[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 122 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S8975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        COMMENDING RICHARD BAKER

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about a man who has 
been serving the U.S. Senate for almost 35 years. Now that is how I and 
many other Senators may begin remarks about a colleague who is 
retiring. My remarks today are indeed about a colleague but not about a 
fellow Senator. These remarks are about Senate Historian Richard Baker, 
an important member of the Senate community who has made the Senate a 
better institution during his tenure.
  Remarkably, until 1975 the U.S. Senate did not have a Historical 
Office charged with preserving the institutional memory of this great 
body. Dick Baker is the original and only Director and the Chief 
Historian for the past 34 years. Under his leadership, the Historical 
Office of the Senate has worked to recover, catalogue and preserve the 
history of the Senate.
  Building this office from the ground up required Dick Baker and his 
team to collect and maintain records on current and former Senators, 
record oral histories, document important precedents, statistics and 
Senate activities. And as a photographer I must point out that this 
work included the cataloging and preservation of a huge trove of 
Senate-related photographs.
  From the beginning, Dick Baker knew his responsibility at the 
Historical Office was not only to preserve the history of the Senate 
but to make it more accessible. That included providing access to 
records for members, staff, media and scholarly researchers. He exposed 
more of the Senate and its rich history to the general public through 
exhibits in the office buildings, presenting materials via the Web and 
working with C-SPAN to incorporate Senate history into its programming. 
And as an author, Dick Baker disseminated information with his 
publications on Senate history, including a biography of the former 
Senator from New Mexico, Clinton P. Anderson.
  His greatest impact on me, however, and I believe the Senate as a 
whole, has been his placing of our work here in proper context. Most 
Senators and I look forward to the historical ``minutes'' that he 
presents at the opening of many of our caucus lunches. He has also been 
accessible to me and other Senators in providing presentations of the 
Senate history at many different venues. My staff and I thoroughly 
enjoyed a presentation he provided to us on the history of the Vermont 
Senate delegation. His alacrity and care for describing Senate history 
has reminded all of us about the significance of our work here.
  As much as visitors feel the weight of history when they enter this 
building, it is no less important for those of us who represent them to 
be well aware of the 200-year history of the Senate. It is important to 
remember that although great men and women preceded us, and even 
greater ones will undoubtedly follow, our words and actions will 
continue to echo through these halls long after we are gone. Dick has 
reminded us of that regularly, and for that we thank him and wish him 
well.

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