[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 9 (Monday, January 25, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S186-S187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER CASTS HIS 10,000TH VOTE

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise tonight to speak of my colleague, 
Senator Arlen Specter, who tonight cast his 10,000th vote as a Member 
of the Senate. We watched history tonight. Sometimes we have a chance 
to witness history. Of course, we look forward to his many more votes, 
but we also look behind us at some of his own personal political 
history as well his service here in the Senate.
  I will offer a few remarks tonight about his service. I can say, 
after knowing him for many years, and especially after serving with him 
for now more than 3 years, if you go down that list of votes--all those 
rollcall votes over many years, serving the people of Pennsylvania--he 
has had one priority with those votes: Those votes were cast on behalf 
of the people of Pennsylvania.
  He has always been an independent voice for the people of our State. 
He has fought a lot of battles for the people of Pennsylvania. I know 
the people of our Commonwealth are proud of his service.
  His public service began after he became a lawyer. He went to the 
University of Pennsylvania, and then to Yale Law School, and then 
eventually he joined the District Attorney's Office in Philadelphia. He 
rose through that office and became the District Attorney of 
Philadelphia. He was elected twice to that office and served 8 years.
  He was elected to the Senate in 1980 and was reelected four times 
after that. He was reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004. So he has 
performed those years of service as a Senator. Of course, it is more 
than about years and about votes. It certainly is about the substance 
of those votes, fighting those battles, such as on behalf of the 
veterans of Pennsylvania.
  We have had a million or more veterans, for many years, in our State. 
Those who fought our wars, those who worked in our factories, those who 
went on to build Pennsylvania gave their first measure of devotion to 
the country fighting on battlefields. He has always fought for them. He 
chaired the Veterans' Affairs Committee here in the Senate. He 
continues those battles on behalf of the veterans of Pennsylvania.
  On health care, we could talk for a long time about the battles he 
has fought over and over again; not only the battles he fought in the 
last year or two as the issue was being debated in the Senate, but 
especially the battles he fought over many years, battles on behalf of 
children and women, battles for health care for the vulnerable, those 
who were poor and may not have a strong advocate other than their 
Senators or Members of Congress. So he has fought battles on health 
care.
  You could isolate a lot of different issues under that general 
heading, but one that comes to mind for me is the National Institutes 
of Health. No one I know of in the Senate has fought more battles for 
the National Institutes of Health and all of the research that comes 
from the great work done there, and all the cures, all the ways people 
are saved because of that research at NIH.
  He has fought battles on job creation, not only to preserve and 
protect and create more jobs at a time of recession--such as the 
horrific recession we have been living through and our workers and 
families have been suffering through--but battles over many years, 
battles to protect the rights of workers to organize and collectively 
bargain, battles to make sure jobs are kept in Pennsylvania instead of 
going overseas or somewhere else. He has fought those battles to 
protect our workers and our jobs.
  He has fought battles on national defense, making sure we are doing 
everything possible to keep the people of our Commonwealth and our 
country safe from foreign enemies, safe from terrorists, and safe from 
those who seek to do us harm. Over many years, Arlen Specter has cast 
those votes as well, keeping us safe and keeping us strong.
  His independence is something that is critically important to any 
State, but especially a State such as Pennsylvania. We have a State of 
over 12 million people. We have a lot of different regions in our 
State, a lot of different constituencies, and a lot of different 
challenges all across the State.
  What the people of Pennsylvania expect their Senators to do is to try 
their best to fight their battles, to try to remain an independent 
voice for them, not for some special interests in Washington. Arlen 
Specter has done that for years, being that strong, consistent, 
independent voice for the people of our State.
  He has had a strong sense of justice from the time he was a young 
lawyer, through his service as a prosecutor making sure our streets 
were safe in Philadelphia, and through what he has done here in the 
Senate, fighting battles for justice every day in his service in the 
Senate.
  Finally, in a very broad sense, but a very important sense, not only 
when times are tough, as they are now economically, but even when times 
seem good, even when the budgets are better and people do not seem to 
be as concerned about what the Federal Government can do to help them 
through a difficult period--even in those times of prosperity, he has 
always fought for our workers and our families.
  It is very easy for me to stand here, as someone who has watched him 
over the years in his service in this Senate--and I know as someone who 
has served with him for more than 3 years--it is very easy for me to 
say, without any effort at all, that those 10,000 votes he has cast 
have been votes on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania, and I believe 
for the best interests of the people of the United States of America.
  I commend Arlen on that tremendous vote total. I commend him also for 
his public service, his enduring public service for the people of 
Pennsylvania. I also commend his wife Joan and his family who I know 
have supported him for many years to make sure he could help us serve 
the people of Pennsylvania.
  Congratulations, Arlen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.

[[Page S187]]

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I thank my distinguished colleague 
Senator Casey for those very generous remarks. He and I have worked 
together for the past 3 years plus, but beyond that we have worked 
during his tenure as a statewide officeholder, as Auditor General and 
Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
  I have not only worked with Robert Casey, Jr., but I have worked with 
Robert Casey, Sr., his distinguished father who was Governor of the 
State.
  While we were waiting for the train to arrive--this is an unusual 
evening in the Senate because the Acela was late, and it had a number 
of Senators coming from New York and points north. The train was about 
an hour late, so the vote was kept open for their arrival, and we had a 
chance to reminisce about some of our experiences in the past, such as 
when I first met his father, who was a young State senator and a 
candidate for Governor, when I was District Attorney of Philadelphia, 
and reminiscing about the controversial report his father, as Auditor 
General, made in 1970 on welfare problems, and it was very 
controversial. Although we were of different parties at that time, I 
backed up Auditor General Casey because I was the DA and I knew he was 
right. When his father was Governor, I was a frequent recipient of 
calls on the need for some assistance for Pennsylvania, and the answer 
was always yes.
  I am delighted to be his colleague in the Senate, and I thank him for 
those remarks.
  While waiting for the past hour, I have been reflecting on the 10,000 
votes I have cast. I said to Senator Casey, it gave me a unique time 
where I had nothing else to do except to wait for some Senators to 
arrive on the late train to vote, and I made some notes about those 
reflections.
  Senator Menendez arrived on the train and has some comments to make, 
and I told him I would yield to him. When he has finished his 
statement, in the absence of any other Senator seeking recognition, I 
intend to reflect on those 10,000 votes. So I say to people who think 
C-SPAN is about to go off, if you are interested, wait.
  I again thank Senator Casey and defer to my colleague, the 
distinguished Senator from New Jersey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, let me first of all thank my 
distinguished colleague from Pennsylvania for yielding before he 
reflects on the history of his 10,000 votes. I am sure there are many 
of great consequence he cast that he is going to reflect upon.
  I want to echo my colleague from Pennsylvania as well, Senator 
Casey's comments about Senator Specter. I will only focus on two points 
of the many he mentioned. One is the National Institutes of Health. The 
reality is, Arlen Specter's advocacy and passion--partly from his own 
personal experience when he has had to overcome some of his own 
personal health challenges--has given him a real understanding of what 
the National Institutes of Health is all about and what it means. His 
advocacy and work there has made a huge difference in the lives of 
literally millions of people across this country based on the research 
that is done there that ultimately can save a life or can enhance a 
life. That is a legacy that any one of us in the United States would 
want to give.
  Secondly, the other thing I respect about Senator Specter is that 
when he has had to cross the aisle in order to make sure he has stood 
on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania and in the Nation's best 
interests, he has done that. Nowadays, that is a lot more difficult to 
find. Senator Specter has a history of crossing the aisle when it is 
necessary on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania to stand by their 
side. That did not impede him from moving to whomever he could with 
whomever he could in this body and with administrations, both present 
and past, in order to achieve those goals. I salute him in that 
respect.
  I appreciate Senator Specter letting me have a few minutes on an 
incredibly important issue.

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