[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 165 (Monday, December 19, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14026-S14027]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SENATOR JON CORZINE

  Mr. BAYH. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of our 
most remarkable members, Senator Jon Corzine, who leaves us this year 
to continue his work on behalf of the people of New Jersey in a new 
capacity. Experience and leadership qualities like his are rare, and 
with them, he has set himself apart as a champion of the environment, a 
safe homeland, affordable health care, and working men and women 
everywhere.
  After managing one of the most successful businesses in the world, 
Jon arrived in the Senate five years ago with the negotiating skills 
and leadership experience that allowed him to succeed so admirably 
here. Most notably, Jon came to Washington with an unusual and 
important perspective. He understands the bottom line. He understands 
that it is not right for our children to inherit our unpaid bills and 
that we have a responsibility to ensure that we leave them a safer, 
more secure and more compassionate America.
  In pursuit of these goals and never shying from a challenge, Jon 
Corzine was a leader in the fight to protect Social Security from 
privatization and helped lead the charge to secure our chemical 
facilities from terrorist attacks.
  However, while tackling those critical national challenges, it was 
obvious that his heart was with New Jersey. Over the past 6 years, Jon 
fought hard to improve the quality of life for all of the people of his 
State by investing in the local economy and protecting New Jersey's 
natural resources.
  Last month, New Jersey residents showed their gratitude and 
admiration for Jon's service and elected him Governor of their State. 
With their votes, they showed that they believed in Jon's quest to make 
New Jersey one of the best places to live, work and raise a family. As 
a former Governor, I know the challenges and the rewards of running a 
State. And from working with Jon in the Senate, I know that he will 
help move New Jersey forward and will make sure that the State 
government provides people with value for their hard-earned tax 
dollars, while respecting the values that unite us all.
  Today, the Senate loses a valued colleague. However, today, New 
Jersey gains a great Governor.
  Jon, we will miss you. Susan joins me in wishing you all the best in 
the future. New Jersey is lucky to have you.
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate my 
good friend, Senator Jon Corzine, on his election to the governorship 
of New Jersey. The Senator from New Jersey and I joined this body in 
the same year, 2001, and in that time, he has worked for New Jersey and 
the country with skill and determination.
  He is a man who believes in security, whether it is securing our 
homeland, securing our financial future or securing our world from 
genocide.
  Senator Corzine recognized the deadly risk posed by lackluster 
protection of our Nation's chemical plants. As we debated this year's 
Homeland Security appropriations bill, his amendment let everyone know 
that we must take steps to protect against a terrorist attack on 
chemical facilities within the United States.
  He has doggedly fought for retirement security for all Americans, 
helping to protect Social Security from deep benefit cuts and 
preventing a substantial increase in the national debt. Senator Corzine 
knows that we made a promise to our seniors that they can retire with 
safety and dignity, and he is helping to keep that promise.
  By introducing the Sudan Accountability Act, Senator Corzine put this 
body on record that we cannot allow the genocide in Darfur to continue. 
Hundreds of thousands are already dead, and millions have been 
displaced by the atrocities in Sudan. He has helped push for sanctions 
against those committing these crimes and to put money into our efforts 
to stop them.
  Over the past 5 years, I have had the pleasure of working closely 
with Senator Corzine on important issues.
  We recognized a gaping hole in benefits provided to widows of our 
servicemembers, and he joined me in introducing the Military Retiree 
Survivor Benefit Equity Act. The bill has attracted bipartisan support 
based on its fundamental fairness and because it is the right thing to 
do for America's military retirees and their survivors.
  Florida and New Jersey both have beautiful shorelines that serve 
important economic needs for our States, and Senator Corzine has helped 
me in the fight to protect these shorelines from the devastation of oil 
drilling. I look forward to continuing this fight with his successor, 
Congressman Menendez.
  I expect that as Governor of New Jersey, he will take with him to 
Trenton the same passion to protect our homeland, to protect our 
environment, and to protect our future that he had here in the Senate. 
I thank him for his service in Washington, DC, I congratulate him on 
his victory, and I wish him well as he continues his service for the 
people of New Jersey.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, it is my honor today to pay tribute and 
bid a fond farewell to my colleague and friend Senator Jon S. Corzine 
of New Jersey. Senator Corzine, as we know, will be leaving the Senate 
next month to serve as New Jersey's Governor, and before he leaves us 
to begin what I can only be certain will be a wildly successful and 
innovative tenure as New Jersey's chief executive, I thought it 
appropriate to take the time to celebrate not only Mr. Corzine's fine 
service in the Senate, but his inspiring life story as well.
  In many ways, Jon Corzine's life is an example of the American dream 
fulfilled. Mr. Corzine was born on New Year's Day, 1947, and grew up on 
his family's farm in Willey's Station, IL. His father ran the farm and 
sold insurance; his mother was a public school teacher. Through his own 
hard work and that of his family, Mr. Corzine attended the University 
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 
1969. After graduating college, Mr. Corzine served his country by 
enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, and he continued in the 
Reserves until 1975, rising to the rank of sergeant in his infantry 
unit.
  After Senator Corzine's active duty was up, he began what would 
become a long and successful career in the finance sector. His first 
job was with the Continental Illinois National Bank in Chicago, where 
he worked as a portfolio analyst. At the same time, Mr. Corzine began 
taking night classes at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of 
Business, where he received his MBA in 1973.
  In 1975, after working briefly at a regional bank in Ohio, Mr. 
Corzine was recruited to go to work for the New York investment firm 
Goldman Sachs as a bond trader, beginning what would be a meteoritic 
rise through the company's ranks. After only 5 years, Mr. Corzine was 
named a partner in the firm. In 1994, Mr. Corzine became both the 
firm's chairman and chief executive officer.
  But the story doesn't end there for Mr. Corzine had a very successful 
tenure at the helm of Goldman Sachs. When he took over in 1994, the 
proud and respected firm was in a period of some decline. But Mr. 
Corzine and his team turned the company's fortunes upwards. During his 
5 years as chief executive, Mr. Corzine also oversaw the firm's 
successful transition from a private partnership to a public company.
  While serving as chief executive, Mr. Corzine also demonstrated a 
passion for public service. Under his leadership, Goldman Sachs was a 
strong corporate citizen, expanding its community outreach and 
philanthropic programs. Mr. Corzine also chaired a Presidential 
commission that studied how capital budgeting could be used to increase 
Federal investment in education.
  It is this commitment to public service that I saw Jon Corzine bring 
to his work in the Senate every day. Elected in 2000 by the people of 
New Jersey, Senator Corzine has been a tireless advocate for corporate 
accountability, helping coauthor the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and has worked 
to protect our environment, where he has been a steadfast ally in the 
fights to prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and 
to tackle climate change. On the international front, Senator Corzine 
has sponsored the Darfur Accountability act, an act I am proud to

[[Page S14027]]

cosponsor, which seeks to address the terrible genocide currently 
occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan.
  What I will remember most about Senator Corzine's tenure is his 
commitment to strengthening our Nation's Homeland Security. Having 
worked with Senator Corzine on several homeland security issues, I know 
firsthand that he was determined to do everything in his power to 
protect the American people from another terrorist attack. Senator 
Corzine and I worked together in passing legislation that created the 
9/11 Commission, whose service to the American people we are all well 
aware of. In addition, Senator Corzine has been a leader in legislative 
efforts to increase security at our Nation's chemical plants, which 
remain vulnerable to attack. Senator Corzine crafted strong legislation 
aimed at protecting these facilities, and I remain hopeful that 
Congress will act on this area of great vulnerability. I will continue 
to be inspired by the dedication Senator Corzine applied to this 
critical issue.
  Let me end my statement by taking the time to thank Jon Corzine, for 
his service in the Senate. I wish him, his daughter Jennifer, and his 
two sons, Josh and Jeffrey, nothing but the best for the future, and I 
look forward to seeing the fine things I know he will continue to do 
for the people of New Jersey, now as their Governor. Once again, thank 
you, Jon Corzine.

                          ____________________