[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 145 (Tuesday, November 12, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H8087-H8092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1545
 EXPRESSING SORROW OF THE HOUSE AT THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE PAUL D. 
             WELLSTONE, SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 
598) and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 598

       Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
     the death of the Honorable Paul D. Wellstone, a Senator from 
     the State of Minnesota.
       Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to 
     the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the 
     deceased.
       Resolved, That when the House adjourns today, it adjourn as 
     a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased 
     Senator.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe). The gentleman from Minnesota 
(Mr. Oberstar) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, 20 years ago I had returned to Minnesota from a human 
rights inquiry trip with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee 
in El Salvador, where we inquired into abuses of human rights visited 
upon Salvadorans and the four American women, three church women and 
one lay woman.
  We visited the blood-spattered streets of San Antonio Abad, the site 
of La Matanza, the massacre outside of San Salvador. We met with 
numerous victims of violence by the government and resolved to take 
action in the Congress on our return to the United States.
  On my return, I was asked by the President of the student body of 
Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, to come and address the 
students on the experience that I had just encountered.
  It was an overwhelming response. The place for the meeting was filled 
to overflowing, and students wanted to gather afterward. They asked me 
if I would come and join them at the home of one of the professors, 
which I did.
  Of course, at that meeting, it was very animated and intense 
questioning that came from the host, a young professor, who impressed 
me with his deep sense of caring, his feeling about this issue, his 
desire to do justice. I was not quite sure of his name, and I asked 
again: Paul Wellstone.
  I said, Professor, you ought to think about running for public 
office. He said, indeed, I am. I am considering running for State 
auditor. Well, that was hardly a place from which to make statewide 
policy, but it was something that he wanted to do to get into the 
public arena, and he felt there was a message that he could convey. As 
was later revealed, however, his dyslexia prevented him from really 
grasping numbers in the way that other folks do.
  Nonetheless, he conducted a spirited campaign, and lost to a 
gentleman named Arnie Carlson, who served as auditor for several years, 
and then later ran for Governor and won in the same year that Paul 
Wellstone ran for Senator and won: 1990.
  In between those two dates was a very high level of spirited activism 
by Paul Wellstone, most notable of which was leading the resistance to 
construction of a power line across the State of Minnesota to be built 
by a generation power company of the rural electrification system which 
had really lost touch with its member cooperatives and the people that 
the co-op was to serve.
  Paul Wellstone called them to accountability, called them and mounted 
a movement across the State to hold hearings, to have public sessions 
to explain the necessity for this power line running through the 
backyard of homes and through farms, and what possible adverse side 
effects there

[[Page H8088]]

might be from the construction of this power line. It was 
characteristic of Paul Wellstone's role in public service that when 
people got too big, when organizations got too big for their own good, 
he called them to account.
  In Scripture, I find the roots of Paul Wellstone's drive for public 
service. The prophet Isaiah, Chapter 11, Verse 4, under the rubric 
``the Rule of Immanuel'' writes ``But he shall judge the poor with 
justice;'' and again, in Chapter 12, Verse 1, ``Woe to those who enact 
unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees depriving the needy of 
judgment and robbing my people's poor of their rights.''
  Nothing disturbed, distressed, angered Paul Wellstone more or 
motivated him more to action than unjust statutes, oppressive decrees 
depriving the needy of their day in court, so to speak, or robbing the 
poor of their rights.
  Whether we read into those verses of Scripture the Legal Services 
Act, redlining in urban housing, the need for surveying the homeless, 
providing adequate housing for poor and middle-income Americans, or 
food stamps or Meals on Wheels, we read the keystone of Paul 
Wellstone's career of public service: A burning mission, anchored in 
Scripture, expressed in public acts to improve the lives of the least 
among us; to be a stirring voice for those who either have none, or who 
have lost their voice.
  At the memorial service honoring Senator Wellstone in Virginia, 
Minnesota, in my district a young campaign worker, Ida Rukavine, spoke 
of the inspiration that young people felt about Paul Wellstone, saying 
that her classmates, her contemporaries, were looking for someone to be 
a role model.
  At a time when, as Ida implied, young people are indeed looking for 
role models, I would pin this image on our hearts: Paul and his wife, 
Sheila, walking wherever they went hand-in-hand in all that they did, 
wherever they traveled. We should take their hands symbolically and 
take each other's hands and feel the strength of the spirit of Paul 
Wellstone that still moves among us.
  There were two votes that I would characterize as bookends for Paul 
Wellstone's career of public service, both of which I discussed with 
him at some length. The first was early in 1991, when we were voting in 
the Congress on whether to approve military action against Iraq, and 
the last was the most recent vote in the Congress, again to approve of 
a resolution giving authority to the President to use force at a time 
of his choosing of his determination against Iraq.
  Paul's no vote was recognized as a vote of courage, a vote of 
principle, a vote that marked his character in public service and all 
that he stood for. It was my vote, but it was his vote of deep 
conviction unashamedly expressed, unabashedly carried out; a role model 
for young people. Whether one agreed with the vote or not, one had to 
agree that this was indeed a man of great strength, personal character, 
and of deep conviction.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my dear friend 
and colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo).
  Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution and in memory of our 
colleague, Paul Wellstone. The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) 
and I had the unique opportunity of serving with Paul for 12 years. But 
when I think of Paul, I think of him primarily not in his role as a 
member of the U.S. Senate but as a person, a person who, when we saw 
Paul, we expected to see Sheila. They were exceptionally close, and 
they were exceptionally close to their family; to Marsha, who 
unfortunately was on the plane with them; and to their sons, David and 
Mark, and to their grandchildren. They were an incredibly close family. 
Paul was so proud of his kids and his grandkids, and wanted to spend as 
much time as he could with them.
  I also think of Paul as someone who really connected with people for 
really two reasons. One, he liked people. He met them with a flourish 
and enthusiasm. Secondly, he really had empathy for problems that 
impacted people.

                              {time}  1600

  All he said and did in politics was not about theory, but about how 
what we do here impacts people in their daily lives. Paul, the elected 
official, was a person who always saw himself as primarily representing 
the underdog, the underrepresented in society, and he did that with 
compassion and intelligence and enthusiasm and incredibly hard work. So 
Americans, those that struggle day to day in life, lost a true friend, 
a true advocate.
  We remember his boys and his grandchildren today, they carry on a 
remarkable family, and we offer them our sympathy and our thoughts in 
the days and weeks and months ahead, but our State and our country 
suffered a real loss in that plane accident.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the resolution and 
in gratitude to my colleague for offering it.
  I have a big hole in my heart, and I think it is reflective of the 
hole that is left now in the political landscape, a space that was 
occupied uniquely by Paul Wellstone. I feel great sorrow and great 
gratitude; sorrow for the loss of a close friend and colleague, and 
gratitude for having had the opportunity to know and work with Paul 
Wellstone and his wife, his life-long partner, Sheila Wellstone.
  Paul and Sheila Wellstone touched many, many lives; literally tens of 
thousands of Americans considered themselves to be their close friends 
and partners in the effort to make America better. My husband and I 
enjoyed spending time with Paul, listening to his stories and jokes and 
planning strategy and organizing. Paul and Sheila were always open and 
friendly, and always eager to act on their beliefs.
  In Chicago this weekend, we will hold a memorial service to honor 
their lives. Similar memorial services are being held in towns and 
cities across this country. Paul Wellstone was the people's Senator, 
not just Minnesota's Senator, the one you could always count on to push 
for economic and social justice.
  Paul used to talk frequently about the concerns raised by people 
eating in the cafes and diners in Minnesota. He brought those concerns 
to the floor of the Senate, speaking for his constituents and for 
families everywhere. He knew what it was like to deal with mental 
illness and discrimination in the health care system. He made it his 
job to end inequality in care and pass comprehensive mental health 
parity. He knew what it was like to lack health care coverage and to be 
unable to afford medical treatment for a child or grandparent, and so 
he made it his job to win universal access to affordable and quality 
health care.
  He listened to family farmers struggling to survive in the shadow of 
agribusiness, and he made it his job to speak for those farmers. He 
heard about discrimination and lack of opportunity, and he made it a 
priority to break down barriers to give every person the right to be 
productive and secure and to protect the rights of working men and 
women.
  He listened to Sheila about the horrors of domestic violence, and 
together they worked to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and 
to stop the abuse that threatens women and children.
  As a teacher, Paul focused on the power of education to improve our 
lives. He fought for better teachers and better schools from early 
childhood development through the university level. He embraced these 
weighty issues with joy and exuberance. He was called the happy 
warrior. He was never apologetic or defensive, always bold and clear 
and, to many of us, thrilling.
  Above all, Paul was proud to be an organizer. He believed with every 
fiber of his being in the power of people to make change and to win 
social and economic justice. He taught us to strive for the very best 
in ourselves and in our communities. He inspired us to do more than we 
thought was possible because his vision of what was achievable was so 
powerful. He showed us that we can listen to our consciences, do what 
is right and take courageous stands on issues from welfare to Iraq and 
still win elections.

[[Page H8089]]

  The people of Minnesota respected him and loved him and mourn him 
because he lived and voted his values. Paul Wellstone changed lives. He 
changed thousands of lives, young people and old people alike. He 
empowered people. He was a friend, and I want to end with Paul 
Wellstone as a friend.
  I have two friends in my district who loved Paul with all their 
hearts; Harvey and Norma Mader were good friends of Paul and Sheila 
Wellstone. For a long time before Paul was elected to Congress, Harvey 
and Norma Mader were their friends. They live in my district, but they 
were prepared to go to Minnesota for the election as senior citizen 
advocates. Their lives very much revolve around progressive politics, 
and Paul Wellstone was their hero and friend.
  And Paul would call them up on the telephone and say, How is Norma, 
how is she feeling? How are things going, Harvey? It was common for 
Paul on a regular basis just to check in with his friends. And when I 
was at that memorial service in Minnesota, I talked to a number of 
people who said Paul called me last week. He heard that my son was sick 
or he heard that I was having a test at the hospital, and he just 
called to see how I was.
  I realize that so many of us who get so busy with our work here and 
the weightiness of our work here sometimes sacrifice ordinary 
friendships, but Paul Wellstone managed to do it all. He managed to 
maintain those friendships all over the country. That is what I heard. 
It meant so much to Harvey and Norma Mader, it meant so much to all of 
the people that he cared so much about, and I think that says something 
so special about what kind of person that he was.
  Although Paul and Sheila are no longer here physically, the 
partnership that we have with them will continue. Through our 
commitment to their vision of America, Paul and Sheila will always have 
an enormous impact on our Nation and on our future.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time, and for coming forward to offer this resolution. I recognize that 
a number of Members are not here today because we do not have votes, 
but I am very pleased that the gentleman was able to get the time so 
some of us who felt so deeply about losing Paul Wellstone would have an 
opportunity to express those views publicly.
  We always on the floor from time to time are admonished not to refer 
to the other body. Well, this afternoon we are referring to an 
unforgettable Member of the other body. He was not a Member of this 
body, but Paul Wellstone's presence was felt even in this body. In 
fact, this is the kind of man whose presence could not help but be 
felt.
  The loss of Paul, Sheila, his wife, and his daughter Marcia is deeply 
felt here. In no small part, these three were doing public business. 
They were all trying to get Paul back to the Senate so he could engage 
in the business of the public.
  Why is Paul Wellstone so admired by Republicans and Democrats alike 
in the Senate? We have heard about Republicans who cried when they 
heard that Paul had been killed. In no small part I think it is because 
Paul believed in something, and he believed in being more than a 
Senator. Beyond that, if I try to focus on what made him so beloved to 
so many, particularly to those who worked with him, I come time and 
again to the fact that he took risks for what he believed in.
  Members of the House and the Senate always admire that. Regardless of 
where we stand on the issues, the notion that somebody is willing to 
step forward and take political risks is something to be admired; and, 
of course, Paul Wellstone was willing even to risk his political life.
  That is another way of saying that Paul Wellstone came to the Senate 
in order to stand for principle. The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar) spoke of character. That is what character is all about. When 
the rubber meets the road and a Member needs to decide whether to take 
a risk on an issue, I think first of the principle that I stood for. 
That is not what the political business is all about. Sure, those of us 
from safe districts get to do that all the time. I hope we are not 
patting ourselves on the back. We are doing it for principle, but many 
are doing it also because the people who live in our district want us 
to do it. Paul Wellstone had to think about whether what he was doing 
was what his constituents wanted him to do, and whether it was the 
right thing to do according to his own sense of principle.
  So standing for principle in a real sense was a kind of trademark of 
Paul Wellstone and indicia of character. I do not mean to say if a 
Member does not always stand for principle, they do not have any 
character. But politicians particularly admire Members who are willing 
to take risks, ignoring the political consequences.
  Now, let us not forget that Paul Wellstone was a most unlikely 
candidate. It was unlikely that he would get to the Senate at all. Let 
us be clear; he was a Ph.D. college professor; and, indeed, a tenured 
college professor. I can tell Members this is not a place where one 
expects academics to come. I am myself an academic who never expected 
and never intended to come to the House. I am a tenured academic who 
still teaches at Georgetown Law Center. And I can tell Members, those 
of us who spend our lives trying to get tenure do not think of another 
career. It is harder to get tenure than it is to get elected. Tenured 
professors do not go around trying to get another job.
  One needs to think what in the world got into Paul Wellstone, tenure 
at a very good liberal arts college. Again, I go back to principle. At 
the bottom he was an organizer, and he had done all he could do 
organizing, and so he thought I guess I will go to the Senate and see 
if I can organize there. I am sure that is the way he thought.
  If he was an unlikely candidate when he got here, he took on unlikely 
issues. He stuck with health care when everybody else backed off 
because the Democrats tried very hard in the early 1990s and got 
pressed back.
  And again I can go down a lexicon of issues. Here is another unlikely 
one, mental health coverage as a part of ordinary health coverage, and 
he got that very far along.
  Those issues speak to two abilities: One is the ability as an 
organizer. He never lost that passion, never lost that understanding 
that is the way to operate. Senator Lieberman tells a funny story that 
one day Paul was discussing an amendment on the floor. Paul walks into 
the Senate, Paul is pressing his amendment. He does not even think he 
has members on his side, much less Republicans, so he held up a piece a 
paper for Senator Lieberman to see that said ``DLC votes yes,'' meaning 
Democratic Leadership Conference votes yes because Senator Lieberman 
was in a conference that was in another spectrum of the Democratic 
Party. Senator Lieberman just laughed. Paul was so funny and laughed 
all the time.

                              {time}  1615

  Paul was so collegial. Even those who could not possibly vote the way 
Paul voted had to love him. I think of our former colleague Sam 
Brownback, who made common cause with Paul on a bill to prevent 
international sex trafficking of women and girls. Together, this 
conservative Republican and this liberal Democrat pressed that bill 
through the floor. If you look at Paul's record, this one-man 
progressive force was always looking for allies, especially people who 
were more conservative than he. He was not content to stand on 
principle alone. He wanted to stand on principle and then get it 
enacted into law and so he reached out to see how he could do that.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I will tell the quintessential Paul story about 
a principle. At the height of the wonderful economy of the late 1990s, 
when everybody was doing well, I mean, I was going around bragging that 
more African Americans own homes, highest median income in history, 
more rising out of poverty, at the height of this economy when all 
boats were being lifted, Paul called me up and said he wanted me to 
cosponsor a bill, then he wanted to go to a church here in the District 
to have a press conference about it. The bill was called the Strategic 
Transitional Employment Program. We should understand that unemployment 
was down to something like 3 percent, way down from where I regret to 
say it is now. This bill was about the millions

[[Page H8090]]

who had been left behind. Paul was tired of hearing how all of us were 
doing so well, even the poor. Paul knew that there was a horrific gap 
between the larger number of people who were doing better and the 
millions who were not benefitting from that wonderful economy.
  I do not think Paul particularly believed this bill had a ghost of a 
chance, but he did believe that if you were one of those millions still 
unemployed, still living in a community that did not have investment, 
still living in rural or urban America where jobs were not being made 
out of the dot-coms and all of the wonderful work that the economy was 
doing, if you were in a manufacturing job still waiting to be called 
back, Paul knew that nobody was talking to you and had acted as if you 
had floated off the planet. Paul did not believe you should stand up 
for those who did not have only when the economy was the way it is now, 
down and not doing well at all. Paul believed you should stand up when 
you had not brought the great American dream to all, especially when 
there were millions upon millions upon millions who thought nobody even 
spoke to their issues or spoke to them any longer because so many 
people were doing so well. That to me is the quintessential Paul.
  Mr. Speaker, Senators, not to mention House Members, come and go, but 
some rise to a special level. That is the level of being simply 
irreplaceable. That is the level to which Paul Wellstone has risen to 
Members across the line in both parties. I again thank the gentleman 
for not only yielding to me but for bringing Paul Wellstone to this 
body.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. I thank the gentlewoman for those wonderful remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, yesterday was Veterans Day, November 11. 
As I woke up in the morning, I thought, well, I am getting on a plane 
today and I am going to be heading off to Washington, a different type 
of Veterans Day than I was used to spending. See, I used to spend 
Veterans Day at veterans hospitals and cemeteries remembering those who 
had given their lives, remembering those who came home injured, whether 
it be physically or emotionally. I remembered those days because I 
spent them with Senator Paul Wellstone. Paul and I would often be at 
veterans hospitals, cameras long gone, with veterans from all over the 
United States, and we would sit and we would talk and we would have 
very personal conversations with some veterans who had not heard from 
family members in a long time and who were alone. Paul would be on a 
plane as he was the last time I flew out to Washington and he would be 
with Sheila. His back would bother him or his legs would be bothering 
him and he could not sit still for very long, so especially after they 
changed the flight time where we have to spend the last 30 minutes 
sitting on the plane, not moving as we approached Washington National 
since September 11, Paul would be on the plane walking up and down the 
aisles, talking to elderly people, talking to children, it did not make 
any difference whether or not they lived in Minnesota, asking them what 
was going on in their lives, what they were studying, how they were 
doing in school. Sheila would be sitting there reading, working on 
something to help Minnesota, to help our country, to help our Nation, 
women of domestic violence, children of domestic violence.
  We have heard testimony from Members here of what a great legislator 
Paul was, and he was truly a magnificent Senator. But he was all those 
things because he was a good teacher. He was a good father. He was a 
good friend. Sheila and Paul never forgot family and their family went 
beyond their children. Their family campaigned together. Marcia, who 
was a teacher, was on the plane. Over the last couple of weeks, I have 
met students of Marcia's. Paul was a good father, he was a good 
teacher, and he passed that on to his children.
  Mary McEvoy was also on the plane. Mary was a dear friend. Mary 
believed in the issues that Paul worked on, helping children succeed, 
helping children to be literate. Mary and Paul and Sheila together 
would work on those issues and make them a reality in the everyday 
lives of everyday children. But we all know and I know better than ever 
having served in this body of Congress that our staff is important. 
Just as we are judged by the friends we keep, I think legislatively we 
can be judged by the staff we work with. To the Chief of Staff, Colin 
McGuiness and the Washington staff, to State Director Connie Lewis, to 
all the staff in Senator Wellstone's office, he was so very proud of 
you and you in the work that you did made us proud of Paul. To Mark and 
David, our loss is different than yours. Yours is beyond my imagination 
right now having lost so many family members. You shared your grief 
with our State and with our Nation.
  November 11 will never be the same. I will never drive by a veterans 
cemetery or go by a veterans hospital without thinking of all the work 
that Paul did for the veterans in this country. I will never go in 
another grade school and not think of all the work that he did for 
children and education with those around him. I will carry on a women's 
domestic abuse roundtable that we are having with people in the Fourth 
District and Fifth District, St. Paul and Minneapolis, without Sheila's 
presence. There will be students in White Bear Lake who will always 
remember Marcia. And Mary is so deep in the hearts of many of us. But, 
Tom and Will, you also made an impact by allowing Paul to do the work 
that he did and we are blessed for having you all in our lives.
  Minnesota will never be the same. Minnesota will always remember what 
happened on the tragic Friday of October 25, where they were, what they 
were doing, when we all stopped and paused and remembered our blessings 
in having had such a special Senator.
  Paul, I will miss you in Washington and I will miss you at home.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for those truly 
heartfelt, heart rending remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority whip.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time and extend to him and the entire Minnesota delegation the deepest 
sympathy of my family and my constituents.
  I have known Paul and Sheila for a very long time, long before either 
of us were in Congress, he in the Senate, going back to our days in the 
Democratic Party in the early 1980s. I have known of his passion for 
the issues and for working families in our country and his interest in 
making a difference for them in our country.
  I rise today to honor Senator Paul Wellstone, Sheila Wellstone, the 
sadness of their losing their daughter at the same time and to offer my 
sympathy to the families of those who were lost in that terrible 
tragedy. To the families of staffers Will McLaughlin, Tom Lapic and 
Mary McEvoy, Mary was a person of so many credentials and all of them 
much heralded in these sad days, and of the Captains Richard Conroy and 
Michael Guess, I pray that you can take some comfort in the fact that 
your loved ones lost their lives in service to our country. To take 
part in the political process, the process of educating voters about 
their choices, is indeed a great service to democracy.
  To David and Mark Wellstone, thank you for sharing your wonderful 
family with all of us and with the American people. In this era of 
polls and pundits, Paul Wellstone was that increasingly rare breed, a 
politician with the courage of his convictions. We see a lot of that 
here in Congress, but the public is not aware of that. He fought for 
what he believed in. He voted for what he thought was right regardless 
of whether it was popular. He stood for something, and he stood his 
ground. In doing so, he gave voice to the many millions of Americans 
who cannot afford to make campaign donations and who are struggling 
just to pay their rent and feed their families.
  When Paul Wellstone took the floor of the United States Senate, you 
knew you were going to hear something quite different from what had 
come before and what was likely to follow. You would hear passion and 
compassion and sometimes anger. You would hear talk about issues that 
do not get a great deal of attention these days, social justice, 
poverty and the responsibility of government to improve

[[Page H8091]]

the lives of citizens. This was a responsibility that Paul Wellstone 
lived and breathed, to the good of millions of America's children and 
families.
  Paul and Sheila left us not only a memory but a legacy. His legacy of 
good works will live throughout the country. Sheila's work in terms of 
domestic violence and so many other issues are being made known to the 
American people now more generally, but anyone who knew them knew of 
her commitment and the difference she made in that area. Losing Marcia 
is another tragedy, leaving her family behind seems to be the saddest 
of all, but I hope again it is a comfort to those families that so many 
people mourn their loss and are praying for them at this time.
  To us in Congress, Paul Wellstone left a special legacy. We can keep 
his spirit alive and that legacy glowing by standing strong for what we 
believe in and by bringing both passion and compassion to everything we 
do. He did that but he brought a great intellect, a great knowledge, a 
plan of action. He was a great person. Sheila and Paul were a great 
team.
  Mr. Speaker, we have already had a service in San Francisco honoring 
the memory of Sheila and Paul Wellstone, Marcia and the others who 
perished. I bring from that service, attended by hundreds of people, 
the sympathy and condolences of my community to the people of 
Minnesota. I am so sorry.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for those remarks. 
I again want to express my appreciation to our Democratic whip for her 
call immediately following the tragedy expressing her deep sympathy and 
condolences through me to the family and to the close friends of Paul 
Wellstone. It is characteristic of the gentlewoman from California that 
she would call and express that profound feeling. I am grateful that 
she mentioned the memorial service. I know that the family will be most 
appreciative.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all thank the 
gentleman from Minnesota for yielding me this time and for taking out 
this special order. I recall a poet once saying, ``Some people see 
things that are and ask why.'' But then he said, ``I dream of things 
that have never been and ask why not.'' It seems to me that such was 
the life, such was the career, such was the being of Senator Paul 
Wellstone, a man who had an uncanny way of penetrating.

                              {time}  1630

  Notice that many people say ``Paul Wellstone,'' and that is because 
they felt a level of intimacy with him even though they were not 
personal friends, even though they had not traveled with him on the 
airplane, even though they did not live in his neighborhood or come 
from his district. He had a way of connecting, and so we would think of 
him as Paul Wellstone, Senator Wellstone, full of power, dynamite.
  I knew that Paul could not sit still, but I did not know it had 
anything to do with his legs. I thought it just had to do with the 
level of energy and excitement that he brought to everything that he 
did. I was pleased to spend time with him in many small groups of 
people where there were no television cameras, there were no headlines, 
small groups of labor organizers, small groups of college students, 
small groups of low-income people, and he was asking the question then 
why not a livable wage so that low-income people can enjoy a level of 
the goodness and the greatness of this Nation? Why not health care for 
everybody no matter where they come from or no matter where they are 
going? But he also believed in giving a lot, understanding that if we 
put something in, we get something out. Always organizing, knowing that 
life can be greater and better than what it is.
  It seems to me that another poet summed up his life when he said that 
whatever one puts into it, that is what he will get out of it. He said 
``I bargained with life for a penny and life would pay no more; 
however, I begged at evening time when I counted my scanty store, but I 
found that life is a just employer, he gives you what you ask, but once 
you have set the wages, then you must bear the task. I worked for a 
menial's hire only to learn dismay, whatever price I had asked of life, 
life would have willingly paid.''
  Paul Wellstone put a great deal into it, and he got a great deal out 
of it. It has been a pleasure to know you, sir. Condolences to your 
family and all of those who shared your dream and your vision and went 
with you as you left.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those stirring 
heartfelt, powerful remarks.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).
  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Minnesota (Mr. 
Oberstar), and I do not want to go on at great length about Paul 
Wellstone because so much has been said already, but I believe I knew 
Paul Wellstone longer than anyone in this Chamber, going back to, I 
believe, 1969, when I was in my last year at Carleton College and Paul 
Wellstone was in his first year on the faculty there. He was even then 
a dynamic, passionate person who cut a bigger swath than his stature 
might have led one to believe.
  So much has been said about how dynamic, how passionate he has been 
in speaking out for farmers, for workers, for people of all sorts, and 
what joy he brought to his campaigning, to his political activity. He 
has been described as a man of convictions, someone who spoke clearly 
and directly, someone who is never criticized for hiding his opinions, 
for shifting his opinions, for pulling his punches. So it might sound 
to some people that we are describing a cocksure, arrogant idealogue. 
It could not be further from the truth. In my many interactions with 
Paul Wellstone when he was a junior faculty member, when he was an 
activist going from town to town around Minnesota, when he was a friend 
with discussions in the evening, when he was a mentor to me when I 
arrived on Capitol Hill a couple of terms ago, in every instance what 
characterized Paul Wellstone was not cocksure opinions but questions. 
He was one of the best questioners I have ever known, and one left each 
discussion with him with a sense of having some doors opened through 
his questioning, some understanding gained through his questioning, and 
a sense of purpose gained from his questioning. What a loss.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Holt) for those heartfelt remarks and thoughtful comments.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers).
  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  I do not claim to know the late Senator Wellstone very well. We had 
very little interaction, but I had a deep interest in him because my 
home State was Minnesota. That was the State of my birth, and I have 
watched Minnesota politics with great interest over the years and I 
also watched Mr. Wellstone with great interest. And although his 
politics and his political views were quite different from those of 
mine, I admire several things about him.
  In the go-along-to-get-along atmosphere we often encounter in 
politics, he stood out as someone who stood for his beliefs. He fought 
passionately for his beliefs, and he sought to extend those beliefs 
into action, and I admire that in any individual, whether in the House 
or the Senate or the political arena in general, to have a stance that 
they take, to have a passion for what they believe is right, and to 
fight passionately for what they believe is right I think is an admiral 
trait in any individual, and Mr. Wellstone certainly exhibited that 
during his brief career in the political arena.
  So I just wanted to add those comments to the record, and I thank the 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) for having this session so we 
can each express our opinions about what Mr. Wellstone has added to the 
Senate and to our Nation.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Ehlers) for those thoughtful comments. They were much appreciated, and 
I know that the Wellstone children will be most grateful and again for 
his ever academic and thoughtful presentation.

[[Page H8092]]

                             General Leave

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would conclude by observing that Paul Wellstone was more than a 
Senator, more than an advocate for ideas, for issues, for causes. Paul 
Wellstone was himself a movement, a movement for justice. I pray that 
his movement will continue in the spirit in which he lived his life of 
public service.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I was deeply saddened 
by the tragic death of Senator Paul Wellstone, his family members and 
staff, and I have prayed for the families of all the victims of this 
accident.
  I rise today to support this resolution honoring the short but 
powerful life of Paul Wellstone, the people's senator. I will miss 
Paul, a good friend, a good person, and an invaluable and courageous 
colleague.
  Paul and I joined together on many occasions to fight for legislation 
to help those who have so little power in our society. Most recently, 
we co-authored a bill to provide mental health and substance abuse 
treatment to juvenile offenders. Paul understood that many young 
offenders suffer from problems that are treatable and that contribute 
to their troubles, but for which they rarely receive effective 
treatment. It was not a bill written for the powerful or wealthy 
interests. It was not a bill written because it would be popular in the 
press.
  It was just one of the many examples of Paul's genuine desire to help 
people and demonstrated his understanding of his role as a 
representative in government.
  Paul Wellstone fought for working families, for better schools, and 
for a cleaner environment. He was a dedicated public servant who was 
passionate about his work and who was proud to fight for progressive 
causes. His loss is a loss for all of America and for all those 
Americans who so desperately need champions on their side. Paul was a 
man of principle, courage, and great intellect. Sadly, he will not be 
easily replaced in our society and we will miss him deeply.
  Mr. EVANS. I rise to recognize the accomplishments of my good friend, 
the late Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota. Many have come before me 
to praise the character and actions of this faithful public servant who 
left us all too early last month. Many have lauded his commitment to 
the underdog, to those who lacked a voice, to the ``little guy.'' I 
speak of his commitment and passion for veterans.
  During his 12 years on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, Paul 
was an active and committed member whose heart-felt concern about 
veteran's issues was often unmatched. Paul has been remembered for his 
courageous stands, in both Bush Administrations, against sanctioning 
military action in Iraq. At one time, Paul was criticized for making 
his views on this known at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. 
Even though the gesture may have been misinterpreted, to me, it was 
symbolic of his constant realization that war has consequences. We must 
be ever-cognizant of the often painful realities of putting our sons 
and daughters in harm's way and resort to force only as the last 
recourse.
  But Paul also consistently demonstrated that he believed part of the 
cost of war was being ready to assist those that were willing to put 
themselves on the line for their country. For his advocacy he was 
honored by numerous veterans' service organizations, including Vietnam 
Veterans of America, the Minnesota chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of 
America, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Minnesota 
Veterans of Foreign Wars.
  One of the things that drew people to Paul was his willingness to 
listen. I was impressed that the Senator rarely missed an opportunity 
to hear directly from veterans at their annual joint legislative 
hearings held here in the House. He would often bring the veterans to 
their feet exhorting them to fight for their rights.
  Last year, Paul introduced the Senate companion to my bill, Heather 
French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act, S. 739. This bill 
addressed so many of the constituencies Paul held dear--and men and 
women without homes, individuals with mental illness, and veterans. I 
am proud to say, with Paul's help in the Senate, we enacted Public Law 
107-95.
  Paul also got things done for ``atomic'' veterans. During his tenure, 
Congress identified many new diseases which were presumed connected to 
veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation.
  Veterans could count on Paul as an ally in the budget process--he 
consistently put forth initiatives to increase funding for veterans 
health care. I believe my friend Paul would agree that we owe our 
veterans a great debt and he was already prepared to pay the bill.
  Paul and I also shared a chronic disability as a common foe. He dealt 
with his MS without complaint pushing himself to act when lesser men 
might have faltered. That is part of the personal courage he 
demonstrated on behalf of himself, his ideals, and the constituents who 
entrusted him with an office he used to its best advantage every day.
  Paul, you were a cherished friend to me, to veterans of this great 
Nation, and to every American who needed a voice, I will miss you.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, the Congress, the State of Minnesota, and the 
nation tragically lost a great public servant. The sudden death of 
Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife Sheila, daughter Marcia, three 
staffers, and two pilots in an airplane crash last month, saddens us 
all. I extend my heartfelt sympathy and support to their family and 
friends as they deal with this tremendous loss.
  This is also a devastating loss for our nation. As Chairman of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I was fortunate to work with Senator 
Wellstone on many issues, such as the reauthorization of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act. Personally, I worked closely with him on 
many veterans benefits issues.
  Paul had a true passion for people, civil service, and veterans that 
is matched by very few. Paul's commitment to helping people, his warm 
sense of humor, and positive attitude made him both a great Senator and 
an excellent friend. His leadership and friendship will be dearly 
missed by me, members of the CHC and all members of the U.S. Congress. 
Our thoughts and prayers remain with Paul's family and loved ones, and 
the family and friends of his staff and the pilots.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kolbe). Without objection, the previous 
question is ordered on the resolution.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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