[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 113 (Monday, July 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4686-S4688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Remembering Howell Heflin and Giles Perkins

  Mr. JONES. Madam President, I rise to honor two of Alabama's great 
citizens. The State misses greatly the late Senator Howell Heflin, who 
was a Member of this body for 18 years, and my friend and campaign 
manager, Giles Perkins, who was a lawyer in Birmingham, AL. These two 
men spent their lives working to improve our great State, and both 
shaped the future of Alabama in his own way. Following these remarks, 
we are going to be honoring both of these men in a reception to be held 
in my office.
  I last spoke on the floor of my friend and former campaign manager, 
Giles Perkins, following his death last December. Giles was an 
accomplished attorney, community leader, brilliant political adviser, 
and strategist. Although a native of Texas, he moved to Alabama 
following his marriage to his true love, Hillery Head, and he quickly 
came to understand how Alabama's complicated and sometimes dark history 
shaped our State. He had the vision of a brighter future if all 
Alabamians could have just simply worked together to create one Alabama 
for everyone.

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  Whether in politics, his legal practice, or with regard to his 
remarkable community projects--most notably Railroad Park, which helped 
to transform the city of Birmingham--for anyone who crossed paths with 
Giles, one saw in him his passion for making Alabama and the entire 
South better places for us all.
  Giles' last political effort was my 2017 Senate campaign. As campaign 
chair, he was nothing short of extraordinary. He challenged me 
constantly--so much so that I began calling him Yoda. I still often 
refer to him as Yoda. His ability to see the bigger picture and his 
``tough love'' approach with me made me a much better candidate, a 
better person, and certainly a better U.S. Senator. I will always 
cherish his friendship.
  Howell Heflin was, to say the least, a lion of the U.S. Senate and a 
political mentor of mine. A military hero who hailed from Tuscumbia, 
AL, Judge Howell Heflin was sometimes described as the ``conscience of 
the Senate'' as he was widely known for his unshakable integrity. 
Because of that, he was the chair of the Ethics Committee, I think, for 
12 years running--something that, in his final remarks, he described as 
anything but enjoyable, but he was a man of unshakable integrity. He 
was part of the ``greatest generation.'' He became a marine at the age 
of 21, and he served the Nation during World War II. He was awarded the 
Silver Star for valor in combat, and he received two Purple Hearts for 
his actions.
  Even by Members of this body, Howell Heflin was always affectionately 
referred to as ``Judge.'' If you read back over the day he announced 
his retirement, which was on March 29, 1995, all of his colleagues 
referred to him as ``Judge'' because of his extraordinary career. As a 
one-term chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, he modernized 
Alabama's court system and won numerous awards for it as well as for 
himself personally. He was a known national figure because of his work 
on the courts. Later, while in this body, he helped to streamline the 
Federal courts in order to help move the civil courts and the criminal 
justice system. He always believed that justice delayed was justice 
denied.
  He was elected to the Senate in 1978. I was then in my third year of 
law school. During the summer of 1978, I opted to work full time on his 
campaign rather than to clerk for a law firm. This was in part because 
I believed that his election, following a 20-year or more domination of 
Alabama politics by George Wallace, would be one of the most 
significant elections in Alabama's history--a turning point for a State 
whose reputation had sorely suffered throughout the civil rights 
movement. It turned out I was absolutely right. Howell Heflin's 
election ushered in a time in Alabama during which politicians in our 
State began to look beyond the dog whistle politics of race and to do 
their best to represent all of the citizens of Alabama.
  He was a champion of the rural farmer, NASA, and businesses 
throughout Alabama. He was also a champion of the small business 
leader, teachers, members of the union, and African-American citizens 
in Alabama, who were still feeling the effects of discrimination and 
restricted voting rights.
  By today's standards, Howell Heflin would certainly be considered 
pretty conservative with his positions that many, including myself, 
would probably not agree with. Yet, in his heart, Howell Heflin 
believed in the Constitution of the United States, and he strived to 
ensure that we lived up to the creed that all people are created equal. 
During his floor speech in which he announced his retirement, he said, 
``Not until we become genuinely one nation under God, indivisible, with 
liberty and justice for all can this country realize its potential for 
true greatness.''
  He worked as a Senator to secure the extension of the Voting Rights 
Act, which is something we are still arguing about today--23 years 
after he left the Senate. He appointed the first two African Americans 
to the Federal bench in Alabama. Sadly, even though the number of 
Federal judges in Alabama's three Federal districts have grown 
significantly in number, there are still only two active Federal judges 
in Alabama who are African American. He supported historically black 
colleges and universities, and he ensured the passage of the civil 
rights restoration bill. He helped to pass the fair housing bill and 
helped to establish a national holiday that honors the late Martin 
Luther King, Jr.
  Howell Heflin's commitment to racial justice and his sensitivity to 
issues of race led him in 1993 to give a remarkable floor speech that 
opposed an insignia patent bill that contained an image of a 
Confederate battle flag. This was over 20 years before the tragedy in 
Charleston, SC, when battle flags across the country came down. It was 
20 years or so before that when he opposed an amendment that would have 
contained an image of the Confederate battle flag. It was truly a 
remarkable speech, and I referenced it just recently in a speech I gave 
here on the Equality Act. It was considered by many--his friends, his 
family, his staff, and all who knew him, especially those in this 
body--to be his finest hour. It was his finest hour because it was one 
of those rare occasions on the floor of the Senate during which an 
impassioned speech by one Senator swayed a vote.
  There was an amendment and a motion to table on that bill--a motion 
that had not succeeded. Howell Heflin then took to the floor so as to 
sway Senators to reconsider. Then, overwhelmingly, by a vote of over 75 
to 20-something, the motion was tabled, and the bill died, as it should 
have.
  That led Carol Moseley-Braun--the first African-American female 
Senator in history--to state the following:

       His integrity, his intelligence, his commitment and faith 
     in the Constitution of these United States, faith in what the 
     American dream has always stood for and can be in the future, 
     has led Judge Heflin in a direction that I think is without 
     peer and without parallel in this body. He has been a force 
     for good. He has been a force for right.

  There are very few people who have known Howell Heflin and there are 
very few people in Alabama who remember him who would say otherwise.
  He was a force for good, and he was a force for right.
  I am so proud that my first job after law school was working with him 
as staff counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was just an 
amazing experience for a kid who had never been to Washington, DC, 
before taking the job.
  It is now my privilege to hold the seat that Judge Heflin had for 18 
years. It is my honor. The fact that I walked off this floor with him 
as a staffer in 1980 and walked back on in 2018 in his seat has been 
one of the greatest honors of my life.
  In gratitude for that opportunity the Judge gave me, I have 
established a fellowship in my office for a recent law school 
graduate--just like me in 1979--and I look forward to welcoming the 
first Howell Heflin fellow to my team later this month.
  Howell Heflin was sworn into the Senate in 1979, 40 years ago this 
past January. And it was about 40 years ago this time of year that I 
joined his staff--fresh out of law school, fresh off of taking the bar 
exam. He was certainly my mentor and role model in many ways, and each 
day that I am in the Senate, I strive to continue his legacy--not that 
I always vote as Howell Heflin would, although, frankly, knowing him as 
I did, I am absolutely convinced that he would have moderated many of 
his positions with changing times. He was that kind of leader. But I am 
certainly guided by the principles of public service to his 
constituents that he described in his retirement announcement, in which 
he said:

       I have endeavored to represent Alabama in a studied, 
     impartial, and fair-minded manner. My record certainly 
     indicates at least an independent streak. I hope Alabamians 
     know that my decisions were based on what I thought was in 
     the best interest of my State and Nation. While some may 
     argue or disagree with my decisions, I was convinced that I 
     was right. And I believe most Alabamians felt that nothing 
     more could be expected of me.

  I agree with him 100 percent.
  Ironically, Judge Heflin passed away 10 years to the day from the day 
he gave that speech on March 29. I miss him. Alabama misses him. And I 
can assure my colleagues who didn't know him, the U.S. Senate misses 
him as well.
  The threads that tie Judge Heflin and Giles Perkins together in 
history are their deeply rooted integrity and their dedication to 
leaving the State of Alabama better than they found it. Their memories 
inspire me every day.

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  Today, following these remarks, I am dedicating the conference rooms 
in my Senate office to these two men who, through leadership and 
commitment, made a positive difference in the history of the State of 
Alabama, as well as in my life.
  I am so happy that I am going to be joined by Judge Heflin's son Tom 
and his wife Cornelia, as well as numerous former Heflin staffers, 
including his longtime chief of staff, Mike House, who is the one who 
made that fateful call to me that summer as I was studying for the bar 
exam to offer me the job here on the Hill.
  Also with us will be Drew Perkins and his wife Nelly. Drew is the 
brother of Giles. They will be here with us as we celebrate both Judge 
Heflin and Giles Perkins.
  I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that in the corner of the 
Giles Perkins Conference Room will be the large Yoda doll that will be 
kept in his honor.
  As for me, I will strive to continue the work that they began, to 
fulfill their vision, and to honor their memories as long as I have the 
privilege of serving here in the U.S. Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.