[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 125 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9123-S9124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING SENATOR LAUTENBERG

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, our colleague Frank Lautenberg has given so 
much to his country. Frank's parents settled as poor immigrants from 
Eastern Europe. If there were ever an example of someone who has come 
from the most basic circumstances to a man of wealth, a man of stature, 
it is Frank Lautenberg. He has done it all. He fought bravely in World 
War II, put himself through Columbia University with the GI Bill of 
Rights, after having earned that with his service to our country in 
World War II.
  As I have mentioned, he had great success in business. He has a mind 
that is very insightful, and he sees the big picture. He was one of the 
first to succeed in a business that now a lot of people are succeeding 
in, but he was one of the first there.
  After having done so well in the great free enterprise system, he 
decided to turn to public service, and he was elected by the State of 
New Jersey to the U.S. Senate. He left the Senate in 2000 but came back 
when the State asked him to serve again. We needed Frank Lautenberg. He 
came back, and he has served with such remarkable stature since then.
  When I first came to the Senate, I had the good fortune to serve with 
him on the Environment and Public Works Committee. His love of the 
matters within the jurisdiction of that committee is significant. He 
legislates with his heart, but it is always backed up with his 
brilliant mind. He has been chairman of the Budget Committee.
  Just weeks ago, he set the record for casting the most votes by any 
U.S. Senator in the history of the State of New Jersey. Like any great 
legislator, Senator Lautenberg is best understood not by the number of 
times he has said ``yea'' or ``nay'' but what those laws say about his 
commitment to the people of New Jersey and all Americans.
  He was a leader in establishing the threshold of drunk driving, 
saving

[[Page S9124]]

countless lives. His work has helped to clean up toxic sites in 
communities across his State and our country. It has kept our drinking 
water clean and made our buildings more energy efficient.
  The thing that I personally will always look at Frank Lautenberg for 
having done is taking care of one of my children. One of my boys was 
allergic to tobacco smoke. When we would fly across the country, they 
had those artificial barriers where you could not smoke past a line. 
But it didn't matter because the smoke went everywhere. On every trip, 
my boy was miserable; it made him sick. Because of Frank Lautenberg, 
millions of Americans are now protected from secondhand smoke. He wrote 
the law banning smoking on airplanes.
  In addition to his being such a good friend, I commend and applaud 
the people of New Jersey for sending this good man to the Senate. He is 
someone who is deserving of all the accolades being given to him. I am 
proud to have known him.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Tester). The Senator from New Jersey is 
recognized.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I wish to say briefly that we are 
incredibly proud in New Jersey that Frank Lautenberg is our Senator. It 
is not just the number of votes he cast, it is what he has stood up 
for. Senator Lautenberg has been known as standing up for New Jerseyans 
first, but he has also stood up for the Nation, millions of people, 
since he passed the ban on smoking on airlines and what he has done 
with Superfund sites and what he has done on domestic violence abusers, 
who can no longer possess a gun, which means people are alive today as 
a result of Senator Lautenberg's work in New Jersey and across the 
Nation. The landmark legislation he has participated in over his career 
in the Senate is exemplary.
  I wanted to join in the tribute because it is not just his number of 
votes, it is the type of effect he has had on the lives of people in 
New Jersey and across the country.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader for his 
kind remarks and for the leadership he has provided for all of us. I 
never dreamed I would be here this long. I had 30 years in business 
before I got to this place.
  Harry Reid mentioned twice something about wealth. The wealth I 
acquired by being in this place--by being able to say to my country 
that I have had a chance to give back for the wonderfully good fortune 
that has occurred in the lives of myself, my children, my parents--if 
they could see this. My mother was critical when I ran for the Senate. 
She expressed a little disappointment. I said, ``Mom, how can that 
be?'' She said, ``Because I thought you would be running for 
President.'' In any event, my dad would not have believed it, but he 
would have encouraged it nevertheless.
  I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for the patience 
sometimes that I exhaust on my friends, and I thank particularly my 
friend and colleague, Bob Menendez, with whom I had the pleasure of 
serving while he was in leadership in the House, and especially since 
he has been here in the Senate, with the important responsibilities we 
have.
  It is a good day, and I am glad to be back here to get on with the 
people's business. I thank you all for your patience and friendship, 
and particularly our majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, 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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