[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 3 (Monday, January 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S206-S210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING PRESIDENT GERALD FORD

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, many praiseworthy things have been said 
about Gerald Rudolph Ford over the past 2 weeks, and this is good. It 
is good to see so many people speak so well of a man who was often 
wrongly criticized in life, and it has been uplifting to watch an 
entire nation stop and reflect on what it means to live a good life, 
good to see that old virtues still have the power to inspire.
  Of course, Gerald Ford didn't seek out the Presidency, and certainly 
he came into the highest elected position in the land in the 
unlikeliest of ways.
  I was recently reminded that his life didn't get off to the most 
promising start. Born Leslie Lynch King, Jr., in Omaha, NE, his mother 
and father divorced when he was 2.
  His mother picked up and moved back home to Grand Rapids, where she 
married a paint and varnish salesman. Gerald Ford, Sr., gave Dorothy 
three more boys--and her first son a new name that he would carry into 
history.
  The childhood home was pleasant, but since money was tight, Junior 
had to mow lawns and grill hamburgers after school.
  The experiences of the boy had an effect on the man: Ford would later 
gain a reputation in Congress as a fiscal conservative, as someone who 
thought that Government, like any household, should live within its 
budget. He didn't learn this from a policy paper. He didn't need to.
  We have heard that Gerald Ford was a great athlete, that he could 
have played with the Packers or the Lions, but he took a job as an 
assistant coach at Yale instead. And determined to go to Yale Law 
School, he convinced the faculty to let him on parttime. They did.
  Gerry Ford once said:

       The harder you work, the luckier you are. I worked like 
     hell.

  He ended up in the top fourth of a law school class that included a 
future Supreme Court Justice, a future Secretary of State--and a future 
President.
  We have heard how President Ford signed up for the Navy after Pearl 
Harbor; that he put duty and country first, and nearly got swept off 
the deck of the USS Monterey in the middle of a typhoon. It wouldn't be 
his last brush with an early death.
  And we have heard a love story: that Ford came home to Michigan after 
the war and married a pretty young dancer named Betty Bloomer; that he 
started to think about politics, and that Betty wasn't worried at all 
about it distracting from family life. ``I never thought he'd win,'' 
she said.
  But, of course, he did.
  The Fords moved east, and decided to stay awhile, and stayed together 
through it all--until last week, when Betty, older now but no less 
graceful, said good-bye to her husband, the President, in the same 
church where they said ``I do'' 58 years ago.
  We have been inspired by the story of President Ford's political 
career--how he didn't make a name for himself with high-profile 
speeches or partisan broadsides; how he did his job, and did it well, 
in big and little things.
  He built a reputation as someone who could bridge the gap, who 
brought people together and worked problems out. Gerry Ford summed up 
his approach to lawmaking this way:


[[Page S207]]


       You have to give a little, take a little, to get what you 
     really want. But you don't give up your principles.

  All this is what we have heard about Gerald Rudolph Ford's life 
before the President of the United States called him at home on October 
6, 1973, to see if he would be willing to replace a Vice President who 
had resigned in disgrace.
  Congressmen all over Washington were sitting by their phones that 
night, hoping the call would come for them. Gerry Ford was swimming 
laps.
  And 8 months later, when the President himself resigned, Ford was 
there again.
  There's a plaque at the Ford library which says that Gerald Ford may 
have been among the unluckiest Presidents of the 20th century. Where I 
come from we don't call that luck. We call it providence.
  As Ford himself put it: 1975 was ``not a time for summer soldiers and 
sunshine patriots. It was a year of fears and alarms.'' Gerry Ford was 
the right man for the moment because he was a good man all along.
  And what did he bring to the presidency? Exactly what we needed in 
that dark and painful hour: honesty, simplicity, and what he liked to 
call, ``a little straight talk''.
  Ford's sincerity may have been his greatest gift, but it almost 
surely cost him the greatest honor the voters could have given him. He 
told them plainly, just a few months after taking the oath, that the 
state of the Union wasn't good.
  He gave them bad news again the next year, an election year when most 
people would have been tempted to gloss over problems. The state of the 
Union was better, he said, but it still wasn't good enough.
  And when he lost, he wasn't bitter. He even made a point to make sure 
the transition was smooth. He didn't want Jimmy Carter to face the same 
problems he did, he said.
  I remember those days. I was a young lawyer in Ford's Justice 
Department. I remember how the new President restored hope in our 
country, in the presidency, and in the Republican Party.
  I remember how he lost his own race for reelection but cleared the 
way for another great Midwesterner to win 4 years later.
  This Nation has owed a tribute to Gerald Ford for a long time, and it 
is good that he has gotten it in these last days.
  In weaker moments, we tend to think that victory goes to the fast, 
the brilliant, the well-born. But in one of our Nation's weakest 
moments, Gerald Ford showed us leadership through the gentlemanly 
virtues of honesty, integrity, and plain hard work.
  The tributes now are almost done. But the greatest tribute we can 
give to Gerald Rudolph Ford lies ahead. The American people have shown 
how much they admire leaders who are honest, straightforward, kind.
  In the early days of a new session, we best honor the memory of our 
38th President, and the Nation he loved and served so well, by making 
those qualities our own.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the Senator 
from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I thank our distinguished majority leader 
and minority leader for their initiative in putting this resolution 
together. I, also, thank both of our distinguished leaders for 
including in the resolution a reference to the action by the Senate, an 
initiative we took in the Senate Armed Services Committee at the time 
that I was privileged to be chairman and the distinguished Senator from 
Michigan, Mr. Levin, was the ranking member, to name one of America's 
future aircraft carriers, now under construction, the USS Gerald R. 
Ford. This initiative then was taken into consideration by the 
Department of Defense, the Secretary at that time, and, indeed, the 
Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary of the Navy has, traditionally, 
responsibility for the naming of ships. And whereas the Armed Services 
Committee recommended during floor consideration of the annual defense 
authorization bill that the naming be written in law, in conference, at 
the request of the Secretary of the Navy, we made it a sense of the 
Congress.
  The Department of Defense will host a ceremony on January 16th, with 
the Ford family and others to formally name the ship in honor of 
President Ford.
  I, also, thank Jack Marsh, former Secretary of the Army and former 
counselor to President Ford, for his participation in the effort by the 
Senate to take this initiative, as well as former Secretary of Defense 
Melvin Laird. I collaborated with both of those distinguished 
gentlemen. Secretary Laird was a lifetime friend and served in Congress 
with, then, Gerald Ford.
  As we go forth in our careers, we always should look back to 
acknowledge those who made it possible for us to achieve our goals. I 
am always very humbled by the many people who helped inspire me to run 
for the Senate and who helped me win election. Gerald Ford was right 
there at the beginning of my first race with sound, practical advice.
  I ask the indulgence of my colleagues where I recount some of that 
advice: It started, I remember, in the summer of 1960. I was an advance 
man for then Vice President Nixon. We were on a campaign train trip 
through the Middle Western States, that included a stop in Michigan. 
This was the old-fashioned train with the observation car, where the 
candidate would go out on the rear platform and give a speech to the 
crowds that gathered in all the little towns and communities along the 
route. But we had one very memorable stop, I remember the town was 
Muskegon, Michigan.
  My job was to get the candidate, the Vice President, and some of his 
senior staff off the train and to the auditorium in town. In performing 
these tasks, I was joined by an elected Michigan official. In a moment, 
I will provide his name. As we entered the building, we went into a 
holding area. I was awaiting a cue from the master of ceremonies on 
stage to bring on the Vice President. He was escorted by this local 
official. As we were waiting, unbeknownst to us, in the balcony, some 
mischievous people--I don't think it was evil, but it was mischievous--
suddenly pelted us all with raw eggs. There we were, the Vice President 
with eggs streaming down off him. I took out my handkerchief and did 
the best I could to polish him up a bit, and the local official did the 
same. The Vice President went on the stage, fully composed, and gave an 
excellent speech.
  I went back to the train thinking that I would be severely 
reprimanded and my first job in politics terminated. Well, it turns out 
that the local official who helped me get him up to the stage and who 
also helped to polish-up the Vice President joined me in the 
observation car, where they were serving beer. As he came in, I thanked 
him, but said: You know, I think this is the end of my political 
career.
  And he said: Why so?
  And I described my responsibility. And he then said: Well, of course, 
I am a local Congressman and I should bear the responsibility.
  And we joined each other with a beer, he said to me: You know, I 
think both of us will survive.
  That was Gerald Ford, showing the magnanimity of that marvelous man 
and his understanding of those types of situations.
  I want to thank that wonderful American for his contribution to 
inspire me later in years to try for the Senate. He was then Vice 
President, and he used to counsel me on how to get started in public 
life. I was then Secretary of the Navy, having succeeded John Chafee, a 
former Member of this body, the much revered Senator from Rhode Island. 
And John Chafee had left the Navy Secretary's Office and ran for the 
Senate and was defeated in his first bid. And I was ready to plunge in 
and try my first race when Ford said to me: No, you want to kind of get 
behind you this career in the Department of Defense, because it was a 
highly controversial period of history. There was much concern among 
the citizenry, not unlike what we see today.
  I took his advice. And he said: Go run the Bicentennial. I will get 
you appointed to that Presidential Office.
  I said: Mr. President, I don't even know how to spell the word.
  He said: Study up on it.
  Not only did he do that, but he came down as Vice President and 
administered the oath to me on the steps of his beloved House of 
Representatives. The Bicentennial was a marvelous career opportunity to 
learn the fundamentals of public office. I worked with him

[[Page S208]]

closely, took an enormous interest, as he knew the Bicentennial would 
become a healing mechanism for the country in the aftermath of 
Watergate. He was right. I traveled with him on July 4, 1976, in his 
helicopter, and we made stops along the way. I will never forget going 
to New York Harbor on the final day of the two year celebration. And 
there we were on the deck of a carrier. And he struck the ship's bell 
such that it triggered church bells all across the United States to 
celebrate that day in American history.
  While we were standing there, he told me about his trip to sea in 
1944. I read from his biography:

       His closest call with death came not as a result of enemy 
     fire, however, but during a vicious typhoon in the Philippine 
     Sea in December 1944. He came within inches of being swept 
     overboard while the storm raged. The ship, which was severely 
     damaged by the storm and the resulting fire, had to be taken 
     out of service. Ford spent the remainder of the war ashore 
     and was discharged as a lieutenant commander in February 
     1946.

  During the course of the war, he was awarded the Bronze Star, and 
other decorations for his valiant service. But I remember when I went 
overseas in 1951, as a communications officer for a Marine Corps 
squadron. We were aboard the same class of ship. It was a small 
carrier. We also went through a typhoon in the South Pacific en route 
to Korea. It was 72 hours of memory that will never be erased, but I 
know what he went through because I think that typhoon was far more 
severe than the one our ship experienced. So I take my hat off to this 
magnificent American, who was among those who made it possible for me, 
in many respects, to eventually be privileged to represent the State of 
Virginia in the Senate.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the sense of 
Congress naming the CVN-78 aircraft carrier as the USS Gerald R. Ford 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

     SEC. 1012. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NAMING THE CVN-78 AIRCRAFT 
                   CARRIER AS THE U.S.S. GERALD R. FORD.

       1. (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Gerald R. Ford has served his country with honor and 
     distinction for the past 64 years, and continues to serve.
       (2) Gerald R. Ford was commissioned in the Naval Reserve in 
     1942 and served valiantly at sea on the U.S.S. Monterey (CVL-
     26) during World War II, taking part in major operations in 
     the Pacific, including at Makin Island, Kwajalein, Truk, 
     Saipan, and the Philippine Sea.
       (3) Gerald R. Ford received 9 engagement stars and 2 bronze 
     stars for his service in the Navy during World War II.
       (4) Gerald R. Ford was first elected to the House of 
     Representatives in 1948.
       (5) During 25 years of service in the House of 
     Representatives, Gerald R. Ford distinguished himself by an 
     exemplary record for character, decency, and trustworthiness.
       (6) Throughout his service in the House of Representatives, 
     Gerald R. Ford was an ardent proponent of strong national 
     defense and international leadership by the United States.
       (7) From 1965 to 1973, Gerald R. Ford served as minority 
     leader of the House of Representatives, raising the standard 
     for bipartisanship in his tireless fight for freedom, hope, 
     and justice.
       (8) In 1973, Gerald R. Ford was appointed by President 
     Nixon to the office of Vice President of the United States 
     under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, having been 
     confirmed by overwhelming majorities in both Houses of 
     Congress.
       (9) On August 9, 1974, Gerald R. Ford became the 38th 
     President of the United States, taking office during one of 
     the most challenging periods in the history of the United 
     States.
       (10) As President from August 9, 1974, to January 20, 1977, 
     Gerald R. Ford restored the faith of the people of the United 
     States in the office of the President through his steady 
     leadership, courage, and ultimate integrity.
       (11) As President, Gerald R. Ford helped restore the 
     prestige of the United States in the world community by 
     working to achieve peace in the Middle East, preserve detente 
     with the Soviet Union, and set new limits on the spread of 
     nuclear weapons.
       (12) As President, Gerald R. Ford served as Commander in 
     Chief of the Armed Forces with great dignity, supporting a 
     strong Navy and a global military presence for the United 
     States and honoring the members of the Armed Forges.
       (13) Since leaving the office of President, Gerald R. Ford 
     has been an international ambassador of American goodwill, a 
     noted scholar and lecturer, a strong supporter of human 
     rights, and a promoter of higher education.
       (14) Gerald R. Ford was awarded the Medal of Freedom and 
     the Congressional Gold Medal in 1999 in recognition of his 
     contribution to the Nation.
       (15) As President, Gerald R. Ford bore the weight of a 
     constitutional crisis and guided the Nation on a path of 
     healing and restored hope, earning forever the enduring 
     respect and gratitude of the Nation.
       (b) Naming of CVN-78 Aircraft Carrier.--It is the sense of 
     Congress that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the 
     Navy designated as CVN-78 should be named the U.S.S. Gerald 
     R. Ford.

  Mr. WARNER. I yield the floor.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to honor one of Michigan's 
great sons. Today we honor the remarkable life and lasting legacy of 
President Gerald R. Ford. I thank our leaders and colleagues for the 
wonderful tribute that will be voted on at noontime today.
  This past week our Nation mourned the passing of a President, while 
Michigan mourned the loss of a family member. Throughout his decades in 
public service, including a quarter century representing Michigan in 
the Congress, Gerald Ford worked tirelessly to serve the people and the 
interests of our great State and his beloved country.
  It is an honor that the State of Michigan will serve as the final 
resting place for one of our Nation's great leaders. The funeral last 
Wednesday, which I was fortunate enough to attend, was truly a moving 
tribute to a man who cared deeply for the city of Grand Rapids, his 
home State of Michigan, and the country. The thousands of mourners who 
came to pay their respects is evidence of what he meant to us. People 
standing in line for hours, on into the night, and the wonderful, 
gracious way the family greeted so many of those coming to show their 
respect for Gerald Ford was a wonderful, meaningful act to watch.
  I would be remiss if I didn't take the opportunity to speak about 
Gerald Ford's family. Betty Ford's grace and strength throughout the 
past few weeks have stood as a reminder not only of the importance of 
family in the life of Gerald Ford but also how much she has given to 
America through her courage, her example, and her charity. Betty Ford 
stood shoulder to shoulder with President Ford as a true partner 
throughout his life, while redefining the role of First Lady and 
serving the country with her own dedicated work on issues such as 
alcohol and drug abuse. Together the Fords raised four remarkable 
children--Michael, John, Steven, and Susan. It is a testimony to Gerald 
Ford's character that he will be remembered not only as a great leader 
but as a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.
  Born July 14, 1913, in Omaha, NE, Ford moved at a young age with his 
mother to Grand Rapids, MI, to live with his stepfather.
  While attending South High School in Grand Rapids, Ford proved 
himself an academic and athletic prodigy, being named not only to the 
honor society but all-city and all-State football teams.
  In 1931, Gerald Ford entered the University of Michigan, playing 
center and linebacker for the Wolverines. He played on two undefeated 
teams and was named the team's most outstanding player in 1934. Ford's 
legacy will always be felt at the university. To this day, his number 
28 is one of only 5 football jerseys retired by the University of 
Michigan, while the School of Public Policy bearing his name will shape 
and produce America's leaders for generations to come.
  Gerald Ford's childhood in Grand Rapids and his education both on and 
off the field at the University of Michigan helped forge a man whose 
character and actions throughout his life exemplified what is best 
about Michigan--hard work, loyalty, honesty, and selflessness.
  After graduating from Michigan, Ford rebuffed offers from the Detroit 
Lions and the Green Bay Packers in order to attend Yale University Law 
School. He continued his love of athletics there by serving as a boxing 
coach and assistant varsity football coach. In 1941, he earned his law 
degree from Yale, graduating in the top quarter of his class.
  Gerald Ford then returned to the city he considered his home, Grand 
Rapids, to practice law before joining the U.S. Naval Reserve in April 
1942, serving as an assistant navigator with the USS Monterey in the 
Pacific during World War II. Ford was discharged from the Navy in 1946 
as a lieutenant commander, returning to Michigan to practice law.

[[Page S209]]

  Entering politics with the encouragement of his stepfather, Gerald 
Ford ran for Congress in 1948, unseating incumbent Bartel Jonkman in 
the primary and going on to receive 61 percent of the vote in the 
general election. Gerald Ford would go on to represent the people of 
Michigan in Congress for the next 25 years, in 1965 rising to become 
the minority leader in the House.
  In late 1973, Ford was called on to serve the country in a different 
capacity, as we all know, being named and confirmed Vice President. 
Within 8 short months, he was again called on to take the mantle of 
responsibility he had not sought, taking the oath of office as the 38th 
President of the United States. Stepping into the Oval Office during 
one of America's greatest constitutional crises, President Ford's quiet 
demeanor and steady hand helped calm a nation and kept the Government 
moving forward during some of its darkest days.
  It is a testament to President Ford and his time in public office, 
highlighted by his years in the White House, that even those who 
disagreed with his policy positions respected him as a person and a 
public servant. Gerald Ford dedicated his life to make our State and 
our Nation a better place to live, work, and raise a family. He was a 
man who understood that integrity and service are more than just words, 
they are ideals--ideals he learned in our wonderful Michigan and 
practiced every day of his life.
  As a husband, a father, a Congressman, and our President, he led 
quietly by example, earning respect and friendship on both sides of the 
aisle through the hard work and honesty for which he was known. 
President Ford was a man utterly deserving of the words inscribed on a 
football resting on a homemade memorial outside the Ford Museum in 
Grand Rapids this week:

       A true American and a hometown hero.

  President Ford, we thank you for your service. You will be missed. 
Our continuing prayers and support go to your family.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I am very pleased the Senate is formally 
expressing its respect and appreciation for the life and public service 
of President Gerald R. Ford.
  No person in public service in my memory did more to restore 
confidence in our political institutions than President Ford.
  He was a friend and mentor to me as a member of the body, giving me 
sound advice and serving as a wonderful role model during my career in 
Congress and in the Senate.
  I admired him enormously. His seriousness of purpose and his common 
sense approach to solving our national problems were qualities that 
enabled him to give our nation a new sense of confidence and direction.
  We are deeply grateful that he served so ably as our Republican 
Leader in the House, Vice President, and President of the United 
States.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today in memory of Gerald Ford, the 
38th President of the United States. President Ford shouldered his 
burden with a unique sense of humility and good humor, in an office not 
known for nourishing those traits. President Ford's unusual combination 
of courage, strength, and conviction led America out of a deep crisis, 
healing our wounds and strengthening our Constitution in the process.
  Gerald Ford was a self-made Michigander who worked part-time jobs as 
a young man to help support his family, and later to put himself 
through Yale Law School. A man of many talents, he could have been a 
professional football player, or lived well as an attorney. But 
instead, he chose a life of service, first as a decorated naval 
officer, then a 24-year Member of Congress, leader of his party in the 
House of Representatives, and Presiding Officer of this Chamber as Vice 
President.
  Domestic turmoil and foreign policy challenges marked the mid-1970s, 
and President Ford addressed them both. History has favorably judged 
his actions to move the country beyond the Watergate scandal, although 
he paid a heavy price at the time. He also acknowledged the severe 
economic difficulties faced by millions of Americans and worked head-on 
to alleviate them.
  Despite the host of domestic challenges America faced, President Ford 
remained a committed internationalist. He advanced the cause of peace 
in the Middle East, helping to end hostilities between Israel and Egypt 
and laying the groundwork for a peace between those two countries that 
endures to this day. His backing of the Helsinki Accords, while 
controversial, gave important support to dissidents living under Soviet 
rule who sought respect for their human rights.
  Throughout his life, Gerald Ford handled the responsibilities and 
challenges that circumstance thrust on him without losing his 
Midwestern openness and sensibility. To many who disagreed with him, he 
still came across as a comforting figure who had the Nation's best 
interests at heart. Central to this ability to connect with people was 
his self-deprecating sense of humor, summed up by the quip, ``I'm a 
Ford, not a Lincoln.''
  And while he may not have been a Lincoln, he certainly was not a 
common President. America is a better place because of him, and we all 
owe President Ford and his wife, Betty, a tremendous debt of gratitude.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to President 
Gerald Ford. His passing on December 26, 2006, was marked with a 
yearning for the unity he brought to our Nation over 30 years ago. I 
extend my sincerest and most heartfelt sympathies to his family.
  Gerald Ford and I were in Congress together for a brief period of 
time. He was a friend to me when I was a freshman Senator and 
throughout my career. I will always remember and appreciate his support 
and counsel.
  President Ford came into office at a very difficult time and faced 
multiple tasks. He met those challenges and successfully brought the 
Nation through a tumultuous period in the history of the presidency. 
While his time in the White House was relatively short, his legacy 
continues to persist. President Ford's leadership and credibility 
worked to bring the Nation through the Watergate crisis and its 
aftermath. That proved to be invaluable and underscored the resiliency 
of our democratic government.
  My wife Nancy and I send our condolences and prayers to First Lady 
Betty Ford and to the entire Ford family. We join the Nation in 
mourning President Ford and in honoring a long life of service. May his 
soul rest in peace.
 Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the 38th President of the United States.
  Gerald Ford was an honest man, a modest man, and a patriotic man who 
cared deeply about this country. During World War II, he answered his 
Nation's call to duty, serving in the Navy aboard the USS Monterey in 
the Pacific Theatre. He later trained new naval officers for sea duty. 
Shortly after his discharge as a lieutenant commander in 1946, he began 
his storied political career.
  During his 25 years of service in the House of Representatives, 
Gerald Ford earned the respect and admiration of nearly everyone in 
Washington. Gerald Ford's impeccable integrity made him the ideal 
choice to lead America at a time of considerable division.
  When he was nominated by President Nixon to become Vice President, he 
was confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate and the House. The Senate 
vote was 92-3, and the House vote was 387-35.
  Before President Nixon submitted his nomination for Vice President, 
he asked the leadership of both parties who they would choose were they 
in his shoes. The obvious response was Gerald Ford.
  When Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency following President Nixon's 
resignation, he moved quickly to bring our country together. He did 
this by always remaining true to his character. He also adhered to the 
common-sense principles that guided him throughout his career and his 
life. He never lost touch with his Midwestern values. And he never 
wavered from doing what he thought was in the best interests of the 
people of our country.
  President Ford also attracted very talented employees. Among those 
who served in the Ford Administration were Alan Greenspan, Council of 
Economic Advisers; George H.W. Bush, CIA Director; James Baker, 
Undersecretary of Commerce; Dick Cheney, Chief of Staff; and Donald 
Rumsfeld, Chief of Staff and later Secretary of Defense.
  I had the pleasure of working with President Ford when he appointed 
me

[[Page S210]]

vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board in 1976.
  President Ford was a reliable friend and invaluable counselor. I will 
never forget his coming to Texas to campaign with me during my first 
race for the Senate. President Ford was always available to offer 
advice and remained in close touch with those of us who were his many 
appointees, staff, and colleagues over the years. This is the kind of 
person he was. It was an honor and a privilege to consider him a 
friend.
  He cared deeply for his family, for his loving wife Betty, and for 
his four children: Michael, John, Steven, Susan.
  He cared for everyone he came to know during his magnificent 
political career.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to Betty and the entire Ford family as 
we honor a public servant who gave tirelessly to our country. He will 
be missed.

                          ____________________