[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23291]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               BOB SMITH

  Mr. REID. Let me say to my friend from New Hampshire, for whom I have 
the greatest affection, the Senator from New Hampshire and I worked 
together for one very difficult year when he was cochairman of the MIA-
POW Committee. He, along with Senator Kerry, led us in that most 
important study. I developed a great amount of knowledge of Senator 
Smith during that year.
  Our friendship, even though it budded there at the time of the MIA-
POW Committee, really came to fruition when we were asked by our two 
party leaders to lead the Ethics Committee. During those years, we 
worked on some very difficult issues. Senator Smith I found to be a 
gentleman, a scholar. He has very good staff. He has the institutional 
awareness that he is very firm, very strict, but yet very fair. That is 
what the Ethics Committee needs.
  As I indicated, I developed a friendship with Bob Smith. I am 
terribly disappointed that he is not going to be here next year. I wish 
I could express in a better way, a more meaningful way, how deep my 
feelings are toward Bob Smith and how much I will miss him. I hope the 
stars are aligned appropriately sometime in the future that he can 
again return to public service.

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