[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 32 (Friday, March 12, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S2792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BURNS:
  S. 2214. A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 3150 Great Northern Avenue in Missoula, Montana, as 
the ``Mike Mansfield Post Office''; to the Committee on Governmental 
Affairs.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, it is my honor to present this bill to 
designate the United States Postal Service facility at 3150 Great 
Northern Avenue in Missoula, MT as the ``Mike Mansfield Post Office.''
  I rise today not just as a Republican honoring a Democrat, but rather 
as a Montanan recognizing the most beloved political figure of our 
history. Mr. Mansfield holds a special place in the hearts of all 
Montanans, a man whose wisdom, humility, and decency have been sorely 
missed.
  Michael Joseph Mansfield was born in New York City on March 16, 1903. 
Following the death of his mother at age 7, Mike was sent to Great 
Falls, MT to live with an aunt and uncle.
  As World War I developed, the 14-year-old Mansfield saw an 
opportunity to serve his country, and lied about his age in order to 
join the U.S. Navy. He eventually enlisted in the Army and Marine Corps 
as well. During this service he was stationed in the Philippines and 
China, a time that marked the beginning of a lifelong love for the 
continent, its people, and their culture.
  After being honorably discharged from the Marines, Mike Mansfield 
returned to Montana as a 19-year-old lacking a high school education. 
He found a job in the Butte mines, shoveling rock as a `mucker.' It was 
during his time in Butte that Mr. Mansfield met his lifetime partner 
and companion, Maureen Hayes. It was Maureen who saw in Mike his 
enormous potential and convinced him to go to college. With her 
financial support, Mansfield obtained his high school equivalency, 
B.A., and M.A. from the Montana State University, now the University of 
Montana. Mr. Mansfield taught Latin American and East Asian history for 
8 years at the University, retaining lifelong tenure as Professor of 
History.
  Mr. Mansfield began his extraordinary public service career in 1942 
when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served 
four more terms before being elected to the Senate in 1952. Within 4 
years, he was elected majority whip and in 1961 he was chosen as the 
Senate Majority Leader. Mike would go on to hold this position for 17 
years, longer than any other man in the history of this great body.
  As Senate Majority Leader, Mr. Mansfield is remembered as a truly 
unique figure, a pragmatist whose sensibility, practicality, and 
unrelenting pursuit of results almost always transcended ideological 
concerns. More Senate leader than Majority Leader, Mansfield preferred 
not to draw a metaphorical line in the sand. Instead, he sought to 
guide the body as a whole to a fair and agreeable determination.
  In 1977, upon his retirement from the Senate, Mr. Mansfield was 
appointed Ambassador to Japan by President Carter; a post he held 
through 1989. This position offered Mike a chance to utilize his vast 
experience in Asian affairs, in a region that he truly loved. In the 
spirit of this admiration, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation 
continues to encourage dialogue and cooperation between the United 
States and Asia.
  Ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, this dedication of a postal 
facility is but a small token of gratitude for the many years of 
exceptional service given to this body, this Nation, and Montana by 
this wonderful man. The ever modest and humble Mansfield would have 
shied at such a tribute; we might even expect him to offer the names of 
people more deserving of the honor than he. In truth, I can think of no 
one more deserving of praise than Mike Mansfield, a true hero of the 
Senate.
                                 ______