[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 25139]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 25139]]

                     FAREWELL TO RETIRING SENATORS

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, ``To 
everything


there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.'' And, now, 
as the 106th Congress is coming to a close, the hour has come to pay 
tribute to five distinguished colleagues--Senators with whom I have had 
the honor and pleasure of working. These gentlemen of the Senate have 
decided that it is now time to embark on a new chapter in their lives.
  Each in his own way has left behind a part of their vision for 
America and has influenced the course of our country.
  The Senate Finance Committee is seeing a great exodus as four of the 
five Senators retiring served this Committee. I will certainly miss 
their participation on this committee and the leadership on key issues.
  Daniel Patrick Moynihan and I were elected to the Senate from our 
respective states in the same year--1976. So we two freshman learned 
the ways of this august body at the same time. And, I have to say to my 
colleagues who have more recently been elected to this body, that was 
no minor education. We began our Senate service with giants like James 
O. Eastland, Barry Goldwater, Hubert Humphrey, and Howard Baker.
  The difference was that Pat Moynihan had already had a distinguished 
career in public service having served as urban affairs advisor to 
President Nixon and as Ambassador to India and the United Nations. I 
have always had great admiration for his strong character, great 
intellect and exceptional diplomacy--particularly on those occasions 
when it was between warring political parties, not countries.
  Senator Moynihan is famous for spotting emerging issues long before 
anyone else. He has been warning for years that Social Security needs 
reform. He has urged reform of the alternative minimum tax, and worked 
tirelessly in the effort to reform a broken welfare system.
  On the candor scale, Senator Robert Kerrey would rank near the top. 
That is a commodity sadly lacking in many circles--and not just in 
government, but in business and academia as well. Bob Kerrey has been 
as courageous about sharing his opinions as he was when serving in the 
Vietnam war, during which he was awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, 
and our nation's highest honor, the Congressional of Medal of Honor.
  He left the governorship of Nebraska with a 70 percent approval 
rating, which tells us something about his record of employing common 
sense and exercising integrity in governance. Nebraskans are no 
nonsense, hard-working people. They would not have tolerated any less.
  Bob Kerrey has put those same virtues to work in the Senate, 
particularly in our bipartisan efforts to reform Social Security and 
Medicare as well as the IRS.
  I am going to miss my colleague from the West, Senator Richard Bryan. 
Though we have not agreed on every issue--who does?--we have a common 
appreciation for the impact of federal policy on the western states.
  I was also most appreciative and grateful for his honest, 
straightforward, and thorough leadership of the Senate Ethics 
Committee--no doubt one of the more thankless jobs in the Senate. But, 
every senator, regardless of political party, could be assured that, if 
wrongs had been committed, they would certainly be found out. If 
allegations were false, the verdict would be made clear to all.
  Senator Frank Lautenberg, like me, is living proof that the American 
dream can come true. His hard work, determination, and ingenuity 
brought him from humble beginnings to build with two partners the 
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Company, which became the world's 
largest computing services company.
  I was pleased to work with Senator Lautenberg on legislation to 
prohibit smoking on public transportation. He has been a tireless 
worker in the war to prevent teenage smoking.
  To my Democratic colleagues, Senators Lautenberg, Moynihan, Bryan and 
Kerrey: We have battled through many issues, each of us committed to 
doing what we believed was best for America and for our respective 
states. There has never been a dull moment. It has been a privilege to 
work with you.
  Last but not least, I have to bid farewell to my fellow Republican 
and Finance Committee member, Senator Connie Mack. His friendship, 
leadership, and dedication to furthering the causes of fiscal 
responsibility, governmental accountability, and medical research will 
be greatly missed.
  Senator Mack has successfully fought for Florida's concerns and kept 
his campaign promise of ``less taxing, less spending, less government 
and more freedom,'' which resulted in 70 percent of the vote in 1994, 
more than any other Republican Senatorial candidate in the Nation.
  The Roman politician Cicero states, ``It is the character of a brave 
and resolute man not to be ruffled by adversity and not to desert his 
post.''
  I believe Senator Mack has been this exemplary leader; and, instead 
of faltering like most men, Senator Mack had the ability to rise above 
not one, but three, personal battles with cancer--his wife's, his 
daughter's and his own. Senator Mack lost his mother, father and 
younger brother to cancer. This history makes the Mack's the poster 
family for early detection, a role they have indefatigably played.
  Drawing from this experience, Senator Mack has fought to double the 
funding for National Institute of Health (NIH) in order to step up the 
search for a cure for cancer as well as other diseases that plague our 
families and society today. This is a goal I will continue to support 
not as a legacy for Connie Mack, but inspired by him and his family.
  It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve with these men, and I 
want to take this opportunity to bid farewell and best wishes to our 
colleagues as they begin what I hope will be a very rewarding 
retirement.

                          ____________________