[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 162 (Thursday, December 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8686-S8688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RETIRING SENATORS


                               Chris Dodd

  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, in these closing weeks of the 111th 
Congress, the Senate will be saying goodbye to a number of retiring 
colleagues. But, for my part, I will miss them all, but I have to be 
honest, the most poignant farewell will be to my dear friend, Senator 
Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
  Chris and I have much in common. We are both proud of our Irish 
roots. We were both elected to the House of Representatives at the same 
time, in the famous post-Watergate election of 1974. Chris moved over 
here to the Senate in 1980, and I followed 4 years later. We both ran 
for President--with similarly unambiguous results. Over the years, we 
have collaborated on many legislative initiatives, including, most 
recently, the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act--the 
health reform bill.
  As we all know, Chris Dodd is almost literally a son of the Senate. 
With good reason, he is enormously proud of his father, Thomas J. Dodd, 
who was a lead prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials and served two terms 
in the Senate, from 1959 to 1971. Chris worked as a Senate page at age 
16, and was elected to the Senate at age 36. For three decades, Chris 
has embodied everything that is good about this body: a passion for 
public service, a sincere desire to reach out across the aisle, a great 
talent for forging coalitions and bringing people together, and a 
willingness to work extraordinarily long hours in order to accomplish 
big and important things.
  Over the decades, Senator Dodd has been a leading champion of working 
Americans, fighting for safer workplaces, the right to organize, 
stronger public schools, better access to higher education, and, of 
course, quality health care as a right not a privilege. He was the 
author of 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which for the first time 
entitled every American to have leave from their job to take care of 
children or elderly relatives.
  Make no mistake, Senator Dodd is leaving the Senate at the very top 
of his game. Last year, when Senator Kennedy fell ill, Chris picked up 
the torch of health care reform. When I became chair of the Health, 
Education, and Labor Committee, I asked him to continue to take the 
lead in forging the final bill, which he had led so expertly on before, 
and which will go down in history as one of America's great progressive 
accomplishments, on a par with Social Security and Medicare.
  Even before final passage of health reform, Senator Dodd, as chair of 
the Banking Committee, was hard at work crafting yet another historic 
bill: the most sweeping reform of Wall Street and the banking industry 
since the Great Depression.
  To be sure, other Senators played important roles in passing health 
reform and Wall Street reform. But it was Senator Dodd's dogged work 
and virtuoso skills as a legislator that ultimately won the day. These 
two landmark laws are a tremendous living legacy to the senior Senator 
from Connecticut. He has made his mark as one of the great reformers in 
the history of the U.S. Senate.
  Chris Dodd has accomplished many things during his three decades in 
this body. But, in my book, the highest accolade is simply that Chris 
Dodd is a good, generous and decent person, with a passion for fairness 
and social justice.

  For me, it has been a great honor to be his friend and colleague for 
the last 36 years. Our friendship, of course, will continue. But I will 
miss the day-to-day association with Chris here on the floor, in 
committee, and elsewhere here on the Hill.
  Paul Wellstone used to say that ``the future belongs to those with 
passion.'' By that definition, our friend Chris Dodd has a wonderful 
future ahead of him. No question he is full of passion, passion for 
doing what is right for the people of this country. But no question, 
the Senate is losing a giant--one of our most accomplished and 
respected members. We are also losing a happy warrior in the mold of 
FDR and Hubert Humphrey. As the columnist E.J. Dionne has written, 
``The happiness quotient in the Senate will definitely drop when 
[Senator] Dodd leaves.'' I couldn't agree more.
  For 36 years in Congress, Chris Dodd has faithfully served the people 
of Connecticut and the people of the United States. And there is no 
doubt that he will pursue new avenues of public service in retirement.
  As I said, I will miss his friendship and counsel here in the Senate. 
But I wish Chris, his wonderful wife Jackie, and their wonderful young 
children, Grace and Christina, the very best in the years ahead.


                              ted kaufman

  Madam President, when our colleague Ted Kaufman, who is leaving, was 
sworn in as Senator in January 2009 to succeed the newly elected Vice 
President, Senator Joe Biden, he made it clear that he would not run 
for election in 2010. He noted that he had not

[[Page S8687]]

raised money to become a Senator and would not raise money to be 
elected 2 years later. He would be a free man, beholden to no special 
interest, determined to do only what is right for the people of 
Delaware and the United States.
  Senator Kaufman has made good on that pledge. He may no longer be a 
Member of the Senate since the swearing in of the new Senator from 
Delaware, Mr. Coons, but in just 2 years in the Senate, he left his 
mark--both legislatively and in the esteem of Senators on both sides of 
the aisle.
  Of course, it should come as no surprise that Ted Kaufman excelled in 
this body, and had influence and clout far beyond what is typical for a 
reshman Senator whose tenure was only going to be 2 years. After all, 
he came to this body with a distinguished and diverse background in 
government, business, and the academy. He holds a degree in mechanical 
engineering from Duke, which led to a job with DuPont chemical company. 
He went on to earn an M.B.A. from the Wharton School and taught at Duke 
University's schools of law and business. And, of course, as we all 
knew Ted before, he served for 20 years on the staff of Senator Joe 
Biden, most of that time as chief of staff.
  Like most Senators, I have enormous respect for the role of the 
Senate's professional staff members. In fact, we often joke that 
Senators are ``a constitutional impediment to the smooth functioning of 
staff.''
  In Senator Ted Kaufman, we saw the best of both worlds, combining the 
expertise and competence of a veteran staffer with the leadership and 
political skills of a first-rate Senator. This made Senator Kaufman a 
formidable presence in this body for the last 2 years.
  No question, Senator Kaufman's influence was felt most impressively 
in the effort to reform Wall Street in the wake of the financial 
meltdown of 2008.
  Soon after becoming Senator, he cosponsored, along with Senator Leahy 
and Senator Grassley, a bill to give Federal prosecutors more effective 
tools for rooting out financial fraud. President Obama signed that bill 
into law in May of last year.
  And when the Senate undertook the sweeping reform of the financial 
system earlier this year, Senator Kaufman quickly stepped forward as 
one of the toughest critics of Wall Street, giving speech after speech 
here on the floor proposing and demanding fundamental changes in 
America's broken financial system.
  I listened with particular interest to his explanations and 
criticisms of high-frequency trading and other opaque trading practices 
of hedge funds and big Wall Street firms.
  I was proud to cosponsor the SAFE Banking Act, cosponsored by Senator 
Kaufman and Senator Brown.
  This legislation would have dramatically reduced the size and 
concentration of the largest financial institutions, thereby making our 
financial system safer. I was disappointed this proposal was not 
included in the financial bill. But getting 33 votes for this ambitious 
measure was no small feat, and, no question, Senator Kaufman's tireless 
efforts helped to rally support in the Senate for reforming our 
financial institutions. Thanks in no small measure to Senator Kaufman's 
expertise and relentless advocacy, the worst aspects of Wall Street's 
casino capitalism have been eliminated, and our financial system is 
better able to allocate capital to areas of the economy that need it 
the most.
  So the junior Senator from Delaware was true to his word. For the 
last 2 years, he was a Senator's Senator, giving his all, beholden to 
no interest, serving the people of Delaware and the United States with 
competence, character, courage, and, I might add, with rock-solid 
integrity.
  I have valued Ted Kaufman's friendship and counsel here in the 
Senate, as I said, going back for nearly 20 years. I look forward to 
continuing that relationship now that he has departed from this body. 
So I join with the entire Senate family in wishing Ted and Lynne much 
happiness and success in the years ahead.


                            George Voinovich

  With the close of the 111th Congress, the Senate will lose to 
retirement again one of our most seasoned and respected Members on the 
other side of the aisle, Senator George Voinovich of Ohio.
  Senator Voinovich and I have much in common. We are both proud 
midwesterners. But here is what we really have in common: My mother 
immigrated to America from what is now Slovenia, the nation of 
Slovenia, and George's mother was a first-generation American of 
Slovenia descent. Both of us were--and I think we are the only two 
Senators ever--awarded the Golden Order of Merit by the Republic of 
Slovenia, in part for our efforts to assist Slovenia in its campaign to 
rid the world of landmines and to assist the victims of landmines. We 
both care very deeply about the success of democracy in Slovenia, a 
very small nation that has set a powerful example of political 
stability, economic reform, true democracy, and ethnic inclusiveness in 
the Balkans.
  For nearly 4\1/2\ decades, George Voinovich has devoted himself to 
public service at just about every level of government--quite amazing--
as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, Cuyahoga County 
commissioner, Mayor of Cleveland, Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Governor 
of Ohio, and, for the last 12 years, U.S. Senator from the State of 
Ohio. Across those 44 years of service, he has been respected for his 
independence, his pragmatism, and his insistence on putting ideology 
and partisanship aside in order to accomplish important things for 
ordinary working Americans.
  Another constant in the career of George Voinovich has been his 
insistence on fiscal discipline and his willingness to advance 
creative, tough-minded, nonideological approaches to help government 
live within its means. As mayor of Cleveland, he took a municipality 
that had recently declared bankruptcy and turned it around to become a 
three-time All-American City winner. As Governor, he returned the State 
budget to balance despite a bad economy. And for the last 12 years, he 
has been one of the Senate's leading champions of fiscal conservatism. 
By that, I mean true fiscal conservatism, which means a willingness 
both to cut spending and to raise revenues as necessary in order to 
bring down deficits and balance the books. On that score, on matters of 
taxing and spending, Senator Voinovich had the courage to break ranks 
with his own party on many occasions.
  Our colleague Senator Voinovich has many accomplishments in this 
body. I do not have time to mention them all, but I know he is 
particularly proud of his work as chair and, most recently, ranking 
member of the Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee of the 
Committee on Environment and Public Works, wherein he played a key role 
in passing the National Energy Security Act of 2009, which is helping 
our Nation to lessen its dependance on imported petroleum.
  He is also deservedly proud of his long leadership in the fight to 
preserve and protect Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes--a cause that 
has been a constant throughout his career in public service. Here in 
the Senate, he has been a cochair of the Great Lakes Task Force, and he 
introduced a bill that, when signed into law in 2008 by President Bush, 
ratified the Great Lakes Compact to protect these national treasures 
through better water management and conservation--a singular 
accomplishment by Senator Voinovich of Ohio.
  Senator Voinovich has achieved much during his distinguished career 
in public service. I could use any number of superlatives to describe 
his character and work: sterling character, an honest individual, 
someone who, when he gave you his word, gave you his word. To Senator 
Voinovich, a handshake was a handshake. It was a commitment, and he 
would never go back. But in my book, the highest accolade is simply 
that George Voinovich is a generous, sincere, decent person, dedicated 
to public service, always determined to do the right thing for the 
people of Ohio and the entire United States, a man lacking in 
ideological rigor but still a person dedicated to true conservative 
causes he has championed all his life.
  It has been a great honor to be his friend and colleague for these 
last years. Our friendship, of course, will continue. I wish George and 
Janet the very best in the years ahead.

[[Page S8688]]

                               Judd Gregg

  I know others are here. If I can indulge them just for a few more 
minutes, I would like to make one more speech in praise of another 
colleague who is retiring, again on the other side of the aisle, and 
who is a good friend and someone for whom I have had not only great 
friendship but great respect, and I have served with him a lot on our 
committees--Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.
  Senator Gregg can be a very effective and persuasive partisan for the 
conservative causes he holds dear. He also has a strong New Hampshire 
independent streak and is willing to buck his party when he thinks it 
is wrong--for example, when he voted against President Bush's Medicare 
prescription drug benefit bill because it was unpaid for and would add 
hundreds of billions of dollars to the debt. Indeed, as ranking member 
and former chair of the Budget Committee, Senator Gregg has been one of 
the Senate's leading champions of fiscal discipline.
  I especially admire Senator Gregg's capacity for reaching across the 
aisle, building bridges, and getting important work done. On that 
score, he has represented New Hampshire and the United States at his 
very best. This quality has made him a standout member of the Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which I chair. He forged a 
very productive working relationship with my predecessor as chair, 
Senator Ted Kennedy. For example, he played a key role with Senator 
Kennedy in crafting the bipartisan No Child Left Behind Act, and a few 
years later, I was proud to work with both of those New England 
Senators again--especially Senator Gregg--to reauthorize and improve 
the Americans with Disabilities Education Act.
  In 2008, Senator Gregg was a key leader in crafting and forging 
bipartisan support for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Many 
have criticized the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, but facts are 
facts: TARP prevented a total meltdown of our financial system. And 
almost the entire $700 billion taxpayer investment has been or soon 
will be paid back to the U.S. Treasury. In fact, just this week, the 
Treasury booked a $12 billion profit on its previous $45 billion 
investment in Citigroup.
  This year, Senator Gregg has played a key role on the HELP Committee 
in bringing together Senators from both parties to advance food safety 
legislation. Frankly, there were many times when sharp policy 
disagreements threatened the survival of that bill. But at every turn, 
Senator Gregg played a constructive role in working through the 
options, crafting bipartisan compromises, and keeping the legislation 
on track to passage. I have nothing but admiration and gratitude to 
Senator Gregg for his leadership on the food safety bill, which, as you 
know, passed the Senate, and because of a little glitch, the House had 
to return it, and it is coming back to us on the continuing resolution 
bill. We will put it on our omnibus bill and send it back to the House. 
I do not think there is any doubt that this will be signed into law by 
the President this year.

  That is the first modernization of our Food and Drug Administration 
inspection systems in 70 years--70 years. Again, I wish to publicly 
thank Senator Gregg for hanging in there over several years' period of 
time to make sure we kept it on track from one Congress to another, 
from one Congress to another, up and down, but we finally got it done. 
As I just said, I have the utmost admiration and gratitude to Senator 
Gregg for hanging in there and making sure we got the job done.
  As many of our colleagues will remember, several years ago, Senator 
Gregg bought a $20 Powerball lottery ticket and won $850,000. Again, we 
all want to go up and touch him and see if it will rub off on us a 
little bit. To this day, Senator Gregg is the only person I have ever 
known who won a Powerball lottery ticket. Well, as we have often said, 
that was Judd Gregg's personal good fortune, but it has been our good 
fortune to have a Senator of his high caliber and character in this 
body for the last 18 years. During that time, I have placed great store 
by his friendship and his counsel. Of course, that relationship and 
friendship will continue, but I am sorry we are going to miss him here 
in the Senate.
  I join with the entire Senate family in wishing Judd and Kathleen the 
very best in the years ahead.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, may I first say how proud and 
privileged I feel to have been on the floor during the distinguished 
speeches of the senior Senator from Iowa on behalf of his friends and 
colleagues, many of decades' duration. I am still in my first term 
here. I know I still have a lot to learn, but one thing I have learned 
is that this place operates on friendship and that the friendships here 
are special ones, forged in cooperation, tempered in combat, and 
sustained in mutual respect. The Senator's eloquent words about our 
colleagues are a great testament to that fine characteristic of this 
body. So I felt very touched and pleased to be here.

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