[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11734-S11735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S11734]]
                     TRIBUTES TO RETIRING SENATORS


                              John Breaux

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, we are in the midst of a very important 
discussion, of course, as we are considering what to do. As the 
leadership meets to consider what we should do that hopefully will 
either move this process forward or come up with some other resolution, 
I thought I might take a moment to speak about our colleague, Senator 
Breaux, and his retirement.
  This would probably be a good time to talk about the senior Senator 
from Louisiana and to pay tribute to him because he would be one of the 
Senators most certainly who could help us figure out this situation. He 
has been helping us figure out situations like this for 32 years with a 
lot of success and, I might say, with a lot of respect from all the 
Members in this body, both on the Republican side and the Democratic 
side.
  It might be appropriate for me to speak a few moments about the great 
contribution this man has made to this body.
  Senator Breaux came to the House when he was 28 years old, and after 
four children and now three grandchildren, he leaves us after serving 
well and admirably for 32 years.
  When he came to Congress 32 years ago at the age of 28, he was the 
youngest Member of Congress to be serving at that time. He has served 
with 7 Presidents and 16 Congresses. He served with President Nixon, 
President Ford, President Carter, President Reagan, President Bush, 
President Clinton, and now currently with President Bush. He served 
through 16 Congresses for 32 years in times of war and peace, through 
recessions and irrational exuberance. He has served as a husband, as a 
father, as a grandfather, and he served our State with great grace, 
great steadiness, and great leadership through it all.
  It might not come as a surprise to my colleagues as we consider at 
this time what we are going to do to look at this picture of John 
Breaux that will give us all a laugh. I do not know whether he was 
playing Li'l Abner or a farmer, but this is on his Web site and he 
displays it proudly. It shows a sense of humor, even as a young man.
  He has been called brash and good looking and confident, and he still 
is that today. He is not only a storyteller, but a great dealmaker. He 
has a rollicking sense of humor. He is admirable. He is hard-working, 
amiable, smart, a bridge builder, a strategic thinker, and someone who 
has our deepest respect. He has been, and continues to be, a team 
player.
  I found this picture of John Breaux with his uniform on, which is the 
way he pretty much came to work every day, with his hat on, a baseball 
cap on, his uniform on, maybe just in a suit, but ready to get the work 
of the Senate done and get the work of Congress done.
  There is probably not a major piece of legislation passed by this 
Senate that did not have John Breaux's assistance. He was the 
teammaker, always ready to bat or pitch or catch or sit on the 
sidelines or referee because he basically did it all.
  He was also considered a strategic thinker and a great leader for our 
country. He, as many of us, gets the opportunity to not only speak on 
this floor but to be on major television and radio programs speaking 
about the great issues of the day. And he most certainly has put his 
mark on many pieces of legislation.

  As a member of the Finance Committee, as a member of the Commerce 
Committee, and as a member of the Fisheries Committee in the House 
during the time he served there, I can say there is probably not a 
major piece of legislation that has not felt the good mark of Senator 
Breaux: always there with a compromise, always there with a suggestion, 
always there with a little prodding. We and the people of our Nation 
can be grateful for his wisdom and his input at those critical times.
  Whether it was the Medicare overhaul, laying the groundwork for a 
stronger Social Security system, or whether it was legislation related 
to agriculture, to sugar or rice, the commodities in Louisiana that are 
so important, John was always there.
  I want to say a word about a very important bill--and we will show 
John playing tennis because this demonstrates that not only is he a 
great athlete and team player, but he is a great tennis player. What I 
like about this picture is he always kept his eye on the ball. Despite 
all of the great work that Senator Breaux did in this Senate on so many 
pieces of legislation, helping all States, he always kept his eye on 
the ball--the State of Louisiana.
  There are 4.5 million people who live in our State--wealthy people, 
poor people, people who live far out in the woods in the country and 
people who live in the great urban centers of New Orleans and our 
capital city of Baton Rouge and our other cities. Not only did he keep 
his eye on the ball in Louisiana, he kept his heart with us.
  I can tell you he has left a great mark on our State.
  There is an act we are proud of that we now call the Breaux Act. It 
is referred to as Wallop-Breaux, but at home we call it the Breaux Act 
because John, in his typical quiet, responsible fashion, crafted a very 
special tax arrangement that is ongoing--and we will not talk too much 
about the details, John, on the floor--but there was a very special 
arrangement made years ago with members of the Finance Committee that 
has helped us finance and send money to the State of Louisiana that has 
literally laid the groundwork to save our coastline.
  It is not just Louisiana's coastline; it is America's wetlands. Two-
thirds of the Nation is drained by it. Forty percent of the fisheries 
are in the Gulf of Mexico. The greatest shipping channel in all of 
North America comes through that Mississippi Delta.
  Because John kept his eye on the ball--and although he did all this 
great work for the Nation, he always loved Louisiana the most, always 
put his State first--we are now able to build a great environmental 
legacy to save this coastline. We already lost the size of the State of 
Rhode Island, but because of John's work, because of his great 
strengths and great sense of humor, great respect, and great 
intelligence, he was able to lay that groundwork.
  Whether it was advocating for senior citizens in our State when they 
did not have an advocate, or showing up at senior centers early in the 
morning and late at night, whether it was advocating for children 
through education or whether it was advocating for sugar, he did it 
all.
  Maybe this picture says it the best. On the front page of one of our 
Nation's leading magazines, here is Senator Breaux sitting at the table 
holding all the cards and most of the chips, which is the most 
important thing about this picture, with the elephant on one side and 
the donkey on the other, and John Breaux in the middle. At times, we 
need men and women in the middle. We need people who can listen to both 
sides and try to figure it out.
  Tonight, that is what we are trying to do on the Senate floor, just 
trying to figure out this situation. It is a serious situation, and I 
do not at all mean to be light about it, but figuring it out is what we 
do as leaders, making our government work.
  While I do not gamble too much myself, I can most surely appreciate--
and there are plenty of people in Louisiana who do gamble. So we are 
proud of this picture and proud of John, but deals need to be made on 
principle and for the people. The people need the government to always 
give them a fair deal, a good deal, and a square deal, and that is what 
John did.
  So, John, on behalf of so many people in Louisiana and around the 
Nation, let me say that you are going to be missed because you will not 
be a Member, of course, of the Senate, but we know that we can call 
you. We know that we can reach you. We know that you will always be 
advocating for us in Louisiana and for our Nation.
  Let me also mention what has not been said on the floor and what was 
not said in my remarks. Besides having his name on many bills, the 
phone conversations and quiet consultations that he held with 
Presidents and with senior Members of this body, his wisdom was found 
and went through those conversations and into legislation that became 
part of the work of this body and the Congress.
  So, John, for all of your not only legislative work but for your good 
counsel to us, to Presidents, to leaders of nations, to leaders in 
industry, we thank

[[Page S11735]]

you for that and may you look forward to many happy years with Lois. I 
know that your father Ezra, and I know that your mother, God rest her, 
would be proud. I know that your father Ezra has watched you all these 
years and continues to be very proud of you. From Crowley, LA, from a 
young man who ran when he was 28 years old on the theme of experience 
matters, and was brash enough at 28, having never served a moment to 
say that experience matters, let me say, experience does matter, and we 
are proud to have had a Senator with the kind of experience and legacy 
of my senior Senator from Louisiana, John Breaux.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Who seeks time?
  Mr. BYRD. 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.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 3 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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