[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Page 27133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 RETIREMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD H. BRYAN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, with my dear friend from Nevada, Senator 
Reid, on the floor, I want to talk about his colleague, also my friend, 
Richard Bryan, who announced his plans to retire from the Senate. When 
he did, he said very simply and earnestly: It's time to come home.
  I have known Dick and Bonnie Bryan since they came here. I say Dick 
and Bonnie Bryan because, like Marcelle and me, we think of them as one 
person because usually at events outside work, when you see one you see 
the other. In fact, that is what I cherish about both my colleagues 
from Nevada. I cherish their family life.
  Dick said it is time to go home, and I am disappointed to learn we 
are going to lose a good humored and skillful colleague. As a 
Vermonter, I have to empathize with that deep-rooted impulse to go 
home. Everything Dick Bryan has accomplished here paves the way for his 
return to a better Nevada, something all of us hope for because all of 
us will leave this body at one time or another.
  Most of the time, the strength of our Nation stood resolutely with 
the welfare of Nevada in Senator Bryan's mind. As Democratic cochair of 
the Senate National Guard Caucus, he blocked unwise and unjustifiable 
cuts in our citizen-soldier force. He brought us together so the 
Guard's voice could be heard, and his persistence has positioned this 
invaluable force to prepare for the new, continually emerging strategic 
landscape. Under his watch, Nellis Air Force Base became a national 
treasure, where our best, most skilled pilots mastered the art of war 
so that our country would never have to call on them for the real 
thing.
  Senator Bryan guaranteed the credibility of the institution of the 
Senate. I think of the Senate as being the conscience of the Nation, 
and we should be the guardians of it. Those who abused the public's 
trust and the powers of office, as Senators knew they would, received 
intense scrutiny when Senator Bryan chaired the Ethics Committee in 
1993 and 1994. None of us will forget his calm and dexterous handling 
of numerous sensitive investigations, something he could do because he 
was trusted by both Republicans and Democrats to do the right thing.
  It had to be one of the most difficult times, requiring arduous work 
by any Senator, but never once did any of us hear Senator Bryan 
complain about the difficult task, nor did he swerve from the steady 
course toward fairness and justice.
  Indeed, in so many areas, Richard Bryan made a difference whether in 
preserving the fragile desert environment or modernizing our commercial 
aviation system. The list is long, and if he stayed, he would have 
accomplished even more.
  Senator Bryan has made a choice that deserves only accolades and 
respect. He is going home, and Nevada is a fortunate State for it. It 
is also fortunate that he has left his partner, Harry Reid, here to 
carry on his battles. My wife Marcelle and I wish Dick and his wife 
Bonnie all the best, but I am going to miss some of our late night 
conversations and some of the humor and good will he has shown to all 
Senators.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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