[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 163 (Thursday, October 25, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13393-S13394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING PAUL AND SHEILA WELLSTONE

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to speak this morning to honor 
the memory of Paul and Sheila Wellstone. Today, it is exactly 5 years 
ago that they died in a plane crash outside Eveleth, MN, a beautiful 
area of our State called the Iron Range, where, in some ways, Paul 
Wellstone got his political start. Part of it was the farms of southern 
Minnesota, when he stood up for farmers when the farms were being 
foreclosed on. But part of it was the work he did with those iron ore 
miners. My grandfather was an iron ore miner who worked 1,500 feet 
underground in the mines of Ely, MN, about a half hour away from where 
Paul died.
  Paul Wellstone's daughter Marcia was also killed in the crash--his 
longtime staff members, Mary McEvoy, Tom Lapik, and Will McLaughlin, as 
well as the pilot and copilot of the plane. On this day, 5 years later, 
the people of Minnesota are remembering that crash and remembering Paul 
and Sheila. It is so hard to believe it has been 5 years since we have 
lost them. It feels both so long ago and not so long ago at all. Part 
of why it doesn't seem so long ago to me is because everywhere I go in 
this Capitol, people remind me of Paul. When I say I am a Senator from 
Minnesota, they remember Paul--people such as Ted Kennedy, who worked 
with him on mental health issues, to the tram drivers, who for years 
and years have driven that tram from the Capitol to the Senate office 
buildings. When I said I was this new Senator from Minnesota, the 
driver said, ``Paul Wellstone was a Senator from Minnesota.''
  The cops who guard at the Capitol remember Paul. The secretaries in 
the offices remember Paul. That is because he treated everybody with 
such dignity in this Capitol and with such dignity in our State. That 
was Paul Wellstone.
  For me, as for so many other Minnesotans, it is impossible to forget 
the moment we first heard about the plane going down and then the wait 
to get the final news that there were no survivors.
  Paul and Sheila would be the first to tell us we should not look back 
on what they accomplished and stood for. They would be the first to 
insist our responsibility is to look ahead to the work that still must 
be done to carry their legacy forward.
  Although Paul and Sheila are no longer with us, we know their dreams 
and passions remain very much alive. I get my own special reminder 
every day, not just with the employees in the Capitol but because the 
flag from Paul's Senate office hangs in our Senate office. It is a 
powerful reminder to me of Paul and all he tried to do in Washington.
  During his lifetime as an educator, as an activist, and as a Senator, 
Paul inspired people throughout Minnesota and throughout America.

  Even now, his work and his spirit continue to inspire people of all 
ages, from all walks of life, all across our country, who remember Paul 
for the fundamental values he fought and struggled for.
  He was a voice for the voiceless. He and Sheila stood for victims of 
domestic violence who were afraid to talk about it, afraid to go to 
court. They stood for them and made this their life's passion.
  He brought power to the powerless--people such as the iron miners in 
Minnesota, people such as those farmers whose homes and farms were 
foreclosed on.
  He brought justice to those who suffered injustice.
  He brought opportunity to those who didn't have opportunity. When 
going to any small community event in our State or to events with large 
immigrant populations, they all remember Paul coming to their 
marketplaces or how he would meet with the women. Some of them--the 
elders--can hardly

[[Page S13394]]

speak English, but they can say ``Wellstone.''
  I know I will forever be humbled by the oath I took to be a Senator 
from Minnesota. I know that not I nor anyone else can truly follow in 
Paul's footsteps. But he is an inspiration for us all.
  Paul was my friend and mentor. He taught me how to campaign on a city 
bus. When I first ran for office, for county attorney, we would get on 
a city bus and work the entire bus. We would meet everybody on the bus. 
When we would get to the end of 8 blocks, we would say we are at our 
stop and get off. Then we would get back on a bus going the other way. 
We would go around for hours until we met everybody on those buses in 
Minneapolis that afternoon. He worked bus by bus, block by block, 
precinct by precinct to touch people in a way that made people believe, 
made people know that involvement in politics could make a real 
difference in their lives. That is what he told those new immigrants, 
new citizens. He told them that involvement in politics could make a 
difference in their lives. He did it not only by his words but by how 
much he went out and touched them and were a part of their life.
  Paul was a crusader and a man with many passions. Anyone who ever met 
or talked with him quickly found out he had a special passion for 
helping those with mental illness. That was shaped by the suffering of 
a member of his own family. Many of you may know Paul's story about his 
brother Stephen.
  As a young child, Paul watched his brother's traumatic descent into 
mental illness. When Stephen was a freshman in college, he suffered a 
severe mental breakdown and ended up spending the next 2 years in 
mental hospitals. Eventually, he recovered and graduated from college 
with honors. But it took his immigrant parents years to pay off the 
hospital bills.
  Writing about this, Paul recalled the years that his brother was 
hospitalized. ``For two years,'' he wrote, ``the house always seemed 
dark to me--even when the lights were on. It was such a sad home.''
  Decades later, Paul knew there were still far too many sad homes in 
our great Nation--too many families devastated by the physical and 
financial consequences of mental illness.
  Paul knew we could and we should do better. For years, he fought to 
allocate funding for better care, better services, and better 
representation for the mentally ill. For years, he fought for mental 
health parity in health insurance coverage.
  Finally, this year, at last, it looks as if Paul's dream may finally 
come true. Last month, the Senate unanimously voted in support of 
legislation that will guarantee equity for mental health insurance 
coverage.
  This will be a victory--if we can get this passed and work with the 
House and get as strong a bill as possible--for millions of Americans 
living with these mental illnesses who have faced unfair discrimination 
in their access to affordable, appropriate health care and treatment.
  For Paul, this was always a matter of civil rights, of justice, and 
of basic human decency.
  Of course, on this issue--as every other issue--Sheila and Paul were 
together and they moved quickly. Paul and Sheila had so much energy, 
and they were always on the move. They brought such enthusiasm and joy 
to their work. They were animated, tireless, and persistent in their 
fight against injustice.
  Sheila Wellstone was a leader in her own right. I had the opportunity 
to work closely with her when I was the chief prosecutor for Hennepin 
County. They focused on domestic violence. She was instrumental in 
creating the Hennepin County Domestic Abuse Service Center, which I 
supervised during my 8 years as county attorney. That center is a 
national, an international, model for serving the victims of domestic 
violence by bringing together a full range of services and resources in 
one central, convenient location. Victims of domestic violence don't 
have to go through the redtape that would even be hard for a lawyer to 
figure out. There is a center where children can come and play, for 
prosecutors and police, and a shelter, all located under one roof.
  Sheila knew the statistics on domestic violence. She knew these kids 
are six times more likely to commit suicide if they grew up in a home 
with domestic violence. They are 24 times more likely to commit sexual 
assaults. They are 60 times more likely to exhibit delinquent behavior. 
Most chilling of all, little boys who would witness domestic violence 
are 100 times more likely to become abusers themselves.
  Sheila knew these numbers, but even more, she knew the names and the 
faces of the victims of domestic violence. She knew their children. It 
made her all the more determined to do something about it because, in 
America, of all places, kids should be free to grow up with safety and 
security and peace of mind.
  I remember the last time I saw Sheila and Paul. It was a few weeks 
before the tragic crash. Sheila and I had been asked to speak to a 
group of new citizens, immigrants from Russia. It was a very small 
group. There were about 50 people there. We talked about our own 
immigrant experiences. She talked about her parents and growing up in 
Appalachia, and I talked about my Slovenian relatives coming over and 
making their way, saving money in a coffee can in the basement so they 
could send my dad to college.
  We were in the middle of these stories in this very small room. All 
of a sudden in walked Paul. He wasn't supposed to be there. He had 
gotten an early flight home from Washington. He wasn't supposed to be 
there because he was about a month out on one of the biggest elections 
for the Senate in the country. He had voted, had taken a brave vote, a 
courageous vote against the resolution on Iraq. He knew he was up for 
reelection. He knew it might cost him the election, but he did the 
right thing.
  He came into that room where there was no press, no reporters, and a 
few weeks before this election. At the time I thought: Why did he do 
this when he has to be out there campaigning? I knew then that there 
were two reasons he did it. First is that he loved Sheila and he wanted 
to surprise her, and he wanted to be there by her side while she gave 
her speech and gave her remarks. But he was also there because he 
embraced the immigrant experience. He liked nothing more than talking 
about how you can come to this country with nothing and pull yourself 
up by your bootstraps. You can be a guy working 1,500 feet underground 
in the mines in Ely, MN, and your granddaughter can be a Senator. You 
can be someone with mental illness, such as Paul's brother, and grow up 
to get a college degree and be a teacher. You can be a victim of 
domestic violence and get your life back together and have a home for 
your kids. That is what Paul and Sheila stood for. That was their 
legacy.
  Today in our State of Minnesota and throughout this country and this 
Capitol, we think of them and what they stood for, and we pledge to 
work again to fill their legacy.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, it is my understanding we are still in 
the majority's time period. I ask unanimous consent that it be set 
aside and reserved and that I be allowed to address the Senate in 
morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________