[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 24171-24172]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTES TO RETIRING SENATORS


                              Tom Daschle

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when the Senate concludes its business in 
the coming days, the congressional career of a remarkable man will come 
to an end. After 26 years of representing South Dakotans as their voice 
in Washington, Senator Daschle will be leaving the Senate.
  His story is a classic one. As a young man from Aberdeen, SD, Tom 
Daschle graduated from South Dakota State University and immediately 
began 3 years of service in the Air Force of the United States. After 
his service, he got an early introduction to Washington as he went to 
work for Senator Abourezk, eventually returning to South Dakota to work 
out of the Senator's state offices.
  Tom was elected to Congress in 1978 and went on to serve four terms 
in the House of Representatives before being elected in 1986 to the 
Senate.
  After the resignation of George Mitchell in 1994, Senator Daschle won 
a very tight race for minority leader. I was proud to have supported 
him at that time. 1994 was a difficult year for our party and we had 
some serious soul searching to do. Tom displayed the strong leadership 
that was necessary to take Democrats in the Senate forward. That is 
why, after that first tight election for leader, he was reelected 
unanimously as leader each time thereafter. He has always been a man 
who radiates optimism and hope, making him an excellent face for our 
party.
  I have known Tom since he first came to this body in 1986. I closely 
followed his Senate race against James Abdnor, and I was impressed by 
him. A few days after Tom won that race, he and his wife Linda joined 
my family in Vermont for Thanksgiving dinner. When they came to the 
farm, my mother said to me, ``That is the nicest young man I ever 
met.'' Well, she was right. Tom is a man of deep resolve and strong 
character.
  The Nation saw that character exhibited in the days following 
September 11. Senator Daschle showed the country the importance of 
setting labels aside when he publicly embraced President Bush. In the 
face of that terrible tragedy, America united behind our leadership.
  Only a few short weeks later, Senator Daschle and I were both targets 
of anthrax attacks--some of which killed several people--in letters 
addressed to the two of us. I know that the attacks brought home the 
reality of terrorism to both of us, but also to the Senate community as 
a whole.
  In the ensuing years, Senator Daschle continued to show resolute 
leadership in the Senate, routinely reaching across the aisle even when 
those on the other side of the aisle were at their most partisan.
  On more than a few occasions, Senator Daschle and I have joined 
together to work on a variety of national legislative efforts. 
Together, we advocated for expanded benefits for members of the 
National Guard and Reserve. Senator Daschle has shown courage and 
resolve in holding the line against the President's most objectionable 
judicial nominations. We worked together on tort reform, combating

[[Page 24172]]

corporate crime, and efforts to help off-duty police protect Americans. 
Those are just a few of the initiatives on which we collaborated.
  But during that time, he has also been a strong voice for South 
Dakota on those issues important to his constituents. He has fought for 
improved health and education for Indians. He has led efforts to expand 
health services in rural areas and to prevent companies from canceling 
retiree benefits without notice. He is well known as a champion for 
ranchers and farmers in South Dakota. In fact, he made sure their 
voices were always heard. He worked to ensure they had drought aid, but 
also he worked to do what a true South Dakotan would do: He wanted to 
make sure they could compete on a level playing field.
  Despite a well-run campaign and putting forth his best effort, 
Senator Daschle was not reelected to the Senate this fall. The morning 
after election day, he gave a speech before his supporters in Sioux 
Falls. He finished that speech by recalling two memories. The first was 
of a magnificent Washington skyline sunset he witnessed one fall 
afternoon leaving his office in the Capitol. The second was watching 
the Sun rise at Mount Rushmore with his family, and the warm, sweet 
optimistic feeling inspired by that sunrise. Tom said that, seeing 
both, he likes sunrises better. I agree. For the past 18 years with 
each daily sunrise, he sought to bring hope and optimism to this body. 
He has worked to better his State and his country, to ensure our 
children and grandchildren have a brighter world in which to live. He 
is a remarkable friend and colleague, and I thank him for his service 
to this institution.
  If I can be very personal, in my 30 years in the Senate, I have not 
known a more honest and more decent Senator than Tom Daschle. I believe 
that part of our Senate fabric and our Senate conscience leaves with 
this special person.
  Mr. President, I see others seeking recognition. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, in a few minutes Senator Coleman will 
offer a resolution. I join Senators Coleman, Kohl, and Dayton in 
supporting this resolution. By taking this up and passing it at this 
time, we signal that congressional concern about the deplorable human 
rights situation in Laos will be intense and ongoing.
  As I have discussed today, I hear regular reports from constituents 
distraught about the conditions faced by their relatives in Laos. This 
is especially wrenching--and this is the point we have been trying to 
make all day--when we remember that the Hmong communities reportedly 
targeted for abuse are the same communities that worked side by side 
with U.S. forces during the Vietnam war. We simply cannot ignore the 
dismal human rights situation in Laos and be the country and the people 
we wish to be.
  Just a word on the language of the resolution which Senator Coleman 
will describe in a moment. This resolution expresses the Senate's 
hope--hope--that a more open society will develop in Laos in the wake 
of the extension of NTR. Certainly this is my hope, although I, 
frankly, really see no reason to believe it will happen.
  But the reality is that Laos will get NTR. The votes are there, and 
while I may disagree with the wisdom of colleagues taking that step, 
we, of course, all do hope for change in Laos--a greater respect for 
basic human rights, an end to repression aimed at ethnic minorities, 
such as the Hmong, and religious minorities, such as the Christian 
community, and for access to vulnerable populations.
  I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues who join me in sponsoring 
this resolution and the efforts of the leadership on both sides, the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the Finance Committee.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, first, I thank Senator Feingold for his 
leadership on this issue, for his perseverance, persistence and being 
on the floor, as we discuss the miscellaneous tariff provisions, to 
make sure that, before we finish our work, we put forth a resolution 
reflecting the sense of this body that there are problems with human 
rights in Laos. They have to be recognized. That is what this 
resolution does.
  I thank Senator Feingold. I thank my colleague, Senator Dayton, who 
has been working with us, and Senator Kohl.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that following the adoption of 
the resolution relating to Laotian human rights, which I will send to 
the desk in a moment, that the pending conference report to accompany 
H.R. 1047 be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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