[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S21-S26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF FORMER SENATOR WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR.

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, Tom Carper and I have a resolution at the 
desk, and I ask for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 284) commemorating the life of 
     William V. Roth, Jr., former Member of the United States 
     Senate from the State of Delaware:

                              S. Res. 284

       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. was born on July 22, 1921 in 
     Great Falls, Montana, was raised in Helena, Montana, 
     graduated from the University of Oregon, and earned law and 
     business degrees from Harvard University;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. was decorated with a Bronze 
     Star for meritorious service with Army military intelligence 
     in the South Pacific during World War II;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. moved to Delaware in 1955 and 
     resided in Delaware until his death;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. was elected to the House of 
     Representatives in 1966, and served the State of Delaware 
     with distinction until his election to the United States 
     Senate in 1970;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. continued to serve the State 
     of Delaware and the United States in the Senate from 1971 to 
     2001, where he personified the title ``Honorable'';
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. championed tax and savings 
     reforms and deficit reduction as Chairman and a member of the 
     Senate Committee on Finance;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. worked tirelessly to control 
     government spending as Chairman and a member of the Senate 
     Committee on Governmental Affairs and to shape foreign policy 
     as president of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
     Parliament Assembly and chairman of the Senate NATO Observer 
     Group;
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. was a man of integrity, 
     decency, and character who was committed to his family and to 
     the people of Delaware; and
       Whereas William V. Roth, Jr. was a trusted friend and 
     colleague and a dedicated public servant: Now, therefore, be 
     it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate has learned with profound sorrow and deep 
     regret of the death of the Honorable William V. Roth, Jr., 
     formerly a Senator from the State of Delaware;
       (2) the Secretary of the Senate shall communicate this 
     resolution to the House of Representatives and transmit an 
     enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of William V. 
     Roth, Jr.; and
       (3) upon adjournment today, the Senate shall stand 
     adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
     William V. Roth, Jr.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. BIDEN. I thank the Chair. I thank the clerk for reading the 
resolution in its entirety.
  Mr. President, my friend, our colleague, Bill Roth, died while the 
Senate was out of session. Otherwise, I am certain there would have 
been a profuse outpouring of sentiment on the floor, as when any person 
of consequence dies.
  Bill Roth was a man of the Senate and a man of consequence. He was 
also, even though we were on opposite sides of the aisle, one of my 
closest friends in the Senate. We had the honor, as my friend and 
colleague, Senator Carper, and I do, of riding Amtrak together. In 
Bill's case and my case, we rode the train together almost every day 
for 28 years. Literally, for the first 24 years probably every day the 
Senate was in session.
  You can't have that kind of proximity with a man or a woman without 
getting to know them pretty darn well. I got to know Bill very well. I 
got to know his family. I got to know his hopes, his dreams, his fears, 
and his concerns, as he did mine, my family, my hopes, dreams, and 
concerns.
  An unusual thing developed: a bond of trust. I can and will say for 
the record that there is no person in public life I came to trust more 
than Bill Roth. I trusted him with my concerns. I trusted him with 
family issues. I trusted him with personal issues. And I trusted his 
judgment on political issues, even when he and I disagreed.
  We would ask each other questions: What do you think would happen if 
I do the following? What do you think the consequence would be? Even 
though we were in opposing parties, neither hesitated to give our 
friend the best advice we could.
  I once said that running against Bill Roth was like running against a 
wheat thrasher: big, gobbles up everything in his way, and he was very 
silent. Before it was all over, everything was harvested.
  Bill Roth, I think, was the most underestimated man with whom I have 
served going into my sixth term as a Senator.
  I might note for the record that Bill Roth's family is incredibly 
talented. His wife, Jane Roth, is one step away from the Supreme Court 
as a Third Circuit Court of Appeals judge. None of us

[[Page S22]]

who know her ever hesitated to support her. We pushed her. She is 
highly regarded and, as my friend from Pennsylvania, Senator Specter, 
knows--and no one knows the Third Circuit better than he does; 
literally no one knows it better than he does--is one of the most 
respected jurists on that venerable circuit.
  His son, Bud, is a lawyer who is an extremely talented young man, and 
his daughter, Katie, is a doctor. I might note that Bill finally had a 
namesake. Just shortly before he died, he got to see his daughter's son 
who they named William. Bill actually died here in Washington visiting 
Katie.
  This is a man who lived a full life, raised a great family, and will 
be missed not just by his family, but by our entire State and all those 
who knew Bill.
  I can say without equivocation that I would have been honored, quite 
frankly, to have any one of his senior staff members work on my staff. 
One of the ways I think you measure the mark of a national leader is to 
look at the people with whom he or she surrounds himself or herself. 
Look at the people who they pick to represent them. Look at the people 
who they choose to be their alter ego.
  Without exception, Bill Roth chose administrative assistants and 
senior staff members out of the same mold as himself: always totally 
honorable, balanced, straightforward, not at all ideological.
  I have close friendships, personal friendships, with Bill's former 
staff directors, people who still live in Delaware and, I might add--I 
don't want to ruin their reputations--support me politically, support 
me in my races. It is hard, as I said, in a State as small as ours--I 
see my friend from Utah, which has grown to be a very large State 
relative to us, but when I first arrived here, when his dad was here, 
with whom I served, I think we were a little bit bigger than Utah at 
the time.
  In small States, everyone knows everyone. Everyone has a sense of who 
everyone else is. It is hard in a State as small as ours, when you are 
in close proximity to people you respect, not to let it show, and that 
is exactly what happened in Delaware.
  We went through 28 years of serving together, and I cannot think of 
one single solitary time--not one single occasion--where Bill Roth had 
or I ever had even a negative inference asserted about the other guy. 
We have a tradition in Delaware of not being very negative and 
partisan. I can tell you with the single exception of one highly 
contested political race, you never heard Tom Carper, you never heard 
our sole Congressman and former Governor, Mike Castle, you never heard 
in my State any of us criticizing the other. It has been a wonderful 
State to represent.
  Bill Roth set the pattern. He surrounded himself with people of 
character such as himself, and that is something that should be strived 
for.
  Bill, as I said, was known on the Senate floor, known in the country 
like few of us will be for the Fulbright scholarships, for the Roth 
IRAs. Everybody knows that Bill Roth was a man who promoted savings. He 
was a man who was tight with the taxpayers' money, which is a great 
asset. We used to kid. Every once in a while we would go to a function 
here in Washington and we would take a cab together. I remember once 
Bill leaning in to talk to the cab driver.
  I said: What are you doing?
  He said: I gave him a dime tip and told him to vote Democrat.
  He also had a sense of humor, which most people on the floor never 
got a chance to see.
  I don't know anybody who worked with Bill Roth who ever suggested 
that you could not work with Bill Roth; that he would not weigh in.
  One of the things I want to mention about Senator Roth, though--and I 
am trying to move through this in the interests of time because I know 
we have the State of the Union and I know matters are going to be 
brought up today--is that one of the hallmarks of his career is he had 
a real sense of proportion, a sense of proportion that is missing today 
in much of public life. He fully understood that the Federal Government 
was both dangerous and necessary, that it is of value and sometimes 
part of the problem. He never had any trouble distinguishing between 
when it should be proactive and when it should not be active at all. He 
was not driven by ideology that blinded him to the needs of the people 
of my State, the Nation, or blinded him to civil liberties and civil 
rights.
  He used to always surprise many of my Democratic colleagues because 
Bill was always so conservative on tax policy. I hope I don't get my 
friend from Utah in trouble, but one of the things about him is he is a 
man of independence. I think it surprised some of my colleagues when he 
voted against the constitutional amendment on the flag.
  They said: Wait a minute, this guy is a conservative. It is because 
he is a conservative, I might add, that he did vote against it. But it 
would always surprise my colleagues on the Democratic caucus. They 
would say: Wait a minute, Bill Roth is a strong proponent of Title IX. 
That is the title that says you have to spread a proportionate amount 
of money on women in sports and colleges and universities. Bill Roth 
was very strong on women's rights.
  To the chagrin of his colleagues and some of mine, he is in large 
part a reason there is no drilling in ANWR. Bill Roth is a Republican 
leader of the effort to see there was no drilling in ANWR. We have the 
Tongass Forest in Alaska, which is multiple times the size of my State, 
because of Bill Roth. Bill Roth had an environmental record that could 
easily have been associated with a liberal Democrat. Bill Roth's views 
on women's rights, civil rights, was moderate to liberal.
  It always used to surprise people on this side of the aisle when they 
would say, whoa, was that Bill Roth who just voted on this, that, or 
the other thing?
  Bill Roth was a complex man, a man who could not be pigeonholed or 
characterized by a single label. But he was ultimately a practical guy, 
a man who knew what he thought, what he believed, and very quietly and 
unhesitatingly never, never ceased or backed off from what he thought 
was a right thing to do.
  On a personal note, like all of you in these cynical times--I would 
like you all to know that Bill Roth was anything but cynical. Bill Roth 
was not only an honorable man, Bill Roth was a noble man. The word 
``nobility'' comes to mind, to me. When I learned of his death--and I 
was caught off guard as I was asked by the press about it--the first 
thing that came to mind was: He's a noble man. He's a noble man.
  Let me explain what I mean by that. It is the way he dealt with 
people. It is the way he acted. Name someone for me in contemporary 
politics who was a winner of the Bronze Star and never once mentioned 
it. You cannot find a single piece of campaign literature that I am 
aware of. I never heard him speak of it. I never heard his campaign use 
it. Who, today, would not be out there talking about having been the 
recipient of a Bronze Star--to prove their patriotism, to prove their 
bravery? Bill Roth never, never mentioned it.

  This is a politician who was not afraid to use gimmicks. This is a 
guy who rode an elephant to make a point, out here in front of the 
Capitol. This is a guy who talked about the $3,000 toilet seats and 
would hoist up toilet seats. He was a bit of a showman in that regard. 
But when it came to talking about himself, Bill Roth never did. He had 
this sense of nobility about him.
  The other thing I loved about Bill Roth, in an environment where--I 
guess it has always been this case in politics--where money is king, 
campaigns cost so much money--Bill Roth was the chairman of the Finance 
Committee. Bill Roth could have raised more money than the Lord 
Almighty. But he always used to drive his chiefs of staff crazy when he 
wouldn't do what other people legally would do. He wouldn't call in the 
heads of the corporation and the business community and others who had 
great interest in what went on before the Finance Committee. He 
wouldn't do it. Bill Roth had trouble raising money. He was 
uncomfortable. I loved him for it. I loved the fact that he was 
uncomfortable doing it.
  The other thing that used to drive me crazy sometimes, to show you 
how he was, I remember we had a little fight on the floor here about a 
thing most people don't know much about but in Delaware it is a big 
ticket item financially for the State--escheatment. Escheatment means 
when somebody dies and leaves no heir and owns a security, under the 
rules that exist now,

[[Page S23]]

that money reverts to the State of incorporation.
  So let's say you owned 1,000 shares of stock of General Motors and 
you passed away, you had no heirs, the estate was left--the State gets 
the estate. But which State gets it? Historically it has been the State 
where you are incorporated. So if General Motors is incorporated in 
Delaware, even though its business is in Michigan, the money goes to 
Delaware. That is a big amount in their budget.
  There was a suit filed in the Supreme Court but the Supreme Court 
said, no, it is OK to do it that way, but it is up to the Congress to 
change it if they wanted to.
  Mr. President, 78 Senators said let's change that, and 370-some 
Congressmen said let's change that. I didn't think it was a good idea 
to change it. I have a simple rule. I say it straightforward. I think I 
never take personally the competition for highway funds or bridges or 
programs. We all compete, each of our States, for that. I take it very 
personally when my colleague or a colleague in the Senate decides to 
take an action that would benefit his State only marginally, but would 
do great damage to my State. I take that very personally.
  Changing law on escheatment would have been marginally beneficial to 
47 other States but a gigantic detriment to my State. So I went to 
Daniel Patrick Moynihan; New York was affected by this. I went to my 
friend, my friend who is no longer here, Al D'Amato--affectionately 
referred to as pothole Al. And I went to my friend Senator Kennedy from 
Massachusetts, and we said we are going to do what we can to see this 
doesn't change.
  I will tell you the end of the story. We ended up winning. Even 
though over three-quarters of the Senate cosponsored the change and 
more than that in the House, we ended up winning in the end of the day. 
That was because our colleagues realized we took it personally, it 
didn't affect their States very positively, and they in fact saw the 
better part of valor here and were willing to help us.
  I remember standing in the well of the Senate saying to Bill: Bill, 
you are chairman of the Finance Committee. Let your colleagues know 
this is important to you.
  He said: I don't know. You tell them. You tell them.
  He was even uncomfortable saying that. He was one of the most 
powerful men in the Senate and he wouldn't say: Hey, look, Bennett, 
this is important to me. Please help me. He wouldn't even do that.
  Although he had all this power, the thing that was so beautiful about 
him, he was uncomfortable with power. I think it is always healthy when 
people are uncomfortable with wielding power. But he never hesitated to 
wield it when he thought it was absolutely clear cut.
  So this was a guy who was a noble man. I just watched him. I watched 
him operate for over 28 years.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for 3 more minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, there is a quotation engraved on the wall 
at Union Station. It goes like this:

       Be noble, and the nobleness that lies in other men sleeping 
     but never dead will rise in majesty to meet thine own.

  Bill Roth also brought out the humility in those who worked with him 
and those who were around him.
  There is much more to say about him. I have said too much.
  I apologize. I did not realize that time was controlled. My colleague 
from Delaware, a cosponsor of this resolution, Senator Carper, would 
like to speak. I ask whether my colleagues would object if Senator 
Carper is able to proceed.

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have already talked to the Senator from 
Delaware. The junior Senator expects to speak 5 minutes, and I would 
like to be recognized to speak very briefly about Senator Roth and then 
introduce a bill. May I put that in the form of a unanimous consent 
request?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I would like to be allowed to speak very 
briefly about Senator Roth as well. I don't have a prepared statement. 
Could I go for 1 minute between Senator Carper and Senator Specter?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my colleague, Senator 
Biden, in offering this resolution commemorating Senator Roth. I thank 
Senator Specter for his willingness to let me slip in ahead of him.
  I recall any number of times visiting the Senate when I was Governor. 
I have had the privilege of testifying before the Senate Finance 
Committee that Senator Roth chaired. I remember revisiting him in his 
office in the Hart Building from time to time.
  It is not uncommon when you walk into the office of Senators that you 
see their pictures on the wall. There were, I am sure, a few pictures 
of Senator Roth and his family and others on the wall of his office. It 
is less common to walk into a Senate office today as a person who 
succeeded in a case where you ran against an incumbent, as I did 
against Senator Roth, and find the photograph of the Senator who was 
defeated, in this case in my race against Bill Roth.
  We have a tradition in Delaware called ``Return Day.'' Every Thursday 
a few days after the election of even numbered years, winners and 
losers gather in our county seat in southern Delaware, Georgetown, DE, 
and have a great breakfast at the Delaware Technical Community College. 
Then the winners and losers ride together in a horse-drawn carriage 
throughout the streets of Georgetown. Thousands of people come from all 
over the State to cheer those who won. The town crier comes out on the 
balcony of the White House in Georgetown in the circle and calls out 
the results from the election 2 days earlier.
  On that Thursday after the election in November of 2000, I rode in a 
horse-drawn carriage with Senator Roth and members of his family, and 
some members of my own family. It was an open-air carriage. It was a 
beautiful day. I asked if he would like to stand. We stood. The driver 
and the horses were ahead of us as we started down the parade route 
sitting there with our hands on the seat behind the driver.

  I said to him: Why don't we do something else? Let me hold your hand. 
I held his hand up in the air as one does at the end of a prizefight 
holding up the hand of a winner. We went through the entire parade that 
day holding up the hand of the winner who won so many elections during 
34 years as if there really wasn't a loser but only a winner in this 
situation--a real winner. That picture of us holding hands is still in 
my office today. It is a great picture. It tells a lot about the spirit 
of politics in Delaware and about the respect for Senator Roth as well.
  Senator Biden talked about some of the legislative accomplishments 
and the work that Senator Roth did with respect to NATO and the 
reorganization of the Federal Government.
  While those issues are important and what he did legislatively with 
respect to NATO and others is important, in Delaware, a State with 
about 800,000 people, you also have an extraordinary opportunity to 
help people with problems in their lives. For folks who are trying to 
grapple with the IRS on issues that need to be resolved or on Social 
Security issues and veterans issues, you can quite literally every year 
change the course of about 1,000 or 2,000 families who come to your 
office for help.
  That day as we went through Georgetown, DE, on ``Return Day'' in the 
parade, I am sure Senator Roth got bigger cheers than I did. They were 
from Democrats and Republicans and Independents. In part, those cheers 
were the result of the kind of staff he put around him. He hired 
excellent people. They set the gold standard for constituent service in 
our State. If you were a Democrat or Republican or Independent and you 
called his office for help, you got it. They did a terrific job.
  Bill Roth understood that we are servants of the people. They pay our 
salaries. We have an obligation to give our very best effort. He made 
sure that was what his staff provided--and he provided it during the 34 
years he served in the Congress.
  I said to him after the election: You set the gold standard. The 
challenge for me and my staff is to try very hard

[[Page S24]]

to match that standard. Maybe eventually, through new technology and 
training and services experience, we can even exceed it.
  I have won statewide in Delaware 11 times. I have been fortunate 11 
times. I have run against very good people but none more decent than 
Bill Roth.
  At his memorial service at the University of Delaware a week after 
his death, we were joined by Senator Specter and others. Hundreds of 
thousands of people came from all over our State. One of the speakers 
said Bill Roth was a gentleman and a gentle man--a gentleman and a 
gentle man. He treated his staff, the folks who work in the cafeteria 
here, and the folks who run the elevators here with the same kind of 
respect as with his colleagues and his peers. I doubt that you can 
every day find that in a person who rises to the kind of power he 
enjoyed in this city and in this country. It says a whole lot about the 
man he was.
  One of the persons who spoke at Senator Roth's memorial service was 
his former chief of staff, John Duncan, who is now Assistant Secretary 
of Legislative Affairs at the Department of the Treasury. I ask 
unanimous consent that excerpts of the very eloquent comments of John 
Duncan be printed in the Record. He said it certainly better than I 
could. It is the kind of tribute that belongs in the Congressional 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Senator William V. Roth, Jr., Memorial Service, Clayton Hall, December 
                                21, 2003

       Today we celebrate a unique man whose legacy will live on 
     for us, our children and our grandchildren.
       As the representative of the Roth staff, I appreciate this 
     opportunity to honor the man who had such a significant 
     impact on our country and the lives of so many people.
       Just a few weeks ago, the Senator was in Washington and 
     some of us got together for lunch. After an hour or so of 
     laughter and story telling we all returned to our jobs.
       On my way back to the office, I couldn't help but reflect 
     on what a big influence Bill Roth has had on those of us who 
     worked with him over the years.
       Some had started working for him as interns, others as 
     subject matter experts. Some were form Delaware and knew 
     about the Senator before they went to work for him. Others 
     were from outside Delaware and came to know the uniqueness of 
     this man only after they came within his orbit. All, in their 
     subsequent careers, had gone on to great success in business, 
     government and academia.
       One participant at lunch that day was a very high ranking 
     official in the Commerce Department who had been the 
     Senator's top trade advisor. He had the best of jobs. He 
     traveled the world working on trade agreements that would 
     shape the future of our country in the world economy.
       For twenty minutes in great animation he regaled us with 
     stories about the exciting thing he was doing. Listening, you 
     couldn't help but be envious that any job should be so 
     important and so much fun.
       But at the end he paused and, in serious vein, told the 
     Senator ``This job is great. But the best job I ever had was 
     working for you.''
       The reason I tell this story is that Bill Roth is known for 
     many accomplishments. But his biggest impact was on the lives 
     of the people who did things with him, many of whom are in 
     this hall today.
       Whenever we reflect on the nature of a person's life we 
     experience an interesting problem. We want, in our 
     reflections, to capture ``who'' they were. But with every 
     effort to describe ``who'' they were we inevitably end up 
     describing ``what'' they were and the uniqueness we 
     experienced and are trying to express escapes us.
       This difficulty in no way lessens the importance of what we 
     are doing here as we remember the life of Senator Roth. For 
     it is at the end of a person's life that the uniqueness that 
     God gave each of us becomes most apparent.
       Though the uniqueness of individual personality will always 
     escape being captured in words, I am pleased to join with the 
     others on this stage to add my contribution to the 
     appreciation of this highly unusual man.
       I'd like to start my remarks by focusing on some of the 
     ideas the Senator brought to his work and how they led to the 
     achievements we so much associate with him.
       Though those ideas were many and varied they all focused on 
     the concerns and worries of regular people--the people, from 
     all walks of life, who work hard, pay their taxes, and care 
     for their families.
       Senator Roth believed that government exists to serve the 
     people. He started first with his own office.
       Over the years he employed a number of fine and talented 
     caseworkers that citizens could turn to when the bureaucracy 
     became overwhelming. It's difficult to travel very far in 
     Delaware without meeting a person assisted by his office or 
     seeing something he helped fund, from Amtrak, to the Dover 
     Air Force Base to land set aside for conservation.
       One of his first legislative accomplishments was the 
     creation of a source book for citizens that catalogued 
     available grant and assistance programs. How could the 
     government serve the people, he reasoned, if the people had 
     no idea what was available to them?
       Years later he authored the Government Performance and 
     Results Act which set performance standards for government 
     agencies and held managers accountable for results. It was 
     this program, you may remember, that Al Gore adopted as his 
     central task as Vice President.
       Evidence that the IRS had slipped beyond the control of the 
     Congress and was in danger of becoming a rogue bureaucracy 
     was what prompted the Senator to conduct hearings on the IRS.
       To understand the importance of what he did you need to 
     know, that at the time of his hearings, a congressional 
     commission to modernize the IRS had finished its work and 
     legislation implementing its recommendations had been 
     introduced.
       That legislation, though, was going nowhere. The IRS 
     opposed it. The Treasury Department opposed it. President 
     Clinton opposed it. But within months of Senator Roth's 
     dramatic hearings the Congress passed the restructuring bill 
     and the President swiftly signed it. Reform that normally 
     takes years was accomplished in months--all because of the 
     determination and timely leadership of Bill Roth.
       It was as Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee 
     that the Senator first disclosed his thinking that 
     competition, so much a force for good in the private sector, 
     might be useful in government administration.
       The principle that competition ensures innovation and 
     lowest cost operations was first applied by the Senator to 
     government procurement where he was an ardent opponent of the 
     practice of sole-source contracting.
       Later, in interesting and artful ways, the Senator would 
     apply this principle to other areas of government.
       He teamed-up with his friend and colleague Joe Biden to 
     expand NATO's membership and mission. Because of their 
     successful work, there are choices available for dealing with 
     international hot-spots and freedom and security are more 
     than just a dream for millions of people.
       In the area of transportation, the Senator's vigorous 
     support of Amtrak, the Wilmington Trolley, and alternative 
     fuels was based on his belief that we are better off with 
     alternative modes of transportation and energy.
       The Senator was best known for his work on tax policy. He 
     though that every person who wanted a job should have one.
       While he never thought we would ever be free from the 
     business cycle, it upset him that the tax code--something we 
     did control--discouraged the creation of jobs. The best thing 
     to do, he reasoned, was to change the tax code in a way that 
     encouraged people to work, save and invest.
       That was the principle behind the Roth-Kemp tax cuts. 
     Radical at the time, today the connection between low 
     marginal tax rates and jobs is conventional wisdom, not only 
     in America, but a good part of the world.
       With tax policy moving in the direction of lower rates, the 
     Senator turned his attention to changing retirement policy 
     from income maintenance to asset ownership. He used his 
     committee leadership positions to develop savings accounts as 
     part of the Civil Service Retirement system and then created 
     the highly popular Roth IRA.
       As you can tell from the variety of things I've mentioned, 
     Bill Roth was driven by big ideas and left a legacy of big 
     accomplishments.
       Success in Washington, though, doesn't just happen on its 
     own. Anyone who knows the nature of public life can tell you 
     that having a vision of a preferred future is not enough for 
     success.
       Abraham Lincoln, in one of his State of the Union Messages 
     to the Congress, summarized it best when he wrote, ``it is 
     not `can any of us imagine better?' but, `can we all do 
     better?' ''
       There are as many visions of the future as there are 
     Members of Congress. The central task and art of political 
     leadership is gaining the consent of a majority of Members to 
     do the things that need to be done.
       You can't get that consent, though, if don't know how to 
     work with your colleagues. Just as Bill Roth had a core set 
     of beliefs that guided him in what he did, the Senator had a 
     firm set of ideas about the conduct of business.
       The Congress can be a complicated and difficult place in 
     which to act. The rules are complex. People are 
     unpredictable, emotions run high and the best of human nature 
     is often absent.
       The legislative process can too easily become a game in 
     which each political party tries to score points at the 
     expense of the other. Relationships can too easily descend 
     into acrimony and bitterness.
       Senator Roth avoided all that. To him, the conduct of 
     politics came down to a set of straightforward activities: 
     Express . . . Discuss . . . Persuade . . . Negotiate . . . 
     Compromise. It was primarily through these activities that he 
     gained consent and advanced his goals.
       His basic technique was to carefully craft an initial 
     proposal that reflected common interests. He'd then bring the 
     Committee together and would not let anyone leave the

[[Page S25]]

     room until they reached agreement. His goal was agreement by 
     consent. And nobody knew how to build consensus like Bill 
     Roth.
       He preferred persuasion to voting. But if the Senator 
     needed votes, he knew how to get them. He knew when to 
     negotiate. He knew how to compromise while remaining true to 
     his principles. And, most importantly from the standpoint of 
     his colleagues, he could be counted on to defend the products 
     of joint decision.
       I learned a secret from Bill Roth. In politics, as in life 
     itself, means and ends are the same. To the Senator, how 
     things were done was as important as what was done.
       To him political power flowed from treating each colleague 
     in a way that, as a group, they would never lose the ability 
     to do things together. That understanding served him well 
     and, in large measure, accounted for his success.
       To the Senator the purpose of our political institutions is 
     to move us forward as a nation, and keep us together as 
     individuals.
       Though he was a Republican and proud of his party's 
     heritage, Bill Roth did not see the world in partisan terms. 
     There is a nice irony here, because the ideas Bill Roth 
     worked for have transformed the Republican Party.
       Bill Roth felt that any important undertaking had to be 
     done in a bipartisan manner. He had many friends on the other 
     side of the aisle.
       One of his closest friends was Joe Biden. The attentiveness 
     and courtesies they showed each other convinced me that there 
     was, in reality, a third political party that might best be 
     called the Delaware Party.
       As Senator Biden has often observed, Bill Roth led, but he 
     led quietly. He didn't hog the spotlight, intimidate or run 
     roughshod over his colleagues. In advancing his interests, 
     Bill Roth rarely played hard bill. It was not in his 
     personality to do so.
       But if he had to, he could. I remember one time when he 
     did.
       The Senate was considering an extension of unemployment 
     benefits. The legislation had been written in a way that 
     excluded Delaware and some other states under the notion that 
     their economies weren't suffering enough and didn't need the 
     help.
       Senator Roth's view was that Delaware's unemployed deserved 
     to be treated just as well as the unemployed in other states. 
     The states that benefited from the legislation had the votes 
     to get it passed, but it was unclear whether they would break 
     a filibuster.
       I remember Senator Roth calling me from the Senate floor 
     with a fire in his voice that I had never heard before and 
     would never have occasion to hear again. He instructed me to 
     locate a multi-volume history of the state of Delaware. I 
     knew immediately that he and Senator Biden were prepared to 
     read the entire history of Delaware to the U.S. Senate, if 
     they had to, in order to stop this unfair treatment.
       After a short but tense period of time the leadership 
     backed off. The legislation was altered to include the 
     unemployed from all states and passed by unanimous consent.
       When the standoff was over, the Senator returned from the 
     floor. The history of Delaware went back to the library. And 
     I developed a new appreciation for the use of history in the 
     development of public policy.
       The Senator's personality was creative and fun-loving. He 
     was always game for the unusual. He had a live elephant at a 
     press conference when he was fighting to get attention for 
     his tax cut proposals.
       He hung spare parts from a Christmas tree to dramatize 
     military procurement practices that were over-charging the 
     taxpayer.
       And on the first anniversary of the Roth-Kemp tax cuts, he 
     wanted to celebrate everyone getting a bigger piece of the 
     economic pie. So he had prepared and served a giant baked 
     apple pie--a pie so large that it qualified for the Guinness 
     Book of World Records.
       And as everyone in Delaware knew, the Senator campaigned 
     with a Saint Bernard. He told me about the Saint Bernard 
     once. He said it was his secret weapon.
       People might resist a politician he told me, but nobody 
     could resist a dog--especially if that dog was a big and 
     happy Saint Bernard.
       But even if parents could resist the dog, children 
     couldn't. When the children came so did their parents. And 
     there he'd be with his ``HI, I'm Bill Roth'' button ready to 
     greet and converse.
       Hokey by some people's standards, but, when he told me that 
     story, I knew why he became Delaware's longest-serving 
     statewide lawmaker.
       The Senator's love of his dogs was legendary in Delaware. 
     But it wasn't as well known in Washington until a prominent 
     local magazine did a profile on the Senator in which he 
     listed his dog Sweet Pea as his closest advisor.
       When people talk about Bill Roth as an individual one hears 
     words like ``kind . . . shy . . . gracious . . . thoughtful . 
     . . considerate . . . humble . . . respectful.''
       These words accurately reflect Bill Roth's personality. But 
     they need to be leavened with some additional qualities. Bill 
     Roth was a demanding leader. You couldn't do what he did in 
     Washington without focused drive and ambition.
       Bill Roth came to Washington with grand purposes. As with 
     all big efforts there were setbacks, disappointments and 
     failures. But they never stopped him or even slowed him down.
       Senator Roth had great expectations and desired to do well. 
     They were expectations he put on himself and the 
     organization. And they came, I think, at least to some degree 
     from Delaware's special role in America's founding and its 
     long history of quality political leadership.
       No matter what he was working on or where he was in the 
     world, Delaware was never far from his mind. When crafting 
     important trade and tax legislation, he always considered its 
     effects on Delaware products and businesses. When traveling 
     abroad he pressed his hosts to open their borders to products 
     from Delaware.
       Poultry was always prominent in those discussions. The 
     efficiency of the industry was astonishing to him. That 
     Delaware poultry could be grown, processed and shipped to 
     markets in foreign lands at prices competitive with local 
     producers had a big impact on his thinking about trade and 
     his confidence in America's ability to compete in a global 
     economy.
       It was important to the Senator that he employ the best 
     talent. He insisted that everyone who worked for him have a 
     clear understanding of what was expected at work and that 
     they have the resources to do their jobs.
       But the important element that stood out in Bill Roth's 
     office was the way he treated his employees. He did not use 
     and discard people. He cared about each of us as individuals. 
     His interest went beyond the workplace to family and career.
       Though he was a very busy man pursuing important 
     objectives, he always had time--time to counsel, time to 
     celebrate and time to console.
       He brought out the best in his employees and launched them 
     on their careers and took great satisfaction in everyone's 
     achievements.
       This is very unusual. It is in our families that we expect 
     to be cared about for who we are. By treating his employees 
     as individuals and caring about their personal success, 
     Senator Roth made each of us a part of his family.
       I'd like to close my remarks by relating a small incident 
     that I think says a lot about Bill Roth and his chosen 
     profession of politics.
       One day Neil Messick, the person who preceded me in my job, 
     drove the Senator to a meeting. They parked in a large garage 
     and went to their destination. When they returned to the 
     garage Neil realized he had forgotten where he had parked the 
     car.
       He took a guess at the right floor but he chose wrong. Neil 
     was new to the job and worried about the kind of impression 
     he must be making on his new employer.
       After some initial wandering around Neil turned to the 
     Senator and said ``You wait here and I'll go find the car.''
       The Senator, who had already sized-up the situation, said 
     ``Neil you've already lost the car, you're not going to lose 
     me, too.'' And off they went in laughter to find the car.
       This little incident says a lot about the Senator's quick 
     humor and his desire to put people at ease. But it also says 
     something about the nature of the political experience 
     itself.
       Politicians enter the public realism alone but they never 
     travel it alone. They travel it with the family who supports 
     them at home, the voters and friends who support them in the 
     state, and the staff who support them at work.
       Bill Roth made the journey with the support of all of you. 
     He was a good man doing a tough job--a job he loved. You were 
     the source of his energy.
       The Senator confided in me one time that he viewed himself 
     as a plodder. That self-assessment was accurate. But he was a 
     plodder with a vision.
       As your Congressional delegation can attest, success, as a 
     legislator, requires the sustained and focused activity of 
     small steps over a long period of time. And, with each step, 
     elected representatives face unique and difficult challenges.
       But, as Bill Roth's life has shown, if you have a vision, 
     stay on course, and are attentive to relationships, then 
     small steps lead to big accomplishments.
       Last January, during a graduation ceremony at the 
     University of Delaware, the Senator was described as a 
     dedicated public servant, an esteemed leader on foreign 
     policy, an acknowledged leader of reform, and a respected 
     environmentalist. This is ``what'' Bill Roth was.
       Later, in that same ceremony, a former employee and long 
     time political advisor, Pete Hayward, used a different 
     terminology to describe the Senator: ``caring employer, 
     patient teacher, supportive mentor, and trusted friend.'' 
     This is ``who'' Bill Roth was.
       Today we bring both together--what he did and who he was--
     and can appreciate the full measure of the man.
       Thank you.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I will not take a great deal of time. I 
don't need to because all that needs to be said about Bill Roth has 
been said.
  My wife and I had the privilege of going with Bill and his wife to 
Romania. We traveled with them to other countries throughout Europe 
talking about NATO and other issues. In that process, we became well 
acquainted with two of America's finest public servants. But on that 
occasion, they became two of our best friends.

[[Page S26]]

  I join with all of the people from Delaware and all of the colleagues 
in the Senate in paying tribute to Bill Roth, saying goodbye to him for 
his service, and extending my warmest sympathy and condolences to Jane 
for the loss of her husband as well as recognition of her service to 
this country. What a remarkable couple. America, as well as the State 
of Delaware, has been very well served for their willingness to 
participate in the public arena.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in paying tribute to 
Senator Roth. I had the privilege of working with Bill Roth in the 
Senate for some 20 years.
  On the route from Washington to Philadelphia I frequently road with 
Bill Roth as far as Wilmington. Frequently when I would catch the train 
in Philadelphia, I would see him board in Wilmington. During the course 
of 20 years, we had very many long and fascinating discussions.
  Bill Roth was an outstanding Senator. He served in the House of 
Representatives in advance of coming to the Senate and was a native of 
the State of Montana. He was Harvard Law School educated. He was 
chairman of the Finance Committee. He had very deep insight into 
finances and taxes. He was a coauthor of the famous Roth-Kemp bill or 
Kemp-Roth bill--it depends on whether you accentuate the House or the 
Senate--with very substantial tax cuts in the early days of the Reagan 
administration. He later served as chairman of the Finance Committee, 
known for the Roth IRAs, so people could set aside funds and make a 
real contribution to the Nation.
  My wife and I had the occasion to attend the memorial service for 
Senator Roth in Wilmington recently. As noted, his wife Jane is a very 
distinguished judge of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the 
circuit which covers Pennsylvania as well as Delaware and also New 
Jersey.
  When Senator Roth finished his term at about his 80th birthday, it 
marked a very outstanding contribution to the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the pending 
resolution?
  The resolution (S. Res. 284) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  Mr. SPECTER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SPECTER. I ask unanimous consent the next remarks be in morning 
business under the introduction of legislation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania is recognized.
  Mr. SPECTER. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Specter pertaining to the introduction of S. 2008 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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