[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 4 (Monday, January 24, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S107-S109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RELATING TO THE DEATH OF HOWARD S. LIEBENGOOD

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am now turning to a resolution for a very 
close friend, and then I will take a few moments to comment on this 
resolution, really the man behind this resolution.
  I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:


[[Page S108]]


       A resolution (S. Res. 7) relating to the death of Howard S. 
     Liebengood, former Sergeant at Arms of the Senate.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider 
be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 7) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                               S. Res. 7

       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as a captain in the 
     United States Army Military Police Corps in Vietnam from 1968 
     to 1970, receiving the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation 
     Medal for his exemplary service;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood began his service to the 
     Senate in 1973 as minority counsel to the Senate Watergate 
     Committee;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as an aide to the 
     Senate Church Committee in 1975, as the minority staff 
     director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 
     1976, and as legislative counsel to Senate Majority Leader 
     Howard H. Baker, Jr., in 1980;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as Sergeant at Arms of 
     the Senate from 1981 to 1983;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood served as chief of staff to 
     Senator Fred Thompson from 2001 to 2003, and as chief of 
     staff to Senate Majority Leader William H. Frist, M.D., from 
     2003 until his death in January, 2005;
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood was a caring and devoted 
     husband, father, and colleague who served with the utmost 
     humility and distinction and was admired and respected by all 
     as a teacher, adviser, and friend; and
       Whereas Howard S. Liebengood inspired others through his 
     personal leadership, generosity, and great love for the 
     United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep 
     regret the announcement of the death of Howard S. Liebengood; 
     and
       (2) the Secretary of the Senate communicate these 
     resolutions to the House of Representatives and transmit an 
     enrolled copy of these resolutions to the family of Howard S. 
     Liebengood.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Howard Liebengood loved the Senate. He 
loved the purpose of this institution; he loved its tradition; and, 
above all, he loved its people. The Senate was his extended family, and 
we all are going to miss him very much.
  Howard Schuler Liebengood passed away on Thursday, January 13, at his 
home in Vienna, VA. He was just 2 weeks shy of his retirement. He had 
planned to travel and cook and devote himself to his wife Dee and their 
three grown children, Howie, John, and Anne.
  We talked in detail at breakfast about a month ago, in late December, 
about his excitement of being able to retire and spend time with the 
family.
  He also told me he planned on going to the track. One of his closest 
friends and a real friend of this institution, Marty Gold, said Howard 
loved anything that ran around the track, whether it was cars or dogs 
or people. And every May, without exception, Howard went to the Indy 
500 with his family.
  Howard lived with passion. He lived with conviction. He lived with 
generosity. He lived with grace. He accomplished so much because he 
loved life so well.
  Howard was born on December 29, 1942, in South Bend, IN. Franklin 
Delano Roosevelt was President, stamps cost 3 cents, and total Federal 
spending was a mere $35 billion.
  Howard graduated from Plymouth High in 1960 and earned his bachelors 
degree in political science at Kansas State University. From there he 
went to Vanderbilt University Law School where he met a young man who 
would become his closest and lifelong friend and future U.S. Senator, 
Fred Thompson. Howard once described the two of them as misfits among 
the well-heeled southern scholars and Ivy League stars. But knowing 
them both, I suspect it was just Howard's characteristic midwestern 
modesty.
  After earning his law degree from Vanderbilt, Howard served as an 
Army captain in the Vietnam war. His bravery and valor earned him the 
Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal.
  Upon his return from Vietnam in 1970, Howard applied for and won the 
competition to be assistant general manager and play-by-play announcer 
for the Kansas City Royals AAA farm club. But it was not to be. A young 
wife and the prospect of a future family led him to the offices of 
Manier, White in Nashville, TN, where he practiced criminal and 
entertainment law.
  Then, just as he was to become partner, he got a call. Fred was 
minority counsel to the newly formed Senate Watergate Committee, and he 
wanted Howard at his side. It was 1973, the height of Watergate. 
Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee was vice chair of the committee. It 
was an offer too good to refuse.
  Howard soon found himself in the center of the Watergate whirlwind, 
interviewing witnesses and ultimately coauthoring the Baker report.
  It was a heady experience for the young lawyer and launched him on a 
30-year career in politics. And yet somehow, despite this long and 
intimate exposure to Washington politics, Howard never lost his 
optimism. He never became cynical. He always looked for the good in any 
situation, and he always kept his good humor. And throughout, he also 
had the mentorship and friendship of Senator Howard Baker, his first 
boss in politics.
  During the course of Watergate, Senator Baker and Howard became close 
friends. As minority leader, Senator Baker hired Howard to be his 
legislative assistant, and then as majority leader he elevated Howard 
to Sergeant at Arms. Howard would often stay with Senator Baker when 
the Senator was home in Scott County in Huntsville, TN.
  Senator Baker tells this delightful story which speaks to their 
friendship and Howard's charm and his wonderful wit:

       When Howard was Sergeant at Arms in the Senate during the 
     first Reagan inauguration in January 1981, I still have this 
     image of Howard in striped trousers and a cut-away coat 
     standing on a platform next to the emergency phone sweating 
     although the temperature was below freezing. I said: 
     ``Howard, I see you're sweating. Are you OK?'' Howard 
     replied: ``I forgot the key to the emergency phone.''

  Senator Baker asked him later:

       What would you have done if that phone had rung?

  And Howard replied:

       I would have pulled that sucker out by the roots.

  That is Howard Liebengood, and it is the Howard Liebengood we have 
all been pleased to know. He treated everyone, from Senators to 
interns, with a graciousness and genuine regard. If a constituent had a 
difficult request or an unusual request, Howard would say: Give them a 
chance. That is an idea that just may be worth considering.
  When Senator Hatch injured his Achilles' tendon, Howard drove Orrin 
to the Senate every day. While he was my chief of staff, Howard 
Liebengood regularly invited young staffers on summer weekends to 
travel with him to Baltimore for a day of crabs and baseball.
  He was just that kind of person--always extending himself, always 
making others comfortable around him, always making the personal 
connection, especially focusing on the young people in the office. He 
wanted to share with them the excitement and honor of working in 
Government. He always let them know, interns and staff alike, that 
their jobs mattered, that their jobs had a purpose, that they were 
serving their fellow citizens and advancing the cause of democracy.
  Howard also reached across the aisle. He was known as the peacemaker 
for his ability to bring opposing sides together. Indeed, one of his 
great regrets was what he saw to be the growing partisanship in 
politics.
  He missed the days when Members could set aside their party labels 
and share a 6 o'clock cocktail or a Friday night dinner. When he was 
legislative counsel for Senator Baker, what is now just down the hall 
my conference room and the leader's office, it was called the ``back 
room.'' It featured not a conference table but a sofa, a coffee table, 
two wingback chairs, and over at the end a wet bar.
  Howard would host visits that began late in the afternoon and could 
last well into the evening. The regulars included Mac Mathias, Barry 
Goldwater--they tell me, two fingers of bourbon, no ice--Pete Domenici, 
and Joy Baker, who would often bring along Elizabeth Taylor Warner.
  Two curious facts about the jovial and mild-mannered Presbyterian. 
The first, Howard kept a dozen bottles of

[[Page S109]]

hot sauce in his desk drawer. After the 116 Club, the Szechuan Pavilion 
was one of his favorite restaurants. The second involves his friend, 
great friend Mike ``Mad Dog'' Madigan, who served with him on the 
Watergate Committee.
  The story goes that one time in Manhattan, NY, of all places in the 
apartment of Fidel Castro's mistress, in the course of casual 
conversation, Mike Madigan said something that upset Ms. Marita, 
something she took as a challenge to her own personal integrity. She 
pulled a Derringer from her brassiere and threatened to shoot them 
both. It was a tense moment. Mike tried to dive under the couch over 
against the wall. Fortunately, Mike and Howard got out of there 
unharmed and with a great story to tell.
  We all greatly admired Howard. When I became majority leader, I 
called him on a very late cold December night and asked him to be my 
chief of staff, and to my great, good, wonderful fortune, he said yes, 
and he brought incredible insight and judgment. Through his personal 
leadership, integrity, and generosity, he inspired us all.
  He valued character. He valued honesty. He valued grace. Above all, 
he valued faith. Howard was loved and respected by individuals across 
the Capitol complex from Members to doorkeepers to photographers to the 
hundreds of Senate staffers, old and young, Democrat and Republican. 
Howard was a remarkable person who led a remarkable life.
  Howard used to sign off his e-mails with the words ``all good 
wishes.'' I know I speak for the entire Senate family when I say our 
hearts are full of good wishes for Howard and his family. We are 
blessed to have had him in our lives, and we will miss him dearly.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, before the distinguished Republican leader 
leaves the Senate floor, I wish to express to him through the Chair my 
appreciation for the kind and very thoughtful words about our friend 
Howard.
  Howard Liebengood represents what the Senate is all about. Spread 
throughout the Senate, we have hundreds of people who work for us every 
day who are just like him, extremely well educated. If their goal in 
life was to see how much money they could make, they would not be 
working here. They do it because they have a sense of public service, 
as indicated with his record.
  The Senator's kind words about Howard today are words that can be 
directed to each one of the people who work for us. He was what the 
Senate is all about. He not only should be but is a role model for what 
the Senate staffers, as we call them, try to be. If they completed 
their term of service having given up the fruits of how much money they 
could make outside the Senate and were thought of as Howard was thought 
of, I believe their lives would be complete.
  I thank the leader very much. As I said, his remarks not only spoke 
of a good man but are representative of what the Senate is all about.

                          ____________________