[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 92 (Monday, July 11, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8088-S8090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF FORMER SENATOR GAYLORD A. NELSON

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 194, which was submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will state the resolution by title.

       A resolution (S. Res. 194) relative to the death of Gaylord 
     A. Nelson, a former United States Senator from the State of 
     Wisconsin.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise to speak on a resolution 
submitted by Senator Frist and Senator Reid to commemorate the life and 
work of Senator Gaylord Nelson. It is with mixed emotions that I make 
this statement honoring Senator Nelson.
  I am proud--proud to have known Gaylord Nelson, proud to be from the 
same State as him, and proud to occupy his Senate seat. I am also 
deeply saddened--saddened by the loss to his family, especially to his 
wife of 58 years, Carrie Lee; saddened by the loss to our Nation; and 
saddened that a personal hero and dear friend of mine is gone. I am 
also thankful--thankful for Senator Nelson's long life, thankful for 
the example he set of how to make a difference in this world, and 
thankful to his family for sharing this good and decent man with the 
Nation. We mourn his death, but we also celebrate his remarkable 
legacy.
  Gaylord Anton Nelson was born on June 4, 1916, in Clear Lake, WI. 
Gaylord's parents were always interested in politics, and in true 
Wisconsin tradition, they were La Follette Progressive Republicans at 
the State level and Democrats at the national level. Their Wisconsin-
style progressive politics rubbed off on young Gaylord.
  When he was 10, Gaylord traveled with his dad to hear a campaign 
speech by Senator Bob La Follette, Jr., who succeeded his father in the 
Senate in 1925. Gaylord recalls in his biography:

       On the way back home to Clear Lake, my dad asked if I 
     wanted to be a senator. I said I'd love to be a senator, but 
     I'm afraid that Bob La Follette will solve all of our 
     problems before I get a chance to serve.

  Thirty-three years later, Gaylord was nominated to be the Democrat 
candidate for Governor of Wisconsin. At the 1958 Democrat convention in 
LaCrosse, Gaylord's father had a heart attack. When Gaylord went to see 
him in the hospital, the elder Nelson smiled and then said to his son, 
``Do you think Bob La Follette left enough problems behind for you to 
solve?'' Gaylord's father died 10 days later.
  Unfortunately, Gaylord's father did not get to see his son's rise to 
the national political level. If he had, he would have seen Gaylord 
attack those ``remaining problems left to solve'' with La Follette-like 
dogged determination and commitment to Progressive politics. From 
consumer protection to employee rights, Senator Nelson fought doggedly 
to address problems affecting countless Americans.
  Gaylord Nelson was also willing to take a tough stand. When President 
Johnson requested money to escalate the war in Vietnam, for example, 
Nelson was one of three senators to vote against the proposal. In a 
speech on this floor, he said:

       At a time in history when the Senate should be vindicating 
     its historic reputation as the greatest deliberative body in 
     the world, we are stumbling over each other to see who can 
     say `yea' the quickest and the loudest. I regret it, and I 
     think some day we shall all regret it. . . . Reluctantly, I 
     express my opposition . . . here by voting `nay.' The support 
     in the Congress for this measure is clearly overwhelming. 
     Obviously, you need my vote less than I need my conscience.

  Whether it was issues of war and foreign affairs, worker safety and 
health, or access to affordable healthcare, Gaylord Nelson was guided 
by his conscience, and by the wellbeing of Wisconsinites. Out of his 
impressive record, however, one issue stands out as central to his 
legacy--Gaylord Nelson's passion and commitment to protecting our 
environment.
  Not many people who have served in this distinguished body can lay 
claim to a day, but Gaylord Nelson can. On April 22, 1970, Gaylord 
Nelson created a day to celebrate the glory of the Earth. Where did 
Nelson get his lifelong interest and dedication to the environment? 
``By osmosis,'' Nelson would say, ``while growing up in Clear Lake, 
WI.''
  It's true that Wisconsin has a tradition of great conservationists--
Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac; Sigurd Olson, one of the 
founders of the Wilderness Society; and John Muir, founder of the 
Sierra Club. The people of Wisconsin, living in such a beautiful and 
ecologically diverse State, feel a special connection to our natural 
resources. We share a long tradition of our State government achieving 
excellence in its conservation policies. Many Wisconsinites would agree 
with Senator Nelson that our conservation ethic comes ``by osmosis'' 
from the intense natural beauty of our State. Every year I hold a town 
hall meeting in each one of Wisconsin's 72 counties, and protecting the 
environment is always one of the top issues raised at these forums.
  Senator Nelson's vision and determination helped crystallize this 
Wisconsin conservation ethic into an international phenomenon. Thanks 
to Gaylord Nelson, Wisconsin can lay claim to the genesis of Earth Day, 
a day of national and international reflection on the importance of our 
natural resources and a clean environment. Thanks to him, for the past 
35

[[Page S8089]]

years, people around the world have taken time out of our lives to 
think about, learn about and dedicate themselves to conservation. An 
astonishing 20 million Americans--10 percent of the U.S. population at 
the time--participated in the first observance of Earth Day on April 
22, 1970. American Heritage magazine described the event as ``one of 
the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy.'' The day 
was marked by marches, rallies, teach-ins, and concerts. Fifth Avenue 
was closed for two hours and over 100,000 people celebrated Earth Day 
on Union Square in New York City.
  Earth Day has become an important part of who we are. From Milwaukee, 
WI to Mumbai, India, millions of people across the world have taken 
Senator Nelson's legacy to heart. People have dedicated thousands of 
hours to volunteer to conserve the environment--whether it's in their 
backyard, local river, or park.
  During his 18 years of service in the Senate, Gaylord Nelson brought 
about significant change for the ``greener'' in both our Nation's laws 
and the institution of the Senate itself. He was the co-author of the 
Environmental Education Act, which he sponsored with the senior Senator 
from Massachusetts, Mr. Kennedy, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, 
and he sponsored the amendment to give the St. Croix and the Namekagon 
Rivers scenic protection.
  In the wake of Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring, Gaylord Nelson, 
along with Senator Philip Hart of Michigan, directed national attention 
to the documented persistent bioaccumulative effects of organochlorine 
pesticides used in the Great Lakes by authoring the ban on DDT in 1972. 
He was the primary sponsor of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore 
Act, protecting one of Northern Wisconsin's most beautiful areas.
  It is to Gaylord's lasting credit that he was able to fight 
tenaciously for environmental and other causes without alienating or 
antagonizing a soul. His decency, modesty and charm won over even those 
who didn't share his goals. By all accounts, he was one of the most 
beloved members this body has seen and, at a time when partisan 
tensions are running high, his willingness to reach out to people 
across the political spectrum should remind all of us that political 
disagreement does not have to be personal.
  As we honor Senator Nelson and his legacy, I hope Congress will re-
dedicate itself to achieving the bipartisan consensus on protecting the 
environment that existed for nearly two decades.
  This April, Senator Nelson issued a statement to mark the 35th 
anniversary of Earth Day and calling Earth Day 2005 ``a wake up call.'' 
Senator Nelson said:

       On environmental issues, our intelligence is reliable. Our 
     scientists have the facts, if we will only listen. It is a 
     ``slam dunk'' that we cannot continue on our present course. 
     But without Presidential and Congressional leadership, even 
     an enlightened public cannot cope with the greatest challenge 
     of our time.

  As always, Gaylord was right. I know that Wisconsinites value a clean 
environment, not just for purely aesthetic or philosophical purposes, 
but because a clean environment ensures that Wisconsin and the United 
States as a whole remains a good place to raise a family, to start a 
business, or to buy a home. People across this country share those 
values, and we in this body owe it to them and to Gaylord's memory to 
protect our natural resources.
  Gaylord Nelson changed the consciousness of a nation. He was a 
distinguished Governor and Senator, a recipient of the Presidential 
Medal of Freedom, and a personal hero of mine. And he was the 
embodiment of the principle that one person can change the world. But 
Senator Nelson's biographer may have said it best:

       He was always the boy from Clear Lake, Wisconsin, off on 
     adventure.

  Clear Lake is where he will return, but future generations will carry 
on his adventure, and his example and principles will show them the 
way.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York is recognized.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from 
Wisconsin for that beautiful tribute to Gaylord Nelson. He was a hero 
to many of us, and I actually remember the first Earth Day, which 
certainly does date me. We need more and more people who would follow 
his example and heed his words about what our obligation to the Earth 
is. So I thank my friend.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and 
achievements of Senator Gaylord Nelson. The people of Wisconsin owe him 
a debt a gratitude for his years of service to the State. And the 
Nation owes him honor as the founder of Earth Day and the driving force 
behind the way the American people and the world view the environment 
and environmental conservation.
  Gaylord Nelson was born the third of four children on June 4, 1916 in 
Clear Lake, WI, a community of about 700 people in the northwest corner 
of the State. Nelson's parents were deeply involved in Clear Lake civic 
activities and his first lessons in political discourse were around his 
boyhood kitchen table. Those early days were a foundation on which 
Senator Nelson built a lifetime of public service.
  Senator Nelson first won elected office in 1948, after 4 years in the 
military during World War II. He served as a Wisconsin State Senator, 
Governor, and then as a U.S. Senator for 18 years. As Governor, he 
fought to preserve Wisconsin's forests and wetlands long before those 
causes became popular nationally. As a Senator, he built on his 
environmentalist legacy working to protect the Appalachian Trail 
corridor and to create the national trail system. He fought for 
consumer protection and was one of only three Senators to vote against 
the $700 million appropriation that signaled the start of the ground 
war in Vietnam.
  However, Gaylord Nelson's greatest gift was his vision of a national 
day to protect and celebrate our environment. What started out as an 
idea in the early 1960's blossomed into a national day of observance 
with an estimated 20 million demonstrators participating in the first 
Earth Day in 1970. Earth Day is still celebrated. This year 500 million 
people in 167 countries took part.
  Earth Day publicized in an unprecedented manner the dangers of 
poisons in our water and air, pesticides in our drinking water, and 
chemicals in our soil. Armed with information and a spirit of activism, 
Americans turned their Earth Day celebrations into a movement 
pressuring Congress and the President to pass the Clean Air Act, the 
Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and 
Superfund legislation. These are the foundation of our environmental 
law today, and they would not have been possible without the work and 
vision of Senator Gaylord Nelson.
  Though Gaylord Nelson left the Senate in 1981, he never stopped 
working for the Earth and environment, going on to lead the Wilderness 
Society's important work on environmental conservation. In 1990, he 
received the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, given to a Federal 
official who has shown tireless commitment to the cause of conservation 
and the fostering of an American land ethic. In 1992, the United 
Nations Environment Programme presented Gaylord Nelson with the Only 
One World Award. And in 1995, Senator Nelson received the Nation's 
highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On that day, 
President Clinton proclaimed: ``As the father of Earth Day, he is the 
grandfather of all that grew out of that event: the Environmental 
Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe 
Drinking Water Act.''
  Senator Gaylord Nelson worked not just for our State, or even just 
our country. His gift was to the Earth and his legacy, a cleaner, 
healthier world. And though Gaylord is gone, he lives on--for us and 
into the future--in every clear stream, breath of fresh air and virgin 
trail. We honor him by thinking as he did, globally and responsibly. We 
honor him by--on every day, not just Earth day--taking seriously our 
responsibility to the air, land and water that sustain us.
  Mr. McCONNELL. 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. 194) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.

[[Page S8090]]

  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 194

       Whereas Gaylord A. Nelson served in the United States Army 
     from 1942-1946;
       Whereas Gaylord A. Nelson served as Governor of the State 
     of Wisconsin from 1959-1963;
       Whereas Gaylord A. Nelson served the people of Wisconsin 
     with distinction for 18 years in the United States Senate;
       Whereas Gaylord A. Nelson served the Senate as Chairman of 
     the Select Committee on Small Business from the Ninety-Third 
     through the Ninety-Sixth Congresses and as Chairman of the 
     Special Committee on Official Conduct in the Ninety-Fifth 
     Congress;
       Whereas Gaylord A. Nelson received the Presidential Medal 
     of Freedom in 1995;
       Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow 
     and deep regret the announcement of the death of the 
     Honorable Gaylord A. Nelson, former member of the United 
     States Senate.
       Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate 
     these resolutions to the House of Representatives and 
     transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the family of the 
     deceased.
       Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns today, it stand 
     adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
     Honorable Gaylord A. Nelson.

                          ____________________