[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 147 (Thursday, November 14, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2017-E2018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                               SPEECH OF

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 12, 2002

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American and 
a great man--Senator Paul Wellstone. The passing of Senator Paul 
Wellstone creates a void that is impossible to fill--it is a tragedy 
for this nation and a personal tragedy for me.
  Paul Wellstone was a tireless fighter for what he believed in. He was 
a man whose honor is unquestioned, whose energy was infectious, and 
whose dedication to his country--and those ideals upon which it was 
built--was obvious in everything he did. Paul Wellstone's passing robs 
voiceless Americans--the poor and disenfranchised--of one

[[Page E2018]]

of their greatest advocates. And it leaves those of us bent on 
furthering a progressive agenda without one of our greatest leaders.
  Mr. Speaker, I also rise today to mourn the loss of one of the 
hardest-working people I have ever known. Paul Wellstone earned himself 
a scholarship to the University of North Carolina as a student and an 
athlete. Four years after graduation he was awarded a Ph.D. in 
political science and began a 21-year teaching career in which he 
became increasingly involved in community organizing. In 1990, Paul 
Wellstone--an under-funded underdog--ran a long-shot campaign for the 
United States Senate, which he won by energizing ordinary Minnesotans. 
12 years later, his political legacy stands as testament to him keeping 
his promises.
  Unlike many politicians, there was no disconnecting between Paul 
Wellstone's political ideology and the way he lived his life. Paul was 
the Senator who knew the names of the elevator operators and waiters in 
the Senate Dining Room. He was the Senator who, according to James W. 
Ziglar, a Republican who was Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate from 1998 
to 2001, returned late one evening to his office to tell the cleaning 
staff how much he appreciated their work. Paul Wellstone's unique 
authenticity, and his ability to remain true to his roots distinguished 
him here in Washington and, as many Minnesotans will tell you, back in 
his home state.
  Paul Wellstone was an unabashed liberal. He believed that every 
American should have access to affordable health care and good public 
schools, that our foreign policy should be based first and foremost on 
the sanctity of all human life--American or otherwise. And he knew that 
coming down on the right side of an issue--keeping in-line with his 
morals and ethics--was always more important than voting with the 
majority or in a politically-motivated way. Paul Wellstone voted 
against the Persian Gulf War as one of his first acts as a Senator, and 
just recently was the only Senator facing re-election who voted against 
giving President Bush authority to conduct pre-emptive and unauthorized 
military strikes on Iraq. Paul was a man who did not compromise his 
ideals.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Senator Paul Wellstone. In an 
era where the difference between talk and action is often enormous, 
Paul Wellstone was a man who lived as he spoke. I believe that America 
is better for it.

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