[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 34 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2307-S2308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEATH OF THE HONORABLE HERMAN E. TALMADGE, FORMERLY A SENATOR FROM THE 
                            STATE OF GEORGIA

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to the consideration of S. Res. 231.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 231) relative to the death of the 
     Honorable Herman E. Talmadge, formerly a Senator from the 
     State of Georgia.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, I rise today to mourn one of this body's 
greatest giants--Herman Eugene Talmadge.
  The tallest tree in all the Georgia forest has fallen. And we will 
never see another one that stood so tall and had such strength. All of 
us in Georgia politics who came after him have worked in his shade.
  My heart grieves for his wife Linda, his family and his legion of 
loyal friends.
  Without question, Herman Talmadge was Georgia's greatest governor of 
the 20th Century. He proposed and passed Georgia's first sales tax, and 
that ushered in a new day of State services. Nowhere was the impact 
greater than in education.
  When Herman Talmadge became Governor in 1948, Georgia still had more 
than 1,750 one-room school houses. Many other school buildings were in 
a dilapidated State.
  The major school construction program he launched was badly needed. 
It changed the state of education in Georgia.
  But he did more than just construct new school buildings. Governor 
Talmadge also implemented Georgia's first statewide effort to reform 
education. It was called the Minimum Foundation Program for Education.
  The result was dramatic improvement in public education in Georgia--
increased funding, better-trained, higher-paid teachers, finally, a 9-
month

[[Page S2308]]

school year, and bus service in rural areas that gave every Georgia 
child the opportunity for an education.
  And one other thing I can say personally concerning education: 
Senator Talmadge certainly educated me.
  He beat the tar out of me when I ran against him for the Senate in 
1980. And I have often said I learned more from that losing race than I 
did in all the others that I won.
  This Senator has a Ph.D. from ``Herman Talmadge University.''
  Although it took me a few years to realize it, I have been a better 
man and a better Governor and a better Senator because of what he 
taught me.
  For example, I never proposed a program or let anyone else propose 
some ``pie in the sky'' without asking, How much does it cost and how 
are we going to pay for it?
  But we are not here to talk about what he taught me. We are here to 
pay tribute to a Georgia icon, a giant political leader, the likes of 
which we will never see again.
  A man who gave and did so much for our State, our Nation, and our 
people.
  The Talmadge Administration also left Georgia an economic development 
legacy, an unprecedented highway construction program was undertaken. 
The Ports Authority and our network of State farmers' markets were 
expanded. And the forestry industry benefited from his statewide 
program of protection and reforestation.
  Governor Talmadge also built a network of hospitals and health 
centers throughout Georgia. And he doubled State funding for mental 
health.
  Two years after he left the Governor's office, he was easily elected 
to the U.S. Senate in 1956 to replace the legendary Walter F. George 
upon his retirement.
  Those were big shoes to fill. But Herman Talmadge immediately 
established himself as an authority on agricultural programs. In fact, 
he chaired the Agriculture Committee for a decade--from 1971 through 
1980.
  I will never forget the day I went to my first meeting as a member of 
the Agriculture committee. I sat down at the table and right behind me 
was the huge magnificent portrait of Senator Talmadge. I wrote him a 
note saying that ``he was still in Washington looking over my 
shoulder.''
  Senator Talmadge was a primary sponsor of the modern School Lunch 
Program, and of the 1972 Rural Development Act, which created a system 
of rural hospitals.
  In welfare reform, Herman Talmadge was ahead of his time. His 
Talmadge Work Incentive Training Act provided tax credits as an 
incentive to hiring welfare recipients.
  In its first two years, this law took more than one million people 
off the welfare rolls nationwide. It resulted in a savings of $4 
billion dollars. Georgia alone saved more than $400 million.
  Without a doubt, his service together, with Senator Richard B. 
Russell, who chaired the Armed Forces Committee, gave Georgia the most 
powerful presence it has ever had in the U.S. Senate.
  I will close with this last observation. The ultimate test of any 
statesman is to have a combination of insight and courage.
  Herman Eugene Talmadge always possessed both in abundance.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be 
agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, without 
any intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 231) was agreed to, as follows:

                              S. Res. 231

       Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
     and deep regret the announcement of the death of the 
     Honorable Herman E. Talmadge, formerly a Senator from the 
     State of Georgia.
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate 
     these resolutions to the House of Representatives and 
     transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the 
     deceased.
       Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns today, it stand 
     adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
     deceased Senator.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I did not know Herman Talmadge, but when I 
arrived here in Washington his reputation was evident. Even though what 
we are doing tonight is somewhat perfunctory, it should not take away 
from the many great deeds this man did for the State of Georgia and his 
country, as indicated in the statement by Senator Zell Miller.

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