[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 27366-27369]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    IN HONOR OF SENATOR JOHN CHAFEE

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I come to the floor, after many of my 
colleagues have already said magnificent things, to say a word about a 
man I revered, worked with, and cherished both in personal and 
professional terms. That is, of course, John Chafee. There are so many 
reasons I respected and, in a sense, really loved John Chafee, and do 
to this minute and always will.
  Many of them had to do with what it was that he didn't say and what 
it was that he didn't find a need to do. There was an interesting 
article in the Washington Post this morning by Mary McGrory that made 
me think back to the time I was in the Peace Corps. I served with a man 
who has since died by the name of Marty Grobli. We were working on the 
Philippines program together. He was an enormous hero of the Battle of 
the Bulge in World War II. He had done works of heroism which I never 
learned about because whenever as a young person in my early twenties I 
tried to ask him, because I wanted to learn about it, he said he didn't 
want to talk about it. I think that is the way of many who have been 
through searing emotional and physical experiences of danger, of 
patriotism, of great personal risk--they simply keep it to themselves. 
There isn't a need to tell others. War is not pleasant. War is 
destructive; war is carried out in the interests of the Nation or of 
many nations against one or several others.
  John Chafee never felt a need. In fact, in all the years I knew him, 
I never heard him talk about serving in two wars, World War II and the 
Korean war, or the fact he was a marine. If one looked at John Chafee, 
particularly in the latter years, one wouldn't necessarily--unless you 
looked at that chiseled face--say this was a marine in the sense that 
one thinks about it in classical terms. He was not into looking tough, 
acting tough, or being tough--he just was tough. But he was tough on 
behalf of people he loved, whom he represented in Rhode Island, those 
he didn't directly represent, although he did as a Senator in the form 
of children and women and the inheritance of whatever quality of 
environment we will inherit in our country.
  He was a steward of all of those things. He was ferocious in the way 
he fought for them. He never pushed himself forward. It always seemed, 
watching him on the Finance Committee when he was in a hearing 
conducting questioning, he was searching for truth, not either to show 
knowledge, of which he had a deep, deep repository, or to show special 
seniority. It was always that he was interested in what the witness was 
saying, reflecting on what the witness was saying, being courteous to 
the witness, tough on the witness where the witness might be 
withholding information or not fully disclosing some of the other 
arguments that might have been brought through that witness' answers.
  I loved him for those qualities. I had no idea, I think as no one 
did, that this was going to be his fate. I didn't look forward to the 
fact he was going to retire, but since he announced he was going to 
retire I looked forward to the fact he would go back to Rhode Island, 
his beloved Northeast, to prowl his State, to be with the people who 
stood by him in all the years.
  As the Senator from South Carolina knows, John Chafee was also a 
Governor. I was a Governor, and I think Governors bring to this body a 
particular ability and desire to want to reach a compromise to find a 
solution. The Presiding Officer was a Governor. And Governors often 
can't allow themselves to tarry because of an ideology. They can't 
tarry on simply a petulant feeling about this situation or that person 
because they are the only person in that State, be they man or woman, 
who can resolve the situation. Therefore, they have to seek a 
compromise. They have to seek a solution. I love that quality in a 
Senator. It is a quality John Chafee had in just an unparalleled 
amount.
  So he never got to go back home. I feel very sad about that. I wanted 
to think about John Chafee at home, enjoying the fact he was looking 
back on all of his years of national service and public service and 
enjoying his grandchildren, his children, Ginny, his beloved State of 
Rhode Island, and all of the Northeast. He was a remarkable person.
  I quote another thing Mary McGrory said which I liked so much:

       In an institution that calls every man a gentleman, he 
     really was one.

  That kind of puts us in our places. But it also very much says 
something accurate about John Chafee. I have heard him talk to people 
sharply. But

[[Page 27367]]

it was always on substance. It was always on issues. It was always on 
what it was between himself and a resolution to a policy problem that 
he cared about.
  In the leader's chair sits the Senator from Iowa, Mr. Grassley. He 
and I will remember, because we were both there, it was only last 
week--which is the heartbreaking part of it--that Senator John Chafee, 
as the senior member of the Finance Committee, was conducting a hearing 
on independent living. That is the problem caused when children are 
brought up, often abused by their parents or by others, through a 
foster care system, and then all of a sudden at the age of 18 they are 
declared independent.
  Our colleague, the Presiding Officer, the Senator from Ohio, is also 
very interested in this problem. John Chafee was quizzing the young 
people who were there, who had come through the system--many, many 
foster parents, some of whom had worked, some of whom had not--but they 
had been, at the age of 18, declared independent. They were just cast 
out. They lost their health insurance. They didn't know how to open a 
bank account, not necessarily even how to operate a washing machine, 
and they said that to us in very clear and compelling ways.
  I thought it was in situations such as that--I think my friend from 
Iowa will agree with me--that John Chafee was at his best. He was in 
his 70s. Yet he focused so much of what he did heavily on children who 
were in their fourth and fifth year, or in their teens. It was a burden 
and a passion that never relented.
  The Senator from Iowa, Mr. Grassley, and I are working very hard with 
our staff and the Finance Committee staff to try to complete that 
independent living bill, not simply--because that would embarrass him--
as a way of honoring John Chafee, but, frankly, because John Chafee 
would be on us to do it. Knowing he is not here to do it himself, we 
intend to do that and we will do that. We hope it will pass this body 
and the other body and be signed by the President.
  John Chafee's health is something I have to comment on because I 
always thought of him, and do think of him, as so strong. I wondered, 
as many of us did in the last several months, what was it that caused 
him to seem to become so fragile so quickly? But because I knew John 
Chafee and had known John Chafee, I always believed it would pass 
because John Chafee always came back. He was always there. He was frail 
because he had back surgery, but that was not going to lead to 
something else. It was simply something he was going to get over and 
come back and take his place over there, behind where the flowers are 
placed on his desk, and resume his work.
  That is what John Chafee did. He did not retire when he was in his 
late 60s. He certainly was financially independent enough to do so, but 
he didn't retire because he wanted to work. He loved public policy. He 
loved helping children and families. He loved health care.
  I can remember during the Clinton health care debates, it was classic 
John Chafee because we would go on Sunday television shows and he and I 
would have a wonderful conversation--before. We had different views on 
the legislation. We would have a very warm conversation before and then 
he would, during the course of the interview, proceed to shred me 
mercilessly, in good Marine fashion; you know, using good facts and 
good examples. Then, as soon as it was over, he would go back and we 
would be amiable.
  I commented to him on that several times, and he just would sort of 
brush it off. He was doing his work. He was doing the work he was here 
to do.
  When we think of children in this country getting health insurance, 
let us remember John Chafee because it was John Chafee who drove that. 
It was called the Children's Health Insurance Program--CHIPs. And 
Laurie Rubiner, his staff person, drove that. They were driving this 
independent living bill. There were so many things he did for people of 
all sorts.
  I haven't even mentioned, except very briefly at the beginning, the 
environment.
  John Chafee was also a very independent person. I do not say this as 
a Democrat; I say this as a Senator. I liked so much the fact that he 
was so ferociously independent of his own party when he chose to be; of 
his own party when they applied pressure on him; from his constituents, 
presumably, when they applied pressure on him. He always did what he 
thought was right. In the longer day of life, if you are who you are 
and you stay who you are, people will come in your direction. If you 
bend to other people's wills and people have a sense of that, then 
there will never be a need for them to come in your direction because 
they will sense, if they outwait you, they will prevail.
  You could not do that with John Chafee, whether it was because he was 
this incredible person from Rhode Island and Northeast, this son of 
early America; whether it was because he was a marine; whether it was 
because of his own particular and unique nature--he never backed away 
from anything.
  John Chafee was a great figure of the Senate. I am not in the 
position at this point to rate great figures in the Senate over eras. 
But I certainly start with the idea that John Chafee was and is one of 
those. I think he was an inspiration. He inspired me. I felt better 
when I saw him, when I was in his presence. I felt more motivated. I 
felt better about everything because he just did that to you, whether 
he was on his cane, as he was in the last month or so, or whether he 
was vigorous, as he was always before that. He enriched the lives of so 
many. He seemed to care very little about his own comforts, but, on the 
other hand, he was so devoted to his family.
  In closing, I want to think about Ginny; I want to think about his 
children; I want to think about his grandchildren; I want to think 
about his staff, people who must be absolutely devastated now, all of 
them, each of the categories of people close to him, whom I have 
mentioned. I want them to know they were related to, married to, 
children of, grandchildren of, and working for, a really very great 
American.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, on Monday, as so many others in this body, 
I was shocked to hear the news of the passing of my dear friend and our 
colleague, Senator John Chafee.
  I spoke out at that time of the feelings that both my wife Marcelle 
and I have for John and for Ginny and for their family. I would like to 
expand on that just a little bit further on the floor of the Senate.
  When I spoke first, it was off the floor. But John and I spent so 
much time in this body that I felt it would be only appropriate to say 
something here because I feel that it was an incredible privilege to 
have served with him. I know his presence is going to be missed greatly 
by everyone.
  It still seems strange to stand on the Senate floor and see his desk 
with a black shroud on it and the flowers there--something that in my 
25 years I have seen several times for colleagues. You always hope you 
will not see it because when you see it you know--whichever side of the 
aisle it is on--that you will miss a Member of this very special 
family. There are only 100 who are privileged to serve, at any one 
time, in this body representing a quarter of a billion people. We have 
respect for each other, affection for many.
  I think in this case, when you hear what has been said by Senators on 
both sides of the aisle, you know the great affection and respect there 
is for John Chafee. And it is only natural. He was a truly 
extraordinary man. He dedicated his life to serving his State of Rhode 
Island and his country. He did so with a commitment that yielded many 
benefits to all Americans, way beyond Rhode Island or New England.
  He had a distinguished military career. He never questioned when duty 
called, even when it was at his own personal expense. He left Yale 
University as an undergraduate to serve in World War II. He returned to 
active duty in

[[Page 27368]]

Korea shortly after receiving a law degree from Harvard. His 
contribution to Rhode Island and our country continued as Governor of 
his State, as Secretary of the Navy, and as a Senator.
  The list of positions he held indicates a man of rare qualities. But 
what he did in those positions is what places John amongst the finest 
Americans to have served in the Senate. He was passionate about issues, 
but he had the unique ability to search for compromise among otherwise 
divided colleagues. He never seemed to lose sight of the fact that the 
Senate was working toward a common good, not an individual one.
  From taking the office of Governor in 1962, in a largely Democratic 
State, to his four terms in the Senate, John Chafee showed the country 
he was willing to look past party lines and see what was at the heart 
of the issue at hand.
  He made so many significant, visible and invisible, contributions to 
the Senate in the 24 years he served in this body. I was privileged to 
serve with him in each of those years. He was a tireless advocate of 
the environment, becoming the chairman of the Environment and Public 
Works Committee in 1994. He was a staunch supporter and advocate of 
many of the most important environmental protection laws that have been 
passed, including the Clean Air Act of 1990. He was always one of the 
strongest voices behind the protection of our wetlands, as well as the 
need to stop global warming from further progression.
  I remember our latest legislative effort together on the so-called 
takings legislation, when John and I took to the Senate floor defending 
the rights of States and local officials to make their own decisions 
about their communities. I am sure many in the Senate probably grew 
tired as the two of us reminisced about New England character and the 
landscape we love so much. At times during that debate I thought the 
Chambers of Commerce of Rhode Island and Vermont should probably have 
hired us for all the things we were saying, but we made our point.
  In health care, John was an advocate of compromise. His efforts to 
strengthen Medicare and Medicaid were actually seen as trying to 
appease Republicans and Democrats alike. What he was trying to do was 
to bring us together, because in every bend of the road, John was an 
advocate of serving his country to the very best of his ability. And he 
was successful in that every day of his life.
  I think of arms control issues in the 1980s. John Chafee, John Heinz, 
Dale Bumpers--I remember working with them. We were sometimes referred 
to as the ``Gang of Four'' as we worked to bring reason to the nuclear 
arms race, even though we spanned the political spectrum among us. But 
as a veteran, as a decorated veteran, as a respected veteran, as a 
respected former Secretary of the Navy, John was not only an 
inspirational strategist in the ``Gang of Four'' but also an important 
resource of knowledge about the needs of an operationally effective 
nuclear triad.
  So all of us have lost a beloved friend, one who will be missed 
dearly in the Senate. But the country should know the country suffered 
a great loss. Here was a man whose outlook and morals were of the 
highest standard. That should be something Senators in the present and 
the future should emulate. He was an anchor of civility for the Senate.
  It is interesting that both he and my distinguished predecessor, as 
the senior Senator from Vermont, Bob Stafford, served as chairmen of 
the Environment Committee--both bringing those New England 
characteristics of civility in working for the better good.
  Marcelle's and my thoughts and prayers are with Ginny and the rest of 
the Chafee family; and also with John Chafee's staff, who are among the 
finest people here--his extended family.
  He will be missed. It was a privilege for the 99 remaining Senators 
to have served with him. And I think all 99 know that.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to join with my colleagues in 
paying tribute to Senator John Chafee. With his passing this week, the 
Senate lost a wise and courageous voice. Anyone who spent any time in 
the Senate could see that Senator Chafee's reputation for honesty and 
individual conviction were well-deserved.
  I want to offer his family my deepest sympathy and my deepest 
appreciation for sharing him with us for so long. He served as a role 
model of what a Senator should be.
  The more I think about Senator Chafee--the more I realize the 
qualities that are rare today, were common in the gentleman from Rhode 
Island. Rare qualities like courage, independence, and a desire to 
always do what is right.
  He often fought alone for what he believed was right. He worked for 
legislative compromise, but never compromised his own principles.
  I was proud to join with him on many important initiatives, and his 
mark can be found on many of the landmark environmental protection laws 
enacted in the last twenty years. He was a thoughtful 
environmentalist--protecting the health and welfare of people, 
wildlife, and the environment as a whole, while at the same time 
balancing the needs of the economy. He recognized the fact that the 
West had a different relationship with its natural resources than the 
East. His work on clean air, clean water, oil pollution, and endangered 
species has benefited the entire nation. The people and the environment 
in my state, 3,000 miles away from Rhode Island, are far better off 
today, because a man named John Chafee served 23 years in this body.
  Senator Chafee was also a consistent and articulate supporter of 
trade. And on issues like China MFN, he and I worked for the same 
goals.
  Senator Chafee was a champion of women's health care long before it 
was politically correct. Long before anyone had ever heard of ``soccer 
moms,'' he stood alone many times to fight for women's health, and he 
never backed down.
  Senator Chafee was also a strong advocate of a woman's right to 
choose. He was a voice of reason in an increasingly emotional debate. 
He protected a woman's right to determine her own fate and to make her 
own health care decisions. He worked to improve access to reproductive 
health care services and to improve security at women's health clinics. 
I always took a great deal of comfort knowing he was at the table 
fighting for women.
  Perhaps his greatest commitment was to children, all children. He 
worked to expand Medicaid to provide health care for milllions of low 
income children. He fought to protect Medicaid. I know there are 
milllions of children who are now healthy adults because of the work of 
Senator Chafee. One of my most vivid memories of Senator Chafee was 
fighting on the floor in June 1997 to expand health care security for 
the 10 million uninsured children. He refused to give up his goal, and 
he refused to pass an empty promise. His work created the successful, 
bipartisan Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which ultimately 
will provide health security for five million children. Think of the 
kind of impact he will have on the quality of life for these five 
milllion children.
  Mr. President, I believe one of my roles in the Senate is to speak 
for those that have no voice--children, working families, the 
environment, battered women, and the elderly. Those are the same causes 
John Chafee served and served so selflessly. I only hope I can measure 
up to the standard he set.
  When someone like John Chafee--someone with rare personal qualities 
and a legacy found in the millions of people his policies helped--when 
someone like that leaves this world, it makes the rest of us reflect on 
his contribution. Mr. President, this Senate is the poorer for his 
passing.
  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, today I join my Senate colleagues, the 
people of Rhode Island, and the citizens of this great nation in 
bidding a sad farewell to our friend and countryman John Chafee.
  From the shores of Guadalcanal to his hometown of Providence, RI, to 
the floor of the United States Senate, John Chafee was a true patriot. 
In everything he did, he put the best interests of the United States 
first.

[[Page 27369]]

  And even when I disagreed with him, I knew that our disagreements 
were legitimate disagreements about what each of us felt was the best 
interests of this great country.
  Descendant of two Governors and a Senator, John liked to joke that 
the one member of his family who ran for office as a Democrat--Harvard 
professor Zechariah Chafee--lost handily. John, knowing the family 
history, signed up as a Republican and never looked back.
  John was a remarkable man coming from a remarkable family. His legacy 
gave him a lot to live up to, and he not only met but exceeded all 
expectations.
  John's record of successes began at an early age. In high school, he 
was the runner up in the 135 pound class in the state wrestling 
championships. And let me tell you, nobody wrestles like those 135 
pounders! Not only was it an impressive achievement, but it was good 
training for a future career as a Senator.
  Later, at Yale, he was captain of the undefeated Yale freshman 
wrestling team. We will never know if he would have repeated that 
achievement the following year, because he left Yale in his sophomore 
year to enlist in the Marines--he didn't have to do that, but because 
he was an American Patriot, he did.
  In the Marines, he served at the Battle of Guadalcanal. John was in 
the first wave of Americans to join in the bloody and important battle 
there. This country will always owe a great debt to him and the other 
Marines who served so bravely there.
  After the Marines, John sought to move on with his life. He went to 
Harvard Law School, got married, and began the practice of law in the 
state he loved so dear. But duty called once again, and he returned to 
the Marines, to lead a rifle company in our struggle in Korea, and the 
nation's debt to him became even greater.
  After his service in Korea, John returned to Rhode Island and 
embarked upon a political career. While John had ups and downs in his 
time, he certainly had more ups than downs. And more importantly, he 
knew how to handle those downs.
  One of the downs came in 1968, when he lost the governorship in a 
surprising upset. Richard Nixon, recognizing the talent in John, tapped 
him to be Secretary of the Navy. There he was faced with a difficult 
decision concerning the chief officers of the Pueblo, a Navy ship that 
had been taken by the North Koreans. John decided not to court martial 
the captain and chief intelligence officer of the ship, deeming that 
they had suffered enough during their internment in a Korean prisoner 
of war camp. It was a difficult decision, but John Chafee has a great 
wisdom in difficult matters and the nation once again benefited from 
John's leadership.
  In 1976, he was elected to the United States Senate, the institution 
to which he would devote the rest of his days. Both John Chafee and I 
won elections to the Senate in 1994, he for his fourth term and I for 
my first. Despite the disparity in seniority, we became friends, 
exchanging greetings on his birthday, which was just last Friday. He 
always appreciated my greetings, and sent the kindest thank you notes 
in response.
  In my time here, I had the pleasure to work with him on a great 
number of issues, but two in particular stand out.
  The first is ISTEA, the all-important transportation legislation we 
passed here few years ago. I worked closely with John to secure 
desperately-needed transportation projects in my home State of 
Missouri. John was always willing to work with me and my staff, and the 
citizens of Missouri must be added to the list of those who owe him a 
debt of gratitude.
  The other issue that stands out in my mind when I think of John is 
his effort to reform the Superfund program. John was always concerned 
about the environment; back in 1969, the New York Post reported that 
John would stop his campaign motorcade and get out of his car to pick 
up a piece of litter. John always understood that we were all 
responsible for improving the environment, and his efforts to improve 
Superfund were based on that belief in individual action. As chairman 
of the Environment and Public Works Committee, he was in a position to 
act on his love for the environment, and his work in reforming 
Superfund is one of his most important achievements.
  John leaves behind a loving wife, Ginny, 5 children, and 12 
grandchildren. My prayers are for them at this time. They will miss 
him, as will we all.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to remember my friend and 
colleague, Senator John Chafee.
  We were both elected to this great body in 1976. But, John was not 
your average freshman Senator. Whereas I had never held office before, 
John came to the Senate with a service record to his State and his 
country that was already exemplary.
  He was a war hero, having fought with the Marines on Guadalcanal. He 
was a Rhode Island state legislator, Governor, and Secretary of the 
Navy.
  But here, he was not content to rely upon past achievements, no 
matter how great those achievements were. He fought diligently for a 
cleaner environment, better health care, and a fair and fiscally sound 
Medicare and Medicaid system. Most recently, we worked together on the 
``Caring for Children Act,'' a bill which would have responsibly taken 
our nation's child care policy into the next century, providing parents 
with more options and expanding the ability of states to meet the needs 
of low-income working parents.
  It was my pleasure to serve with John Chafee on the Finance Committee 
and the Select Committee on Intelligence. His leadership and 
understanding on these issues will be greatly missed.
  I secretly admired John in another way as well. I understand that he 
could play a mean game of squash, which is a game I never learned.
  Of all of John's titles--Governor, Secretary, Senator--I know that 
his favorites were ``Dad'' and ``Grandpa.'' I offer my deep condolences 
to John's wife, Virginia, and to their children and grandchildren. I 
know that spending more time with them and in his beloved Rhode Island 
following his retirement next fall was something that he looked forward 
to. The tragedy of his sudden death is all the worse because he was 
cheated out of this well-earned retirement.
  John Chafee was a gentleman, a statesman, and a true public servant. 
There is no higher accolade that I can pay him.
  Elaine and I send our deepest sympathies to his wonderful family and 
to all Rhode Islanders on this great loss.

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