[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15196-15197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    BEST WISHES TO SENATOR PAUL COVERDELL DURING A HEALTH CHALLENGE

  (Mr. BLUNT asked and was given permission to address the House for 5 
minutes and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, about a year ago I began to work closely on a 
number of projects with Senator Paul Coverdell from Georgia. I just 
want to take some time today to express my appreciation for his great 
work for the House, the Senate, for America, and extend our best wishes 
to him and his wife, Nancy, as they deal with the challenge to his 
health right now.
  Senator Coverdell brings humility to this job, a humility that is 
rare in public office. He brings dedication, an ability to work hard, a 
tremendous insight, and certainly those of us in the House benefit more 
than we know by his hard work in the Senate, his hard work for this 
process.
  I would like for him and his wife, Nancy, to know that we are 
thinking about them as he deals with this health challenge, and that we 
need him back here. We hope for his speedy recovery. We know that if 
anybody can meet this

[[Page 15197]]

challenge in an extraordinary way, Paul Coverdell can.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BLUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. LINDER. I thank the gentleman for taking this time, Mr. Speaker.
  I have known Paul Coverdell since 1972. There was not an important 
project in politics or policy that went on in Georgia in the last 28 
years in which he was not involved, very often very quietly, very much 
behind the scenes. Lynne and I have been friends with him and Nancy 
since they were married.
  We want Nancy to know that our prayers are with them. We hope Paul 
recovers and gets back here. His country needs him.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BLUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank him for his expressions for Paul and Nancy. I, too, have known 
Paul Coverdell for the past 25 years, and no one in our State has 
contributed more.
  The people of the Sixth District will join me, I am sure, in their 
prayers and thoughts over the next few days for a speedy recovery for 
Paul. As the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder) so eloquently said, 
his State needs him, his country needs him, and we need him in the 
Congress of the United States of America. He has our thoughts and our 
prayers today as he meets his challenges ahead.
  Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BLUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. DEAL of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, 
and for taking this opportunity to express our concern for Senator 
Coverdell.
  Like most of those of us in the Georgia delegation, we have worked 
with Paul for many years. I worked with him in the eighties when we 
were both members of the Georgia Senate. He has always been one of 
those conscientious individuals who dedicated himself to whatever task 
was before him, and he has carried that same dedication here to the 
United States Senate.
  We wish for he and Nancy a speedy recovery, and our prayers and the 
prayers of those in our State will be with him.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BLUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and 
colleague for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I have known Senator Paul Coverdell for many years. We 
worked together in the city of Atlanta in the Fifth District. He has 
been very helpful and very supportive over the years.
  Our prayers are with him at this time, with his family, and we wish 
for Senator Coverdell a speedy recovery. We ask that the divine hands 
of the Almighty be with him during this hour.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. BLUNT. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. BARR of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chief 
deputy majority whip for providing this time on the floor today as Paul 
and his family are coping with a very serious medical illness that has 
befallen our colleague from Georgia on the other side of this great 
Capitol building.

                              {time}  1600

  Paul Coverdell is a man of Georgia. He is a true patriot of this 
country, and he works tirelessly on behalf of the people of Georgia and 
the United States of America. But first and foremost, he is a man of 
God. We ask the Lord's blessing on him and his doctors today as they 
cope with this very serious illness, and we ask for the prayers of all 
of our colleagues and all of those many millions of Americans whose 
very kind and gentle work and lives Paul has touched with his work over 
the years.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Rangel).
  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join with my colleagues in 
praying for a speedy recovery of Senator Coverdell. I have had many 
differences with the Senator on legislative issues, but I have not met 
anyone that has been more of a gentleman, more of someone that respects 
the other view, and someone that really respects the institution of the 
House and the other body.
  It is times like this that we throw away the labels of Democrat and 
Republican and realize that God's hand is involved in everything that 
we do, and at a time like this, only our prayers can be of any 
assistance to our colleague.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Chambliss).
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  I, too, would just like to echo the sentiment of all of my 
colleagues. Paul Coverdell is a great American. Nobody does more for 
his country or loves this country more than Paul Coverdell. He is 
simply a great American and great individual to work with us.
  Our prayers go out to Paul and Nancy as he goes through this very 
difficult time. We just look forward to a very speedy recovery for Paul 
and return to the United States Senate.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Collins).
  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I 
thank him, too, for bringing this matter and this announcement before 
the House of Representatives.
  Paul Coverdell is a colleague, but most of all he is a friend, a 
friend for many years to many of us. In fact, Paul Coverdell has been a 
role model for many of us who followed him and served with him in the 
different bodies of the legislature.
  When we received the call on Sunday afternoon that he had been 
admitted to Piedmont Hospital, our prayers began immediately, because 
we understood the severeness of his problem.
  I hope and I pray that all of my colleagues would join us, join with 
the people of Georgia, the people of this Nation in praying for a 
speedy recovery and a full recovery of Paul Coverdell.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Kingston).
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, it is times like this and many other times when one is 
dealing with Paul Coverdell that one no longer thinks of him as a 
United States Senator. One does not think of him as one of the most 
influential men in America. One thinks of him just as Paul, Paul and 
Nancy Coverdell, two friends whom we have all worked with over the 
years, whom we have all known and respected.
  One thing about Paul is one may agree or disagree with him, but one 
always respects his energy level, his knowledge of the issue, and the 
way he is so focused in attacking things. We are all his friends. He is 
a friend of the institution, and he is a friend of the governmental 
process, somebody who respects everyone and has that respect both ways.
  Our prayers are with him, and that is the best that we can all do at 
this time.
  Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends for participating today 
and the indulgence of the House as we talk about a person who is really 
of great value to the House.
  About a year ago, I was given an assignment that allowed me to work 
with Senator Coverdell every week. I told the person that gave me that 
assignment several months ago I would have done that job in retrospect 
if for no other reason than to get to work with Paul Coverdell.
  He is truly, as the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) said, one of 
the great gentlemen of this Congress. We need him to get our work done. 
We wish him well. Our prayers are with him and his family.




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