[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 155 (Thursday, October 30, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SENATOR PAUL WELLSTONE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 30, 2003

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about a great man, a man 
who died before his time, the late Senator Paul Wellstone.
  On October 25, 2002, the people of Minnesota, the Senate and our 
nation lost a beloved colleague and humanitarian. Paul Wellstone was a 
man of deep convictions who cared deeply for those around him. A 
champion of working families, the poor, the disenfranchised, the 
forgotten, the voiceless, and the disabled, Paul Wellstone was a 
liberal Democrat in the truest sense of the term during a time when 
liberalism was not politically fashionable.
  Mr. Speaker, Senator Wellstone took stands on issues of principle. He 
voted against the Resolution authorizing the use of military force in 
Iraq and the 1996 Welfare Reform Act. He was the only Democrat to vote 
against the Democratic version of the estate tax repeal; opposed the 
Administration's national missile defense program and was against 
permanent normal trade relations with China. Paul Wellstone was not 
ashamed of voting his conscience, even if this meant that he would 
often stand alone. For this, Senator Wellstone won the accolades of his 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

  Mr. Speaker, as the son of immigrant Russian Jews, Paul Wellstone 
believed in the promise of America. Prior to his entry into the United 
States Senate, this plain-spoken man was a devoted and beloved 
associate professor of political science at Carleton College in 
Northfield, Minnesota, where he taught for 21 years. And although 
diagnosed with a mild case of multiple sclerosis, Paul did not let it 
incapacitate him. He continued to fight for those issues dear to his 
heart: affordable universal health care, mental health parity, family 
leave, veterans affairs, and environmental protection.
  Mr. Speaker, I am truly blessed to have known Paul Wellstone. On that 
fateful day 1 year ago on October 25, 2002, I lost a beloved friend and 
colleague and the world lost a fearless and selfless public servant and 
tireless advocate for justice. He has left a deep void in this 
institution and is truly missed. He is often remembered for a 
particular saying--that ``people yearn for a `politics of the center', 
not `the center' so widely discussed by politicians and pundits in 
Washington, but, rather, a politics that speaks to the center of 
people's lives.'' On this 1-year anniversary of the death of this 
courageous and principled man I urge my colleagues to commit themselves 
to his legacy and fight for the things to which Paul Wellstone 
dedicated his life. I know I will.

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