senate, for the Senators, 
and for our country. To all of you, I express my appreciation. I 
particularly express appreciation to our staff assistants, Elizabeth 
Letchworth, who has been secretary of the majority, now secretary of 
the minority; and to Marty Paone, who has served as secretary of the 
minority and will be secretary of the majority. They have the answers 
that we need in the Senate. We can always rely on them as to what the 
schedule may be, based on what the leaders have told them, and when the 
votes will occur. They do so much to make our life and our job easier.
  But primarily I want to extend my congratulations to my partner and 
also my friend, Tom Daschle, as majority leader. I also extend to him 
my hand of continued friendship and commitment to work with him for the 
interests of the American people. I know he will do an excellent job. I 
think he has set a very positive tone in his opening remarks and I told 
him so when I congratulated him as we shook hands.
  We have worked together over the past 5 years when I have been the 
majority leader, through some good times and some tremendous 
legislative achievements and through some tough times. Sometimes we 
have been criticized for that, but most of the time I think people 
understood we maintained a working relationship and we did the best we 
could as we saw our jobs and what we thought was right for the Senate 
and right for the American people. The good times we will remember and 
try to repeat. The bad times have already been forgotten. But there 
have been clear examples of where we have worked together in a 
bipartisan way for the interests of the American people. It covers the 
gamut.
  It has been on financial issues, on transportation, and on trade. 
There have been times when we had opposition in our own parties, but we 
came together because we thought a result was very important.
  I know Senator Daschle will find, sometimes, the weight of this job 
will be as heavy as the weight of the Earth Atlas carried on his 
shoulders. I hope on occasion I can help make that weight a little 
lighter.
  Of course, at some point, he tricked Hercules into assuming that 
burden, and Atlas was at last relieved of the weight of the world.
  I know how he felt. I mention this by way of congratulating Senator 
Daschle on his assuming the august responsibilities that come with 
being the majority leader of the U.S. Senate.
  Perhaps I should mention the remainder of that old story: Hercules 
managed to trick Atlas, so the poor giant wound up, once again, 
carrying the Earth as he was fated to do. There probably is a moral in 
there somewhere about how things not only change, but keep on changing. 
Things certainly have changed for the better since the American people 
elected Republican majorities to the Senate and the House in 1995. Back 
then, deficits stretched further than the eye could see, and Social 
Security was used as a government piggy bank. The welfare system hurt 
more people than it helped, high taxes prevented families from enjoying 
the fruits of their labor, and military readiness was seriously in 
question.
  Those problems were magnified by a bureaucracy that diverted 
education dollars from our children's classrooms, putting their futures 
at risk. Today, our hard work enables us to boast of a different 
story--the story of how Republican initiatives have made a difference 
by changing things for the better:
  Republicans became the catalyst for balancing the budget. We stopped 
the raid on Social Security. We moved people from welfare to the 
dignity and independence of work. We lowered taxes for families and for 
job creation. We began to restore America's military strength. And, we 
returned education dollars to parents, teachers and communities.
  The result? A record-setting economy, higher-paying jobs, record low 
interest rates, greater investment, more opportunity, and more parents 
involved in schools. Many landmark achievements were accomplished 
through bipartisan cooperation: the balanced budget, welfare reform, 
the Soldiers' Bill of Rights, juvenile justice reform, education 
reform, safe drinking water, a minimum wage increase combined with 
small business tax relief, and ISTEA--the legislation that is 
dramatically modernizing our transportation infrastructure, Air 21, and 
financial services modernization.
  Add to that our defense modernization, the Caribbean Basin 
Initiative, the Africa Free Trade bill, and telecommunications reform. 
We accomplished many difficult things together in a bipartisan way--in 
good times, as well as in seemingly impossible times of gridlock. I am 
hopeful that there will be more of those good times when we can do so 
again. I know that the distinguished majority leader does not need any 
advice on this occasion. But I do remember that I never believed as 
majority leader I could work my will with the Senate, unless it was a 
coalition of wills.
  From the very first, I have never gotten all that I asked for: I 
certainly did not get all the tax cuts we wanted for the American 
people. But I accepted what we could get and determined to come back 
and try again for more the next time. It is true that Senate Democrats 
will now set the schedule for this body. But any group of 49 Senators 
is an exceptionally strong minority. Each of those Senators looks 
forward to exercising all the rights of the minority to advance 
President Bush's and the people's agenda in the months ahead.
  We will be vigilant in protecting and improving social security and 
medicare. We will craft an energy policy to respond to the crisis that 
threatens our economy and qualify of life. We will create the world's 
best schools by empowering local school districts which

[[Page S5846]]

are accountable to parents. Too much money still is being wasted in 
Washington's education bureaucracy. We will confirm the President's 
nominations to enable him to run the government he was elected to 
administer and to provide for a fair and impartial judiciary. We will 
work to rebuild our nation's defenses because our military is still 
stretched way too thin for comfort in a dangerous world.

   Finally, taxes are still too high, and there is still too much waste 
in Federal spending. We will continue to work to bring both under 
control. Our minority status in the Senate--albeit temporary--neither 
dampens our enthusiasm for building upon our successes, nor excuses us 
from embracing the challenges ahead. For we did not come to Washington 
to be caretakers of power. We were sent to the Senate for a specific 
purpose, as reflected in President Bush's agenda, to: move America 
forward again by putting people back in charge of their own country; 
promote economic growth; give all individuals the opportunities to 
reach for their dreams; strengthen our bedrock institutions of family, 
school, and neighborhood; and make the United States a stronger leader 
for peace, freedom, and progress abroad.
  For too long, government has supported itself by taking more of what 
people earn, preventing them from getting ahead, no matter how hard 
they work. President Reagan called it ``economics without a soul'' and 
taught us that the size of the federal budget is not an appropriate 
barometer of social conscience or charitable concern. And that is why 
the ultimate goal in everything we are working with President Bush to 
do is to give this economy back to the American people.
  Some say it is dangerous to push for dramatic reforms in a period of 
economic instability. But I believe it is dangerous not to. There may 
not always be an opportunity. Along with all my fellow Republicans, I 
say: Our goals have not changed. Neither has our resolve to rally 
around President Bush to meet them. Our opportunity is today. To my 
friends on the other side of the aisle: We are here and ready to go to 
work for the people who elected us to represent them.
  Now we have a challenge before us that is different for me and will 
be different for Senator Daschle. Can we come together? Can we find a 
way to work with this President, President Bush, and find common ground 
even on the bill that is pending before us now, education? We have said 
we want education reform and we want a responsible increase in 
education spending. The American people said they want it, people in 
every State, as did the President, and so do we. Yet we have not gotten 
it done.
  Can we come together on education? I think we can. It is going to 
take work. It is going to take some sacrifice. Senator Kennedy is going 
to continue to push it aggressively, and he is probably going to have 
to cast votes he doesn't particularly like, and so am I, and so will 
Senator Gregg. But can we do any less? Can we afford not to, finally, 
make progress on education reform and take some steps for the Federal 
Government to be of help in improving education in America? I believe 
we can do it. It may take a little more time, but that will be our 
first test. I pledge to work with the managers and with Senator Daschle 
to make that happen.
  We have a lot of other important issues we are going to have to deal 
with this year. Senator Daschle noted yesterday we have 13 
appropriations bills and supplemental appropriations bills to do to 
keep the Government operating, and we have 59 days--estimated I guess--
to get it done. It is going to take a pretty good lift. I hope we don't 
have 100 amendments on every appropriations bill, as we had last year. 
I hope we can find a way to show fiscal restraint and get these bills 
done.
  Obviously, there are going to be health-related issues. How do we 
deal with Patients' Bill of Rights? How can we deal with this important 
question of prescription drugs, to make sure elderly poor get the help 
they need? Can we come together on Medicare reform? Can we take the 
lead from Senator Moynihan, the former Senator from New York, on Social 
Security? Will we be able to really address the energy needs of this 
country? Will we be taking partisan positions and trying to assess 
blame? Will we be trying to find how little we can do or can we come 
together and have a real national energy policy that will, hopefully, 
help this year but, more importantly, will make sure we do not have 
this problem in 5 years or 10 years? Defense continues to be something 
on which we are going to have to focus.
  So we have a full agenda. I do not think a lot will change. Senator 
Daschle will get recognized. He will be the majority leader, and I will 
be minority leader, the Republican leader.
  He will call up the bills, and we will take advantage of our rights 
in the minority to offer amendments, as certainly the other side has. 
Sometimes we will offer substitutes. But we commit and pledge our best 
efforts to finding a way to make it work and to pass important 
legislation to address these issues and find the solutions that are 
needed by the American people.
  It is not about personalities. I still believe that government is 
about ideas, about issues. So it is not really that important in what 
role we serve. What is important is what do we do for the people we 
serve, what legacy will we leave for the next generation.
  I believe we can get it done. We have a lot of work to do. Let's get 
started. I again pledge to you my support and cooperation, Senator 
Daschle. I yield the floor.
  (Applause, Senators rising.)
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.

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