[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN

  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I want to pay tribute to Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan, a man for whom I had the utmost respect.
  One of the first times I was presiding in the Senate, Senator 
Moynihan was speaking from the floor. What he had to say and the way he 
said it made a lasting impression on me. The next day I asked for a 
copy of the statement and have kept it in my desk ever since. Senator 
Moynihan began: ``Mr. President, it is agreed that I will begin these 
brief remarks in order that our chairman might conclude the debate and 
proceed to the vote which I think has every prospect of being 
prodigious in its majority.'' He continued to explain one of the most 
complicated and difficult issues that we will deal with here in the 
Senate in a clear and concise manner. ``In very short order, I would 
simply like to recapitulate the four simple steps which will put Social 
Security on an actuarially sound basis for the next 75 years. They are: 
1. Provide for an accurate cost-of-living adjustment. In 1996, the 
Boskin Commission originally estimated that the CPI overstates changes 
in the cost-of-living by 1.1 percentage points; now they say it is 0.8 
of a percentage point; 2. Normal taxation of benefits; 3. Extend 
coverage to all newly hired State and local workers; 4. Increase the 
length of the computation period from 35 to 38 years.''
  I don't know if this is the answer, but I will always refer to it 
when the topic of Social Security comes up. He laid out a plan with 
professorial clarity and a complete grasp of the issue. Whether you 
agreed or disagreed with Senator Moynihan, you had to appreciate his 
style.
  Although I did not have a close working relationship with Senator 
Moynihan, I am truly impressed with the depth and breadth of his career 
achievements. From his pioneering work on Social Security reform, his 
almost encyclopedic knowledge of fiscal policy, to his championing of 
environmental and transportation issues, Senator Moynihan was the kind 
of Senator worth emulating. I also admired his ability to always look 
at the long view of the steps taken today and their impact on future 
generations. Senator Moynihan had an unwavering commitment to care for 
all people in need and was willing to cross party lines to accomplish 
his goals. His work as advisor to Presidents of both parties is 
testament to the high regard that official Washington had for his 
intellect and integrity.
  As a dear friend of my father's for over 25 years, my strongest sense 
of the Senator comes from hearing my dad speak of Senator Moynihan with 
reverence and true admiration. Upon my father's passing, Senator 
Moynihan included an excerpt from a wonderful poem by W.B. Yeats, ``The 
Municipal Gallery Revisited,'' in his tribute. Those kind words were a 
great comfort to our family.
  In the words of another poem by the poet W.B. Yeats:

     The man is gone guided ye, unweary, through the long bitter 
           way,
     Ye by the waves that close in our sad nation,
     Be full of sudden fears,
     The man is gone who from this lonely station
     --Has moulded the hard year . . .
     Mourn--and then onward, there is no returning
     He guides ye from the tomb;
     His memory is a tall pillar, burning
     Before the gloom

  Our Nation will mourn, but Senator Moynihan would insist that we move 
on. On behalf of my mother and the Chafee family, we send our sincere 
condolences to Liz and all her family.

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