[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 214 (Monday, December 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9111-S9112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Remembering Robert J. Dole

  Madam President, having said that, I just want to talk a bit about 
Bob Dole, as our Nation continues to mourn his loss and celebrate the 
life of one of the greatest of the ``greatest generation.'' I rise 
today to add to the countless tributes benefiting the late, great 
Senator from Kansas, Bob Dole.
  Born Robert Joseph Dole on July 22, 1922, in Russell, KS, Bob Dole 
grew up during a period known as the Dust Bowl in the American 
heartland, where his family, like so many others, struggled to pay rent 
and put food on their table.
  Bob Dole was the star athlete in high school who wanted to pursue a 
career in medicine. He began his studies at the University of Kansas, 
but like many young Americans at the time, including my dad and uncles 
from West Virginia, like them, his plans were interrupted by the attack 
on Pearl Harbor and Hitler's army marching across Europe.
  Bob Dole enlisted in the Army Reserve and was called up to Active 
Duty in 1943. Two years later, at the age of 21, as part of the 10th 
Mountain Division, Bob Dole was severely injured on the battlefield in 
Italy after bravely pulling a fellow soldier to safety. He sustained 
grave injuries to his spine, to his shoulder, to one of his hands, and 
by all accounts was left for dead on the battlefield. But Bob Dole, 
like the United States and our allies, didn't give up. He persevered.
  Despite long odds of recovery, Bob never gave up and wouldn't take no 
for an answer. He spent 39 months--let me repeat that. He spent 39 
months recovering in a hospital bed undergoing numerous surgeries. When 
doctors told him that he was partially paralyzed, he built a device--he 
built a device--to help him regain his strength and was able not only 
to stand upright but eventually to walk again and to run for office 
many, many times.
  Bob Dole knew he was lucky to make it home. And the decades he spent 
in public service after sustaining his injuries, he dedicated much of 
his life to ensuring that our veterans, especially our fallen veterans 
during World War II, like my Uncle Bob, were honored and remembered for 
their sacrifices.

  My Uncle Bob was my mom's youngest brother, one of those sailors who 
wasn't lucky enough to make it home. He died at the age of 19 in 1944 
during a kamikaze attack in the Western Pacific on his aircraft 
carrier, the USS Suwannee. His body was never recovered. But his memory 
lives on, thanks in no small part to Senator Bob Dole's work to 
establish the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. And for that, 
my family, the Patton family on my mother's side, are forever grateful.
  Though they never met, Bob Dole, like so many Americans of the 
``greatest generation,'' understood that my Uncle Bob made the ultimate 
sacrifice in defense of our Nation and for the preservation of our 
democracy. That is why Senator Bob Dole spent so much of his time 
raising money for the World War II Memorial and why he spent so many 
Saturdays there, greeting veterans and thanking them for their service. 
This meant the world to those families, like mine, who lost a loved one 
during the war.
  When Bob Dole was finally able to stand on his own two feet again, 
the town of Russell, KS, rallied around him and encouraged him to run 
for office. And he did.
  After a short stint in local Kansas politics, Bob served in the U.S. 
House of Representatives for four terms before being elected to the 
Senate in 1968, the same year I was commissioned an ensign in the Navy.
  For 35 years, Bob Dole proudly served the people of Kansas in 
Washington--here. His time in Congress, especially as a Senator, is 
really where his legacy and public service started to take

[[Page S9112]]

shape. He was a proud Republican who ran three times for his party's 
nomination for the Presidency. But I believe that Bob Dole will be 
remembered most fondly for his ability to find common ground.
  I believe he said it best himself. He said:

       When we prioritize principles over party and humanity over 
     personal legacy, we accomplish far more as a nation.

  I will read that again. This is worth repeating.

       When we prioritize principles over party and humanity over 
     personal legacy, we accomplish far more as a nation.

  He was right. We can accomplish far more when we work together as one 
Nation rather than as Members of different political parties.
  Bob himself said his proudest political accomplishments were passing 
the bipartisan Americans with Disabilities Act and working to find a 
principled compromise to save Social Security--a compromise that I was 
privileged to support as a newly elected freshman in the House of 
Representatives in 1983.
  I believe Bob Dole embodied the admonition of Matthew 25 to care for 
the ``least of these'' among us. He worked alongside the South Dakota 
Senator George McGovern, a liberal Democrat, who also ran for 
President, to improve the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 
formerly known as the Federal Food Stamp Program, to ensure that 
struggling families could feed themselves and their children.
  Bob Dole took Matthew 25--and Matthew 25 goes something like this: 
``For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat''--and he turned 
it into the law that, to this day, helps lift Americans out of poverty 
and on to longer, healthier lives because, ultimately, Bob followed his 
moral compass, even when it wasn't politically convenient. He wasn't 
afraid to buck his party when he felt doing so was the right thing to 
do.
  He was a fiscal conservative, but he supported tax reforms to raise 
revenue. He also supported--get this. He also supported the passage of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965--
landmark civil rights bills that sought to eliminate racial 
discrimination from our laws and sought to ensure equal access to the 
ballot box for all Americans.
  These accomplishments required hard-fought--hard-fought--negotiations 
and courageous votes. But Bob Dole never let that interfere with his 
commitment to doing what was right and, I might add, an incredible 
sense of humor.
  When Bob's wonderful wife--our former colleague here in the Senate, 
Elizabeth Dole--was in front of the Senate Labor Committee in 1989, 
having been nominated by then-President George Herbert Walker Bush, Bob 
accompanied her to her confirmation hearing and introduced her there as 
many of us introduce our own constituents when they are nominated for a 
particular position by a President. One of the things that he said, as 
he sat there next to his wife Elizabeth, he quipped--and he was great 
for quips--to his colleagues: ``I regret that I have but one wife to 
give for my country.''
  I regret that I have but one wife to give for my country.
  And following his defeat in the 1988 Republican Presidential primary, 
he opened his remarks by saying: Not only do ``I regret that I have but 
one wife to give to my country,'' he wanted to add: ``If I had this 
much coverage in [my] primary, I would be writing my inaugural 
address.'' He then continued to say:

       I once dreamed of making a name for myself in Washington, 
     but I never thought it would be as the husband of the 
     Secretary of Labor, but I'll take what comes these days.

  The truth is, as much as Bob Dole probably learned while serving here 
in the Senate, the Senate could learn a lot more from the life and 
example of Bob Dole. And we could use more Bob Doles in this body 
today, on both sides of the aisle.
  While Bob Dole was a serious man, he didn't take himself too 
seriously. He didn't care for politicians who divided us just for the 
sake of division. He also didn't care for big egos of folks who wanted 
to do something just so they could take credit for it.
  He believed the words of Abraham Lincoln, one of his personal heroes, 
that ours is a ``government of the people, by the people, [and] for the 
people.'' That is why he fought and nearly gave his life in defense of 
our Nation and our democracy. That is why he continued to serve our 
Nation also, always striving to improve the lives of Kansas and all of 
us.
  We owe it to Senator Dole, to my Uncle Bob, and to the entire 
``greatest generation'' who fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for 
us to live in a free and democratic country, to uphold the ideals of 
our democracy, and to work together to create a brighter, better 
tomorrow for our children and our grandchildren.
  So as we mourn the passing of Bob Dole, I would challenge all of us 
to prioritize principles over party and humanity over personal legacy. 
We can all work better together to address the challenges of today and 
confront the challenges of tomorrow.
  (Mr. HEINRICH assumed the Chair.)
  Mr. President, some of us may recall the famous film, ``The Wizard of 
Oz.'' It took place in Bob Dole's proud home State of Kansas. 
Throughout the film, Dorothy is reminded that ``there is no place like 
home, no place like home.'' Well, Senator Dole entered these Halls one 
last time last week to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda, just down 
the hall over my right shoulder. And I, like many of our colleagues, 
had the chance to pay our respects to a man of integrity, passion, and 
wit.
  Now, it is time to send Bob home back to Russell, KS, as we have, one 
last time because there is truly no place like home.
  As the Presiding Officer knows, I like to--if we are not in session 
when somebody has a birthday, one of my colleagues has a birthday, I 
call them. I track them down or send them a text message. And I have 
done that with Elizabeth Dole, who served in this Chamber with us in 
more recent years, and I still call her on her birthday.
  And her birthday is July 29. I called her on July 29 this year to 
wish her a happy birthday and to see how she and Bob were doing. I got 
to talk with him as well as with her, and they both said to me--they 
said, ``Why don't you and Martha''--my wife Martha--``come down here 
sometime when we have some free time and you do as well, and we will 
just go out for dinner together.''
  Sadly, we never got to do that. But we are going to take a raincheck. 
And I promise you, if you are listening out there, Bob, we plan to take 
full advantage of that raincheck and come and see you, with Elizabeth.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.