[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 109 (Thursday, July 22, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PAUL COVERDELL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PAUL C. BROUN

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 22, 2010

  Mr. BROUN of Georgia. Madam Speaker, it has been said that ``this man 
had the heart of a lion.'' I rise today to pay tribute to a friend and 
colleague whom this most accurate description by former Senator Phil 
Gramm is referencing . . . Paul Coverdell.
  This week marked the 10th anniversary of Senator Coverdell's passing, 
and I proudly join my colleagues in both this body and in the Senate to 
commemorate the life and achievements of one of Georgia's finest 
citizens.
  Paul Coverdell was a pioneer of the Republican party in our great 
state and, in fact, for many years, he defined it. After serving in our 
state Senate for nearly 20 years, 15 of which he was the Minority 
Leader, Paul took the reins of our struggling state party, and like a 
true member of the United States Army for which he proudly served, he 
established a beach head of conservatism in our state.
  Now, 25 years later, Republicans occupy the governor's office and 
four of the other seven statewide offices, both U.S. Senate seats, 
seven of the thirteen U.S. House seats, and represent the majority 
party for both the state House and state Senate.
  However, Paul Coverdell did not just chair our state party, he led by 
example. In 1992, Paul took on an incumbent U.S. Senator, enduring four 
close elections in less than five months, and emerged victorious. Six 
years later, Senator Coverdell won his re-election campaign and became 
the first Republican U.S. Senator from our state re-elected since 
Reconstruction.
  Known as a quiet man who worked hard behind the scenes, Senator 
Coverdell's work was not often seen or discussed on Sunday morning talk 
shows or national radio programs, but it touches millions of lives each 
day, most notably through the ``Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.'' 
In my own district, we are reminded daily of Senator Coverdell's work 
and legacy through the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and 
Health Sciences at the University of Georgia.
  His sudden passing in 2000 became one of those days for myself and 
many others where you remember where you were when you heard the news. 
Greatly admired and respected by his friends and colleagues, it is not 
surprising that more than fifty members of Congress joined over 900 
mourners to attend his funeral in Atlanta. To his wife Nancy and his 
family, I bear witness that Paul Coverdell's character was definitely 
born from ``the heart of a lion.''

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