[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1381-1382]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SENATOR TED KENNEDY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, The Apocrypha, or the Hidden Books, is a 
term used to describe the books found in the Alexandrine Greek 
Scripture (The

[[Page 1382]]

Septuagint), but absent from the Orthodox Hebrew Scripture. In the 
second book of Esdras is found the following Admonishment: ``Now 
therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that 
which hath befallen thee.''
  There is one Member of this body who seems to have lived his life by 
that particular piece of ancient wisdom. That Member to whom I refer is 
the senior Senator from the State of Massachusetts, Edward M. Kennedy.
  The saga of the Kennedy family is well known by nearly everyone. It 
is a story replete with triumphs and unfathomable tragedies. Many 
times, I have marveled, at the resilience displayed by Ted Kennedy and 
by his family. Somehow they always manage to regroup, to prevail, to go 
on, even in the face of devastation.
  I believe they find their strength in the love of each other, and in 
their unstinting devotion to public service.
  Senator Ted Kennedy is absolutely committed to public service.
  He has served and served wisely and well in the United States for 38 
years. First elected to the Senate in 1962, Ted Kennedy is now the 
third most senior Member of this body.
  A child of privilege, educated at Harvard and the University of 
Virginia Law School, Ted Kennedy could have taken the easier path in 
life. But instead Ted Kennedy came to the Senate to work. And the 
causes he has championed and put his broad shoulder to the wheel to 
support, are for the most part, the causes that benefit the little 
people--the poor, the downtrodden, the children in our society.
  Senator Kennedy has been an unstinting warrior in the effort to 
ensure quality health care to the citizens of the Nation. Two recent 
achievements in this area are the Health Insurance and Accountability 
Act of 1996, which makes it easier for those who change or lose their 
jobs to keep their health insurance, and the children's Health 
Insurance Act of 1997, which makes their health insurance far more 
widely available to children through age 18 in all 50 states.
  Senator Kennedy has for years, also been a dynamic leader on a wide 
range of other issues of central importance to the people of this 
Nation, including education, raising the minimum wage, defending the 
rights of workers and their families, strengthening civil rights laws, 
assisting individuals with disabilities, fighting for cleaner water and 
cleaner air, and protecting Social Security and Medicare for senior 
citizens.
  I have not always agreed with his solutions to our Nation's problems, 
but I have always respected his capacity for hard work, his devotion to 
the causes he champions, and his energetic ability to get things done.
  And although we have disagreed in the past, one time or another over 
the years, Senator Kennedy and I have come to be friends for a long 
time. We share many things in common, although two more different 
individuals in background could hardly be imagined. We share a love of 
history, of poetry, of the rough-and-tumble and the humor of politics, 
and we share a love and understanding of this Senate and the singularly 
important role it was intended to play in this Republic.
  Rarely have I been more touched than when Ted personally delivered 80 
long-stemmed roses to my office in remembrance of my 80th birthday, 2 
years ago. It was a memorable moment for me.
  Through all the triumphs and tragedies, through all the hard work, 
the disappointments, and the hard knocks that always accompany a long 
political career, Senator Kennedy has retained a young man's zeal for 
life, for service, for laughter, and for achievement. I believe that 
his shadow will loom large when the history of this body is written in 
future years. Already, the sum total of his legislative achievements is 
enormous, and he is still as active, as energetic and as committed as 
ever. Fortunately, for this body and for the Nation, we can expect 
many, many more years of loyal and distinguished service from the 
senior Senator from the Bay State.
  So today on the birthday of my friend, Ted Kennedy, I rise to salute 
his courage, his work, his resiliency, and his extraordinary friendship 
and kindness to me.
  And I offer to him this day one of those famous, certainly very 
lyrical of Irish blessings:

     May the road rise to meet you,
     May the wind be always at your back,
     May the sun shine warm upon your face,
     May the rain fall softly upon your fertile fields.
     And, until we meet again,
     May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gorton). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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