[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11462-S11465]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SENATORIAL SERVICE


                               Bill Frist

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that today I 
honor our distinguished majority leader, Senator Bill Frist. After 
serving with Bill for the last 12 years, I have come to know that he is 
a fine leader, an accomplished physician and a wonderful person. He is 
a man of compassion and conviction who has served our Country and this 
body well.
  It is only fitting that the majority leader of the U.S. Senate be a 
person who has dedicated his life to serving others.
  We all know of Bill's remarkable service to people around the world 
as a transplant surgeon for over 20 years. We have applauded him on 
several occasions as he has embarked on pilgrimages to help bring 
needed medical expertise to impoverished countries. We have seen him 
fight to secure over $15 billion in Federal funding to fight the spread 
of HIV/AIDS in Africa. We have marveled at his dedication to serving 
the people of Tennessee. And time and again, we have witnessed him here 
on the floor of the U.S. Senate in the middle of the night conducting 
the people's business and ensuring the legacy of the Senate continues 
in the most professional manner.
  I hope everyone understands what a sacrifice it is to take on 
leadership duties here in Washington. The Federal Government never 
sleeps. When elected representatives come to Washington, they bring 
with them the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of each one of their 
constituents. Those who take this responsibility seriously spend every 
waking moment addressing concerns and working for the people they 
represent. That is quite a responsibility to bear. When you add to that 
responsibility the duties of being a leader and looking out for the 
interests of those you lead, the duties are immense and the sleepless 
nights really start to mount. I, for one, am grateful for Bill's 
exemplary service and willingness to spend his life looking out for the 
interests of others.
  Over the last 4 years, as Bill has been majority leader, I have had 
several occasions to seek him out and ask for his advice and counsel. 
In every instance, he has made himself available. There have been times 
when I have been working on issues of great importance to the citizens 
of Utah until 1, 2, or even 3 in the morning and, even though the items 
we were working on did not impact Bill or his constituents, he and his 
staff were gracious enough to stay up and work with me. For that I am 
grateful.
  As a highly trained physician, Bill has changed the way the Senate 
approaches health care policy. As a member of the Senate Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the Senate Finance 
Committee, two committees with jurisdiction over health care issues, 
Bill has used his insight and training to shape and move

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legislation which greatly improves the health of Americans and the 
health care system in general. His skill as a physician has greatly 
improved the knowledge of this body and has made the lives of countless 
people better.
  Tennessee's storied history of capable Senators is long and includes 
such names as Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, Howard Baker, and, my 
good friend, Fred Thompson. These men represented the best of what 
America has to offer, and Bill Frist has done much to add to this great 
legacy. As majority leader, Bill has shepherded through some very 
important legislation, including the Medicare prescription drug benefit 
legislation, scores and scores of tax cut legislation for the American 
people, legislation to reduce health care disparities among races, 
legislation to make health care more affordable and accessible, 
legislation to bolster America's defenses against bioterrorism, 
legislation to reduce childhood obesity, legislation to prevent 
childhood vaccine shortages, and legislation fighting drug abuse.
  Bill's willingness to support Federal funding for stem cell research 
this year made a huge difference in the national debate. I truly 
appreciated Bill's support earlier this year to pass legislation that 
would make more embryonic stem cell lines available for Federal 
funding. Stem cell research is one of the most important issues we face 
today. Stem cell research gives hope to millions of people who have 
none. More than 100 million Americans suffer from heart disease, 
cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and so 
many other life-threatening and life-debilitating diseases. Thanks to 
Bill's support, on July 18 of this year, the Senate passed H.R. 810, 
the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, by a vote of 63 to 37. H.R. 810 
would have allowed Federal funding for stem cell research using stem 
cell lines derived under strict ethical requirements from excess in 
vitro fertilization embryos, regardless of the date they were derived. 
I am grateful to Bill for taking such a bold and courageous stand on 
this issue for those suffering from these dreaded diseases and who will 
be helped by this research.
  In closing, Bill is a consummate family man who cherishes family and 
the values family represents. He has been married to his wife Karyn for 
22 years and, even as majority leader of the U.S. Senate, he has always 
made time for his three sons: Harrison, Jonathan, and Bryan.
  There is no doubt Bill will be successful in any endeavor he 
undertakes as he leaves this great body. He has proven himself time and 
again and there is no question in my mind, he will be successful in the 
future.
  Mr. President, I appreciate the efforts and service of our good 
majority leader, Bill Frist. He is a great man, a great patriot, and a 
great friend, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to commend our 
colleague Mark Dayton, the Senator from Minnesota, for his 
distinguished service in the Senate and for his commitment to helping 
our country live up to its highest ideals at home and abroad.
  Mark's life has been about service to others. Whether as a teacher in 
the bowery of New York, a counselor to troubled teens in Boston, an 
aide to our beloved Fritz Mondale, or State economic development leader 
working to bring quality jobs to his constituents, or a Senator, Mark 
Dayton has consistently answered the call of public service throughout 
his long and outstanding career.
  He has been a champion of the right to quality and affordable health 
care for all Americans, and I know how frustrated he has often been by 
our inability to make greater progress on this critical domestic issue. 
Sadly, it will be harder to get there without him, but I am optimistic 
that we will still be able to accomplish it, and I have no doubt that 
Mark will continue with his commitment and compassion to help lead the 
charge from outside the Senate.
  As a Senator, he had an indispensable role in our effort to expand 
the availability of prescription drugs. His heart went out to the 
senior citizens in Minnesota whose only hope to afford the drugs they 
desperately needed was to cross the border into Canada. Fortunately, in 
its effort to build a legal fence to keep them out, the drug industry 
more than met its match in Senator Mark Dayton. Even my constituents in 
Massachusetts loved Mark, as they boarded buses from Boston to 
Minnesota to catch the lifesaving bus to Canada and get their medicine.
  Mark also has had the courage to stand against the administration 
when it launched the tragic and misguided war in Iraq.
  He never wavered in the Senate from what he believed was right, and 
we will all miss the skill and eloquence, the decency, honor, and 
generosity he brought to our Senate debates.
  We regret very much that he won't be here with us in the debates 
ahead, and we wish him well. Perhaps he will be able to make that 
Arctic trek to the North Pole that he had to put on hold when he came 
to the Senate 6 years ago. But I know that whatever new course he 
chooses, he will continue to be a strong and vital voice in improving 
the lives of others.
  As Robert Kennedy said, ``Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or 
acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he 
sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a 
million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a 
current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and 
resistance.''
  Throughout his brilliant career, Mark Dayton has sent forth many 
ripples of hope, and I'm certain he'll send forth many more in the 
years ahead. We'll miss you, Mark.


                             Senator Dayton

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to a retiring 
colleague, Senator Dayton of Minnesota.
  Mark Dayton has made a career of public service, in the very best 
sense of the term. After graduating from college, he taught public 
school in New York City and served as a counselor to teenage runaways 
before returning to Minnesota. For 20 years, he served in a variety of 
positions in State government in Minnesota, from commissioner of 
Economic Development to State auditor.
  In the Senate, Mark Dayton has been an independent voice in the 
tradition of our former colleague, Paul Wellstone. He eschewed 
political expediency and instead relied on his conscience in making 
important decisions. For example, he agonized over his vote on the Iraq 
war, before ultimately deciding to join the small minority of Senators 
who voted against it.
  I have worked most closely with Mark on agriculture and other issues 
affecting rural Americans. Trhoughout his Senate service, he has been a 
strong and consistent voice on behalf of family farmers. He has helped 
lead the fight for much needed disaster relief. He has opposed 
misguided cuts to commodity and conservation programs. And he has been 
a leader in calling for a significant expansion of ethanol and other 
renewable fuels that can benefit our rural economies and reduce our 
dependence on foreign oil.
  Senator Dayton has also been a strong voice on behalf of our troops 
and their families at home. He has called for better armor and 
equipment. He has insisted on better care for veterans. And he 
spearheaded efforts to ensure that soldiers on leave could get all the 
way home to visit their loved ones rather than simply being dropped off 
at remote cities and asked to pay last-minute air fares to get home.
  Mark Dayton has insisted on integrity and honesty in every aspect of 
his public life. He has been a true champion for Minnesota. Lucy and I 
wish him well as he goes on to other ventures.


                             lincoln chafee

  Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to Senator Lincoln Chafee. 
Senator Chafee has served the people of Rhode Island well. He has 
distinguished himself in a number of important policy areas, including 
strengthening environmental protections and strengthening our national 
security.
  I most appreciated his efforts to promote fiscal responsibility. 
Senator Chafee has been steadfastly committed to sound government 
budget policies. While he supported easing tax burdens for families by 
ending the marriage tax penalty and increasing the child tax credit, he 
had the courage to oppose irresponsible, budget-busting measures that, 
while politically popular, have resulted in huge fiscal deficits and an 
unsustainable increase in the Federal debt.

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  Senator Chafee has also been an unwavering supporter of reinstating 
pay-as-you-go constraints on the Federal budget first implemented by 
President Bush's father in 1990. Under those rules, any tax cut or 
increase in Government spending must be accompanied by an equal 
spending cut or revenue increase.
  I also appreciated Senator Chafee's commitment to bipartisanship. He 
understands that reaching across the aisle and working together more 
often than not results in better decisions and better, longer lasting 
policy solutions. His efforts were not always appreciated by those in 
charge over the last couple of years. But those of us who worked 
closely with him know his commitment is genuine and his word is good.
  I was pleased to welcome Senator Chafee to the Senate in 1999 when he 
was appointed to fill the seat of his late father. I had the pleasure 
of working often with John Chafee. We were both members of the Senate 
Finance Committee. I was not surprised to find that the son, like his 
father, was tough but fair-minded and a man of strong principle.
  Senator Chafee brought a unique set of skills to the Senate. A native 
Rhode Islander, he earned a B.A. in classics from Brown University and 
was captain of the wrestling team. Instead of following immediately in 
his father's footsteps, however, he initially worked as a blacksmith at 
harness race tracks in the United States and Canada and later in 
manufacturing management. These experiences gave him a great deal of 
respect for working people and helped him build a strong sense of 
independence and plain old common sense.
  It is also clear that Senator Chafee never forgets his other 
important job. As a father of three school-aged children, he often 
reminds his colleagues to consider the impact of our decisions on the 
next generation. Whether he is working to preserve fragile wetlands in 
his beloved home State, helping strengthen our homeland security, or 
preventing massive debts from accruing, he talks often about our 
responsibility to our children.
  Senator Chafee has served the State of Rhode Island with integrity 
and compassion. He will be missed.


                              conrad burns

  Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge my colleague from Montana, 
Senator Conrad Burns, who will be leaving this body after serving 
Montanans for the past 18 years.
  Since our States border one another, Senator Burns and I have had the 
opportunity to work together on issues important to our region and the 
Nation. Senator Burns has been a strong advocate for the interests of 
his State.
  In 2002, Senator Burns and I joined forces to create the Bipartisan 
Task Force on Tribal Colleges and Universities. One of the goals we set 
for the task force was to secure adequate resources on the Federal 
level to support and grow these valuable institutions. Senator Burns, 
as chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, was a strong 
advocate in helping the task force achieve this goal. Under his 
leadership, the tribal colleges received some of the largest increases 
in Federal funding since their inception. This support has opened the 
door of opportunity for thousands of American Indians.
  During this past year, we have also worked together on agricultural 
disaster assistance legislation. Because both of our States have a 
strong agricultural sector in our economy, this issue is very important 
to our constituents. The support he has given to agricultural disaster 
legislation in both the Senate Appropriations Committee and the full 
Senate has been important to our efforts, and I appreciate his strong 
support.
  Senator Burns was also a valuable member of the ICBM coalition. 
During these past years, he and I have worked together to make sure our 
Nation has a strong military deterrent to emerging world threats.
  Since he arrived in Washington as a Senator only 2 years after I did, 
we have watched the debates and policy discussions in this body 
together for almost two decades now. During that time we have seen 
economic ups and downs, a major change in international power 
structure, and the new challenges we face after the 9/11 terrorist 
attacks.
  Again, Mr. President, I have appreciated the opportunity to work with 
Senator Burns and wish him well as he leaves the Senate.


                              jim jeffords

  Mr. President, today I would like to take a moment to recognize my 
friend and colleague, Jim Jeffords, who after 32 years of distinguished 
service in Congress is retiring to spend more time with his family.
  Jim Jeffords' family roots in Vermont can be traced all the way back 
to 1794. After attending public schools in Rutland, Jim received his 
undergraduate degree from Yale University and his law degree from 
Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Navy and retired from the 
U.S. Naval Reserve.
  I have worked closely with Jim Jeffords for years on the Centrist 
Coalition. He is a good friend and someone I could always trust. Jim 
has always been independent-minded with a strong sense of integrity, a 
real commitment to fiscal responsibility, an unparalleled dedication to 
the environment, and a passion for improving education for our 
children. During his time in Congress, Jim Jeffords left his mark on 
some of the most important legislation this institution has passed, 
including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Clean 
Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the 2005 highway bill.
  In 2001, Jim Jeffords made a historic and difficult decision to 
switch his party affiliation to an Independent. He was never afraid to 
make tough decisions, and this one was no exception. It took courage to 
stand up against the rising tide, knowing that his decision would tip 
the balance in the Senate and set us on a new course.
  Jim Jeffords embodies what it means to be a good Senator--honesty, a 
strong work ethic, courage, dedication, and being true to one's 
convictions. He is also thoughtful, modest, and soft spoken. With these 
character traits it is hard to believe that he has a black belt in tae 
kwon do.
  Jim Jeffords has been a true fighter for Vermont. His compassion and 
conviction will be missed in the U.S. Senate. I wish Jim and his family 
many happy years ahead.


                              mike dewine

  Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute and recognize the 
accomplishments of a colleague who will be leaving the Senate at the 
end of this term. Senator Mike DeWine has represented Ohio in the 
Senate for 12 years. During his tenure, he has been an important 
advocate for the interests of the Buckeye State.
  Senator DeWine will be remembered for his work on the Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and particu1arly his success 
as chairman of the Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging. He 
was a vital and constructive member of the conference committee on the 
Pension Protection Act, and he illustrated what can be accomplished 
when you are willing to work across party lines on a common goal.
  I have also admired Senator DeWine's commitment to our Nation's 
children and his efforts to stop teen drug and alcohol abuse, as well 
as crack down on tobacco companies' marketing of their products to 
children and teens. With unfailing courage, he took on those in his own 
party and other special interests to protect our kids from harmful 
tobacco products.
  In addition, I believe he has set a good example for all of us in the 
Senate in how to honor those from our States who have fallen in service 
to our Nation. With deep admiration, I have listened to Senator DeWine 
come to the floor and speak about the lives and families of Ohio 
service men and women who have died in Iraq and other fields of battle. 
It is clear that he understands and deeply respects the sacrifices made 
by our troops and their families.
  Mr. President, for these and many other reasons, I have been honored 
to serve with Mike DeWine. I would like to join my colleagues in 
wishing the Senator and his family the best in the future and in paying 
tribute to his contributions to the Senate and our Nation. I wish him 
well.


                              MIKE DeWINE

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell to one of our 
esteemed colleagues, Mike DeWine of Ohio. It has been my special joy 
and privilege to work closely with Senator DeWine for the last decade. 
Since 1997,

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we have led the Antitrust Subcommittee, each taking our turns as 
chairman and ranking member. Thanks to Mike's honesty, candor, and 
cooperative nature, we have forged a productive bipartisan partnership 
as we have worked to promote competition in many vital sectors of our 
Nation's economy.
  This productive, bipartisan working relationship has been a hallmark 
of Senator DeWine's leadership of the Antitrust Subcommittee since he 
assumed the chairmanship of the committee in 1997. From the beginning, 
he reached out to me and established our tradition of setting our 
agenda jointly, planning our hearings together, and even sponsoring 
legislation and writing letters to the administration jointly. We 
tackled together such thorny issues as encouraging competition in 
telecommunications, health care, the oil and gas, and airline 
industries, investigating dozens of important mergers ranging from AOL/
Time Warner to ATT/Bell South, and pursuing antitrust reform 
legislation. While we have not always agreed on every issue that came 
before our subcommittee although I am happy to say we agreed more often 
than not--Mike DeWine and I always agreed that we should put 
partisanship aside and accomplishing practical results for the American 
people first.
  On a personal note, our close working relationship has caused me to 
come to know Mike DeWine very well. I have come learn that Mike is a 
sober-minded, hard working, and caring person. In my career, I have 
been privileged to know and work with a few distinguished Members of 
this Chamber whom I can truly call statesmen, leaders, and friends. 
Mike DeWine is one of them. He will be missed.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the great service 
of retiring Senators Paul Sarbanes, Mark Dayton, and James Jeffords.
  Senator Sarbanes' service in the Senate stretches back three decades. 
First elected in 1977, he had previously served as a Congressman and 
before that as a delegate in the Maryland State House. I have been so 
grateful to the Senator for his advice and his work in this Chamber.
  Senator Sarbanes is the son of immigrants from Laconia, Greece, and 
he has often spoken about the pride that he has for his Greek heritage, 
as well as the inspiration that he draws from it through his work in 
the Senate. His parents instilled in him a reverence for the principles 
of democracy and a respect for the values of opportunity and fairness. 
He has championed these values throughout his life in public service, 
passing important legislation to reform the accounting industry, the 
2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, among many other legislative accomplishments.
  I want to thank Senator Sarbanes and his dedicated staff for their 
extensive and laudable work on the surface transportation 
reauthorization bill and in particular for their tireless efforts to 
ensure our Nation's transit systems are adequately funded. With so much 
congestion on our roads it is critical that we continue to invest in 
our trains, buses, ferries, and other modes of transportation to reduce 
congestion and reduce travel times. Senator Sarbanes did this work in 
his role as ranking member of the Banking Committee, and millions of 
people everyday--especially in New York--who ride trains and buses to 
and from work should be grateful that we had him on our side for so 
many years.
  I could stand here for a long time singing the praises and 
accomplishments of Senator Sarbanes after a long and distinguished 
career in the Senate. I will end by saying this: We will miss him and 
he has left his mark on this great Chamber.
  I will also express a fond farewell to Senator Dayton.
  It has been an honor to serve on the Armed Services Committee with 
Senator Dayton.
  He has done a wonderful job for the people of Minnesota. In his time 
in the Senate Senator Dayton worked hard to live up to the legend of 
Senator Wellstone, to honor the values that Senator Wellstone 
championed in this body.
  One example: I was grateful to Senator Dayton for his support of the 
Nontraditional Student Success Act, a piece of legislation to help more 
people attend college while working and raising families--to open the 
doors of opportunity wider for more and more Americans.
  I am grateful to Mark Dayton for his work to honor his values, and I 
know he leaves this body having made the people of Minnesota proud.
  I will also say a few words about Senator Jeffords.
  Senator Jeffords has ably represented Vermonters here in the Congress 
for decades. In doing so, he has reflected the independent spirit of 
Vermonters, and no more so than when he took the courageous step in 
2001 to become an Independent and caucus with the Democrats.
  Since that time, I have had the great pleasure of working with 
Senator Jeffords on the Environment and Public Works Committee. His 
tenure at that committee was a fitting capstone to his career, as he 
has long been focused on environmental protection.
  Throughout his long and distinguished career, Senator Jeffords has 
been a strong advocate of renewable energy. In many ways, he has been 
ahead of his time. In 1990, he introduced a bill to promote ethanol and 
other alternative fuels, and nearly 10 years ago he introduced 
legislation to create a 20-percent renewable portfolio standard. During 
his tenure first as chairman, and then as ranking member of the EPW 
committee, he has been a strong and clear voice for a cleaner 
environment.
  He has been an ally and a champion of reducing pollution from 
powerplants, fighting global warming, and making our buildings more 
energy efficient. And he has worked hard to hold the administration to 
task for numerous rollbacks of our landmark environmental laws. During 
his tenure on the committee, Senator Jeffords has been ably assisted by 
a staff led by Ken Connolly and Alison Taylor. I thank them and Senator 
Jeffords' entire staff for their assistance to me and my staff.
  Unfortunately, I could not attend the final EPW meeting this week, 
but I understand that Senator Jeffords announced that he is returning 
home to Vermont, and described home as ``the place you can go where 
they have to take you in.''
  I know that Vermont will welcome Senator Jeffords back with open 
arms, and I know that he will always have a home away from home here in 
the Senate.
  Finally, I also wish the very best to my Republican colleagues who 
will leave the Senate at the conclusion of this Congress. The Senate, 
at its best, is a body that promotes bipartisanship, deliberation, and 
cooperation, and the dedication to shared values. It has been a 
privilege to work with my departing colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle.

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