[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 154 (Monday, December 15, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6829-S6830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute To Jay Rockefeller

  With respect to Senator Rockefeller, one of the challenges right now 
for some of us is to get our arms around the idea that Senator 
Rockefeller will no longer be serving in the Senate. This is a 
challenge for me especially because I remember watching Senator 
Rockefeller's work years before I had entered public life.
  Right after I got out of law school, we started the Oregon Gray 
Panthers. I had a full head of hair and rugged good looks. We were 
passing around petitions for the wonderful work Senator Rockefeller was 
doing on behalf of the elderly. He was in the vanguard even then in the 
health care field. I know the Presiding Officer from the State of 
Wisconsin has been very interested in this--in ensuring that there are 
more options for older people, particularly in the long-term care 
setting.
  We were passing petitions around--the Gray Panthers back in those 
days--urging that Americans and the Senate all rally to Senator 
Rockefeller's work to ensure that there were more alternatives to 
nursing home care. It was just the beginning of the effort to create 
more options for home care for seniors. Now it is an idea we pretty 
much accept as gospel. But Senator Rockefeller, as has been the case, 
was way ahead of his time. That is really the time when I began to 
really be a charter member of what I guess I will call the Rockefeller 
grassroots delegation that was sweeping the country for health care 
reform.
  As the Presiding Officer and our colleagues know, Senator 
Rockefeller's accomplishments in a number of fields have been 
exceptional. They span a host of issues, from cyber security to 
reducing violence on television to improving our transportation system 
and, of course, we have all seen his leadership in reining in some of 
the excesses of the CIA. He is a very strong supporter of the rank and 
file--the thousands of individuals who work in the intelligence field 
who are as patriotic as it is possible to be and do wonderful work to 
protect our people. Senator Rockefeller has said that as they do that 
work, they are stronger when there is vigorous congressional oversight, 
and we are very grateful for his work. I have sat next to him on the 
Intelligence Committee for many years and have watched his leadership 
there.
  Today, though, as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, I wish to 
focus in particular on Senator Rockefeller's work on that committee. I 
will start by noting that his service on the Finance Committee is 
really a family legacy. His great grandfather, Nelson Aldrich, the 
Senator from Rhode Island, not only served on the Finance Committee but 
is often described as one of the committee's most distinguished chairs. 
On the committee Senator Rockefeller has exercised similar influence.

  Jay Rockefeller has served on the Senate Finance Committee for 28 
years--longer than all but 11 other Senators--and his tireless work on 
the committee has had a profound and positive impact. He has been a 
leader on maintaining a strong U.S. trade policy, while thinking 
creatively about Asia long before it became cool. He also has been a 
great advocate for fairness in the tax system--something I know many of 
us consider a special priority at this time.
  Senator Rockefeller has paid special attention to programs such as 
the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, including the health coverage 
tax credit, the earned-income tax credit, and the child tax credit. 
That was drawn from recommendations of the National Commission on 
Children which Senator Rockefeller, as is the case so often, ably 
chaired.
  So I wish to speak about the common denominator in these kinds of 
efforts. It is really pretty direct because it captures Jay 
Rockefeller's approach to public service and to life: Reach out to 
those who don't have power and clout, those who don't have a lot of 
political influence and political action committees, and lend a hand. 
Make the difference. Particularly for millions of Americans to whom Jay 
Rockefeller gave voice, now they have an opportunity--millions of men, 
women, and children--to enjoy better lives and a more secure future 
because of Jay Rockefeller's strong moral compass.
  Now, as I touched on at the beginning of my comments, my first 
experience in watching Jay Rockefeller--I am of the view that health 
care is the area where Senator Rockefeller's legacy is going to be 
especially important. In a sense, Jay Rockefeller always captured the 
notion that if you and your loved ones don't have their health, it is 
pretty hard to do anything else. In other words, if you aren't feeling 
well, if you are facing a chronic illness, how do you jump up and enjoy 
the wonderful outdoors of Oregon, Wisconsin, and West Virginia? So Jay 
Rockefeller always said that health care was a special priority for 
him, and we see it in a whole host of accomplishments.
  Jay Rockefeller has been a leader in the fight against Alzheimer's 
and other neurological conditions. He was a powerful and persistent 
voice, particularly in advocating for low-income Americans in the 
Affordable Care Act. I am especially pleased to note that Senator 
Rockefeller, along with my colleague and partner on the Finance 
Committee Senator Hatch, really played the key role in creating the 
Children's Health Insurance Program. This is a program I hope not only 
will be extended but also strengthened in the next Congress. As many 
Members of this body know, Jay Rockefeller's work to protect and expand 
Medicaid is without equal.
  Over the past half century, we can count on one hand the Senators who 
have done an extraordinary amount to improve the health care of 
America, and when we look at that handful of Senators, Jay Rockefeller 
is right at the top.
  I started with a personal comment about Jay Rockefeller, and I wish 
to end with one. When Chairman Baucus chose to take the Ambassador 
position in China, where he is doing a fine job, Jay Rockefeller was 
next in line to replace Chairman Baucus. Make no mistake about it, Jay 
Rockefeller would have been an outstanding chairman of the Senate 
Finance Committee. But his decision to decline that opportunity and to 
continue his work on the Senate commerce committee allowed me to accept 
the position as the chairman of the Finance Committee and the 
responsibility that has gone along with it. That kind of approach was 
really characteristic of Jay Rockefeller--not wanting to push himself 
out front. As I have indicated, I told him I think he would have been a 
superb chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. But I wish to note on 
the personal side, as I started on the personal side, my thanks to Jay 
Rockefeller.
  So I close simply by saying that now, as the chairman of the Finance 
Committee and in the years ahead, my goal--when we take up issues such 
as health care, tax fairness, and a trade policy that lets us tap 
global markets but works for the middle class worker--and I think it is 
the goal of other members of the Senate Finance Committee--it is our 
goal in the days ahead

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to live up to the high standard that Senator Jay Rockefeller has set.
  With that, I yield the floor on my remarks about Senator Rockefeller.