[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 194 (Tuesday, December 18, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S15794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SENATOR TRENT LOTT

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I have publicly stated my feelings about 
Trent Lott on a number of occasions since he indicated he was going to 
retire by the end of this year. We had a lovely reception for him in 
the Mansfield Room. Other people have their own views as to the 
strengths of Trent Lott, but having worked with him here on the Senate 
floor for these many years, his greatest attribute can best be 
summarized by the statesman Edmund Burke:

       All government . . . every virtue and every prudent act--is 
     founded on compromise . . .

  That is not negative. That is positive. Compromise is something we as 
legislators must do. Legislation is the art of compromise. That is what 
we have been taught, and that is the way it is. There is no better 
example of that than what we have before us now or should have in a 
short time from the House, the omnibus spending bill. That has been the 
epitome of compromise by legislators and by the White House as the 
executive. That is what Trent Lott did best, approaching a difficult 
issue, trying to figure a way out of it. No one who has ever legislated 
and gotten a bill passed with their name on it has had what they really 
started out to do. We all must compromise. That is a negative term in 
some people's mind, but it really isn't if you are a legislator.
  The special skill Trent Lott has, the special kind of understanding 
and pursuit of the common good, requires us to find common ground. 
Trent Lott embodies that skill. He is a true legislator. In all my 
dealings with Trent Lott, he is a gentleman. I have never, ever had 
Senator Lott say something to me that he was not able to carry through 
on. His commitments are as good as gold.

  We have had some jokes here about his dealings with John Breaux. They 
have a lot of qualities, but their qualities were the ability to make 
deals. When we needed something done during the Daschle years, the 
first person we went to was John Breaux. I am confident the first 
person he went to was Trent Lott. They have been close personal friends 
for all these years. As a result of their friendship, their trust of 
one another, it kind of spilled off on the rest of us, and we were able 
to get a lot of work done.
  It goes without saying that we disagree on policy often, Senator Lott 
and I, but with Trent, these disagreements never seemed to be that 
important because he was always able to approach these challenges with 
a genuine desire to find a solution.
  The history books will be written about this institution. I am 
confident they will be written about the State of Mississippi. There 
will be chapters that will have to be dedicated to Trent Lott because 
he has been part of the history of the State of Mississippi and of this 
institution and the House of Representatives. No one has ever, in the 
history of our country, some 230 years, served as the House whip and 
the Senate whip, but Trent Lott has. I believe he has made our country 
more secure in many ways. When we talk about security, it doesn't mean 
necessarily the military because our security depends on a lot more.
  Senator Lott, I wish you and your wonderful wife and your family the 
very best. I believe my dealings with you have made me a better person 
and a better Senator.

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