[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1109-E1110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MOURNING THE PASSING OF PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. ROB SIMMONS

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 8, 2004

  Mr. SIMMONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the passing of Ronald 
Reagan, the 40th President of the United States of America.
  As a Vietnam veteran and an officer with the CIA from 1969-1979, my 
world was changed dramatically and for the better when Ronald Reagan 
won his historic presidential race in November 1980.
  At the time I was serving on the staff of Senator John H. Chafee (R-
RI). Politically, it was a watershed year. Not only did the Senate go 
from Democrat to Republican control for the first time in 26 years, but 
also some very well known Democratic Senators were swept from office in 
the ``Reagan Revolution.'' They included Senator Frank Church, former 
Chairman of the Committee to Investigate the Intelligence Activities of 
the United States, and Birch Bayh, second Chairman of the newly 
established Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
  The Senate Intelligence Committee, where I went on to serve for four 
years as staff director, gained new leadership under Chairman Barry 
Goldwater and Vice Chairman Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
  Goldwater had a long-standing and close political relationship with 
Ronald Reagan. In fact, many have said that a speech delivered by 
Reagan during Goldwater's historic 1964 presidential campaign propelled 
Reagan into the national political spotlight.
  Goldwater was excited to work with President Reagan and CIA Director 
William Casey to institute a new approach to intelligence oversight. 
First, it focused on bipartisan consensus in intelligence where Vice 
Chairman Moynihan was a valued partner.
  It also departed from the adversarial process of Senators Church and 
Bayh, and focused on rebuilding the morale and intelligence 
capabilities of American intelligence. Rather than adopting Church's 
belief that the CIA was a ``rogue elephant,'' Goldwater expressed his 
supportive feelings by talking about the ``intelligence family.''
  Sadly, in 1984 these positive developments were disrupted when the 
CIA was discovered to have been covertly involved in the mining of 
Nicaraguan harbors, without proper notification to Congress. In the 
ensuing firestorm, Barry Goldwater wrote a pointed note to CIA Director 
Casey expressing his concern over the lack of communication. The letter 
was quickly leaked to an eager press, excited that Senator Goldwater 
was at odds with the Reagan Administration.

  At the time these events were unfolding, President Reagan was 
scheduled to appear at the Washington Hilton for the White House 
Correspondents Association annual black-tie dinner. Many observers felt 
that the press would use the opportunity to embarrass the president 
over the intelligence ``flap.'' But, in what was to become a classic 
response of the President to a difficult situation, Ronald Reagan 
opened his remarks by saying:

       ``What's all that talk about a breakdown of White House 
     communications? How come nobody told me?'' Laughter. ``Well, 
     I know this: I've laid down the law, though, to everyone 
     there from now on about anything that happens, no matter what 
     time it is, wake me, even if it's in the middle of a Cabinet 
     meeting.'' Laughter. The official presidential documents 
     recorded that the President received twenty-six more laughs.
       [Bob Woodward, Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981-1987, 
     p. 333]

  It was to the point. It was funny. It was self-deprecating. It 
defused for a moment what was a gathering storm for the Administration.

[[Page E1110]]

It gave everyone the opportunity to step away from a potentially 
explosive moment and get on with the challenging business of 
government.
  Mr. Speaker, under the leadership of President Reagan, the United 
States rebuilt her intelligence and national security structure from 
1980-1988. This was not done without controversy, but it was done. 
Morale was restored at the Central Intelligence Agency and elsewhere in 
the Intelligence Community. Capabilities were improved.
  The military, too, regained a new pride and strength following the 
disasters in Vietnam and Iran. Members of the armed forces felt their 
service was respected by the Commander in Chief, and they valued his 
support. They loved his patriotic speeches, and were eager to follow 
his lead.
  And yet for all of his accomplishments as a national and world 
leader, President Reagan never lost the personal touch. When I departed 
Washington, DC in early 1985, I left with a personal letter of thanks 
signed by the President.
  This letter hangs in my office even today as a proud reminder of what 
President Reagan and Congress were able to accomplish during those 
difficult but historic years. It is also a clear symbol of a man who 
never allowed the trappings of high office obscure his view of the 
``little people'' who constitute the strength of our government and 
Nation.
  Now as we remember the life of Ronald Reagan, and as his casket lies 
with honor under the Capitol dome, it is my turn to thank him for his 
distinguished service to our country and to the world. He left us a 
better people and he left the world a better place.
  The man will be missed, but the memory lives on in all of us who were 
touched by his life and his leadership. I yield back the balance of my 
time.

                          ____________________