[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23319]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO SENATORS BOB SMITH AND FRED THOMPSON

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, one of the privileges we have of serving 
in this body is we get to work with a lot of outstanding men and women. 
I wish to mention a couple of those who are very good friends of mine, 
who will be leaving the service of the Senate, one of which is Bob 
Smith. Bob Smith has served in the Senate for 12 years. I had the 
pleasure of working with him. He is a respected veteran. He served in 
Vietnam. I have had the pleasure of knowing Bob Smith and his wife Mary 
Jo and their kids. Actually, their kids went to the same school as my 
children did.
  Bob was a high school teacher and a coach from the great State of New 
Hampshire. He was elected to Congress in 1984, but I did not really get 
to know Bob Smith until he was elected to the Senate in 1990. He was 
reelected in 1996. He served on the Armed Services Committee and was 
what I would call a very strong defender of our Nation's freedom, a 
very strong national patriot.
  He was always interested in improving our national defense and he did 
an outstanding job. He was a leader in trying to find out what happened 
to the men and women serving in the Army, Navy, and Air Force who were 
missing in action in Vietnam. He showed great courage on a lot of 
issues that were not popular. He led the fight in trying to ban 
partial-birth abortion, and my guess is we will pass that in the next 
Congress, and it will be because of the leadership of Bob Smith and his 
courageous effort in initiating that.
  On behalf of countless unborn children, on behalf of the men and 
women serving in the military, on behalf of a nation that is very 
grateful for patriots who have led the fight in Congress to make our 
country free, they have always had a friend in Senator Bob Smith. I 
congratulate him on his years of service in Congress, both in the House 
and the Senate, and I wish him and Mary Jo every best wish for their 
future.
  I also wish to make a couple of comments about our soon retiring 
colleague, Senator Fred Thompson. Senator Thompson's career was shorter 
than many of us had hoped. He only served 8 years in the Senate. He was 
elected in a special election in the State of Tennessee 8 years ago, 
and then was reelected. He has served this body very ably and very 
nobly well.
  Senator Thompson had remarkable achievements in his very short Senate 
career. After he was in the Senate for only 2 years, he was selected 
and elected chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee, a 
remarkable accomplishment. He served as chairman of the Governmental 
Affairs Committee at a very interesting time. I was on that committee 
for a couple of years during the investigation of campaign abuses, 
primarily focused on the Clinton administration. Chairman Thompson 
conducted those hearings and investigations in a way that deserves 
great credit. It would have been quite easy to have the hearings evolve 
into nothing but a partisan allegation, and he did not do that. He 
conducted the hearings very nobly, in a very respected manner. I was 
proud to serve with him on that committee. It was an enormous 
responsibility to be investigating the sitting President. I believe 
Senator Thompson conducted those hearings very well.
  He also, in a very short period of time, was made a Member of the 
Senate Finance Committee. I had the pleasure of serving with him on the 
Senate Finance Committee, again, a committee where we were able to make 
some positive changes for the country regarding tax cuts. Senator 
Thompson has proven to be a real friend of taxpayers in enacting 
probably one of the largest tax cuts in our Nation's history, certainly 
in the last couple of decades.
  He always provided common sense, a sense of humor, as well. Certainly 
Senator Fred Thompson will be missed in the Senate. He is my friend 
from Tennessee. I wish Senator Fred Thompson and his lovely wife, Geri, 
every success in the future. No doubt he will have many.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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