[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5325-S5326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SENATOR LLOYD BENTSEN

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I join my 
colleagues in mourning the passing of a great man, an extraordinary 
statesman, and a good friend: Senator Lloyd Bentsen.
  Lloyd Bentsen was the noblest of Americans. Courtly, thoughtful, and 
soft-spoken, Senator Bentsen embodied the finest traditions of America.
  Lloyd Bentsen and I shared a perspective. It was based on the states 
that we came from. I used to tease Senator Bentsen that Montana is what 
Texas would be like, if all the things that Texans say about Texas were 
true.
  We shared an outlook born in the wide open spaces of our great Land. 
We came from states that are larger than counties in Europe. You can go 
great distances in Montana or Texas without seeing another soul. And 
with that comes a view that values our fellow man.
  We also shared a view of this Senate. We could not have been more 
compatible. We shared a goal, always to accomplish something good on 
behalf of the American people.
  We also shared a hallway on the 7th floor of the Hart Senate office 
building. I had good fortune to get an office next door to Senator 
Bentsen's. Our two teams were very closely woven together.
  Very often I would wonder where in the world my staff was. They would 
be down the hall talking to Bentsen's staff because they we are so 
compatible and had such good ideas.
  My staff would often go to his for sage advice, as I would go to him. 
We would often walk over together for votes.
  Senator Bentsen was a role model. He was smart, tough, and 
disciplined. He was always focused. He always maintained his temper. 
And he always kept his integrity. He was a Senators' Senator.
  Lloyd Bentsen was a singular person. He was reserved, even-tempered, 
and fair. He reserved judgment, learned the facts, and listened to all 
points of view. And then he would take a strong position. And more 
often than not, that position would prevail.
  Lloyd Bentsen had the strongest commitment to duty. Even after 14 
hours of floor work, he would walk into a room for all-night budget 
negotiations. He would not complain. He would say: ``This is what I 
signed up for.''.
  Lloyd Bentsen contributed greatly to this Country. He served bravely 
in the Air Force. He served 6 years in the House of Representatives. He 
served 22 years in this Senate. He served 6 years as chairman of the 
Finance Committee. And he served 2 years as Secretary of the Treasury.
  Lloyd Bentsen stood for responsibility, probity, and civility. He was 
a champion of sound tax policy. He fought for and achieved some of the 
most significant deficit reduction in our Nation's history. He played 
key roles in the 1990 budget summit and President Clinton's 1993 
deficit reduction legislation.
  And Senator Bentsen was a leader in international trade. We worked 
closely together for more than a decade, early on, to develop a 
Democratic position that supported free trade. We did so with an 
aggressive policy that broke down international trade barriers to 
American products. We worked closely on a series of initiatives, for at 
least a decade.
  Chairman Bentsen skillfully and successfully worked to win passage of 
the 1988 Trade and Competitiveness Act. He guided the United States-
Canada Free Trade Agreement through the Senate.

[[Page S5326]]

And in Texas, he is known as the father of the North American Free 
Trade Agreement.
  Senator Bentsen ran against the first President Bush twice. Bentsen 
ran against and beat Bush in the election for Senator from Texas, in 
1970. And later, Senator Bentsen ran with Governor Dukakis on the 1988 
Presidential ticket.
  But after that election, Chairman Bentsen was still for giving 
President Bush authority to negotiate trade agreements. He simply 
thought that it was the right thing for the country.
  Senator Bentsen embodied the finest characteristics of public 
service. Some might say that he embodied a different era of the United 
States Senate. If that is so, then we are the poorer for having lost 
it. We are certainly the poorer for having lost him.
  Our hearts go out to B.A., and the entire Bentsen family, on their 
great loss. Lloyd Bentsen was always very sweet and deferential to B.A. 
He often said the B.A. stood for ``best asset.'' Lloyd and B.A. Bentsen 
were married for 63 years.
  Very often I would see the two of them together. It reminds me of the 
relationship of Senator and Mrs. Byrd.
  They were very close; teasing each other. It was a wonderful 
relationship to behold. I have many memories of Lloyd and B.A. being 
together, whether flying on a plane to South America or here in the 
Senate, wherever.
  My heart goes out to you B.A. and to your family.
  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote:

     Were a star quenched on high,
     For ages would its light,
     Still travelling downward from the sky,
     Shine on our mortal sight.

     So when a great man dies,
     For years beyond our ken,
     The light he leaves behind him lies
     Upon the paths of men.

  Senator Lloyd Bentsen was a great man. And for years beyond our ken, 
the light that Lloyd Bentsen leaves behind will lie upon the paths of 
men, upon the paths of the United States, and upon the paths of this 
Senate.
  I very much thank my friend from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from 
Montana, Mr. Baucus, for that lovely thought to which he refers by the 
great poet Longfellow, in his alluding to our former fellow colleague, 
Lloyd Bentsen.
  I thank the Senator from Montana for speaking as he has about our 
late former colleague, Lloyd Bentsen.
  Lloyd and I served in the House together, too. We had a great 
admiration for him there. I said, ``There is a young man going 
places''--and he went. He went places.

  I join with my colleague, Senator Baucus, today in his message as 
words of reverence for Lloyd Bentsen, and for B.A., Lloyd's lovely 
wife. I suppose she is in Texas today.
  Mr. BAUCUS. She is.
  Mr. BYRD. I want to associate myself, again, may I say, with my 
colleague in every word he has chosen to speak about Lloyd Bentsen.
  Mr. President, for how much time am I recognized?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. For as much time as the Senator wishes to 
consume.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Chair.

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