[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.
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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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