[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 151 (Wednesday, November 20, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11677-S11679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     FAREWELL TO DEPARTING SENATORS

  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, this is a moment we look upon with mixed 
emotions: Yes, thank you for the service of these wonderful men and 
women and sadness of their departure; but to have the opportunity to 
say a word or two about the legacy they leave.
  This is the most extraordinary legislative body in the entire world. 
People have often asked me, When did you decide you were going to 
become a U.S. Senator or try for the Senate? I suppose I have never 
been able to give an adequate answer. But it is a privilege that few 
have. For those who do succeed, what a rich reward this service is. It 
has been for me, and I am now concluding my 24th year. In January, I 
will start a quarter of a century of service in the Senate. That hardly 
compares with my distinguished colleague from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, 
who has been here these many years, but a quarter of a century is a 
good start. I am privileged now that my State has reelected me for a 
fifth term.
  But it has been with the help of my family, my immediate family. I 
shared breakfast with my eldest daughter. We talked about the years I 
have been in public service and the opportunity I now have to continue 
in that public service. It has been a burden at times on the family but 
one which any family would do, as every family here of those privileged 
to serve in this Chamber look upon that as a great reward.
  I start with those colleagues who have served with me on the Senate 
Armed Services Committee and with my dear friend, Senator Thurmond. I 
remember so well when I was Secretary of the Navy and I would come up 
before the Armed Services Committee at various times, of course, in 
connection with budget requests, but at other times I was called on the 
carpet pretty thoroughly by Senator Thurmond during the war in Vietnam. 
I served 5 years and 4 months as the Navy Secretary. He used to 
question me. As the hearing ended, he would pull me over and say: Why 
don't you think about coming to the Senate someday? I owe Senator 
Thurmond a debt of gratitude for instilling in me the thoughts that 
eventually led to my election to the Senate.
  Senator Thurmond has touched every life with whom he has served in 
this Chamber these many years. He has touched mine very deeply. He was 
sort of like the older brother I never had. There is not a Senator here 
who, from time to time, does not quietly go and talk to the elder 
statesmen in the Senate about problems they have. I have certainly 
shared many conversations with Senator Thurmond.
  Both sides of the aisle, Senator John Stennis, Senator Scoop Jackson, 
Senator Barry Goldwater--he sat right over here--Senator John Tower. It 
has been an enormous benefit to me to serve with, really, these giants 
of the Senate and those who served on the Armed Services Committee.
  I was ranking on the committee for many years, and then, in a very 
courteous manner, Senator Thurmond came to me one day and said he 
really wanted to cap off his career serving as the head of the Armed 
Services Committee. So he succeeded me as ranking and then eventually 
became chairman of the committee.
  Even though he had the title and I had stepped down as ranking and so 
forth, I worked with him very closely and learned a great deal. And 
still, this last moment, last night, after he delivered his memorable 
few final remarks to this body, we visited quietly together in the 
hallway.
  Yes, Strom Thurmond, I thank you. I thank you for all you have done 
for me and for all you have done for America.
  Tom Brokaw has written about the greatest generation, those who 
served in World War II. Strom Thurmond has had the most extraordinary 
of service. I remember one time he called me up and he said: John, the 
President has invited me to go with him to the D-Day beaches. It was 
the 40th anniversary. It was the thinking of President Reagan at that 
time, very wisely, that many of those veterans would not live to see 
the 50th anniversary. So Strom embarked for the beaches of Normandy on 
the 40th.
  Howard Cannon, Democrat from Nevada, went with us. Howard Cannon had 
gone in on D-Day in a glider.
  Lowell Weicker went with us. I remember his father had been Chief of 
the Air Force Intelligence, 8th Air Force, Army Air Corps. So there 
were just the four of us who went.
  Strom Thurmond was assigned a helicopter right behind the President's

[[Page S11678]]

helicopter and perhaps one with the Secret Service. We traveled up and 
down the Normandy beaches for 2 days, visiting almost every single site 
where our troops were involved. I just remember it so well. I remember 
one Member of the House of Representatives who joined us, beckoned to 
Senator Thurmond to come over, a Congressman from Florida. I will put 
his name in the Record.
  He said: Look, Strom, I can see the indentation where I dug my 
foxhole.
  Sure enough, there was the beach and an indentation was there. He was 
consumed with emotion; Strom likewise. I remember these two men 
embraced on that spot.
  There were other veterans, many of them there, who had participated 
in D-Day. I always respectfully kept a distance, a pace or two behind 
Strom Thurmond, who was a Major General in the National Guard, as he 
was greeted warmly, and likewise shared moments, deep thought with 
those veterans who had been there on that historic moment in American 
history. How well I remember that trip.
  How well I always remember Strom Thurmond and what he has done for 
America and what he did for this humble Senator. I served at the very 
end of World War II in the Navy, just in the training command, getting 
ready for our overseas assignments when, God bless America, the war 
ended. I was privileged to be a very minor part of the generation of 
Strom Thurmond.
  Also on our committee was Tim Hutchinson. Tim was a fighter then. He 
is a fighter now. He stood over there on the floor last night, and we 
talked a bit together. His spirits are high. He lost in a tough, 
competitive race. But he reflected on those achievements he was able to 
provide for the men and women of the Armed Forces as the chairman of 
the personnel subcommittee, when I was chairman of the committee, and 
then as ranking.

  Concurrent receipts is a very difficult issue, one that had to be 
addressed by the Congress. The distinguished Senator from Nevada, 
Senator Reid, and Senator Hutchinson, Senator Smith, Bob Smith, also a 
Member of the Armed Services Committee--I will speak about him 
momentarily. Senator Levin and I joined that triumvirate and finally we 
had what I call a measure of success on that issue.
  It seemed to be irresolvable, irresolvable for many years that the 
committee addressed this issue. But finally we established a beachhead 
and, while it is not satisfactory to all, it is nevertheless a 
beachhead for the first time in the history of the doctrine of 
concurrent receipts, which goes back 100 years. It is not easy to set 
aside 100 years of history to establish the beachhead we did.
  Tim was in the forefront in that. He also joined in the leadership 
when we put TRICARE For Life through. Those who serve in the Armed 
Forces of the United States always remember some of the circumstances 
when they came in and all the promises that were made when putting on 
that uniform. Particularly those who became careerists and spent 20-
plus years in, they always felt they were entitled to assisted care and 
medical care and treatment for themselves and their families, which 
they were, in large measure, promised through the years.
  Put aside all of the legalities, nevertheless, to me it was a moral 
commitment of this country, to provide that care. Tim Hutchinson joined 
me. I was then chairman. We were able to put that into law such that 
that care now and for the indefinite future--so long as I am here, I 
will fight to preserve it--will be made available to those career 
individuals.
  Pay raises--all types of things the personnel committee is 
responsible for; again, the GI bill and other things. But I conclude 
with Tim on one remark. The Commandant of the Marine Corps approached 
me the other day just to give me a little update. The retention, 
particularly in the officer corps of the United States Marine Corps, is 
at the highest it has ever been in living memory. That comes about 
through many factors but the principal factor is the knowledge and the 
feeling--whether it is in the Marine Corps, the Navy, the Army or the 
Air Force--that the Congress of the United States stands there to help 
these individuals, and just to treat them fairly with regard to their 
pay and benefits and the needs of their families.
  Tim Hutchinson, I salute you. You did a marvelous job to care for the 
men and women of the Armed Forces.
  We also had Jean Carnahan serving on the committee. I remember so 
well that she fought hard for the FA-18, a modern naval aircraft. Here 
is this really extraordinary figure who bore the brunt of such tragedy, 
to quickly come to the Senate of the United States and assume not only 
the mantle of a Senator with the burdens of the office, under those 
tragic circumstances--I would say on her committee she performed very 
well. We were proud to have her.
  She was very gentle, a bit soft-spoken, but tenacious. So I wish that 
member of our committee well as she departs.
  Max Cleland: Max also was on the personnel committee, chairman and 
ranking. Max was a fighter. Max bears the scars of war and those are 
the scars of really a tenacious fighter. He carried that same measure 
of courage and tenacity here to his duties in the Senate. He fought 
hard for the GI bill. He fought hard for the F-22. That is our modern 
high altitude fighter. It has gone through a lot of trials and tough 
times, but it looks as if it is going to make it. In the next 20 to 25 
years, that aircraft, at those high altitudes, with the ability to 
interdict any aircraft comparable in the world and have distinct 
technological advantages, and hopefully pilot advantages--it can 
provide the security of the airspace for the other elements of our 
military below that airspace, whether they be on land or on the sea.
  Those familiar with warfare know if you do not have the space secure, 
those beneath the airspace are in constant peril.
  Thank you, Max, for the GI bill, for end-strength adjustments. He 
recognized the stress being put on the men and women of the Armed 
Forces today and their families and deployment. He fought hard to see 
that those end strengths were in law, written such that the appropriate 
Chiefs of Staff and the other civilians in the Pentagon could make the 
adjustments necessary to better care for the men and women of the Armed 
Forces.
  Max also has a very special place in my heart because, as I mentioned 
earlier, I was privileged to be Under Secretary and Secretary of the 
Navy for 5 years during Vietnam. I visited Vietnam a number of times. I 
visited the aid stations where the wounded were brought straight from 
the field of battle.
  It is hard for people to realize, but those of us who were in the 
Pentagon in charge of the military service during that period would sit 
down each week and write some weeks 50, 60, and some weeks hundreds of 
letters to the families who lost their loved ones in the battles of 
Vietnam. You don't forget that.
  Each day that I was privileged to see this fine, strong American 
veteran brought back those memories for me in that period of history. 
As I look back on it now, it was a period where perhaps we should have 
seen earlier on in that conflict a different way to proceed to try to 
preserve the integrity of the Government of South Vietnam before it 
fell. But that I will save for another day.
  Max, I wish you well.
  Of course, Max did another thing to this old Senator from Virginia. 
He announced last night that he was going to get married. I think that 
leaves me now as the only bachelor in the Senate. Fred Thompson, of 
whom I will speak now, bailed out on me. And now Max has bailed out on 
me. I am all alone in that category.
  Fred Thompson: I remember there was a very successful advertisement 
years ago. I can't remember it clearly, but it sort of characterizes 
Fred Thompson. When he speaks, people listen. This is a man who has a 
remarkable presence--not only a commanding physical presence but an 
equally commanding strength of mind. And when he spoke, we listened, 
whether it was here on the floor or within our caucuses or listening to 
his speeches or when presiding over the Government Operations 
Committee. People listened reverently as Senator Thompson spoke.
  He also had a remarkable sense of humility. Those who have traveled 
through the Hollywood scene--some of which I have known in my 
lifetime--

[[Page S11679]]

often do not have a sense of humility. But Fred has. His capstone, I 
suppose, was last night when I believe the vote was 90 to 7 for the 
homeland defense bill about which he felt very strongly.
  I think America will look back, and hopefully will look at a 
successful piece of legislation to add to the bastion of defenses with 
which we must now defend this Nation.
  Fred, we thank you for your work on that and wish you well with your 
young bride.
  Phil Gramm: Few people realize it, but when we passed new highway 
trust fund legislation some years ago in 1996, I was privileged at that 
time to be chairman of the subcommittee of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee that was charged with the principal responsibility of 
drafting the provisions of that historic piece of legislation which 
enabled each and every State to get a minimum of 90 cents return on 
those tax dollars paid by citizens of those States and visitors when 
they pumped a gallon of gas.

  We had a very inequitable and unfair system of donor States and donee 
States. The State of Virginia was a donor in that we only got 78 or 79 
cents back, and the remainder of the Virginia drivers' Federal taxes 
went to other States. There were some other States such as 
Massachusetts that got over a dollar, for what reason I have never been 
clear on. But Phil went back and examined the tax structures supporting 
the highway trust fund.
  President Clinton had put another 5-cent tax on and split it between 
the highway trust fund and the general trust fund. Phil, as a member of 
the Finance Committee, got that reversed. All 5 cents went to the 
highway trust fund. Otherwise, the 50 States--I emphasize that--50 
States could not have gotten a substantial increase in those dollars 
necessary for roads and bridges and other infrastructure measures to 
facilitate transportation.
  That, to me, is one of Phil's most significant accomplishments. He 
worked with us on the Environment and Public Works Committee and the 
transportation committees of the House and Senate to ensure that 
America got an equal and fair distribution of those highway trust fund 
moneys.
  Of course, Phil will always be remembered for his wit and for his 
wisdom--brilliant in both but equally controllable in both of those 
attributes. I say they are attributes. He is ever quick with the turn 
of a phrase, or a very insightful path to take to resolve a problem. 
Many times he stood up in our caucus to say this is a piece of 
legislation which I believe should take this course, and our leadership 
often followed that advice.
  We will miss you, Phil. But we will remember you, and we will 
remember you, as you say, with love and affection. Those are the words 
that he used so often. Of course, he, along with Fred Thompson, was one 
of the principal architects of the homeland defense bill. And I am 
confident that will in due course be a landmark piece of legislation 
that will serve this country well.
  Lastly, I speak of my colleague Bob Smith. Bob and I are friends 
based on our loyalty and indebtedness to the U.S. Navy. Bob's father 
was a very distinguished Naval officer in World War II. He fought in 
the Navy, and he fought through a number of combat situations in the 
Pacific to come home. And then his extraordinary capabilities in 
aviation enabled him to become a test pilot. That is sort of the 
ultimate desire of aviators--to become a test pilot to begin to push 
the frontiers of aviation and develop those aircraft for successive 
generations to combat the enemies that are lurking against this 
country.
  Bob's father had not been home from World War II but a few months 
when he was testing a plane that malfunctioned and he lost his life. 
Bob was robbed of his father at a very early age. He carried that 
thought with him--as he does today--with complete reverence to what his 
father did in the Navy. Bob served in the Navy himself during Vietnam. 
So the Navy has a very strong bond between us.
  I remember when he fought so hard right here on the floor--
originally, I didn't think it was a good idea, but I eventually decided 
to join him in going back to reexamine the circumstances of the USS 
Indianapolis. That was a remarkable chapter in Naval history. It was a 
magnificent heavy cruiser. It was the last ship sunk by enemy action. I 
could be wrong on some minor vessels, but the last capital ship sunk by 
an enemy action. A Japanese submarine sank that ship as it was making 
its way back to the Pacific theater to take up its position once again. 
It had been out there earlier in the Pacific. This was another tour, 
positioned with our fleet, when, in moonlight--the captain was asleep--
that ship took a torpedo and went down.

  A great many of the crew were lost when she went down. But a number 
survived and floated aimlessly in the oceans, suffering from the 
deprivation of water and intense sunlight. Sharks actually came in and 
physically devoured and maimed a number of those crewmen.
  The Navy search for that ship will always be one of controversy, but 
eventually a destroyer came alongside and found them.
  I remember very well an officer on that destroyer was a proud 
Virginian, Graham Claytor, who eventually became Secretary of the Navy. 
He followed me by a few years in the Navy secretariat. And he told me, 
firsthand, about the appalling sight of those men who had been at sea 
some several days, suffering extraordinary deprivation.
  The captain was held accountable, court-martialed, and although it 
dwindled off in a certain way--it pretty well drummed up--Bob felt that 
the captain had not received the full measure of justice to which he 
was entitled. He fought on the floor of the Senate, and eventually the 
Senate voted to, in large measure, restore--although the captain was 
long since dead--the equities, the recognition that he is entitled to 
for his heroism on that ship.
  So to this sailor, to this Vietnam veteran, who is so proud of the 
Navy, and who fought so hard when he was chairman of the Strategic 
Subcommittee in the Senate on missile defense--Bob, to this day, feels 
very strongly, as do I, to have this Nation have a workable, early 
deployable, limited missile defense system. Bob fought hard for that.
  Every Senator cherishes the opportunity to provide for their State's 
National Park Systems.
  Frank, I thank you for helping me, over your many years in the 
Senate, to make additions to Virginia's Park System.
  In particular, those initiatives, some of first legal impression, to 
make private land available for viewing and study by the ever growing 
number of visitors interested in the civil war.
  Thank you, Frank, for also being a ``Paul Revere'' on the need for a 
national energy policy and the increasing need to free America from the 
bondage of reliance on imported energy.
  We wish you and your wife good fortune as you are ``elevated'' to the 
Governorship of Alaska.
  So I again summarize simply by saying to my colleagues, thank you for 
all you did for this humble Member of the Senate. I wish each of you 
well in your next chapter of distinguished careers. We shall remember 
you here, one and all, in the Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I know that there is another Senator here, 
the Senator from North Dakota, who wishes to get recognition. I was 
told the Senator from Maine wished to get recognition, Senator Collins. 
She is not here?
  I will not detain my colleague from North Dakota long. And I did not 
say I would, but I certainly meant to--I think of gentlemen as being 
very special people, and I intended, as a gentleman, to yield to the 
lady from Maine first.
  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, will the Senator from West Virginia 
yield?
  Mr. BYRD. Yes.

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