[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 72]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



           TRIBUTE TO FORMER CALIFORNIA SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, this past weekend, our nation lost 
one of its finest public servants with the passing of former California 
Senator Alan Cranston.
  Senator Cranston served California well, and our hearts and thoughts 
go to his son Kim and the rest of his family at this difficult time.
  Senator Cranston holds the distinction of being the only Democrat in 
our State's history to win four terms to the United States Senate, 
serving 24 years.
  Born in Palo Alto, California in 1914, Alan Cranston was a tireless 
champion for peace, justice, and human rights. He was also a steadfast 
advocate for the poor and oppressed.
  Senator Cranston was educated at Stanford University where he 
excelled as both a student and athlete. After graduating, Senator 
Cranston worked as a correspondent for the International News Service 
and then served his nation well in the U.S. Army in World War II.
  In 1939, Alan Cranston edited the first unexpurgated English 
translation of Adolf Hitler's ``Mein Kampf'' published in the U.S. in 
an effort to alert Americans to the dangers of the Third Reich.
  In fact, Senator Cranston had the very unique experience of being 
sued by Hitler for copyright violation for his work on this editing 
project--and in true Alan Cranston form--he wore this as a badge of 
honor and demonstrated that he would stand up to anyone in pursuit of 
Democratic principles and ideals.
  His first service in elected office was when he won his race for 
California State Controller in 1962. He then ran successfully for the 
Senate in 1968 and was elected seven times as party whip.
  He was called by many as one of the best ``nose counters'' in the 
Senate. My esteemed colleague and former Senate Majority Leader Robert 
Byrd said of Senator Cranston, ``He is absolutely superb when it comes 
to knowing how the votes will fall in place on a given issue.''
  Senator Cranston also was a strong leader in an effort to protect our 
environment. I am proud to say that he was the original author of the 
Desert Protection Act and he called me shortly after I won election to 
the Senate in 1992 to ask me if I would take over the effort to get the 
bill approved. In 1994, we amended the bill a number of times but were 
able to get it passed and make the legislation a reality.
  This landmark measure created two new national parks--Death Valley 
and Joshua Tree--and one national preserve--the Mojave. In total, the 
measure has permanently saved and protected over 7 million acres of 
pristine California desert wilderness for all time.
  As Thomas Jefferson said in 1809 that ``the care of human life and 
happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate 
object of good government,'' it appears to me that Senator Cranston 
demonstrated this view with strong and forceful advocacy of arms 
control.
  In the Senate, Alan Cranston played a leading role in moving the SALT 
and START arms control treaties through this body, and he drafted the 
first bill to eliminate funding for the Vietnam War.
  In 1983, Alan Cranston said that ending the arms race would be the 
paramount goal of his run for the Presidency. That effort was not 
successful, but his effort to promote an honest dialogue on this issue 
grew and he continued to work toward a more peaceful planet right up 
until the time of his death.
  In 1996, he became chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation USA based in 
San Francisco, founded by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and 
devoted to nuclear disarmament.
  More recently, he served as President of the Global Security 
Institute, a think tank devoted to same end. The Institute recently 
persuaded more than 100 international civilian leaders, including 44 
former presidents and prime ministers, to sign on to its nuclear weapon 
elimination initiative.
  Signators included former President Jimmy Carter, former Defense 
Secretary Robert McNamara, Nobel Laureates Kenneth Arrow and Elie 
Weisel, Coretta Scott King, astronaut Sally Ride and retired Supreme 
Allied Commander General Andrew Goodpaster.
  Former Representative Lionel Van Deerlin describes Senator Cranston's 
devotion to nuclear disarmament well when he said, ``He's got to be 
remembered for pioneering, when the Cold War was still on, limiting the 
worst weapons ever conceived.''
  In summing up the career of Senator Alan Cranston, I believe a recent 
editorial in the Los Angeles Times aptly sums up his life and his 
service to our Nation:

       [Senator Cranston] toiled in the trenches during a long 
     political career in behalf of California and world peace. The 
     value of his efforts and dedication was not fully appreciated 
     at the time and was overshadowed by his departure from the 
     Senate. It's that body of work that should be remembered and 
     celebrated now.

  Mr. President, our Nation is no doubt a better place because of 
Senator Alan Cranston's service, and we will miss him deeply.

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