[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 75 (Tuesday, June 13, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5732-S5734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ROBERT DOLE
Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, yesterday, we honored our colleague,
Senator Robert Byrd, for achieving an important milestone in our
Senate's history. Today, we come to the floor to pay tribute to another
man who stands out as a giant among those who have served in this
Chamber. Senator Bob Dole, last Sunday, marked the 10-year anniversary
of his retirement from the Senate.
Bob Dole and I came to the Senate at the same time. We have worked
together a great deal. When I was Republican whip and he was our
party's Vice Presidential nominee, I was asked to help him prepare for
his debate when he debated Walter Mondale--the first Vice Presidential
debate in history.
Bob helped us pass the Alaskan Native Land Claims Settlement Act,
which paved the way for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. And he supported the
Alaska Lands Act and the Alaska Railroad Transfer. In short, Bob Dole
is a
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great personal friend, a friend to me and to Alaska.
Bob was--and still is--a leader in the truest sense of the word.
Whenever I think of Bob Dole, I think of the great many men I have
known who were tested in World War II. Like my good friend Senator
Inouye, Bob Dole is a true war hero. He was tested in war and injured
and struggled back through a long recovery. Like all great leaders, Bob
takes great challenges of life and uses them to improve the world
around him.
Having been injured in World War II, he dedicated much of his time in
public service to improving the opportunities for disabled Americans.
Those of us in the Senate who were fortunate enough to call Bob a
colleague for 27 years, chose him to serve as our leader six times,
when we were in the majority and the minority. He reached out to those
who disagreed with him. He listened to advice. You never had to ask him
twice to know where he stood; his word was--and is--his bond. As
President Reagan said:
His title of leader is not just a job title, it's a
description of the man.
I think Bob's decision to resign his seat rather than stay in the
Senate and campaign for the Presidency demonstrates what a devoted
public servant he is. I have now been in the Senate over 30 years, and
I have seen Members of this body run for President and miss vote after
vote because they were on the road campaigning.
Bob Dole loved the people of Kansas too much to leave them without a
voice in the Senate, so he resigned. I believe that took great courage.
If there is one thing about Bob Dole that there is no shortage of, it
is courage. Bob himself said, when he resigned from the Senate:
One of the qualities of American politics that
distinguishes us from other nations is that we judge our
politicians as much by the manner by which they leave office
as by the vigor with which they pursue it. You do not lay
claim to the office you hold, it lays claim to you. Your
obligation is to bring to it the gifts you can of labor and
honesty and then to depart with grace.
By his own standards, Bob Dole stands out as one of the most noble
and dignified men who ever graced these Halls.
Senator Dole did not win the 1996 Presidential election, but his
commitment to public service has not wavered. He still contributes to
the public debate through his writing and speaking, and he has remained
active on the campaign trail. We have been fortunate that since his
retirement another Dole has joined this Chamber--his wife, Senator
Elizabeth Dole, who serves the people of North Carolina and our Nation,
also, with great distinction.
When Senator Dole resigned from the Senate 10 years ago to run for
President, he and I were the only remaining Members of the class of
1968. We have a bond that was forged on the morning of January 3, 1969,
when we each took the oath to serve our country in the Senate. That
bond never fades, and I salute his service today.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, before the distinguished Senator departs,
I say to the Senator, you made mention of his heroic service, together
with that of yourself and Senator Inouye in World War II. But I think
the Record should reflect how you and I and others in the Chamber--
Senator Inouye--supported him in the World War II Memorial. This was
something that was very dear to his heart, and he became the national
public president figure to really raise those funds--almost all of the
dollars from the public sector: dollars from veterans, dollars from all
across America, and, indeed, some from beyond our shores.
To his credit, every time I pass it--and I am sure you view that
magnificent memorial--I always remember his contribution in erecting
it.
Mr. STEVENS. The Senator from Virginia is correct, Mr. President.
Senator Inouye and I were pleased and proud to join him and you in that
effort. And we are delighted that the sponsors of that memorial
remembered Alaska and Hawaii. They are in the memorial although they
were not States during World War II.
I thank the Senator.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague. I
played a very minor role in World War II in the last year, the closing
year, when my class of 17, 18-year-olds joined.
And I say to the Senator, you, sir, were a great hero in that war, as
was Bob Dole.
Mr. President, I also thank our colleague, Senator Smith, for
initiating this recognition on the 10th anniversary of Bob Dole's
retirement from the Senate.
When I came to the Senate--it is hard to believe--28 years ago, he
very soon became a figure to whom I would turn from time to time to
seek advice and counsel. He had a magnificent ability to reach across
the aisle. And he very firmly believed in the concept of trying to do
as much business as we could in a bipartisan way.
Much has been said about trips we take in the Senate. I value the
trips I took with Senator Dole. I remember one very vividly when he
quickly put together a delegation to visit Boris Yeltsin when he rose
to the top position in then the Soviet Union, watching Bob Dole with
that new world leader, the two of them together trying to reach common
ground and common understanding in the midst of the Cold War between
the United States and the then Soviet Union. He was a man who wisely
thought about how this is one world in which we live today. Be it the
means of our national security or otherwise, we have to have the vision
to look abroad.
I also remember another day very clearly. That was in connection with
one of the anniversaries of the landing of D-Day. He asked me to
accompany him. He spoke in Italy that day. Then we doubled back and
went up to Normandy. We also incorporated in that trip a visit to a
small village on the top of a mountain. All the way up the side of the
mountain, the old bus we were in was zigzagging up a narrow road. There
were little signs: Welcome home, Bob Dole. After a luncheon, he took me
and one other Member of the Senate and we walked a short distance from
the hotel up on a hillside where there was a small stone wall. We stood
there and joined him in a silent moment of prayer. Prayer was very
important, as it is now, to Bob Dole. That is where he fell wounded and
survived under extraordinary circumstances, largely owing to one of the
civilian partisans who helped him get back to receive medical care. I
will remember that moment always.
I also draw to the attention of my colleagues--I am not here to sell
books--a great book he wrote called ``Great Political Wit: Laughing
(Almost) All the Way to the White House.'' In it he talks about
himself. I particularly like this. This was in the last page of the
book called ``Great Political Wit'':
Don't feel too bad for me. The appearance of this book
coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of Harry Truman's
stunning upset of Tom Dewey in 1948, which not only changed
the course of American history but produced a patron saint
for every political underdog since. Like Truman, I have a
Midwestern preference for plain speaking, and a sometimes
impolitic habit of laughing at pomposity. Although there have
been times when I have been forced to eat my words--or
swallow my pride--I still find it hard to take too seriously
people who take themselves that way.
What people often forget is that the last laugh doesn't
belong to the victorious candidate--it belongs to the late-
night [show] comics.
In that book, he also told a story. I think this is applicable to
close out my brief remarks this morning.
As presiding officer of the United States Senate, Vice
President Calvin Coolidge declared his intention to master
the rules governing the world's greatest deliberative body.
This didn't take long, said Coolidge, who quickly discovered
that the Senate has but one rule, which is that the Senate
will do whatever it wants whenever it wants to.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, special thanks to my colleague and
friend, Senator Gordon Smith, who represents the State of Oregon and
our Nation with grace and civility, intelligence and accomplishment,
for this special order paying tribute to our Kansas Senator Bob Dole.
It doesn't seem possible that it has been 10 years since Bob's tenure
as our majority leader ended, a tenure that represents the longest
serving Senate leader of our Republican Party since the founding of the
Grand Old Party in
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1854. During those 12 years of leadership, there were difficult and
challenging times. But Bob Dole's legacy was and is legislative
accomplishment, always in Bob Dole style, a unique mixture of principle
and compromise when necessary, comity, his great gift of wit and humor
and good old Kansas common sense.
In 1968, when Bob first ran for the Senate, his theme song was ``Let
a Leader Lead the Way.'' He certainly did. It would be impossible to
list all of Bob's legislative achievements, but the Dole Institute at
the University of Kansas does provide some highlights. I ask unanimous
consent that they be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
1962 Amendment to National School Lunch Act
1966 Food for Peace Act
1969 Controlled Dangerous Substances Act
1970 Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
1971 Amendments to Federal Water Pollution Control Act
1973 Rural Health Care Delivery Improvement Act
1974 Campaign Finance Reform Legislation
1977 POW / MIA Vietnam Legislation
1977 Food Stamp Program
1979 Taiwan Foreign Relations Act
1980 Biotech Industry Incentives Act
1981 Immigration Reform Legislation
1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act
1981 Hospice Care Legislation
1982 Voting Rights Act Extension
1983 Bipartisan Social Security Act
1983 Emergency Food Assistance Program
1983 Martin Luther King Holiday Bill
1984 Comprehensive Crime Control Act
1985 Televised Senate Proceedings Resolution
1985 Landmark Farm Bill
1986 Tax Reform Act
1986 Terrorist Prosecution Act
1987 Homeless Assistance Act
1988 Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act
1988 INF Arms Control Treaty
1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act
1988 Welfare Family Support Act
1990 Clean Air Act
1990 Americans with Disabilities Act
1991 Desert Storm Authorization Resolution
1993 North American Free Trade Agreement
1994 Violence Against Women Legislation
1995 Comprehensive Federal Agency Regulatory Reform Act
1995 Congressional Accountability Act
1995 Comprehensive Telecommunications Reform Act
1995 Lobbying Reform Legislation
1995 Safe Drinking Water Act
1995 Medicare Trust Fund Legislation
1995 Private Securities Legal Reform Act
1996 Farm Conservation Bill
1996 Line Item Veto
1996 Omnibus Appropriations Act
1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act
1996 Bipartisan Immigration Control and Financial
Responsibility Act
1996 Bipartisan Anti-Terrorism Legislation
Mr. ROBERTS. These accomplishments were of direct benefit to the
daily lives and pocketbooks of Americans and represent many programs
and reforms that we now take for granted. Bob is probably most proud of
the fact he led the way for disabled Americans, for our Nation's School
Lunch Program, not to mention the World Food Program where food and
education combine as the most effective long-term answer in our current
fight against terrorism.
I have special memories and a personal perspective of the Bob Dole
days in the Senate when I was in the House. Having the privilege of
representing Bob's former congressional district, the big first
district of Kansas, knowing Bob Dole since his friendship with my
father and later during my service as the administrative assistant both
for Bob's predecessor in the Senate, Senator Frank Carlson, and his
successor in the House, Congressman Keith Sebelius, many assumed that
whatever I was for, Bob was for. I would always emphasize that Bob Dole
was riding shotgun with me, whether he was or not. That was like having
Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Doc Holiday, and Matt Dillon all by your
side during any kind of legislative shootout. Of course, if we won, I
had to come over to the Senate and let him know. If we lost, I came
over to ask for help. Either way, when the chips were down, it was a
win-win with Bob on your side.
In Kansas, our State society named Dwight David Eisenhower the Kansan
of the 20th century, and we are still proud of and still like Ike.
Historians have ensconced our native son as one of our greatest
Presidents. The fact is that the Eisenhower legacy lives on with Bob
Dole. Ike was his hero, and by following his example, Bob has been
accurately described as a towering figure and the most enduring
Republican leader of the 20th century with a distinguished record of
public service that has made a tremendous positive impact on our
Nation.
Following his elected public service, Bob has continued to
contribute, to lead, and to achieve. I daresay without Bob Dole, the
World War II Memorial would not be the centerpiece of the Mall in our
Nation's Capital. Most deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
he has been and is an international emissary for peace and freedom and
is involved in countless projects and causes. When I go back home to
Kansas, Kansans always ask me: What do you hear from Bob? How is he
doing? I tell them he is still on the go and doing what he has always
done, that we still tow buckets together, and we don't spill very much.
Simply put, Bob Dole continues to be a leader who leads the way. We
in Kansas are proud of Bob Dole.
My thanks again to Senator Smith for reserving this time honoring our
native son.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oregon.
____________________