[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 23 (Monday, February 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S586-S587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING GEORGE P. SHULTZ

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Madam President, as many of us know, our country is 
mourning the loss of a great man, a man who I believe was one of the 
greatest of the Greatest Generation.
  Yesterday, we all received the sad news that George Shultz, Secretary 
Shultz, died in his home in California yesterday. He was 100 years old. 
He just celebrated his 100th birthday in December.

[[Page S587]]

  He was a man of great intelligence, of courage, of integrity. He 
exemplified service, what is great about this Nation, and hope for our 
country--not just for our country but countries around the world. 
Democracy itself was something that this great American promoted.
  He leaves behind his wife Charlotte, 3 daughters, 2 sons, 11 
grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. Of course, our prayers for 
his family are going out to all of them during this difficult time.
  There are people who have lived history, and there are people who 
have made history. Secretary Shultz made history. He lived a life in 
full, and he was always giving back to his country, to his fellow 
Americans.
  He was one of only two, I believe, American citizens who held four 
different Cabinet posts in the U.S. Government. He was OMB Director, 
Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury, and, most importantly, 
Secretary of State for almost the entire two terms of President 
Reagan's tenure during some very perilous times in our country's 
history.
  As Secretary of State, there is no doubt that Secretary Shultz, along 
with President Reagan, did so much to win the Cold War, to bring down 
the Berlin Wall eventually, to successfully not just defeat in the Cold 
War the Soviet Union but to foster the infrastructure of democracy 
around the globe. If you read about his exploits, if you read his 
autobiography, you will see so much of what George Shultz did for our 
country, which was so important.
  It is not an exaggeration to say we are living in a more peaceful and 
prosperous world--there is no doubt we have challenges--because of men 
like Secretary Shultz.
  One of the great honors of my lifetime was to get to know Secretary 
Shultz over the last several years. I had the opportunity to meet with 
him many, many times and to listen and learn--and his mind was so 
sharp--from the stories that he would tell. This, to me, is another 
great example of leadership--people who, even in the end years of their 
life, are still mentoring others, whether Senators or students.
  He would regularly teach classes at Stanford as part of the Hoover 
Institution out there. He kept writing books until his 100th birthday.
  I had the opportunity to wish him a happy birthday in December and 
was even on a Zoom call with him. I will say, in my experience with 
him, certain things kept coming out, themes of a life: service, of 
course, patriotism, integrity, trust, and also the U.S. Marine Corps.
  You know, when it comes to the issue of integrity, you look at 
Secretary Shultz's career, his life, and he always had integrity as the 
highest principle, and he talked about that, not just integrity to do 
the right thing, which meant sometimes saying no, but he did this 
throughout his career. And, then, at the very twilight of his career, 
he talked about not just integrity but trust--trust as the coin of the 
realm of a good life, of service.
  As he was turning 100 in December, he put out a little pamphlet. It 
is right here. I read the whole thing. I encourage my colleagues to 
read it:

       Life and Learning after One Hundred Years. Trust Is the 
     Coin of the Realm. Reflections on Trust and Effective 
     Relationships across a New Hinge of History. George P. 
     Shultz, December 13, 2020.

  Who does that when they are 100--put out a pamphlet on trust? Well, 
George Shultz did that
  In the pamphlet, Secretary Shultz wrote that one lesson he learned as 
a child and retained over and over again was the importance of trust. 
As he says in this pamphlet:

       When trust was in the room, whatever room that was--the 
     family room, the schoolroom, the coach's room, the office 
     room, the government room, or the military room--good things 
     happen. When trust was not in the room, good things did not 
     happen.

  I think, certainly, we can learn that here in the U.S. Senate, where 
trust is the coin of the realm here. There is no doubt about that.
  This idea of trust is a lesson that stayed with him throughout his 
career and a concept that he believed--when you read all his writings 
and talked to him the way so many of us have had the opportunity to--
helped lead to the end of the Cold War--trust. President Reagan, 
General Secretary Gorbachev together eliminated intermediate-range 
nuclear weapons, which laid down the foundation for the peaceful end of 
the Cold War in which the United States was victorious.
  This pamphlet by Secretary Shultz on trust can be found online at 
https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/
shultz_finalfile_web-ready.pdf.
  Even to the end of his days, he was still looking at providing 
guidance to the Senate. I had a talk with him, as I mentioned, just 
about 5 weeks ago about his coming to testify in front of the Armed 
Services Committee, a tradition started by another great American, John 
McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee. Every January, we 
would start with some statesmen with a lot of knowledge and history, 
and George Shultz was always part of that, testifying in front of the 
Armed Services Committee at 98, 99 years old, with Henry Kissinger, the 
junior man in the room, who was just a year or two younger.
  Senator Reed and I were just talking recently about bringing 
Secretary Shultz back to, once again, testify in front of the Armed 
Services Committee, and I am sad to say we have lost this great 
American before he can do that again.
  Let me conclude with this: The other thing I loved about George 
Shultz is that he was, first and foremost, a U.S. marine. Until the end 
of his life, he spoke about the pride he gained from serving in combat 
in World War II as a Marine Corps officer and the many, many lessons he 
learned throughout his life from his service in the Marines.
  The first time I ever met the Secretary, I went into his office. I 
thought there would be a bunch of pictures with famous people--there 
were some of those--but there were Marine Corps recruiting posters 
everywhere.
  Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, another great American, 
recounted in her excellent op-ed about the legacy of Secretary Shultz 
just yesterday in the Washington Post. He told her that being Secretary 
of State was ``the best job in government.''
  When she got nominated to be Secretary of State, he called her to 
give her some advice. They were very good friends. He was a mentor of 
hers as well. He said it is the best job in government, the Secretary 
of State. And then he corrected himself: It is the best job except for 
when I was a Marine Corps captain.
  That is what he told Condi, so he was first and foremost a marine.
  For all of these reasons, I will be calling up a resolution, a 
bipartisan resolution, to honor the life, achievements, and legacy of 
the Honorable George P. Shultz, who has done so much for our great 
Nation. We are working on this. Hopefully, we will get it passed in the 
Senate here soon. It is very bipartisan already. I was hoping to get it 
done tonight.
  When great Americans leave us, it is really important that we reflect 
and look on the life of service, commitment, patriotism, honor, 
courage, and learn from that. Even though he is gone after 100 years, I 
know I am going to be learning from George Shultz for a long, long 
time. I sure hope and I expect and I certainly believe that my 
colleagues here in the U.S. Senate and our fellow Americans will be as 
well.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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