[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16653]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    SERVICE TO THE PEOPLE OF GEORGIA

  Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, to the distinguished Members of the 
Senate, first let me say how much I appreciate those very generous 
welcoming remarks.
  I do not rise this morning to tell you more about myself or to 
introduce myself to you because there will be time enough for that 
later. I rise instead to add my voice to the remarkable chorus that has 
echoed forth from this floor to the marble floors under Georgia's 
Capitol dome, a chorus of praise for Paul Coverdell. The pain and the 
love that the majority leader showed as he made that terrible 
announcement on the Senate floor touched many hearts in Georgia. The 
eloquence of Senator Moynihan's tribute still rings in our ears. And 
the personal tribute from Senator Gramm, a native son of Georgia, I 
found especially moving. When he spoke of Paul as a man with a thin 
body, a squeaky voice, but the heart of a lion, heads were nodding and 
eyes were misting up from the Potomac River to the Chattahoochee River.
  Then this morning, I sat in the gallery and listened to the 
outpouring of love and praise you had for Senator Coverdell.
  On behalf of the people of Georgia, I thank you. I thank you for your 
words and your tears and your testimony to one of Georgia's finest 
sons.
  You who served with Paul knew him well. I served with Paul and knew 
him well also. I served with him when he was an up-and-coming State 
Senator and I was the Senate President--Paul, a Republican; I, a 
Democrat. Yet Paul impressed me with his ability and his integrity and 
his bipartisan commitment to serving the people first and politics 
second that I named him as one of the first Republican committee 
chairmen since Reconstruction in our heavily Democratic State senate.
  In that job and in that State senate, Paul flourished. He reached 
across party lines to build coalitions to reform education, improve our 
schools, and open up our government to the people.
  Later, as the Director of the Peace Corps, Paul's dignity and decency 
inspired countless young people to serve their fellow man; and then his 
service in this Senate, where in less than 8 years he rose to be one of 
the most influential, respected, and beloved Members of this august 
body.
  Now, when I think of Paul Coverdell, I am reminded of St. Paul's 
letter to Timothy. It is as if it were written by Senator Paul rather 
than St. Paul: I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I 
have kept the faith.
  Today it is up to us to take up that fight, to continue that course, 
to keep that faith.
  You are, of course, aware of Paul's tireless work here in this body 
on behalf of the schoolchildren of this country. Yet his work here was 
just an extension of his lifelong commitment to education. We served 
together as trustees on the board of that tiny college, Young Harris 
College, in the tiny village that is my hometown.
  Paul Coverdell had faith in education, and I intend to keep that 
faith. In Georgia, Paul was a leader early on of a reform movement that 
believed that sunlight was the best disinfectant. So working together 
across party lines, we opened up the Senate Chambers and the smoke-
filled rooms and gave government back to our people. Paul Coverdell had 
a faith in open, honest government, and I will keep that faith.
  In the Peace Corps and in the Senate, Paul was convinced that as the 
beacon of freedom for all the world, America could not hide her light 
under a bushel. And so he worked to keep America strong, to keep 
America engaged in the world, to ensure that she is always an ally to 
be trusted and an adversary to be feared. Paul Coverdell had limitless 
faith in America, and I intend to keep that faith.
  In addition to what he accomplished, Paul will always be remembered 
for how he accomplished it. He was as committed a Republican as I am a 
dedicated Democrat. Yet he was always looking for ways to get things 
done across party lines. He did so not by abandoning his principles but 
by heeding and listening to the proverb:

       A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir 
     up anger.

  I am a different man from Paul Coverdell. I have rarely been accused 
of giving soft answers and, in my day, I suppose I have uttered more of 
my share of grievous words that have stirred up anger. But I also have 
the commitment to getting things done for my State and our Nation, a 
commitment to work with anyone, regardless of party, who shares that 
commitment. Paul Coverdell had a powerful faith in bipartisan progress, 
and I intend to keep that faith.
  Let me repeat to this Senate the pledge I made to my Governor and to 
the people of Georgia when I accepted this mission. I will serve no 
single political party but, rather, 7.5 million Georgians, and every 
day I serve I will do my best to do so in the same spirit of dignity, 
integrity, and bipartisan cooperation that were the hallmarks of Paul 
Coverdell's career.
  Thank you.
  [Applause.]

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