[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17-S18]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR TRENT LOTT

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, this is the first day of the 108th 
Congress. I remember the former Senator from Kansas, Nancy Kassebaum, 
used to refer to these days as the first day of school, coming back 
after the recess. Of course, it is a time of celebration as new 
Senators gather. This one is particular in that it is a time of a new 
majority leader. I rise to express my confidence in and give my 
congratulations to Senator Frist of Tennessee in his assuming the 
position as majority leader. He will prove to be an outstanding leader. 
The Senate and the people of the United States will be well served by 
his stewardship.
  However, I wish to take this opportunity to make a few comments about 
the previous majority leader, Senator Lott of Mississippi. Senator Lott 
has been very much in the news of the last few weeks. He ultimately 
made what I consider to be the right decision in stepping aside so that 
the challenges raised to him would not get in the way of the business 
of the Senate or of the country. The caricature of Senator Lott that 
appeared in much of the national media did not match in any way the man 
that I know and love.
  I rise to comment briefly on the contribution Senator Lott has made 
to this institution and to the Nation and take the opportunity of the 
shifting of power to pay tribute to Senator Lott and the work he has 
done.
  There are many things in his career that we could point to. This is 
not his funeral so I won't run through a list. But there is one in 
particular that stands out in my mind, which I will share with those 
who may be watching, that demonstrates the kind of leader Trent Lott 
was. I refer to the experience many of us described as the most 
significant of our careers, and that was the historic moment when the 
Senate sat in judgment as a trial for the impeachment of the President 
of the United States. For only the second time in our history, a 
President had been impeached by the House of Representatives, and we 
were required

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under the Constitution to hold a trial to determine whether the 
President should be convicted of those crimes of which he was 
impeached.
  Many in the press, many uninformed, asked: Why is the Senate wasting 
its time dealing with this challenge?
  The Constitution left us with no choice. Once the House of 
Representatives had voted impeachment, the Senate was required under 
the Constitution to hold a trial, with the Chief Justice of the United 
States presiding. It was a historic time, and many of my colleagues 
commented that this was the most significant vote they would ever cast 
in their political careers.
  We met in the old Senate Chamber to discuss what we should do. That 
was a historic meeting, off the record, if you will, because it was not 
here with an official reporter taking down every word. But it was an 
opportunity for Senators to speak freely and openly. In very solemn and 
somber proceedings, we discussed what we should do. I am not violating 
any confidences because it has been reported in the press that the 
Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, spoke on behalf of the Democrats 
as we addressed that issue. He made this point. I can't remember his 
exact words, but these were the words that are in my mind.
  Referring to the case before us, he said: This case is toxic. It has 
besmirched the Presidency, and it has soiled the House of 
Representatives. And it is about to do the same thing to us.
  I believe his analysis was correct, that the case of President 
Clinton and his actions did indeed besmirch the Presidency, degrade the 
Presidency, and I think the way it ultimately played out in the House 
of Representatives stained that body and left bitterness that is still 
producing bitter fruit. Senator Byrd warned this case, this toxic case, 
was about to affect the Senate.
  The majority leader, who had to handle such a case, was Trent Lott of 
Mississippi. I was at his side in many of his meetings. I watched from 
afar in many of the other things he did. Senator Lott handled that 
historic challenge with as much sensitivity, finesse, wisdom and, yes, 
grace as it would be possible to do.
  When it was over, Senator Lott and Senator Daschle met in the well of 
the Senate, embraced each other, and said: We did it.
  Yes, they did. And they did it together. But the primary 
responsibility was on the shoulders of Senator Lott. He made Senator 
Byrd's prophecy not come true. Instead of staining the Senate, instead 
of soiling the Senate the way that case soiled the Presidency and the 
House, it was in many ways the Senate's finest hour. The case was 
handled with dignity. The case was handled with dispatch. And the case 
was handled with a minimum of bad feelings on both sides.
  There are some outside the Senate who attacked Senator Lott and said: 
You should have had a full-blown trial. You should have let this drag 
on for 6 weeks, even 6 months. And at the end of that period of time, 
maybe, just maybe, you would have had a conviction.
  Senator Lott understood that the dignity of this body and the unity 
of the country required the kind of handling of that case that he gave 
us.
  History will look back on the stewardship of Trent Lott as majority 
leader of the United States with great approval and kindness. This is a 
man of extraordinary skills who handled himself in an extraordinary 
way, and all of us who sat in the Senate through that experience 
benefited by his leadership.
  Now he is moving on to other assignments. As I congratulate Senator 
Frist on his ascension to the majority leadership, I also congratulate 
Senator Lott on the prospect of a continued career of contribution, 
perhaps in the policy area more than in the process area. He has 
demonstrated that he can master the legislative process as well as 
anyone on the planet. I expect he will now demonstrate that he can make 
contributions of equal significance in the policy area.
  On a personal note, while he is many years my junior in this business 
of politics, he has acted as my mentor and my teacher. I can think of 
many times when I have been tangled up in the minutia and arcane nature 
of the way this body works, where I had nowhere else to go to get 
myself untangled and set straight. I called Senator Lott and, with 
calmness and clarity, he said, why don't we do this and, suddenly, the 
Gordian knot was cut and I emerged ready to go forward in my career 
because of his wisdom and his guidance.

  Again, I congratulate Senator Frist. I was happy to vote for him when 
the opportunity came. I am looking forward to working with Senator 
Frist as he demonstrates his ability to lead this body. I have every 
confidence that that will be a tremendous period in the Senate's 
history, but, at the same time, I wanted to rise and make it clear that 
as we embrace Senator Frist's leadership we should recognize and pay 
tribute to the contribution made to this body and ultimately to the 
country by Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is recognized.

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