[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 154 (Friday, September 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S9621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO SENATOR WARNER

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, we are all awaiting efforts of the 
negotiating teams who are working on a rescue plan to the current 
financial crisis. Many of us--as I know the distinguished Senator from 
Montana has--have lobbed in our thoughts and ideas, now we are waiting 
anxiously to see how they have fared in the negotiations.
  And I would like to take this time while we wait to address another 
subject because a few months from now our colleague, John Warner, will 
retire from the Senate after 30 years of service to the people of 
Virginia and the people of America. His work in this Chamber and all 
these halls has made our country stronger. And in a place where 
partisan rancor too often rules the day, his is a legacy of honor and 
dignity that will stand long after he has gone. So I wanted to take a 
few moments to salute this man.
  When John Warner's country called, he answered. In 1945, at 17 years 
of age, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was sent to fight in World War 
II. When the war was over, John attended a great Virginia institution, 
Washington and Lee University, on the GI bill. And in 1949, he entered 
law school at my own alma mater, the University of Virginia. But 
America called again, and John answered again, interrupting his studies 
to serve as a ground officer with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in 
Korea. He returned home again, went back to UVA, and received his law 
degree in 1953. I would graduate almost 30 years after him. John 
continued to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves after the war, 
attaining the rank of captain.
  John Warner's mother once said she hoped he would one day become the 
Secretary of the Navy. Well, in 1972 he fulfilled that hope, serving 
until 1974, during the challenging years of the Vietnam conflict. In 
that office, he succeeded his dear friend John Chafee, a fellow marine, 
later to become a U.S. Senator. It is John Chafee's seat that I am now 
privileged to hold.
  During his first campaign for the Senate, Senator Warner told the 
Washington Post:

       When I was Secretary of the Navy I drove the admirals 
     crazy. When I went to visit a ship I liked to go all over it 
     and talk to sailors.

  He is, in the words of ADM Mike Mullen, ``a man whose love of country 
is matched only by his love [of] those who defend it.''
  In the Senate, John Warner's commitment to the men and women of 
America's armed services is evident in nearly everything he does. 
Alternating as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services 
Committee with his dear friend Carl Levin of Michigan, he has fought to 
ensure that those who serve this country receive the best possible 
health care and benefits. In 1999, they achieved for our troops their 
first major pay increase in 16 years--and this year, did it again.
  In his 30 years in the Senate, John Warner has dedicated himself to 
helping his constituents and keeping our Nation secure. He has 
supported the hundreds of thousands of members of the military who are 
based in Virginia and serve at more than 90 installations throughout 
his State. He has helped keep Virginia's storied shipbuilding industry 
strong, preserving jobs and sustaining communities on Virginia's 
Atlantic coast.
  In my home State of Rhode Island, on top of our State House dome is a 
statue of the Independent Man. The statue represents a spirit of 
liberty and freedom that has been cherished in Rhode Island back to the 
days of Roger Williams. Well, John Warner is Virginia's Independent 
Man. Over and over again, he has put his country first and done what he 
thought was right no matter what the politics.
  Senator Warner saw the need for a change of course in Iraq, and he 
has worked for real, urgent solutions to the threat of global warming. 
As part of the Gang of 14, he sought middle-ground answers to the 
challenging, controversial topic of judicial nominations. He refused to 
support President Reagan's nomination of Robert H. Bork to the Supreme 
Court in 1987--a principled stand with a political cost.
  In 1994, when the Virginia Republican Party endorsed Oliver North for 
the State's junior Senate seat, John Warner refused to support the 
candidacy of a man who had been convicted of a felony. He said then:

       I do not now, nor will I ever, run up my white flag and 
     surrender my fight for what I believe is in the best interest 
     of my country, my State and my party.

  His relationship with our colleague, our fellow freshman in the 
Senate, Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, is a model for the rest of the 
Senate of collegiality, enabling them together to extract from the 
difficult logjam of judicial nominations talented judges to serve 
Virginia.
  Former Virginia Governor Linwood Holton paid Senator Warner what I'd 
call the ultimate compliment around here:

       He wants to solve problems.

  We will all miss John Warner when he leaves the Senate this January. 
His hard work and independent spirit have enriched Congress for the 
past 30 years. And I count myself very fortunate to have served with 
him.
  On a personal note, I thank John Warner for his exceptional, I 
daresay even avuncular kindness to me in my first term. From the 
vantage point of 30 years' seniority, I am a mere speck in the sweep of 
his tenure here. He has served with 273 Senators, I believe, and yet he 
has made me feel so welcome. In that kindness, I am the beneficiary of 
his friendship of many years with my father, a friendship that lasted 
as long as my lifetime to date. My father was a fellow World War II 
veteran, a fellow marine, a fellow public servant, and a man who I 
remember today as I express my affection and gratitude to the 
distinguished senior Senator from Virginia.
  Reporters interviewing John Warner have noted his tendency to close 
his eyes and lean back in his chair while answering questions. It's not 
a sign of disrespect, they know, but rather a sign of deep 
concentration. I've seen him concentrating that way myself in 
deliberations behind the heavy steel doors of the Intelligence 
Committee.
  I envision sometime, when the press inquiries, staff updates, 
legislative proposals and constituent requests have slowed, that 
Senator John Warner will take a moment to close his eyes, lean back in 
that chair, and reflect on what an extraordinary career his has been. I 
hope he remembers all the good he has done and all the goodwill and 
admiration he has earned among those who have been privileged to serve 
with him. Senator Warner, I wish you, your wife Jeanne, and your family 
Godspeed and best wishes in all your future endeavors.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 
be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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