[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 136 (Wednesday, October 16, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10562-S10563]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PHIL GRAMM

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Texas 
Senator Phil Gramm, highly respected on both sides of the aisle for his 
tremendous intellect, deep convictions and relentless tenacity, he will 
long be remembered in the U.S. Senate.
  I have known Senator Gramm and his lovely wife Wendy for many years. 
I first served with Senator Gramm in the House of Representatives in 
1978 where we both served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. 
As conservative southern Democrats we had much in common and found 
ourselves on the same side of most issues, although not always on the 
same side as our party. Indeed, while we both came to Congress as 
Democrats, we later found our ideology and values best reflected in the 
beliefs of the Republican Party. Senator Gramm finding the light a 
little more quickly than I did. However, when I finally made my 
decision to switch from the Democrat to Republican Party, it was more 
than symbolic that I stood between two great men who represented the 
heart of the Republican Party in the U.S. Senate, Bob Dole and Phil 
Gramm.
  When I switched parties in 1994, Senator Gramm said of my ability to 
help deliver the message of the Republican party: ``There are no 
greater zealots than converts.'' This certainly applied to me at the 
time, and it still applies today. I think he spoke from what he knew to 
be true himself. As someone who values freedom above all else, his life 
has been a perfect model of what he preaches every day, and his 
lifetime achievements testify to that fact.
  Senator Gramm embodies what can be achieved in America through hard 
work, education and determination. He grew up in modest means in 
Georgia, helping to contribute to the families' finances by working 
delivering newspapers. The strong work ethic instilled in him by his 
upbringing led Senator Gramm to the University of Georgia where he 
received his PhD in Economics in 1967. Senator Gramm then moved to 
Texas, where he met and married his wife, Wendy Lee, who was also an 
economics PhD.
  Elected to serve in the House of Representatives from the 6th 
district of Texas in 1978, Senator Gramm quickly developed a reputation 
as a conservative Democrat who was committed to fiscal responsibility. 
Through his position on the Budget Committee, Senator Gramm helped to 
craft bipartisan legislation which laid the foundation for Ronald 
Reagan's 1981 tax cuts and defense buildup. In 1983, Phil Gramm 
displayed the courage of his convictions by resigning from the 
Democratic party to run as a Republican. His re-election was a success, 
making him not only the first Republican in the history of the 6th 
District of Texas, but the only member of Congress in the 20th Century 
to resign from Congress and successfully seek re-election as a member 
of another party.
  When John Tower announced his retirement from the Senate in 1984, 
Senator Gramm seized the opportunity, and won an overwhelming victory 
in the general election. Senator Gramm wasted no time becoming actively 
involved within the Senate. One of his first initiatives, the Gramm-
Rudman-Hollings Deficit Control Act of 1985, required automatic budget 
cuts if the deficit was not reduced to specific levels. Together with a 
rapidly growing economy, this legislation was credited with producing 
the first balanced budget in twenty five years. Since then, Senator 
Gramm has established a long record of initiatives and achievements 
during his tenure in the Senate, which included negotiating the final 
package of budget cuts, spending caps and tax increases at the 1990 
budget summit, pressing for balanced budget amendments, the exposure 
and elimination of budget gimmickry, electricity deregulation and 
improving the relationship and cooperation between the United States 
and Mexico.
  Senator Gramm took the gavel of the Banking, Housing and Urban 
Affairs Committee in January of 1999. It was from this post, that he 
worked to repeal the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, which

[[Page S10563]]

separated banks from investment banking and commercial firms. Through a 
lot of hard work, dogged tenacity and a little compromise, Senator 
Gramm shepherded the bill through the committee and out of the Senate. 
The result was that in 1999 financial services deregulation was passed 
and signed into law, which may have been the biggest legislative 
achievement of the 106th Congress.
  Senator Gramm has the ability to do something that not many people 
can do. He can take very complex issues and break them down into their 
most basic elements, so that just about anybody can understand them. 
The intricacies of the budget process, the solvency of Social Security, 
the implications of national health care, are all brought down to 
kitchen table common sense. This is an amazing gift, and a formidable 
one for anyone who stands on the other side of an issue from him. There 
is simply no rhetoric to hide behind in a debate with Senator Gramm. He 
is not afraid to fight or to lose, and so he rarely loses.
  Senator Gramm's absence from the U.S. Senate will truly leave a 
substantial void. I will certainly miss his expertise on the Senate 
Banking Committee and the broad policy experience that he brings to 
every debate. I would like to extend my sincere best wishes to Senator 
Gramm on his retirement from the Senate and wish him luck in his new 
career.

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