[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 5, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S7018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING SENATOR CRAIG THOMAS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I appreciate the remarks of my 
distinguished counterpart. I think his words convey how we feel about 
Craig Thomas.
  Madam President, we hear it often said that this is a Senate family, 
and it is times such as these when we do realize we are a family, a 
very small family of just 100--99 today.
  I can remember early last December I called and talked to Craig in 
the hospital, and he said: I am getting better. And he was. He did get 
better. It just didn't last, and we all feel so bad about that.
  I remember Craig Thomas for his legislative efforts. Wyoming, like 
Nevada, is a public land State. Wyoming has a lot of public land issues 
dealing with Federal agencies. I see his colleague here, Mike Enzi, and 
I can remember working with them on an issue which, to most people, 
seemed like not much, but to the two Senators from Wyoming and to the 
Senator from Nevada, it meant a lot. We were dealing with a place 
called Martin's Cove, and even Senators from Utah were called in to see 
if we could resolve this, and we were able to resolve it eventually. 
But Craig was really tough when it came to public lands issues.
  I can remember, as can Lula, whom we all know, Craig Thomas' 
persistence on a piece of legislation on an issue dealing with the 
potash of a mining company in Wyoming. He would ask us if we had been 
able to get it cleared. If he asked us once, he asked us 50 times, and 
we eventually got it cleared. I worked hard on this side for that for a 
couple of reasons: First, it was the right thing to do, and second, 
Craig wanted it so badly. So we were able to work that out.
  I will miss Craig Thomas. Craig Thomas was the kind of person with 
whom I liked to deal. He told you how he felt--he wanted this done; he 
didn't want that done. I recognized that he was very proud of being a 
Senator.
  I would have to say, however, that he was just as proud of being a 
marine. His Marine Corps service was certainly commendable. He was in 
the Marine Corps in the late 1950s, 1955 to 1959. He went in as a 
private and came out as a captain. He was a graduate of the University 
of Wyoming with a degree in agriculture, and that is why he was one of 
the leading experts in the Senate--in the Congress, I should say--on 
agriculture and, of course, issues affecting rural communities.
  Madam President, I will ask for unanimous consent in just a few 
minutes to do away with the votes we had scheduled this morning and 
reschedule them for later this afternoon so people have the opportunity 
to come and speak about Craig. And those who aren't able to come, there 
will be a time set aside where we will recognize the service Craig 
Thomas rendered to the State of Wyoming and to the country.

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