[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6685-S6687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today the Senate returns to regular 
business. Last week the Nation and the world bid a final farewell to 
President Ronald Wilson Reagan. The services and ceremony were fitting 
tributes to our 40th President. I remind my colleagues that we will be 
printing a memorial book that will include all of the floor tributes 
and services related to the passing of our former President. For those 
Members who were unable to speak on the floor, we will allow Senators 
to submit statements on Ronald Reagan until June 25 in order to have 
those tributes printed in the memorial book.


           Rotunda Tributes to Former President Ronald Reagan

  At this time, I ask unanimous consent that the tributes during the 
Rotunda services by our distinguished President pro tempore, currently 
in the Chair, Speaker of the House, and our Vice President be printed 
in today's Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Speaker's Remarks at the State Funeral of the Late President Ronald 
                             Wilson Reagan

       (Washington DC).--The Speaker of the House, J. Dennis 
     Hastert (R-IL) made the following remarks at the State 
     Funeral of the late President Ronald Wilson Reagan tonight in 
     the Capitol Rotunda:
       Mrs. Reagan, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, 
     Distinguished Guests: Ronald Reagan's long journey has 
     finally drawn to a close.
       It is altogether fitting and proper that he has returned to 
     this Capitol Rotunda, like another great son of Illinois, 
     Abraham Lincoln, so the nation can say, good-bye. This 
     Capitol Building is, for many, the greatest symbol of 
     democracy and freedom in the world. It brings to mind the 
     ``shining city on a hill'' of which President Reagan so often 
     spoke. It is the right place to honor a man who so faithfully 
     defended our freedom, and so successfully helped extend the 
     blessings of liberty to millions around the world.
       Mrs. Reagan, thank you for sharing your husband with us--
     for your steadfast love and for your great faith. We pray for 
     you and for your family in this time of great mourning.
       But as we mourn, we must also celebrate the life and the 
     vision of one of America's greatest Presidents. His story and 
     values are quintessentially American. Born in Tampico, IL, 
     and then raised in Dixon, IL, he moved west to follow his 
     dreams. He brought with him a Midwestern optimism, and he 
     blended it with a western ``can do'' spirit.
       In 1980, the year of the ``Reagan Revolution,'' his vision 
     of hope, growth, and opportunity was exactly what the 
     American people needed and wanted. His message touched a 
     fundamental chord that is deeply embedded in the American 
     experience.
       President Reagan dared to dream that America had a special 
     mission. He believed in the essential goodness of the 
     American people and that we had a special duty to promote 
     peace and freedom for the rest of the world.
       Against the advice of the timid, he sent a chilling message 
     to authoritarian governments everywhere, that the civilized 
     world would not rest--until freedom reigned--in every corner 
     of the globe.
       While others worried, President Reagan persevered. When 
     others weakened, President Reagan stood tall. When others 
     stepped back, President Reagan stepped forward. And he did it 
     all with great humility, with great charm, and with great 
     humor.
       Tonight, we will open these doors and let the men and women 
     who Ronald Reagan served so faithfully, file past and say 
     good-bye to a man who meant so much to so many. It is their 
     being here that I think would mean more to him than any words 
     we say, because it was from America's great and good people 
     that Ronald Reagan drew his strength.
       We will tell our grandchildren about this night when we 
     gathered to honor the man from Illinois who became the son of 
     California and then the son of all America. And our 
     grandchildren will tell their grandchildren--and President 
     Reagan's spirit and eternal faith in America will carry on.
       Ronald Reagan helped make our country and this world a 
     better place to live. But he always believed that our best 
     days were ahead of us, not behind us. I can still hear him 
     say, with that twinkle in his eye, ``You ain't seen nothing 
     yet!''
       President Reagan once said, ``We make a living by what we 
     get; we make a life by what we give.'' Twenty years ago, 
     President Reagan stood on the beaches of Normandy, to honor 
     those who made a life, by what they gave. Recalling the men 
     who scaled the cliffs and crossed the beaches in a merciless 
     hail of bullets, he asked, who were these men--these

[[Page S6686]]

     ordinary men doing extraordinary things? His answer was 
     simple and direct: They were Americans.
       So I can think of no higher tribute or honor or title to 
     confer upon Ronald Reagan than to simply say: He was an 
     American. Godspeed, Mr. President, God bless you, and God 
     bless the United States of America.
                                  ____


 Remarks by the Vice President at the State Funeral of Ronald W. Reagan

       Mrs. Reagan, members of the President's family, colleagues, 
     distinguished guests, members of the diplomatic corps, fellow 
     citizens: Knowing that this moment would come has not made it 
     any easier to see the honor guard, and the flag draped before 
     us, and to begin America's farewell to President Ronald 
     Reagan. He said goodbye to us in a letter that showed his 
     great courage and love for America. Yet for his friends and 
     for his country, the parting comes only now. And in this 
     national vigil of mourning, we show how much America loved 
     this good man, and how greatly we will miss him.
       A harsh winter morning in 1985 brought the inaugural 
     ceremony inside to this Rotunda. And standing in this place 
     for the 50th presidential inauguration, Ronald Reagan spoke 
     of a Nation that was ``hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, 
     daring, decent, and fair.'' That was how he saw America, and 
     that is how America came to know him. There was a kindness, 
     simplicity, and goodness of character that marked all the 
     years of his life.
       When you mourn a man of 93, no one is left who remembers 
     him as a child in his mother's arms. Ronald Wilson Reagan's 
     life began in a time and place so different from our own, in 
     a quiet town on the prairie, on the 6th of February, 1911. 
     Nelle and Jack Reagan would live long enough to see the kind 
     of man they had raised, but they could never know all that 
     destiny had in store for the boy they called Dutch. And if 
     they could witness this scene in 2004, their son taken to his 
     rest with the full honors of the United States, they would be 
     so proud of all he had done with the life they gave him, and 
     the things they taught him.
       President Reagan once said, ``I learned from my father the 
     value of hard work and ambition, and maybe a little something 
     about telling a story.'' That was the Ronald Reagan who 
     confidently set out on his own from Dixon, IL during the 
     Great Depression, the man who would one day speak before 
     cameras and crowds with such ease and self-command. ``From my 
     mother,'' said President Reagan, ``I learned the value of 
     prayer. My mother told me that everything in life happened 
     for a purpose. She said all things were part of God's plan, 
     even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, 
     everything worked out for the best.'' This was the Ronald 
     Reagan who had faith, not just in his own gifts and his own 
     future, but in the possibilities of every life. The cheerful 
     spirit that carried him forward was more than a disposition; 
     it was the optimism of a faithful soul, who trusted in God's 
     purposes, and knew those purposes to be right and true.
       He once said, ``There's no question I am an idealist, which 
     is another way of saying I am an American.'' We usually 
     associate that quality with youth, and yet one of the most 
     idealistic men ever to become president was also the oldest. 
     He excelled in professions that have left many others jaded 
     and self-satisfied, and yet somehow remained untouched by the 
     worst influences of fame or power. If Ronald Reagan ever 
     uttered a cynical, or cruel, or selfish word, the moment went 
     unrecorded. Those who knew him in his youth, and those who 
     knew him a lifetime later, all remember his largeness of 
     spirit, his gentle instincts, and a quiet rectitude that drew 
     others to him.
       See now, at a distance, his strengths as a man and as a 
     leader are only more impressive. It's the nature of the city 
     of Washington that men and women arrive, leave their mark, 
     and go their way. Some figures who seemed quite large and 
     important in their day are sometimes forgotten, or remembered 
     with ambivalence. Yet nearly a generation after the often 
     impassioned debates of the Reagan years, what lingers from 
     that time is almost all good. And this is because of the calm 
     and kind man who stood at the center of events.
       We think back with appreciation for the decency of our 40th 
     president, and respect for all that he achieved. After so 
     much turmoil in the 60s and 70s, our Nation had begun to lose 
     confidence, and some were heard to say that the presidency 
     might even be too big for one man. That phrase did not 
     survive the 1980s. For decades, America had waged a Cold War, 
     and few believed it could possibly end in our own lifetimes. 
     The President was one of those few. And it was the vision and 
     will of Ronald Reagan that gave hope to the oppressed, shamed 
     the oppressors, and ended an evil empire. More than any other 
     influence, the Cold War was ended by the perseverance and 
     courage of one man who answered falsehood with truth, and 
     overcame evil with good.
       Ronald Reagan was more than an historic figure. He was a 
     providential man, who came along just when our Nation and the 
     world most needed him. And believing as he did that there is 
     a plan at work in each life, he accepted not only the great 
     duties that came to him, but also the great trials that came 
     near the end. When he learned of his illness, his first 
     thoughts were of Nancy. And who else but Ronald Reagan could 
     face his own decline and death with a final message of hope 
     to his country, telling us that for America there is always a 
     bright dawn ahead. Fellow Americans, here lies a graceful and 
     a gallant man.
       Nancy, none of us can take away the sadness you are 
     feeling. I hope it is a comfort to know how much he means to 
     us, and how much you mean to us as well. We honor your grace, 
     your own courage, and above all, the great love that you gave 
     to your husband. When these days of ceremony are completed, 
     the Nation returns him to you for the final journey to the 
     West. And when he is laid to rest under the Pacific sky, we 
     will be thinking of you, as we commend to Almighty the soul 
     of His faithful servant, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
                                  ____


                   Eulogy for President Ronald Reagan

                        (By Senator Ted Stevens)

       Mrs. Reagan, Patti, Ron, Michael, distinguished guests, 
     members of the Reagan family, and friends of Ronald Reagan in 
     America and throughout the world:
       Tonight, President Ronald Reagan has returned to the 
     people's house to be honored by millions of Americans who 
     loved him.
       Since 1824, under this Rotunda, our Nation has paid final 
     tribute to many dedicated public servants. President Abraham 
     Lincoln was the first president to lie in state under this 
     Capitol dome. In the coming days, thousands will come to 
     these hallowed halls to say good-bye to another son of 
     Illinois who, like Lincoln, appealed to our best hopes, not 
     our worst fears.
       In the life of any Nation, few men forever alter the course 
     of history. Ronald Reagan was one of those men. He rose from 
     a young boy who didn't have much to a man who had it all, 
     including the love of a faithful partner and friend he found 
     in his wife Nancy.
       The true measure of any man is what he does with the 
     opportunities life offers. By that standard, Ronald Reagan 
     was one of America's greatest. He first proved that as 
     governor of California and later as the President of the 
     United States.
       When Ronald Reagan was sworn in as our 40th President, this 
     Nation was gripped by a powerful malaise, inflation and 
     unemployment were soaring, and the Soviet Union was winning 
     the Cold War.
       By the time President Reagan left office, he had reversed 
     the trend of ever-increasing government control over our 
     lives, restored our defense capabilities, guided us through 
     the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and 
     set in motion policies which ultimately led to the collapse 
     of the ``Evil Empire.''
       His integrity, vision and commitment were respected by all. 
     But history's final judgment, I believe, will remember most 
     his ability to inspire us.
       President Reagan put it best when he said: ``The greatest 
     leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest 
     things. He is the one that gets [the] people to do the 
     greatest things.''
       This President inspired Americans by reaching out far 
     beyond what he could attain. Like a good coach, he understood 
     the value of a goal isn't always in achieving it; sometimes 
     it is enough to simply look out into the future and remind 
     people what is possible. And, often he achieved the 
     impossible.
       He reminded us that ``government is not the solution.'' The 
     solution lies in each of us. True American heroes are 
     ordinary people who live their lives with extraordinary 
     character and strength.
       President Reagan showed us freedom was not just a slogan; 
     he actually brought freedom to hundreds of thousands of 
     people around this globe by opposing oppressive regimes. 
     Those of us from the World War II generation looked up to him 
     for his moral courage; in him we saw the leadership of great 
     men like Eisenhower who led the way and moved us to follow.
       On a winter day in 1981, Ronald Reagan stood on the steps 
     that lie just beyond these doors to deliver his first 
     inaugural address. He spoke of a journal written by a young 
     American who went to France in 1917 and died for the cause of 
     freedom. From that journal he read these words: ``I will 
     work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will 
     fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the 
     whole struggle depended on me alone.''
       Throughout his life, Ronald Reagan bore our burdens as if 
     the outcome did depend on him alone. We will all remember him 
     as an unparalleled leader and an exceptional man who lifted 
     our Nation and set the world on a new path.
       President Reagan achieved greatness in his life; some might 
     even argue he transcended it. He could not have accomplished 
     this without Nancy. Nancy is one of the finest First Ladies 
     these United States have ever known. And the love Ronald and 
     Nancy Reagan shared touched the hearts of people everywhere.
       In 1989, President Reagan delivered his farewell address 
     from the Oval Office. In that speech, the President spoke of 
     ``the shining city upon a hill'' that, ``after 200 years, two 
     centuries . . . still stands strong and true on the granite 
     ridge.'' Now, it is our turn to thank Ronald Reagan for 
     making us believe in that shining city. As we say farewell, 
     his last words as President echo across this great Nation. If 
     we listen, we will hear him whisper the humble words he used 
     to sum up his revolution: ``All in all, not bad, not bad at 
     all.''


[[Page S6687]]


  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, today following the 60-minute period for 
morning business, we will resume consideration of S. 2400, the 
Department of Defense authorization bill. That will begin our third 
week of consideration on the Defense authorization bill. It is 
important that we finish this critical piece of legislation this week. 
I hope Senators will cooperate to that end. The amendments have been 
reviewed, and Chairman Warner and Senator Levin will be looking to 
schedule floor consideration of those amendments.
  Last week, I announced we will vote on Defense-related amendments 
this evening beginning at 5:30 p.m.. Although we have not locked in any 
votes at this time, it is my hope that this afternoon Members will come 
to the floor with their amendments so we can begin voting promptly at 
5:30. We will alert all Senators when we reach consent concerning these 
votes.
  In addition, this week we will need to consider a number of judicial 
nominations which were delayed from last week. Members should be 
prepared for consecutive votes on these nominations. We will be 
scheduling those votes throughout each day.
  On this side of the aisle, we are not going to need rollcall votes on 
each of these nominations. I will be talking to the Democratic 
leadership to see if the Senate can act at least on some of these 
noncontroversial judges without a rollcall vote in the interest of 
schedule and time.
  Finally, we face a number of scheduling challenges this week with 
other events that are going on. So it is important we use each 
Senator's time efficiently. We will be trying to accommodate as many of 
those events as possible. But we absolutely must have the cooperation 
of all Senators in order to get our work done this week.
  I will turn to the assistant Democratic leader for his comments, and 
then I have a statement to make in morning business.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we will be very happy to be on the Defense 
bill. We on this side have a number of amendments that will be offered 
immediately. I think they will be substantive amendments and they 
should not be controversial, at least as far as I know.
  I ask the distinguished majority leader if President Karzai is going 
to speak here tomorrow.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, it is my understanding he will be speaking 
tomorrow. The details of that will be announced later today. But it is 
my understanding it will be early in the morning to a joint session of 
Congress.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we look forward to working on this 
legislation. As the leader knows, we have a lot of amendments. I am 
glad we are able to focus on these today. I am sure we can dispose of a 
lot of these with the two managers. We have done that in the past. We 
still have to have several votes, and we will work to do our best over 
on this side to get votes and move forward.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is the leader using leadership time?
  Mr. FRIST. I will use leader time.

                          ____________________