[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S10290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IN HONOR OF FORMER SENATOR CLAIBORNE PELL

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor our former colleague 
Claiborne Pell, with whom I had the pleasure of serving in this body 
for 16 years.
  I have always felt a special affinity for Senator Pell. Both of our 
fathers served in Congress. We represented neighboring States in the 
Northeast. We sat together on three committees and share many of the 
same views and principles about our great Nation and its role in the 
world. And, he was one of the few Senators who served with both my 
father and me. So it is with great personal pleasure that I come to the 
floor to honor him today.
  Senator Pell accomplished important things during his Senate career, 
each one of which could have defined a successful tenure for any one 
Senator. He created a Federal college scholarship initiative--later to 
be named the ``Pell Grant'' in his honor. This initiative has opened 
the doors of our colleges and universities to millions of American 
students. He coauthored legislation to establish the National Endowment 
for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, both of 
which have enriched the cultural life of our Nation. He helped to 
establish the Northeast rail corridor. And he was a chief architect of 
the ban on nuclear testing on the ocean floor.
  Throughout 36 years of service, Senator Pell left a graceful and 
indelible legacy. His commitment to education, the arts and humanities, 
and peace was an attempt to cultivate the best in all of us. And we 
have advanced as a nation in part because of his dedication to these 
ideals and his success in codifying them.
  Almost as admirable as his legislative accomplishments was the manner 
in which he legislated. In the 16 years that I served alongside Senator 
Pell, even when he was the ranking member of the Foreign Relations 
Committee under the chairmanship of a hard-charging Senator from the 
other end of the political spectrum, I never saw him speak or act with 
anything but kindness and integrity. In the course of six elections to 
the U.S. Senate, Senator Pell never once attacked a political opponent 
who ran against him. He was a true gentleman. He always sought out the 
better nature of people through discussion and debate. He held immense 
respect for the history of the Senate and the vocation of public 
service. He was the model of what a leader should be.
  Paying tribute to his tremendous career is reason enough to come to 
the floor today, but I have also come to speak on a more timely matter. 
Senator Pell is to be recognized this Friday by a regimental review at 
the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.
  Senator Pell served in the Coast Guard for 37 years, enlisting 4 
months before the attacks on Pearl Harbor. He began as a ship's cook, 
but quickly received his commission and served as a lieutenant on boats 
in the North Atlantic and Sicily. During World War II, he was arrested 
six times by enemy governments. After the war ended, he served as a 
captain in the Reserves until he reached the mandatory retirement age.
  Senator Pell frequently cited his service as one of the defining 
moments in his life. He has always been an ardent supporter of the 
Coast Guard--believing, as I do, that it plays a vital role in keeping 
America safe. As the Coast Guard honors Senator Pell's service this 
week, it is important that we remember the Coast Guard personnel who 
continue to risk their lives to maintain the safety and security of our 
Nation.
  Over the past few weeks, Coast Guard crews, operating with 
characteristic precision and professionalism, have rescued over 33,000 
people in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. They have spent 
significant sums to do so--sums that were never contemplated to be 
spent for this purpose. Regrettably, however, none of the over $60 
billion in aid that Congress recently sent to the Gulf coast region has 
been specifically set aside to replenish Coast Guard accounts. Their 
costs in both operations and reconstruction are estimated in the 
hundreds of millions of dollars. They are being forced to divert funds 
from continuing and future operations.
  The men and women of today's Coast Guard are certainly vindicating 
Senator Pell's faith in and commitment to this branch of our military. 
By honoring their service--including by seeing to it that Coast Guard 
operations are fully supported by our Government--we honor the service 
of an outstanding leader, a great patriot, and a dear friend: Claiborne 
Pell. I wish him, his wife Nuala, and his family my best wishes on this 
wonderful occasion.

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