[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5396-S5397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CARL T. CURTIS NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS 
                                BUILDING

  Mr. SUNUNU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 70, S. 703.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 703) to designate the regional headquarters 
     building for the National Park Service under construction in 
     Omaha, Nebraska, as the ``Carl T. Curtis National Park 
     Service Midwest Regional Headquarters Building.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. HAGEL. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to the late 
Nebraska U.S. Senator Carl T. Curtis. Curtis represented Nebraska in 
Congress for 40 years, longer than any other Nebraskan. He began at an 
early age. A well-known anecdote depicts Curtis as a young boy near 
Minden, NE, delivering speeches to the animals on his family's farm, in 
the absence of more engaging company. Not that he always found it here 
in Congress.
  Curtis's life was always about hard work, common sense, and 
accomplishment. He began his career by obtaining a law degree by 
``reading the law'' on his own and passing the bar. In Nebraska 
politics, he was known as a giant-killer, defeating two incumbent 
Governors, one former Governor, one Governor-to-be, and two former 
House Members. He is the only elected official in Nebraska State 
history to win statewide office while losing both Omaha and Lincoln. 
Curtis remained determined and victorious in the Senate when, in 1975, 
he waged a successful battle against Senator Jacob Javits, R-NY, for 
the chairmanship of the Senate Republican conference. As the new 
chairman of the Republican conference, he changed its role to be that 
of a research body, providing Republican Senators with relevant 
information on emerging national issues. The function of the current 
Senate Republican conference began under Curtis's leadership.
  During his 16 years in the House and 24 years in the Senate, Curtis 
served on the Finance, Agriculture, Rules, and Space Committees. He 
helped establish a blueprint for flood control and irrigation along the 
Missouri River. He worked tirelessly to enact the energy tax bill and 
the Tax Reform Act of 1976. Throughout his life, Curtis was an advocate 
for small business, agriculture producers, and social security reform. 
He was a selfless public servant who respected and lived traditional 
American values.
  Outside of the Halls of Congress, Curtis actively supported his 
fellow Republicans. One of his political highlights came when he was 
asked by the late Arizona U.S. Senator, Barry Goldwater, to serve as 
his floor manager at the 1964 Republican National Convention in San 
Francisco. With Curtis's help, Goldwater won the GOP Presidential 
nomination that year.
  After Curtis finished his distinguished tenure in Congress in 1979, 
he went back to practicing law in Nebraska, while continuing to be an 
active voice in politics and an adviser to many Republican candidates 
and officials. He also filled his time writing his book, ``Forty Years 
Against the Tide,'' which highlighted his opposition to the welfare 
state. After Curtis retired, he spent many happy days in Nebraska with 
friends, family and his wife Mildred.
  Curtis had a full political career, but the cornerstone of his life 
was his family and friends. His first wife, Lois Wylie-Atwater, 
championed him throughout his political career, along with their two 
adopted children. After Lois's death, Curtis found companionship in 
Mildred Genier Baker. They married in 1972. Curtis's journey came to an 
end on January 24, 2000, but his remarkable legacy lives on. Senator 
Curtis was a friend and political mentor to many of us. We will always 
appreciate his willingness to help each of us, his courtesies, his 
friendship and his integrity. Naming the new Park Service building in 
Omaha after Senator Carl T. Curtis is an appropriate

[[Page S5397]]

tribute to a legendary public servant and leader.
  Mr. SUNUNU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be 
read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon 
the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 703) was read the third time and passed, as follows:

                                 S. 703

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF CARL T. CURTIS NATIONAL PARK 
                   SERVICE MIDWEST REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS BUILDING.

       The regional headquarters building for the National Park 
     Service under construction in Omaha, Nebraska, shall be known 
     and designated as the ``Carl T. Curtis National Park Service 
     Midwest Regional Headquarters Building''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the regional 
     headquarters building referred to in section 1 shall be 
     deemed to be a reference to the Carl T. Curtis National Park 
     Service Midwest Regional Headquarters Building.

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