[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 8, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5710-S5711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING FORMER SENATOR ROBERT STAFFORD

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to speak today in remembrance of 
former Senator Robert Stafford, who passed away this past December and 
for whom we will be having a memorial service this evening.
  I personally remember Bob as a moderate voice in the Senate, never 
putting partisan politics above his principled ideals. He and I served 
together on the Senate Committee of Labor and Human Resources in the 
early 1980s, beginning when I was a relatively young first-term Senator 
chairing the committee and Bob was beginning his third decade of 
congressional service. I often found Bob's advice and counsel to be 
helpful in handling many of the issues which came before the committee.
  I, personally, remember what a profound influence Bob had on the 
Labor and Human Resources Committee while I was chairman. As a young 
chairman and a relatively new Member

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of the Senate, I was sometimes frustrated with the way Bob and Senator 
Lowell Weicker often voted with the Democrats on almost every issue. 
This disparity of views within my committee forced me to work even 
harder to forge worthwhile and well-thought-out bipartisan compromises 
in order to move important legislation. This proved to be an enormous 
challenge but one that shaped my career and made me a better 
legislator. There is no question that challenges and beliefs of Bob and 
Lowell made me the legislator I am today.
  Bob was born in 1913 in Rutland, VT. As a product of the Rutland 
public schools, he attended Middlebury College and received his first 
degree in 1935. He graduated from Boston University Law School in 1938 
and immediately began what would be a long and distinguished career in 
public service.
  Immediately after graduating from law school, Bob served as a Rutland 
County prosecuting attorney. In 1942, he left the prosecutor's office 
to serve our country in World War II. Enlisting in the Navy as a 
lieutenant commander, he served in active duty for the duration of the 
war.
  Bob returned home to Rutland, VT, in 1947 and became a Vermont 
state's attorney. He served in that capacity for 4 years before 
volunteering to serve in our Nation's military in another foreign 
conflict, this time in Korea. Bob once again served honorably in the 
Navy from 1951 to 1953.
  Returning home again in 1953, Robert began his career in Vermont 
State politics. I think both Senators Leahy and Sanders would agree 
that Bob was iconic figure in Vermont's political history.
  Bob worked in the Vermont Attorney General's Office from 1953 to 
1957, serving those last 2 years as Vermont's attorney general. In 
1957, he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and in 1959, he was elected 
to be the State's Governor.
  After rising quickly to the top of Vermont state politics, he was 
elected to Vermont's only seat in the House of Representatives in 1960 
and, after being elected to five successive terms, he resigned his seat 
in 1971 to accept appointment to the Senate, temporarily filling the 
vacancy left by the death of Senator Winston L. Prouty.
  Though he began his Senate tenure as a temporary replacement, Bob 
would, in many ways, become a permanent part of this institution. He 
won a special election in 1972 to serve out the remainder of Senator 
Prouty's term, and he would remain Vermont's Senator for 17 more years, 
retiring on his own terms in 1989.
  As an educated man himself, he was always a champion of higher 
education. In fact, our Nation's most prominent student loan program 
was renamed after Bob during his last term in office.
  He also played an important role in modernizing Federal disaster 
relief. In 1988, President Reagan signed into law the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, which created 
the system in place today by which a Presidential disaster declaration 
of an emergency triggers financial and physical assistance through the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA. Obviously, Bob was 
instrumental in passing this landmark legislation.
  During his time in Congress, Bob and I worked together to reform 
parts of the Federal entitlement system and to trim the fat from costly 
Federal programs. Although he and I would often disagree, I always 
enjoyed hearing his persuasive arguments to articulate his commitment. 
Even if you didn't agree with Bob's politics, you had to respect the 
thoughtful and genuine effort he put in to formulating his opinions and 
arguing his positions. I appreciated Bob very much for his convictions 
and his passion.
  Mr. President, in Bob, our Nation has lost an elder statesman and a 
principled leader. His leadership and tireless public service are 
examples for all of us who have aspired to serve this great Nation. I 
am grateful for this evening's opportunity to remember his service and 
to reflect on his example.

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