[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.

                          ____________________