[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S4688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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             TRIBUTE TO FORMER CONGRESSMAN SONNY MONTGOMERY

  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I rise this afternoon to pay tribute to a 
former friend and colleague, one who contributed mightily to this great 
Nation over many years. Yesterday, in Meridian, MS, the former chairman 
of the House Veterans' Committee, Congressman Sonny Montgomery, was 
laid to rest. Two of our colleagues in this body, Senators Cochran and 
Lott, were in attendance and spoke at Chairman Montgomery's funeral. 
Senators Cochran and Lott were very close to Congressman Montgomery. 
They were Members in the House together for many years.
  I had the privilege of knowing Sonny Montgomery for over 35 years. He 
was one of those unique public servants whom all who knew him, liked 
him, respected him.
  He contributed to this country every day. He was a Democrat from 
Mississippi. He was proud of that fact. He never ran from it. He knew 
who he was, and he believed in things. But he always brought a sense of 
purpose, he brought a sense of importance, he brought a sense of 
bipartisanship, dignity, tolerance, and respect to the body and the 
institution he served.
  At a time in American politics when we are lacking those graces, we 
look to people such as Sonny Montgomery and recall the impact he had on 
the Congress of the United States, how he brought people together. He 
formed a consensus of purpose. There were differences--there should be 
differences--but he was anchored with the belief first in his country, 
second in his responsibilities as a Member of Congress, and third in 
his party. He always represented his district, his State, and his 
country with great dignity.
  Sonny Montgomery was a World War II veteran and a Korean war veteran. 
He became an Army National Guard general and served as chairman of the 
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs for 13 years.
  There are many personal stories about Sonny Montgomery. One that is 
legend in Washington is his close, almost brotherly, relationship with 
the first President Bush. The first President Bush was elected to 
Congress on the same day Sonny Montgomery was elected--a Republican 
from Texas, a Democrat from Mississippi--in 1966. They became very 
close friends. As a matter of fact, Barbara Bush spoke yesterday at 
Sonny Montgomery's funeral.
  That is but one example of the affection and respect that all who 
knew Sonny Montgomery had for him. Here is a man who led legislation 
that increased veterans eligibility for home loans, veterans life 
insurance, increased medical coverage for veterans, and he was the 
sponsor of a law that made the Veterans' Administration the 14th 
Cabinet department of our Government in 1988.
  I had the privilege of serving with President Reagan as President 
Reagan's first Deputy Administrator of the Veterans' Administration, so 
I worked closely with Sonny Montgomery.
  On a personal note, I met my wife Lilibet in 1982 when she was 
working for Sonny Montgomery. Lilibet is from Meridian, MS. That is 
where Sonny Montgomery was born 86 years ago. That is how Lilibet got a 
job on Capitol Hill, and that is how I met her.
  It is those kinds of personal stories that are by the hundreds, 
people who somehow Sonny Montgomery was close to and had some 
responsibility for connecting. His reach was long, and it is 
appropriate that not only we recognize him but remember him and thank 
him, but again, as I said earlier, at a time when our country is 
divided in a very dangerous way--and that is reflected to a great 
extent in the Congress of the United States--there are those to whom we 
can reach back to inspire us to greater heights, to expect more from 
ourselves, and do more for our country, if we would take the Sonny 
Montgomery model of service to his country and service to those he had 
the privilege of leading.
  I appreciate very much the opportunity to make these remarks about a 
dear friend, one we will all miss, especially those who had the 
opportunity to serve with him in some capacity over his glorious 30 
years in the Congress of the United States.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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