[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, while the Nation's attention is rightly 
focused on the ongoing tragedy in the South, I would also like to say a 
few words about the passing of a great American. After a long and 
extraordinary life, William Rehnquist died this past weekend. The 16th 
Chief Justice of the United States leaves us with an unmatched legacy 
of service to our Nation.
  Born 80 years ago in Milwaukee, WI, William Rehnquist lived a truly 
remarkable life. Like many in his generation, he served in World War II 
and was stationed in North Africa. With the support of scholarship 
money from the G.I. Bill, Justice Rehnquist attended college at 
Stanford University. He then went on to earn his law degree from 
Stanford Law School. At law school, the Chief Justice began to 
establish his reputation as a brilliant legal thinker and an able 
scholar. He graduated at the top of his class, just ahead of Sandra Day 
O'Connor.
  After clerking for Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, Rehnquist 
married his late wife Natalie Cornell and moved to Phoenix, AZ. There, 
Justice Rehnquist and Nan raised their three children--James, Janet, 
and Nancy--while he built a long career as one of Arizona's leading 
attorneys.
  In 1969, Chief Justice Rehnquist became a public servant as an 
assistant U.S. attorney general. Two years later, he was nominated by 
President Nixon to the Supreme Court. After being confirmed by the 
Senate, he took his seat as an Associate Justice of the Court--at 47, 
he was the Court's youngest member. In 1986, President Reagan nominated 
and the Senate confirmed Justice Rehnquist as the Chief Justice of the 
United States.
  During his 33 years on the Court, Justice Rehnquist gained respect 
for his sharp intellect, his strong sense of fairness, and his profound 
devotion to the Court and to public service.
  The Chief Justice's extraordinary legal career was surpassed only by 
the courage that he showed in his final year of life. During that time, 
he battled bravely against thyroid cancer. Through radiation and 
chemotherapy treatments, he continued to serve on the Court and stated 
that he would continue to perform his duties as Chief Justice as long 
as his health permitted. He did just that, with the dignity and 
dedication that characterized his tenure on the Court.
  William Rehnquist truly was first among equals. May he rest in peace.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, today I speak in honor of Chief Justice 
William Rehnquist. The Chief Justice served this Nation's highest court 
with distinction and honor for more than three decades, and his career 
in public service started years earlier. Even as he battled cancer over 
the past year, he continued to be an example of personal strength, 
dignity, and fortitude. I join my colleagues in mourning his passing 
and offering my prayers to his family.
  The Chief Justice was a staunch defender of the Supreme Court and an 
active, independent judiciary. He was admired as a warm and helpful 
colleague, a thoughtful mentor, and an extremely effective 
administrator of the federal court system. The courts were well cared 
for under his distinguished leadership.
  Justice Rehnquist also engaged directly with many of the toughest 
constitutional controversies of the twentieth century. Although I often 
disagreed with his decisions, Justice Rehnquist's opinions have been 
the source of important scholarship and litigation. Like the Chief 
Justice he followed, the late Earl Warren, Justice Rehnquist will be 
remembered as an important historical figure whose legacy will impact 
generations of Americans.
  I knew the Chief Justice only at a distance. As a lawyer and a 
constitutional law instructor, I was required to wrestle intellectually 
with his ideas and arguments, and to press my students to divine his 
judicial instincts and motivations. My regret is that I never got to 
know him personally, or even to join one of his legendary walks around 
the Capitol or monthly poker games. I know that his warmth and humor 
have touched many of my colleagues, and he will be missed.
  Of course, the strength of our constitutional structure--is that it 
is greater than any individual. Each of us plays but a small role in 
designing or building or repairing that structure it is greater and 
more important than any of us. We mourn the passing of Justice 
Rehnquist and now look to the future and the important work to be done.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Chief Justice 
William Rehnquist, who was a brilliant jurist, a devoted public 
servant, and a person who shared my love of Vermont.
  Though most Americans knew Chief Justice Rehnquist for his years of 
service on the Supreme Court, many Vermonters knew him as a neighbor 
and a friend. Like most who visit our great State, Chief Justice 
Rehnquist fell in love with Vermont's natural beauty and rural 
character and purchased a home in Greensboro in 1974.
  For over 30 years, Chief Justice Rehnquist escaped the humidity and 
stress of Washington every summer in favor of the picturesque 
surroundings and quiet charm of Caspian Lake. Whether it was playing 
cards, visiting Willey's Store, or worshipping at the Greensboro United 
Church of Christ, Chief Justice Rehnquist immersed himself in the 
community with a remarkable subtlety and modesty for a man of his 
stature and prominence. The Chief Justice would also share his 
knowledge of history, politics, and the law with community members in a 
lecture that became a much-anticipated summer tradition in Vermont's 
Northeast Kingdom.
  Each year, before the State of the Union, I would usually have a 
chance to chat with the Chief Justice about his time in Vermont. Amidst 
the chaos and cameras of the Capitol on such a busy night, Chief 
Justice Rehnquist always found time to reminisce about the summer 
months he spent in our State. I always enjoyed these brief discussions 
with such a kind and engaging man who valued life's simple pleasures so 
dearly.
  On September 5, the Burlington Free Press, describing the reaction in 
Greensboro to the Chief Justice's passing, wrote:

       It wasn't a dignitary that was mourned; it was a guy who 
     liked to walk everywhere and call people by their first names 
     (and expected them to return the favor). It was a guy who had 
     an affinity for Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate bars and 
     Donna Gerow's homemade pumpkin bread.

  As millions of Americans mourn the loss of one of the most 
influential people of our time, Vermonters in Greensboro, and around 
Caspian Lake, mourn a good neighbor, a great friend, and a fellow 
Vermonter.

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