[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 26437-26441]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     SERVING THE PEOPLE OF MISSOURI

  Mr. ASHCROFT. Mr. President, it is with a sense of deep gratitude 
that I have this opportunity to speak on the Senate floor for one last 
time before I conclude my term in the Senate. There are few 
compensating factors for the lame duck session in which we find 
ourselves, but one is the opportunity for one who has lost an election 
to come back and make a few last remarks. This sort of makes this like 
home. At home I always have the last word--``Yes, dear.'' And to have a 
last word here is a pleasing thing for me.
  Obviously, I am deeply grateful, and, as I think about the 
opportunity I have enjoyed to be in the Senate, it is a set of thoughts 
that are characterized by gratitude. I am grateful to God that we are 
created as individuals with the capacity to shape the tomorrows in 
which we live. If freedom has a definition, it is that--that we can 
change things. And, obviously, we want to change things for the better.
  America respects that understanding of the creation and how we act as 
individuals with a Government that represents the people as agents of 
change, making decisions about the kind of community we want to have. 
Any of us who has the opportunity to represent fellow citizens 
obviously is in a position to do great things and to enjoy the ability 
to fulfill what God has destined for us to do, and that is to shape the 
tomorrows in which we live.
  I want to thank the citizens of Missouri first. It is a community 
that I love and that I respect. Janet and I live in Missouri, obviously 
because I was raised there, but by our choice. I have had the 
opportunity to serve the people of Missouri for 33 years. I began 
teaching in Southwest Missouri State University as a way of serving the 
people of the State of Missouri. And then, one of the most important 
mentors in my life, and one of the individuals who perhaps represents 
what Missouri is and what Missouri stands for more than any other 
single individual, the senior Senator of this State, Senator Kit Bond.
  He accorded me the opportunity to serve as the State auditor of 
Missouri when he vacated that office upon his election as Governor. I 
had first offered myself to the people of Missouri to serve in the U.S. 
Congress, and they had expressed their profound affection for me, 
indicating that I should stay in Missouri and not go to the Congress. 
Kit Bond, recognizing that, appointed me to be the State auditor of 
Missouri.
  It began a marvelous set of opportunities for me for which I am 
grateful in every respect. I served as the State auditor for 2 years. I 
later served as the attorney general of Missouri after a short period 
of time as an assistant attorney general in Missouri, and that was a 
notable experience. I had the wonderful privilege of sharing an office 
with a now Justice of the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas. We were in 
the same room together for 16 months. That is a historic item that I 
did not understand the history of at the time, but I certainly do now.
  I had the chance, after serving 8 years as attorney general, of going 
on to be Governor of the State of Missouri for 8 years. What a 
marvelous opportunity it was to work with the community, to work with 
people, to shape our

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community in a way which was constructive and reinforced the things in 
which we believed.
  This past election obviously was a disappointment for me, but I am 
not disappointed in the people of Missouri. The tragedy of this 
election, the death of my opponent and his son in a plane crash of 
unspeakable disaster, was one that the Missouri community responded to 
with two values and virtues that I cherish about our community--the 
value and virtue of compassion. I want America and Missouri to be a 
place of compassion.
  What a tremendous and wonderful thing it is when people are 
compassionate and share the feelings of each other, and the value of 
respect, particularly respect for those who have gone on and have been 
of service. In expressing those values, the people of Missouri decided 
they would honor the deceased Governor by voting in his behalf and in 
his stead in the election rather than voting for me, and I respect them 
for that and I honor them for that. It is a great community. They are a 
community to be loved and respected, and I profoundly love and respect 
them.
  I wish well Mrs. Carnahan who will succeed me in this seat in the 
Senate. I thank her for coming by my office yesterday. I hope she is 
treated with kindness. I told her yesterday that I was pleased to see 
her and have the opportunity to communicate with her, and I reminded 
her yesterday that 30 days from now she will be my Senator, and I want 
her to do well.
  I thank, in addition to Missourians, my staff. I am delighted the 
Senate has agreed to allow them all to be here on the floor of the 
Senate during these remarks. When I came to the Senate, my staff and I 
decided there were values and principles we wanted to honor in 
everything we did. We wanted those values and principles to transcend 
circumstances. We wanted them to be controlling factors of our conduct. 
So we spent some time together.
  Early in my time in the Senate, I came to the floor of the Senate and 
placed in the Congressional Record this statement of service, 
commitment, and dedication that each member of my staff joined me in 
formulating. This one hangs near the desk of Annie Billings in my 
office. I asked each staff member to sign this commitment and then I 
signed the commitment, too, so each one of these items contains the 
signature both of the staff, the real workers of the Senate, and the 
Senator, at least in this case, who relied so heavily on their work.
  I did not want to set the standards for my office absent the staff's 
participation because I believed the staff would help me reflect 
profoundly the values of the people of Missouri--and, indeed, they did. 
Each member of my staff took the pledge, the pledge that is contained 
in this statement of service, commitment, and dedication--high 
standards of service.
  Our pledge states, and I will read part of it:

       We dedicate ourselves to principled public policy. We 
     believe that Americans are endowed by their Creator with 
     certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty 
     and the pursuit of happiness. The power we exercise is 
     granted by Missourians and the American people; we serve to 
     secure their rights. Our commitment is to respect diverse 
     political views and serve all people by whose consent we 
     govern.
       As people of liberty reach for opportunity and achieve 
     greatness, our Nation prospers. A government that lives 
     beyond its means and reaches beyond its limits violates our 
     basic liberties, and the Nation suffers. We dedicate 
     ourselves to quality service. America's future will be 
     determined by the character and productivity of our people. 
     In this respect, we seek to lead by our example. We will 
     strive to lead with humility and honesty. We will work with 
     energy and spirit. We will represent the American people with 
     loyalty and integrity. Our standard of productivity is 
     accuracy, courtesy, efficiency, integrity, validity, and 
     timeliness. We hold that these principles are a sacred 
     mandate. We take responsibility for these standards.

  I thank my staff for helping me formulate that format for our 
service, and I thank them for, in every instance I know, pursuing the 
fulfillment of that format and formulation for public service. It is an 
honor to serve with individuals who are in pursuit of principle, and my 
staff has been consistent in that respect.
  We have literally in the last Congress had over 550,000 constituent 
contacts with our office, to which we have made millions of responses 
because frequently we can acknowledge the contact and then provide 
additional service or otherwise follow up. There have been 110,000 
specific cases in which individuals had dealings with the Federal 
Government, and we were able to facilitate those dealings. So I thank 
the staff. I thank them for their dedication to principle and for 
understanding that working with humility and integrity and industry and 
timeliness is a way of fulfilling a sacred trust in the people of my 
State.
  I thank the Members of the Senate. This is an institution that is 
unique. The function of the Senate is a very frustrating one, and real 
fulfillment probably is found in the friendships of the Senate more 
than in the function of this body. I have to say that this opportunity 
for my service in the Senate has been one that has been a fulfilling 
experience, in sum because we have been able to achieve things that are 
very important, in other respects as a result of the relationships that 
come with the friendships in the Senate.
  I have the very pleasing opportunity to think of myself as a friend 
of each Member of the Senate, and I am grateful for that. I am 
particularly grateful for the leadership that has been kind to me. For 
Senator Lott--and, of course, I have had a lot of fun with Senator Lott 
as a Singing Senator. That has ruined more than 1 day for other 
people--but the leader has been kind to me in every respect. His 
demeanor in leading this body is one of kindness to every Member.
  Senator Nickles--I had the privilege of nominating him as assistant 
majority leader, and I respect greatly his contribution.
  I see my friends in the Senate today--Senator Gramm, Senator 
McConnell, in addition, of course, to the senior Senator from Missouri 
about whose service I have already remarked, and my colleague, Senator 
Santorum, with whom I have had the opportunity to fight for things in 
which we believe. These are all very pleasing items.
  In particular, I thank Members of the Senate for participating in 
very important legislative achievements that are a part of what I 
believe has been important for me to do while I have been here.
  I had the privilege of filing legislation to protect the Social 
Security trust fund, called the Social Security lockbox legislation. I 
believe I was the first to do that in the Senate. Senator Abraham, 
Senator Domenici, Senator Santorum, and I worked awfully hard for that 
concept. It is now part of the Senate rules, and it has guided the way 
in which we have appropriated resources.
  The Medicare lockbox passed the Senate. I am grateful for that 
opportunity and was grateful that Senator Conrad, on the other side, 
was interested in making sure we put the right framework around the 
Medicare trust fund so that it was not raided for other purposes.
  An effort to repeal the Social Security earnings tax--the test on the 
Social Security earnings--which we were able to achieve in April of 
this year under the leadership of Chairman Roth, and signed by the 
President, I had the privilege of being the Senate sponsor of that 
measure. There were about 45 Senators who joined together, but there 
was even overwhelming help from people on the other side of the aisle, 
such as Senators Landrieu, Feinstein, Baucus, Dorgan, Lieberman, and 
Lincoln, in addition to members of this caucus.
  A big problem in the State of Missouri has been methamphetamines. 
Over and over again, I have worked to strengthen the law regarding 
methamphetamines, both with my colleague, the senior Senator from 
Missouri, Kit Bond, and with others who have also been concerned about 
this problem.
  Senator Feinstein's State of California, similarly, has been 
afflicted with the curse of methamphetamines, and she was always 
helpful in this respect. And we could not have done it without Senator 
Hatch, the chairman

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of the Judiciary Committee, on which I have had the privilege of 
serving.
  May I digress for just a second to say I have had the privilege of 
serving under Chairman Hatch. I respect him and am grateful for his 
leadership on the committee. There are a tough set of circumstances 
that always involves us in the tensions of give-and-take, and he has 
masterfully negotiated the shoals in that particular arena.
  Of course, I should mention as well John McCain's leadership on the 
Commerce Committee, on which I have had the privilege of serving, and 
his graciousness to me and kindness to me and his direction in a 
committee which has achieved massive revisions in the kind of 
liberating renovation which has provided tremendous energy to American 
industry. The revision in the telecommunications law which we were able 
to achieve is a result of excellent leadership. It has changed the 
dynamics of the world's economy, not to mention the United States.
  But I go back to some of the specific legislation.
  This year, we enacted legislation to provide funding so that the 
survivors of slain law enforcement officers could have the opportunity 
to get education and training so that they could in some way begin to 
undertake an effort on their own behalf, which the law enforcement 
officer, slain in the line of duty, was otherwise prepared to help them 
with. I am thankful to Senator Specter and Senator Collins and Senator 
Biden for working and being so helpful to me in that respect.
  Tougher penalties for gun crimes: When I put the amendment into 
Senator Helms' law, which was moving through this body, for tougher 
criminal penalties for those who use guns in the commission of a crime, 
it could not have happened without Senator Helms' measure. Of course, 
as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on which I have had 
the opportunity to serve, I have learned to respect Senator Helms, his 
gentlemanly character, and his generous and judicious approach to 
running the committee.
  I worked with Bill Frist on curtailing weapons in schools and making 
sure we could provide penalties for those who carried guns into schools 
or maintained guns at schools. It could not have happened without him.
  I think of the late Senator Paul Coverdell and his efforts on 
education flexibility, sending resources to the State. I was thrilled 
to have the opportunity to work with him and Senator Wyden and Senator 
Frist on that legislation. It was very important legislation across the 
aisle, but it would have an impact across America.
  Then on the legislation to end food and medicine embargoes, I think 
this is a major step forward for America--good foreign policy, good 
farm policy, and expresses the values of the people of this country. 
Working with Senator Dodd and Senator Dorgan, and on our side, Senator 
Hagel and Senator Roberts--and Senator Wellstone joined in that 
effort--the Senate overwhelmingly worked together to get that done. Now 
that it is a part of the law of this country, I think it is a major 
step in the right direction.
  I was pleased to be able to work with Tom Daschle, the minority 
leader of the Senate, to make sure that the U.S. Trade Representative 
had a full-time, permanent ag ambassador so agricultural interests were 
not neglected when negotiations were made regarding trade.
  Over and over again, I think of things that happened this last year, 
such as when HCFA, the Health Care Financing Administration, announced 
new rules for reimbursing cancer care treatments. I thought of the 
millions of people around the country who lived in rural areas who 
would find their care curtailed. Senator Mack of Florida worked with me 
to make sure we were able to begin the process of changing the law. And 
the process was so successful that HCFA changed its rules and 
regulations. Sometimes that is the way we make progress.
  There are the big things we have done. Some of these are a litany of 
things that are more incidental. There are the things such as welfare 
reform. I think of Phil Gramm's work, Senator Grassley's work, and 
Senator Roth's work there. This was early during my term. I had the 
opportunity to craft a provision called charitable choice that welcomed 
nongovernmental agencies into the process so that we could begin to 
remediate the pathology of welfare in the country, abusive welfare, by 
making sure that we helped all of America address this problem, not 
just America's government.
  It was a wonderful thing to see its broad bipartisan acceptance. It 
was very pleasing to see in this last Presidential election that 
Governor George W. Bush of Texas made this a point of what he would 
provide in the welfare arena, as did Vice President Gore.
  I had the privilege of chairing several subcommittees. I am grateful 
for the opportunity to have done so. In particular, with Senator 
Feingold, I chaired two subcommittees. I chaired the Africa 
Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Constitution 
Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  I have to say, I have never had a better working relationship with 
any individual than with Senator Feingold in that respect. Never did he 
ask me to do something that I thought was unfair and that I could not 
do and that I would not do. In each instance, when I offered him an 
opportunity to participate in a broad range of what the subcommittees 
were doing, he fulfilled his responsibilities with fairness, with 
dignity, with respect, and with the public interest as the uppermost 
criteria. I am grateful for that.
  Obviously, I do not want to overstate what it means to have been a 
Singing Senator, but it was a tremendous opportunity to spend time on 
Tuesday mornings, before the workday began, rehearsing and seeking 
perfection--elusive perfection--which never attended our efforts. But 
we never lost our faith for it.
  I thank the Singing Senators for allowing me to be a part. We did 
travel over a good bit of the United States from one time to another. 
We raised, I think, well over a half million dollars for the 
Alzheimer's research effort. It is one of those things that otherwise 
provided a little squirt of WD-40, where the friction might otherwise 
have made things less pleasant. It lubricated the relationships and 
gave us a great opportunity.
  I have recited a lot of important things that went into law. I am 
very close to concluding my remarks. I just want to say this: I do not 
want anyone to think the law is the most important thing in America. 
What happens in families, in churches and civic organizations, the 
values people believe in their hearts, is more important than the laws 
we write on the books.
  I don't want anyone to ever believe the laws are not important. We do 
have to have laws that tell us what the baselines are of our culture 
and, if you fall below those, we will punish you, what the framework is 
in which we operate. But no culture ever really achieves greatness by 
everyone just being at the baseline. Cultures achieve greatness not 
when people just stay out of jail but when they soar to their very 
highest and best, not when they just accommodate our threshold of the 
lowest and the least.
  The greatness of this great Nation is to be found in the hearts of 
the American people more than in the books of the American Government. 
But those items of policy and framework that we have put there guard 
the opportunity for greatness that comes from the heart of the American 
people. So our law and Constitution and the decisions we make are 
fundamentally important. It has been a great privilege for me to be 
involved.
  I thank one last group of people, and that is my family. If we didn't 
believe in these very important principles, I wouldn't have had the 
opportunity to ask them to make the sacrifices they have made. My wife 
Janet has been willing to dislocate her career time after time when 
changes in my life have moved me from one place to another. She has 
taught at Howard University in Washington, DC, on the faculty for the 
last 5 years now. I am grateful for that. My son, when I first came to 
the Senate, was still in high school, and we divided our family for

[[Page 26440]]

that year so he could finish. A high school senior generally likes a 
dad around. I am not sure I would say he always wants me around, but 
there was a little bit of a dislocation of the family.
  But dislocations are worth our effort. Perhaps the most important 
thing my father taught me was that there were more important things 
than me, and the ability to make sacrifices to get good things done is 
important. When we understand there are some things that are more 
important than we are, we have a willingness to make sacrifices. I 
thank my family profoundly--my wife Janet, my sons Jay and Andy, my 
daughter Martha, my son-in-law Jim, and my grandson Jimmy. I thank them 
for being willing to understand that when there are things more 
important than we are, we can sacrifice those things and recognize in 
our lives our willingness to set aside our personal agenda for the 
public good.
  It is my hope that if and when I ever have an opportunity to serve 
again, I will be able to serve in accordance with those principles, 
with the values that my staff and I had the privilege of developing, 
always understanding that the public good is an objective well worth 
pursuing, not just pursuing but well worth sacrificing for, because 
when we sacrifice for each other, we communicate the most important 
values of our culture, that we love and respect one another.
  I thank the Chair for the opportunity. I know he has foregone the 
time limit on my behalf. I thank each Member of the Senate, this very 
important body in preserving liberty, for its courtesy and kindness to 
me and for this last opportunity to speak.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Fitzgerald). Under the previous order, the 
time until 12:30 is under the control of the Senator from Florida, Mr. 
Graham. The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, might I ask the indulgence of my good friend 
from Florida to take perhaps 5 minutes.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I am pleased to yield such time as my 
colleague and friend from Missouri would like and to add my 
accommodation to the service of Senator Ashcroft and for the remarks he 
has presented to the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I thank my former gubernatorial colleague. 
There are far too few of us former Governors in this body, and it was 
my pleasure to serve with the Governor from Florida, who is now the 
Senator from Florida.
  It is a very melancholy time for me to rise today to pay my respects 
and honor and to offer sincerest thanks to a friend who is probably my 
closest colleague in politics. We have been through a lot together. I 
lost a couple races as well as winning some. I can tell you, it is not 
fun. In fact, it is really terrible. I know what it is like.
  After my last loss, a good friend came up to me and slapped me on the 
shoulder and said: Well, experience is what you get when you are 
expecting to get something else.
  I don't know what that proves, but I have had experience, and I know 
John has had experience. It hasn't made him bitter. Every time he has 
had an experience, it has made him better.
  Last night I had the pleasure of joining him for ceremonies at a 
Christmas celebration to collect toys for tots in the Marine Corps 
effort. Now, there was some singing. And the host who heard both of us 
sing sort of gave me a speaking role and gave John the responsibility 
to lead the singing. There is no question that I will not try to take 
his place in the Singing Senators. That is going to be a loss.
  But there are a lot of other ideas, a lot of other fond memories that 
come back to me. When John Ashcroft followed me in the State auditor's 
office, he continued the effort to clean up the mess of the State 
auditor's office, something I chided him about frequently. He went on 
to be attorney general, my second term as Governor. During his first 
time, I had taken an involuntary hiatus from the Governor's office. I 
had one of my experiences.
  I came back and he was my counsel, my lawyer, kept me out of trouble 
for 4 years. Then he served 8 great years as a very effective and 
farsighted Governor of the State of Missouri. I will not impose on the 
Senate's time to go down the list of accomplishments.
  One of my favorite programs is Parents as Teachers. This is a 
wonderful early childhood program that has revolutionized early 
childhood education in Missouri. We managed to get it on the books and 
kind of bring it to life. But John Ashcroft was the one who funded it, 
nurtured it, encouraged it, made it flourish to become a national model 
and even an international model. It has gone to six or seven other 
countries, last time I heard, because it works. And because of his 
strong leadership, it was successful.
  With his long experience in Missouri, it is no surprise that when he 
came to Washington he said he was going to Washington not to bring 
Washington ideas back to Missouri but to bring Missouri values, views, 
and good ideas to Washington. He has clearly done that.
  There are many accomplishments we could cite about his service. He 
has mentioned a few of them. The methamphetamine problem became a very 
serious problem in Missouri in the early 1990s. We worked together, he 
on the Judiciary Committee, fashioning laws. He helped me secure 
appropriations to deal with this scourge. It was a terrible tragedy for 
too many Missourians. His work on behalf of ending the food and 
medicine embargo was just one more step in opening the markets that our 
farmers and, indeed, our entire world economy needs so they can be 
healthy from the export markets.
  Working together at the staff level, we had great staff efforts. I 
express my thanks to his staff as well because we worked jointly 
together and managed to do a lot of good. We sincerely appreciate the 
service the staff has provided.
  We fought the battles. I should note for our colleagues who are not 
soon going to forget our efforts on behalf of the Missouri River, we 
appreciate their indulgence. That issue of controlled flooding on the 
Missouri River was very important to our State, and we fought that 
battle. We appreciate the suffering of our fellow Senators.
  There is no better measure of a man than how he handles adversity. It 
is something you don't want to experience but when you do, how do you 
react? Do you get bitter or do you get better? John Ashcroft showed the 
nobility, the character, and the honor that has been his trademark 
throughout.
  When he conceded the election and there were those who wished to 
mount a legal challenge, he wasn't going to stand for it. He would not 
tolerate it. The people of Missouri had spoken. He views his job as one 
of service to the people of Missouri--not one of using legal challenges 
and court challenges to try to win what the polls had shown.
  I can tell you that as I have traveled around the State there is one 
overwhelming message Missourians have; that is, thank you, John 
Ashcroft. Their esteem for you has grown. People shake their heads, and 
say: Why didn't he fight? Why didn't he do something? I said: Look. He 
wants service to go forward. They are very proud of the nobility he 
showed. But they are confident, as I am, that new opportunities will be 
arising for him. They wish him well--with his experience, commitment, 
and his solid faith.
  There will be many areas where John Ashcroft will serve. He has too 
much to offer. And I look forward too--I admit--with awfully mixed 
emotions to seeing him take a new role and new responsibilities.
  On behalf of my fellow citizens of Missouri, I say thanks for the 
first 33 years of service to the State. We are not finished with you 
yet. There is a lot more to be done, and you are the one to do it.
  For me personally, I know what you and Janet have gone through. And I 
am very proud of the way you have handled it. Your friendship will 
always mean a great deal to me, and the shared time that we have had 
together in this body is particularly special.
  When they close the service and the benediction at my church in 
Missouri,

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the minister says: The service is over, and now it is time for the work 
to begin. For John, the service is over for now right here. But let the 
work begin.
  John, thank you from the bottom of my heart, and very best wishes to 
you, Janet, and your family.
  I thank the Chair. I particularly thank my colleague from Missouri.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Florida, Mr. Graham, is recognized for 30 minutes.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I yield such time as he would use to my 
friend and colleague from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, let me, for 1 minute, add my voice to 
those today who paid tribute to Senator Ashcroft for his service in the 
Senate.
  As I indicated earlier, some think because we are engaged in heavy 
debate from time to time that we are not friends. Across the aisle, 
Senator Ashcroft and I worked on a piece of legislation, one which we 
passed early on when he came to the Senate dealing with Federal funding 
of physician-assisted suicide. We worked together, and it was passed. 
It is now law.
  We worked a great deal for a long period of time on lifting sanctions 
with respect to the sale of food and medicine. It is a fight that will 
continue even after Senator Ashcroft leaves the service of the Senate.
  Also, a couple of times, I joined Senator Ashcroft and the quartet on 
the Republican side with the Singing Senators, along with my 
colleagues, Senator Daschle and Senator Boxer. I think on one other 
occasion I joined Senator Ashcroft and the quartet. I have seen Senator 
Ashcroft in action in a number of ways.
  My expectation of his public service is that it is not at an end. I 
appreciate the service he has given to this country and to the Senate. 
I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with him. I know him to 
be smart and tough and tenacious on the issues about which he cares 
deeply. I wish him well.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, my primary purpose this morning is to make 
some remarks relative to my retiring colleague, Connie Mack. But while 
he is still here, I would like to also express my admiration for 
Senator Ashcroft.
  Senator Dorgan talked about some of the times they worked together. 
Those are always rewarding, and they help build relationships. I have 
had some of those times with Senator Ashcroft. I have also had some 
times when we disagreed--such as on the same issue that Senator Dorgan 
referred to as the wisdom of our policy towards Cuba. In those times of 
disagreement, you also learn something about the character of the 
person. I found Senator Ashcroft to be a person who listens to what the 
other side thinks is the proper course. He wouldn't necessarily agree 
with it, but he would take it into account and would try to use that as 
the basis of finding a broader common ground.
  Those are important qualities which I think our colleague, Connie 
Mack, also represents and which I will discuss in a few moments. But I 
wish to extend my best wishes to Senator Ashcroft who I did not have 
the opportunity to serve with as a Governor, but I admire his service 
to the State of Missouri and to America in many ways. I wish him well 
for a happy, rewarding future.

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