[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24281]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       TRIBUTE TO SENATOR KERREY

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, in a few short days, Senator Kerrey will 
also be among our five colleagues bringing to an end their tenure in 
here in the Senate. I think all of us understand his decision and 
respect it, but I think we regret it.
  Like Senator Bryan, Senator Kerrey is a former governor of his state. 
Like him, he has served in the Senate for two terms. And like Senator 
Bryan, Senator Kerrey has left a lasting mark on this institution, on 
his state, and on our country.
  The outlines of this remarkable man's resume are known to many of us. 
Bob Kerrey served with distinction in the Navy, and today is the only 
Member of Congress to have earned a Medal of Honor for his heroism in 
combat duty during the Vietnam war. He became a successful businessman 
in Omaha.
  He was elected Governor of Nebraska in 1982. It was a time when few 
Democrats were running for--much less winning--state-wide offices, 
particularly in his part of the country. And it was a time when our 
entire country was mired in a recession, particularly in Nebraska and 
other farm states, which were suffering through the worst economic 
conditions since the Great Depression.
  As Governor, Bob Kerrey met the challenge of eliminating a serious 
budget deficit. In fact, he balanced his state's budget every year, 
helping to turn that deficit into a surplus. He also initiated 
innovative reforms in welfare, education, job training, and 
environmental protection.
  In the opinion of his constituents and many others, Bob Kerrey was 
proving himself to be an outstanding public servant. He established 
himself as someone willing to make tough decisions.
  He showed that he has an ability to see ``around the corner'' and 
think ``outside the box'' by initiating thoughtful, creative, and 
effective policies for the benefit of the people of his beloved state 
of Nebraska.
  But it can be said that public service has always needed Bob Kerrey 
more than Bob Kerrey has needed public service. He has never been one 
to assume that his gifts of leadership and his curiosity about life's 
meaning and purpose can only be satisfied by holding elected office. 
Despite his impressive record as Governor, and despite his strong 
public approval ratings, he declined to run for re-election and took 
leave of public life. He headed to southern California, where he taught 
a course on the Vietnam war to college students--readily admitting that 
one of the chief reasons for accepting that position was to wait out 
the worst months of the Nebraska winter on a warm beach.
  Two years later, the people of Nebraska sent him to the United States 
Senate--to the good fortune not only of his constituents, but of his 
new colleagues and the American people. As a member of the Finance 
Committee, Agriculture Committee, Appropriations Committee, and Select 
Committee on Intelligence, he worked diligently to strengthen family 
farmers, small businesses, and our nation's vital intelligence-
gathering agencies.
  He also dedicated himself to perhaps the most important and 
intractable domestic policy question facing our nation: entitlement 
reform. He chaired the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax 
Reform--which has produced what many regard as the definitive analysis 
of the entitlement system. He served on the National Commission on the 
Future of Medicare, proposing thoughtful ideas for health care reform. 
He also co-chaired the National Commission on Restructuring the 
Internal Revenue Service, where he developed some of the most sweeping 
reforms of IRS operations ever instituted.
  Not all of Senator Kerrey's ideas on entitlement reform have been 
adopted or even embraced. But each and every one of them has merited 
the careful consideration of our colleagues and of the country as a 
whole.
  That in itself is the great tribute to the work of this fine Senator.
  Like a sentry on the watch, his words of caution and warning will 
reverberate through the Halls of Congress long after his departure. He 
has persistently shone a light on the looming and inescapable 
demographic fact that retirees are growing in numbers that will soon 
overwhelm our present ability to sustain them under the umbrella of 
Social Security and Medicare.
  He has done so not with the shrill self-righteousness that some bring 
to a cause about which they feel great passion. He has done so with 
conviction, humor, and humility. For his words of warning, and for the 
way in which he has uttered them, this body and our nation owe him a 
debt of gratitude.
  Now he prepares to move on to academia, where he will become 
president of New School University in New York City. I come from a 
family of educators, and when Bob told me of his decision, my first 
reaction was: are you sure that you want to do this? If you think 
sitting through a markup or a hearing can be tedious, just wait until 
that first faculty meeting. And wait until you get a visit from an 
orange-haired undergraduate seeking special credit for his graffiti 
art. That will put your patience and problem-solving skills to the 
test.
  But Bob will not be deterred. And I suspect that, as he has done 
throughout his career, he will shape his office and place more than it 
will shape him. He will bring his rare gifts of leadership to the 
higher education students and faculty with whom he will come in touch. 
I know I am joined by all of my colleagues in wishing him well, and I 
look forward to many more years of his friendship and his leadership. I 
don't believe America is through with Bob Kerrey yet.

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