[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 92 (Monday, July 11, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H5617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING GAYLORD NELSON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kuhl of New York). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to 
say goodbye to our former Governor and former Senator, Gaylord Nelson, 
who passed away at the age of 89 last week. Wisconsin will miss the man 
from Clear Lake, who embodied the best of our great State and its 
proud, progressive tradition, as well as the best our country can 
offer.
  Throughout his many years of public service, Senator Nelson worked 
tirelessly on behalf of the people of Wisconsin, this country, and the 
environment. He was one of the first to recognize that economic 
development and the protection of our natural resources are not 
mutually exclusive.
  He was also keenly aware that public opinion was far ahead of public 
policy in this area and that policymakers needed to catch up to where 
the American people were. Most importantly, he recognized the value in 
doing a better job of protecting the land, the water, the air we 
breath, and the environment of which we are mere stewards for our 
children and grandchildren.
  In addition, Senator Nelson rightly believed that we have an 
obligation to work together, all of us as citizens of this planet, to 
better preserve and protect our natural resources so that we leave the 
world for our children better off than we found it.
  It was his vision that led to the creation of Earth Day in 1970 and a 
new compact between government and its citizens to enhance the 
protection and quality of our precious natural resources. Earth Day was 
then followed by the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency 
and then the passage of the Clean Air and the Clean Water acts.
  Thirty-five years later we have taken great strides to improve the 
environmental stewardship across the entire globe. Earth Day today is 
celebrated annually by hundreds of millions of people in more than 180 
countries. How many other individuals can claim they created a global 
movement of such magnitude?
  Senator Nelson was also someone who recognized that even with all of 
the progress we had made, our work is far from finished. Until 
recently, he remained active in the environmental field and provided 
guidance to others, including myself, on some of the unfinished work 
still left to do.
  There is no other individual that has had a greater impact on shaping 
the respect and appreciation we have for our environment today. His 
contributions are invaluable. We owe him a debt of gratitude that we 
can repay by continuing his work.
  Senator, Governor, Father of Earth Day, a veteran of World War II, 
friend, these are among the many ways Gaylord Nelson will be 
remembered. He leaves behind a legacy and a lesson that one person with 
a vision of change and a mountain of determination can have a profound 
effect on the direction of our country and of the world.
  Our thoughts and prayers are with Carrie Lee and the entire Nelson 
family. I will never forget during our first campaign, when my wife, 
Tawni, and I were with Senator Nelson and Carrie Lee up in Clear Lake, 
Wisconsin. They wowed us with their elegance, their grace, their 
dignity, and they became our role models of what public service should 
be all about.
  Services this week will be held in Madison and in Clear Lake, 
Wisconsin. We loved him. We will miss him. And we all can honor him by 
continuing his unfinished work. May the Good Lord bless and keep the 
great American patriot Gaylord Nelson.

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