[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 23396]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   REMEMBERING GOVERNOR MEL CARNAHAN

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, today I rise with a deep sense of 
sadness. As you all are aware, on Monday night Missouri's Governor, Mel 
Carnahan, was killed in a tragic plane crash. Also killed in the crash 
were the Governor's son, Randy Carnahan, and the Governor's long-time 
aide, Chris Sifford. My wife Janet and I join with all Missourians in 
mourning these deaths. We express our deepest sympathies to the 
Carnahan and Sifford families. We will continue to pray that God will 
grant these families comfort, healing, and strength in this time of 
great sorrow. This is a time when the Carnahan and Sifford families 
must bear the burden of a tragedy so unexpected and so profound that 
each of us feels their loss. That our Senate campaign could have ended 
so tragically is shocking.
  As the collective heart of Missouri mourns the loss of a leader, this 
is a time for unity and common purpose in Missouri. We, as both a State 
and Nation, join together to mourn the loss of Governor Carnahan--a 
committed public servant. Although we were competing for the same 
office, Governor Carnahan and I had a unique relationship united by the 
common bonds of public service and respect for the people of Missouri. 
We both were honored to be sons of educators. We both loved time spent 
with our families on our farms.
  Governor Carnahan and I also shared a commitment to the greatest 
promise for our Nation's future: the education of our children. We 
committed to the commonsense idea that to continue our prosperity, we 
should invest part of the Federal surplus in educating America's 
children. That is a theme which I will pursue with intensity here in 
the Senate. Governor Carnahan has always been present and accounted for 
when duty called. He served as a member of the United States Air Force. 
He was a municipal judge. As a member of the State House of 
Representatives, he served as majority flood leader. He was elected 
State Treasurer in 1980, Lieutenant Governor in 1988, and Governor in 
1992. He was highly respected and the State prospered during his time 
as Governor.
  As we absorb the blow of this tragedy, we should be reminded of what 
truly is important in life--commitment to God, to family, and to our 
fellow citizens. These were the commitments of Mel Carnahan. He served 
the people of Missouri with dignity and honor for more than four 
decades. I will remember him, and all of Missouri will remember him, 
for his dedication to his family--as a husband, a father, and a 
grandfather. We are all grateful that Mel Carnahan was willing to spend 
his life serving the people and the State of Missouri. I again extend 
my deepest sympathies to Governor Carnahan's wife, Jean, and to his 
family. Our prayers are with them in this time of great loss.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I join my colleague from Missouri in 
telling the family of Mel Carnahan how deeply sorry we all are.
  It must be a terribly difficult time for the citizens of his State, 
for his family, and for everyone who knew him. I hope we can carry on 
his tradition, one about which he talked so much in the last four 
decades, of making sure all of our children get a good education and 
the people of this great country have the opportunities about which he 
cared so deeply.
  I thank the Senator from Missouri.

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