[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 26627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 RETIREMENT OF SENATOR FRANK LAUTENBERG

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to pay tribute today to a retiring 
colleague, my friend, Senator Frank Lautenberg.
  I have served with Frank Lautenberg in the Senate for the past 
eighteen years and watched him grow from a man of great accomplishment 
and success in the private sector to a highly effective and admired 
public servant. Frank has left his mark of distinction on our nation's 
laws in a number of areas reflecting his broad interests and expertise. 
He has served as the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, 
leading the Democrats in our efforts to fashion a federal budget which 
meets our nation's priorities while working to pay down the national 
debt. In addition, Frank is a leader on transportation policy, gun 
safety, and environmental issues among others.
  Frank Lautenberg was the author of legislation which banned smoking 
America's airlines, a wise action which all of us who fly appreciate 
more and more each year as we learn about the effects of recirculated 
cigarette smoke. He wrote the bill which established the age of 21 as 
the national legal drinking age, an action clearly responsible for the 
saving of many American lives. And, he passed legislation to prohibit 
anyone convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun.
  Senator Lautenberg, also led efforts in the Senate culminating in 
passage of the transportation bill and as the Ranking Member of the 
Appropriations Committee's Transportation Subcommittee, he has fought 
many battles for sound investment in the nation's highways and as a 
particular friend of mass transportation.
  As the Ranking Democrat on the Senate's Budget Committee, Senator 
Lautenberg has been a consistent voice in support of a balance budget, 
paying down the national debt, and investing in America's future. He 
coauthored the historic Balance Budget Agreement of 1997.
  Frank Lautenberg has served in the Senate since 1982. He is a friend 
and ally in many legislative battles whom I will miss deeply in the 
years ahead. However, Frank is a man of tremendous energy and vision. 
That energy and vision will continue to serve our nation because Frank 
Lautenberg's love of this nation is so deep and abiding that as long as 
he has breath he will be advancing its ideals.

                          ____________________