[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18455-18456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               TRIBUTE TO SENATOR DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 3 minutes.
  Mr. HINCHEY. Mr. Speaker, Daniel Patrick Moynihan has been valued and 
will continue to be valued for his wisdom on a kaleidoscopic range of 
subjects, for his prescient and nuanced analysis of social problems, 
his persistent and eloquent defense of government support for the poor 
and the disadvantaged, long after that position had become 
unfashionable; for his role in international affairs, as a participant 
and observer; as courtly diplomat and passionate defender of democracy. 
His example, his independence of mind, his indifference to fashion, his 
rejection of cant and conventional wisdom, is perhaps the best 
demonstration of why his favorite cause, the dignity of the free 
individual soul, matters so much.
  Perhaps the proudest achievement of our country and our democratic 
system is that we allow people like Daniel Patrick Moynihan to speak 
their minds and rise to power.
  His particular legacy to New York lies in his understanding that the 
lives of free individuals can be enhanced by the beauty and grandeur of 
all that surrounds them: the landscape, the streetscape, and the 
history that underlies them. So he made it his mission to see that our 
home, New York, would retain its distinguished features and add to its 
beauty and eloquence.
  He committed himself to enhancing everyday life and to landmarks that 
spoke of the dignity of ordinary people, the efforts of the forgotten, 
and the conviction that every person matters. So throughout his Senate 
career, he worked to protect the landmarks of the women's rights 
movement in Seneca Falls, because he knew that the more celebrated 
proclamations of liberty in Philadelphia rang a little hollow for more 
than half the American people.
  He worked equally hard to give Federal recognition to the Erie and 
Champlain Canals in New York, because he knows that the working folk 
who dug the ditches and piloted the boats, whose names we have 
forgotten, were more responsible for the westward expansion of our 
country and the opportunities it opened than the more celebrated 
frontier explorers.
  He is working now to protect Governors Island in New York Harbor, the 
island most people ignored because its work was the daily grind of 
protecting the harbor, the overlooked work that sustains us. He has 
directed Federal funds to the protection of an ordinary businessman's 
house in Buffalo, because that little known man, Darwin Martin, had the 
daring and foresight to build a place of no pretension, but great 
beauty, by hiring an unregarded architect named Frank Lloyd Wright.
  Pat Moynihan insisted that public spaces where ordinary people pass 
daily and conduct their mundane business should remind them of their 
dignity and the soaring ideals of the American endeavor. So he insisted 
that the New York courthouses should be fine, even grand places, and he 
devoted himself to the rebirth of Pennsylvania Station as a place of 
splendor, a worthy replacement for the building we lost when people 
believed that public places should be drab and functional.
  Of course, here in Washington, we know that it was Pat Moynihan more 
than any other person who saw to it that Pennsylvania Avenue was also 
reborn, and again became a place of eloquence and beauty, appropriate 
to its place as the main boulevard of our Capital.
  Pat Moynihan made his home in New York, appropriately at the 
crossroads of the ordinary and the ideal, a tiny rural settlement named 
in honor of a classical poet, the Hamlet of Pindar's Corners. His home 
there at the same time was a modest rural farmhouse and a Greek temple, 
a common 19th century architectural style in upstate New York, but one 
rarely seen today.
  His blending of the common, the human, the mundane, and of the 
highest ideals and greatest dignity, is a reflection of America at its 
best, what this country is all about. Nothing could be more appropriate 
for the man who best reflects that same vision, Daniel Patrick 
Moynihan.
  Mr. Speaker, Pat Moynihan has always appeared larger than life. From 
the day he arrived in the Senate as a freshman in 1977, he was not just 
another Senator. He has always stood apart. He is one of the few 
Senators of whom it can be said that his name is just as powerful, just 
as important, whether the title ``Senator'' is attached or not. After 
most of us leave Congress, the world has much less interest in what we 
have to say. But that will not be the case with Pat. When he speaks--
whether he is Senator Moynihan, Professor Moynihan, or just Daniel 
Patrick Moynihan--the world listens.
  He has been valued, and will continue to be valued, for his wisdom on 
a kaleidoscopic range of subjects--for his prescient and nuanced 
analysis of social problems, his persistent and eloquent defense of 
government support for the poor and disadvantaged, long after that 
position had become unfashionable, for his role in international 
affairs as participant and observer, as courtly diplomat and passionate 
defender of democracy and freedom. His own example--his independence of 
mind, his indifference to fashion, his rejection of cant and 
conventional wisdom--is perhaps

[[Page 18456]]

the best demonstration of why his favorite cause--the dignity of the 
free individual soul--matters so much. Perhaps the proudest achievement 
of our country and our democratic system is that we allow people like 
Daniel Patrick Moynihan to speak their minds, and rise to power.
  Any list of his achievements will be long. But we New Yorkers have 
some more particular and parochial reasons to thank him and to honor 
him, and reasons to be proud that we sent him to the Senate. He was 
born in Oklahoma, of course, and spent much of his professional life 
before he came to the Senate in Massachusetts. But we New Yorkers 
embraced him as he embraced us, and we will always be proud to count 
him as one of us.
  His particular legacy to New York lies in his understanding that the 
lives of free individuals can be enhanced by the beauty and grandeur of 
all that surrounds them--the landscape, the streetscape, and the 
history that underlies them. So he made it his mission to see that our 
home, New York, would retain its distinguished features and add to its 
beauty and elegance.
  It is telling that Pat Moynihan did not put his greatest efforts into 
the more obvious treasures of the State, or into monuments to the great 
and famous. instead, he committed himself to enhancing everyday life, 
and into landmarks that spoke of the dignity of ordinary people, the 
efforts of the forgotten, and the conviction that every person matters. 
So throughout his Senate career he worked to protect the landmarks of 
the women's rights movement in Seneca Falls, because he knew that the 
more celebrated proclamations of liberty in Philadelphia rang a little 
hollow for more than half the American people. He has worked equally 
hard to give federal recognition to the Erie and Champlain Canals in 
New York, because he knows that the working folk who dug the ditches 
and piloted the boats whose names we have forgotten were more 
responsible for the westward expansion of our country and the 
opportunities it opened than the more celebrated frontier explorers. He 
is working now to protect Governors Island in New York Harbor--the 
island most people ignored because its work was the daily grind of 
protecting the harbor, the overlooked work that sustains us. He has 
directed federal funds to the protection of an ordinary businessman's 
house in Buffalo because that little known man, Darwin Martin, had the 
daring and foresight to build a place of no pretension but great beauty 
by hiring an unregarded architect named Frank Lloyd Wright.
  Pat Moynihan has not just looked to protect our history, however. In 
a time when public buildings and public spaces were given little 
regard, and their design was contracted to the low bidder Pat Moynihan 
insisted that public spaces where ordinary people pass daily and 
conduct their mundane business should remind them of their dignity and 
the soaring ideals of the American endeavor. So he insisted that the 
new courthouses in New York should be fine, even grand places, and he 
devoted himself to the rebirth of Pennsylvania Station as a place of 
splendor, a worthy replacement for the building we lost when people 
believed that public spaces should be drab and functional. Of course 
here in Washington we know that it was Pat Moynihan, more than any 
other person, who saw to it that Pennsylvania Avenue was also reborn, 
and again became a place of elegance and beauty appropriate to its 
place as the main boulevard of our Capital. I believe that New Yorkers 
and the Nation will thank him for his work on restoring aesthetics to 
community life for a long time to come.
  Typically, though, Pat Moynihan did not focus on just a few great 
buildings and monumental spaces. One of his finest achievements, in my 
view, was his imaginative and inventive idea for financing what he 
called ``enhancements'' with highway money--parks, gardens, 
beautification, historic restoration, and other improvements of the 
landscape and the community, available to every place touched by a 
federally funded highway. Most of these enhancements are small changes 
in ordinary communities, changes that touch the life and lift the 
spirits of all those who see them and use them. Most people don't know 
that Pat Moynihan had anything to do with them, but they may be one of 
his most lasting legacies to our Nation.
  Pat Moynihan made his home in New York, appropriately at the 
crossroads of the ordinary and the ideal--a tiny rural settlement named 
in honor of a classical poet, the Hamlet of Pindar's Corners. His home 
there was at the same time a modest rural farmhouse and a Greek temple, 
a common nineteenth century architectural style in upstate New York, 
but one rarely seen today. This blending of the common, the human, the 
mundane, and of the highest ideals and greatest dignity is a reflection 
of America at its best, what this country is all about. Nothing could 
be more appropriate for the man who best reflects that same vision, 
Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
  Mr. LAZIO. Mr. Speaker, we are here this morning to honor Senator 
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who will soon be concluding a distinguished 
career of public service. Senator Moynihan's curriculum vitae extends 
over 44 pages. As one reads, one can not but be astounded that a single 
person could achieve so much, in so many areas.
  During World War II, Daniel Patrick Moynihan left college after one 
year to serve his country as a Naval officer. Returning to the United 
States after the war, he went on to become the sole person to ever 
serve 4 successive administrations at the Cabinet or Sub-Cabinet level. 
He served Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford in such roles as 
Cabinet Assistant Secretary, Counselor to the President, Assistant to 
the President, Ambassador and President of the U.N. Security Council. 
In 1977 he was elected to the United States Senate, a post that he has 
held until today. Throughout the course of his career, Senator Moynihan 
has been the recipient of countless honors, ranging from honorary 
degrees from universities throughout the world, to awards from a 
variety of groups far too numerous to mention.
  Yet, as outstanding as his record of achievement has been, what has 
always impressed me is the independence of mind that has consistently 
characterized Daniel Patrick Moynihan's views, statements and policy 
positions. During the early 1970s, Daniel Patrick Moynihan incurred the 
wrath of many critics when he came out with a report on the social 
crisis posed by the explosion in out-of-wedlock births that was as 
prescient as it was controversial. Serving as our Ambassador to the 
United Nations, he spoke eloquently and forcefully in defense of 
Israel, when the infamous ``Zionism equals Racism'' resolution was 
passed in that body.
  As a United States Senator, Daniel Patrick Moynihan's willingness to 
take on the unpopular, yet necessary issues has remained intact. For 
years, when the conventional political wisdom was that Social Security 
reform was the ``third rail of politics,'' Daniel Patrick Moynihan 
talked of the impending crisis of solvency for Social Security. He has 
similarly been willing to buck the tide of political convention and 
correctness.
  To put it quite simply, Daniel Patrick Moynihan is one of the most 
honorable public servants I have ever met. His presence in the United 
States Senate will be sorely missed. He is a New Yorker, through the 
through, and has been a truly eloquent voice in Washington for all of 
us in the Empire State. I would be deeply honored to serve as his 
successor.
  As he embarks upon a new chapter of his life, I would like to wish 
him Godspeed, secure in the knowledge that whatever new challenge 
Daniel Patrick Moynihan next chooses to address will be met with the 
same courage, determination and raw talent that has brought him success 
throughout his long and distinguished career.

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