[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S4473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              TED KENNEDY

  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I come to the floor this evening to send 
Senator Ted Kennedy and Vicki and all the family my very best wishes. I 
am confident that with the fighting spirit that embodies who Ted 
Kennedy is, we will soon see him back here in this Chamber of the 
Senate. Over the years, as I have worked closely with Senator Kennedy 
on a number of different measures, I have seen his passion and ethic of 
service here on the floor. Over the many years I knew about Ted 
Kennedy, long before he ever knew who I was, he was one of those people 
who always inspired me to public service. I remember well his speeches 
from the 1960s and into the 1970s. For me as a relative newcomer to the 
Senate, it has been one of those very unique privileges to serve with 
him on a number of different matters.
  Part of the reason I know he will be back here working with all of us 
is because we have often talked about some of the difficult challenges 
he has faced in life. We have talked about the plane crash and how it 
was that he was pulled from the wreckage. While many did not expect him 
to survive, he did, and he has gone on to provide another 40 years of 
service to this great Nation and this world. It is that fighting spirit 
that, again, will take Senator Kennedy in a very positive way forward 
to continue to serve this Nation, the State of Massachusetts, and the 
entire world. That ethic of service in many ways is what guides most of 
us who are here, but certainly it is the roots of Senator Ted Kennedy.
  We have often talked about his relationship with the United Farm 
Workers of America. In the prayer which the founder of the United Farm 
Workers of American, Cesar Chavez, wrote, I find a lot of that prayer 
reflected in Senator Kennedy. I thought I would essentially read a part 
of that prayer. I think it is so true of Senator Kennedy, the Presiding 
Officer, the distinguished Senator from New Jersey, and so many others 
who get so much inspiration from this wonderful man, Ted Kennedy.
  The prayer is as follows, in part:

     Grant me courage to serve others;
     For in service there is true life.
     Give me honesty and patience;
     So that the Spirit will be alive among us.
     Let the Spirit flourish and grow;
     So that we will never tire of the struggle.
     Let us remember those who have died for justice;
     For they have given us life.
     Help us love even those who hate us;
     So we can change the world.

  That was written by Cesar Chavez, born in 1927, passed away in 1993.
  For Ted Kennedy, the closing part of that prayer, ``so we can change 
the world,'' I will say this to Senator Kennedy tonight from the floor 
of the Senate: We still have a lot of change to make in the world 
together. I look very much forward to the day when we see you back here 
among all of our colleagues, helping us move forward in a new direction 
to achieve that visionary change that had at its focal point the 
possibilities of humanity.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SALAZAR. 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. SALAZAR. Mr. President, what is the pending business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is in morning business, with 10-
minute intervals.

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