[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 49 (Friday, March 14, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1755-S1757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Remembering Alan K. Simpson

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor with my colleague 
from Wyoming, Senator Cynthia Lummis, to mourn one of Wyoming's most 
beloved and fiercest champions. He passed earlier this morning. That 
would be former U.S. Senator Al Simpson--not just former Senator; 
former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives and former Army 
veteran. He passed away earlier today at the age of 93 in his hometown 
of Cody, Wyoming. I talked to his wife Ann this morning. She said it 
was a beautiful, full Moon, and Al went to Heaven on a moonbeam.
  He is known in Wyoming and in this body and across the country for 
his incredible life of service and really an unparalleled sense of 
humor.
  Throughout his life, Al boldly fought to uphold the values and the 
ideals of this great Nation. Whether he was serving in the Army or the 
Wyoming House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate, his commitment and 
his contributions were evident everywhere.
  He was well known for rolling up his sleeves and working with anyone 
regardless of party to do what he thought was best for Wyoming and the 
Nation. When the Nation called on Al Simpson, when they called on him 
to serve, he was always there fighting for our best interests.
  Al once said:

       Never let them distort who you are.

  So let me tell you about the real Al Simpson. His life and his legacy 
are defined by the c's--the c's standing for his hometown of Cody, and 
collegiality is a big part, but also there was courage, character, and 
credibility.
  He represented Wyoming in this Chamber as a U.S. Senator from 1979 to 
1997, and for that reason alone, Al looms very large in Wyoming's 
political history. There is a lot more. He left an indelible mark here 
in the Senate. While others ran from tough issues, Al welcomed them. It 
was an opportunity to serve. He actually never backed down from a 
fight. He embraced the fights as long as he was fighting for what he 
thought was right.
  He sponsored legislation that helped protect our clean water and our 
clean air. He secured better grazing rights for Wyoming farmers and 
ranchers. He fought to secure our borders and imposed stiff sanctions 
on employers who hired illegal immigrants.
  He once said:

       The first duty of every nation is to secure its border.

  He was so right.
  He was elected by our Republican conference in the Senate in 1985 to 
serve as the assistant Republican leader. He was the first Republican 
whip from the State of Wyoming. He was the whip for 10 years, and he 
did it under the leadership of Senator Bob Dole. So I am proud to hold 
the office today that he once held. His leadership brought Wyoming 
values to Washington, and he left a lasting national impact.
  Al came from a family of public servants. His father Milward was both 
Wyoming Governor and Senator. His dad Milward was Al's role model for 
public service and civic leadership. His big brother Pete once 
explained:

       The extent to which we became men we owe to our father.

  Everyone who knew Al well knows that his most important influence in 
his life came from the love of his life,

[[Page S1756]]

his wife Ann--his wife of 70 years. Al and Ann first began dating when 
they were students at the University of Wyoming. They were married in 
1954. For seven decades, Wyoming was fortunate to listen to and learn 
from Al and from Ann.
  They were an inspiration to all of us--to me, to my wife Bobbi, and 
they were, I know, to Cynthia and her husband Al. They made a legendary 
team, always working together to make both Wyoming and Washington a 
better place.
  Al liked to say:

       Everything in Wyoming is political, except for politics, 
     which was personal.

  Yet, for Al, politics was never personal. His debates were passionate 
and they were principled. He was friends with Ted Kennedy. They 
collaborated together on legislation. From energy, to border security, 
to fiscal responsibility, Al worked across the aisle to tackle the 
tough issues. He always did what he believed was best for the country. 
In today's political environment, Al's example of bridging partisan 
divides is more important than ever.
  In the art of persuasion, Al Simpson could teach a master class. One 
reason Al was so persuasive was his humor. He had an incredible sense 
of humor. He had close personal relationships with Presidents Ronald 
Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush. The title of his biography tells 
a lot about Al. It is called ``Shooting from the Lip.'' Al was a 
gunslinger when it came to clever quips. There are too many to count. 
We don't want to recount some of them on the floor of the Senate; they 
would probably be stricken from the record. But that is who Al Simpson 
was. He made you laugh. He also made you think. And that is what made 
Al so special. He took his service seriously, but he never took himself 
too seriously.

  Al and Ann returned to Wyoming after he retired from the Senate. 
Fortunately for Wyoming and our Nation, that service did not end 
because they never really retired. Al enthusiastically served numerous 
groups and organizations, which all have benefited from his presence. 
From his beloved alma mater, the University of Wyoming, to the world-
renowned Buffalo Bill historical center, Al Simpson devoted his time, 
his talent, and his treasure.
  When Al saw an unmet need in his community, he worked to see that it 
was addressed. He was especially active in mentoring future leaders. It 
is no wonder that he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 
2022. It is the highest honor an American civilian can get for service 
to our country.
  He was a model of leadership for everyone, regardless of party. He 
did it all across Wyoming and through the years here in Congress. Once, 
he said:

       If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't 
     have integrity, nothing else matters.

  Integrity, work ethic, incredible whit--Al truly leaves behind a 
legendary career. For Wyoming, Al is a native son and also a North Star 
and a rock star.
  For the U.S. Senate, Al is a leader, a legislative craftsman, and a 
principled lawmaker.
  For me, he was a mentor and friend.
  To Ann; to their children, Bill, Collin, and Sue--I talked to Bill 
and Collin this morning; to their entire extended family, I join the 
Nation and Wyoming in sending you our heartfelt condolences.
  We can take solace in knowing that the decades of work Al did to make 
Wyoming and our country a better place will be felt for generations to 
come.
  Senator Lummis.
  Ms. LUMMIS. Thank you, Senator Barrasso, for those lovely remarks. We 
both loved Al Simpson, and we will always love Al Simpson.
  Today, we join the entire State of Wyoming, his family, and his close 
friends in celebrating his life and mourning the passing of U.S. 
Senator Al Simpson.
  He was absolutely larger than life and always will be a beloved 
statesman. He dedicated his entire life to serving others, his entire 
life of 93 years--for 18 years here in the U.S. Senate, 12 years in the 
Wyoming House of Representatives, and 28 years as a very active elder 
statesman, particularly in his efforts to help and serve our beloved 
alma mater, the University of Wyoming.
  He tirelessly advocated for the State of Wyoming, fighting to ensure 
that every corner of our State was not only a great place to work but a 
great place to make a home and raise a family. Indeed, he contributed 
to that as well with his children and grandchildren and his beloved, 
beautiful Ann Simpson.
  My gosh, I saw a picture in the hallway in their home of Ann Simpson 
when she was in college. She was an absolute knockout. They became the 
inseparable, dynamic duo of Wyoming--she playing the straight woman to 
his hilarious antics that everyone so loved.
  There was no stronger advocate for the needs, industries, and 
interests of Wyoming than Senator Al Simpson.
  As Senator Barrasso mentioned, during his U.S. Senate tenure, he was 
repeatedly chosen by his colleagues to serve in leadership as the 
Republican whip and was a close friend and ally of both Presidents 
Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
  Those who met Senator Al Simpson knew he never forgot a face or an 
interaction, good or bad, and he was happy to remind you of either. 
Those who were privileged enough to call him friend enjoyed his fierce 
loyalty, truly fierce loyalty--the kind we all hope we might have with 
someone in our lives.
  His famous sense of humor--I once went to a reception here in 
Washington, DC, at a beautiful home, and we walked in, and there was a 
fireplace in the hallway with an original Pissarro hanging over the 
fireplace, and he goes: Oh, look, Cynthia, it is a ``piss-a-roo.'' That 
was classic Al Simpson. Al was well known around the Capitol for his 
pithy one-liners.
  Families in Cody looked forward to spotting him towering--he was a 
very tall man, maybe 6 feet 7 inches or so, and he would tower above 
the trick-or-treaters--in his costume, by the way, of Frankenstein. He 
called himself Frankenal. He would imitate the monster, which he also 
had perfected over the years.
  Al loved life. He loved public service. He loved the State of Wyoming 
and, particularly, the University of Wyoming.
  My gosh, he was so good to the law school, to the trial advocacy 
clinics. There was just nothing he wouldn't do to help the University 
of Wyoming excel as an institution.
  But he never missed an opportunity to praise his beloved Ann, his 
children, his grandchildren. I was in law school with both Colin and 
Bill Simpson. The legacy of that family for the practice of law in 
Wyoming and elsewhere in the country is truly significant, in addition 
to the many other legislative victories and policy wins and the 
fabulous museum, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, in Wyoming, which 
is truly a world-class--world-class--institution, in large part because 
of Ann and Al's complete dedication to it.
  Last year, Ann and Al celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. How 
did they celebrate it? They held an ice cream social at Cody City Park 
with family, friends, and neighbors. That was the Simpson way of doing 
things. At every gathering Al Simpson attended, people flocked to him--
and I mean flocked--for a moment with a man each considered one of 
their closest friends. That is the effect that he had on people. That 
is the incredible aura that was part of Al Simpson. He truly was a 
proud son of Cody, WY.
  Coming from an early pioneer family, Al never forgot his ancestors 
and the people who came before him. Senator Barrasso just mentioned 
that his father Milward was also a noted Wyoming character; and that 
trait continues on in the entire family.
  He never forgot his goals, which were to spread integrity, humor, 
service, and to make sure that the Wyoming he left, the country he 
left, would be better for the next generation. And I can tell you, he 
accomplished that. He is one of those people you can look to and say: 
He did that in his life.
  Al's family were his pride and joy, and he was our pride and joy as a 
beloved son of Wyoming, a great mentor, a fabulous human being, someone 
in your life that if you met Al Simpson, it was something you would 
say: What was one of my great joys in life? And one would certainly be: 
I knew Al Simpson.
  So I ask you all to join us in celebrating the tremendous, 
extraordinary, curious life of U.S. Senator Al Simpson.

[[Page S1757]]

  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I wanted to join my colleagues from 
Wyoming. I heard they were paying a tribute to Al Simpson who recently 
passed away. It was my good fortune 15 years ago to be a member of the 
Simpson-Bowles Commission where Al Simpson, who had been retired from 
the Senate, cohosted that with Erskine Bowles in a bipartisan effort to 
deal with the deficit.
  I never had a better time and a more educational experience than to 
be on that Commission. And, of course, you can't talk about Al 
Simpson's public service without referring to his sense of humor.
  I said to a friend the other day on the floor of the Senate, I miss 
that part of the Senate. There used to be, you could count on several 
Senators to always have a joke, and he was one of them.
  And good joke-tellers, I have found, have two qualities. First, they 
tell the same joke many times, but it seems like it is the first time. 
And, second, they usually start laughing before the punchline because 
they are enjoying the joke so much themselves.
  But in addition to his good humor and nice way about him, he was a 
wonderful person to work with--really bipartisan. Being a Democrat, I 
didn't know quite how I would deal with him since we had never served 
together in the Senate, but he took me under his shoulder like any 
Member of his own party or family.
  I might also mention for the record that Al and his wife were close 
friends with Paul and Jeanne Simon from Illinois, my predecessor; and 
Ann Simpson attended the funeral service for Jeanne Simon in 
Carbondale, IL, and I thought that was a nice tribute family to family.
  I am sorry we don't have people like Al Simpson still serving. Maybe 
it is an incentive for all of us to learn a joke or two.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.