[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 17 (Tuesday, February 26, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1151-S1152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING SENATOR TED KENNEDY ON HIS 70TH BIRTHDAY

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, my old friend and teacher, Mo Udall, 
wrote a book called ``Too Funny to be President'' and dedicated it, in 
his words, ``to the 3,000 Members of Congress, living and dead, with 
whom I served for nearly three decades.''
  It is true. We are all part of a continuum. In the history of our 
Nation, only 1,864 Americans have ever served in the Senate. Carved or 
penned into the drawers in our desks are the names of some of the 
giants--men such as Clay, Webster, Calhoun. But we don't have to open 
our desks or open a book to see one of the greatest Senators ever to 
serve in this body. All we have to do is open our eyes. He is right 
here, at the same desk he has occupied now for the last 40 years.
  I have been a Senator for 16 years. I count it as part of my good 
fortune that I have been able to call Ted Kennedy a colleague all of 
those years. I consider it an even greater privilege to call him my 
friend.
  Today it gives me enormous pleasure to join the rest of my colleagues 
in wishing my good friend a happy 70th birthday.
  In his remarkable 1999 book ``Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography,'' New 
York Times reporter Adam Clymer recounts a letter an 8-year-old Ted 
Kennedy received from his father.
  It was 1940. Ambassador Kennedy was writing from war-torn London to 
his young son who had returned to America. He tells Ted that he can 
hear the bombs exploding outside his residence. Then he writes:

       I hope that when you grow up, you will dedicate your life 
     to trying to work out plans to make people happy instead of 
     making them miserable, as war does today.

  Somewhere, I feel certain Joe Kennedy is looking down on his youngest 
son today, as he does every day, smiling. Ted Kennedy has indeed 
dedicated his life to trying to make people happy.

  The great Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, wrote that ``this is 
the true joy of life: to be used for a principle recognized by yourself 
as a mighty one . . .''
  That is exactly what Ted Kennedy has done. For 40 years now he has 
used his great booming voice to speak for those who have none. There is 
no more passionate or effective advocate in this Senate for good 
schools for every child, decent, affordable health care for every 
American; there is no one in this body who has fought harder or longer 
to improve the living standards of working families and protect the 
basic civil rights of all Americans. He is a drum major for justice.
  President Bush says the folks at the coffee shop down in Crawford 
were surprised to see him praise Senator Kennedy for his invaluable 
help in passing the new education reform act. They shouldn't have been.
  Since the day he arrived, Ted Kennedy has sought out those with views 
different from his own to see if together they could find principled 
compromise. He has never wavered in his principles. At the same time, 
he is a pragmatist who wants more than anything to get things done.
  I remember 5 years ago when we created the Children's Health 
Insurance Program with strong bipartisan support. It was something 
Senator Kennedy had worked on for years. After the vote, he came into 
my office, as he does sometimes with these victories, beaming. He 
looked so much like a proud, new father, I thought he might start 
handing out cigars. To everyone he passed he said, ``Isn't it 
wonderful.''
  As he spoke about that victory, he didn't talk about how many votes 
his plan had received. He talked about how many children it would help. 
That is the kind of man he is. He doesn't care who gets the credit so 
long as people get the help.
  Sometimes when I am in this Chamber, I look up to the gallery to see 
the people who have come here to see this great institution at work. I 
can always tell from their reactions when Senator Kennedy has walked on 
the floor without even looking around. People sit up, heads turn. 
Almost always you see someone lean over and whisper to the person next 
to him or her: Look, Ted Kennedy.
  He is, undoubtedly, the best known member of this body. Yet he 
remains a modest man--a worker among workers.
  Within our caucus, he is very often the first one to work in the 
morning and the last person to leave at night.
  No job is too small for Ted Kennedy. At the same time, no challenge 
is too big.
  On civil rights, voting rights, education, disarmament and so many 
other critically important issues, Senator Kennedy has not only picked 
up the fallen standard that his brothers John and Robert once carried. 
He has advanced that standard. He has done much of the work they hoped 
to do but couldn't.
  There is another incident in Adam Clymer's book that may explain, in 
part, why Ted Kennedy has achieved so much in this Senate.
  The year was 1965. Ted and Robert Kennedy were serving together on 
the Labor and Public Welfare Committee. It was Robert Kennedy's first 
year in the Senate and Ted's third.
  One day, after they had waited hours to question a committee witness, 
Robert leaned over and whispered to his brother: ``Is this the way I 
become a good Senator--sitting here and waiting my turn?''
  Ted said: ``Yes.''
  Robert pressed: ``How many hours do I have to sit to be a good 
Senator?''
  Ted answered: ``As long as it takes, Robbie.''
  Ted Kennedy is a patient idealist. He understands that progress is a 
long march and he is willing to work as long and hard as it takes to 
move America forward.
  Carved into the drawer of the desk in which he sits is the name of 
his other brother, John, who sat there before him and who, like Robert, 
was taken from him, and us, because of his commitment to public 
service.
  Many people--perhaps most people--who had suffered such loss might 
withdraw from public service in fear or anger. They might conclude, 
rightly, that their family had given enough.
  But not Ted Kennedy.
  He has stayed and has done what his father hoped he would all those 
years ago. He has dedicated his life to trying to work out plans to 
make people happy.

[[Page S1152]]

  Unlike his brothers, he has ``lived to comb his gray hair.''
  He has received what they did not: ``the gift of length of years.''
  As we celebrate his 70th birthday, it seems to me that America is the 
real beneficiary of that great gift.
  And so, on this happy occasion, I say to my friend, Senator Kennedy, 
Thank you. Happy Birthday. And may you have many, many more.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois is recognized.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may yield 
my place in line to Senator Kerry and follow him.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Massachusetts is recognized.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Illinois for his 
enormous courtesy. I thank the majority leader for his wonderful 
comments about our colleague.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, doesn't Senator Kerry control the time?

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