[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15988-S15989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING SENATOR TRENT LOTT

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I wish to take a few moments this morning 
to pay tribute to our colleague from Mississippi, Senator Trent Lott.
  Senator Lott has been at the center of every major policy debate in 
the Congress for more than three decades.
  Senator Lott was a fierce and effective advocate for limited 
government. No one who has been involved in debating budget, tax, or 
health policy with Senator Lott--as I frequently did on the Finance 
Committee--can question his commitment to conservative principles of 
government.
  But what made Senator Lott effective was that he understood that 
others had different views, and he understood the importance and art of 
compromise. He was driven to produce results, and he was unrelenting in 
his efforts to build coalitions to pass legislation and make things 
better for the American people. He recognized that, in the Senate, 
compromise is necessary to get things done. As majority leader, he was 
able to find policies that could hold his caucus together and at the 
same time win support from the Clinton White House and moderate 
Democrats.
  In more recent years, he has played a key behind-the-scenes role in 
bridging differences between the parties. No one was better at counting 
votes and knowing the limits of his negotiating flexibility. When Trent 
Lott told you he could produce the votes for a proffered compromise, he 
delivered. You could count on it.
  Perhaps most importantly, Senator Lott had an uncanny ability to 
persuade and cajole people to get a deal. He has a great sense of humor 
and a seemingly unparalleled ability to develop friendships and 
relationships with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle and 
both ends of the Capitol. He always knows who the key players are, and 
what will bring them to the table. These skills have produced a great 
record of accomplishments for Mississippi and the Nation.
  Personally, I will miss his quick wit, his insights, and his 
friendship. As Senator Lott prepares to leave the Senate, I wish him 
and his wife Tricia all the best.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, Senator Lott is true gentleman: agreeable, 
good-humored and kind in nature. When I think of Trent Lott, the words 
consensus and congeniality come to mind. These words come to mind 
because Trent has become one of the greatest mediators this body has 
ever seen, his ability to bring all parties on an issue to the table 
and when the negotiations are done, each person leaves with a smile on 
their face. Senator Lott's humor and affable personality made working 
with him a pleasure, even when a compromise could not be found and the 
time for negotiating was over, nobody would leave the table feeling 
alienated, or hurt they left with Trent still a friend and eager to 
work on the next solution.
  Trent Lott's 34 years of service to his country as a Member of 
Congress will forever be remembered in chapters of our Nation's history 
and by his constituents of Mississippi. But the one who deserves just 
as much thanks and gratitude is his college sweetheart and wife Tricia. 
While Trent has been dedicated to his job and country for the past 34 
years, he has been devoted to his family.
  Senator Lott's congeniality could be attributed to his humble 
beginnings, southern upbringing, or a number of things, but no matter 
the reason he still remains a humble man with many friends and a man 
who is truly kind to others. As I have grown to know him through our 
work here in the Senate, I have seen that his kindness stretches beyond 
the walls of his duties on this floor and to all who encounter him. 
Trent always has a smile on his face and extends pleasantries to 
everyone he passes. Here in Washington, it is easy for one to be 
consumed by self-importance and it is easy to forget to treat others as 
we wish to be treated, but he never did. While in the lobby of another 
office, Senator Lott will have a candid conversation with the much 
overlooked staff manning the front desk or anyone in his path--he will 
go out of his way to make sure everyone is greeted with warm hello.
  I have agreed with Senator Lott on many issues, and I have disagreed 
with him on many as well, but in each scenario we always ended with a 
handshake and a good laugh. This institution is losing a man who could 
bring people together and allow bitter enemies to lay down their 
swords.
  This is a man who will be missed by many and I wish Senator Lott the 
best of luck as he retires from his years of political service.
  Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
distinguished colleague from the great State of Mississippi, Senator 
Trent Lott.
  As a reformer, a defender and a leader, Trent Lott leaves behind a 
legacy in the U.S. Senate, the fruits of which we will reap for years 
to come. In 1996, Trent joined with colleagues to enact an historic 
welfare reform bill. He pushed for reform again when he supported 
President Bush's tax cut package early on in the administration. Trent 
has never been afraid to step forward in faith toward what he knows is 
right.
  A champion for a strong national defense, Trent supported the 
President's military action in Iraq as well as increased defense 
spending. As a defender himself, Trent understands the importance of a 
strong military and the value of rewarding those who valiantly serve 
this country. In 1998, he urged Congress to raise the pay for our 
military men and women, an act that hadn't occurred in a decade.
  As the first man to serve as the whip in both the House and the 
Senate, Trent could not have accomplished

[[Page S15989]]

any of the aforementioned achievements and many others without his 
innate ability to lead. Leadership is not easy. The weight of good 
leadership is often a difficult load to bear, but Trent Lott upheld his 
roles as senator, majority leader and whip with an admirable level of 
dignity and integrity throughout his tenure.
  As a new Senator, I have been touched by Trent's candor, patience, 
unique charm, and by observing the tremendous relationship he has with 
his wife Tricia. Professionally, I have benefited greatly from his 
knowledge and experience about how to effectively make a difference in 
the U.S. Senate. He is a gifted negotiator, and his strong leadership 
will be greatly missed. For more than three decades, Senator Lott has 
been a great public servant to the people of Mississippi in Congress. I 
extend my best wishes to Trent and Tricia as they begin the next phase 
of their lives together.
 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to wish farewell to an honored 
colleague and a good friend: Senator Trent Lott. Trent served in 
Congress for 34 years, and has represented the State of Mississippi in 
the Senate for 18; during that time, he distinguished himself as both a 
dedicated and effective party leader, and a symbol of bipartisan 
compromise. Few Senators play both roles so well.
  Those who know Trent often describe his personal charisma and his 
natural leadership abilities. Those abilities have been on display for 
decades, manifesting themselves as early as his college days at Ole 
Miss, where Trent was a fraternity president, a cheerleader, and a 
well-known presence on campus. Trent brought his budding political 
skills to Washington, where he served as a staffer on Capitol Hill 
before he was elected to Congress himself, in the first of a long 
series of wide-margin victories.
  From 1973 to 1988, Trent represented Mississippi's conservative 5th 
District, serving on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate 
scandal, as well as in the Republican leadership. As Republican whip, 
he helped build broad coalitions to pass important domestic and 
national security legislation.
  In 1988, Trent was elected to the Senate by eight percentage points 
over his opponent and never again faced a close race, winning 
reelection overwhelmingly in 1994, 2000, and 2006. His skill at 
negotiation made him a Senate natural, and his party entrusted him with 
its highest leadership responsibilities: majority whip in 1995; 
majority leader in 1996; and, in a widely remarked-upon comeback, whip 
again just last year.
  Newt Gingrich called Trent ``the smartest legislative politician I've 
ever met.'' And though I often disagreed on the issues with Trent, not 
to mention Newt, I just as often admired his acumen. I couldn't begin 
to list the important legislation shepherded through this body by the 
Senator from Mississippi: education reform, defense spending, trade 
legislation, the ratification of NATO expansion, the creation of the 
Department of Homeland Security, and much more. But even as he worked 
on matters of national and international import, he always had time for 
the people of Mississippi: he helped expand his state's highway system, 
brought research funding to its universities, and dedicated himself to 
Mississippi's economic recovery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 
Indeed, the challenged posed by that destructive storm convinced Trent 
to put off retirement until this year; and I am sure that the people of 
his state are grateful for the time he could lend to their recovery 
efforts.
  In his memoirs, Trent compared leading the Senate to ``herding 
cats.'' But today, at least, the members of this most difficult body 
have found some unanimity: We are united in our affection for Trent 
Lott and in our sadness at his departure. We will miss his legislative 
talent, his rich baritone, his taste in seersucker suits, and his fine 
head of hair. But we trust that he and his dear wife Tricia have many 
happy years ahead, and we wish them all the best.

                          ____________________