[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 145 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H8061-H8062]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO SENATOR PAUL AND SHEILA WELLSTONE

  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator Paul 
Wellstone and his wife, Sheila Wellstone. As we all know, the 
Wellstones perished in a tragic plane crash, along with their daughter 
Marcia, three staff members and two pilots on October 25, 2002.
  It has been 18 days since that terrible day, and I am still 
overwhelmed by sadness at the tragic death of our dear friends whose 
plane went down in a northern Minnesota wetland near Eveleth.
  I continue to join all Minnesotans in mourning our great loss. 
Minnesota has lost two compassionate and caring public servants. Both 
Paul and Sheila will be sorely missed by all of us who knew and loved 
them.
  As the Wellstones' son, David, said, ``The words that come to mind 
about my dad are integrity, passion, fairness and intensity. When the 
going got rough, there was no one else you wanted in your corner.'' And 
about his mother, Sheila, David Wellstone said, ``The words that come 
to mind are selfless, caring, loving, tenacious, proud and strong. She 
gave of herself like you would not believe.''
  Mr. Speaker, we all know that nobody fought harder or with greater 
passion for the underdog than Paul and Sheila Wellstone. Senator 
Wellstone dedicated his life to serving others, and he was a tireless 
advocate for people in need. Paul Wellstone was a person of absolute 
integrity and was often willing to ``go it alone'' to stand up for what 
he believed was right.
  Sheila Wellstone was a true champion for battered women and their 
families, and I was privileged to work with her on many important 
causes like the Violence Against Women Act and securing funding for 
Cornerstone, an emergency shelter for women and their children who are 
victims of domestic violence in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.
  Senator Wellstone's best friend, Rick Kahn of Minnetonka, tells how 
Paul used to say to him, ``It is not enough to cling to principles, no 
matter how noble they may be, unless we are truly willing to risk 
everything.''
  While Senator Wellstone and I had our disagreements on many policy 
issues, there is no disagreeing that I lost my partner in the fight for 
people with chemical addiction. I will always, always be grateful to 
Senator Wellstone for his tireless and principled efforts to provide 
chemical dependency treatment for more Americans, and Paul Wellstone 
was the Senate sponsor of our legislation to provide parity for 
chemical dependency treatment.N O T I C E

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[[Page H8062]]


  Even though we encountered strenuous resistance from special 
interests, Senator Wellstone was always truly willing to risk 
everything for our cause to help people with addiction. He was 
absolutely relentless in his efforts to push for parity, both for 
people with chemical addiction, and those suffering from mental 
illness. Paul would call me frequently, and usually late at night, to 
breathlessly relay his progress in securing another cosponsor for our 
bill or to ask for advice; or usually to give advice. I came to 
absolutely cherish those late night phone calls from my friend.
  As William Cope Moyers, vice president of the Hazelden Foundation in 
Minnesota, the world-renowned treatment center for chemically dependent 
people, put it, ``Senator Wellstone was a passionate champion of what 
we do at Hazelden, and his loss is immeasurable.''
  Not only did we lose two deeply committed champions for battered 
women and people with addiction, and so many other Americans, I lost 
two of my dearest friends in that plane crash. I have been asked many 
times since the crash to share personal stories about the Wellstones. 
It has been absolutely heart warming to share personal memories about 
Paul and Sheila with people throughout Minnesota.
  And as we all know, in this body as well as the other body, Paul 
Wellstone took his job very seriously, but he never, ever took himself 
too seriously. He had a great ability to poke fun at himself and bring 
people together. Even when he had policy disagreements with people, he 
always disagreed in an agreeable way, flashing that contagious 
Wellstone smile and slapping the person on the back in a warm, loving 
way.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to finish this eulogy to our 
departed comrade and friend.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot entertain that request. The 
gentleman has been recognized for 5 minutes. The Chair would entertain 
a request from the gentleman to revise and extend his remarks in the 
Congressional Record. The gentleman may complete his oral thought, and 
conclude his remarks.
  Mr. RAMSTAD. Mr. Speaker, one of my favorite recollections of Paul 
was the time he was considering a campaign for President. Before he got 
on the airplane for our weekly commute back to Minnesota, I instructed 
all of the regular commuters to start humming ``Hail to the Chief'' as 
soon as Paul got on the plane.
  On cue, the passengers struck up a cord of ``Hail to the Chief,'' and 
Paul saw me sitting in the back and came right over to me and said 
``Ramstad, do not forget. I might be only 5 feet 5 and you are 6 feet 
3, but don't ever forget I was a wrestler and you were only a 
basketball player.''
  That was Paul Wellstone, always in good humor, always flashing that 
contagious smile that reflected his love for all people.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, Paul Wellstone was a person of great 
courage. Who can forget Senator Wellstone painfully walking around the 
Capitol bent nearly double from the back injuries he had sustained as a 
wrestler and from his struggles with multiple sclerosis, but always the 
first to run back into the kitchen of the Senate Dining Room to thank 
the cooks and dishwashers for his meals.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask all in this body to pause for a silent moment to 
pay our respects to Paul and Sheila Wellstone, their daughter Marcia, 
and to the others who perished in that plane crash, Tom Lapic, Mary 
McEvoy, Will McLaughlin, Richard Conry and Michael Guess. My heart goes 
out to the family members left behind and to Paul's dedicated staff. 
May you rest in peace, dear friends. Amen.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, it is ordered that the 
gentleman's written extension of his remarks will be included in the 
Congressional Record.
  There was no objection.

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