[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12703-S12704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING SENATOR PAULA HAWKINS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about the passing of 
Paula Hawkins, a former colleague of mine in the U.S. Senate and a very 
dear and close personal friend whose service to the Nation and her home 
State of Florida will endure for generations in the heads and hearts of 
her posterity, friends and legions of admirers.
  In the ranks of those who greatly admire and will dearly miss Paula, 
I stand front and center today to salute this extraordinary woman for 
her accomplishments, outstanding public service, wonderful family and 
exemplary life. As I do so, I am humbled by the magnitude of the task. 
It is not easy to find the right words to do justice to such a unique 
and choice individual.
  That said, I guess the first thing that comes to mind about Paula 
Hawkins is that, true to her Utah Mormon heritage, she was a pioneer--a 
real trailblazer who opened doors and windows of opportunity for others 
to follow.
  Long before there was a Kay Bailey Hutchison, Dianne Feinstein, 
Olympia Snowe or Maria Cantwell in the U.S. Senate, there was Paula 
Hawkins. In 1980, she became the first woman elected to that august 
body for a full term without the benefit of family connections, and she 
was the first woman from Florida to serve as a Senator.
  And to the surprise of no one who knew her, she was no shrinking 
violet in Washington once she arrived. The media may have dismissively 
billed her as that ``housewife from Maitland,'' but she quickly showed 
everyone that this was one tough homemaker who was acclimated to the 
political kitchen and could weather the heat that goes with it. I mean 
to tell you she was tough.
  Anyone who knows Paula also knows that she was always impeccably 
dressed. Indeed, her appearance was so picture-perfect that she 
probably made many a Hollywood starlet feel shabby by comparison. To 
say she was dressed to the nines is like saying Jack Nicklaus was a 
fair golfer or that Shakespeare sort of had a way with words.
  But Paula was more than a pretty face. Sure, she had perfectly 
coiffed hair and wore designer clothes and jewelry, but she had a 
razor-sharp mind to go with her smart appearance, and she quickly 
showed she was nobody's pushover. She could stand toe to toe and 
verbally slug it out with some of the most powerful and even most 
obnoxious Senators. In other words, she gave more than she got--and her 
opponents, more often than not, got more than they bargained for.
  She was a great debater, a human dynamo who brought unrivaled energy 
and unbridled enthusiasm to the Senate. She was extremely intelligent 
and tremendously interested in politics--and she was very good at it. A 
quick look at her successful Senate campaign in 1980 attests to just 
how good she was.
  By today's big-bucks standards, Paula's campaign was strictly 
bargain-basement. Fox News pundit Dick Morris, her pollster at the 
time, recalls the campaign being too cash-strapped to afford a 
teleprompter. Aides made do by writing scripts on paper towels and 
unrolling them as Paula spoke. In the end, her powers of persuasion and 
command of the facts carried the day with voters.
  After stirring voters' hearts in Florida, Paula stirred things up in 
the Nation's Capital. Change was in the wind when she blew into wintry 
Washington in January 1981. For starters, she became the first Senator 
to bring her husband to Washington, which resulted in the Senate wives' 
club being renamed the Senate spouses' club. She helped spearhead 
legislation to help widows and women divorcees get back into the job 
market. She supported efforts to improve pensions for women and make 
them more equal to that of men. She further fought to get daycare for 
the children of Senate employees. Even the all-male Senate gym was no 
sweat for Paula, who forced her fellow Senators to wear swimming suits 
so that she could swim there as well.
  To me, Paula was a ray of Florida sunshine that brightened my days 
during the years we served together in the Senate. She was a true blue 
conservative who was warm, witty and cracked wise. We shared many a 
joke and a laugh along with our commonly held moral, ethical and 
religious beliefs. And we became political allies and fast friends. In 
fact, Paula became and always remained one of my closest friends.
  Both on and off Capitol Hill, she always could be counted on through 
good times and bad. I quickly learned that her word was her bond. 
Whenever I needed help, she was always there. And

[[Page S12704]]

I certainly hope the reverse was true--that I was there whenever she 
needed help.
  Women, minorities, as well as the elderly with disabilities also 
learned they could count on Paula. She was a tireless advocate in their 
behalf--and they loved her for it. She also showed great political 
courage in 1984, when she disclosed during a hearing that she had been 
molested as a child. I am sure that horrific childhood experience, in 
part, informed her efforts to champion children's causes.
  While her legislative accomplishments are too numerous to mention 
here, I would like to make mention of one in particular. Paula 
spearheaded the Missing Children's Act of 1982, the bill that 
instituted the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Thanks 
to that landmark legislation, the names of thousands of missing 
children are now part of the FBI's national crime database.
  To secure the bill's passage, Paula personally lobbied President 
Reagan. As great a communicator as he was, the ``Great Communicator'' 
knew he had met his match in Paula and lent his support. Of course the 
President knew that Paula could always be relied on to help deliver a 
legislative win for ``the Gipper'' in the Senate--which she did many 
times.
  As a staunch conservative, she found common cause with the President 
and other conservatives, including myself, on numerous issues. She was, 
for example, an ardent anti-communist who supported the President's 
hard line against Soviet expansionism. She also despised overly big 
government--and, there is certainly a lot to despise in Washington, 
especially these days.
  Paula was an unwavering friend for those who shared her values and 
commitment, but she was an implacable foe of political corruption and 
to those who peddled illegal drugs on our streets and in our schools. 
She fought for legislation to cut foreign aid to nations that refused 
to reduce their export of harmful drugs. She further assisted in 
creating the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and 
helped initiate the South Florida Drug Task Force.
  I would be remiss if I didn't say something about Paula's stamina. 
She could endure as well as endear--often when she was in great pain. 
In 1982, she was knocked unconscious when a TV studio partition fell on 
her during an interview in Florida.
  Those of us who worked closely with her know that the years that 
followed were often filled with crippling pain. Between votes on the 
Senate floor, she would often go to a room lent to her by Senator Strom 
Thurmond in the Capitol and lie in traction in a hospital bed.
  Despite the immense pain stemming from her debilitating injury, Paula 
soldiered on during her 1986 bid for re-election. On campaign trips 
across Florida Paula would sometimes lay in the back seat moaning 
between appearances, according to Congressman John Mica, her aide at 
the time. While she lost that race to Bob Graham, it is amazing that 
she did so well and a testament to her courage and determination.
  Paula's service did not end with her Senate term. Her contributions 
to her State, community, family and church over the past 23 years have 
been truly significant. She also didn't lose her sense of humor. When a 
Florida State senator told Paula several years ago that she was trying 
to do a good job, Paula smiled, grasped her hand firmly and said 
simply: ``Try harder, dear.''
  As great a public servant she was, Paula was just as remarkable in 
her private life--as a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. 
She had a fierce love for each member of her immediate and extended 
family. And her husband Gene is no less remarkable. He is one of the 
kindest, most friendly, decent and honorable men I have ever known--and 
his love for Paula has always been uplifting to behold.
  In every aspect of their lives, they have been an exemplary couple. 
They have been just as exemplary as parents. As members of The Church 
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gene and Paula took to heart the 
Mormon teaching that families are forever. They were determined to 
ensure that every family member worked hard toward achieving the goal 
of being able to be together in the hereafter. They have a great family 
and are well on their way toward achieving that lofty goal.
  In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, we read:

       Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above 
     rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so 
     that he shall have no need of spoil . . . She stretcheth out 
     her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to 
     the needy . . . Strength and honor are her clothing; and she 
     shall rejoice in the time to come . . . She looketh well to 
     the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of 
     idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her 
     husband also, and he praiseth her . . . Favour is deceitful 
     and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she 
     shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let 
     her own works praise her in the gates (Proverbs 31:10-31).

  Today, I am honored to have the privilege of adding my voice to the 
chorus of praise for my dear friend, Paula Hawkins. I feel deeply that 
a loving Father in heaven and Jesus Christ have already embraced Paula 
and taken her into their care and treatment as one of truly great women 
who graced this Earth.
  I truly loved Paula Hawkins. We were best friends. Like Gene and the 
Hawkins' three children--Genean, Kevin and Kelly--11 grandchildren and 
10 great-grandchildren, my wife Elaine and I look forward to a joyous 
reunion one day with Paula on the other side of the veil.
  In the meantime, it is my hope that all of us here in this chamber 
will reflect on her service and follow her advice to that State 
Senator: Try Harder!

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