[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 641-642]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                TRIBUTE TO FORMER SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, Alan Cranston was here in the Senate 
when I first arrived in 1983. He was a staunch advocate not only for 
California but also for a host of progressive policies at the national 
level. He was dedicated to protecting the environment, to expanding 
voter opportunities for all Americans, to closing the gap in our 
society between the rich and the poor. He was a champion of equal 
rights for all. He was a foe of bigotry in all its forms.
  Perhaps his greatest passion during the years he served in the Senate 
was reducing the threat of nuclear war. He led the fight for arms 
control. Even after he left the Senate, he continued his work and spoke 
out for arms control and for the de-alerting of nuclear weapons.
  I remember meeting with Alan last year at Ricky's Hyatt House in 
Mountainview, CA. I was in the Bay area, and I called ahead to see if 
he was available for breakfast. He said it was near his home and that 
he would meet me there.
  He was a little less vigorous during that breakfast than he had been 
in earlier visits, but his commitment to arms reduction was 
undiminished. I remember thinking at the time how impressive it was to 
see someone who felt strongly enough about his views to find a way to 
continue advocacy of those views after leaving public office. It was 
clear that although he had left public office, he had not left public 
service.
  Alan Cranston lived a remarkable life, and we are all fortunate that 
he devoted so much of that life to public service. I, for one, will 
miss Alan's wise counsel and his passionate commitment to making the 
world a better place.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a subject that 
brings me great sorrow--the passing of my old friend and colleague, 
former California Senator Alan Cranston.
  Senator Cranston passed away suddenly last New Year's Eve, at the age 
of 86. His sudden death came as a shock to all of us who remember him 
for his abundant energy and enthusiasm.
  Alan was elected to this body for the first of four terms in 1968. He 
was already a legend in the Senate when I arrived here for the first 
time almost eighteen years after him, and I consider myself very 
fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve alongside him. I will 
always remember him fondly, both for the kind of person he was, and the 
kind of Senator he was.
  Alan was elected Democratic whip an unprecedented seven straight 
times, and served in that role in both the majority and minority. 
Having now served as my party's whip for two years, I can say that 
nobody who holds that office can possibly ignore the long shadow that 
he still casts over it.
  Recently, the Senate approved an historic power-sharing agreement 
under which both parties would have an equal number of seats in each 
committee. It remains to be seen how this arrangement will work in 
practice, and whether the split will create more cooperation, or more 
gridlock.
  But I think that if we in the Senate are to make it work, we would do 
well to follow the model set by Senator Cranston. Those of my 
colleagues who did not know him personally, would do well to study the 
lessons of his life and his career.
  The press called him ``Colorless Cranston,'' a nickname he wore with 
pride, because it reflected his fundamental belief that legislative 
accomplishment was far more important than crafting sound bites or 
scoring political points. When you needed to find Alan, you didn't look 
in the press gallery or the recording studio--you looked for him in the 
cloakroom, where he was always busy negotiating a compromise or finding 
ways to move legislation over obstacles.
  Although he was known as one of the last true liberals, he never let 
his ideology get in the way of getting things done. He regularly 
reached out across the aisle and his close friends included some of his 
most vigorous and outspoken political opponents. He was a workhorse who 
lived by the maxim that a leader can accomplish great things if he 
doesn't mind who gets the credit.
  Some of his greatest accomplishments found him in alliances that left 
outsiders scratching their heads--for example, teaming with Strom 
Thurmond to improve veterans' programs, with Alfonse D'Amato on public 
housing measures, with Barry Goldwater to protect first amendment press 
freedoms. Outsiders wondered whether he had sold out his old liberal 
beliefs, but the truth was that he was just finding ways to get things 
done with as little fuss as possible.
  During his 24 years in the Senate, no legislation that touched on his 
passions--veterans' benefits, disarmament, environmental protection, 
human rights, or civil rights--passed this body without his 
fingerprints on it, although more often than not, only those closest to 
him realized the extent of his contribution.
  During his long and colorful career, he crossed paths with some of 
the most famous men in history and was present many times while history 
was being made. He was a track star at Stanford and member of a record-
setting relay sprint team. As a young journalist, he reported on the 
rise of Nazism in Germany, and was sued by Adolph Hitler for publishing 
an unsanitized version of ``Mein Kampf'' and revealing Hitler's true 
ambitions to the world. His lifelong commitment to halting the use of 
nuclear weapons began after he was introduced to Albert Einstein in 
1946. After retiring from the Senate, he established a think tank with 
Mikhail Gorbachev to promote world peace, where he worked until his 
death. He counted Groucho Marx among his supporters.
  Yet despite these brushes with fame and the long list of bills that 
bear his name, he will always be best remembered in this body for the 
things that newspapers don't report--for his grace, his humility, his 
leadership, and his devotion to his son Kim and his granddaughter. He 
will be missed.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
honoring our friend and former colleague, Senator Alan Cranston, who 
died on December 31, 2000 at the age of 86 in his native California.
  While Alan Cranston was elected to the United States Senate in 1968, 
his public service began years before when he served in the Executive 
Offices of the President in 1942 as Chief of the Foreign Language 
Division of the Office of War Information. Declining a deferment, he 
enlisted as a private in the United States Army in 1944. First assigned 
to an infantry unit, he became editor of ``Army Talk'' and was a 
Sergeant by V-J Day. He went on to serve two terms as State Controller 
of California before being elected to the United States Senate.
  Alan Cranston served the people of California with distinction in the 
U.S. Senate for 24 years. He chaired the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, providing invaluable assistance to our Nation's servicemen and 
women. He was

[[Page 642]]

in the forefront in the U.S. Senate on numerous issues of national 
importance, including mass transit, civil rights, the environment, 
women's rights, housing and education.
  I was privileged to serve with Senator Cranston on the Foreign 
Relations Committee where he played an important role during Senate 
consideration of the SALT II and START treaties, helped pave the way 
for ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty, and was active in efforts 
to promote peace in the Middle East. Senator Cranston was a tireless 
advocate for world peace and the defense of democratic institutions.
  Throughout his Senate service, Alan Cranston worked diligently to 
promote the reduction and, ultimately, the elimination of nuclear 
weapons. After retiring in 1993, he continued his extraordinary 
commitment and devotion to these critical efforts. He chaired the State 
of the World Forum, a widely respected organization for the discussion 
of global problems based in San Francisco. He was also founder and 
President of the Global Security Institute, concentrating on a world-
wide effort to reduce, marginalize and eliminate nuclear weapons.
  Mr. President, Alan Cranston was a leader in the U.S. Senate, a well-
respected member of this body. He had a unique ability to achieve 
consensus under difficult circumstances and his wise counsel will be 
missed by every member with whom he served. I would like to take this 
opportunity to pay tribute to him and to extend my deepest sympathies 
to his family.
  Mr. DORGAN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for as 
much time as I may consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, Alan Cranston was a Senator in this 
Chamber for some long while. In fact, in recent months he visited this 
Chamber, and I had an opportunity to say a few words to him. He was 
someone who left a significant mark, especially in the area of fighting 
for a policy in this country that would put this country in a 
leadership position to reduce the threat of nuclear war.
  Mr. Cranston worked diligently on that issue here in Congress, but 
after he left his service in the Senate, he especially was interested, 
and active all around this country, in trying to mobilize the energy 
and interest for this country to lead in a range of areas dealing with 
stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. I recall, perhaps 6 months ago, 
driving down a rural highway in North Dakota and receiving a call on my 
cell phone. The call was from former Senator Alan Cranston, and he was 
calling from California. What he was calling about was what he always 
talked about in recent years. He was trying to find ways to continue 
our country's obligation to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons and 
the threat of nuclear war.
  He felt passionately about the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty 
and was disappointed when the treaty was voted down in the Senate last 
year or a year and a half ago. But he never stopped working. He always 
believed that our country, as strong and as big as it is, had a 
leadership responsibility in the world to mobilize its energy and 
commitment to find ways to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.
  So today we pay honor to his memory. We should be thankful that there 
was an Alan Cranston involved in public service. I say to his family 
that our sympathies go to them. We will all miss his commitment in 
dealing with this issue of nuclear arms reduction.
  (The remarks of Mr. Dorgan pertaining to the introduction of S. 165 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  (The remarks of Mr. Dorgan and Mr. Baucus pertaining to the 
introduction of S. 171 are located in today's Record under ``Statements 
on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. DORGAN. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Clinton). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, what is the parliamentary situation?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is conducting morning business.

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