[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 20977-20978]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          FAREWELL TO A FRIEND

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to honor the achievements of my good 
friend and colleague, Senator Phil Gramm.
  After serving with him for 18 years, it is difficult to remember that 
our Texas colleague began his career as a Democrat.
  After listening to him here today, I can see he is ending his career 
by going out with a bang. Phil Gramm is one of the most effective 
Senators who has ever sat in this body. In fact, even though he started 
out as a Democrat, he actually became one of the most effective 
conservatives in this body and a fixture on economic issues and a man 
who deserves much of the credit for changing the attitude of Congress 
about budget and fiscal responsibility.
  I know I am not the only Member of this body who is deeply grateful 
for the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit-control legislation that Senator 
Gramm poured his heart into creating and sustaining over so many years.
  Another landmark bill that bears his name and is changing the course 
of the nation for good is the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services 
Modernization Act of 1999.

[[Page 20978]]

  He brought his classroom skills to bear on more than one occasion, 
patiently explaining basic economics to his fellow Senators, again and 
again and again.
  I, for one, am grateful for the opportunity to have been one of his 
students.
  Senator Gramm is also one of the Senate's most honest and forthright 
members, never hesitant to tell you exactly what he is thinking.
  On more than one occasion, the senior Senator from Texas has 
approached me about bills on which we disagreed and said, in his 
distinct drawl, ``Orrin, you were one of the reasons I came to the 
Senate--to help you fight all those ridiculous liberal ideas. So I have 
to ask, what are you doing with this bill?''
  And we all came to respect Senator Gramm when he joined the GOP 
ranks.
  The story is now legend, but compelling nonetheless.
  He was serving in the other body when he decided he no longer felt 
comfortable as a Democrat.
  Instead of simply announcing he was switching parties, he resigned 
his seat in 1983 and ran again in a special election as a Republican. 
He has served here ever since with, I think, the respect of both sides 
of the aisle.
  He thus eliminated any question that his decision was motivated by 
anything other than a realization that his beliefs no longer fit within 
the Democratic Party.
  Senator Gramm's dedication to the principles of a free society, his 
belief that free markets and limited government allow people to realize 
their full potential, his reminders that good intentions are no 
substitute for good policy--these have shown through in ample body of 
Senate achievement he will leave behind.
  Senator Phil Gramm's career is proof that good ideas can have a real 
impact on our country, as long as those ideas are combined with a 
mountain of hard work.
  Mr. President, I am sad to see my good friend leaving this body.
  I wish we could convince my friend to stay.
  I personally am going to miss him. I can only wish him the very best 
as he begins his new life outside of Senate. I am sure of one thing: 
wherever Phil Gramm goes or whatever he does, he is going to be a 
success. Phil Gramm is one of the brightest people who ever served in 
both Houses of Congress, and he is certainly one of the best people, as 
far as I am concerned.

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