[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 109 (Tuesday, July 31, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8458-S8459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN MEMORY OF CARROLL O'CONNOR

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay my respects to a great 
American, Carroll O'Connor, who died June 21, 2001 of a heart attack. 
Mr. O'Connor was a talented actor who is fondly remembered for his role 
as Archie Bunker in the television show ``All in the Family,'' which 
ran successfully from 1971-1979 and for which he won four Emmys. 
Everyone will agree that Mr. O'Connor's portrayal of Archie Bunker 
helped start a dialogue in this country about serious issues that had 
until then been avoided. Issues such as racism, bigotry, and religious 
and gender discrimination were tackled by the cast of ``All in the 
Family,'' and Mr. O'Connor led the discussion. His loyal fans will 
always remember the contributions he made to changing attitudes in 
America.
  As much as I admired Mr. O'Connor for his role in bringing social 
issues to the forefront of American thought, today I would like to talk 
about another important issue that Mr. O'Connor helped bring to the 
attention of the American public. Mr. O'Connor was a tireless advocate 
for preventing kids from using drugs. He spoke publicly about the 
importance of keeping illegal drugs away from our kids. He passionately 
pleaded for parents to get between drugs and their kids so as to avoid 
the heartache that he himself suffered while witnessing his son Hugh 
struggle with his own addiction to cocaine and ultimately, as a result 
of his addiction, commit suicide. At a time when many would retreat in 
their own sorrow and grief, Carroll O'Connor mustered the strength to 
speak out about the dangers of drug abuse. He was a true public servant 
who undoubtedly touched the hearts of millions through his public 
service announcements that intimately described how he lost his son to 
drug addiction. I truly believe that his moving announcements prompted 
many parents to talk to their children about drugs.
  I was fortunate to meet several times with Mr. O'Connor to discuss 
our country's drug control strategy. He had many interesting and 
innovative ideas as how to best solve the problem. In fact, just a few 
months ago he appeared via satellite at a Judiciary Committee hearing I 
held to testify in favor of S. 304, the Drug Abuse Education, 
Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001, which I introduced along with 
Senators Leahy, Biden, DeWine, Thurmond, and Feinstein. I want to quote 
a passage from his opening statement, which I believe exemplifies his 
dedication to the issue of drug abuse.

       We only know that there is hardly a family in America, on 
     any level of life, that has not been wounded lightly or 
     severely or fatally by the assault of the drug empire upon 
     our country. The loved ones of insensate addicts, like my own 
     poor son, write to me every day imploring my help, as if I, 
     being well-known, might persuade our leaders to protect and 
     defend them in this war, or at the very least help them care 
     for their wounded and dying. This Committee, by this 
     legislation, is now directing serious attention to the care 
     for the wounded and dying.

  I deeply regret that Mr. O'Connor will not be here when the Senate 
passes S. 304, but importantly, his legacy is secure in the form of the 
contribution he has made to publicizing this issue

[[Page S8459]]

and the tireless work toward the passage of this legislation. I ask 
unanimous consent that Mr. O'Connor's March 14, 2001 opening statement 
before the Judiciary Committee be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Statement by Carroll O'Connor to the Senate Judiciary Committee, March 
                                14, 2001

       Good morning. My dear Senators, I'm honored by your 
     invitation to be here. I'm deeply involved in our war on 
     drugs but only as a wounded victim of it, without expertise 
     in the conduct of it. I am presuming here simply to speak for 
     five million other victims. Or should I say ten million? Is 
     there a true number? We only know that there is hardly a 
     family in America, on any level of life, that has not been 
     wounded lightly or severely or fatally by the assault of the 
     drug empire upon our country.
       The loved ones of insensate addicts, like my own poor son, 
     write to me every day imploring my help, as if I, being well-
     known, might persuade our leaders to protect and defend them 
     in this war, or at the very least help them care for their 
     wounded and dying. This committee, by this legislation, is 
     now directing serious attention to the care of the wounded 
     and dying. This is a good bill. This war against the drug 
     empire is a good war, and except for some who call it a lost 
     war, who would legalize drugs and turn the country over to 
     the invader, the American people are not clamoring to 
     withdraw from this war.
       This war is raging in the streets around them. They tell me 
     in their letters that they don't understand why we are not 
     fighting this war and winning it. They understand that they 
     are spending billions to raise blockades and sanctions 
     against so-called enemy countries like Libya and Cuba, and to 
     fly bomber patrols over Iraq to prevent the Iraqis from 
     making chemical weapons to use against us, but they know that 
     the only country in the world attacking us daily with the 
     poisons it makes is Colombia, the key country in the drug 
     empire; Colombia which says to us ``Control your own deadly 
     habits; we don't create them, we merely supply them. 
     Meanwhile can you let us have two billion dollars and some 
     American troops to deal with our rebels down here?''
       If this is an unsophisticated picture of our foreign 
     relations, it is nevertheless starkly real to our despairing 
     people. The picture might better be presented to some other 
     committee of the congress, but it is impossible to leave it 
     out of any consideration of the drug war. I cannot guess how 
     our people will receive the proposals advanced by this good 
     legislation, and I am afraid that the expenditures here 
     proposed for treatment and rehabilitation are not going to be 
     enough by half. I would have said that we needed new, free 
     rehabilitation centers in all of the major counties of our 
     fifty states. How many? Two hundred, three hundred? At what 
     cost? Perhaps a billion? a low guess? just to start the 
     program.
       Addicts cannot help themselves; they have to learn control, 
     to re-regulate brain cells in expert medical facilities, 
     places with living facilities closely available that will 
     receive them without delay when they are ready to offer 
     themselves. Our people are not ungenerous but they are not 
     well informed. Care and rehabilitation of thousands and 
     thousands of junkies is not something they are ready to pay 
     for on a grand scale. But that must be done, and now when we 
     are at the flood tide of our national wealth is the only 
     possible time to do it.

                          ____________________