[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15389-15409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   REMEMBERING SENATOR PAUL COVERDELL

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, when my constituents ask me, what is the 
nicest thing about being a Senator, what do you enjoy the most, I have 
a ready answer: It is the people, the people we get to meet, the 
opportunities we have to interact with some of the most extraordinary 
individuals throughout the world.
  When I say that, my constituents immediately think of the great 
names:

[[Page 15390]]

Presidents of the United States, Presidents of other countries, famous 
Prime Ministers. Schoolchildren look at me and say: Have you ever met 
President Clinton? They are always a little in awe when I say yes. Then 
others, when I tell them of having met President Gorbachev, President 
Mubarak, or Chairman Arafat or some of the other names they read about 
all the time, say: Well, we can understand why you think that the 
people you get to meet is the fun part of the job and the most 
extraordinary benefit that comes from being a Senator. And that is 
true--meeting these famous people is something of a trip and a great 
opportunity.
  I always explain to them that the great privilege is not only meeting 
the famous names. It is meeting my fellow Senators. This is an 
extraordinary body, filled with extraordinary individuals, many of 
whose names never get into the headlines beyond their own States or 
outside of the circle of the beltway, but who bring to this body an 
incredible background of wisdom, experience, humor, perspective, 
balance, and understanding that makes it a great privilege and blessing 
for the rest of us to be with them.
  Paul Coverdell and I came in the same class. We were sworn in on the 
same day. We went through the experience of being freshman Senators who 
didn't quite know our way around.
  We would get together on a weekly basis, those in that class, and 
swap stories about how we had foolishly gone to the wrong room, or lost 
our way in a corridor, or found ourselves buried in the unexpected tide 
of work, mail, phone calls, and requests. We went through all that 
together as friends. We decided, in taking advantage of our situation 
as freshmen and serving in the minority, we would use the time that 
comes with that condition--time which more senior and majority Senators 
don't have--to educate ourselves and prepare ourselves for the service 
on which we were embarking.
  Paul arranged a trip to Kennebunkport to see his good friends, George 
and Barbara. The rest of us didn't call them George and Barbara. It was 
Mr. President and Mrs. Bush. Paul knew them well enough, went back long 
enough with them, that he arranged for the freshmen class of 
Republicans to go up to Maine and spend a day with the Bushes. It was 
about 3 or 4 months after President Bush had lost the election. He was 
full of stories, reflections, and philosophic observations. It was a 
wonderful time. We also went together, under the sponsorship of Senator 
Dole, to New Jersey to have a similar day with President Nixon. Paul 
was one of those who would use that, and any other occasion, to learn 
as much as he could soak up, to prepare himself as much as he could for 
whatever might come. That was one of the delightful things about it. He 
was enormously curious, always searching, and always anxious to find 
out how he could be of greater help.
  We finally stopped meeting every week as we got busier ourselves and 
as we got a little more experienced in the way the Senate works, so 
that we didn't need to commiserate quite so much about our earlier 
blunders. But our class remained close. We gathered together when Kay 
Bailey Hutchison was under fire in Texas and gave a little party for 
her before she left for her trial. We told her we would keep things 
straight until she could come back fully exonerated, which, of course, 
she has done. Paul was a moving force in putting together that bit of 
solidarity among the members of our class.
  Paul is the one who moved on to a leadership position in our class. 
We were all proud of him, all happy to support him. It goes without 
saying that we will miss him terribly. But it is my conviction, Mr. 
President, that as we mourn, we do not mourn for Paul. I don't know the 
details of what goes on, but I think it is not out of the question to 
think that John Chafee may be showing Paul the ropes now, suggesting to 
him that ``it will work a little better if you go this way,'' or, 
``Yes, I tried that when I first got here. Paul, let me show you the 
ropes.'' That may not be happening, but I don't think it is beyond the 
realm of possibility.
  We do not mourn for Paul; we mourn for ourselves, for the loss we 
have sustained, not for the problems he faces. The problems he faced 
are behind him now, as far as this life is concerned. And, knowing 
Paul, he will be learning, inquiring, asking questions, trying to find 
out and progressing still further, as he always did as a Member of the 
Senate. It is our loss that moves us to tears--the fact that we will no 
longer have his companionship and his wisdom and his friendship. But 
just as I suggest John Chafee may be greeting Paul, we can be confident 
that whenever the time might be for the rest of us, Paul will be there 
to greet us, and that helps lift some of the gloom and sorrow we feel 
on this occasion.
  I extend to Nancy and other members of Paul's family my deepest 
sympathy and condolences at this time. And I express gratitude, once 
again, for the experiences I have had as a Senator of knowing great 
people, meeting extraordinary individuals, and partaking of their 
wisdom and guidance. I count Paul Coverdell in the first ranks of that 
group.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Roberts). The Senator from Arizona is 
recognized.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, except for those who knew Paul Coverdell and 
his constituents in Georgia, I suspect it is very hard for others who 
may be watching here today or who hear other tributes to Paul Coverdell 
to appreciate the depth of sadness that all of us in this Senate family 
feel by the loss of Senator Paul Coverdell.
  Paul Coverdell was a special man. He was so active in nearly 
everything going on in the Senate that it is impossible to believe he 
is gone. The images of Paul smiling, gesturing, counseling, are still 
so fresh. If there was an indispensable Senator, Paul Coverdell was it.
  Paul was a doer, as we all know. He was successful not because of his 
energy alone--though that was considerable--but because he was trusted 
by all and he sought no recognition for himself. His judgment was 
sound, his intelligence keen. He was always kind and cheerful, never 
critical. The word ``helpful'' does not even begin to describe the aid 
and assistance he was always so ready to provide.
  I have lost a real friend and a confidant. Georgia and America have 
lost a great leader. Paul's family's loss is incalculable, especially 
for Nancy and his mother. Our sense of grief is tempered only by the 
faith that the Lord has His own purposes. We take comfort in the wisdom 
of Abraham Lincoln who said:

       Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with 
     an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day. 
     No, no, man was made for immortality.

  Godspeed, Senator Paul Coverdell.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Tennessee is 
recognized.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, as the American Revolution drew to a close 
in 1782, a Philadelphian turned to his friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush, and 
remarked, ``It looks as if the battle for independence has been won.''
  Dr. Rush replied, ``Sir, you are mistaken. The Revolutionary War may 
be over, but the battle of independence has just begun.''
  On the day before he died, as I had the opportunity to spend time 
with Paul Coverdell and his family, I thought about these words, and 
they have stayed in my mind over the last 48 hours because that idea--
that only constant vigilance can keep the flame of freedom from being 
extinguished--is one that perhaps no one believed in more, at least 
since I have been in the Senate, or acted upon more decisively than 
Paul Coverdell. With his passing, America has lost one of its most 
principled leaders and freedom, one of its staunchest friends.
  There will be a number of comments made today by people who have 
known Paul well, who have observed his commitment, his discipline, and 
his willingness to do jobs that most people leave to others, jobs he 
did in a way that was humble, gentle, and gave others the credit. We 
will hear again and again today because they were the hallmark of Paul 
Coverdell's work in this wonderful institution called the Senate.

[[Page 15391]]

  As a Senator from the neighboring State of Tennessee, I had the 
opportunity to work side by side with Paul Coverdell as we addressed 
issues important to both our States. But if there is one idea, one 
word, that best summarizes Paul Coverdell, his commitment to public 
service, to family and community, the word is ``freedom.'' Paul 
Coverdell was a relentless, tireless champion of freedom.
  I first met Paul 6 years ago when I was still Bill Frist, the 
physician who wanted to be a United States Senator. Paul sat down, and 
talked to me about freedom. He came to help me with a campaign event in 
Chattanooga, TN, and his whole talk--while saying, ``Yes, people, come 
out and support this new guy on the block, Bill Frist''--was about 
freedom.
  And since I have been in the Senate, he continually fought for 
freedom. He fought for the rights of individuals to raise, educate and 
provide for their families free of government intervention and 
excessive taxation. He fought to protect the privacy of individual tax 
returns. He fought to free local education from too much federal 
control. Believing freedom to be under genuine attack from the 
corrupting influence of drugs, he fought to increase funding for law 
enforcement, especially along our borders, and created a program to 
coordinate resistance to drugs among parents, teachers and communities 
that became a model for the nation. Understanding, as Jefferson did, 
that a well-educated citizenry is the surest foundation for freedom and 
happiness, Paul Coverdell fought to ensure that all children, 
regardless of income, receive the very best education from kindergarten 
to college.
  Perhaps it was his service with the U.S. Army in Okinawa that fanned 
the flames of freedom that never seemed to diminish in his heart. 
Perhaps it was his parents' ability--and I got to know his mom over the 
last 48 hours--to turn a small family business into a successful 
nationwide enterprise that strengthened his belief in the power of the 
individual to achieve the American Dream. Perhaps it was his experience 
with emerging democracies as President Bush's Director of the Peace 
Corp that deepened his resolve to ensure that freedom, once planted, 
has everything it needs to survive. President Bush and I spoke about 
that shortly after Paul was admitted to the hospital. Or perhaps it was 
his beloved wife, Nancy, who is going through such a difficult time 
right now, who helped him realize that love and freedom are the great 
gifts God has planted in the human heart, and so we must do all we can 
to preserve them.
  Whatever the reasons, Paul Coverdell believed in freedom, and he 
believed in America--the greatest expression of freedom next to man 
himself. He fought for both America and freedom because he understood, 
as Justice Brandeis once wrote, that ``liberty is the secret of 
happiness, and courage, the secret of liberty.''
  Over the past few years, I had the honor and the privilege of seeing 
Paul Coverdell's courage up close--in the Senate Republican Working 
Group on Medicare, where his commitment to our seniors was very 
apparent; in the Foreign Relations Committee, where he specialized in 
areas of the world not addressed by others; a commitment that obviously 
grew out of his work with the Peace Corps; in Republican strategy 
sessions, where his expert guidance helped us ensure that the American 
people, as well as our colleagues, understood the importance of the 
issues before us. It was a quiet courage, characterized not by bluster, 
but by humility and respect for others.
  Paul Coverdell knew what was right, and every day on this floor and 
in strategy sessions behind the scenes, he worked for what was right 
with all his might. Through men like him, the American Revolution is 
constantly reborn, the reservoir of freedom continually replenished, 
and all that is best America preserved for those who will follow.
  He was a wonderful husband, a great citizen of Georgia and the United 
States, an outstanding Senator--as reflected by his position of 
leadership--and a great patriot. He will be sorely missed by all 
Members of this body.
  May the Lord God who loves us all, shine His perpetual light upon our 
colleague, and comfort Nancy, his mother, and Nancy's parents in the 
days ahead.
  Mr. President, I thank the chair and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from South Carolina 
is recognized.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise to say a few words regarding the 
death of Senator Paul Coverdell.
  Winding its way to the sea, the Savannah River forms a natural 
boundary between South Carolina and the State of Georgia. Yet the river 
is not a barrier dividing these two states. Rather, its lakes, 
tributaries, and bridges bring the people of these two states together 
as neighbors and friends. As neighbors, we share many fine attributes 
of southern living and culture, agriculture, and the values that 
Americans hold dear. As friends, we work and play together, raising our 
families and supporting our communities.
  Today, I rise to pay tribute and respect to my neighbor and friend 
from Georgia, Senator Paul Coverdell. Senator Coverdell was my 
neighbor. He was more than just a colleague from a neighboring state. 
For the past eight years we have walked together and worked in the same 
corridor of the Russell Senate Office Building.
  Senator Coverdell was also my friend. Everyday, each of us looked 
forward to his warm smile, kind words, and expressions of care and 
concern. As I worked with him on regional issues, in the Senate 
Republican Leadership circle, where he served as Republican Conference 
Secretary, or in more general circumstances, Senator Coverdell always 
was thoughtful and considerate of others.
  Senator Coverdell leaves a great legacy. His life was dedicated to 
serving others and his Nation. After serving in the U.S. Army, he 
returned to Georgia and built the family business into a successful 
nationwide company. Elected to the Georgia State Senate, he was chosen 
by his peers to serve as Senate Minority Leader, a post he held for 15 
years. In 1989, President Bush named him as Director of the United 
States Peace Corps, where he redefined the agency's mission to serve 
the emerging democracies of Eastern Europe.
  Since his election in 1992, Senator Coverdell has worked hard in the 
Senate as a defender of freedom. He led the fight against international 
narcotics and terrorism. Understanding that freedom is nurtured by a 
well-educated citizenry, he introduced education reforms, and served as 
Chairman of the Senate Republican Task Force on Education. Senator 
Coverdell fought to protect the individual economic and political 
liberty of individuals and families.
  We mourn the loss of Paul Coverdell. We shall miss his companionship, 
but we will not forget the bond we had with him. Though his voice is 
silenced, we shall not forget the encouraging words he had for others. 
Though he now rests in peace, the impact of his good deeds will be felt 
for years to come.
  Shortly before his death, our former colleague Senator Everett 
Dirksen, responded to the question which each person faces. It is found 
in the Bible, in the book of Job: ``If a man die, shall he live 
again?'' (Job 14:14.) I quote Senator Dirksen's words published in U.S. 
News & World Report, November 8, 1965, p. 124:

       What mortal being, standing on the threshold of infinity, 
     has not pondered what lies beyond the veil which separates 
     the seen from the unseen? What mortal being, responding to 
     that mystical instinct that earthly dissolution is at hand, 
     has not contemplated what lies beyond the grave? What mortal 
     being, upon whom has descended that strange and serene 
     resignation that life's journey is about at an end, has not 
     thought about that eternal destination and what might be 
     there?
       If there be a design in this universe and in this world in 
     which we live, there must be a Designer. Who can behold the 
     inexplicable mysteries of the universe without believing that 
     there is a design for all mankind and also a Designer? . . . 
     ``If a man die, shall he live again?'' Surely he shall, as 
     surely as day follows night, as surely as the stars follow 
     their courses, as surely as the crest of every wave brings 
     its trough.


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  William Wordsworth, the revered poet, captured in verse a glimpse of 
this glorious plan and entitled his classic ``Ode to Immortality'':

     Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
     The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
     Hath had elsewhere its setting,
     And cometh from afar:
     Not in entire forgetfulness,
     And not in utter nakedness,
     But trailing clouds of glory do we come
     From God, who is our home:
     Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

  Paul Coverdell was a bright star in this world. Though it is now out 
of view, it is not dimmed. We take comfort that he has returned home, 
to his eternal destination. This day, my thoughts and prayers are with 
his wife Nancy, his family, his staff, and his constituents. I yield 
the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Wisconsin is 
recognized.
  Mr. KOHL. Last night, as we began consideration of the Agricultural 
appropriations bill, we were informed of the death of Senator 
Coverdell. The bill officially is still on the floor this morning for 
Senators who wish to speak on the bill but more appropriately for 
Senators who wish to speak about Senator Coverdell, who we all remember 
as an outstanding Senator, a good, a kind, and a decent man, a great 
patriot, and a great American.
  We will be officially in session on the bill but more appropriately 
here to listen to remarks by fellow Senators in his behalf.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, it has been my honor, and a privilege, to 
know our distinguished friend and colleague, Paul Coverdell, for a long 
time. I have had, overnight, the opportunity to think about his life 
and about his death.
  When a man dies, especially a friend, we are inevitably struck by the 
frailty of life, the speed of death, and the very painful void that is 
left behind. With the passing of our friend and colleague, Paul 
Coverdell, we are also struck by the promise of a truly brilliant 
future left unfulfilled.
  Alphonse de Lamartine once said:

       Sometimes, when one person is absent, the whole world seems 
     less.

  Today, that is exactly how I feel. The world seems less today.
  Paul and I worked together for many years. We were sworn into the 
Georgia State Senate on the same day, in January of 1971. In Georgia, 
we sit not as partisans, across the aisle, but we sit by numbers of our 
State senate districts. Fate had it that Senator Paul Coverdell sat 
right in front of me. So even though he was of one party and I another, 
we shared space on the floor of the State senate. We worked together in 
harmony for 4 years. It was a joyous time. It was a marvelous time to 
get to know this young talent.
  When I came to the U.S. Senate, Paul had preceded me. Paul stood on 
the floor of the Senate here with my parents watching from the balcony 
as I was sworn in. After that day, he helped me, he guided me, tutored 
me in the same way we had worked together so beautifully in the early 
1970s in the Georgia senate. From time to time in this body, on 
different sides of the aisle, we were on different sides of the issues. 
But he helped me learn. He helped me because he was a good man and a 
great friend, because he knew it was good for Georgia and for the 
country.
  I watched him work, incredulous--putting in 12- and 14- and 16-hour 
days. In Georgia, we have a saying: You are either a workhorse or a 
show horse. He was certainly a work horse. He fought hard for our 
State, for our farmers and businesses and the average taxpaying 
citizen. He used his deep breadth of knowledge in international 
affairs, which he had gained as Director of the Peace Corps, to fight 
what he called the most serious threat to America's freedom today--the 
war on drugs.
  Our colleague, Senator Moynihan, yesterday called Paul Coverdell a 
man of peace. I will reiterate that observation. From his time in the 
Georgia senate to his post as head of the Peace Corps under President 
Bush, to his quiet and wonderful leadership in the Senate, Paul had a 
peaceful and resolute efficiency about his work that I think we could 
all try to emulate. He worked hard. He achieved results. And he didn't 
care who got the credit. To lose a leader of this quality in this body 
in this day of ``gotcha'' politics, and one-upmanship, is a loss for 
this body and for our country and for Georgia.
  Paul was a leader. He led in his own quiet, positive way. I never 
heard him speak an ill thought or an ill phrase or a mean-tempered 
comment about anyone. He was a great legislator and a dear personal 
friend.
  I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Nancy, whom I have known 
for almost 30 years. I knew them when they first got married.
  Proverbs tell us:

       Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.

  I think we can all take great comfort in that. Nothing will lessen 
the impact that Paul Coverdell and his legacy have had on the State of 
Georgia and on this country. It is not the time for political thoughts 
or words but only words to remember one of the best U.S. Senators this 
body has ever known. Paul Coverdell, United States Senator from 
Georgia, a peach of a guy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Texas is 
recognized.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, cheerful, fun, accessible, down to 
earth, loyal, friend--those are the words you think of immediately when 
describing Paul Coverdell. I am not going to make a long statement 
today because I know there will be a time set aside for our memorials 
to Paul Coverdell. I have seen some of our friends today--Paul's 
friends, my friends--and many of them do not feel capable of talking 
about him right now. It is not that he wasn't one of our greatest 
friends. They are not here because they can't talk about him yet.
  This is a man who served our country in so many ways, all the things 
a good citizen should do: He served in the Army; he was the head of the 
Peace Corps; he was a wonderful Senator, one of our leaders in the 
majority--the fourth highest ranking among us.
  I do want to say more about him later, but for now I think our 
majority leader said it very well last night. All of our hearts are 
broken for the loss of this wonderful man who will have every tribute 
that we can give him in the future weeks.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, this is a sad day for all of us. It is a 
sad time in the Senate. Paul Coverdell was, first of all, our friend. 
He was someone who, if we took a secret poll in this Senate, I think 
many Members would say, was their best friend. That tells us something 
about this man.
  He was a kind, he was a gentle, he was a sweet man. This Senate will 
not be the same without Paul. It will not be the same because of that 
kindness, because of that spirit, because of that unbelievable energy 
he brought to any task he took on, and did he take on the task. 
Whatever it was, Paul would do it and do it effectively. He was one of 
the key people in making this Senate run. Candidly, he was that person 
not because of his leadership position, which was significant, but the 
leadership position he obtained was a result of the fact that he was 
one of the key players in the Senate and he got things done.
  That effectiveness came because of his energy, because of his drive, 
because of his determination, but it also

[[Page 15393]]

came because he could get along with people on both sides of the aisle. 
He knew people, he understood them, he liked people and people liked 
him back, and that made him effective.
  He was effective because he did not have a big ego. We all have big 
egos in the Senate, but Paul did not seem to have one. He did not seem 
to care if he got credit; another rarity, I suppose, among politicians. 
He just got the job done. He was always seeking some way to get it 
done. He did not seek the limelight. He did not worry about who got the 
credit.
  Each one of us brings different stories or remembers different things 
about Paul Coverdell. I worked with him on Central American issues, 
Caribbean issues, and Latin American issues. Paul Coverdell is from 
Georgia. It was not necessarily logical that he had to concentrate on 
this hemisphere or worry about this hemisphere, but he did. He did 
because he understood it affected the people of Georgia and it affected 
the people of this country. He brought his passion to deal with the 
drug problem to that concentration and work on this hemisphere.
  I worked with Paul when we worked on the Caribbean initiative, when 
we worked on the initial drug bill we passed several years ago on drug 
interdiction in this hemisphere, and I worked with him when we were 
able to pass the Colombia aid bill.
  I remember on both bills going to Paul at different times and saying: 
Paul, this is not going very well. What do we do?
  Not only did the leadership responsibility go to Paul Coverdell to 
get things done, but people who are not in leadership went to Paul to 
get things done. I remember Paul would look at you, as only Paul could, 
and say: Well, let's do this. And he would tick off three or four 
things. Basically then I had the plan. We got it done. That is what we 
are going to miss in this Senate.
  The last time I talked with Paul was as we were leaving for the 
weekend. I said: I am worried about what is going on in Colombia. Why 
don't you and I go down there.
  He said: Let's do it. So we were talking about a trip sometime in the 
next few months to Colombia to look firsthand at the problem.
  I know all of us at a later date will have more formal comments to 
make, but I wanted to pause here for a moment with my colleagues to say 
thank you for the life of Paul Coverdell. He is someone who made a 
difference every single day he was in the Senate. We will miss him very 
deeply.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I want to speak about my colleague, 
Senator Coverdell. I know other Senators have. I absolutely have 
nothing rehearsed. There are many Senators who will speak about Senator 
Coverdell probably in a more profound and moving way than I can.
  There is one moment I want to remember about Senator Coverdell 
because this small story tells a large story. We had had a major debate 
about the Colombia aid package. Senator Coverdell and I were in a 
debate. We did not agree. It was a pretty good debate back and forth. I 
know from time to time during the debate I would reach over and touch 
his hand and say something to the effect: I just cannot believe you 
said this; this is wrong--something like that.
  At the end of the debate, I said, because I believed it and believe 
it: Senator Coverdell is a really good Senator.
  He smiled and touched my hand and said: Senator Wellstone is a really 
good Senator.
  I do not know if the latter part is true, but the point is that is 
the way he was. That is the kind of Senator he was. We talk about 
civility. He was just a beautiful person. I really enjoyed him. We need 
a lot of Senators like Senator Coverdell: Paul, you are wrong on the 
issues but you are a really good person.
  The Senate has lost a wonderful person and a wonderful Senator, and 
the United States of America has lost a wonderful person and a 
wonderful Senator.
  As a Senator from Minnesota, I send my love to Paul's family.
  I will not forget Paul Coverdell.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Democratic leader is 
recognized.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we are all stunned and saddened by the 
sudden death of our friend and colleague. Our hearts and prayers are 
with Senator Coverdell's wife Nancy, with his parents, with his family 
members, his many friends, and, I may say, particularly our colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle who have lost not only a close friend 
but a gifted leader.
  The great English poet Alfred Tennyson wrote of a dear friend who 
died suddenly: ``God's finger touched him, and he slept.''
  Yesterday, God's hand touched our friend. Now he sleeps. And now we 
mourn.
  Paul Coverdell's life was too short in years, but it was long in 
accomplishment: A husband, a son, a friend, a loyal ally, an honorable 
opponent, an Army veteran, a business owner, a State senator, a Peace 
Corps director, and a U.S. Senator.
  In his 61 years, Paul Coverdell filled all of those roles--and more--
with dignity.
  He spent half his life, and nearly all his adult life, in public 
service. He and I didn't see eye to eye on a lot of matters. To be 
honest, I can't think of too many times we found ourselves on the same 
side of the debate. But I can't think of a single time that he was not 
fair, that he was not decent, and that he was not honest.
  Paul Coverdell, above and beyond anything else, was a gentleman. He 
was a reminder to us that we can all disagree without being 
disagreeable. He is also a reminder, sadly, that none of us knows how 
long we will be here; how many more opportunities we will have in this 
life to right a wrong or to advance a peace or to make a difference.
  Last night, I was reading an interview Senator Coverdell gave a year 
or so ago. He was asked why he worked so hard on so many tasks, usually 
with very little public recognition. He replied, characteristically: 
``If you have been given a moment here, you shouldn't let the dust grow 
under you.''
  Paul Coverdell felt that in the marrow of his bones. He worked hard 
every day--to advance the causes he believed in and to serve the Nation 
he loved--until God's finger touched him.
  Now he sleeps the sleep of the just. We have lost a good and 
honorable friend. I will miss him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The distinguished Senator from Texas is 
recognized.
  Mr. GRAMM. Mr. President, at this time of shock and loss we tend to 
focus on Paul's death, but it seems to me that it is really a time that 
we should focus on his life. As we weigh how our lives and the life of 
our Nation has been diminished by the loss of Paul Coverdell, I think 
it is important that we also reflect on how our lives have been 
enriched.
  I first--I first met Paul Coverdell when I went to Georgia. He was 
campaigning for the Senate. And he was doing an event in this dingy old 
steel mill about industrial renewal. I had talked to him on the phone, 
I was--I was chairman of the Senatorial Committee, but I had not seen 
him in action. So I got up and spoke, and then Paul got up and spoke in 
that squeaky voice, and he sort of had a way of jumping up and down 
when he was speaking and waving his hands, so I tried to delicately 
whisper to him, quit jumping up and down, be still, but little did I 
know at that moment that with all of his outward appearance and the 
squeaky voice, that this man had the heart of a lion.
  He went on and won in that campaign. As chairman of the Senatorial

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Committee I was involved in 67 Senate campaigns. And he won the 
toughest race, defeated an incumbent, was in a runoff after the general 
election when everybody else would have sat down, given up, gotten 
tired.
  Paul Coverdell did not sit down and give up or get tired. He came to 
the Senate and we were immediately involved in the Clinton health care 
debate, and he and John McCain and I traveled all over America. We did 
147 events in this crusade to defeat the Clinton health care bill. And 
in all those events and all that travel--you all know Paul Coverdell--
he never got tired or never let on he was tired or got irritable.
  In the Senate where we all want glory, we all want to be out front, 
we all want to see our picture in the paper, Paul was one of those 
remarkable people who simply wanted to get things done. There was no 
job too small for Paul Coverdell. And there is no job too big for Paul 
Coverdell. Paul Coverdell managed in eight short years to become 
absolutely indispensable to the United States Senate.
  And I am very happy today about one thing--not much I am happy about 
today, but I am happy about one thing. We often feel something about 
people--we often love people, but, but we don't often tell them that. 
It's especially hard for men to tell other men that they love them. But 
what I am happy about--I can't quite get to it--is the following point. 
I realized over a year ago that Paul Coverdell had become an 
indispensable member of the Senate, that he was the greatest Senator 
from Georgia since Richard Russell. And so I always went to great 
lengths to say it. Here, in Georgia, and everywhere I got the 
opportunity to say it.
  This is a hard time for the Senate, and I just would like to conclude 
on the two points I tried to open up with but didn't quite get said. In 
these terrible moments when we are shocked and hurt we tend to think 
about how someone died. But at these moments it is critical that we 
focus on how they lived. We tend to look at how our lives and the life 
of our nation have been diminished, but it is important that we focus 
on how our lives were enriched by Paul Coverdell. My grandmother used 
to say that as long as anyone remembers you, that you're not dead. As 
long as I live, Paul Coverdell will be remembered.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hutchinson). The distinguished Senator 
from California is recognized.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, yesterday this body lost one of its 
finest Members. I greet this day with a very heavy heart.
  Paul Coverdell was not only a good Senator, he was a good and decent 
man. I found him to be a very nice man. I worked with him closely as an 
original cosponsor of his Education Savings and School Excellence Act. 
I found him very dedicated and very easy to work with. I found him to 
be above political correctness; he strived to do what he believed would 
work and would help people.
  We shared a common interest. We worked together on many antinarcotics 
efforts. We debated together on certification. I was his Democratic 
cosponsor of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. We talked 
together about what was happening. We tried to plan together. I found 
him to have a deep and abiding knowledge about Mexico, Central America, 
and Latin America.
  He had a kind of energy, enthusiasm, and dedication well known on 
both sides of the aisle here in the Senate. He was never one to seek 
the spotlight, but all of us here know how hard he worked. He wasn't 
the proverbial ``show horse''--he was a workhorse.
  He was a man who served the people of Georgia and this Nation with 
great distinction. He worked all of his adult life in public service. 
Simply put, Paul Coverdell made this body a better place and a more 
collegial place. All one really had to do was spend time alone with him 
in an office and listen to him and his thoughts as he sought to frame 
and advance an issue.
  Senator Harkin was in the elevator as I came up this morning. He 
said: ``It's so hard because on Friday he was alive and well in the 
Senate and today he simply is not here.''
  There is a passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes--Chapter 5, verse 
12--I will leave with the Senate: ``The sleep of a laboring man is 
sweet.''
  Paul Coverdell, you have labored hard. Your sleep will be sweet.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, it is with profound sadness and the 
heaviest of hearts that I come to the floor today to pay tribute to the 
memory of a friend, a colleague, and a man who brought honor upon the 
State of Georgia, our country, and the institution of the Senate--Paul 
Coverdell. My deepest sympathies go out to his wife Nancy, Paul's 
family, friends and his staff at this most difficult of times.
  It is tragedies like this that remind us that, beyond the policy and 
the politics and the tremendous gravity of the issues we deliberate--
beyond the grandeur of this Chamber and the history we write on a daily 
basis--we are at heart an institution of individuals--of people. And 
when one of our own is lost to us forever, all of us are diminished by 
that loss.
  I first met Paul when I was a member of the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee and he came before us as President Bush's Director of the 
Peace Corps. I recall being struck not only by his obvious 
qualifications for the job, but by his warmth and his obvious esteem 
for the mission he was chosen to fulfill. To help foster the ideals of 
freedom and democracy for people throughout the world was for Paul a 
high and noble calling. And it was one he answered with typical energy 
and enthusiasm, optimism and hope.
  Indeed, when I think about all that Paul was--all that he symbolized, 
all that he meant to those who cared about him and the people he 
served--the single word that comes to my mind is, ``decency''. Paul 
Coverdell was many things: a devoted husband, a talented legislator, a 
strong and principled leader--but above all else, Paul was simply one 
of the most decent human beings one could ever hope to know. And any of 
us should be so fortunate to be remembered as that.
  I well remember when I first came to the Senate from the House in 
1995, Paul had of course been here for 2 years, and he knew how 
difficult it was to get started, to get your feet firmly planted on the 
ground in these foreign surroundings.
  And so he helped us freshmen--and woman--to find our way around, to 
set up offices, to figure out the basics of how things work around 
here. While it is perhaps true that none of us have ever really figured 
out that secret, Paul and is staff certainly did their best to give 
advice and lend a helping hand. But then, knowing Paul as I do now, 
that really comes as no big surprise.
  Paul was always helping people, always contributing to the world 
around him. From his service in the U.S. Army to the state legislature 
to Director of the Peace Corps to United States Senator, Paul believed 
that to serve others was a privilege, not a burden. He truly believed 
that he could made a difference in people's lives. And he was right.
  What a a lesson his life can teach an often cynical world. We ask 
ourselves, what can one person do? What kind of a positive impact can 
government truly have on the lives of others? What happened to the idea 
of public service as a noble calling?
  To those questions there is one simple answer--people like Paul 
Coverdell exist in the world: Good, honorable, trustworthy people who 
call us to our better nature, who exemplify what the framers of this 
Nation had in mind when they created what they hoped would one day be 
the greatest deliberative body on earth.
  He personified another virtue that often seems in short supply in a 
world

[[Page 15395]]

where the volume of one's indignation is all too frequently the sole 
measure of one's passion--and that virtue is civility. Paul let the 
weight of his arguments speak for themselves, and where there were 
disagreements he respected those who disagreed with him. Perhaps that 
is why he engendered such deep respect in return.
  It is little wonder, then, that Paul rose so rapidly through the 
ranks of leadership. He had a keen grasp of policy and detail, and 
nobody worked harder on behalf of his constituents and his party.
  He was truly a ``legislator's legislator''--not only creative in 
developing solutions, but always focused on moving the ball forward, on 
producing results for the people of Georgia and America whether in the 
areas of education, keeping drugs out of the hands of our children, or 
allowing hardworking Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.
  In fact, I remember at one point my staff commented to me that it 
seemed like everything we were considering in the Senate seemed to have 
Paul's stamp on it. But that was typical of Paul. He never stood 
still--and he never forgot the sacred trust that must exist between 
elected officials and those they are obliged to serve.
  Just as important, Paul was a man for whom his pledge was his bond--
and that only counts for everything in this institution. His words had 
credibility, his ideas merit, and is actions sincerity. He made me 
proud to be a member of the United States Senate. He made us all proud.
  Once again, my heart goes out to Paul's wife Nancy, his family, 
friends and all of his staff--whom I know are heartbroken as we all 
are--and to the people of the State of Georgia, who have lost a great 
leader and true friend. He will surely be missed by all of us who were 
fortunate to have known him, but his legacy will just as surely live on 
in all those whose lives he has touched.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, after watching my colleagues and the depth 
of concern and personal passion they have at the loss of Paul 
Coverdell, I want to tell them of an experience I had last night. 
Something came to me when I was at a dinner and we had just heard the 
news. It was the seventh Beatitude:

       Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the 
     sons of God.

  It occurred to me that this was really Paul Coverdell; he was the 
ultimate peacemaker. It was impossible for Paul to walk into a roomful 
of people, whether Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives--
hostility, anxiety, it all subsided when Paul came in.
  I remember when I was first elected from the House into the Senate in 
1994. Paul had just arrived here. He didn't give the first impression 
as being a dynamic person, even an articulate person. You had to know 
him and know him well. But after you did, he was unlike anyone else we 
have been exposed to here in this body.
  I thought last night about all the things we deal with here in the 
Senate. It was articulated in Matthew 9, starting with verse 35. It 
says:

       Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in 
     their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and 
     healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, 
     he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and 
     helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

  This is kind of the way we are. We are dealing with the problems of 
poverty, the problems of crime--a multitude of problems. So somebody 
has to be the one to take on those responsibilities.
  I read the following verse:

       Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, ``The harvest is 
     plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the 
     harvest, therefore, to send out laborers into his harvest 
     field.''

  When I, last night, thought of that verse, I thought, really, Paul 
Coverdell is the laborer who was sent, was raised up to deal with these 
problems, and all the problems we deal with on a daily basis, in his 
own unique way. So I would just say our prayer for Paul Coverdell right 
now is the last verse of the 23d Psalm:

       Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the rest of 
     my days; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

  Amen.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I come to the floor to express my sadness 
at the passing of a very kind colleague. I want to say to his family 
and to his close friends, in Georgia and here in the Senate, who really 
loved him and who worked with him every day, I send you my strength and 
my prayers.
  Paul Coverdell was never afraid to disagree because he came here with 
beliefs. But he never, ever was disagreeable. I went back through the 
Record this morning because I remember actually several occasions where 
he and I were on different sides on issues, tough issues. Gun control, 
for example, was one of them, where we disagreed on a particular piece 
of legislation; Education, where we disagreed on a particular piece of 
legislation. We were yielding time back and forth, and every single 
time it was ``my friend from Georgia,'' ``my friend from California.'' 
The disagreement was deep on the issue, but it was always collegial; it 
was a model for what should happen here in the Senate where we 
definitely have deep, heartfelt disagreements but we can disagree in a 
way that shows respect for one another and caring for one another. And 
he did that.
  I wanted to come to the floor to say that because it is perhaps a 
quality we do not see enough of, and all of us ought to think about 
that.
  I do not want to repeat what has been said about his contributions to 
this country. The record shows they were powerful and strong--from the 
Peace Corps, to serving in the Senate, to helping his party, to helping 
Governor Bush. He was his key person, as I understand it, in the 
Senate. People trusted him with these responsibilities.
  I wanted to say as a Member from the other side of the aisle that I 
am stunned and saddened, and I see my colleagues are very impacted by 
this. I feel for everyone who feels this loss in a very personal way. I 
feel it in a way of someone on the other side of the aisle who really 
did respect this man and enjoyed the colloquies and debates we had 
because it never was with animus. It was always done with great 
respect. He will be missed. Again, I send my sympathy to his family and 
his friends. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Pennsylvania.
  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, there is a heavy cloud hanging over the 
Senate Chamber today. A bouquet of flowers with a black tapestry is on 
the desk of our departed colleague, Senator Paul Coverdell, whose 
presence will be greatly missed.
  There is a saying that in Washington, in Congress, in the Government, 
a great deal could be accomplished if there was less concern--perhaps 
no concern--for who gets the credit. Paul Coverdell epitomized that 
concept.
  He was always in the thick of the action. He was always prepared to 
help. He did it with conciliation, with good will and accommodation, 
and in the spirit of compromise; self-effacing and never interested in 
the credit, not interested in the news reports or the television 
acclaim or any of what is customarily associated with the politics, the 
public relations of the Congress in Washington, DC. That kind of 
effective, quiet Senator behind the scenes is a relative rarity here.
  He had a very distinguished career in the Georgia Legislature, in the 
Georgia State Senate, going back to 1970. He was the Republican leader. 
Just this morning I talked with people who knew him in Georgia. It was 
the same Paul Coverdell 30 years ago whom we saw in Washington heading 
up the Peace Corps, a nonglamorous but a very important undertaking to 
project America around the world with young people, and then in his 
election to the Senate in 1992 and the immediate recognition of his 
colleagues who knew him well, even though he was not so well known with 
the television cameras but very well known by his colleagues, and 
elected to a leadership position, No. 4, in the Republican caucus.
  He was the point man for the Republican caucus on education. He 
brought

[[Page 15396]]

to that very important subject, a subject of priority second to none in 
America today and in the world today, again his quiet effectiveness.
  I had the opportunity to work with him on the appropriations bills on 
the subcommittee which I chair which covers, among other Departments, 
the Department of Education. For the last 2 years, we had a list of a 
couple hundred amendments, and in the flurry of floor action, Paul 
Coverdell was enormously effective in talking to Senators about their 
amendments, saying which ones could be accepted, which ones could be 
accommodated without coming to the floor even for a voice vote, and 
then narrowing the frame of reference as to which ones had to be 
debated with time agreements and which ones had to be voted upon.
  The management of a Senate appropriations bill is a complicated 
matter, especially when you have a $100 billion-plus budget and you 
have to worry about Head Start, drug-free schools, the National 
Institutes of Health, worker safety, and the myriad problems. Paul 
Coverdell was an effective man to get that job done.
  Senator Bill Frist--Dr. Bill Frist--gave us all a report on the 
medical aspects of what happened to Senator Coverdell: that it was not 
painful, an extraordinary medical incident with problems which simply 
could not be contained or controlled.
  I know every Senator sends sympathies to the Coverdell family, to his 
wife Nancy. He will be sorely missed for the great contribution which 
he has made.
  There are tough days in the Senate. Last year, in October, we had the 
passing of our dear friend, John Chafee, and now the passing of Paul 
Coverdell. While we intend to focus on matters of Government and high 
finance, international affairs and war and peace, nothing is more 
sobering than to see what is really important with the loss of a very 
special friend and a really great Senator.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we celebrate today the life of our 
friend and colleague, Paul Coverdell. On behalf of my wife Elaine, who 
succeeded Paul in the job as director of the Peace Corps, and myself, I 
extend to Nancy and all of Paul's friends our sincerest condolences.
  I first met Paul in 1988. I was traveling around the South during the 
Republican Presidential primaries. I was a supporter of then-Vice-
President George Bush. I happened to find myself in Georgia, and ran 
into a State senator in Georgia named Paul Coverdell, who was also 
active in that campaign. Paul, as he often did, made an immediate good 
impression. I recall the people in the Georgia meeting were all quite 
deferential to him. It was clear he had achieved a level of respect at 
that point in his career. Having served in the State senate in Georgia 
for 18 years, having been the leader of a rather small group of 
Republicans in that body, he had nevertheless achieved a level of 
respect at that point.
  As we all know, Vice President Bush became President Bush, and the 
next time I met Paul Coverdell, he had been nominated to be director of 
the Peace Corps. As many Senators have said, he did an extraordinary 
job running that well-known agency.
  Sometime in 1991, Paul came into my office and said: I am thinking of 
running for the Senate. I am going to be running against an incumbent 
Democrat in the South. I know that is rather difficult to do.
  We talked about the experience I had running against an incumbent 
Democrat in the South. We struck up the beginnings of a real friendship 
during which we talked off and on during his extraordinary quest for 
the Senate.
  It was indeed an extraordinary quest. Because of the peculiarities of 
Georgia law, Paul Coverdell is surely in the Guinness Book of Records 
because he won four elections in 1 year. I am not certain what the law 
of Georgia is today. I think it is still the same with regard to 
primaries. In order to be the nominee of a party in Georgia, you have 
to get 50.1 percent of the vote. Paul had a very contested primary for 
the nomination. He did not get 50.1 percent of the votes, so he was in 
a runoff in order to achieve the nomination. So it took our good friend 
two elections to get the nomination.
  Then Georgia had--I believe they have since changed this law--a 
requirement that in the general election, in order to become a U.S. 
Senator, you had to get 50.1 percent of the vote.
  Election day came and went, and neither Paul nor his opponent, the 
incumbent, had achieved 50.1 percent of the vote. So there was a runoff 
for the general election--a hotly contested, spirited contest--in which 
Paul came out on top, I believe, in early December of 1992.
  So he had won four elections in 1 year in order to find his way to 
this body. Paul was indeed tested right from the beginning in his quest 
to become a Senator.
  I remember in the early stages of that campaign, people did not take 
Paul very seriously. As I watched his growth and development, almost 
from the beginning it seemed he was consistently underestimated. But in 
his extraordinarily effective and friendly manner, he managed to make 
himself a force in the Senate very quickly, to the point, as many have 
said already, that he was elected as one of our leaders in his first 
term.
  One of his staffers lives in my neighborhood. I noticed on the back 
of the car the Coverdell bumper sticker, which says: ``Coverdell 
Works.'' There may have been another bumper sticker somewhere in 
America that said: ``Someone Works,'' but I can't think of a bumper 
sticker or, for that matter, a better way to sum up our friend and 
colleague Paul Coverdell than ``Coverdell Works.''
  He was ubiquitous. He was everywhere. As all of us who work in the 
Senate know, in order to make anything happen, you have to develop 
little groups to work in an area to try to advance the ball in the 
middle of these 100 substantial egos, each of which has its own goals 
and aspirations. Paul was literally ubiquitous, all over the place, in 
a group here, in a group there, always advancing the cause. He did it 
in a friendly, effective, and intelligent manner.
  No one is irreplaceable. The Senate continues to function. We are 
functioning today, although probably not very effectively. But if I 
have ever met somebody about whom I could say he was almost 
irreplaceable in the Senate, it was Paul Coverdell.
  So it is with extraordinary sadness, not only personally but in terms 
of the loss in this institution, that we say goodbye to our good 
friend, Paul Coverdell.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Burns). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise to recognize and celebrate the 
life of Paul Coverdell, as many of my colleagues have today, a 
beautiful, warm-hearted, deep-souled man who was constantly encouraging 
and engaging people. I know he is hearing these comments. I wish I 
would have said them to him physically as well, but we know he is here, 
as we celebrate a life well lived.
  It is a very sad day for us in the Senate. I caught the comments of 
Senator Gramm earlier wherein he said that instead of staring at the 
death, we should stare at the life; instead of staring at our loss, we 
should stare at our gain from having known Paul Coverdell. That is a 
very appropriate way for us to look at and think about it.
  Paul touched so many of us in the Senate in many wonderful ways. One 
of the things he did for my family that I most remember was sending us 
a book by a Georgian author. The title of the book was ``Lights Along 
the Way.'' It was a collection of vignettes of people of faith, acts 
they had performed--

[[Page 15397]]

many of them very obscure, some of them well known--to help people 
along the way. For example, one person had adopted 10 children, and the 
light this person had been along the way; some of the things Abraham 
Lincoln had done, a clear light along the way. My daughter and I would 
frequently read one, maybe two of these stories at night before going 
to bed. They were uplifting, happy, light, joyous stories of lives well 
lived, of somebody being a light along the way.
  That is exactly what Paul Coverdell was, a light along the way. If 
you saw him during the day, it was never a confrontational meeting. It 
was always a happy meeting. Even though you may disagree about 
something, he was always trying to be helpful. He was a peacemaker. As 
you would pass through your day, he was one of those lights along the 
way. That is why our grief is so great. When you lose part of that 
light, it makes it very difficult. He clearly was that. He was one of 
those people who talked about the scripture of God working through an 
individual and that it was God working in him to be that light along 
the way.
  I think Paul was truly that, a beautiful, deeply-caring man. He cared 
for his country, cared for his friends. He cared for people who were 
not his friends. I never saw him give a harsh or a cross word to 
anybody. I never saw him hardly give a frown to anybody, let alone a 
harsh word. It is those sorts of vignettes of Paul's life that I 
remember, that stick out in my mind, his being such a light along the 
way.
  I hope he is a light we don't forget. I hope he is a light we learn 
from. Light cleanses. Light shows us the way. Light points to where we 
ought to be and where we ought to go. Many times, it is a point of 
light in the distance that we seek, towards which we aim, whether it is 
a lighthouse or a distant shining light.
  That is what Paul is to us now, one of those lights we seek and aim 
towards, hoping that in some way, at some time in our life, we will be 
able to draw closer, move towards it, be purer, be a greater light; 
that when we enter a room, people will react as they did when Paul 
entered a room. You can enter a room and there are shadows that come 
out, frowns, or you can enter a room and people start to smile and be 
happy, even though they are not exactly sure why you are there. Paul 
was one of those where the room started to light up rather than get 
darker when he entered.
  I hope his is a light we will always remember. As we mourn today, we 
celebrate that light among us, a light for us to aim towards. He was a 
great man.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I want to spend a few minutes today to 
join in paying tribute to our former colleague, Paul Coverdell. 
Memories of Paul consistently paint a picture of a hard-working, even-
tempered consensus-builder. He sought results, not headlines. He was 
not one who basked in a national spotlight, but his quiet influence 
within this body has made a profound impact on public policy affecting 
all Americans.
  My last opportunity to work with Paul was during consideration of the 
Educational Opportunities Act this spring. It is fitting that our final 
work together addressed the subject of education, as this is an area 
where we had many dealings over the years. We did not always agree on 
the specifics, but the one thing about which we wholeheartedly agreed 
is the importance of education.
  During the S. 2 debate, Paul made a compelling case for the need to 
assure a good education for all of our citizens. He said:

       From our very founding, we have understood that a core 
     component of maintaining a free society is that the 
     population is educated. To the extent that any among us who 
     are citizens do not have the fundamental skills, the basic 
     education, they are truly not free. They cannot enjoy the 
     full benefits of American citizenship because they are denied 
     the ability to think for themselves, for their families, for 
     their communities, for the Nation.

  In all my work with Paul, I found him to be fair and accommodating. 
He was always one to search for the areas of consensus, and he was 
enormously successful in finding ways to reach accommodation to move 
things forward. His persistence and his commitment to making things 
happen--no matter how many obstacles were placed in the path--earned 
him the respect of all who had the privilege to work with him.
  I join in extending my deepest sympathy to his wife Nancy. I also 
offer my condolences to members of his staff, who have lost not just an 
employer but an inspiring example of the work and rewards of a life 
devoted to public service.
  We will miss Paul, but his inspiration to me and to all the others of 
this body will continue until we are gone from here also. I join all my 
colleagues in the deep sympathy that we feel at this moment.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
expressing our condolences to Paul Coverdell's wife Nancy and all the 
members of his family.
  I think that anybody who has watched the expressions and condolences 
that have already been offered would recognize immediately the extent 
to which Senator Coverdell touched all of us in the Senate and the 
extent to which he was a beloved colleague and friend.
  Paul's life achievement, in so many different ways, obviously 
deserves the tributes we are paying today. I wish to comment on some of 
those achievements. First, Paul Coverdell was one of the really 
remarkable leaders of our time. He began his political career in the 
Georgia Legislature and rose up to the leadership position in the 
Republican Party in the Georgia State Senate. He then came to 
Washington and made his mark as the Director of the Peace Corps. He was 
very instrumental in expanding and successfully helping the Peace Corps 
to transition into a new era.
  Paul was a leader in his party. He served as chairman of the Georgia 
Republican Party at a time when there weren't a lot of Republicans in 
Georgia. But thanks to him, the party grew in strength. That is when I 
actually first became acquainted with him, because I chaired the 
Republican Party in Michigan at that time and we met in the context of 
national party meetings. Then, of course, Paul was elected to this body 
in 1992. I think everybody here is aware of how effective and how 
competent and able he was. He moved into the leadership of this Chamber 
fairly quickly--in, I think, his first term in the Senate. That doesn't 
happen too often in a place where seniority counts so much. But his 
observable abilities, talents, and incredible work ethic brought him to 
the attention of all of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle. On 
our side of the aisle, it resulted in him being put in a leadership 
role early in his career.
  More than being an effective leader, Paul was a tremendous colleague 
when it came time to needing some assistance on a project. I can't 
think of one important piece of legislation that I have worked on in 
the time I have been in the Senate when Paul Coverdell wasn't helping 
me in some fashion to get it through. I remember coming here in my very 
first couple of legislative efforts, on amendments and bills, as a 
freshman Member who did not know how this place worked and looking to 
him, who was a slightly more senior Member, for guidance and help; he 
was always there. He has been there for all of us. That is why I think 
today is such a tough day. It would not really matter what the issue 
was, he was

[[Page 15398]]

somebody who would try to help you. His staff was built by him to be of 
similar assistance.
  Of course, for all of us, probably the principal thing we would 
acknowledge in terms of Paul's attributes was the tremendous friendship 
he offered to all of us who were his friends. I had a unique 
relationship with him in the sense that he served as a mentor and 
friend to me in my first couple of years. When he sought a leadership 
position, I was proud of the fact that he asked me to place his name in 
nomination for that. I did so on the second occasion he sought to be in 
the leadership of our party. When you are asked to nominate somebody 
for one of these jobs, it obviously means a lot to you and tells you 
that you are well regarded by that person. I have to say it means an 
unbelievable amount to me to think that Senator Paul Coverdell thought 
of me as someone who he would want to play that role in his political 
career.
  As I said earlier, the reaction of his colleagues today demonstrates 
that others share my high opinion of Paul. So many have given 
statements already, and I know more will follow that will move us all. 
We have seen people express themselves in ways we never thought we 
would see. People who are known to come to the Senate floor and wage 
verbal debates back and forth on serious topics have already come here 
today and demonstrated, in the most human way, that they were so close 
to and touched by Paul Coverdell, and that all of the partisanship and 
the political debate is really second to them in importance to 
describing the friendship he provided all of us.
  So as I close we pray for the best for Paul's wife and family. We 
give thanks for having been able to share his friendship. On a personal 
level, I say: Goodbye, Paul, we will never forget you. You were a key 
part of all we have done here, and you will continue to play a role as 
our memories of you continue.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah is recognized.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, many years ago William Wordsworth wrote a 
wonderful poem entitled ``Ode On Intimations of Immortality,'' in which 
he said:

       Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
       The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,
       Hath had elsewhere its setting,
       And cometh from afar;
       Not in entire forgetfulness,
       And not in utter nakedness,
       But trailing clouds of glory do we come
       From God, who is our home. . . .

  I feel particularly bereft today because of the loss of Paul 
Coverdell.
  I have served here for 24 years and I have seen great people come and 
go. There are people in this body who are just as great as the Founding 
Fathers were. There may not be many, but there are people here who by 
any measure qualify as great leaders.
  These great people, who are able to cross party lines and bring 
people together, make this body the greatest legislative body in the 
world. Paul was one of those people.
  He was kind, he was considerate, a good listener; he was wise and he 
was a person with whom you would want to counsel if you had any 
concerns.
  But Paul was more than that. He was politically astute. He knew when 
to get tough about matters and stand up for what he believed. But there 
was also a kindness, a softness, a decency about him that is going to 
live long after today.
  I know that ``our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting,'' and that 
we came ``from God, who is our home.''
  I know that Paul was one of God's chosen people. He was given the 
privilege of coming here to be with us in the Senate. We had the 
privilege of knowing him.
  William Cullen Bryant once said:

     So live that when thy summons comes to join
     The innumerable caravan that moves
     To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
     His chamber in the silent halls of death,
     Thou go not, like a quarry-slave at night,
     Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
     By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
     Like on who wraps the drapery of his couch
     About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.

  Paul was like that. We are all going to miss him. The fact that he 
died such a quick and unfathomable death has made a mournful impression 
on all of us.
  Paul was one of those people who could move mountains because of his 
personality, because of his intelligence, because of his background, 
because of his experience, because of his kindness, because of his 
love, because of his fairness, and because of his leadership.
  I could go through all of his leadership qualities, all of the things 
he was working on and the accomplishments he made. Right now, I am 
thinking more of the mourning and the sense of loss we feel in losing 
Paul Coverdell.
  Tennyson wrote this wonderful poem called ``Crossing the Bar.''

     Sunset and evening star,
     And one clear call for me,
     And may there be no moaning of the bar,
     When I put out to sea.

     But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
     Too full for sound and foam,
     When that which drew from out the boundless deep
     Turns again home.

     Twilight and evening bell,
     And after that the dark!
     And may there be no sadness of farewell,
     When I embark,

     For tho' from out our bourne of time and place
     The flood may bear me far,
     I hope to see my Pilot face to face
     When I have crossed the bar.

  I have no doubt that Paul is going to see his pilot face to face. I 
have no doubt that he doesn't want any moaning of the bar as he put out 
to sea. I know he doesn't want any sadness or farewell now that he has 
embarked on this next phase of eternity.
  Let us today concentrate on all the good that Paul stood for on all 
his amazing accomplishments, not only as a Senator, but also as a man.
  We all know about Paul's love for education--he led our caucus on 
that issue--and all the work he did as chairman of the Senate 
Republican Task Force on Education to encourage learning opportunities 
for America's schoolchildren.
  Paul worked hard to make sure that every parent, every child, and 
every teacher could devote enough time throughout each year to 
educational matters. He made encouraging a love of reading his special 
priority for students, pupils, and teachers alike. He was a leader in 
formulating ``A+'' tax free accounts for education. His landmark Safe 
and Affordable Schools Act has been widely regarded as a model program 
to improve our country's education policies. Paul authored bills to 
make sure we appreciate the hard work of our Nation's teachers, 
something we tend to forget so easily when formulating education 
policy.
  Paul must also be memorialized for his steadfast work to lower taxes 
and make our tax policies more fair. Many times Paul reminded us of his 
belief that the freedom and means to raise, educate and care for our 
families are threatened by a government that takes more than 50 percent 
of an average family's income in taxes and cost of government. Paul was 
very proud of his work on tax issues and in particular, of the law he 
authored to stop unscrupulous IRS workers from rummaging through the 
tax files of private citizens. It is many ways so ironic that the last 
vote he cast was on repealing the death tax, an important policy change 
he had worked so hard to advocate.
  I worked closely with Paul on his antidrug efforts, on his work to 
stop narcotics trafficking, and on his efforts to make the workplace 
drug free. All of these things Paul did, and he did them well.
  Paul never forgot the needs of his home state, whether it were 
through his work as chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on 
Marketing, Inspection and Product Promotion, or through his work as a 
member of the Finance Committee and the Small Business Committee. His 
record is replete with accomplishments that benefited his constituents 
back home.
  Of course, there were so many other legislative things I would like 
to mention, but let me leave it at that.
  Another side of Paul was his love for baseball. He was as excited as 
anybody

[[Page 15399]]

I have ever seen when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's Major League home 
run record as a beloved Atlanta Brave.
  I am deeply saddened by his passing. I am going to miss him very 
much.
  One of my favorite poets is a poet named Sara Teasdale who wrote an 
interesting poem. Although this was surely a love poem, I think it 
applies to our memories of Paul as this poem is called ``The Beloved.''

     It is enough of honor for one lifetime
     To have known you better than the rest have known,
     The shadows and the colors of your voice,
     Your will, immutable and still as stone.

     The shy heart,

  Which Paul had--

     so lonely and so gay,
     The sad laughter and the pride of pride,
     The tenderness, the depth of tenderness
     Rich as the earth, and wide as heaven is wide.

  I like that. Even though it was meant for someone else, I think it 
applies to a large degree to Paul Coverdell.
  Paul was a good man. He did the right things. He set a good example. 
He was a good colleague here. He was one of the most respected Senators 
in this body for all of these qualities, qualities that very few people 
can come close to matching.
  I wish Paul the best in his afterlife.
  My sympathy and heartfelt feelings to Nancy, his wife, and to the 
rest of his family who are mourning him.
  I thank God for the privilege of knowing Paul, working with Paul, 
accomplishing things with Paul, laughing with Paul.
  I am grateful for our colleagues in this body on both sides of the 
floor. We do learn that these people are here for a very important 
reason. They have been selected by their respective constituents to do 
good things. I can say as one who has been here long enough to know 
that Paul Coverdell did good things while he was here and that his 
legacy will be that all of us need to do better in the things we have 
been and are doing. All of us need to follow and emulate his example so 
that we can hopefully be as good as he was.
  My sympathy and my best to Nancy and other members of his family, and 
to my fellow colleagues who are mourning Paul Coverdell this day.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I join with all of my fellow Senators today 
to express our feeling and mourn the death of our colleague, Senator 
Paul Coverdell.
  I always find these kinds of circumstances difficult to speak to, to 
find the appropriate words to reflect my emotions or to in some way 
express my love for a man such as Paul Coverdell and the way he worked 
for all of us and for his country.
  I grew up in a ranching environment in the State of Idaho. Oftentimes 
I think back to those experiences when I am caught in emotion or when I 
cause myself to sit down and contemplate how to deal with an issue or a 
situation. My experience with Paul was largely a part of our time in 
the Senate, a leadership time.
  I was one of four Senators elected by the Republican majority to lead 
them in the 106th Congress; Paul Coverdell was a part of that 
leadership team. He was secretary of what we call our Republican 
conference, or all Members on the Republican side. It was through that 
relationship that I grew to know Paul and to appreciate the tremendous 
talents that he had. We all know he was an activist on the floor on 
many occasions, in pursuit of what the leadership team and ultimately 
the Republican conference decided was a direction we ought to head in 
or an issue we ought to debate. He did it with phenomenal energy and 
talent.
  When I think of that relationship, I can only come to this analysis; 
I think it so well fits Paul: A team approach, as in a western ranching 
environment. We all remember the great cattle drives that used to come 
out of the Southwest into the plains of the West to graze, thousands of 
head of renegade cattle moving all in one direction. The reason they 
were moving in one direction was because there was a trail boss who 
headed up this drive. There were a group of wranglers on horseback who 
were out there working day to day to keep that drive shaped and headed 
in the direction in which the trail boss wanted them to head.
  There is no question that in the Senate Trent Lott is our trail boss. 
He decides the direction with the consent of the herd, if you will, and 
head Members. There is a group who are the wranglers, who work with 
that herd, to help shape it and keep it moving. Paul Coverdell was one 
of those wranglers and probably the best among us. He was constantly 
out there from daylight until dark and, if it were on the range, we 
would say in all kinds of weather because he was doing what he was 
asked to do but more importantly because he believed in what he was 
doing and he was very passionate about it.
  All of us are here for a reason; some of us for larger reasons than 
others. Clearly, to be here with the kind of passion and energy that 
Paul Coverdell from the State of Georgia came here with is unique. As a 
result, he was selected to be one of those wranglers, to follow the 
leadership, to follow the directions of the trail boss, to make sure 
that we all stayed headed in the right direction.
  I will miss him. I will miss his talents as a wrangler. He was a 
great American and history will record that. He has made his mark. But 
never once in the business of making that mark, or leading, shaping the 
herd, or wrangling the herd, did he ever do it for Paul. He did it for 
his country and for what he believed was the right cause and the right 
belief.
  Paul, I think God has called you to a different trail herd. He 
obviously needed a hell of a good wrangler, and He's got one. We will 
miss you. We love you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in rising to 
offer my sympathies and condolences to Nancy and the Coverdell family.
  Today, we all grieve Paul's passing, but we also celebrate his life. 
What a life it was; a life of achievement, a life of incredible service 
and accomplishment.
  I did not know Paul Coverdell until I came to the Senate in 1996. I 
followed his career, as many Americans did. I followed with interest 
and admiration his campaign for the Senate and his election to the 
Senate from Georgia. It was only when I arrived at this institution 
that I got to know Paul Coverdell, the man.
  Much has already been said this morning and yesterday and has been 
said well. He was ubiquitous. It seemed Paul was everywhere. The 
breadth and number of issues he was involved in takes your breath away. 
It was amazing how much he knew and how much he was willing to invest 
his time and energy. He was incredibly hard working and willing to do 
what others didn't want to do, didn't have time to do. He made time and 
he was willing to take on the nonglamorous jobs. He didn't seek glory 
and he didn't seek adulation. He gave credit away freely because he 
didn't seek it for himself. He was a consensus builder; he was a doer. 
If you wanted it accomplished, you gave the task to Paul Coverdell.
  One quality which I as a junior Member of the Senate especially 
appreciated and admired was his deep respect for his fellow man and his 
deep respect for his colleagues, regardless of their rank or status. I 
served on the education task force with Paul. We had a lot of strategy 
meetings. We had meetings in Senator Lott's office in which we would 
talk over the education issue and discuss not only how we would 
communicate our message but how we would pass legislation. There were a 
lot of senior Members on the task force. They were always quick and 
bold to speak out and give their opinion. What I noticed about Paul 
Coverdell was that he was always observing who had spoken and who 
hadn't, who had expressed their opinion and who hadn't. At every 
meeting he said: Tim, you haven't said anything yet. What are your 
thoughts? Do you have an opinion?
  Or he would see Susan Collins and say: Susan, how do you feel about 
this issue?

[[Page 15400]]

  He always included junior Members. He included everyone because he 
respected not only their opinion, but he respected them as human 
beings.
  He epitomized what service is all about. I think that Paul Coverdell 
provides the lasting role model of what a U.S. Senator should be, what 
a public servant should be.
  Many of my colleagues have struggled to find words and to find 
scripture and verses to express what they felt about Paul Coverdell. I 
have found a verse that I think applies most appropriately to Paul. It 
is Mark 10:31. Jesus said:

       But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

  Paul was a leader. But he was a leader among us because he was 
servant of all of us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
paying tribute to the life and legacy of a man I considered a friend 
first, a Senator second, and a great American above all.
  Senator Coverdell was everything that those of us who were blessed to 
serve with him strive to be:

     effective, committed, compassionate, and tenacious when it 
     meant doing right by the people of Georgia and the American 
     taxpayers he revered.

  Paul was a voice for families, for children, for the nation's 
workers, and every individual seeking to build a better life for 
themselves, their family, and generations to come.
  Of all my colleagues, I think I spent more of my working hours with 
Paul Coverdell, in meetings, strategy sessions, and casual 
conversations.
  I considered him to be the ``sparkplug of the Senate'' because of the 
life and energy he brought to this body.
  As others have said, very little went on here that Paul wasn't 
somehow involved in, and he was the man I went to when I needed a 
friendly ear. I didn't always hear what I wanted to hear, or get the 
sympathy I thought I needed, of course, but I always received the 
counsel of a man who spoke from the heart.
  He leaves behind a remarkable legacy of service, and not just here in 
the Senate. Other colleagues have spoken of his leadership of the Peace 
Corps, his 16 years in the Georgia State Senate, his military service, 
his real-world experience in business.
  In this Chamber, he will be especially remembered for his unyielding 
dedication to working Americans, whether through his work on education, 
and in particular his education savings accounts, leading the fight 
against illegal drugs, promoting volunteerism, and lifting up America's 
farmers.
  I think, though, that Paul will be remembered foremost as an ardent 
defender of freedom.
  The highest tribute one can pay to a colleague is to say that, day in 
and day out, they got the job done. Senator Paul Coverdell got the job 
done, with humility, with enthusiasm, and always with good humor.
  With Paul's passing, the State of Georgia has lost a leader, the 
Senate has lost its sparkplug, many of us have lost our best friend, 
and the Coverdell family has lost a truly exceptional man. My prayers, 
and the prayers of our colleagues and our staffs, are with Nancy and 
her entire family during this difficult, difficult time.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I join my many colleagues here in the 
Senate today expressing my sympathies to the Coverdell family and 
telling them our thoughts and prayers are with them during this 
difficult time. A poet once said:

       There is no joy life gives like that it takes away.

  I expect the Coverdell family and all who loved Paul and understand 
the hurt and anguish at his passing, today know well what that verse 
means.
  This is an unusual place, this Senate. There are 100 of us, men and 
women from all parts of the country. We have days where we have pretty 
aggressive debates and fights about public policy. Paul Coverdell was 
in the middle of many of those. I never heard Paul Coverdell say a mean 
word to anyone in the Senate. I told him one day at the end of a rather 
lengthy debate in which I was on the other side and the vote was called 
and we were standing in the well:

       You and I don't agree on this issue, but you are a very 
     good Senator.

  We served in different political parties. We, in many cases, believed 
differently about issues. But Paul Coverdell was a very good Senator 
and served this country well.
  The important part about Paul was, though he felt great passion about 
public policy and the issues he brought to the floor of the Senate, 
again, he never uttered a mean word about anyone in debate. You can 
always disagree in this country without being disagreeable. Paul 
Coverdell demonstrated that every day in his pursuit of the public 
policy he believed was important for this country.
  We are so busy and our schedules have us on our way here and there 
and everywhere all week, and then often to our respective homes in the 
50 States on weekends, so it is hard to get to know each other very 
well. But each day, as we move around in this Capitol, all of us in the 
Senate exchange greetings and words, occasionally a story or two. Last 
week, I was in the elevator with Senator Coverdell. We laughed a bit 
about his being compared, from time to time, in his presentation, to 
George Bush. I always used to kid him about that, that sometimes he had 
a cadence that reminded me of the ex-President.
  He sort of kidded me and said someone told him he was doing Dana 
Carvey who was doing George Bush, so he was two steps away from the 
impression. We laughed about that.
  Last Friday, as we were having a long series of votes, towards the 
end of the votes I visited with Senator Coverdell because Georgia has 
been a State hardest hit by drought. I told him we had been hit so 
severely with respect to floods. On behalf of our farmers, I was trying 
to see if we could put together a piece of legislation that would deal 
with crops that had been flooded out, destroyed by flood, and crops in 
Georgia and elsewhere that were being destroyed by drought. On Friday 
morning, Paul indicated he wanted to join me in an amendment to this 
bill, the Agriculture appropriations bill that is being considered in 
the Senate, to provide some assistance for family farmers who were 
victims of the drought that was occurring in his State and throughout 
the South.
  He was always available to talk about public policy and what was 
happening; always especially available and concerned to talk about the 
people of his State of Georgia. I wanted to come today to say the 
Senate will miss Paul Coverdell. He was not only a good Senator, but he 
served this country very well. He was a friend to all of us. My 
thoughts and prayers go to his wife and his family. We say thank you to 
his memory.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, in the 211-year history of the Senate, the 
State of Georgia has one of the richest and most storied legacies. 
Since the formation of the Senate, and that was in 1789, Georgia has 
sent to the Senate 62 individuals as Senators. I have had the distinct 
privilege of serving with 6 of them, including our beloved Paul 
Coverdell. When the people of Georgia elected Paul Coverdell to 
represent them here in the Senate 8 years ago, they sent to Washington 
a unique, especially talented, and gracious gentleman; a gentleman of 
the South, I say to those of us who are privileged to come from that 
region.
  Paul began his service to the Nation nearly 30 years ago when he 
served his Nation in the U.S. Army, stationed in Okinawa, Taiwan, and 
Korea, and he never stopped in his quest to serve the people. He was 
truly a public servant.

[[Page 15401]]

  He gave almost half his life to serving the Nation and the State of 
Georgia. It is no overstatement to say that his presence in public life 
has made this Nation more prosperous and more secure. He was a leader 
in the fight against drugs and the fight for better education and the 
struggle to keep this Nation strong, both economically and militarily.
  We have a saying around the Senate: There are show horses and 
workhorses. We know for sure Paul was no show horse; He was a 
workhorse. He worked hard and often he worked behind the scenes. He did 
not seek the headlines. Paul Coverdell did not seek the headlines. He 
would seek results--he wanted to get the job done, let others take the 
credit--and always results that were in the best interests of our 
Nation. That was his guide; that was his compass.
  All of us here, before we cast the first vote, before we discharge 
the first responsibility, take the oath of office. We solemnly commit 
``to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies.'' We 
commit ``to bear true faith and allegiance.'' We undertake ``to 
faithfully discharge'' our duties.
  Paul Coverdell fulfilled each of those constitutional obligations 
under the oath of office. He was a man of his word and he has lived his 
life in the Senate true to his principles and true to that oath.
  He was a quiet man. His office was right across the hall from mine in 
the old Russell Building. How often we would meet walking to and from 
the votes. Those are the moments when Senators do not have staffs 
around them, constituents are waiting somewhere, and you share those 
private thoughts, comments, and ideas. How often I shared them with 
this giant of a Senator.
  The Nation lost a true patriot, a true gentleman, a true statesman. 
But his memory and his legacy will remain with us forever.
  May God bless his family. God blessed America with this man's 
service.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle who have come today to express sorrow and deep regret over the 
loss of a treasured friend and colleague. I have watched many of the 
tributes that have been made to Paul Coverdell this morning. There is 
very little I can say to add to some of the wonderful comments that 
have been made about this truly remarkable American.
  I want to talk for a minute about my personal relationship with Paul 
Coverdell.
  When he was running for the Senate for the first time, he was running 
against an incumbent Senator who was popular in his State. I came to 
the State of Georgia and campaigned for him. Before I arrived, I 
thought I was doing what a lot of us in politics do, and that is doing 
what is necessary for a losing cause. But after spending a few days 
with Paul Coverdell, I could see this man was going to win his election 
because he was a man of integrity; he was a man who knew the issues, a 
man who was dedicated to the concept and belief of public service, a 
man who had served his country in other capacities and had prepared 
himself over many years of public life to serve the Nation as a Senator 
from the State of Georgia.
  As we all know, he won a very close race, perhaps one of the closest 
races in the history of certainly the State of Georgia, if not the 
entire Senate, which required a runoff election. Then he was reelected 
rather handily.
  Again I went down to Georgia to help him in his reelection, and I saw 
that during his first term, Paul Coverdell had established a unique 
relationship with his constituents. Everyplace I went with him, they 
recognized him, they showed their appreciation for him, and whether 
they were Republican or Democrat, they respected him for his strongly 
held values and views.
  As I talked to his citizenry around the State of Georgia, it was 
clear, whether they were going to support his candidacy for reelection 
or not, they held him in the highest regard because they knew, as we 
who have had the privilege and honor of working with him and serving 
with him in the Senate know, that he was a man who worked incredibly 
hard, a man of firmly established values and ideals, and one who 
believed and acted in the public interest.
  As all of us experience deep emotion and sorrow over the loss of a 
dear friend, I am sometimes reminded that we should also celebrate the 
fact that we were blessed to have the opportunity to know and 
appreciate a man of such enormous and wonderful qualities, and the 
people of his State and the people of this Nation, including my own 
State of Arizona, were honored to be in the presence of and have the 
service of this dedicated, wonderful American.
  As our best wishes and condolences go out to the Coverdell family and 
friends, we also offer our hardiest celebration for a life well lived 
and one which is written in the pages of America's history, in the 
history of the Senate, bright pages filled with the Coverdell name in 
the State of Georgia with glory.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith of New Hampshire). Without 
objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, as I enter the Chamber and look to the 
rear to the seat occupied by our dear friend, the late Senator Paul 
Coverdell, it reminds me of the reality of the fragility of the lives 
we lead. The message is one of taking stock of what our real priorities 
are. Life is so short, so fragile, and our period on Earth is so 
temporary.
  At this time we join together in grieving with the family of our 
beloved colleague who passed away Tuesday evening. Our thoughts and 
prayers are certainly with his wife Nancy and the family during their 
time of extraordinary grief.
  We all share in the reality that this was a tragic and unexpected 
loss. We all feel it in this Chamber, in the halls of the Senate office 
buildings and, of course, in Paul's beloved State of Georgia. But we 
cannot be blinded by grief to the point that we fail to recognize and 
celebrate the life of this outstanding public servant.
  He was an extraordinary public servant. I listened to some of the 
comments made last night after we learned of his passing. The Senator 
from New York said he was a man of peace. Reflecting on Paul's public 
service, he served his country in the Army, with deployments in 
Okinawa, Korea, and the Republic of China, came home to Georgia, joined 
the family business, helped it thrive and grow and then, beginning in 
1970, served his State in the legislature, serving as minority leader 
for a period of 15 years. In 1989, he continued his commitment to peace 
as Director of the Peace Corps. In this capacity, Paul saw the fall of 
the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War. He seized the opportunity to 
place Peace Corps volunteers in former Eastern Bloc nations in an 
effort to speed their transition to democracy and peace.
  The wise people of Georgia, in 1992, elected Paul to the U.S. Senate. 
I vividly recall that this genuine, quiet man made an immediate 
impression upon all of us. As we got to know Paul, we found him to be 
deeply thoughtful, hard-working, and utterly unconcerned about the 
limelight. His Republican colleagues recognized his efforts and 
selected him to the leadership post of Republican Conference Secretary.
  As a U.S. Senator, Paul did superb work in the issues of education, 
food safety, protecting our children from drugs, promoting 
volunteerism, lowering the tax burden on working families and small 
business, and protecting

[[Page 15402]]

the rights of citizens in their dealings with the Internal Revenue 
Service.
  We were all privileged to know Paul. He enriched our lives. My 
prayers and thoughts are with Paul's family, especially his wife Nancy. 
The Senate will miss his work ethic and thoughtfulness. The Nation will 
miss his ideas and his example.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I rise, as have some of our colleagues 
today, to express my deepest sympathy to Senator Paul Coverdell's 
friends, family, and to his wife Nancy, as others throughout the State 
of Georgia as well as throughout this country mourn the passing of one 
of our colleagues who, indeed, was a very special person.
  I think when we reflect on the times we had and the opportunity we 
had to spend with Paul Coverdell, we will certainly remember him as a 
Senator's Senator; by that I mean a person who was really interested 
not so much in the message of the day but, rather, in actually working 
together to bring to this floor and to the American people legislative 
products that were appropriate to get the job done.
  I think all of us, when we see our legislative branches becoming more 
and more partisan and more and more separated by imaginary aisles that 
separate us, can think back and remember Paul Coverdell as a person who 
was willing to work with anyone who was willing to work with him in 
order to accomplish legislation that was in the interest of this whole 
country.
  I had the opportunity, as so many of our colleagues did, to work with 
him on education. I think his approach to that major legislative effort 
was one from which we can all learn a great deal--how he handled the 
product he was trying to get passed into law.
  What I mean by that was he was willing to sit and talk with Democrats 
as well as his Republican colleagues to try to fashion a compromise 
that could accomplish the reform of our legislative system. Far too 
often, that is sort of unique and different in the way things are 
done--both in this body and in the other body across the Capitol.
  I think as we remember the experiences and good times we had with 
him, we can take with us the admiration and respect all of us have 
expressed of him, but also, at the same time, the lesson he taught us 
by his actions. That lesson, in my mind, was how we work together to 
accomplish good things for the American people. He did that. We can 
remember and we can learn from his actions. That is how I want to 
remember the good times I had and the privilege of experiencing it with 
him during the legislative process.
  He will be missed, of course, by his family and close friends back 
home. He will be missed by the people of Georgia. He will, indeed, be 
missed by the people of America--those Americans who think that the 
function of this body and our Congress in general is to do whatever we 
can, working together, to make lives better for all American citizens. 
That is what Paul Coverdell attempted to do as he was able to 
accomplish so many things in that fashion.
  He will be particularly missed by this institution and by everyone 
who wants to make government work better for the American people. Paul 
Coverdell represented that type of Senator. He, indeed, was a Senator's 
Senator. He will be sorely missed but very fondly remembered.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, as have so many of my 
colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to a friend, Paul Coverdell.
  It is very difficult to look at those flowers, which are silent. As 
my colleagues do, I find it difficult to deal with. It is something 
that is very hard for all of us to understand.
  We are here to pay tribute to Paul Coverdell and to express our 
sincerest condolences to Nancy and his entire family.
  They say true friends are there when you need them most. We know Paul 
Coverdell was there when we needed counsel. I remember about a year ago 
I went through some rather difficult times on the floor of the Senate. 
Paul was there to counsel me and to give me a lot of advice through all 
that--for which I will always be grateful--in a political world often 
poisoned by partisanship. Paul was always there for counsel and 
friendship. He was there for all. He was not a partisan person. He 
could be partisan when he had to be. There is a difference between 
being partisan and being mean.
  The Atlanta Journal Constitution said it best when they said: There 
is a lot of meanness in politics. But he wasn't one of the mean people. 
I don't think it can be said much better than that. He was a fierce 
partisan on the battlefield of ideas but not among friends. We are 100 
people here who are friends. Even though we have our partisan 
differences from time to time, we don't take it off the floor. Paul was 
certainly a stalwart in leading the way in that. He knew what 
friendship was and what it meant. Friendship to Paul couldn't be 
obscured by any party label or disagreement or an argument.
  That is why so many of our colleagues have been here today to make 
tributes. It is also one of the reasons why history will record Paul 
Coverdell as a great Senator. I remember vividly the first time I came 
to the well and signed the book, being joined with a very distinguished 
few individuals, a little over 2,000 people throughout the course of 
our country who have become U.S. Senators. Senator Robert Byrd came 
over to me and said: Don't ever forget that. That is something that 
they can never take away from you.
  When you think through the years of all those people, Paul will be 
remembered in that way as one of the best in terms of friendship, in 
terms of his own issues he felt so passionately about--drugs, what 
drugs were doing to our society, especially to our young people, and 
education for which he fought so hard.
  He was a passionate man, a caring man. I don't believe anyone who has 
ever served here who wasn't compassionate and didn't care could ever be 
considered an outstanding Senator. Paul was the best when it came to 
that.
  He had the disarming personality, the humor, the quick mind. He had 
rock solid philosophical groundings. These are traits that made for a 
great and potent legislator. Most importantly, if he gave you his word, 
that was it. You could trust his judgment. You could trust his 
instincts. Most of all, you could trust his motivations were right. 
They were heart felt; they were sincere; they were honorable. I think 
that is the most important.
  There is a campaign slogan that Senator Coverdell had: Coverdell 
works. Those who worked with him every day knew he was tireless. He was 
working on the day that he was stricken. He was a hard worker. He 
worked hard for his State and he worked hard for his country and the 
people in whom he believed.
  In 1732, when the colonists came to Paul's great State of Georgia, 
they came on shore, touched the shore, they kneeled down and said: Our 
end in leaving our native country is not to gain riches and honor but 
singlely this--to live in the glory of God.
  I think Paul Coverdell has lived up to that about as well as any 
human being could, certainly as well as any Georgian could. You can 
certainly be proud of this Georgian.
  Abraham Lincoln, on the passing of Henry Clay, said about the ardent 
patriot and profound statesman: He had a quality possessed by few of 
the gifted

[[Page 15403]]

on Earth. His eloquence has not been surpassed in the effective power 
to move the heart of man. Paul Coverdell was without an equal. I think 
I agree with Abraham Lincoln on that.
  We all have vivid memories of the last time we spoke to Paul 
Coverdell. I remember on the Senate floor, with all the confusion of 
the votes on Friday, all the things going on, and although I can't 
recall a specific conversation, you can always remember Paul engaging 
somebody in a conversation.
  The worst part for me, when I reflect on a sudden death, is if I had 
the chance to say goodbye, what would I have said? I also find myself 
wishing I had known so I could take the time to say goodbye. I didn't 
get that opportunity to say goodbye to a friend that I loved and 
respected, but if I had the chance, I would have thanked him for his 
friendship because it means more than anything else here. I would have 
said: Thanks, Paul, for being there for me.
  In his letter to Mrs. Fairbanks, Mark Twain wrote about friendship:

       . . . I remember you and recall you without effort, without 
     exercise of will; that is, by natural impulse, undictated by 
     a sense of duty or of obligation. And that, I take it, is the 
     only sort of remembering worth having. When we think of 
     friends, and call their faces out of the shadows, and their 
     voices out of the echoes that faint along the corridors of 
     memory, and do it without knowing why save that we love to do 
     it, we can content ourselves that that friendship is a 
     Reality, and not a Fancy, that it is built upon a rock and 
     not upon the sands that dissolve away with the ebbing tides 
     and carry their monuments with them.

  That is how I feel about Paul Coverdell today.
  The second thing I would have thanked Paul for, if I had had the 
chance to say goodbye, was his sense of humor. He had a great sense of 
humor. Lord knows, one needs a sense of humor serving in this place. It 
gets intense from time to time. I remember two cases, one recent and 
one a long time ago, which I will recall. I will take the long time ago 
first.
  Some of my colleagues will remember Paul had a very interesting 
election. Georgia, at that time, had a law that candidates had to get 
50 percent of the vote to win. Paul got a little less than that. His 
opponent got a little bit more than Paul but less than 50 percent. So 
Paul was here and he was talking to Members, saying: I want to join you 
guys, but I need a little help, a few contributions. We need to have 
another election and I have to face this guy again with the third guy 
out.
  I said: I will help you, but I am not sure that law is right. Maybe 
the other guy should have won; he got more votes than you the first 
time.
  Paul said: Well, it is all right to change but not yet.
  I remember that. Paul said that in his gregarious way, not meaning 
anything malicious.
  The second memory I have of his humor was more recent, about 2 or 3 
weeks ago. Paul, who is the conference secretary, came out with this 
little card. He held the card up proudly. He wanted people to have this 
for the Fourth of July recess. It proudly boasted ``The Republican 
Priorities for the Surplus,'' and he want down through the list. We all 
looked at them and after he finished, Senator after Senator stood up 
and said: I don't know where you got that, that is not my priority. Who 
gave you this. And on and on and on for 10 minutes. Paul took it well.
  After it was over, I walked up to him and I said: Do you regret you 
printed the card?
  He said: Were those guys drinking something; what was going on here?
  It was a fond memory, but so typical. There was no animosity, no 
anger, just rolling with the punches.
  He said: Next time, I will check with a few people before I print the 
card.
  If I had the chance to say goodbye, I would have thanked Paul for 
that.
  Let me close by referring to comments that were made several years 
ago on this floor by our distinguished colleague, Robert Byrd, who was 
talking about the death of William Fulbright. He quoted Longfellow. In 
quoting Longfellow, Senator Byrd said:

     There is no death! What seems so is transition;
     The life of mortal breath
     Is but a suburb of the life Elysian,
     Whose portal we call death.

  Then he went on to say about William Fulbright the same thing I would 
say right now about Paul Coverdell:

       Life is only a narrow isthmus between the boundless oceans 
     of two eternities. All of us who travel that narrow isthmus 
     today, must one day board our little frail barque and hoist 
     its white sails for the journey on that vast unknown sea 
     where we shall sail alone into the boundless ocean of 
     eternity, there to meet our Creator face to face in a land 
     where the rose never withers and the rainbow never fades. To 
     that bourne, from which no traveler ever returns, [Paul 
     Coverdell] has now gone to be reunited with others who once 
     trod these marble halls, and whose voices once rang in this 
     Chamber--voices in this earthly life that have now been 
     stilled forever. Peace be to his ashes!

  Paul Coverdell loved his God; he loved his country; he loved his 
native Georgia; he loved Nancy and his family. He served them all, and 
he did it well. I am proud to be called a friend of Senator Paul 
Coverdell.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, often the most difficult moments we have on 
this floor are not when we're trying to advocate a political 
philosophy, or debate a legislative initiative, but when we pause to 
remember friends and colleagues who have left us. Words, which come 
easily on most occasions, seem suddenly inadequate to express the 
feelings we have stirring in our hearts--the fond recollections, the 
abiding respect, and the sudden, overwhelming feelings of loss.
  Paul Coverdell was a friend to each of us, a leader with a spirit 
that was as buoyant as it was inspiring. His vision and ability to get 
things done elevated him quickly into increasingly more important roles 
in this distinguished body. As a leader, he was unwavering in this 
dedication to freedom, his support for the bedrock of liberty--family, 
community, education, and personal responsibility.
  I fondly remember the many occasions we worked together, the 
discussions we had, and the ever-increasing sentiment that in Paul I 
had found something of a kindred political spirit. In fact, I was in 
Atlanta on Monday, at an event he sponsored on my behalf. As always, it 
was tremendously successful, indicative of how well Paul is regarded by 
those he serves.
  It is easy to understand why. From efforts to make education more 
affordable, to reforming the Internal Revenue Service, to working to 
roll back the tax burden, Paul has been a leader, as articulate and 
convincing as he was constant and unwavering.
  He intuitively understood the values that bless America. His 
background and upbringing groomed him to understand the importance of 
family, the concerns of small business owners, the value of learning, 
and the ability of government to promote an environment that supports 
these areas. Just as important, Paul understood the necessity of 
service and the blessings that come through service.
  Not only was he a distinguished soldier, but after the Army--as Paul 
succeeded in business--he gave back through his service in the Georgia 
State Senate, where he served for many years as the minority leader. 
His service continued as he led the Peace Corps under President Bush 
and focused that important organization on building and sustaining the 
fundamentals of freedom in the emerging democracies of Central and 
Eastern Europe.
  Because of his service, Paul was well prepared when he came to the 
Senate in 1993. He knew what he would do here, and I can think of no 
one with whom I have served who accomplished more than he did in the 
time he spent among us. His work will remain his legacy. His memory 
will continue to inspire. And the successes he achieved here will bless 
the lives and brighten the futures of families and children for years 
to come.
  At this time I express my appreciation for Paul and his leadership, 
and I want to express my condolences to Nancy and the family, along 
with my gratitude for their willingness to share a great man with all 
of us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.

[[Page 15404]]


  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues in paying 
tribute to our departed friend and colleague, Paul Coverdell.
  The Senate today is a very sad place, it is a shaken place, because 
of the suddenness of Paul's death. It is also a day on which I think 
we, by this tragic event, are reminded that underneath the headlines 
and the great debates and the partisan divides and all the rest of the 
sound and the fury, ultimately this institution, as so many others 
across America, is 100 people coming to work every day, trying to get a 
job done. It is the hundreds and hundreds of others who work with us 
here, our staffs and support personnel, who constitute what to me has 
always seemed to be a small town.
  Today we are saddened and we are shaken by the loss of one of the 
prominent people in this small town of ours on Capitol Hill, 
Washington, DC, United States of America, Senator Paul Coverdell.
  My wife said to me once: Remember that being a Senator is just your 
job; it's not you. It's a great job. It's an honor to hold it. It is an 
extraordinary opportunity. But ultimately there is a ``you'' there.
  That personal side of all of us comes home today as we confront, and 
try to absorb and deal with, the death of our friend, our colleague, 
our coworker, Paul Coverdell.
  It reminds us, of course, of the limits of human understanding and 
human capacities. As great as we are as a species, as high as we have 
gone, as exciting as the reaches of technology are today, ultimately we 
reach a point of human limitation. It is the point where we meet up 
with faith in God that, hopefully, transcends those limits, capacities, 
and doubts and moves us forward.
  Thinking about Paul Coverdell's death and his life, there are two 
quite disparate thoughts that came to my mind--but both of them, I 
think, fit him. I remember when I first came to Washington--this is an 
old expression--somebody said to me: Remember that there is no limit to 
what you can accomplish in Washington if you are not looking for 
credit. In so many ways that have been testified to here on the Senate 
floor today, that wisdom fits the career of Paul Coverdell. He was a 
quiet and gentlemanly person, not looking for headlines but committed 
and anxious to be part of making this place work.
  The second sentiment is something I heard from my own beloved mother, 
and I will bet everybody heard it from their mother, which is, when I 
was growing up, she always said to my sisters and me: You know, it 
never hurts to be kind to people. You gain nothing by being harsh.
  That, too, is a very apt description of Paul Coverdell: a very fine 
human being, a very kind human being. In the normal interactions of 
this extraordinary place where we work together trying to get things 
done, Paul always had a smile, always a kind word. Even in the partisan 
moments we all are involved in on the floor, they never seemed to 
become personal with him. That, in both senses, is the way it should 
be.
  It is, of course, sad but always true: We tend to appreciate people 
more when they are gone and speak more openly of them when they are 
gone. I think that is the case of this quiet, strong, decent, 
productive man. I have a sense, in listening to the comments made, of 
the critical role he played in this Chamber within the Republican 
caucus, to transcend the divisions that exist in any group of people, 
particularly any group of political people, and the critical role he 
played helping the Senate majority leader in trying to keep the place 
moving and getting some things done.
  I can testify, of course, to the fact that Paul was clearly a proud 
Republican loyal to his party. He was not hesitant to reach across 
party lines to look for support for something in which he believed or 
to offer support to someone on our side of the aisle for something in 
which he believed and felt was right and necessary.
  I had the greatest opportunity to work side by side with Paul 
Coverdell as a cosponsor of the pioneering, progressive, very important 
education savings account proposal he made which would have taken the 
basic idea of higher education savings accounts and expanded them to 
cover K-12 education to help parents support the improvement of their 
children's education. There is nothing we can do in this Chamber that 
is much more important than facilitating a better education for all of 
our children.
  It was easy to work with Paul. He was obviously very bright, he was 
understanding, and he was energetic and steadfast. It is an idea I hope 
those of us on both sides who support it will carry on because it is a 
good idea, but it is also a tribute to him.
  I was thinking, earlier this year on a proposal that became 
associated with the Clinton administration; namely, the aid package to 
Colombia to deter and diminish the problem of drugs coming in from that 
country, Paul stepped forward and gave sturdy, steadfast, effective 
support which ultimately resulted in its adoption with bipartisan 
backing of a problem that is obviously complex and indeed cannot but 
help us as we go forward.
  We all think of Nancy today and Paul's family. We extend to them our 
condolences, and we hope, of course, that they are strengthened and, in 
some measure, comforted at this difficult time by good personal 
memories of their time too short with Paul, and I am sure they are 
strengthened and comforted by the pride they should feel and the 
extraordinary record of public service that was Paul Coverdell's life, 
and hopefully given ultimate strength by their faith in God. The Lord 
giveth and the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord. I thank 
the Chair. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the State of Georgia and the United States 
of America lost a great, decent leader yesterday. Paul Coverdell was 
one of the quiet heroes of this Senate Chamber. He was not showy; he 
was not proud; he was not here for the credit or the prestige or the 
power. He was a gentle man in every sense of the word and in every 
aspect of his being.
  He was here because he loved his State and loved his Nation. He was 
here because he wanted to improve education. It was a profound concern 
of his. He was here because he wanted to end drug abuse and the scourge 
of drugs among young people. He was here because he wanted to protect 
our national security and secure our children's future and open 
America's promise to all of those he served. He fought for all these 
things with a humble dignity and a quiet passion that touched each one 
of us.
  In a way, Paul was the Senate peacemaker. We get a lot of contentious 
issues around here. We are all human beings. Tempers flare. Voices 
rise. It seems as if you are never going to get together with people 
again across the aisles. Paul Coverdell could step in and work his way 
back and forth and calm things down.
  Recently, we had the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education bill 
up. I am the ranking member on that subcommittee. The chairman is 
Senator Specter from Pennsylvania. It seems that every year when that 
bill comes up the debate gets hotter. The decibel level goes up a 
little bit. We seemed to be locked in a week-long struggle on that 
bill, and I had a chance, once again, to watch Paul Coverdell at work 
in soothing the tensions on both sides, of reaching across to Democrats 
and his own Republicans to find that common ground and just calm things 
down. He was really good at that. I watched him work. I said once to 
Senator Specter: I am sure glad we have Paul Coverdell around here 
because he was able to keep things calm.
  He helped us reach the compromises, as we must do around here, and to 
find a common ground between people.
  I also served with Paul on the Agriculture Committee. We shared a 
common love of farmers and rural people. Again, in his own quiet way, I 
saw the determination and the grit of Paul Coverdell in fighting for 
his farmers in Georgia during many deliberations on the Ag Committee 
and especially in the passage of the last farm bill.

[[Page 15405]]

  A lot of people do not know this--but Paul and I talked about it 
often--he was born in Des Moines, IA, not more than 10 miles from where 
I was born and raised.
  It is an honor that I represent a State that produced someone as good 
and as decent as Paul Coverdell. He was one of the finest leaders this 
body has ever seen.
  Standing here and looking over at his desk and looking at the black 
cloth and the flowers on the desk cannot help but remind each of us of 
the transitory nature of human life. Just last week--it seems like 
yesterday--I was on the floor talking with Paul Coverdell about an 
issue, asking for some help and seeing if he could work some things 
out. He was as alive and as vibrant and as engaged and committed to the 
smooth functioning of this institution as anyone else. Four days later, 
he passed on.
  Looking at his desk, and thinking about seeing him just a few days 
ago, being alive and vibrant and full of health, and looking forward, 
not only makes us think about the transitory nature of human life but 
it also should serve to remind us we should make every day count--make 
every day count in emulating the kindness and the gentleness and the 
caring nature of a Paul Coverdell.
  One of my political heroes, Hubert Humphrey, once said: ``To be a 
leader means a willingness to risk--and a willingness to love. One must 
ask: Has the leader given you something from the heart?''
  Paul Coverdell had the guts and the courage to take risks. He had a 
great will to love. And to that question by Hubert Humphrey, I can say 
yes about Paul Coverdell. He gave us all something from that wonderful 
heart of his.
  So I join with my friends and colleagues in extending to Nancy and to 
his family our profound sorrow. We share your sorrow. But we hope you 
take comfort, as we do, in knowing that the kind and gentle and caring 
life of Paul Coverdell is now rewarded by the kind and gentle and 
caring hand of Almighty God.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I, like most of my colleagues today, have 
listened carefully to the remarks made about our colleague, Paul 
Coverdell. What it has been is a weaving together of a magnificent 
tapestry representing the life of a unique and complete human being--
Paul Coverdell.
  Paul Coverdell was a complete human being. We are all judged by many 
facets of our lives. In the end, what is really most important is: Did 
you leave the world better than you found it? That question has been 
answered rather assuredly today in the case of our friend Paul 
Coverdell.
  I found part of a speech that President Ronald Reagan gave. As a 
matter of fact, it was his last speech that he gave before the United 
Nations in September of 1988, before he left office. I think it 
captures, rather well, Paul Coverdell--a man who served his country in 
uniform, a man who served his country as head of the Peace Corps, who 
truly touched the world and made the world better, who served his 
country as a Senator, who helped all of us as a friend, and who was a 
faithful and wonderful and loving husband.
  These words--that I would like to recite in closing my remarks about 
Paul Coverdell--truly capture the essence of this remarkable colleague 
and friend of ours. As President Reagan ended his speech to the United 
Nations on September 26, 1988, he said--and we hear the echo of Paul 
Coverdell in these words--

       . . . when we grow weary of the world and its troubles, 
     when our faith in humanity falters, it is then that we must 
     seek comfort and refreshment of spirit, in a deeper source of 
     wisdom, one greater than ourselves.
       And so if future generations do say of us that, in our 
     time, peace came closer, that we did bring about new seasons 
     of truth and justice, it will be cause for great pride. But 
     it shall be a cause of greater pride still, if it is also 
     said that we were wise enough to know the deliberations of 
     great leaders and great bodies are but overture; that the 
     truly majestic music--the music of freedom, of justice, of 
     peace--is the music made in forgetting self and seeking in 
     silence the will of Him who made us.
       Thank you for your hospitality over the years. I bid you 
     now farewell. And God bless you.

  We bid farewell to Paul Coverdell. And God bless Paul Coverdell.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order 
for me to deliver my remarks seated.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, none of us knows precisely when the 
hereafter begins, when the life of one of the Lord's servants ends. I 
myself have lost an unusually large number of good friends during the 
past few weeks. But I find it helpful to imagine that I can visualize 
each of them sitting on some sort of Cloud Nine up there, listening to 
those of us who are mourning the loss of good friends.
  Yes, I do have a hunch that Paul Coverdell is up there, cheerfully 
and busily lending a hand to Saint Peter. For me, it serves the purpose 
of reassuring that Paul is all right--in fact, better off than he has 
ever been before.
  We all remember a hundred different personal vignettes at times like 
this. In Paul's case, my first acquaintance with him was very early in 
the morning the day after he was first elected to the Senate in 1992.
  I had gone quietly into the den of our Raleigh home and turned on the 
television set--the volume very low, so as not to awaken Mrs. Helms. I 
wanted to catch up on the late returns from the election the day 
before.
  I heard a voice; and I was intrigued and impressed by that voice. 
Then I looked carefully. I did not recognize the young man who was 
speaking. It was Paul Coverdell. I saw the picture of him that appeared 
on the screen. It was a live interview. Paul had not yet gone to bed. 
He had been up for about 36 or 40 hours.
  There he was fielding questions politely, intelligently, and with 
that inevitable smile on his face.
  That was the moment my respect and admiration--and affection--for 
Senator Coverdell began.
  Now fast forward: Like most, if not all, other Senators, I realize 
today that I will forever have special memories of Paul Coverdell. He 
was a good man, an honorable man, a dedicated man with whom I shared a 
great affection for today's young people--the responsible ones, the 
ones who understand their good fortune of living in this country--those 
who, as Paul Coverdell once put it, understand that the strength and 
the goodness and the very future of America will shortly be in their 
hands.
  I have sat and listened to other who have spoken so eloquently today 
of the Senator's rapid rise in the leadership of the Republican Party 
in the Senate. That happened because Paul believed in the Senate. He 
believed in the meaning of the U.S. Senate, and he believed that we 
have a duty to endeavor to achieve a spirit of cooperation and 
understanding--including the realization that we have the duty to make 
the tripartite system work.
  So, Paul, if that's you whom I think I'm looking at on Cloud Nine, 
you know that we are missing you and that we are so dearly grateful for 
the years that we enjoyed working with you. I have a notion that the 
Lord will be blessing you for being His good and faithful servant while 
you were amongst us.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I thank Senator Helms. He asked if he 
could speak before me. I said, of course, and that permitted me to hear 
what he had to say. It was beautiful, and I was privileged to hear it.
  Most of us are privileged to believe in a hereafter. Frankly, it is 
difficult for me to conceive of an adult human being with a mind and a 
heart, difficult for me to see how they do not all believe there is a 
hereafter. But there is no doubt in my mind that what I believe by 
faith is true, and there is no doubt in my mind that Paul Coverdell is 
in the hereafter.
  I didn't come to the floor today to speak about matters of great 
depth or of religion or faith or hope. I came to

[[Page 15406]]

talk about the Paul Coverdell I knew day by day.
  Let me first say, it is very difficult to put the flowers and the 
cloth where they actually belong, because Paul Coverdell is not known 
as much for being at that desk as he is being in this aisle and taking 
somebody's place in this chair. For most of his time in the Senate, he 
was either putting together a group of Senators to address an issue or 
he was trying to get the Senate's work done, because he was asked 
either by a chairman or by the leader to do it. The more difficult the 
task, the more it was given to him.
  When you had an education bill with 200 amendments or a Labor-Health 
and Human Services appropriations bill with, at one point, 270 
amendments, somebody quietly asked that one of our Senators help. It 
was almost always Paul Coverdell who was asked. He was so good at it 
and so friendly and could bring people together so well that the 
chairman willingly accepted his help. I can see the last time he pulled 
up his coat and was given, after he accepted the assignment, a list 
with hundreds of amendments on it. The task was: Narrow them down. By 
the end of the day, they were talking optimistically about finishing. 
And by the next day, Paul Coverdell, not at that desk but walking these 
aisles and sitting with Senators everywhere, was getting the work done, 
always being considerate, kind, and understanding.
  Sometimes we herald Senators because they have been here a long time. 
I suggest that Paul Coverdell and his wife Nancy and those who knew 
him, those who elected him, and those who supported him must know by 
now that he was a wonderful Senator. That was not measured by his 
having four or five terms as Senator, as I have been lucky to do, or my 
friend, Thad Cochran, who sits here, from the State of Mississippi. But 
he, in a few years, captured all of our hearts and all of our hopes for 
success. We would transplant them over to him.
  I came with no speech but with a letter. Two days, 3 days before he 
died, I arrived at my desk and found a letter. My staff had taken it 
out of the mail and put it on my desk. Frankly, I left it there not 
knowing he would die. I was going to read it in due course. Surely, the 
day that he died, I sat down at my desk and read his letter.
  The letter is not profound. The letter is Paul Coverdell. It is the 
Paul Coverdell who is so considerate that after coming to my office and 
spending an hour and a half of his time with a staffer of his and two 
of mine, where he had asked me if I would be of help, he willingly 
said: I will come to your office. We talked with a couple of my staff 
who were assigned to him. He did a job for the Republicans in preparing 
something we needed, and then he wrote a letter on top of all that 
where he was doing the labor, the work. He wrote this letter:

       Dear Pete: Thanks again for meeting to discuss our recess 
     communication efforts. As always, your insight has been quite 
     helpful in determining how to craft a credible short term 
     message on the surplus. Bill Hoagland and Jim Capretta of 
     your staff were of invaluable assistance to us as well. 
     Thanks again.
           Sincerely,
                                                Paul D. Coverdell.

  I submit there are not too many of us who would be so considerate 
that when we wrote a Senator to say it was good to be with you, would 
mention the staff people who really got the work done because they knew 
more about it than we did. But here is Paul Coverdell, the last 
sentence of his letter, thanking Bill Hoagland and Jim Capretta by 
name. He puts it in here. How many Senators are that considerate as to 
what the names of staffers are who they meet in another Senator's 
office? Some of us are not considerate enough to say: Would you please 
repeat your name because I would actually like to know your name.
  I believe this is typical of Paul Coverdell. I surmise that for his 
whole life, certainly while he was in the Peace Corps, and the public 
service part of his life, he was always considerate.
  Let me suggest that being considerate does not mean being weak. Being 
considerate does not mean you don't get something done. Being 
considerate does not mean you cave in. Being considerate is being like 
Paul Coverdell.
  As I indicated, I will never remember him in that seat that we honor 
him by today because that is his assigned seat. I will remember him as 
more the epitome of a Senator who worked on the floor of the Senate. 
That is a very special kind of Senator. First of all, most of us don't 
know how to do it. Secondly, most of us are not asked to do it. He was 
asked. He knew how to do it in terms of helping people bring difficult 
matters to a head, to solutions, and helping his party with great 
insights on strategy.
  Mr. President, I say to his wife Nancy and his beloved: We don't know 
how to explain this to any of you. We are incapable of doing that. But, 
clearly, if you don't know it now, in very short order you will 
understand that he lived a very great life as a Senator, and the 
respect and admiration that has been shown, and will be shown, is 
probably an indication that he was as close to all of us as any Senator 
around.
  With that, I say good-bye, Paul; God bless you and your family.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, our colleagues have spoken so well about 
Paul Coverdell as a gentleman, as a person who was thoughtful and 
persuasive. As Senator Domenici said, he worked the aisles 
indefatigably with the ideals that he held.
  First of all, it is fundamental that Paul Coverdell was elected to 
the Senate. It was a very difficult contest--one not decided on 
election day, the day of his first election. He was an extraordinarily 
experienced politician and statesman in the State of Georgia, with 
remarkable legislative experience as a leader throughout much of his 
tenure. But those from our party in Georgia have a very difficult time 
with that, and that was the case for Paul. It was a very close contest. 
He won graciously, came to the Senate, and had a difficult reelection 
contest for which he began to prepare early and in which he asked many 
of us to participate. But he did it all so gracefully, so thoughtfully, 
so constructively, that we rarely think of Paul Coverdell as a very 
tough political competitor and someone who was in a difficult arena. It 
took great courage to make those races to begin with and remarkable 
tenacity to follow through to success.
  My own first impressions of Paul Coverdell came during the often 
commented period in which he served as head of the Peace Corps. Paul 
Coverdell was in Latin America and various other places where some of 
us tried to work for democracy in those days. They were remarkable 
days--the 1980s--in which all of the countries of our hemisphere 
finally landed on their feet with democratic institutions. That was 
true of countries in Asia and countries elsewhere around the world. 
Paul Coverdell's tenure in the Peace Corps is distinguished by the fact 
that the Peace Corps had matured, literally.
  Many members of the Corps were now very mature individuals, not young 
persons out of college, or in some type of transition before they went 
into another professional career. As a matter of fact, under Paul's 
tenure, the Peace Corps evolved into a group of teachers, 
environmentalists, and farm experts, in addition to, still, a very 
strong component of young idealistic people. It was this combination of 
people that gave sustenance to democracy, helped the economy, helped 
the pushing forward of intellectual pursuits, and likewise forged an 
increasing friendship and reverence for the United States and for our 
traditions.
  Therefore, it was with great excitement that I welcomed Paul 
Coverdell to the Foreign Relations Committee. That is a committee on 
which he belonged. He made huge contributions on that committee. We 
focused frequently on Latin America, Central America, South America, 
and the Caribbean--areas with which he was well acquainted from 
previous times when he had really been there in the beginning of the 
evolution of many democratic propositions. I sat next to him in the 
committee through the markups, through the hearings. He was always

[[Page 15407]]

cheerful. He was always thoughtful in exchanging views in a very 
forthright way. I admired and I listened to Paul. He made a very strong 
contribution day by day in the work of the committee.
  But my close association with Paul came in the Agriculture Committee. 
I will mention that Paul was chairman of the Senate Agriculture 
Committee, Subcommittee on Marketing, Inspection, and Product 
Promotion. He did a great job. We have just four subcommittees in the 
Agriculture Committee. These are committees that have opportunities to 
hold hearings independently, or to contribute to the body as a whole as 
they may wish. Paul Coverdell had a broad philosophical view of 
agriculture that included freedom--freedom for the farmers whom he 
represented to make decisions with regard to management of their land 
and their crops and their livestock, and the prospects for their 
communities. He championed that idea without apology. But he also was 
very much in tune with the very specific problems of Georgia farmers.
  They included an interest in peanuts. Paul and I had disagreements 
about the peanut program. In fact, it has either been my fate or 
privilege for many years to suggest reform. Paul always feared that 
those reforms would come during his time, and he tried to dissuade me 
and, having failed in that respect, to at least bring me up to date on 
what the actual problems of peanut farmers were, how they could be 
helped, and how the legislation I was suggesting could be brought 
before the committee and modified, and ways to be helpful to the 
overall policy and to the constituents whom he saw very much in need of 
his support.
  Mr. President, he prevailed in that area. We made reforms. But I 
think they were reforms that were very heavily influenced by the hand 
of Paul Coverdell. Due to the fact that he did his homework, he was 
persuasive, and he knew the farmers. He spoke for them.
  In addition to the peanut situation, which was always with him, in 
recent years, severe drought--and this is one of those years in 
Georgia--occupied much of Paul Coverdell's time, working with specific 
landowners and communities, with much of his State in the throes of a 
very difficult predicament. As I looked at the weather map just last 
week, I saw how the drought problem has shifted just in a very few 
weeks in our country from patches that covered much of the area of the 
United States to very isolated situations. Unfortunately, Georgia is 
one of those situations. It is especially cruel because the rains have 
come to the Midwest and to many of the plains States with isolated 
problems still--in some parts of Nebraska, Iowa, and the Dakotas.
  But Paul, in his own way, always made certain we knew about Georgia 
and the very specific problems there. So when we had the large debates 
that we were privileged to have on the floor, dealing with risk 
management, dealing with payments to farmers to supplement their income 
in a very difficult year, and with specific emergencies, Paul was very 
active in that debate. He was successful in that debate.
  As Senator Domenici pointed out in his beautiful statement, Paul 
Coverdell was always one who thanked everybody involved and made 
certain that they knew of his care and attention and appreciation. It 
was my privilege to receive one of those notes after the debate which 
we had here. It is very difficult to try to think about the 
representation of that State without thinking of Paul Coverdell. He was 
so good, so faithful and, really, so effective and articulate. He was 
such a good friend. We will miss him. Our thoughts are with him and 
with Nancy.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in expressing 
my sadness over the loss of a valued colleague. I think we have lost a 
great friend.
  I was looking over some of the correspondence I had with Senator 
Coverdell. He sent me some Vidalia onions and told me they had a punch. 
He had a way of writing that was very interesting, in fact.
  I think Senator Coverdell grew in stature every year he was here.
  I remember so well when he came to us. We had known him as part of 
the Peace Corps group. I believe his wife was a Delta stewardess at the 
time. He came around to visit each one of us. He came around to visit 
me and told me a little bit about some of his background. I knew then 
that we had a person who was going to be outgoing because not many 
Senators do that. He took time to visit with each one of us as he came 
to the Senate.
  I think the skills he developed as a mediator will be missed in this 
Senate. I remember some of the bills he worked on even just this year--
the Health and Human Services bill, for instance--bills with so many 
amendments, and it took committed work on the floor of the Senate.
  Paul Coverdell was a volunteer. He volunteered himself for the task; 
he worked with Senator Reid from Nevada. I think he assisted members of 
our committee on an enormous number of disputes. Without his help and 
without his skills, I think we would still be involved in some of those 
bills.
  He also came to us with some educational background from his life in 
Georgia. He brought us some educational concepts that are going to 
last, I hope, for years to come. His education savings account program, 
for instance, is one.
  He also helped us in the field of general education because of his 
approach. He prodded us, I think Senator Specter would agree, to not 
only meet but to exceed the President's request this year on 
educational funding.
  He was a very interesting and complex man. He was an advocate for 
keeping drugs out of the hands of children. He saw the appropriations 
process--as Senator Cochran and others who work with me on 
appropriations know--as a means to try to solve problems through the 
proper use of public funds.
  As chairman of the Defense Subcommittee of our Appropriations 
Committee, I met with him often on problems of military families in his 
State. I know of no person who was a more vigorous advocate for 
production from a State than Paul Coverdell. When it came to the C-130 
aircraft, he was a workhorse and not a show horse. I don't remember 
seeing Paul Coverdell's name in the paper in terms of some who sought 
publicity, but I saw in him a great deal as a man who sought results.
  I say to the Senate that we lost a great friend and a valued 
colleague. I join in expressing my sadness over his loss.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to join my 
colleagues in expressing my sadness and my condolences in behalf of the 
family of Paul Coverdell.
  In the more than 3 years that I have had the privilege of serving in 
the Senate, he was someone who was respected for his work, for his 
effort, and for his sincere commitment to ensuring that all the 
viewpoints were heard, and that we moved forward and acted for the 
people of this country.
  He was particularly protective, obviously, of his State of Georgia 
and his constituents because he felt deeply for their needs. He worked 
hard to achieve benefits for his constituents. He had talent, 
personality, and character. You could disagree with him, but he was not 
a disagreeable person. He was a consummate gentleman. He was polite. He 
was civil. He was approachable. He had those personal qualities that 
endeared him to all who serve in this body. He was someone respected by 
all of us. We all admired him.
  Other colleagues have talked about his many efforts in educational 
policy, such as his efforts to ensure appropriate response for our 
military posture around the world.
  I had the occasion just briefly in the last debate about Colombia to 
work with him and speak with him. He was committed to ensuring that our 
policy in that part of the world was not only consistent with our 
ideals as a democratic nation but also helped decisively

[[Page 15408]]

stem the tide of drugs that has weakened this country. He did it in his 
typical fashion--quietly, diligently, without a lot of fanfare but with 
great success and great results.
  We shall miss his temperament. We shall miss his commitment to this 
process. We shall miss his character and his contribution to the 
country.
  To his family I offer my sincerest condolences.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise with my colleagues to express my 
deepest sympathy for Nancy and Paul's family.
  I had the great good fortune to come to the Senate with Paul 
Coverdell, as did the Senator from North Dakota, who I see sitting 
across the aisle.
  Paul was a special individual. He brought to this Senate an 
infectious enthusiasm and gracious energy which dominated the 
institution and those of us who worked with him. He always had a smile. 
He always had an idea. He always had a purpose. The purpose was tied to 
making this country a better place to live--for all of us and for our 
children.
  He used to wander around this institution with a styrofoam cup that 
had ``Waffle House'' on it. That was one of the great mysteries to me 
in this institution--how Paul Coverdell managed to get Waffle House 
coffee sent all the way from Georgia.
  It was a great promotor of Georgia. He never missed an opportunity to 
promote Georgia. That was only one of the minor ways he did it.
  He was a great friend, also. I had lots of discussions with him. We 
worked on lots of issues--our concerns about the original health care 
proposal put forward by this administration, to when we set up the 
first aggressive, active task force that I got involved in and that he 
was also involved in. Even at the time we were both new to this 
institution, he had an incredible amount of ideas and initiatives on 
ways to address the issues. He was always tactically two or three steps 
ahead of the rest of us. He understood the way the institution worked 
long before some of us--I put myself in that category--who didn't fully 
understand the institution. He had an intuitive sense about the 
Senate--a feel for it and a love of it. He knew how to work an issue, 
to address an issue in order to produce better policy and better 
government for our country. I worked with him on that.
  It seemed almost all of the time we were working on an answer with 
Paul Coverdell because he was involved in about every issue that came 
through the institution that had significance. The last major issue I 
worked with him on, of course, was education. We had a task force on 
our side to put forward what I thought was an extremely positive 
educational agenda, much of which came from his thought processes, 
which I was proud to support.
  We worked a lot, of course, on Governor Bush's campaign. I had a 
discussion last Friday with him about that. He was working hard on an 
issue having to do with that campaign, and we was very hopeful that 
Governor Bush would become the next President.
  He also had, as I mentioned, a deep regard for this body.
  I think one of the discussions I will remember fondly occurred last 
week when we were sitting in my office. Some of the offices in the 
Russell Building have unique marble fireplaces. Many offices have 
unique desks. He was very concerned that we didn't really have a 
historical database of where these desks came from, who had these 
desks, and we didn't have a historical database of where the marble, 
for example, of the fireplaces came from; We had not, as a Senate, done 
our job of maintaining our own traditions and our own history as well 
we might. We got to talking about that and the history of the Senate. 
His love of the institution was exuberant.
  What a huge impact he had in such a short time. We only came 8 years 
ago--the two of us. At that time, I think there were 11 after the class 
finally got settled in. He took a while to get here because he 
confronted a number of races, but with his perseverance he was totally 
committed and won them all. In that time, he left a huge mark.
  One of the true strengths of our democracy is that it totally exceeds 
any individual. This institution includes Daniel Webster, Calhoun, 
Clay; people in our century who had a huge impact, including Taft, Bob 
Dole. When they leave, the institution goes on; it functions. It 
functions extraordinarily well for a democratic body--as well as a 
democratic body can function. It produces governance for our people 
which is fair and honest and committed to a better life.
  Recognizing that the institution goes on, there are still people who 
leave a mark. There are still people whose memory will be there, and 
will be there for a considerable amount of time. Paul certainly falls 
in that category. It will be hard for me to turn and look at that door 
and not see Paul standing by it, working on some issue. That is where 
he usually worked from, the pillar back there, addressing some concern, 
planning some initiative, all of which was directed at one single 
purpose: Preserving and keeping our democracy.
  We will miss him.
  I yield the floor.
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the life and 
legacy of Senator Paul Coverdell. His passing has shocked and saddened 
us all. It has left a void in the Senate and in our nation.
  For Senator Coverdell, public service was his profession and his 
passion. After serving in the Army, he began his public life as a 
member of the Georgia State Senate where he served as Minority Leader. 
After working in the private sector, he was appointed Director of the 
Peace Corps. In this important position he worked to spread American 
values around the world. This experience helped him when he later 
served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he was a leader 
in our international effort to strengthen our anti-drug efforts.
  In the Senate, Senator Coverdell was known as a hard worker who often 
reached across the aisle to build coalitions. Senator Coverdell fought 
hard for his principles. We didn't always agree on policy--but he 
always treated those on the other side with dignity and respect. He 
knew that despite our different views, we all shared a common goal. We 
all want to do what's best for our constituents and our nation. He 
understood that we can get more done with civility than with 
contention.
  Senator Coverdell will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are 
with his family.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I would like to address the terrible 
loss the Senate suffered yesterday, when Paul Coverdell left this 
Earth. I was truly shocked by the news. Just last week, Paul was on the 
floor of the Senate, working in his quiet and non-assuming way. 
Yesterday, I was writing him a get-well card. Today, he is gone.
  Paul was a dedicated public servant. He served the state of Georgia 
and this nation in the Army, the legislature, as a businessman, as the 
head of the Peace Corps and in the U.S. Senate. The respect he had 
earned from his colleagues here is evident in his appointment to 
numerous task forces and his election to a leadership position. His 
passing is a major loss to this body and this great country.
  Since I am also from a state where agriculture is an important part 
of the economy, Paul was a valuable ally in ensuring the family farms 
do not disappear. I also admired his work to keep our children safe 
from drugs and crime, a priority he and I shared. Paul represented the 
best of America: a belief that people flourish when they have the 
freedom to work and make their own decisions.
  Paul will truly be missed. He stood out in the Senate for the simple 
reason that he never drew attention to himself. In a business where 
egos can run rampant, Paul did not display one. He preferred to get 
things done.
  My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Nancy, and their family. 
They have some tough days ahead of them. I hope they can look back, as 
I do, at the impressive record of Paul's work with a sense of pride. I 
am thankful for the chance to know such a man.

[[Page 15409]]


  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
mourning the sudden and untimely death of our colleague from Georgia, 
Paul Coverdell.
  Senator Coverdell had a long and distinguished career of public 
service, capped by his dedicated service in the United States Senate. 
Senator Coverdell served his country in the United States Army in 
Japan, Taiwan and Korea. In 1970, he embarked on a career in politics 
in his native Georgia, serving as a state Senator and chairman of the 
state Republican party. In 1989 he was selected by President Bush to 
lead the Peace Corps.
  We here in the Senate, though, knew Paul Coverdell as a friend and as 
a real gentleman. We did not always agree on the issues, but Paul 
Coverdell never took policy disagreements personally and never let them 
affect his relationships with other Senators. Senator Coverdell was 
always very positive, very upbeat. On every issue, even when we 
disagreed, I found Paul to be fair, decent, and, above all, honest.
  In this body, some Senators are known as ``work horses.'' Others are 
known as ``show horses.'' There is no question that Paul Coverdell was 
a work horse. He was not flashy. He did not seek the media spotlight. 
Paul Coverdell worked tirelessly with the leadership on his side of the 
aisle on some of the toughest issues facing the Senate. He was 
interested in getting results, not credit. His focus, his 
determination, and his willingness to bring other Senators together to 
get things done served the Senate well, served Georgia well, and served 
our country well. His spirit and energy will be sorely missed in this 
body.
  Put simply, I liked and respected Paul Coverdell. We will miss him. 
My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Nancy, his family and 
friends, and his staff.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I join all of my colleagues, the staff 
of the Senate, the people of Georgia, citizens across America and 
around the world in morning the death of Paul Coverdell.
  A thoroughly decent human being, he worked long and hard for what he 
thought was right. His career reflected the combination of principle 
and effective leadership that were characteristic of the way he did 
business. In his quite way, he managed to navigate some very difficult 
waters, keeping his equanimity and dignity intact, while gaining not 
only his goal, but the respect of all who associated with him.
  Many in the Senate can claim friendships with him that extend to 
several decades. I met him only after he was elected to the Senate in 
1992, but from the first, I was impressed by the same things his 
friends loved and admired in him--his kindness, his sense of humor, and 
his work ethic. A skilled legislator, he was often asked by the 
leadership to help move matters along. He did this in concert with 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, always managing to ``disagree 
without being disagreeable.'' He was a public servant of the highest 
order.
  His family, friends, staff, constituents, and colleagues certainly 
know what has been lost for we know what he was and what he did with 
his life. He will be missed in so many circles, but his influence and 
his good works will continue.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I want to join with my colleagues in 
expressing my deep sorrow at the loss of our friend and colleague, Paul 
Coverdell. During this difficult time, I want to extend my thoughts and 
prayers to Nancy and all of his family.
  Paul and I both came to Washington, D.C. in January of 1993. In the 
years that I've know Paul, I've always been impressed by his 
thoughtfulness and his work ethic.
  I always had the upmost respect for him because of his quiet 
demeanor. He did not seek headlines, and he did not seek credit. 
Whether it was fighting illegal drugs or working on education or tax 
policy, he simply did his work with a quiet determination, an open 
heart, and a kind word for anyone who crossed his path.
  My predecessor in the Senate, Warren Magnuson, had a phrase for 
someone like that-- ``a workhorse not a showhorse.''
  Paul Coverdell was a workhorse in the finest sense.
  Paul earned the respect of everyone here because he treated everyone 
else with respect and dignity.
  Paul's work here in the United States Senate was really just an 
extension of a lifetime of service. Whether it was serving his country 
in the U.S. Army, serving the people of Georgia as a state senator, or 
helping people around the world through his work as director of the 
United States Peace Corps, Paul brought his generous spirit and his 
determination to everything he undertook.
  Mr. President, the people of Georgia are fortunate to have been 
served by a person of Paul's character and skills.
  Those of us who worked with him here in the U.S. Senate were 
fortunate to have him as a friend and colleague. His passing is a loss 
to our Senate, to Georgia and to the Nation. I will miss him as a 
friend and colleague.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
honoring a distinguished public servant and a valued Member of the 
United States Senate, Senator Paul Coverdell, who died Tuesday evening 
at the Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
  Senator Coverdell was elected to the United States Senate in 1992 and 
served as the Republican Conference Secretary since December, 1996. He 
was a member of the Senate Finance, Foreign Relations, and Small 
Business Committees and chaired the Agriculture Committee's 
Subcommittee on Marketing, Inspection and Product Promotion.
  Before entering public life, Senator Coverdell served in the U.S. 
Army in Okinawa, Taiwan and Korea. He earned a Bachelor's degree in 
journalism from the University of Missouri before returning to Georgia 
to work in his family's business.
  Paul Coverdell's political career began in 1970 when he was elected 
to the Georgia State Senate serving as Minority Leader for 14 years. In 
1989, he accepted President Bush's appointment as Director of the Peace 
Corps, where he refined the agency's mission to serve the emerging 
democracies of Eastern Europe.
  While Senator Coverdell and I rarely agreed on the many issues that 
came before the Senate for consideration, I greatly respected his hard 
work and his unfailing courtesy and civility. He was a modest man who 
valued results more than he valued headlines. Indeed, Paul Coverdell 
was well-respected by every member of this body, engendering the 
affection of all those with whom he served.
  Senator Coverdell served the citizens of Georgia and the Nation well 
and we are all deeply saddened by his untimely death. I would like to 
take this opportunity to pay tribute to him and to extend my deepest 
and heartfelt sympathies to his family.

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