[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 155 (Wednesday, September 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6183-S6184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to David Boren

  Mr. President, I have another thing in mind. A lot of people who have 
been around in this Senate for a while remember the name of David 
Boren. David Boren is from my State of Oklahoma. He was a Senator here 
for quite some period of time. He went on to be the president of 
Oklahoma University.
  I am kind of excited about recognizing him, especially because David 
Boren and I, in 1967--before any of you guys were born--were elected to 
the State legislature in the State of Oklahoma. This is kind of funny 
because, at that time, people thought of Oklahoma as being a red State. 
Let me tell you, it wasn't a red State then. We had a House of 
Representatives of 100 people, and only 7 of us were Republicans; the 
rest were Democrats.
  The way it is set up in the House of Representatives in Oklahoma--it 
is still true today, I believe--you have two members per desk. They 
would have two Democrats at one desk, two Republicans at one desk. 
Well, it came out uneven, so the only integrated desk was ours, that of 
David Boren, who was a Democrat, and I, who was a Republican.
  It is kind of interesting also that the first thing we did--keep in 
mind, this was right after we took office in January of 1967. We came 
to Washington. We thought we were really important at that time. We 
were going to testify before a committee. That committee was called the 
Environment and Public Works Committee. I don't remember his name, but 
he was a very popular Democrat from West Virginia. He was, I think, the 
chairman of that committee.
  I remember standing up and testifying before that as a junior Senator 
from the State of Oklahoma. I really thought I was something. I will 
tell my colleagues what I was testifying about. It was right after the 
Johnson administration, and I was protesting Lady Bird's Highway 
Beautification Act of 1965--taking private property away from people 
and all that.
  It is interesting because David Boren and I were testifying before 
that committee way back in January of 1967, and I ended up chairing 
that same committee just a few years later. So that was the beginning.
  Anyway, it was kind of interesting because David Boren being a 
Democrat and myself being a Republican and coming from a very strong, 
almost entirely Democratic State, we had an individual who is the--I 
can't remember his name--he was secretary of the treasury for the State 
of Oklahoma. So we started introducing the reforms. All the reforms in 
that decade were the product of David Boren, Democrat, and Republican 
Jim Inhofe. None of them ever passed, but we introduced all of these 
things.
  So we put together a plan. We had a Governor at that time--it is not 
necessary to mention his name. He was a corrupt Governor, and he ended 
up in the penitentiary. We put together a plan of how to get him out of 
office. I would run for Governor as a Republican, I would win my 
nomination, and he would run for Governor as a Democrat, and of course 
he most likely

[[Page S6184]]

would lose--he was running against a very popular Democrat. Anyway, as 
it turned out, he won. Coming from a solid Democratic State, I can 
remember calling him up and saying: What do we do now? I think I was 
best advised to just go out of town until the campaign was over.
  Anyway, we spent time together, and we had a great time. David did a 
great job as the University of Oklahoma's president. He would actually 
teach classes. He always put students first. So he did a great job.
  I would say that it is fitting that he announced his retirement this 
year because this is his 50th year of public service, and he leaves a 
legacy of dedication and hard work and public service. His influence 
has shaped Oklahoma more than I think he ever thought he could. His 
daddy was Lyle Boren, who was a very popular Democratic House Member 
for a long period of time, and we all at that time became very close 
friends.
  I don't think there has been a man who loved Oklahoma more and served 
our State more faithfully than David Boren.
  God bless you, David Boren. Enjoy your retirement.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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