[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11630-S11635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         FAREWELL TO THE SENATE

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, over the last few days, a number of my 
colleagues have been very generous in coming to the floor and speaking 
about my service in the Senate. I am deeply grateful to all of them, 
and my wife is greatly relieved that the session is drawing to a close 
because she fears, if it continues and I continue to hear these 
excessively praising speeches, I am going to take it to heart and she 
is going to have to contend with the aftermath of all this praise. I do 
thank all of my colleagues for their very generous and their very 
gracious remarks.
  As my service in the Senate draws to a close, I am above all 
profoundly grateful for the trust that the people of Maryland placed in 
me for the last 40 years--first as a State legislator, then three terms 
in the House of Representatives, and now five terms in this 
distinguished body. I think that trust is the greatest honor that any 
American could hope to have. I am deeply appreciative of it.
  I could not have risen to the challenge that these opportunities for 
public service have provided without the constant support and the wise 
and reasoned counsel of my family. First of

[[Page S11631]]

all, and above all, my wife Christine, whose high standards and 
dedication to our family and to our country are beyond measure and have 
been a constant source of inspiration to me. The support and commitment 
of my children, their spouses and their children has been deeply 
gratifying, and I am indebted to them for the encouragement they have 
always provided and also, if I may say so, for their astute criticism, 
on occasion. My sister and my brother and their families have also 
been, as one would expect, a constant source of strength, and I am 
deeply grateful to them.
  My parents came to this country as immigrants from Greece, both my 
mother and father, and it was from them that I first learned about the 
meaning of a democratic society and the potential it offers to move up 
the ladder of opportunity on the basis of ability, hard work, and 
conviction. Their memory is still a very powerful influence in my life.
  I could not have met the responsibilities of this office without the 
support of staff who have been ever ready to work at the highest levels 
of competency, often under great pressure, and to stand up always for 
what they believe is right. I am deeply grateful for the principled 
dedication and sharp intelligence they have brought to their 
responsibilities--whether they were serving on my office staff in 
Washington or in my offices across the State of Maryland; whether on 
the staff of the Banking Committee, the Foreign Relations, the Budget 
and the Joint Economic Committees on which I have served, or the staff 
of the Senate generally, on whom the efficient functioning of this 
legislative body depends.
  I think it is important to pause from time to time to think of the 
many men and women--they are sitting right here at the tables and 
outside the doors and all across the Capitol and in the office 
buildings--who make it possible for us to function and who bring a 
dedication to their work that is greatly encouraging. In fact, it has 
been a source of encouragement and inspiration to me. Working with all 
of the staff and in particular, of course, my own personal staff, has 
been one of the great rewards of serving in public office.
  I leave the Senate confident that Maryland's representation in this 
body will be in good hands. For the past 20 years, it has been a 
privilege to work closely with my colleague from Maryland, Senator 
Mikulski, who will soon become our State's senior Senator. What a 
fighter she is for a better America. And what a path-breaker she has 
been in the course of her political career.
  It was likewise a privilege to work with her predecessor in this 
body, Senator Mathias, with whom I developed a close friendship. Both 
have been wonderful partners.
  It is especially gratifying to know that, in the 110th Congress, 
Benjamin Cardin will take this seat and be Maryland's junior Senator. 
Ben Cardin has given extraordinary public service to the people of 
Maryland. As a Member of the House of Representatives, he has for 20 
years represented our Third Congressional District with great 
distinction, and prior to entering the House of Representatives, he 
served for 20 years with equal distinction in the Maryland legislature, 
including an outstanding tenure as Speaker of the House of Delegates. 
He is an experienced legislator of the first rank, and he is tireless 
in carrying out effectively the responsibilities of his office. I know 
my colleagues will enjoy their work with him in the coming Congress.
  My wife and I are gratified that our eldest son John will, in 
January, be sworn in as a Member of the House of Representatives to 
represent the Third Congressional District in the 110th Congress.
  Throughout my years in public service, I have worked to the limits of 
my ability to provide the people of Maryland and the Nation dedicated, 
informed, and independent representation based upon the fundamental 
principles of integrity and intelligence. I have been guided in this 
effort by a vision of a decent and just America, based on a strong 
sense of community and offering fairness and opportunity to all its 
people. These values and that vision were shaped by my family and the 
community where I grew up, by the pride my Greek immigrant parents took 
in their citizenship in their adopted country, and by the high 
standards of service that community leaders set in a small community on 
Maryland's Eastern Shore, Salisbury, MD, as I was growing up. Those 
values and that vision are as clear and as steady today as they were 
when I first entered public service.
  Service in this body has reinforced, many times over, my 
understanding and commitment to the institutions upon which our system 
of democratic governance critically depends. I have constantly kept in 
mind the words reportedly spoken by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia 
at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention. We are marking this 
year, of course, as my colleagues know, the tercentenary of Franklin's 
birth. The story is told that, as he came out of the Constitutional 
Convention, the oldest delegate there, a woman in the streets of 
Philadelphia called out to Franklin and said:

       What is it to be, Dr. Franklin, a monarchy or a Republic?

  And Franklin's reply was:

       A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it.

  A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it--the challenge that Franklin 
uttered that day in the streets of Philadelphia is a challenge each 
generation of Americans face. All Americans bear the responsibility to 
rise to Franklin's challenge but none more so than the Members of this 
body.
  I have been honored to serve with Members, past and present, who have 
embraced the challenge and sought, through common effort, often under 
difficult circumstances, to strengthen our Republic and to make the 
promise of America a reality for all of our people.
  As I prepare to leave the Senate, I want my colleagues to know how 
deeply I appreciate their friendship and counsel and how highly I value 
the privilege of having been their colleague. So long as the vision of 
America's promise continues to shine brightly in this body, I have 
every confidence that our Nation will prevail in the face of great 
challenges and that its future will be assured.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I have experssed my feelings about Paul 
Sarbanes. I have spoken before the Democratic caucus about my affection 
for Paul Sarbanes.
  I would like to read from the Congressional Directory something that 
this humble man did not tell us. His Bachelor's degree at Princeton 
University, magna cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa; Rhodes Scholar, 
Balloil College, Oxford England; first-class B.A. honors in School of 
Philosophy, Politics and Economics; LL.B., cum laude, Harvard Law 
School.
  These are the things he didn't tell us. He is a man of great 
humility, a person the leaders whom I have served with in the Senate--
Senators Byrd, Mitchell and Daschle, Democratic leaders--counted their 
font of wisdom, without question. I sat for 6 years with Senator 
Daschle, and whenever there was a difficult issue facing him, he had to 
talk to Sarbanes. I, on a number of occasions, went and obtained 
Sarbanes to come and visit with Senator Daschle.
  I am disappointed that Paul Sarbanes is going to be leaving because 
that font of knowledge, that font of wisdom will no longer be available 
to me. The leaders used the knowledge and the wisdom conveyed to them 
by Senator Sarbanes for the good of the Republic.
  Senator Sarbanes has heard me on a number of occasions express my 
appreciation for his friendship and for his dedication to our country, 
but he has also heard me on every occasion I have had the opportunity 
to talk about his athletic prowess.
  Paul Sarbanes, even though he kind of saunters around with the 
dignity of a Sarbanes, as a young man he was a good athlete. My 
favorite story some of our colleagues heard me say, and I know Senator 
Sarbanes has heard me say it and he is going to hear it again. He was 
selected as one of the best baseball players in all of Maryland. He 
comes from the Eastern Shore for the All-Star tournament in Baltimore. 
The starting lineup is announced: Sarbanes, second base. He goes to 
speak with the manager and says: I am a shortstop. The manager ignores 
him. He comes back a little bit later and says to the manager: I was 
selected to

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be an All-Star second baseman. The manager ignores him. He goes back a 
third time. The manager says: Sarbanes, leave me alone. I'm starting 
Kaline at shortstop.
  Of course, we know Kaline went on to the big leagues when he was 18 
or 19 years old.
  I am going to miss this good man and his wife Christine so very much. 
He is what, in my estimation, a Senator should be.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I said a few words on the floor the other 
day. I meant every one of them. Senator Paul Sarbanes has been kind 
enough to thank me. I wanted to say briefly that from time to time 
people back in Illinois would ask me: Of all those Senators whom you 
serve with, which ones do you respect the most? Without hesitation, I 
would always mention the name Paul Sarbanes. I respect him so much, not 
only for his intelligence and his good humor but also for his wit and 
his wisdom.
  The reflective past he has referred to in public service starts in 
the House of Representatives, his service on the House Judiciary 
Committee during the tumultuous days of the Watergate hearings, 
impeachment trial, and coming full circle to the Senate. He has a 
lifetime of public service to be proud of.
  Christine, his wife, has been at his side. And I know she has shared 
in many of the great victories that their family has been able to point 
to. The greatest victory, I understand, is now the election of her son. 
She is so proud, as Paul told us, their son John is going to follow in 
his father's footsteps as a Congressman in this upcoming Congress.
  I will truly miss Paul Sarbanes as a great Senator and a great 
friend.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I, too, want to join in the chorus of 
colleagues by thanking Senator Sarbanes for all he has meant to 
Maryland, all he has meant to the Senate and all he has meant to the 
country and all that he has meant to me.
  I knew Senator Sarbanes 20 years ago, but I knew Paul Sarbanes long 
before that. I knew him when he was a young lawyer starting out to run 
for the House of Delegates. I was also, at that time, a young social 
worker. We were working to stop a highway in the neighborhood. We were 
the young reformers. Baltimore was dominated by political bosses, by 
the political machine. And Paul Sarbanes was the first one to buck the 
machine, to kind of go directly door-to-door to represent the people. 
Baltimore has not seen for years someone who would actually go out and 
knock on doors asking people for their vote, bypass the existing 
establishment and empower the people.
  Senator Sarbanes won that House of Delegates seat and did a great 
job.
  Then he had a hard-fought, again, door-to-door battle--bucking the 
big boys and big bucks, door-to-door going right through, going 
directly to the people who brought him to the House--and
  In 1976, that wonderful Washington centennial year, we in Baltimore, 
the home of the Star Spangled Banner, celebrated by sending Paul 
Sarbanes to the Senate. And, by the way, that young social worker went 
to the House of Representatives.
  Senator Sarbanes and I have been side by side for those years. All of 
my colleagues have talked about the enormous trust and respect they 
have for him.
  Much has been said and there is much to be respected about Senator 
Sarbanes--his integrity, but trust is really the word. You can trust 
Senator Sarbanes. You can count on Senator Sarbanes. You always knew he 
would be there when you needed him. The people of Maryland knew that 
when they needed him to be able to stand up for those who didn't have a 
voice, people with dirt under their fingernails, the people who worked 
in those kinds of jobs where at the end of the day you have a bad back, 
you earned the minimum wage, you didn't have a health benefit, and you 
wondered who really cared about you, Paul Sarbanes would do that.
  When people invested their life savings and their pension and saw 
corporate greed eating all of that, they wondered who would speak for 
honesty and integrity. They knew they could trust Paul Sarbanes.
  On issue after issue, people knew they could trust him--and they 
certainly could.
  You could also count on his wonderful staff. The Mikulski staff has 
such great admiration for the Sarbanes staff. It is so outstanding. 
Similar to the man they work for, they bring great intellectual vigor, 
great integrity, and a great ethic of hard work.
  We often laugh that we are the ``diner Democrat.'' Senators have 
heard about Senator Sarbanes' mom and dad running a diner, my mom and 
dad owned a grocery store. We were kind of the grassroots retail 
people. So we feel very close to the people.
  But again, a tribute to him would be incomplete without recognizing 
the dynamic duo of Christine, who has been an outstanding partner for 
Paul Sarbanes and quite a force in the community in her own right. 
Whether it has been working for the U.N. and for UNICEF in their own 
community, to be on the library board to expand literacy opportunities, 
Christine has been a force in and of herself and for their wonderful 
children--John who now joins us in the staff.
  I could talk at length about Paul Sarbanes, but I will tell you he 
has been my friend. We have sat next to each other on the Senate floor. 
We have actually voted in the Senate precincts. When I came to the 
Senate, I was the only Democratic woman to serve here. But I had a 
saying as I traveled Maryland and traveled throughout the country. When 
people said: How does it feel to be the only Democratic woman in the 
Senate, I said: You know, I might be all by myself, but I am never 
alone. I have Paul Sarbanes. And that is true for the people of 
Maryland.
  We wish him well. I know I am going to be seeing him. Wherever there 
is a good bagel or a good political event, I know that Paul Sarbanes 
will be there.
  Paul, Godspeed and God bless.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I am very moved by the words of Senator 
Mikulski. And as I look over there at the two of them side by side for 
so many years, I feel a void already because they have been so 
outstanding as a team. And I must say they are an inspiration to all of 
us who have watched their friendship, genuinely caring about each other 
and their amazing partnership for the people of Maryland.
  I certainly can't add anything more to what Senator Mikulski has 
said. I will try to say, from my perspective, a little bit about what 
Senator Sarbanes has meant to me.
  It is a story that not many people know. But when I was in the House 
of Representatives, I was called on to speak about the environment at 
the Democratic Convention when Geraldine Ferraro was the Vice 
Presidential candidate and Walter Mondale was the nominee. That was a 
long time ago. I was thrilled. I was an unknown House Member. Now, of 
course, I am so excited to be taking over the reins of the Environment 
Committee, but the environment has been a signature issue.
  Well, what happened that night, I was slated to talk in prime time. 
But something funny happened on the way to the forum, which was that 
Jesse Jackson spoke at the convention. And he spoke and he spoke and he 
spoke, and then he spoke some more. And then they cheered him on, and 
then he spoke some more. Well, this was my moment in the Sun. I had 
bought a new suit. I called my mother on the East Coast. I said: Ma, 
big time. She kept saying: When? And it kept going on and on. Now, when 
Jesse Jackson finished his amazing oratory, the entire place emptied 
out. There was no one left in this huge arena. The chair of the 
convention had to say: Please leave quietly, we have another speaker. 
And it was me. No one was left but my family and Paul Sarbanes. He knew 
me just a little at the time. He wanted to encourage me. And he sat 
down right in front of me with a sign that said something like: Go, 
Barbara, go green--or something like that. He stood there and cheered.
  Little did I know at the time that he would, many years later, 
welcome me to the Senate, as of course he did.
  I know there is other business coming before the Senate. So I am not 
going to speak very long at all except to say this: What a privilege it 
has been, Paul, to work with you. We are on the Foreign Relations 
Committee

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together. For a time we were on Banking and Budget. And I watched you 
like a hawk. You are a humble man, but you could quiz a witness like 
nobody else and with your quiet voice made your point and made a point 
for the people.
  I think you are one of the finest minds the Senate has ever had. I 
think that you have one of the finest hearts. You don't wear it on your 
sleeve, but you do. And I want you to know I have benefited so much 
watching you and learning from you, and even tonight as you made your 
farewell talk, you spoke so little about yourself. You spoke about your 
family, but the most important thing you spoke about is this great 
country that has lifted us all up, the three of us on the floor 
tonight. We know what it is like to be born in a lower middle class 
family and struggling our way up. We want to make sure that opportunity 
is there. That is what you spoke about tonight, in all your eloquence.
  So I will miss you very much. I thank the people of Maryland for 
being so wise to send us two such Senators. I know Paul Sarbanes has 
many wonderful days ahead and much work awaits him.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to my good 
friend and colleague, the senior Senator from the great State of 
Maryland, who will be leaving this body at the end of this Congress. 
Paul Sarbanes and I have shared the past 30 years in this body 
together, and I can say that the Nation will be losing one of its most 
talented, well respected, and principled public servants when he steps 
away from the office he has held with such honor and integrity.
  Paul's career is one that I believe still to this day reflects the 
values instilled upon him by his parents, Greek immigrants to this 
country, who infused in him a strong work ethic and a sense of service 
to others. He worked his way through school while growing up on 
Maryland's beautiful Eastern Shore and earned a scholarship to 
Princeton University, where he excelled academically, and earned a 
Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. If that weren't enough, Paul also went to 
Harvard Law School.
  With all his abilities, with his clear leadership potential and 
promising future, Paul chose to dedicate himself to the service of 
others. From his years in the Maryland House of Delegates, to his time 
across the Capitol in the House of Representatives, through his years 
here in the Senate, Paul has always used his unique abilities and vast 
knowledge, tirelessly working towards finding solutions to the 
country's most pressing issues.
  That is why I was so honored to be able to work closely with him in 
drafting portions of the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor 
Protection Act of 2002, more commonly known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. 
Paul's leadership as Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs Committee was needed more than ever as the America people 
learned of the deception that corporate leaders had perpetrated. In a 
business culture that seemed to reward greed and devalue honesty and 
accountability, Paul was able to create a bipartisan piece of 
legislation that mirrored his values and took a stand for countless 
ordinary Americans who were victims of the prevailing culture of 
corporate excess. It was my distinct pleasure to work with him in such 
a noble effort, and I believe it is fitting that such important 
legislation bears his name and will serve as a testament to his 
character for many years to come.
  I will miss Paul Sarbanes, although I take comfort knowing that he 
won't be far away. His career is a lesson to us all in what the Senate 
is all about. It is with a heavy heart that I bid my friend farewell, 
and thank him for setting such a wonderful example for us all to 
follow.
  I know he will stay a clear voice for America--but now he and 
Christine can also have the time together they so deserve.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I would like to take a few minutes to 
reflect on the remarkable career of my good friend and colleague, 
Senator Paul Sarbanes, and to thank him for his service to our country.
  The life of Paul Sarbanes is the archetypical story of America. He is 
the son of Greek immigrants who moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland 
and started their own restaurant, where Paul helped out after school. 
His parents encouraged him to get an education, a message that he took 
to heart. He received a scholarship to Princeton, was a Rhodes Scholar, 
and then graduated from Harvard Law School.
  After graduation, he quickly gained a taste for economic policy by 
working at the Council of Economist Advisers during the Kennedy 
administration under Walter Heller, when the famous Kennedy tax cuts 
were passed. I am not sure that people around here fully grasped--and 
he is certainly not one to toot his own horn the depth of his 
experience in the area of economics, but it is substantial.
  He entered the Senate the same year I did, 1976, after stints in the 
House of Representatives and the Maryland House of Delegates. He 
quickly sought to use his economic acumen and joined the Banking 
Committee and the Joint Economic Committee, both of which he would 
later chair. He played an integral role in the Banking Reform Act of 
1999 that made it easier for banks to diversify their investments and 
increased competition in the industry, giving consumers wider choice in 
this arena and better returns to their savings. While we all 
acknowledge and bewail the low savings rate in this country and grasp 
for ways to fix it, the reforms passed by Paul were an important step 
in the right direction that we can and should build on.
  He has also fought a yeoman's battle to improve the quality of 
economic data produced by our Government. It is a topic that sounds 
deadly dull, but it is vitally important, and Paul Sarbanes has made it 
his duty to get this accomplished. Thanks to his efforts we have much 
more accurate, reliable, and timely data on economic growth, wages, and 
employment. We may not always agree on how our Government should go 
about trying to increase these economic indicators, but because of 
Paul's efforts we know much better what we are arguing about and how 
successful our efforts have been.
  To me, that is one of the marks of a great Senator: being willing to 
take on a low-profile issue that gains him nothing with the press or 
his constituents, but nevertheless improves our well-being. The 
economists that use this data and the statisticians that work for 
producing the data know exactly how much Paul's leadership has 
benefited the country, and this is something that I want the rest of 
the country to know as well.
  Of course, despite his numerous accomplishments in the Senate, he 
will be best known for his authorship of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 
2002. I do not need to remind my colleagues that in 2002 our financial 
markets were in sore shape and in dire need of ameliorative steps of 
some sort. People were beginning to lose faith that they could trust 
putting their money in the domestic stock market, a state of affairs 
that potentially threatened the very fiber of our economy. In the 
Congress there were lots of ideas on how to fix this but very little 
consensus.
  Paul waded into this morass and helped shape an all-encompassing bill 
in short order that addressed many of the problems endemic in our 
financial markets. Thanks to his skillful maneuvering and that of his 
House partner on this bill, Mike Oxley, this legislation quickly passed 
the House and Senate and became law, stanching the wound in our 
financial markets. Like every major piece of legislation passed by the 
Congress, the Sarbanes-Oxley bill was not perfect. However, today the 
Dow Jones Industrial Average is near an all-time high and over 50 
percent higher than in the summer of 2002, in no small measure thanks 
to Senator Sarbanes' efforts.
  This is, and remains, a mark of a Senator of distinction: One who 
rises to the occasion when a crisis ensues and creates an environment 
where Members can work together, across party lines, and with scarce 
regard to short-term political exigencies, to come up with a solution.
  To my esteemed colleague, Senator Paul Sarbanes, I give you my best 
wishes in retirement, our thanks for a sterling career in service to 
your country, and my gratitude for your friendship over these many 
years.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to join my colleagues in bidding 
good

[[Page S11634]]

wishes and Godspeed to Senator Paul Sarbanes, the senior Senator from 
Maryland and the longest serving Senator in Maryland history, as he 
retires this week.
  Senator Sarbanes was elected to the Senate 2 years before me, and 
thank goodness he was here. Paul Sarbanes has been a dear friend, an 
indispensable source of wisdom, a trusted ally, and an inspiration. 
Senator Sarbanes and I even briefly shared an office, when the anthrax 
attacks of 2001 forced him to leave his office in the Hart Building and 
set up shop temporarily in my conference room. After years of close 
cooperation, we were literally working side by side.
  What I have found over these years is that Paul Sarbanes is one of 
the smartest, kindest, and most thoughtful public servants in 
Government. He is quiet and does not seek the limelight, but behind his 
calm demeanor is a skilled legislator with a keen mind. Senator 
Sarbanes operates by compromise and by building consensus, but he also 
has plenty of backbone when it is needed. He knows when to coax, when 
to charm, and when to say ``enough is enough'' and get things done.
  In the wake of the accounting scandals at Enron and other 
corporations, it was Senator Sarbanes' leadership that led to the most 
significant reforms of accounting practices in a generation. The 
landmark Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, which grew out of his longstanding 
commitment to corporate responsibility and high ethical standards in 
business, curbed some of the corporate abuses that had shaken investor 
confidence in American business.
  That law has produced its critics, but most of the detractors are 
unhappy because Sarbanes-Oxley is so effective. Sarbanes-Oxley forces 
accountants to actually review the books. It forces CEOs to understand, 
review, and sign off on the company's financial statements. And it 
forces companies to produce meaningful financial statements with 
internal controls that back up the numbers. There are some critics who 
are waiting for Senator Sarbanes to leave the Senate, hoping to weaken 
what he built, but they will find many Senators, including this one, 
who will fight to maintain high standards. Sarbanes-Oxley will continue 
to serve as the foundation for reasonable regulation of our capital 
markets.
  While his name will always be associated with the Sarbanes-Oxley law, 
Senator Sarbanes remains an unsung hero for another accomplishment: 
cracking down on money laundering through the PATRIOT Act. I want to 
sing his praises on this for a moment because it is an issue I am 
passionate about and because Senator Sarbanes deserves greater 
recognition for his work.
  For several years prior to the 9/11 attacks, I worked on 
strengthening anti-money laundering laws--holding hearings, producing 
reports, and writing legislation but my effort had not succeeded. After 
9/11, it was clear that U.S. anti-money laundering laws were full of 
gaps and vulnerabilities that needed to be addressed. But it was also 
clear that many in the financial industry did not want to have to 
operate under tougher laws. Nothing would have been accomplished even 
then if Paul Sarbanes had not stepped up and led.
  In the month after 9/11, Senator Sarbanes showed his legislative 
genius by taking a diverse group of provisions suggested by many 
different Senators and House Members, taming the competing interests, 
and writing a package quickly enough to be included in the PATRIOT Act. 
His own contributions included a key provision to make anti-money 
laundering programs mandatory rather than optional and to require anti-
money laundering programs at a wide spectrum of financial institutions, 
such as securities firms and insurance companies, not just banks. He 
also required for the first time that securities firms report 
suspicious activity.
  In addition to these major changes, Paul helped enact a variety of 
provisions that I had been pushing for years. For example, he included 
my provision that barred banks and securities firms from opening 
accounts for shell banks, closing a major gateway for money laundering. 
He also helped shut down the flow of dirty money from foreign dictators 
who were looting their own countries and depositing their ill-gotten 
gains at U.S. banks by including my provision to make proceeds of 
foreign corrupt practices covered by our money laundering laws.
  And he did all of this work in 1 month, running the conference 
committee out of his hideaway office in the Capitol with 1 computer, 3 
phones, and a shifting group of about 50 staffers from the White House, 
Senate, House, Justice Department, Treasury, and other agencies. He was 
the only Senator who was present throughout the entire conference, and 
it was his work at key moments that kept the anti-money laundering 
provisions in the PATRIOT Act. Senator Sarbanes' leadership is one of 
the great untold stories of that bill, and I hope that his role will 
one day be properly recognized.
  Paul Sarbanes has given Maryland and America a lifetime of public 
service, on President Kennedy's Council of Economic Advisors, in the 
Maryland House of Delegates, in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 
in the U.S. Senate. I know that Paul is proud that his son John will 
now carry on that tradition of service, having been elected last month 
to represent Maryland's 3rd district in the House. We will welcome John 
Sarbanes to Congress, but we will greatly miss his dad.
  My wife Barbara joins me in congratulating Senator Sarbanes on his 
retirement and in wishing him and his wife Christine all the best. We 
treasure their friendship and hope they will visit our Senate family 
often.
  Senator Sarbanes, with apologies to your Greek forbears for my 
pronunciation: chronyapola. May you have many years.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, today I acknowledge and honor my 
colleague, Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland. As Maryland's longest 
serving U.S. Senator, Senator Sarbanes, leaves our great Halls with a 
legacy of distinction and an undying dedication to his State and this 
country. I have tremendous respect for Paul Sarbanes, and the 
statesmanlike ethics he has brought to this institution. Though his 
three decades of service contain many significant achievements, none 
stand out more for me--on a personal level--than when Senator Sarbanes 
assisted in my confirmation process to become the Secretary of the U.S. 
Department of Housing and Urban Development. I greatly appreciate the 
opportunity I had to serve this country in that capacity, and Senator 
Sarbanes played no small role in allowing me to do so.
  Thank you, Senator Sarbanes, for your meaningful work and lifelong 
commitment to public service.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to honor in the highest possible 
terms and with profound respect, Senator Paul Sarbanes, one of the true 
giants of this institution, a sterling public servant and an 
inspiration to the people he has represented for 36 years--30 of them 
in the U.S. Senate, where he has since become Maryland's longest 
serving U.S. Senator. I am grateful to call him a dear friend and 
treasured colleague.
  A graduate of Princeton University and one of only two Rhodes 
Scholars in the current U.S. Senate, Senator Sarbanes has brought a 
remarkable and stellar mind to his venerable legacy of public service. 
Elected to the U.S. House in 1970 and to the U.S. Senate in 1976, he 
has served the people of Maryland with exemplary integrity and 
distinction.
  The principles of fairness and opportunity have directed his tenure 
of tireless civic contribution, characterized by a relentless 
dedication to serving the public interest--a devotion to defending and 
promoting the common good exemplified by his efforts to enact the law 
that today bears his name--The Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
  I also share a bond with Paul Sarbanes that transcends our service 
together in the U.S. Senate, including our substantial work together on 
the Senate Budget Committee as well as on the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee. We are both the children of Greek immigrants--both of our 
parents owned restaurants and inculcated in us a passion and commitment 
to education, service, and hard work.
  Paul Sarbanes has been a hero to Hellenic-Americans for decades. On 
countless occasions I have been referred to as ``one of two Greek-
Americans in the U.S. Senate'' and I am so proud that the Senator from 
Maryland,

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Paul Sarbanes, has been the other. Whether serving in the Maryland 
House of Delegates, the U.S. House of Representatives, or the U.S. 
Senate, Paul has always been driven by the same Hellenic principles 
that make our heritage and community great. He remains an inspiration 
to innumerable Hellenic-Americans.
  As a result of heroic and Herculean service, Paul Sarbanes was 
honored in June 2003 with the prestigious Paul H. Douglas Ethics in 
Government Award from the University of Illinois--established in 1992 
to honor Senator Douglas, a man often labeled ``the conscience of the 
United States Senate.'' The award was fittingly designed to honor 
individuals who have made a substantial contribution to promoting 
ethics. And Senator Sarbanes also received the Cox, Coleman, Richardson 
Award for Distinguished Public Service, from Harvard Law School in 
March 2004.
  Senator Sarbanes' vigorous and exemplary engagement in matters of 
public affairs undeniably epitomizes the following admonition from 
Pericles in his funeral oration more than 2,000 years ago that ``we do 
not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds 
his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.'' Being 
involved in the civic life of one's community, country, and heritage 
was not an option for the sons and daughters of Pericles, and it has 
been an expectation that the legacy of Senator Sarbanes inspires all of 
us to meet.
  As much as the Senate will miss his esteemed presence and I will miss 
his collegiality in this Chamber, I am heartened by our enduring 
friendship and by a new generation from the Sarbanes family entering 
public life in the upcoming Congress with John Sarbanes, serving in the 
U.S. House.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I want to say something about my 
departing colleagues on the other side of the aisle.


                             Lincoln Chafee

  To my colleague from Rhode Island, I thank the Senator. In all 
actions it has been a tone of civility. We have always sought common 
ground. I express my gratitude for the Senator's service to Rhode 
Island.


                              Mike DeWine

  And the departing Senator from Ohio, Senator DeWine, said some very 
kind things about his work with me. I, too, want to comment that 
working with the Senator when moving important legislation in the 
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions was an outstanding 
opportunity, again, of bipartisanship. Mike DeWine and Barbara Mikulski 
passed the Older Americans Act twice when it previously had not passed 
or been reauthorized in 5 years. We did work so constructively with the 
Committee on Finance in terms of the recent pension bill.
  Again, we worked on many projects related to national security 
together.
  I thank Senator DeWine not only for his kind words but, again, his 
ongoing efforts, always with the tone of utmost collegiality when he 
worked with me, and his staff.


                              Conrad Burns

  And to the departing Senator from Montana, who has a voice about the 
same decibel level of my own, I wish him well. Again, on the Committee 
on Commerce and on the Committee on Appropriations we worked very well, 
particularly on those issues that were important to science and 
technology, new ideas, new thinking, but old-fashioned values.
  A lot is said about changing the tone, but when we hit the right tone 
we also hit some pretty high notes. I thank my colleagues and wish them 
well and Godspeed until we meet again.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Martinez). The Senator from Iowa.

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