[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 102 (Thursday, July 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7278-S7279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        COMMENDING NORM COLEMAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, it was a politician from Kentucky who 
introduced the expression ``self-made man'' into the lexicon. But even 
Henry Clay didn't follow as unlikely a path as Norm Coleman did to the 
U.S. Senate.

[[Page S7279]]

As Norm puts it, he never even knew a Republican or a Lutheran before 
he left home for college.
  Yet this middle-class son of Brooklyn became one of the best senators 
the people of Minnesota have ever known. And he has always made sure to 
give them all the credit, even when the voters would have excused him 
for taking a little credit of his own.
  Another great American politician said the U.S. Constitution was 
``the work of many heads and many hands.'' Norm's always had the same 
attitude about his own career. He is grateful for the opportunities he 
has had. He gives it everything he has. Then he is grateful when his 
efforts on behalf of others succeed, which is more often than not.
  The day he got here he was asked how it felt. He had a simple 
response. He said he was humbled by the opportunity. ``I believe that 
what I can do well, my gift,'' he said, ``is to serve people, and now I 
have this incredible opportunity to serve as a United States Senator.'' 
Six years later, on the day he conceded defeat, his first impulse was 
again to thank others. He thanked his staff for the long hours and hard 
work they had put in on his behalf. And he said he would always be 
grateful to and humbled by the people had of Minnesota who had given 
him the honor to serve, and even more grateful for the patience and 
understanding they showed over these last several months.
  It wasn't the outcome he wanted. It wasn't the outcome that his 
Republican friends and colleagues in the Senate wanted. But we couldn't 
have expected anything less from Norm Coleman than the class and 
graciousness he showed in the closing act of this phase in his career 
as a public servant.
  As I said, Norm came to be a Republican Senator from Minnesota by a 
rather unusual route. He was a campus activist in the 1960s, and a 
rather prominent one at that. After college, Norm earned a scholarship 
to the University of Iowa Law School and came to love the people and 
the place.
  From there, he went on to Minnesota to serve in the Minnesota 
Attorney General's Office. Later, he would use his talents as chief 
prosecutor for the state of Minnesota, and then as mayor of St. Paul, 
first as a Democrat and then as a Republican. In what has to go down as 
one of the more remarkable feats of bipartisanship in American 
politics, Norm has the distinction of serving as the 1996 cochairman of 
the committee to reelect Bill Clinton and 2000 State chairman for 
George W. Bush's campaign.
  As a big-city mayor, Norm didn't disappoint. He showed a real knack 
for bringing business and government together. He led a downtown 
revitalization effort, created thousands of jobs, brought the National 
Hockey League to St. Paul and fought to keep taxes low. He left office 
with a 74 percent approval rating, after two terms that a local 
magazine called ``by almost any measure . . . an unqualified success.''
  In 2002, Norm was still thinking about how he could serve on the 
State level when he got a call from the President asking him if he 
would run for the Senate. He accepted the challenge and then he fought 
a tough and principled campaign against our late beloved colleague Paul 
Wellstone before Paul's tragic death shortly before the end of that 
tumultuous campaign. Norm grieved with the rest of Minnesota at Paul's 
passing, defeated his replacement in the race, and was sworn in 2 
months later as Laurie, their children, Jake and Sarah, and Norm's 
parents, Beverly and Norman, looked on. Laurie summed up the day like 
this: ``It's incredible to think that he has this opportunity.''
  Norm didn't waste a day. An instant hit at Republican events across 
the country, he kept up the same torrid pace in the Senate he had set 
in his come-from-behind win the previous November. He pushed 
legislation that benefited Minnesotans and all Americans, and he never 
let up.
  Norm spoke the other day about some of his accomplishments here. He 
mentioned a few areas in particular, including U.N. oversight, working 
with Minnesota farmers, and his work on energy independence. But he 
said his best ideas came from the people of Minnesota.
  He was being humble. In a single term, Norm put together a remarkable 
record of results. On energy and conservation, he played a key role in 
establishing the renewable fuels standard. He helped pass an extension 
of the tax credits for wind, biomass, and other renewable fuels. He 
secured loan guarantees and tax incentives for clean coal power; 
protected fish populations; and supported conservation programs to 
protect Minnesota's lakes, rivers, and woodlands.
  He led major anticorruption efforts, including a groundbreaking 
exposure of fraud at the U.N. He exposed more than a billion dollars in 
wasteful Medicare spending and uncovered serial tax evasion by defense 
contractors. Norm was also instrumental in passing the Conquer 
Childhood Cancer Act which increased funding for childhood cancer 
research.
  The proud son of a World War II veteran, Norm has been a true friend 
to all veterans. The first piece of legislation he introduced was a 
bill requiring the Pentagon to cover the travel expenses of troops 
heading home from service abroad. Norm worked on a bipartisan basis to 
establish the first-ever national reintegration program for returning 
troops. And he worked hard, in the early years after 9/11, to 
strengthen homeland security.
  Norm Coleman's service in the Senate has been marked by the same high 
level of distinction that has marked everything else he has done in 
three decades of public service. Today we honor our colleague and 
friend for that long career that we hope is far from over. And we 
punctuate an incredibly hard fought campaign that some people thought 
might never end.
  In the end, it didn't turn out the way many of us had hoped it would. 
But none of us were surprised by the graciousness with which Norm 
Coleman accepted the verdict, and all of us can celebrate the 6 years 
of dedicated service he gave to the people of Minnesota.
  After another setback some years back, Norm Coleman said that real 
defeat isn't getting knocked down. It is not getting back up. And I 
have no doubt that this is not the last we will hear from Norm Coleman. 
He already has a legacy to be proud of. But it is a legacy that is 
still very much in the works. More chapters will be written. And they 
will bear the same strong hand and commitment to people and principle 
that he has shown in every other endeavor of a long and distinguished 
career.
  In private conversation Senator Coleman often talks about resting on 
the truths of his faith. It is an untold Washington story--the glue of 
faith that holds this city together. So as I say goodbye to Senator 
Coleman, I would like to do so with words from the Torah that he knows 
well:

       The Lord bless you. and keep you; The Lord make His face 
     shine on you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His 
     countenance upon you, And give you peace.

  And on behalf of the entire Senate family, I want to thank Norm for 
his service. We will miss him.
  I yield the floor.

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