[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 27393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    IN HONOR OF SENATOR JOHN CHAFEE

  Mr. FITZGERALD. I take this opportunity to express my great sense of 
personal loss on the passing of our colleague from the great State of 
Rhode Island, John Chafee.
  I have only been in the Senate for under a year now. I got to know 
Senator Chafee while I was running for the Senate about a year ago. 
Even in that short period of time, I came to have great admiration and 
respect for Senator Chafee. I can only imagine the great sense of grief 
my colleagues and others who have known him several decades feel at his 
passing.
  Of all the people I have known in my lifetime, I have to say that 
Senator Chafee had more of an aura of goodness, kindness, gentleness, 
and of fineness than just about anybody I had ever encountered in my 
life.
  In many ways, he was a quintessential New Englander. He was modest; 
he was often taciturn. He did not complain about the health problems he 
had in the last few months. In fact, he didn't wish to talk about that. 
He was very hard-working. Others have spoken about his distinguished 
career in the Senate, as Governor of Rhode Island, and as our Secretary 
of the Navy. But for all of us who knew him personally, he was a great 
and fine gentleman. He embodied the best of his State, of his region, 
of our country, and certainly of this institution.
  I just wanted to say now how much I appreciated John Chafee for the 
warm welcome he gave me as a freshman Senator. I regret that I did not 
have the chance to thank him while he was still with us. We used to 
share the elevator rides after we voted. We were on the fifth floor of 
the Dirksen Building, and we would be riding up to that top floor 
together after practically every rollcall vote in the Senate. I got to 
know Senator Chafee quite well in the last few months. He was always 
very kind and interested in me as a freshman. He was always offering to 
help. When I took a trip earlier this year to give a speech in Rhode 
Island, he wanted to know beforehand exactly where I was going and my 
itinerary in his State, and he quizzed me about it afterward.
  He was a Theodore Roosevelt Republican who was concerned about the 
preservation of our environment, enhancing it for future generations, 
and he did a marvelous job as chairman of the Environment Committee.
  I express my condolences to his wife Virginia, his five children, and 
most especially to his staff. Senator Chafee's office is right next 
door to my office in the Dirksen Building. I know that he had a very 
loyal staff who loved him dearly. Many of his legislative assistants 
had been with him for 10 years or more, which bespeaks the sense of 
loyalty and affection they had for him. I know they have suffered a 
great loss, and we extend our condolences to them. John Chafee will be 
missed by me and by all of us in the Senate and by the great State of 
Rhode Island and by our country.
  I yield the floor.

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