[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18829-18847]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JESSE HELMS

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, this is a happy day in the Senate. We are 
here to talk about our buddy, Jesse Helms. It is a sad day in that we 
talk about Jesse Helms leaving. Other than the Senator from Alaska, 
there is no one who has served longer with Jesse Helms than I have. We 
came here during the same election cycle, and we came here the same 
day. We started off with a rocky start. I was a 30-year-old kid who had 
only been in this Senate once before in my life. That was when I came 
on the floor of the U.S. Senate while spending a weekend at Georgetown 
University. Back in those days, you didn't have all the guards and all 
the security. I came in Saturday morning. I was mesmerized by this 
magnificent place. I walked in the back doors. They were open. I walked 
right through. The Senate had been in on Saturday. I was unaware it had 
been in session. By the time I got here, it had gone out of session. I 
literally walked onto the floor of the Senate. I was absolutely, as 
kids used to say, blown away. I stood there in awe. I literally stood 
at that door. I walked up there. No one was here. I stood where the 
Presiding Officer was. The next thing I knew, this guy grabbed me by 
the shoulder and put me under arrest. He was a Capitol policeman. He 
took me downstairs.

[[Page 18830]]

  Most people do not know there is a Capitol police office in the 
basement of the Capitol. He took me down there, and he was going to 
arrest me for trespassing. He realized I was just a college kid who was 
in awe. They didn't do anything. They just said do not do it again.
  The next time I was on the floor of the U.S. Senate, and the first 
time I really spoke spontaneously on the floor, was to my friend Jesse 
Helms. I remember he was a junior Senator with immense experience. He 
had been an administrative assistant to one of the leading Senators in 
the U.S. Senate. He knew the place. He knew the system. He was standing 
at the desk, if I recollect, in that quadrant in the back. He was on 
the floor. There was another Senator from Kentucky named Marlow Cook 
who was standing on the floor. He was moving what is the most thankless 
job in the U.S. Senate for any Senator other than being on the D.C. 
Committee; that is, he had the responsibility of moving the legislative 
appropriations bill.
  I walked onto the floor to see what was going on. I was literally 
walking through. We had a committee meeting which had ended. I walked 
over to see what the state of play was. I was aware of the junior 
Senator from North Carolina. My seat used to be in the very back 
corner. I walked onto the floor through that door, walked across, and 
stopped where the junior Senator from North Carolina was. There was a 
heated debate going on between the junior Senator from North Carolina--
Sam Ervin was the senior Senator--and Marlow Cook, the Senator from 
Kentucky. It was about either staff pay or Senators' pay, or whatever 
it was, and the Senator from North Carolina, as usual, was making a 
very compelling case as to why we should be basically not paying 
anything.
  I am only kidding, Jesse. It was close to that.
  I stood there on the floor, and as I have done many times in my 30-
year career in the U.S. Senate, I did not listen to the admonition I am 
told you used to be given by the Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn. I 
am told in his board-of-education way he used to say to new Members of 
the House back in the 1950s, If you can say nothing, say nothing; if 
you can nod, don't speak; if you don't have to nod, don't do anything 
or something to that effect, meaning keep your mouth shut.
  I have often broken that rule, unfortunately. I stood there listening 
to this debate, and I spoke up. I made the mistake of taking on the 
Senator from North Carolina.
  He won't remember this.
  The result was I ended up with a black-box editorial--literally, an 
editorial on the front page of the New Hampshire Manchester Union 
Leader with a big black box around it, which used to be done by Mr. 
Loeb in those days, talking about the audacity of the young Senator 
from Delaware taking on the point being made by the Senator from North 
Carolina. That was my first encounter of debating the Senator. It 
warranted me a front-page article in the Manchester Union Leader that 
was not flattering at all, which taught me two things. No. 1, if you 
are going to debate the Senator from North Carolina, come prepared with 
the facts. No. 2, understand that his reach goes far beyond North 
Carolina.
  It did even then as a new U.S. Senator, a freshman U.S. Senator, the 
Senator from North Carolina, walked on this floor. From the day he 
arrived, he had an impact. I do not think that can be said of anyone, I 
say to Senator Helms, in our class. We had a big class. There were, I 
think, 13 new Members that year. Far and away, the man who stood out 
was the Senator from North Carolina. He has stood out every day since 
then.
  It is no surprise to anyone here the Senator from North Carolina, 
Senator Helms, and I have not always seen eye to eye. We come from 
different political points on the spectrum. We have had some heated 
debates. The Senator advocated some positions I would fight to my dying 
day to defeat as he would things I proposed which he feels in principle 
are not the way to go.
  One of the magic things about this place I learned from Senators with 
whom Senator Helms and I served when we first got here--Senators such 
as Goldwater, Humphrey, and Kennedy--is you can have serious 
disagreements on this floor about the direction of this Nation, but 
that is no excuse to be personally disagreeable.
  I can remember--as my friend from North Carolina can, as can my 
friend from New Mexico, who came the same year, and as can the Senator 
from Alaska, who was here before us--the day when Hubert Humphrey 
walked on the floor literally dying, and we watched Barry Goldwater 
walk up to him, embrace him, and put his arms around him in that well, 
and both of them cried. These were men of opposite sides of the 
political spectrum of the day--two leading figures in American politics 
representing the left and the right, and they stood in that well and 
embraced. They embraced in an emotional moment no one could 
misunderstand the meaning of. It was real. It was genuine. It was deep.
  It is, in my view, the unique and, I think, single most endearing 
feature of this body, the U.S. Senate.
  If we serve here long enough, and if we are smart enough, we 
understand that it is not appropriate to question the motivation of a 
Senator for what he or she is proposing. It is totally appropriate to 
question their judgment. It is totally appropriate to question whether 
they are right. It is totally appropriate to disagree. But it is 
inappropriate to question the motivation of a Senator because the men 
and women who come here are men and women of honor. They come here 
because they care deeply about the fate of their Nation. They care 
deeply about specific issues, and some intensely on some issues.
  The thing that I think the Senator from North Carolina embodies most 
is that tradition that no matter how intensely you disagree on the 
issue, the Senator from North Carolina, speaking for myself, has never, 
ever questioned my motive, never, ever questioned my desire to do good, 
whether or not he thought what I was proposing would, in fact, ``do 
good.''
  We have not agreed on a lot of things, but we have also agreed on an 
awful lot of things. I can tell you that I will miss Senator Helms.
  Let me tell you, with, as they say in this body, a point of personal 
privilege, a few stories about Senator Helms.
  There are two figures remaining in the Senate who are, for either 
political extreme, left and right--left of the Democratic Party and 
right of the Republican Party--who are lightning rods. It is Senator 
Helms in the Republican Party and Senator Kennedy in the Democratic 
Party. They are sort of the icons of both parties. They are men who are 
revered in their parties. They are both nationally known.
  I can say what a lot of people don't know about the Senator from 
North Carolina: For all the intensity with which he takes on issues, 
for all the depth of his feelings about issues that are so socially 
highly charged--left and right--this is a man who has a very, very soft 
side.
  I had gone to the Senator, when I was the ranking member of the 
Foreign Relations Committee, and indicated to him--not even asking but 
lamenting--the fact that I did not have enough staff allowance to hire 
certain people. And the Senator from North Carolina said: Take my 
money. The Senator from North Carolina said: Who do you need? What do 
you need? OK.
  He did not have to do that, by the way. Many other committees around 
here fight tooth and nail over exactly who is going to get to be the 
doorman to whether or not you have to sign off to get stationery. Not 
the Senator from North Carolina, not the Senator from North Carolina.
  When I was ill, it was the Senator from North Carolina who was on the 
phone immediately checking to talk to my doctors to make sure he 
thought I had the right doctors, and checking at Walter Reed regularly 
to see how I was doing.
  If you want to understand something about Senator Helms, you ought to 
meet Mrs. Helms.
  If you met Mrs. Helms, who is one of the finest, most decent women I 
have

[[Page 18831]]

ever met--she is the definition of a lady--you would understand the 
depth of Jesse Helms. For a woman of her grace, a woman of her 
compassion, a woman of her depth, to love and be devoted to this man as 
deeply as she is, you know, you know, you know there has to be 
something awfully, awfully, awfully good about Jesse Helms.
  My mom has an expression. She says: If my children love somebody, I 
love them, too, because I know how good they are and they could not 
love unless there was something there.
  Dot Helms adores Jesse Helms, as he adores her. Those of us who have 
had the privilege to serve with Jesse up close and personal for a long 
time have seen some of what Mrs. Helms has seen and what a lot of the 
world does not see. They see the gentlemanly side of him. They see the 
courtly side of him. They appreciate him. But they do not fully 
understand the depth of the compassion, the depth of the friendship, 
the depth of the loyalty that resides in that man Jesse Helms.
  There was a guy named Bud Nance. If you knew Bud Nance, you knew 
Jesse Helms. If you knew how Bud Nance adored Jesse Helms, that would 
be the second piece of evidence you would know of what a fine man this 
man Jesse Helms is.
  Jesse, I love you. I think you are dead wrong on the issues, still. I 
disagree with you completely. As you said, when I cast my 10,000th 
vote, you congratulated me as the youngest man in history to have cast 
10,000 votes, and lamented it would have been better had I cast some of 
them the right way. And I understand. We both feel that way about each 
other's voting record.
  But I want you to know how I personally feel about you and how I 
think the vast majority--anybody who has gotten to work with you as 
closely as I have--feels about you. I am going to sincerely miss you, 
Jesse. And we are going to miss your courtly manners. We are going to 
miss the fact that whenever there is a crunch, one of the first guys to 
step up to offer help is Jesse Helms.
  But I have no doubt you will still be there for me. I have no doubt 
you will still be there for the rest of us. We need you.
  Some think Jesse Helms and I could not possibly see eye to eye, that 
we come from opposite points on the political spectrum. There is no 
denying that is true.
  Senator Helms has advocated some positions I would fight to my dying 
breath to defeat but he also represents the best of this institution. 
He is a friend, an honorable Senator who holds boldly to his values, 
and yet has always held to the civility of debate in the pursuit of 
comity.
  Some said he and I couldn't possibly work together on the Foreign 
Relations Committee.
  In fact, I think we have worked very well together and I think he 
would agree.
  We may not have agreed on many of the important issues that have 
faced this Nation. In fact, we probably haven't agreed on most of them.
  But I can say this: I will deeply miss Senator Helms. I will miss his 
voice in this Chamber. I will miss his counsel. I will miss his genuine 
kindness. His devotion to his duty and the dignity with which he 
unfailingly performs it.
  I will miss his brand of leadership. That determined, dedicated, 
forceful, committed leadership, that leadership that comes from a deep 
and abiding concern for this Nation and from deeply held values and 
beliefs which he fights to uphold.
  And, yes, I will miss his warmth. Though some might not always see 
it, it is there, I can assure you.
  Some of my more combative Democratic friends might be skeptical of me 
for saying these things, but they don't know Jesse Helms like I do.
  They don't know that even if you find yourself precariously balanced 
on your side of the political spectrum, in the heat of a debate, 
whether it is on foreign aid, on issues of war and peace, civil rights, 
equal rights, constitutional law, whatever the issue, Senator Helms may 
disagree with you and point out the holes in your argument, but you can 
count on him to hold out his hand.
  He holds strong views, but he is exceedingly respectful--a gentleman 
committed to his position but willing to listen to yours.
  He is, in the truest sense, a man of honor and considerable decency. 
And, quite frankly, there are no qualifies more important to this 
Chamber.
  Few Senators in my tenure have played as significant a role in the 
affairs of this Nation as Jesse Helms.
  But the most remarkable thing about this man is that, not 
withstanding his impeccable conservative credentials, when confronted 
with new facts and new ideas, he has always been at least willing to 
listen.
  A perfect example was his leadership in reconciling and restoring the 
position of the United States at the U.N.
  And, while chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, he directed 
and accomplished the most significant reorganization of the State 
Department in recent memory.
  Having served with Jesse Helms for almost 30 years, I can tell you, 
on a personal level, he is one of the most thoughtful, considerate, and 
gracious Senators to grace this Chamber.
  If you knew Mrs. Helms, his beloved Dot, you would know why he is 
this way.
  Senator Helms and I arrived here the same day and took the oath 
together.
  Before he came, he served in the Navy in World War II. As a 
broadcaster and journalist, Senate staffer, editor of a banking 
publication that he made the largest in the Nation, a broadcaster CEO, 
editorial writer, city councilman, a Baptist deacon, a Sunday school 
teacher, and a U.S. Senator, Jesse Helms has served with distinction.
  These 30 years have passed all too quickly. But I am honored to have 
known him. I am proud to have worked with him, especially over these 
last 6 years.
  I have learned much from him, and will continue to seek his counsel 
and his advice.
  William Penn said, ``A good friend . . . advises justly, assists 
readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, 
and continues a friend unchangeably,'' Jesse Helms has been a good 
friend, and I expect to continue our friendship as well as our debate 
long after he leaves this Chamber. He will, indeed, be missed.
  I thank my colleagues for the extended time. I could talk for an hour 
about what a good man Jesse Helms is.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, it is an honor for me to be able to come 
down this morning and speak to my colleague and on his behalf, a 
colleague who I have now had the privilege of serving with for 4 years 
in the Senate.
  I say, first, to Senator Helms, and to Dot, his wife, thank you for 
the extraordinary kindness you have shown to myself, my wife, and my 
family. Senator Helms knows--and Jimmy Broughton is sitting beside him, 
and other members of his staff are on the floor--he also has an 
extraordinary group of people working with him, not just here in 
Washington but also back in North Carolina, because our folks in North 
Carolina have had the privilege of working with Senator Helms' staff in 
North Carolina.
  As I said--and I am sure Senator Helms heard while he was off taking 
care of his health--his office ran very smoothly. Sometimes I think, 
Senator Helms, both of our offices run more smoothly when we are not 
there. But they did a terrific job in your absence. I know you are not 
surprised to hear that, but we are proud of the work they did. I know 
you are proud of the work they did then and have always done on your 
behalf.
  I have had the privilege of going around my State for the last 4 
years now, talking to people about what they need, the problems they 
are faced with--whether it is farmers, whether it is textile workers 
who have lost their jobs, people trying to get a relative a visa, 
whatever it is--and you cannot hardly move in North Carolina without 
finding people who Senator Helms has touched over the time he has been 
in the Senate.
  The people of North Carolina will never forget the work and the 
kindness

[[Page 18832]]

and the personal attention that he has given to them. He has been a 
relentless advocate for the people of our State and all the problems 
they face.
  The people here in Washington and around the rest of the country see 
a certain side of Senator Helms. Senator Biden just mentioned this. 
Senator Helms knows well he and I do not agree about a lot of things, 
but there is a side of him that most people here in Washington do not 
get to see, at least not publicly--the people who work in the Senate 
see it--which is the extraordinary kindness and friendship that he 
shows basically to anyone who touches him.
  We had a meeting of Senators a few weeks ago to talk about how we 
should deal, as publicly elected officials, with people who we 
represent who are faced with a tragedy of one kind or another. And I 
used Senator Helms as the best example I could ever imagine for someone 
who knows how to deal with those kinds of problems, having had a 
personal experience with Senator Helms on that level. I say here, as I 
have said to him before, myself, my wife, my family, we will never 
forget--as long as I am alive--the way Senator Helms treated us during 
that time.
  It meant an unbelievable amount to us, Senator.
  I thank him on our behalf. I thank him on behalf of all of the people 
of North Carolina for whom he has done so much for so long, the many 
lives that he touched, in a very positive way, below the radar screen, 
in ways that people don't see or don't hear but, more importantly, they 
know about. I thank him personally for being my friend during the time 
I have been in the Senate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues rising not to 
bury Jesse Helms but to praise him. We can take Shakespeare and turn 
him on his head for just a moment.
  I find it interesting that there are some people in the press 
gallery. That is not very often the case in this situation, in this 
circumstance in the Senate. I welcome the presence of reporters who 
will pay attention now as Senators talk about Jesse Helms, because the 
press, for Jesse's entire political career, has made a caricature of 
this man, outlined him as some kind of a demon, some kind of an anti-
intellectual, some kind of a throwback to an earlier time, and that the 
body politic would be best served if somehow he could be removed from 
it.
  He has demonstrated his appeal to the voters of his State and has 
stoutly resisted the attempts of those to remove him from politics. Now 
he has decided that the time for retirement has come. He is leaving at 
the top of his game and on his own terms.
  I listened to the stories being told by those who have served with 
Jesse for a long period of time. I have not had that privilege because 
I have not been here that long. I have my own story to add, which 
demonstrates a side of Jesse that needs to be on the record and, once 
again, people in the press need to understand about this man.
  My story arose from the fact that I, too, disagree with Jesse Helms 
on occasion. The issue on which I disagree with Jesse Helms has to do 
with the National Endowment for the Arts. I have been dedicated to 
support for the arts all of my life. I have been enriched by 
association with the arts. In my home, food was a necessity, but music 
lessons for the children were almost as big a necessity, at my wife's 
insistence. We have supported the symphony, operas, things of that 
kind, all of our lives.
  So when the Gingrich revolution occurred in 1994 and the House sent 
us an appropriations bill that would have eliminated the National 
Endowment for the Arts, I found myself in that battle. We came to a 
late night session where the fight was rising as to what would happen 
in this situation. I had expressed myself on one side of that issue and 
had not realized what I had done by virtue of that expression because 
as we were in the Republican cloakroom that late night, someone said to 
Senator Dole: What about the NEA? As he walked through these doors on 
to the floor, leaving us all behind, he said: Bennett is going to 
handle that.
  I suddenly realized I had a responsibility I hadn't known about. I 
took up what could only be called Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy 
between the Republican cloakroom, between Jesse Helms and Ted Kennedy 
and Pat Leahy on the other side, and back and forth. Finally, I arrived 
at a deal. I thought I understood the terms of the deal and took it 
back to the Democratic cloakroom: If you will allow this, Jesse will 
allow that. We will get it all done.
  Grumbling and complaining a little, the Democrats said: All right, we 
will at least keep the NEA alive. We will give Jesse his pound of 
flesh. We don't like it, but this is where we are.
  I reported that to Slade Gorton, chairman of the subcommittee 
handling the appropriations. He said: It is too late at night.
  My memory is, this was about 10:30 or 11.
  He said: It is too late tonight. We will do it first thing in the 
morning.
  The next morning came. I went to Slade and repeated the terms of the 
deal as I had understood them. He said: Fine, let's go ahead.
  Jesse was in the cloakroom, and I went to the cloakroom to tell him 
we were about to implement this deal. He looked at me--a very young, 
new, fresh Senator--and he said: Senator, that is not my understanding. 
That is not what I agreed to.
  My heart fell. I didn't know what to say. Here was this pillar of the 
Senate who had staked his reputation on this particular fight, and he 
said: If I agree with that, that means that I have agreed to vote 
against my own amendment. I can't do that.
  I looked at him in great agony, and I said: Senator, this will set 
off a whole filibuster, a whole disaster on the other side. I have told 
the Democrats that this is what it would be.
  That is what I had understood. I didn't have any solution. I was just 
there trying to figure out where I had gone wrong in going back and 
forth.
  Jesse Helms looked at me, and he said: Senator, that is not my 
understanding of what we agreed to last night. But if that is your 
understanding and you have pledged your word to the other side that 
that is what you will deliver, I will honor your agreement.
  There are not many around here who would do that, not many Senators 
who would take a position that was contrary to that which they had 
publicly espoused for decades, to keep an agreement, when the Senator 
believed the agreement was not what he had agreed to. There are not 
many senior Senators who would defend the honor of a junior Senator to 
make sure that the junior Senator was not embarrassed.
  I have told that story a lot. I have told that story to the 
supporters in the NEA, both in my home State and in Washington. I have 
said to them: You need to understand Jesse Helms. Yes, you will 
disagree with him. You believe that he is a philistine when it comes to 
the arts; you don't understand how he can possibly hold the position. 
But you need to understand the integrity of this man, the compassion of 
this man, and the willingness of this man to keep alive important 
personal relationships to see to it that the Senate works.
  This was an action on his part to see to it that the Senate worked. I 
am grateful to have had the experience. I am grateful for the 
opportunity of repeating it to those who might not understand this man. 
And like those who have spoken before, I will miss him.
  I pay whatever tribute I can in my humble way to the public service 
and the public integrity and the example of Jesse Helms.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, in an era when courtly manners are seldom 
observed or practiced, my friend Jesse Helms has embodied the spirit of 
a true southern gentleman. For almost 30 years, Senator Helms has 
provided a model of gentlemanly bearing for a younger generation that 
is used to much more casual conduct. His old-fashioned gentility will 
be sorely missed in these Halls.

[[Page 18833]]

  The two of us have been together a great many long nights in the 
Senate. Despite his gentle southern drawl, it has never been difficult 
to figure out where Jesse Helms stands. He has held passionately to his 
convictions and has worked hard for what he believes are the best 
interests of the people of our Nation and North Carolina.
  As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Jesse Helms has dealt 
with international issues of deep importance which have had global 
impact.
  As I have worked with others here on defense matters over these long 
years, there has been no greater patriot for this country on this floor 
than Jesse Helms. He has always supported the men and women who wear 
our uniform. He has been a true stalwart in fighting for national 
defense.
  Jesse Helms is a tough guy. He hasn't let aches or pains, which have 
sidelined some folks, stop him from performing his responsibilities as 
a Senator. When our daughter, Lily, now a senior at Stanford, was a 
toddler and used to visit the Senate Halls, she could always count on 
Jesse for a smile and for making her feel special and welcome. She told 
me she has great memories of those days and Jesse Helms. Like Strom 
Thurmond, Lily looks on Jesse Helms as one of her uncles, and we are 
proud of that.
  Mr. President, saying farewell to my friend that I have known for 
these three decades is difficult. There aren't many of us left, Jesse. 
We are going to miss you, and we are going to miss Dot. Dot's happy 
smile and her energy has been a great support for Jesse, and as we wish 
him Godspeed, we want to include Dot, too, because they are a team.
  As they enter this new phase of their lives, we thank them for their 
dedication and hard work, for the elegant manners they have brought to 
the Senate, and for all that you have done to earn what we are saying 
today.
  You deserve every word I have heard today, Jesse. You are a great 
friend, a great patriot, and I hate to see you go.
  Thank you very much, Mr. President.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Nebraska). The Senator from 
Nebraska, Mr. Hagel, is recognized.
  Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I rise this morning to join our colleagues 
in recognizing a part of an institution that unto himself is an 
institution.
  Senator Helms will retire this year after five distinguished terms in 
the Senate. He has had a remarkable 30 years of service in the Senate.
  Senator Helms began his service to our country in the U.S. Navy 
during World War II. He has always been a supporter of a strong U.S. 
military and the need for a forward thinking National Security Policy. 
After his military service, Senator Helms had a colorful career as an 
editorial commentator in radio, television and print media. He also 
served as Administrative Assistant to United States Senators Willis 
Smith (D-NC) and Alton Lennon (D-NC) in the early 1950's. His interest 
in serving the public continued to grow as he served on the Raleigh 
City Council from 1957 to 1961 while working in the banking industry. 
Beyond his extensive list of leadership positions in numerous 
organizations, Senator Helms has filled his life with philanthropy. He 
has been active in research on cerebral palsy and is one of the 
founders and directors of Camp Willow Run for youth in Littleton, North 
Carolina.
  Senator Helms is a member of the Committee on Rules and 
Administration; a member and past Chairman of the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; and the Ranking Minority member 
and past Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. I have had the 
privilege to serve with Senator Helms on the Foreign Relations 
Committee for the past 6 years. We will miss his common sense and 
strong perspective on foreign affairs. I am grateful for his many 
courtesies to me and his constant help and support. I will miss him.
  Senator Helms will celebrate his 81st birthday this month. We wish 
him a happy birthday and thank him and his dear wife, Dot, for their 
years of devotion to our country. I am proud to have served with him.
  Mr. President, as you know, I am a very junior Senator here and so I 
do not have the depth of relationship with Senator Helms as do many who 
have gone before me this morning. But I have served with Jesse Helms 
for 6 years, 4 of those under his tutelage as chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee. I don't know of a Senator with whom I have 
served in my short term in this body who has been more fair, more 
direct, and more complete than Jesse Helms. I think that is in itself a 
great testament to the man, yes, and to the Senator.
  I have not always agreed with Senator Helms, but he has always 
afforded me the courtesy of not only an opportunity to explain my 
position but encouraged me to explain my position, even when he 
disagreed. That, too, is a measurement of the man and of the Senator.
  You especially, Mr. President, know that west of the Missouri in the 
land on the prairie called Nebraska, we have fallen on dark times. I 
don't speak of the drought but of our football team. I never thought I 
would be in a position to be envious of the football team of the senior 
Senator from North Carolina, but I am this morning. I, of course, 
attribute his leadership and inspiration to their great football team 
this year.
  His wife Dot has been mentioned this morning, and I wish also to 
acknowledge Mrs. Helms, for it is Mrs. Helms, as much as any one 
individual who has shaped and molded this fellow from North Carolina, 
this individual who not only has given 30 years of his life to the 
Senate, but has given a great majority of his almost 81 years to this 
country.
  Some of us who have had the honor of serving our Nation in uniform 
more recently than Senator Helms occasionally get more attention for 
that service. This has always struck me about the World War II 
generation, of which Jesse Helms is a part. He served in the U.S. Navy 
in World War II. They never talk about that service. My father was in 
World War II in the South Pacific for 3 years in the Army Air Corps. I 
have always admired World War II veterans for many reasons, but one in 
particular; that is, they came back, never asked for recognition, never 
asked for special breaks. They saw their service as only part of being 
a responsible citizen--their responsibility. And it is that way to this 
day in the Senate, where we have few World War II veterans left.
  When we lose a World War II veteran in this body, we lose a very 
significant part of America. That is a dimension of Jesse Helms that is 
not often talked about.
  Let me conclude, because others wish to speak about this very unique 
Senator and man. I don't know of an individual who has fulfilled the 
commitment of his own value system and his own standards, or lived it, 
like Jesse Helms has. You either can agree with those commitments and 
standards and policies and values and positions or not, but none can 
deny that Senator Helms has indeed lived what he has said. That in 
itself, after almost 81 years, is rather unique.
  I wish Senator Helms a happy birthday this month. I know it will be a 
happy occasion. We are glad to have you back in this body, Jesse, for 
these last few months, and we are also particularly pleased with your 
recovery. Senator Helms will be known to many of us--certainly this 
Senator from Nebraska--forever as ``Mr. Chairman.''
  Mr. Chairman, I salute you and thank you for your service and your 
many courtesies and kindnesses. You are an inspiration to me.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota is recognized.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thought maybe I could jump ahead of 
the Senator from New Mexico for just 2 minutes.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I thought the agreement was that we got 
our time.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I will follow the Senator from New Mexico.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time is controlled by the Republican 
leader.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I will yield 2 minutes to the Senator 
from Minnesota.

[[Page 18834]]


  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I thank the Senator.
  I come here to the floor to announce that I have been in agreement 
with Senator Helms on just about every issue since he has been here--
not quite, but I will say this. I think one of the ways you judge a 
person is just the way you watch them treat people. I don't know if 
this has been said, but when I watch the way Senator Helms treats the 
pages here and the elevator operators and the support staff, I don't 
think there is anybody in the Senate who treats them with more grace 
and is kinder and more appreciative. In fact, I think there have been 
surveys that have put him at the very top.
  I thank him for the way in which he has treated staff. I wish to tell 
him, though we have not agreed on the issues, I have appreciated 
getting to know him. I hope it is mutual.
  I wish you, Senator Helms, and my wife wishes you the very best. We 
wish you well.
  Mr. President, there is going to be another time before the Senator 
from New Hampshire, Mr. Smith, leaves when I wish to talk about him 
because there is much positive to say about him from the point of view 
of somebody who stood up for what he believes. I think it has to be 
part of the Record. I look forward to doing that.
  Senator Helms, I wish you well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, first, I bring regards from my wife 
Nancy to both you and Dot. She asked me today--it was written on my 
calendar--if I would say that for her, and I do.
  I do not think all Senators know that 30 years ago, a class of new 
Senators numbering nine arrived in the Senate. I was one of those nine, 
Senator Sam Nunn, Senator Bennett Johnston, Senator Biden, myself, and 
our wonderful Jesse Helms. That group saw Senator Helms as being the 
father of all of us. We thought we were youngsters, and then we met 
Jesse, and we said: We do have some wisdom and some experience with us. 
It has been a sheer joy to serve with him.
  The whole group that came together has left of their own accord, and 
that is good. It speaks well of them; it speaks mightily of the class 
and the capacity they had.
  Jesse, as I saw you get sick and then get well, I was truly hopeful 
that whatever the good Lord had in store for you, you would leave here 
on your own, saying goodbye to the Senate with your own capacity, and 
that nothing would be the cause of taking you from us.
  That is why it is a good day, because you have lived through it all, 
and you have been, from what outsiders know, the absolute opposite of 
what people say you are. They judge you by your record, and if they do 
not like the record, they have things to say that are totally without 
the character of Jesse Helms.
  My friend who just spoke clearly put it right when it comes to 
kindness. Senator Helms truly believes that everybody, no matter how 
little, how poor, how vintaged, what seat they occupy, deserves a 
kindness from him. He does not walk by anyone to whom he does not say 
hello. If he knows they have been sick, he will stop and talk with them 
and ask them about their relatives. In a way, for some of us, we are 
amazed at how he can do that. For that, I say I am glad I shared that 
experience with Senator Helms.
  What really made me come down here today, I say to Senator Helms, is 
that he has been very decent and nice to me. I think now, looking back 
on occasions on the floor when I had a budget to handle that was 
particularly difficult or I had to make a speech that was particularly 
difficult--he did not sit very far from me--almost invariably, Senator 
Helms would call me to his desk and congratulate me. He even told me 
how I was changing as a Senator: You are getting better; you are 
getting to be as good as there is; you are responding; that was a great 
speech.
  I do not know how many of those remarks Senator Helms passed on to 
me. I believed it, so it helped me. I do not know if it was true, but 
it was true as he saw it, and that was enough for me to leave with just 
a little more hop in my step because somebody I really wanted to note 
what I was doing apparently had.
  For that, I wish to tell Senator Helms, that means an awful lot to a 
Senator, especially as he is getting started. I was thrilled with it, 
even in the last 4 or 5 years when he continued to do that. I thank him 
for that.
  The Senate will miss this man. The truth is, there are many people 
from the outside who criticize Jesse Helms, but nobody questions 
whether he believes what he says. Nobody questions that he says what he 
believes. I do not think one can have either a better friend, a better 
servant, or a better patriot than one who knows what he believes and 
believes what he knows. That is what our friend is. That is the essence 
of him. One does not have to second-guess Senator Helms. For that class 
of Senators of 30 years ago, there are now three of us left. When 
Senator Helms leaves, there will be two. I will be running, and so will 
Senator Biden. If we come back, the marvelous class will be getting 
smaller, and Senator Helms will have left us this year. I am sorry to 
see him leave. I thank him very much.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I rise to join with my colleagues in 
saying thank you to Senator Helms for his 30 years of service to the 
Senate and to the country.
  I have had the pleasure of serving with Senator Helms for 22 years, 
and the last several years I had the pleasure of sitting right in front 
of him or, conversely, having him at my back. I like that. I moved over 
to Senator Thurmond's desk so I can look at Senator Helms when I make 
these remarks.
  I pointed out to Senator Wellstone when he was complimenting you on 
your demeanor, politeness, kindness to our fellow employees, that was 
my first recollection of Jesse Helms. The character of Senator Helms 
was one of this pretty tough Senator. In my career of 22 years, I have 
never known a kinder, gentler, more polite Senator than Senator Jesse 
Helms.
  I say that because he has been kind to me. Obviously, he was kind to 
Senator Domenici. He has been kind to every Senator, Democrat and 
Republican--Senator Wellstone mentioned it--but also to every single 
staff member, to every single elevator operator and security officer. I 
am amazed at the number of people he calls by their first name. I have 
tried to emulate that and have not done it very well. I have tried to 
emulate Senator Helms in many ways. Senator Helms will never know how 
many people he has inspired in the Senate.
  I say that because of his kindness. I say that because of his 
politeness. I say that because he says grace before meals and he does 
it today. I say that because he has shown such courage and conviction 
on so many issues. His ability to be courageous and kind at the same 
time is a very unusual special talent that very few have been able to 
do, and Senator Helms has done it well for so many years.
  The word ``patriot'' was used. If anybody ever defines ``patriot,'' 
Senator Helms' name comes to mind. Standing at Strom Thurmond's desk, 
patriot comes to mind when I think of Strom Thurmond, and it comes to 
mind when I think of Jesse Helms. We are losing two patriots in the 
Senate in this retirement, and I hate to see that happen, but I am so 
grateful to have had the privilege of having Senator Helms as a mentor, 
as a colleague, as a confidant, as a teacher.
  I remember in my early career, we had battles. I served in the Senate 
for 22 years, and he served in the Senate for 30 years. Prior to his 
service in the Senate, Senator Helms served as administrative assistant 
to a couple of Senators.
  During that time, he learned the Senate rules. I remember some of our 
earlier battles having Senator Helms help me learn the Senate rules. I 
was amazed that someone would go to that trouble. But he used the 
Senate rules both politely and correctly, and in the process made the 
Senate a better institution.

[[Page 18835]]

  I realize this goes all the way back to Richard Russell. It goes back 
to some of the greats in the Senate, and how this tradition is passed 
on is truly amazing--and with a whole lot of fond memories.
  I remember, Senator Helms, when you taught me some of the rules, I 
believe it was in 1983, when we had the little battle on the 5-cent-
per-gallon gasoline tax, that most of the Senate was for, including the 
majority leader at the time, our very good friend Senator Baker. 
President Reagan, I believe, was in favor at the time, but we were sort 
of opposed to it, thinking it should be left to the prerogative of the 
States. It was rather a difficult time because it was right before 
Christmas. It was a pretty protracted and extended debate, one that 
required cots in the back. Our colleagues' tempers were short because 
we were getting closer to the holiday season and most everybody wanted 
to vote and get out of here.
  I remember going into your office one night when things were kind of 
difficult, and we talked about it. You said: I have an idea. We will 
just pray about it. Let's call Rev. Billy Graham. Well, I was awestruck 
that we were calling Rev. Billy Graham, and impressed. I will not 
forget that conversation.
  I also will not forget another thing that you said. If it was not 
that night, it was the next night--we had two or three nights of this 
little battle--and I remember you telling me a story which I have never 
forgotten. In fact, I think about it all the time when I fly at night. 
I do not even know if you will remember it but I bet you do. You 
relayed to me how you were flying over North Carolina at night. And if 
any of my colleagues have been with Senator Helms for any period of 
time, they know he has a great love for his State of North Carolina, 
and vice versa. It is a mutual love, respect, and admiration.
  You relayed to me, Senator Helms, that while flying over North 
Carolina at night you see all these lights, and you realize how big 
Raleigh is and you realize how remote small towns and some rural areas 
are, a light here and there. I remember you told me you were flying 
over there somewhat in awe but also thinking about individuals who live 
in those areas, and every one of those homesteads represent some of 
your constituents. You wondered if they really thought anybody in 
Washington, DC, cares about them living in that little rural area or 
maybe living in the city.
  There you are, flying over their State and you are thinking about 
them. I think that was one of the guiding principles of your public 
service and career. I will never forget that. You were thinking about 
them when we were fighting over that nickel-a-gallon gasoline tax. You 
have been fighting for them. Whether talking about a strong national 
defense or about giving them some tax relief, you were thinking about 
your constituents, those people in the rural areas that probably never 
gave two thoughts about who their Senator was. Maybe they do not know, 
maybe they do not vote, but you cared about them.
  I can tell you cared about them because of the way you have served 
this Senate and the way you have served your State, the way you have 
talked to individuals on the floor, the way you talk to employees, 
whether they are the lower level employees or people just starting out, 
or whether it is my daughter who was working as an intern one summer. 
You were so kind to her. She loves Senator Helms. I saw her last night 
and she wanted me to say thank you, Senator Helms.
  You have inspired more people than you will ever know. I see some of 
your employees are in the Chamber and you are sitting with one of the 
best, Mr. Broughton, but I wonder how many of those employees, who have 
launched their career under your tutelage, have very bright futures. 
They are going to make outstanding contributions. Some of them are in 
the State Department. Some of them are working in very high level 
positions. Some of them are on the Federal bench because you got them 
started. They are some of the best people in the country. I think of 
them as expanding good government, and you have made that contribution.
  I wanted to say thank you on behalf of Oklahomans, and on behalf of 
all Americans for your 30 years of service in the Senate. I have had 
the privilege of working with you for 22 years, getting to know you and 
Dot Helms. I think the world of both of you. God has truly blessed all 
of us for your service to our country and we thank you for it.
  Mr. HELMS. Thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, it is an honor to pay tribute today to 
the senior Senator from North Carolina, Jesse Helms.
  The son of a police chief from Monroe, NC, Jesse Helms has been part 
of the fabric of the United States Senate for nearly three decades. 
Upon his retirement after five terms of service, it is fitting that we 
pay tribute to his leadership and commitment to the people of North 
Carolina and this country.
  Senator Helms has served in the Senate during the administrations of 
seven Presidents, from the Vietnam War, through the launch of the war 
on terrorism.
  His views have enlivened the debate on the editorial pages of 
newspapers in his home State and throughout the country. He defines the 
term ``sticking to your guns.''
  From 1960 until he ran for the Senate in 1972, Senator Helms 
delivered some 2,700 editorials on WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC. Those 
opinions also appeared in more than 200 papers across the Nation and on 
70 radio stations, making Jesse Helms a household name.
  He built that name on the principles of free enterprise, 
representative democracy and conservative values--ideals he holds true 
today.
  He has always stood on principle. He does not waiver or falter, and 
is not easily persuaded, a fact to which many of my colleagues can 
attest.
  Senator Helms has never forgotten the people he represents while in 
Washington. An editorial about his retirement in the Charlotte Observer 
observed, ``People who can't stand his views go to the voting booth 
every 6 years and push the button next to his name. Maybe he helped 
their mama get Social Security. Maybe he kept their farm alive. Maybe 
they just like the idea of a North Carolina boy going to Washington and 
raising hell.''
  He's always had a place in his heart for the youth of our Nation. In 
his retirement speech, he calculated that he has met with more than 
100,000 young people during his tenure in the Senate. He always took 
the time to talk with them about what an honor it was to serve America.
  The issues that have driven his Senate career have varied from the 
minute to the global. He has left an indelible mark on American foreign 
policy from his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and 
his tenure as chairman. From favoring the lifting of the arms embrago 
on Bosnia to his opposition of U.S. military intervention in Haiti, he 
has consistently fought to keep our Nation focused on U.S. interests 
abroad.
  On February 24, 1996, when Cuban Mig-29 fighter jets shot down two 
Cessna 337s in the Florida Straits, killing four members of the 
humanitarian group ``Brothers to the Rescue,'' Jesse Helms demanded 
that the U.S. call Fidel Castro to account for his actions.
  His time as a Navy recruiter during World War II gave him insight 
into the importance of supporting our military troops. He has 
vigorously fought to strengthen the U.S. armed forces and ensure that 
our men and women in uniform are deployed only when clear U.S. 
interests are at stake.
  On behalf of the American taxpayer, he demanded and received greater 
accountability at the United Nations for the funds America pays as part 
of our dues. He was one of the chief architects responsible for 
dramatically reshaping and reorganizing the Department of State.
  Indeed, no matter what the cause, whether it affects a North Carolina 
farmer or textile worker, or the U.S. relationship with the U.N., Jesse 
Helms has stood his ground.
  He has always done so without rancor and has always been a gentleman 
when

[[Page 18836]]

the fight was over. He is stubborn, he is committed to his cause, and 
he fights vigorously, but he is also one of the most gentle and kind 
men in the Senate.
  For years he sat next to the late Senator John Chafee on the Senate 
floor. They were two Republican colleagues who didn't agree on a great 
deal, yet were best of friends and spoke affectionately of each other. 
When John died, Jesse made it his first order of business to visit his 
office and personally comfort the Senator's grieving staff. There are 
hundreds of similar stories of Jesse's graciousness and caring nature. 
Each of us has been touched at one time or another by his kindness.
  His conviction, his determination and his passion will be missed. As 
Jesse leaves Washington to join his beloved wife, ``Miss Dot,'' at home 
in North Carolina, we wish him well.
  The 108th Congress will be a different place without Jesse Helms. The 
set from North Carolina will be filled, but it will never be the same.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, over the course of our 
lives, many of us have role models. Role models mold and shape us as 
human beings. Who we choose for role models can leave an indelible mark 
on our character.
  As a young boy, I had several role models. When I was 3 years old, I 
had a dad who lost his life at the end of the Second World War. He was 
certainly a role model for me. My mother worked very hard to try to 
keep the family together; she never remarried. She was a Navy widow who 
kept my brother and me and the family together all of those years. I 
had a granddad who worked hard to try to keep us on the straight and 
narrow, helping my mother. They were all my heroes and role models.
  Politically, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan come to mind as role 
models, as well as former Gov. Mel Thomson of New Hampshire, who once 
told me you stand for something or you stand for nothing, which brings 
me to Jesse Helms. He is a man who has been a treasured friend, a 
confidant, a great Senator, and my role model for all the years I have 
been in the Senate. His steadfast example has helped shape who I am as 
a Senator and as a person.
  I remember talking to Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, your 
former colleague. I asked him one time: What is Jesse Helms like? And 
he said: Jesse Helms is the nicest person in the Senate. He was right; 
you are. Others have said that about you as well, including the 
elevator operators and pages and so many people you are nice to. I have 
seen you on so many occasions talking to students and posing for 
pictures with people who were not always from North Carolina. You would 
stop and say, Where are you guys from? And then you would talk to them. 
And I would hear them after you walked away and the things that they 
said. It really is a shame that all Americans do not know you 
personally, Senator Helms, because you are one fine man. You have a 
long, distinguished record of service to your country and service in so 
many areas before you came to the Senate, and you did a lot of 
charitable work after you came to the Senate.
  Since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate by the people of North 
Carolina nearly 30 years ago, Senator Helms has tirelessly served the 
people of North Carolina and this nation.
  Before that, the Senator's tenure of service to the United States of 
America began in the 1940's. Serving in the U.S. Navy during the second 
world war, Senator Helms pledged his loyalty and love to the United 
States. I lost my own father in WWII and understand and respect the 
passion that the men and women of the Greatest Generation has and still 
have for the United States. No one embodies these ideals better than 
the senior Senator from North Carolina.
  Upon returning from battle in WWII, Senator Helms got his first taste 
of Washington politics by serving as an administrative assistant to 
both Senator Willis Smith and Senator Alton Lennon. Senator Helms took 
his experience in the Senate and began his own historical career in his 
home State of North Carolina.
  Before going to Washington Senator Helms served the people of his 
community and home State in many ways. He served his community for two 
2-year terms on the Raleigh city council, as well as being the 
president of both the Raleigh Rotary Club and the Raleigh Executives 
Club. As a man full of compassion for his fellow man, Senator Helms 
further served his State as the director of the North Carolina Cerebral 
Palsy Hospital in Durham, the Director of the United Cerebral Palsy of 
North Carolina, and the Director of the Wake County Cerebral Palsy and 
Rehabilitation Center in Raleigh. As a man who cares deeply for the 
future generations of this country, Mr. Helms has served as a deacon 
and a Sunday School teacher, sat on the Board of Trustees of Meredith 
College, John F. Kennedy College, Campbell University and Wingate 
College.
  The thing I am going to remember is that you used your life 
experiences and your faith, and they were your guiding principles in 
the Senate. The kind of person you are is the kind of Senator you are. 
You were a veteran and you used that in your capacity as the chairman 
and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. You have 
been an unflinching proponent of a principled foreign policy throughout 
the world for so many years. There is no greater supporter of human 
rights, no more steadfast defender of American sovereignty, no stronger 
advocate for our national interest than you, Senator Helms.
  I have been in so many meetings--and I see the assistant leader in 
the Chamber as well, Senator Nickles, who can vouch for this. So many 
times in meetings we have said: Senator Helms, do you think maybe we 
could have your support to let this nominee go through, and Senator 
Helms would never raise his voice but he would say, no, can't do it. It 
was always disagreeing without being disagreeable. That is why you have 
so much respect, and that is why there are so many people here to honor 
you.
  When faced with a policy that you feel is counter to your values, you 
are like a rock. Even your opponents marvel at your fortitude. You are 
the irresistible force for justice and human liberty. You are an 
immovable object against big spending and immorality. You are not 
afraid to stand up on the floor time after time--and I am proud to have 
stood with you on many occasions, Senator Helms. You are a man of great 
personal faith. This has led you to be a crusader for the lives of the 
unborn. Not too many people come down to talk about that issue these 
days, but you inspired me to weigh in on this. This, I believe, will be 
the defining moral issue. This will be the slavery issue of the 20th 
century and perhaps even the 21st century. You were right to defend the 
unborn. History will judge you as being right, and I am proud to follow 
in those big shoes of yours, Senator Helms.
  Being a conservative Republican has led Senator Helms to fight for 
the rights of taxpayers, small businessmen, and the constitutional 
rights of all Americans.
  Most importantly, Senator Helms has used his experience as a husband, 
a father, and a grandfather, to promote strong family values and to 
guide this country over the last 30 years.
  You have never shied away from controversy. You always do what is 
right, never even considering the political consequences to yourself. 
Whether you are fighting for the right of students to pray in school, 
the right of the Boy Scouts of America to organize and inspire young 
boys to join, or the right of the taxpayers not to have their hard-
earned money wasted, you do not worry about the opponents or distorted 
reports by the news media. You follow your heart.
  I have always admired Senator Helms' dedication to his conservative 
values. The example that Senator Helms sets is something that we all as 
conservatives need to follow. There has been no senator as outspoken on 
the conservative agenda over the past three decades. Jesse was 
recognized in 1980, 1981, and 1983 as the ``Most Admired Conservative 
in Congress''. He

[[Page 18837]]

also received the ``Conservative Caucus 97th Congress Statesman Award'' 
in 1983.
  It will be one of the fondest memories in life to know I sat here and 
served with you in this body.
  The news media used to call him ``Senator No,'' because he never 
compromised his values or beliefs, and that is something for him to be 
proud of and the rest of us to admire. While Senator Helms, always full 
of humor, embraced the reputation, I think those of us who know him 
understand that the media did not tell the whole story.
  I believe they should have called him ``Senator Yes.'' Because when 
Congress was trying to waste the taxpayers' money, Jesse Helms stood up 
and said ``yes'' to the taxpayers.
  When the unborn were being threatened, he said ``yes'' to human life.
  While some were saying ``no'' to human rights, to personal freedom, 
to limited Government, to morality, to family values, Jesse Helms 
always stood up with a resounding ``yes.''
  And even when his more ardent opponents in the Senate will vouch for 
the fact that there is not a more decent human being in the entire 
Senate. Always a smile on his face, always time for schoolchildren, 
always courteous, always a friend.
  As an American, I am truly grateful for Jesse Helms' patriotic 
service to his country. But, personally, what I will most treasure is 
12 years of friendship.
  Jesse, you were always there for me, and while I bid you a fond 
farewell as we both part from our Senate service, I will always stay in 
touch. I will always consider you one of my best friends.
  Senator Helms has pledged a lifetime of loyalty, love and service to 
the United States. The senator is a patriot in every sense of the word. 
Thank you, Senator Helms, for serving this country as you have over the 
past three decades.
  May God bless you and your family.
  I want to close on a couple of points. The news media gave you a 
name, and I know you had some fun with it. For those of you who have 
not been in Senator Helms' office, it is just plastered with all these 
cartoons. Some of them are pretty rough. But they always called him 
``Senator No.'' There are two ways to look at that because you never 
compromised on your values or your beliefs. So oftentimes you were down 
here voting no when others were compromising those values and beliefs. 
That is something of which I am going to be proud. The thing I am most 
proud of remembering about you--always full of humor, always embracing 
the reputation--but those of us who really know you understand that the 
media had it wrong. You were not Mr. No. You were Senator Yes because 
you were right. It was ``yes,'' to try to stop wasting taxpayers' money 
and stand up for them. It was ``yes,'' the right thing to do, to stand 
up for the unborn. It was ``yes,'' to stand up for human rights, 
personal freedom, limited Government, morality, family values. It was 
not Mr. No, it was Senator Yes.
  Each of your most ardent political opponents in the Senate--you heard 
Senator Wellstone--will vouch for the fact that there is not a more 
decent human being who ever lived in the United States of America, or 
ever served here.
  I am standing now at the desk of Daniel Webster. There are going to 
be a lot of people following the Senator from North Carolina, from 
North Carolina, who are going to be standing at the desk of Senator 
Helms.
  I am proud to serve with you, my friend. You are a great American, a 
great patriot, and I wish you the best in the years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HELMS. God bless you. Thank you, Bob.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak as in 
morning business for as long as I might consume regarding the tribute 
to Senator Helms, and ask for that privilege as well for the Senator 
from Wyoming, Mr. Enzi.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
offering tribute to my friend and fellow Senator, Jesse Helms. As my 
dear friend so loved to say, even a blind hog finds an acorn sometimes. 
So I hope my poor words may be able to rise and find the acorn here in 
a proper tribute to Senator Helms for the years of service and 
contribution he has made to this great country and what he has given to 
the world.
  I know today many of my colleagues are lauding him for his grit and 
determination, his principled stands, and his ability to always fight 
the good fight even if it was a lonely and sometimes frustrating fight. 
Senator Helms has always done so. He has always stood firm despite the 
opposition and the disapproval.
  We have had a number of colleagues already speak about these traits 
and speak of them in laudatory terms. In fact, he was known for telling 
his staff and his allies that it did not matter, if they stuck to 
principle, if they lost. What mattered was they stuck to principle. All 
the other things would fall by the wayside, but you have to stand by 
your principle and you have to fight for it regardless of whether you 
win or lose. That was a great lesson to me, coming to this body, of the 
service that we have here for the world. You fight for your principles.
  There is so much to say about Jesse Helms, my dear friend. There is 
much to say that is obvious. There are some things to say that are not 
known very well publicly. I know from personal experience about his 
traits and his attributes that so many people are talking about--his 
determination, standing by principle. I served with the Senator when I 
first came to the Senate. I haven't been in this body a long time, but 
I served with him the entire time on the Foreign Relations Committee. I 
know he always treated new Members in a manner unlike most people treat 
new Members. He treated new Members with a great deal of respect, with 
a great deal of courtesy, which is the way he treats everybody--it is a 
true Biblical principle. You don't treat the great and the lesser any 
different. He always did that for new Members.
  I came into the Foreign Relations Committee, the first meeting I had 
there, sitting way at the end of the bench. There was not a seat 
further away from the chairman where I could sit. They had to actually 
build another seat there to give me a space to sit. And then he calls 
on me first at the committee, which had me quaking in my boots at the 
time. I was ready and prepared to sit for a couple of hours and wait my 
turn and build up some knowledge. But it was his trait and his standard 
that each year when he had a new Member come in, he recognized him 
first at the first meeting. It was very kind of him to do that, to 
welcome people. That was just his nature and his characteristic, and it 
was always done.
  It is no surprise that he has always been voted by the Washingtonian 
magazine as the nicest Senator, which I think is quite a tribute when 
we look back. I have on my wall a picture of Mother Teresa and a quote 
from her. She says: At the end of life we are not going to be measured 
by the positions that we achieved or the things we accomplished or the 
wealth we had. What we will be measured by is the amount of love with 
which we did the work we had. We will be measured that way.
  It doesn't matter if you are a Senator presiding in the Senate, the 
President of the United States, if you work at any job anywhere--it is 
not the accomplishment of the physical that you do, it is not the 
accumulation of money you accomplish, it is not the wealth, it is the 
love you express in the job that you have.
  Senator Helms has expressed a great deal of love to everybody and has 
had a high degree of success and will be very rich in rewards.
  These are the examples he has given to so many of us so constantly. 
It is such a beautiful tribute.
  He has a robust sense of humor that many have not had the pleasure of 
being able to experience, although I have. One of my favorite facts 
about the Senator--Senator Smith just mentioned it--is when you go into 
Senator

[[Page 18838]]

Helms' office, he has on the walls every cartoon that has ever been 
done about him. There are quite a few of them. They are scattered 
around the walls. A number of them Senator Smith said are not glowing 
in their comments, but he puts them up. I think it is quite a tribute 
there as well that he would show both sides, so anybody who comes into 
his office can see the caricature that is made by anybody. I think that 
is a good trait of humility. Humility is the first grace. We need much 
humility.
  In addition, one of his prize possessions is a big rubber stamp that 
says ``No'' on it. Needless to say, he has wielded it often and with 
passion. But in reality it was not just saying no or being Senator No, 
though those working on treaties and nominees over the years may have 
believed so, he was actually one of the most effective compromisers in 
the Senate.
  Yes, it is true. That is what happens when everyone knows exactly 
where you stand and that your word is your bond. For Senator Helms, his 
word was definitely his bond. One of the facts to know about Senator 
Helms, though, is what a true gentleman he always was. Several people 
have spoken about that. No matter how bitter a foe or how fierce a 
disagreement, he was always kind to his opponent. You are to love your 
friend and you are to love your enemy. He practiced that Biblical 
admonition as well if not better than anybody I have ever seen.
  A foe who might be fierce in disagreement, in most cases would, 
afterwards, and even during the debate, admire and like his opponent. 
For example, he has always truly liked Madeleine Albright, Secretary of 
State, though most on the outside saw them as no more than simple 
enemies. He and Madeleine Albright had a marvelous relationship, even 
though they would disagree on probably the complete course of the meal, 
soup to nuts. But they had a wonderful personal relationship--although 
even that, too, is too simplistic an analysis. Clearly, not enough to 
really say about his character, it is a true sign of character to 
understand the best results come from fighting worthy opponents and to 
be willing to graciously acknowledge and admire these opponents. It was 
a lesson I took to heart, seeing how he fiercely defended his 
principles, yet how much he cared for and always took time to honor 
those he fought against and with whom even disagreed. He honored them. 
He did love his opponents.
  He took almost as much care in those cases as he did with his own 
staff--many of whom are here, as was noted. Senator Helms is also known 
for being deeply devoted to his staff, considering them his family and 
treating them as such, practicing an open-door policy and complete 
loyalty and always ensuring that he knew what was going on in each 
staffer's life.
  As in so many areas, he did not just preach family values, he 
practiced them. This has been a great lesson to me as well. So many 
times you get busy and you feel you are just trying to suck things out 
of your staff--I need this information; I need that--when our true role 
is as a shepherd, to feed them, to care for them, to tend them, and to 
nourish them. These are people with whom we have an unusually positive 
relationship. Senator Helms does that well.
  One of the reasons he and I bonded was something that we share--the 
adoptive children we have. He has unmeasurable effort he has made for 
adoptive children and for adoptive parents across the country, and even 
around the world. He has always cared incredibly deeply about children 
and those less fortunate. That is just one area of many where he has 
truly put his energy and where his beliefs are.
  There is a personal story that is just too personal to tell. But it 
is about his adoptive child in a red cap that Senator Helms told me 
about. It is too personal to say here, but it is such a touching story, 
a tribute to a man adopting a child, the gift that child was to him, 
and the gift he was to that child.
  But I think the most important things to consider when contemplating 
the Senator's great and illustrious career are some of the things he 
would probably say are his proud achievements--his long and true 
marriage to his beloved Dot, volunteering for the Navy right after 
Pearl Harbor, the Jesse Helms Foundation, his solitary action as a lone 
Republican stumping for a gentleman by the name of Ronald Reagan back 
in 1976, and his unlimited love for children. Throughout his lifetime, 
but especially during his career in Congress, he has never forgotten 
the children, including them and introducing them to worlds they may 
never experience; for example, inviting the pages, who are so often 
overlooked by all of us despite their hard and dedicated work, to his 
Jesse Helms Foundation dinner, assuring that all of them will be 
introduced to everyone attending the dinner.
  Senator Helms has often been seen as the Rock of Gibraltar, an 
oftentimes lonely role, yet always a steadfast defender of American and 
Republican principles. He is so much more than that. He is a kind and 
gentle soul who has brought humor, compassion, and character to this 
august body. He has been and always will be a role model of the true 
gentleman.
  In his Second Epistle to Timothy, St. Paul writes: ``I have fought 
the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.'' 
Senator Helms has certainly done so.
  You have fought the good fight, you finished the course, you kept the 
faith. God bless you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent for a short quorum 
call, followed by Senator Byrd for a brief moment on the floor, 
followed by me, and followed by Senator Sessions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ENZI. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I come to the floor today not entirely with 
sadness in my heart but, rather, a sadness that is commingled with joy, 
as I look back across the 30 years I have known Jesse Helms as we have 
worked in this body.
  I can remember him when he came to this Senate Chamber 30 years ago: 
tall, strong, black hair. Some things have changed about him; some 
things have changed about me. But there are some things that have not 
changed. One of those things is my respect for him.
  He comes from a State which is the State in which I was born, North 
Carolina. I have a brother living in North Wilkesboro today. He became 
89 or 90--I forget which--in August, last month.
  My dear mother is buried there in an unmarked grave. She died during 
the great influenza epidemic. She died on the night before the 
armistice was signed. I have a little pillow that she made. And I know 
that I have been guided by my mother's prayers over these soon to be 85 
years, although I do not remember ever seeing her face or ever feeling 
the joy of a mother's kiss. But those North Carolina hills keep her in 
their bosom today, as they keep my father.
  The motto of the State of North Carolina is: ``To be rather than to 
seem.'' What a motto: ``To be rather than to seem.''
  I believe, based on my relationship with Jesse Helms, that he 
typifies that motto: ``To be rather than to seem.''
  I have always found him to be a gentleman. During the years in which 
I was majority leader, minority leader, and majority whip, I always 
found Jesse Helms to be someone with whom I could work. There were 
differences and there were difficulties at times--for instance, 
difficulties in breaking through a filibuster--but this man was always 
what he was, not what he seemed. He was what he was. He was not a man 
to be intimidated. He took a stand. He was willing to take a stand even 
though he might stand alone. And

[[Page 18839]]

I have seen times when he stood alone, but it was without a tremor, 
without any indication that he would cut his sail.
  He had that sterling character that so many of the people of his 
generation displayed throughout their lifetimes. And the people of 
North Carolina are a naturally warm and gracious people, just like 
Jesse Helms.
  As I say, no matter what his position on an issue, no matter what his 
political feelings might be, he was always one with whom I could 
approach and sit down and talk. And he was a man with whom I could 
reason when I was the leader of this body. It is not an easy job. But 
being the man that Jesse Helms is, and standing for what he believes, 
standing against the odds--no matter what the press said, no matter 
what the pundits were saying, no matter, should I say, even what his 
colleagues were saying--he took his position and he never wavered, 
never wavered.
  I shall always treasure my work here with Jesse Helms. I think when 
Jesse Helms goes, something goes out of this Senate that we will not 
see again.
  I saw a lot of men like Jesse Helms when I came to this body 44 years 
ago--a lot of men and one woman like Jesse Helms. They were strong in 
their beliefs. They believed in the Constitution. They believed in this 
institution. They weren't looking for another political office. They 
wanted to be Senators. They were Senators. And they served their people 
the institution, and the Constitution well.
  In all these situations--and I remember Members like Jesse Helms--
there has been a wife who sacrificed, who stood there shoulder to 
shoulder with that Senator and who, like him, was always a gracious 
person, one who loved the Senate, one who served the Senate, just as 
the elected entity served it.
  I have great respect for Jesse Helms and his wife Dorothy. My wife 
and I today join in saying we will always remember their friendship. I 
will always remember this man from the mountains of North Carolina.
  I remember Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. Here was a true 
gentleman of the Old South. A true gentleman of the Old South will 
leave this Senate. He won't leave my memory. He won't leave my 
affections. They will follow him. As Tennyson said, ``I am a part of 
all that I have been.'' And wherever I go, Jesse Helms will always be a 
part of me. He will go with my fondest affections.
  I thank Mr. Enzi for yielding to me at this moment. I am about to 
yield the floor.
  Let me, if I may, repeat the words of a short verse that are very 
appropriate in talking about Jesse Helms:

       Reputation--he raised its shaft
       In the crowded market place;
       He built it out of his glorious deeds,
       And carved them upon its face;
       He crowned its towering top with bays
       That a worshiping world supplied;
       Then he passed--his monument decayed,
       And his laurels drooped and died.
       Character--he built its shaft
       With no thought of the pillar to be;
       He wrought intangible things like love
       And truth and humanity.
       Inseparable things like sacrifice
       And sympathy and trust;
       Yet, steadfast as the eternal hills
       It stood when he was dust

  North Carolina sent to the Senate one of its favorite sons, and this 
son of North Carolina will never forget Jesse Helms and will never 
cease to respect him. Even when I differed with him perhaps on an issue 
now and then, there was always great respect, knowing that here was a 
man who believed in serving his people and standing for what his people 
expected him to stand for.
  May God always be with you, Senator Helms, and with your charming 
wife Dorothy. May God always bless her.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Carnahan). Under the previous order, the 
Senator from Wyoming is recognized.
  Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I thank my colleagues for allowing us to 
extend this period. It is not every day we get the opportunity to pay 
tribute to one of our heroes. I am sure Senator Helms would object to 
that wording, of being a hero, but if the definition is ordinary people 
doing extraordinary things, he might agree with it. But he goes well 
beyond that.
  For most of my life, I had read about Jesse Helms. And then I got 
elected to this body and got the awesome opportunity to meet him and to 
talk to him and to learn from him. It has been a delightful journey, 
one I will always remember and appreciate.
  In reading a little of his background, I learned that the Senator 
grew up 15 miles from the birthplace of Andrew Jackson, which is a 
breeding ground for true believers. With Jacksonian tenacity, he stuck 
to his early convictions--respect for elders and law and order, 
traditional religious faith, moral principles, and patriotism. He is 
here today with a lapel pin on that he has explained to me before. We 
are a part of the same organization. It is a Masonic pin he has been 
wearing since his first election. That is part of the great tradition 
and background of the Senator, an organization of individuals for self-
improvement, and it is something he has worked on all his life and is 
still working on and is passing on to others.
  As Senator Helms was coming to this body, the Senator from Wyoming 
who had been another role model of mine, Senator Hansen, was here 
briefly and then left. From my mother and from Senator Hansen and 
Senator Helms, I have fashioned a mission statement that is in all of 
the rooms of my offices where my staff and I work. It says: Do what is 
right. Do your best. And treat others as you want to be treated.
  That is a motto Senator Helms exemplifies in great detail. He is one 
of those people who never gives the impression that a Senator is 
special. He knows that we really are people who had special 
opportunities and special responsibilities. He epitomizes that.
  He has had a considerable effect on events over the years. While he 
hasn't gotten to restore America to the state of the Monroe of his 
youth, he has made great strides at it, probably ones he never 
envisioned.
  I like a quote by Fred Barnes written in the Weekly Standard: He 
can't be buffaloed or ignored. Helms has gained strange new respect, 
not as many conservatives have--by moving to the left. Helms has earned 
it the hard way--by not moving at all.
  He is a man of principle who knows where he is coming from and what 
needs to be done and has made dramatic improvements in America while he 
has followed that principle.
  This year, I had the opportunity to join Senator Helms on the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee and hold a position on the International 
Operations and Terrorism Subcommittee. In this role I have seen and 
heard much of Senator Helms' work with the United Nations. Americans 
and all those involved with the United Nations look at Senator Helms as 
one of the strongest supporters for reform of that organization. Many 
still talk about the wonderful pictures of Senator Helms sitting in the 
United Nations Security Council during a historic visit by the Foreign 
Relations Committee in 2000.
  Because of his efforts, the United States remains an active member, 
and the United Nations has become a more efficient organization. There 
is, however, still more work to do. I know Senator Helms will be sorely 
missed in those discussions. He has had a tremendous effect.
  I conclude by mentioning that as an Eagle Scout, I am proud of 
Senator Helms' efforts to protect the organization of the Boy Scouts of 
America. The organization makes a strong difference in the lives of 
many of our Nation's young men. It teaches them leadership and values. 
Senator Helms should be commended for his actions and for all of the 
efforts he has put forth on behalf of youth, North Carolina, the 
country, and the education of people like me. I thank the Senator for 
all of his efforts at mentoring and teaching, and his long service.
  This past year I had the opportunity to join Senator Helms on the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and hold a position on the 
International Operations and Terrorism subcommittee. In this role I 
have seen and heard much about Senator Helms' work with the United 
Nations. Americans and all

[[Page 18840]]

those involved with the United Nations look at Senator Helms as one of 
the strongest supporters for reform of the organization. Many still 
talk about the wonderful pictures of Senator Helms sitting in the 
United Nations Security Council during a historic visit by the Foreign 
Relations Committee in 2000. Because of his efforts, the United States 
remains an active member and the United Nations has become a more 
efficient organization. There is, however, still work to do and I know 
Senator Helms will be sorely missed in discussions on the next steps 
for reform.
  I was also pleased this last year to support Senator Helms' efforts 
to expand the NATO Alliance. I agree that NATO enlargement should 
continue to be a focus and a priority of the United States. Senator 
Helms championed the effort in the Senate on the Freedom Consolidation 
Act and made a meaningful statement that the Congress of the United 
States supports the President and supports NATO enlargement. As the 
NATO Ministerial meets to discuss the expansion of the alliance, I am 
confident Senator Helms' work will be appreciated.
  Senator Helms has been able to balance supporting international 
organizations with strongly criticizing their actions when they go too 
far. He has fought fiercely against treaties that are not in the best 
interests of the United States, such as the International Criminal 
Court. Senator Helms has been the lead objector to treaty that would 
put our American Servicemembers on trial for simply doing their work to 
protect Americans. His efforts have encouraged this Administration to 
be an active voice against the prosecution of American citizens with 
disregard for our protected rights.
  Senator Helms has been a leading proponent for conservative values 
and beliefs. He has lead floor debate to protect the lives and the 
future of all Americans. He has made it his personal duty to protect 
our rights from over-reaching laws and values not in line with the 
beliefs of most Americans.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I want to say a word or two, and ask 
unanimous consent that it be in order for me to make my remarks from my 
seat, following the remarks of Senator Sessions.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Alabama is recognized.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I believe that under the UC I am to be 
recognized next. I understand other matters are to come before the body 
soon.
  I want to say how much I admire Senator Helms. He is and has been a 
great Senator. He came here with beliefs and concerns about America and 
he stood up for them. He also came here with courage and convictions. 
He stood for those throughout his career. He has shown us all what one 
man can do when he stands up for his beliefs. He is a man I admire, as 
so many others do.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BOND. Madam President, for the youngster who is retiring from the 
greater Carolina delegation, I bid a fond farewell. I am delighted for 
him and his wife Dot, who after three decades in the Senate will get to 
spend some time for themselves and with their seven grandchildren.
  The bad news is that there are a great number of others who will be 
delighted with Senator Helms' departure. Foreign Communist officials, 
Fidel Castro, and others will be delighted that he will not be on the 
Senate floor standing tall on behalf of U.S. values, U.S. security, and 
human rights. Over his many years of service, his strict observation to 
U.S. security interests never wavered. On matters of foreign policy and 
national security, he never rested. He never allowed officials at the 
Department of State or the United Nations to rest either. When it came 
to the security of free people, his philosophy has always been, keep 
your powder dry and keep lots of powder.
  Despite his rigid reluctance to compromise, his legislative record 
has been extraordinary. Understanding the rules of the Senate, being 
willing to use the rules of the Senate, and being willing to wait as 
long as it takes proved to be a formula for much legislative success. 
To reorganize the State Department, Senator Helms had to hold up 18 
nominations for ambassadors, halted almost all committee business for 
six months as well as approval of two international treaties, and 
overcome a Presidential veto.
  A big supporter of President Reagan and his conservative agenda, 
Senator Helms was one of two Senators to vote against the nomination of 
Secretary Weinberg to be Secretary of Defense. Again, a protector of 
the conservative agenda, he felt the nominee was not adequately 
committed to the President's agenda; always brave, seldom subtle.
  Over his long career, Senator Helms has won praise and scorn for 
doing what he came to Washington to do, which is speak his mind and 
vote his convictions. He didn't mind being the only one to vote against 
a spending bill. He paid his constituents the courtesy of being candid. 
He did not need to do a poll to have an opinion. It is not his habit to 
``flip-flop'' on political issues because with Jesse, he means what he 
says and says what he means.
  One political commentator described the senior Senator as follows: 
``Helms follows a simple formula; Implacability equals strength, It 
works. He can't be buffaloed--or ignored. . . . The point here is Helms 
has gained strange, new respect not as many conservatives have--by 
moving left. Helms has earned it the hard way--by not moving at all.''
  To ``official Washington,'' Senator Helms was referred to as 
``Senator No.'' But to his beloved constituents asking for help, he 
was: ``Senator Yes.'' His first floor statement on January 11, 1973, 
was on behalf of ``more than 182,000 families in my State [who] earn 
their living from the production of tobacco.''
  In the Senate, we will miss this true gentleman with his gentle 
smile, his great sense of humor, and his tireless commitment to our 
Nation. We wish you, your wife Dot and your family well and thank you 
and the good citizens of North Carolina for your service.
  Mr. FRIST. Madam President, nearly 1,900 men and women have served in 
this body since its inception in 1789. Yet only a couple dozen stand 
out in history as leaders who not only defined the times in which they 
lived, but changed the course of the future. I would include the man we 
honor today--Senator Jesse Helms--in those select ranks. He will be 
missed as a friend to us all and a leader for all America.
  Although one might find it hard to believe, Senator Helms began his 
career in the media. After World War II, Jesse worked as city editor of 
the Raleigh Times. Later he became director of news and programs for 
the Tobacco Radio Network and radio station WRAL in Raleigh.
  The media also provided Senator Helms' transition into politics and 
public affairs. In 1952, he directed radio and television for the 
presidential campaign of Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. One year 
later, Jesse became executive director of the North Carolina Bankers 
Association and editor of the Tarheel Banker, which he grew into the 
largest state banking publication in America.
  As a journalist, Senator Helms earned the respect of his readers and 
his peers. From 1960 to 1972, Jesse delivered daily editorials on WRAL-
TV, wrote columns that appeared regularly in more than 200 newspapers 
nationwide, and broadcast on more than 70 radio stations in North 
Carolina. Jesse received the Freedoms Foundation Award for the best 
television editorial in America. He won the same award for the best 
newspaper article.
  Jesse Helms' arrival in this chamber nearly 30 years ago made 
history. He was the first Republican elected to the Senate from North 
Carolina. His star immediately began to rise. At the 1976 Republican 
National Convention, he was the only Senator to endorse Ronald Reagan 
for President. And though he asked for his name to be removed from the 
ballot, he won the support of

[[Page 18841]]

99 delegates for the nomination of Vice President of the United States.
  While in the Senate, Jesse Helms has become one of those unique 
leaders who combine fierce conservatism with fierce populism. His love 
for the principles upon which this country was founded is matched only 
by his love for the people he represents. He has always stood up for 
the people of North Carolina--for the values they hold dear, for the 
beauty of their land, and for the work that is their lifeblood.
  Jesse has also stood up for those of the world who don't enjoy the 
freedoms and rights that Americans are guaranteed. He stood side-by-
side with President Reagan in the battle to win the Cold War. He 
believed in peace through strength and still does. He also believes in 
the value and dignity of every human life. I know this first-hand. 
Jesse and I have worked hard as members of the Foreign Relations 
Committee to secure hundreds of millions of dollars to save young 
Africans from the plague of HIV/AIDS.
  Always one to practice what he preaches, Jesse Helms has served as a 
deacon and Sunday School teacher and a director of Camp Willow--a 
Christian youth camp he helped found. He has generously given his time 
to combat cerebral palsy. And he has spent countless hours with the 
nearly 100,000 children and young adults who have stopped by his office 
to shake his hand. Jesse has inspired them all to be better citizens; 
many have even gone on to serve in public office.
  I, and all of us in this chamber, will miss having Jesse Helms in the 
Senate. And America will miss an impassioned leader. But our loss is 
the gain of his family and the great state of North Carolina to which 
he will return. I think we all know that Jesse Helms won't just fade 
away. He'll continue spending time doing what he loves, and we'll 
continue loving him for it.
  God bless you, Jesse.
  Mr. LUGAR. Madam President, I am pleased to join with other Senators 
in honoring our distinguished colleague, Jesse Helms, who will be 
returning to private life at the end of the 107th Congress.
  For the past 26 years it has been my privilege to serve in the United 
States Senate with Jesse Helms. During that time, we have shared 
committee assignments on the Foreign Relations and Agriculture 
Committees. We have worked together on innumerable issues, and I have 
witnessed with admiration his strong character and devotion to public 
service.
  Senator Helms has played an important role in the primary U.S. 
foreign policy accomplishment of the second half of the 20th Century--
the collapse of Soviet Communism and transition of most of the world's 
Communist nations to democracy and market economics. In the Senate, 
Senator Helms was a steadfast supporter of policies that opposed the 
evils of the Soviet bloc. He looked forward with confidence to a future 
in which Russian foreign policy would not be predicated on empire, in 
which Russia would practice democracy, and in which Eastern Europe and 
other Soviet-dominated nations would be free.
  After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Senator Helms was an 
important advocate for embracing the new democracies of Eastern Europe. 
He was and continues to be a vocal supporter of NATO enlargement within 
the Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate as a whole. It is 
fitting that as we celebrate Senator Helms' career, we anticipate the 
entry of a new group of nations into the NATO fold that were once 
denied their liberty.
  Throughout his career in the Senate, Senator Helms' foreign policy 
initiatives were grounded in a fundamental faith in the power of 
freedom and democracy. Senator Helms' philosophy has been devoid of the 
cynicism that occasionally afflicts the practice of U.S. foreign 
policy. Our friend never forgot that the achievement of freedom must 
stand as the basis for American actions in the world. He remained 
devoted to core American values that have undergirded our Republic, 
including free and fair elections, freedom of religion, the rule of 
law, and market economic opportunities.
  Senator Helms has had an equally large impact on domestic policy. He 
will be remembered as a determined advocate for limited government. But 
no matter how passionately he advocated limits on government, he always 
understood that those limits should not reduce our human 
responsibilities to each other as citizens and leaders of a great 
nation.
  In my experience, few Senators have been as quick with a smile or as 
certain to ask about a family member as Senator Helms. In fact, few 
Senators ever had a greater appreciation for the strength and love of 
family.
  No remarks honoring Senator Helms would be complete without 
mentioning his beloved wife, Dot. A couple of years ago, I recall 
Senator Helms responding to a reporter's question about whether he 
intended to stay in the Senate. He said ``she has a vote; I have a 
vote; and if there is a tie, we will work it out together.'' All 
Senators know how important Dot has been to Jesse over the years. Even 
as we will miss seeing our friend every day, we know that Jesse will be 
blessed by the opportunity to spend more time with Dot and his family.
  Senator Helms leaves the Senate after 30 years, having established a 
legion of friendships and a memorable legacy. I am confident that he 
will continue to serve the public, and I join the Senate in wishing 
Jesse and Dot all the best as they move on to new adventures.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, as I indicated earlier, Senator Helms 
is a great Senator because he came to the Senate with beliefs and 
principles. He has personal integrity and a strong work ethic. He 
mastered the rules of the Senate, and fundamentally his greatness came 
from the fact he had the courage to act on those convictions and see 
them through, even in the face of criticism. He stood for traditional 
American values, for faith, for institutions important to our country, 
such as the Boy Scouts. I was an Eagle Scout, and I appreciate so much 
his leadership for them.
  He ran for the Senate because of his beliefs and concerns about 
America. That is what made him choose to offer himself. He believed 
America was a great bastion of freedom. He defended her without 
apology. He was not a part of the ``blame America'' crowd. He would 
never go to a foreign country which had demonstrated a history of bad 
behavior throughout the world and blamed America. He would stand and 
say, for all our faults, America has stood for right in the world, and 
we ought to be proud of what we do.
  He understood the history of America, its uniqueness as a Nation of 
freedom. He understood the importance of the United States to the world 
as a whole, and he clearly saw, throughout his tenure, godless 
communism was incompatible with the faith and freedom that made America 
great. So he stood against it, without apology.
  He had the great joy, I am sure, when his good friend Ronald Reagan 
was President, to see the collapse of the Soviet Union, the fall of the 
evil empire, and see freedom begin to spread around the world. What a 
wonderful feeling it must have been for this patriot, who stood so long 
for strong national defense, who stood so long for the values of 
America, and contrasted them with the totalitarian governments in the 
communist world. And it was a battle. It was a long struggle. There 
were good times and bad times. People who stood with firmness, like 
Senator Helms, were often attacked most aggressively in the liberal 
media, but he put his beliefs and his love for America first. He was 
prepared to take the heat, and I believe history will record he stood 
on the right side of that issue with consistency, integrity, and 
courage, and played a major role in the victory of freedom over 
communism.
  Senator Helms understood the necessity of American leadership in the 
world. He understood our unique history. He therefore defended our 
sovereignty. He defended the ability of the United States to stand 
alone, if need be, as he had to do at various times politically, to 
defend the interests we have. He was willing to work with the United 
Nations, NATO, and other groups, but he was not prepared to cede our 
sovereignty to that group.

[[Page 18842]]

  Some time ago, I made the reference to the treaties and agreements so 
many would like to have us sign. They are much like, in my mind, the 
scene of Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians, being tied down by 
hundreds and hundreds of strings. Pretty soon the giant is not able to 
act and defend himself. We do not need to allow ourselves, through a 
rush to agreements and multilateral organizations, to be tied down from 
our freedom.
  He provided a critical check against these trends through some 
difficult times, and I think he sees today the world is better off for 
it.
  As a matter of fact, with regard to the U.N., he was exceedingly 
critical of the waste, fraud, and even corruption in the United 
Nations. He knew there was a problem; so did almost everyone 
sophisticated in the world today. They knew money was being wasted and 
spent unwisely. They knew there was corruption in programs and within 
the institution itself. Senator Helms simply said, and was unmovable on 
the view, until there were reforms in the United Nations, he would 
oppose American back payments, and he got that.
  Oddly, this Senator, who was not emotionally invested in the United 
Nations, probably has played as big a role as anyone in making that 
organization a better institution today. He had bipartisan support for 
that position before it was over.
  He helped form the steering committee of the Republican caucus in the 
Senate, beginning as a small group of conservatives and has grown now 
to over 49 members of the Republican caucus. Of Members of that 
steering committee I am honored to be a vice chairman and one of the 
leaders of it. Senator Gramm is here today and served as chairman. 
Senator Helms served as a chairman in the early days, 1981 to 1985. Now 
that institution does have a great voice in the affairs of this Senate.
  He is a great church man, a Baptist deacon, a Sunday school teacher. 
He graduated from the Wake Forest University, a superb Baptist school, 
with a superb Baptist heritage. He is a man of faith and belief for 
which he never apologized. There is in the tradition of the Baptist 
Church a tremendous belief in the sanctity of individual human beings, 
a sense of democracy that is unique. Senator Helms says that every 
individual human being had the same creator and the same value in the 
overall scheme of life.
  He is a man of graciousness. He is a southern gentleman and kind and 
wonderful to his friends. But he was strong and courageous and firm 
when he believed his principles called for that. He could be unmovable, 
but he was also kind.
  He told the story to me of his friendship with former Senator Jim 
Allen from Alabama. Like Senator Helms, he was an independent man who 
knew the rules of the Senate and had the courage to utilize and fight 
for these values and use those rules effectively. He told the story 
about coming to Alabama for Jim Allen's funeral. They got off the 
airplane. Senator Allen was extraordinarily well respected in the 
State, loved throughout the State. He recalled to me seeing a sign that 
said ``a giant has fallen,'' and tears came to his eyes as he told that 
story to me.
  That shows the extent of his affection for his fellow Senators, his 
deep feelings of companionship. At the same time, our Senator Helms has 
been a giant for American values, for American principles, and for this 
country. I have been honored to know him. I have been honored to know 
his wonderful wife, Dot, as has my wife, who so much admires her. We 
give them our best wishes in their future endeavors. We wish them 
health and vitality and many years of service and enjoyment with their 
family and friends. They have been served with great distinction.
  Senator Helms has been a giant in this body. It has been an honor to 
serve with him.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. KYL. Madam President, it is with mixed emotions that I rise today 
to pay tribute to my colleague, mentor and friend, Senator Jesse Helms, 
who is leaving this body after 30 years of extraordinary service to our 
country. I want to honor him and convey to people around America who do 
not know him, what a great person he is. Yet, I hate to see him go.
  Many words come to mind when I think of Jesse Helms: principled, 
stalwart, kind, patriot, American. But, when I mull his retiring from 
the Senate, one word keeps coming to mind: irreplaceable.
  Jesse Helms will not be, he cannot be, replaced, and that is a sad 
thing. His presence here has been a constant for three decades. Like 
few others in this body, Senator Helms' career has achieved near-
mythical proportions; it is the stuff of legend.
  Why is that? I believe it's because few, if any, others can match 
Jesse Helms' deep and unshakable commitment to principle. Jesse's not 
much of a deal maker. His vote has never been up for grabs. You always, 
always knew where he stood. Some agreed, others disagreed. But you 
didn't have to guess.
  You get a glimpse of this simple yet profound approach when you walk 
into Jesse's office and see the large yes and no stamps on his desk. 
That is what it has been like to deal with Jesse Helms. If your idea 
met his high standards, you got an immediate and enthusiastic ``yes.'' 
If it did not, you got an amiable but unmistakable ``no.'' And if it 
was ``yes,'' he'd stick with you no matter what. Popularity was not a 
factor. The best interests of this country were what mattered.
  It has been a great honor for me to work with Senator Helms during my 
8 years in this body. We have endeavored together to promote 
conservative ideas, in particular the idea that America's security is 
best preserved through the maintenance of our strength and the 
promotion of our values. But I was just following the trail that Jesse 
Helms blazed. In the 1970s and 1980s, Jesse Helms led the fight to put 
morality and strength back into American foreign policy. People the 
world over, from Louisiana to Lithuania, from Texas to Taiwan, are 
better off because of that.
  Mark Twain said: ``Always do right. This will gratify some people, 
and astonish the rest.'' I was always among those gratified by Senator 
Helms' courageous stands on matters of high principle. He did right. 
And watching other people's astonishment at this was one of the great 
things about the Helms era in American politics.
  We will miss you, Senator.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to the senior 
Senator from North Carolina, Senator Jesse Helms. Born in Monroe, NC on 
October 18, 1921, Senator Helms has served our country over several 
decades and in many capacities. From 1942 through 1945, Sen. Helms 
proudly wore our country's military uniform as a member of the United 
States Navy. After World War II, he helped generate public debate as 
both journalist and editor.
  Senator Helms took up the mantle of public service in 1957 when he 
was elected to the Raleigh City Council. During his four years on the 
council, he served as the chairman of the Council's Law and Finance 
Committee. In 1961, Senator Helms returned to journalism, serving as 
the executive vice president of the Capitol Broadcasting Company. He 
also wrote daily editorials for television and radio on the most 
pressing issues of the day. His writings were so popular that they were 
printed in more than 200 newspapers throughout the United States.
  Senator Helms was elected to his first term in the Senate in January 
1973. He has been reelected to the Senate five times and has served 
this body for nearly thirty years. During that time, Senator Helms 
always stood firm in his beliefs. Like a rock in the midst of a raging 
storm, his commitment to principle has never wavered. He has been a 
fierce advocate for less government, reduced taxes, and greater 
individual freedom. For the last decade, he has served as either 
chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 
where he has worked to secure our country from foreign threats, protect 
American sovereignty in international institutions, and spread 
democracy to those oppressed by tyranny and injustice.

[[Page 18843]]

  Margaret Thatcher once described the essence of accomplishment. She 
said, ``Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's 
not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had 
everything to do, and you've done it.''
  Senator Helms has certainly had everything to do, and he has done it. 
He has accomplished much and finished well. His decades of service to 
his country and his beloved State of North Carolina have been an 
example to us all. He is a man who deserves our tribute and our 
gratitude.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Madam President, I join the chorus of Senators who 
today are saluting our good friend of 30 years, the distinguished 
Senior Senator from North Carolina, Senator Helms.
  For all 30 years the two of us, representing both Carolinas, have 
shared the fight to keep jobs in our respective states. If I can say 
one thing about this man, it is that he has always, always looked out 
for the interests of the little guy.
  Too many in this town want to forget about the people who get up 
every day, give an honest day's work at a textile plant, play by the 
rules, but lose out because of the unfair trade policies of this 
country. Senator Helms always looked out for the people Washington 
could care less about; the people who Washington thinks we can re-train 
into high-tech, high-tech, but who wants a 55-year old first time 
computer operator? For his voice on trade issues is how this Senator 
will remember my friend, and it is for this voice that he has been such 
a great asset to this institution.
  Obviously, on many issues we disagreed; but he and I would cross any 
and every party line to help the people of our states. In the future, 
no trade debate in this body will ever be the same without the man who 
served as Senator from North Carolina longer than any other from that 
state.
  My wife, Peatsy, and I congratulate Dot and Jesse, and we wish them 
only health and happiness in the future.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mr. GRAMM. Madam President, I begin by talking about our dear 
colleague, Jesse Helms. It is hard to decide what to say about this 
good man that virtually everybody in America knows. As expected with 
someone who has strong views as Jesse Helms, they either like him or 
they don't like him. I like him. In fact, I am proud to say that I love 
the senior Senator from North Carolina.
  So much has been said about him, I don't want to be repetitive, but 
there are a few points I want to make. It is important to look back at 
America and what America was like and what the Senate was like and what 
debate was being conducted when Jesse Helms came to the Senate. It is 
fair to say Jesse Helms was conservative before conservative was cool. 
When Jesse Helms came to the Senate it was conventional wisdom in the 
Senate to begin every foreign policy statement with a long list of 
indictments, not against our would-be adversaries, but against our own 
country. There was a guilt about America, this doubt about our purpose 
and our policy.
  Jesse Helms, as a young member of the Foreign Relations Committee, 
started the process of changing that debate. Jesse Helms may have had 
doubts about many things, but he didn't have any doubts about America. 
He did not have any doubts about what we stood for and stand for. He 
did not have any doubts about the fact there was an evil empire, that 
there was a cold war. He was very actively involved in the fighting and 
winning of that cold war.
  Today, we just had a lesson on a bipartisan basis from our colleagues 
that rejects all of this baloney that somehow we should turn over the 
protection of Americans to the U.N., that unilateralism was the wave of 
the future. On a bipartisan basis, our colleagues said when you come 
down to American interests and American lives, those decisions have to 
be made by the American President.
  That is a dramatic change from what the Senate, America, and the 
world were like when Jesse Helms came to the Senate. Probably no one 
has done more to change that than he has.
  Before Jesse Helms came to the Senate, social conservative was a 
synonym for Neanderthal. People in the political arena were a little 
bit ashamed to talk about the role of religion in American history. 
Talking about religious values and God were so out of fashion that no 
up-and-coming Senator with big ambitions would do it. Jesse Helms was a 
catalyst in changing all of that.
  Whether you agree or disagree with Jesse Helms on the role of 
religion in American life, whether you agree or disagree about the 
importance of values in our schools, in our families, in our country, 
whether you consider yourself in the worn political cliches of the era 
to be pro-life or pro-choice, there was no spokesman for traditional 
American values when Jesse Helms came to the Senate. They may have been 
old-fashioned to everyone else, but Jesse Helms was comfortable 
espousing those values as he has always been comfortable in his own 
skin.
  There are many stories I could relate about Jesse Helms. I am kind of 
sorry that many of my young colleagues did not know Jesse Helms in the 
old days. But knowing him now is a pretty good substitute for it. I 
will relate one story which I think brings, in one encapsulated form, 
Jesse Helms.
  There was a debate in the Senate--I was in the House--about a 
gasoline tax, and there was a broad bipartisan consensus that we ought 
to raise taxes on gasoline. After all, people were riding up and down 
the road in these pickup trucks--we didn't have SUVs to any significant 
degree then--but Congress, knowing that people really needed smaller 
cars and needed to learn to live on less, and that we were going to 
have to accept smaller ambitions and smaller dreams, they had it all 
figured out, and so Congress was going to impose a new tax on gasoline.
  Jesse Helms almost alone stood up against it. As we all know, they do 
not call this the greatest deliberative body in history because those 
of us who are in it are such great deliberators. They call this the 
greatest deliberative body in history because any individual Member has 
tremendous power. Any individual Member who feels very strongly about 
something can have a profound effect on it. So Jesse Helms, almost 
singlehandedly, was holding up this gasoline tax. They wanted to 
adjourn, and everybody was unhappy.
  We all are familiar with peer group pressure. It is something you are 
born subject to, and it never goes away until they lower you in the 
grave. We all want to be loved, we all want to be accepted, which is 
why so many of us bend with the wind.
  But Helms was not doing any bending that day. So on the debate went 
on. Finally, the Senate adjourned. No gasoline tax.
  So, Jesse is feeling kind of down and unloved as he is driving back 
to North Carolina, and he goes into a restaurant and orders a sandwich, 
and he is sitting there, and this guy over in the corner says: That's 
Jesse Helms.
  And everybody in the restaurant stood up and applauded.
  So his views were out of fashion in the Senate. However, he was a 
positive impediment. He was a throwback to the era when people did not 
understand that the Senate and the Government had all the wisdom. They 
knew what Americans needed, and he was just standing in the way; a man 
from another age, another era. But in that truck stop restaurant where 
real people were eating, where people were there who were going to be 
affected, Jesse Helms was a hero.
  What a great blessing it has been to the country that Jesse Helms 
came to serve here. I am proud to call him my friend. I am proud of his 
great service. I will always remember serving with him.
  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, there are many traditions in the 
southland, where I am proud to have my roots. I represent the 
Commonwealth of Virginia. We have the saying ``a Virginia gentleman.'' 
Time will tell as to whether I will ever be able to earn that title. 
But the great Senator to my right in this Chamber, Jesse Helms, has 
earned many times over the title ``a gentleman from North Carolina'' 
and a ``gentleman of the Senate.''

[[Page 18844]]

  I have had the privilege of working with him throughout my 24 years 
in this Chamber. He has been a leader and an inspiration. He has helped 
me and other Senators as we have joined in this magnificent Chamber 
time and time again to work our will, to represent our constituents, 
and he always reminds us that we are here for the whole Nation as 
United States Senators.
  Jesse Helms is a man of unquestioned integrity, honesty, character, 
wit, and wisdom. And now with his lovely wife Dorothy, they seek other 
challenges in life. I never think of my colleague as retiring. He is 
going on to other challenges, where he will apply the same passion, the 
same vigor, the same energy, and the same insight into those issues 
about which he feels so strongly.
  We were never in doubt as to where the senior Senator from North 
Carolina stood on an issue. To his everlasting credit, he learned every 
day he was in the Senate. I have seen him on two major issues learn 
more and then have the willingness and the courage to stand here and 
look us in the eye and say, ``I am going to change my position.''
  For years, he was concerned--and rightfully so--about the United 
Nations. But then he decided that he would lead the effort in the 
Senate, with his Democrat colleagues on the Foreign Relations 
Committee, to see that this Nation lived up to its financial 
obligations and in other ways gave support to the United Nations. I 
never thought I would witness Jesse Helms going to the United Nations. 
He asked me to go with him. I said to myself this will be a moment in 
history, and off we went with several other colleagues. We had a series 
of meetings in which we freely discussed the issues and, step by step, 
some of those financial problems have been resolved because of the 
leadership of this fine man.
  On the subject of Africa, there was no prejudice in his heart. There 
was concern about whether we could expend funds for that very troubled 
continent, that troubled population, afflicted by disproportionate 
levels of disease and poverty and AIDS. Senator Helms decided he was 
going to do what he could to help those people, and that he did, 
particularly with regard to AIDS. It takes a big man, a giant in the 
Senate, to do the things he has done.
  I will close with this recollection. I remember one year being in 
session up to the eve of Christmas. I cannot remember the exact day, 
but Christmas was coming. Tempers in this Chamber were flaring. There 
was Alan Simpson, a marvelous Senator from Wyoming. Suddenly, he and 
Jesse Helms had a bit of a disagreement. As a younger Senator, I was 
way back there. The disagreement occurred somewhere right in here. I 
watched Helms and I watched Simpson. Simpson was noted for his humor. 
But those two went at it. But the bounds of dignity were always 
maintained when those two Senators--this time of the same party--had 
such a strong disagreement. And many times I followed this great 
Senator as we were leaving the Chamber to go back to our offices, and I 
watched him stop and talk to the pages, those who provide the 
infrastructure in this institution, who work with their hands, who do 
other jobs. He would always find time for those to share with him a 
thought and he would share with them kind words and kind gestures. My 
dear friend and his lovely wife and family have many wonderful years 
ahead of them.
  I yield the floor.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Madam President, I wish to express, as have many of my 
colleagues today who joined the tribute to Senator Jesse Helms, my 
appreciation of working with Senator Helms. Particularly, I have 
enjoyed working with him, and the people of Louisiana have truly 
benefitted and have been truly grateful for this man's work, in the 
area of child welfare and adoption.
  As you might know, when Senator Helms chaired the Foreign Relations 
Committee several years ago, he had many grave matters under his 
jurisdiction including several important treaties. Many people asked 
for his support to call up a number of issues, but, of course, he could 
not champion them all.
  Again, so many things competed for his attention, yet he managed to 
put the treaty for the international adoption of children on the table 
and to a vote. This is the first treaty of its kind in the world. Every 
treaty is important, and everybody who is interested, particularly the 
groups affected, thinks theirs is the most important. I would be 
pressed to find a group more vulnerable in the world than orphans. 
Consider this--orphans really have no one. They do not have any 
parents. They do not have immediate relatives to look after them to 
protect, feed, clothe, and educate them. Orphaned minors are a class 
with no vote. They might live in countries where, even if they are 
adults, they have no voice or vote. They are often just lost wanderers 
trying to raise themselves.
  Senator Helms, with all he could have done, took the time of his 
committee to push forward a resolution that was not without 
controversy. The treaty said something profoundly beautiful: That we 
believe a child deserves at least one caring, responsible, and loving 
parent; that the governments of the world should break down barriers, 
should do more to see that children are attached to grownups, that 
children should not raise themselves on the street or should not have 
to sell themselves into prostitution; that kids should not be abused by 
adults, and they should be protected by parents.
  Mr. President, there are too many orphans in this world. One is too 
many. Unfortunately, the number is growing astronomically every day, 
and these children face an AIDS epidemic, war, and famine. In our own 
country, we have thousands of orphans. People do not believe we have 
orphans in the United States of America, but we do. We have 
approximately 500,000 children in foster care, and about 100,000 of 
them, enough to fill up the Super Dome--every seat and the aisles in 
the Super Dome stadium--have no parents at all. They think no one wants 
them. They are all ages, shapes, colors, and creeds. They are all 
loveable kids. They just do not have anybody to love them and to call 
their own.
  This Senator worked hard with many other Senators to pass this 
treaty. We did. It is a big deal to a lot of people in the world. It is 
helping pave the way for the possibility that we could establish laws 
and rules that would help connect orphans to parents.
  If you have ever seen a child who has been adopted--I know hundreds 
of people who have been affected positively by adoption, including my 
own family, who have had wonderful outcomes. It is not what we read 
about in the press, the one or two adoptions that go wrong. But 
throughout the world, there are parents grateful for the blessing to 
raise children and children grateful that they have been attached to a 
family. As you know, that is the building block of our society. Our 
society cannot be strong if our families are not strong, and families 
can be built to be strong physically, emotionally, and spiritually 
through adoption. Senator Helms knows that.
  I wanted to say on this special day that we honor him, he can be 
honored for a lot of his work, but I think that his contributions to 
children and his consistent belief in children with special needs 
deserve to be recognized. I join my colleagues honoring him, and I am 
glad he is back with us in the Senate to end his long career.
  Mr. ALLEN. Madam President, I join my colleagues in honoring the 
senior Senator from North Carolina, Mr. Helms, who will be retiring at 
the end of this Congress. In his five terms in the U.S. Senate, Senator 
Helms has been a distinguished leader on behalf of his home State of 
North Carolina and freedom-loving people throughout the world.
  When I arrived in the Senate at the beginning of this Congress, 
Senator Helms had already served a remarkable 28 years. It has been an 
honor to serve under the strong leadership of this gentleman on the 
Foreign Relations Committee.
  Senator Helms has been a strong advocate for those rights that Thomas 
Jefferson proclaimed in our Declaration of Independence are 
``inalienable''--life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[[Page 18845]]

  He has led the initiative to promote a peaceful transition to 
democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba. Fidel Castro oppresses 
his people, violates workers' rights, falsely imprisons them, and 
denies them the freedom of religion. Castro intentionally violates 
internationally accepted standards of basic human rights to maintain 
power over the Cuban people.
  In response, Senator Helms sponsored a bill to help the people of 
Cuba regain their freedom and prepare themselves for the transition to 
democracy. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of that bill.
  Senator Helms has been a leader in reminding us to put the needs of 
the Cuban people before the tyrannical agenda of the dictator, Fidel 
Castro. Castro seeks to retain his monopoly on political power by any 
means possible. Under his rule, Cuba is one of seven states designated 
by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism, and Senator 
Helms has not been fooled into propping up this regime with U.S. 
taxpayer money.
  Not just with respect to Cuba, but around the world, Senator Helms 
has been a champion of freedom and democracy. Senator Helms and I have 
also worked together to support the people of Taiwan through the Senate 
Taiwan Caucus.
  All the while Senator Helms has been tackling international abuses 
and supporting democracy around the world, never once has he forgotten 
the people of North Carolina and the sovereignty of the United States.
  The Senator has been a strong, dedicated advocate for farmers and 
people who live and work in small towns, especially when he was 
chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.
  Senator Helms and I are working together to lift the Japanese ban on 
U.S. poultry. We have also worked together on the Farm Bill, ensuring 
that peanut farmers get the highest target price possible for their 
peanuts. With Senator Helms' key help, the IRS has just announced that 
it will treat peanut quota buyouts as capital gains, not ordinary 
income. This is good news for devastated peanut farmers in southeast 
Virginia and northeast North Carolina.
  Regrettably, I have had only a couple of years to work with Senator 
Helms. But it has been a true honor and wonderful pleasure. On behalf 
of all the good people of Virginia, I offer my best wishes to Senator 
Helms and his family. And, I especially thank him for his guidance, 
encouragement and friendship that I shall cherish forever.
  Mr. BUNNING. Madam President, for nearly 30 years now, my good friend 
and fellow colleague Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina has been a 
stalwart of conservative thinking and values for this legislative body. 
He has represented the very best of what the Republican party has to 
offer and I would personally like to thank Senator Helms for his vigor 
and grit. Now more than ever, it is important that this Senate and this 
nation realize and appreciate the work Senator Helms has done for the 
people of North Carolina and the citizens of the United States of 
America.
  Throughout his tenure in the United States Senate, Senator Helms has 
been a true fighter, a heavy weight champion for America's values. He 
fought against communism throughout the entirety of the Cold War. He 
fought for and still fights for the protection of the American people 
against foreign and domestic threats. For 30 years, he has battled and 
fought against liberalism in an attempt to bring conservative values 
and ideas back to this nation and to this congress.
  ``Senator No,'' as he has come to be known, has developed a long list 
of enemies on the other side of the aisle and in certain media outlets. 
But let's not forget what Winston Churchill said about having enemies. 
``You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, 
sometime in your life.'' Whether or not you have agreed with one word 
or action Senator Helms has said or taken in his 30 years as a Senator 
in the United States Congress, you have to agree with and admire his 
determination and strength. Once again, I thank Senator Helms for being 
a guiding light in a sometimes dark world.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to honor my colleague, 
Senator Jesse Helms, and to thank him for his service to his country 
and the U.S. Senate. Senator Helms is retiring after 30 years in the 
Senate and I wish him and his wife, Dot, all the best.
  Senator Helms and I have not always agreed on the issues. But any 
disagreements we may have had has never gotten in the way of a 
constructive and cordial working relationship. We served together on 
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for several years and currently 
serve together on the Rules and Administration Committee.
  I have admired his dedication to his views, though I may strongly 
disagree with them, and his commitment to his constituents in North 
Carolina. There were certainly several occasions when I wished I had 
Senator Helms fighting on my side.
  When the battle was done, there were no hard feelings. As several of 
my colleagues here today have mentioned, you would be hard pressed to 
find a nicer man in the U.S. Senate. Whether you are a page, 
maintenance worker, staffer, Senator, President, Republican or 
Democrat, Senator Helms treats you with the same amount of respect and 
courtesy. That is a fitting tribute to a man who has dedicated himself 
to a life of public service.
  Again, I thank Senator Helms for his time in the Senate. This body 
will certainly not be the same without him.
  Mr. CRAIG. Madam President, allow me to add my voice to the chorus of 
regard for the distinguished senior Senator from North Carolina, Jesse 
Helms.
  There is a word we use a lot around here the word ``gentleman.'' 
Perhaps as a result of the demands of Senate protocol, our colleagues 
frequently use the word in addressing one another. It is thrown around 
so regularly that it has almost become as meaningless as ``mister'' in 
modern Congressional parlance.
  However, ``gentleman'' is more than a meaningless title in the case 
of Jesse Helms. I am not alone in referring to him as ``the 
conservative gentleman of the Senate'' because that is precisely what 
he is: an unfailingly gentle, kind, and courteous man. Even in the heat 
of battle, slicing through the opposition as he so often does, he 
maintains not just the integrity of his principles, but the integrity 
of his performance. Even when he establishes himself as the immovable 
object to block bad policy, as he also has done so often, he does it 
graciously.
  Senator Helms' restraint is all the more significant in view of the 
turbulence of the debates he has waded into. This is a man who does not 
back away from challenges but confronts them. His dedication to 
principle is unshakeable, and he is an invaluable ally in stormy 
political passages. As fellow skeptics of the United Nations and 
particularly, of the International Criminal Court, I appreciated having 
his support last year in preventing the United States' endorsement of 
that institution. Surely one of Jesse Helms' lasting legacies will be 
his mark on our country's foreign policy. But that is only one small 
part of the profound impact he has had on our laws and our culture.
  Senator Helms' leadership and articulate championship of conservative 
ideals have inspired countless admirers of many generations. I can 
attest to the fact that the ``Jesse Helms fan club'' extends to my own 
Senate staff, who proudly display the photos they have had taken with 
Senator Helms, and talk about his generosity in taking time to visit 
with them--visits they will remember for the rest of their lives. For 
my part, I consider it a privilege to have served with, and learned 
from, a man of his caliber.
  Senator Helms has been an extraordinary advocate for the people of 
North Carolina and, indeed, this Nation. His clear vision and steady 
guidance will be sorely missed when he leaves the Senate in the coming 
months. I join my colleagues today in congratulating Jesse Helms on his 
distinguished career, thanking him for the contributions he has made to 
the Senate and the United States, and wishing him all

[[Page 18846]]

the best in the next chapter of his remarkable life.
  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, It is always a sad day in the U.S. Senate 
when we prepare to bid good-bye to a dear friend and fellow Senator. 
But when you have been here as long as I have, and you are saying good-
bye to a gentleman who was here when I arrived, and whom I first 
considered a senior Senator and now can also call a friend, it is 
particularly bittersweet.
  Many of my colleagues have spoken eloquently already about the senior 
senator from North Carolina, my friend Jesse Helms. I would like to 
associate myself with these remarks of tribute and respect. If we spent 
the rest of the year praising Jesse, we would still not do justice to 
this man.
  So I would like to take a moment here to comment on the leadership 
Jesse Helms assumed in his pivotal role as ranking member and chairman 
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  Oh, the wags worried, Mr. President, when the Republicans retook the 
Senate in 1994. What would this mean for the country that Jesse Helms 
would chair the committee that conducts the oversight over this 
nation's foreign policies and institutions of diplomacy? There was one 
cartoon I found particularly amusing: There was Jesse, scowling at his 
desk, on which sat a globe cut in half, with only the United States 
showing. The Jesse they portrayed was an isolationist, but the Jesse we 
know is merely an unabashed defender of the U.S. national interest.
  In this very chamber, Jesse has often argued that the State 
Department has lost the perspective of advancing our interests. Foreign 
aid, the good senator from North Carolina is famous for saying, ``went 
down rat holes.''
  Jesse sees foreign policy from the perspective of preserving and 
advancing the national interest. Call it ``parochial,'' if you will, 
but Jesse is a traditional conservative: the sovereignty of the nation 
state was at the core of the international system, and if order is to 
prevail, it would remain at the core. And no sovereignty was more 
jealously protected than the sovereignty of this country under our 
Constitution.
  Of course, you can't be a traditional conservative without 
recognizing the virtues of freedom and the threats of tyranny. You 
can't believe in the United States and ignore that the world presents--
and continues to present threats to these freedoms emanating from all 
forms of tyranny. And Jesse has fought against them all.
  There is no stauncher anti-communist than Jesse Helms, and I admire 
him for this. Whether it is Latin American communism under the Castro 
dictatorship or Sandinista state, or the Soviet managers of the Gulags 
internal and external, Jesse has stood up to them and has outlived most 
of them. No man stands for freedom against communism more steadfastly 
than Jesse Helms. To do so was the fundamental attribute, in my 
opinion, of a conscientious internationalist.
  The foes of Jesse Helms know that he is relentless. His friends know 
that he is devoted. Small democracies around the world and I think of 
Israel and Taiwan have in Jesse Helms a stalwart defender.
  Jesse's internationalism, doubted by many, has transformed the world. 
Let me give you but a few brief examples:
  After years of frustration in Washington, Jesse could no longer 
tolerate the waste and ideological neglect emanating from the United 
Nations. Building on policies of restricting funding to that body that 
began in this Senate in the 1980s, Jesse drafted legislation setting 
targets of reform and reduced U.S. contributions that most people 
believed the U.N. would never comply with. Jesse was anti-U.N., many 
charged, and wanted the U.S. to withdraw from that body into further 
isolationism.
  This was nonsense, of course, Jesse, who was parodied as an 
anachronistic reactionary, is in fact an internationalist visionary. He 
knew that the American public would soon cease to tolerate inequitable 
funding requests for a broken international bureaucracy. He knew that 
the way to irrelevancy for the U.N. was the path it was on. Jesse cut 
another path, in landmark legislation that gained, ultimately the vast 
majority of the support of members on both sides of this aisle, to 
demand that the U.N. reform its bureaucracy and reinvigorate its 
relationship with the U.S. and the U.S. Congress.
  The U.N. heard the message and responded. And it is a better 
organization for it. The fact that President Bush was able to address 
that body two weeks ago from a position of mutual respect, and that we 
will be able to work constructively with that body in the coming 
difficult months ahead, has a great deal to do with the foresight of 
Jesse Helms.
  In recent years, Jesse has promoted the American Servicemembers 
Protection Act, which I have been proud to cosponsor, to defend U.S. 
military from prosecution of an ill-focused United Nations 
International Criminal Court. Not a popular cause among the 
multilateralists, abroad and in our own government, but Jesse Helms has 
always been about doing what's right for America, not what's popular.
  This legislation was recently signed into law. And guess what, Mr. 
President. The European Union, the professional advocate of all things 
multilateral, is coming around to recognizing that the U.S. must have 
as a component of bilateral relations formally exclusions our 
servicemen who sacrifice so much for their country and should be 
accountable only to their country's laws and commander-in-chief. Once 
again, Jesse Helms eschewed the conventional wisdom, saw over the 
horizon, and strengthened America's position in the world.
  And my friend Jesse Helms knows that, when America's position in the 
world is strengthened, the security of the world is advanced. This is 
the kind of internationalism that I admire.
  Most people are not focusing now, among the debate over Iraq, on the 
fact that NATO is engaging in another expansion, bringing in seven 
nations of central and eastern Europe into this military organization 
of democracies. The alliance will be stronger for this, and U.S. 
national security will be more secure.
  This is the second enlargement after the end of the Cold War. The 
first was completed in 1999, when Poland, Hungary and the Czech 
Republic became members. In 1998, this body, where we must ratify any 
North Atlantic Treaty amendments, had a historic debate on whether to 
allow these members. Jesse Helms shepherded that debate, and U.S. 
national security interests were advanced.
  All of us know that there is so much to Jesse Helms that we cannot do 
him justice in our remarks of appreciation. Constituents, colleagues, 
foreign friends--all of these know this of this man.
  A few years ago, I had a meeting with an impressive songwriter named 
Bono, who came to my office seeking support for debt reduction in the 
poorest countries of the world. I was impressed with Bono and his work, 
and I was impressed that he wanted to work within the system, 
respecting economics while advocating compassion. He had my support. As 
he left his office, I asked where he was going. Bono told me, ``I'm 
going to meet Senator Helms.'' That will be interesting, I thought to 
myself.
  As is now well-known, Bono and Jesse hit it off. And today Jesse 
Helms is a leader in supporting the U.S. contribution to fighting that 
terrible pandemic in Africa.
  Many have tried to define Jesse Helms by what he opposed. I will 
remember him for what he supported: Freedom, human rights, and strong 
and independent America, free to spread its good in the world.
  I thank my good friend for his years of service, for his friendship 
to me, for his impeccable courtesy in debates whether we agreed or not. 
We will never see the likes of a Senator Helms again.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, it was good today to hear the many 
heartfelt sentiments and compliments being expressed in the Senate 
about our distinguished colleague from North Carolina. I want to be 
counted among those who respect Jesse Helms for his

[[Page 18847]]

conscientious and diligent service in the Senate and for the generosity 
of spirit he displays and the affection he has for his fellow Senators 
and the staff and employees of the Senate.
  If you could ask all of the Senate pages who have served here during 
the time Senator Helms has been in the Senate who their favorite 
Senator was, I am sure they would tell you it was Jesse Helms. He takes 
time to get to know them all and to greet them each day. He really 
cares about them and he wants them to know they are appreciated. That 
is the way Senator Helms has treated everyone in the Senate. He has a 
heart of gold.
  When Senator Helms was Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, I 
appreciated the fairness and respect he showed to all of the members of 
our committee. He was especially helpful to me and I will always be 
grateful to him for his friendship.
  I wish for him much happiness and satisfaction in the years ahead.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I thank all Senators who have been so 
kind this morning.
  I have been sitting here at this desk wondering who on Earth is this 
Helms fellow whom my colleagues keep talking about. To be sure, there 
are newspaper editors in North Carolina who will tell you that any kind 
words uttered about Jesse Helms are, at best, exaggerations.
  So it goes without saying that I am grateful for the generosity of my 
colleagues. It reminds me of the first time I came to Washington, DC to 
work in this Capitol Building, back in 1950. I had come to Washington 
with a remarkable Senator, Willis Smith, who had the highest and finest 
credentials as one of the Nation's leading and most respected 
attorneys.
  Senator Smith deserves a tribute all his own. He was, among other 
distinctions, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Duke University, and 
former president of the American Bar Association. I was honored that he 
had shown the faith in me that led him to bring me with him to 
Washington as his administrative assistant.
  The Senate was a far less hectic place during the 2\1/2\ years I 
worked for Senator Willis Smith, before his tragic and untimely death 
in 1952. All of us who worked in the Senate at that time had the 
privilege to know some of the true pillars of the Senate, men who were 
the cornerstone of America in the 20th century, among them, a special 
friend of mine, Richard Russell of Georgia. Senator Russell was so kind 
to have taken an interest in me in those years, and I vividly remember 
many conversations with this remarkable American. Once, he told me 
something, for example, that I never have forgotten. He commented: 
``Jesse, a Senator who goes onto the Senate floor without knowing the 
rules is only half prepared. And a man who walks onto the Senate floor 
with command of the rules can cut Senators lacking such knowledge to 
ribbons.''
  I never imagined that more than 20 years later, in 1972, the turn of 
events would lead me to be persuaded to become the Republican candidate 
for U.S. Senate from North Carolina. Nor did I ever expect to have the 
good fortune to win. But on election night 1972, at 9:17 p.m., Walter 
Cronkite came on the television and said, ``Down in North Carolina, a 
fellow named Jesse Helms has got himself elected to the Senate.''
  So, I went off by myself and prayed for guidance. Then, after 
spending some time with my family, I remembered that comment by Senator 
Russell. I determined that I would do the best I could to learn 
something about rules of the Senate.
  It developed as soon as I was sworn into the Senate in January 1973 
that I had the great fortune to have a teacher like Senator Jim Allen 
of Alabama. Once a week, I would go to Senator Allen's office, and he 
would conduct an impromptu classroom in Senate procedure. Then, as 
often as I could, I would come to this Chamber and preside over the 
Senate.
  So as a freshman Senator, I had a wonderful opportunity to preside 
over the Senate. That enabled me, working with that great man Dr. Floyd 
Riddick, Chief Parliamentarian of the Senate, to learn the rules 
backwards and forwards. True to Senator Russell's words, those rules 
came in handy during some spirited battles around here. And as the 
years went by, I won some and lost some, but I always had the comfort 
of knowing I had done what I thought was right in the best way I knew 
how.
  I recall the time that I mentioned the late Senator Dick Russell in 
debate one afternoon. Later that evening, Majority Leader Mike 
Mansfield thanked me for my reference to Senator Russell. Senator 
Mansfield mentioned that former Senators who departed by reason of 
death or expiration of their tenures here were often quickly forgotten.
  Senator Mansfield was right about this. As will be true in my case, 
most Senators who have completed their service will be forgotten, just 
as surely as others have faded into history.
  As I approach the end of my five terms in the Senate, I realize that 
being remembered isn't important. What is important is standing up for 
what you believe to be right, hoping that you have done everything you 
can to preserve the moral and spiritual principles that made America 
great in the first place.
  My father, rest his soul, was a good man who taught me many things. 
In my office, there is an inscription of something he told me many 
years ago. ``Son,'' he said, ``The Lord doesn't expect you to win. He 
just expects you to try.''
  With the remarkable Dot Helms at my side, we have done our best to 
live up to my father's admonition. And while we are certainly not 
perfect, and we certainly haven't always had all the answers, we have 
the comfort of feeling that we have done the best we can. Nobody can 
claim to have had a better life, or to be more blessed and honored by 
the people of North Carolina than Dot Helms and me.
  Every so often, a reporter will ask me what I consider to be my 
legacy after 30 years in the Senate. Now ``legacy'' is a fancy word for 
the son of a small town police and fire chief, so I never know how to 
answer such a question.
  But there is one thing I should mention that has given me particular 
satisfaction during my Senate career. When I was first elected, it was, 
as I have mentioned, a genuine surprise. I never expected to win. And 
one of the things I promised myself on that November night was that I 
would never, ever, fail to see a young person, or a group of young 
people, who wanted to see me.
  Now the young lady who keeps track of such things in my office 
recently told me that I have had the chance to visit with more than 
100,000 young people during my nearly 30 years in the Senate. I have 
been the beneficiary of the time I have spent with these young folks.
  It is in them that I have seen the promise of what I regard as the 
``Miracle of America.'' They are bright, curious, thosroughly decent 
young folks who are committed to preserving the ideals of America as a 
country devoted to freedom and opportunity.
  As Dot Helms and I prepare to go home--this time for good--we are 
grateful to young people who have visited us. Dot and I are convinced 
that America's future is in fine hands.
  They are not my legacy; they are America's legacy, and I thank the 
Lord for them every day.
  I thank the Chair, I thank my colleagues, and I thank the people of 
North Carolina for allowing me the honor of serving in the U.S. Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.

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