[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 11869-11886]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO FORMER PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today because a mighty oak has 
fallen. Ronald Reagan has left his life here on Earth, but oh what a 
life it was. Born in the middle of our great Republic in the beginning 
of the last century, his was an American tale from start to finish.
  Jack and Nelle Reagan brought a son into the world in Tampico, IL, in 
1911. Jack was a shoe salesman with an Irishman's flare for 
storytelling. Nelle was a devout Christian who made ends meet by doing 
other people's sewing out of their home. When Jack first saw their 
healthy baby in his crib, he looked at this little baby and said he 
looked like a ``little fat Dutchman.'' And the nickname stuck, 
``Dutch.''
  Times were hard for the Reagans. He commented years later that:

       Our family didn't exactly come from the wrong side of the 
     tracks, but we were certainly within sound of the train 
     whistles.

  Even then, it was in Ronald Reagan's character to look for the Sun 
behind the clouds. Growing up, he lived a typical American boy's life. 
He was a lifeguard in the summer and a football player in the fall. In 
the fading years, when Alzheimer's robbed him of most of his memory, he 
could still summon up his youth in Illinois, proudly recalling the 77 
lives he saved as a lifeguard from the teeming Rock River, notching 
each one on a log on the shore.
  In Illinois, he discovered there was more to life than just football 
and lifeguarding. There was also acting. Connecting with an audience 
plugged

[[Page 11870]]

him into a broader world. As he later said:

       For a kid suffering childhood pangs of insecurity, the 
     applause was music.

  Ambition led him westward out of Illinois; Hollywood, to be exact. 
There, as we all know, he started his successful acting career and, 
more importantly, met a young actress from Chicago named Nancy Davis. 
She became the love of his life. Nancy was focused, smart, and loved 
her Ronnie. Jimmy Stewart once remarked:

       If Ronnie had married Nancy the first time, he would have 
     won an Academy Award.

  But gradually his time in front of an audience changed from the stage 
and screen to the assembly hall. Time constraints prevent me from 
following his ascent to the highest office in the land. Let me simply 
comment that for most of us being a successful actor and pitchman, 
union president, two-term Governor of our Nation's largest State, and a 
national figure to boot would have been enough of a career, especially 
at the age of 69. But Ronald Reagan had other thoughts, and so began 
his run against President Jimmy Carter for the Presidency in 1980.
  Neck and neck until the debate a week before the election, Reagan 
broke it wide open when he closed by asking Americans a simple 
question: Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?
  On election day, Reagan won a smashing victory, winning 44 of 50 
States. He would top that mark in 1984, winning 49 out of 50 States.
  I have listened to and read countless people reflecting on what 
President Reagan meant to them and to America. Were there enough time, 
I would fill up the rest of the afternoon with my thoughts about this 
great man. But I will limit my observations to what I think will be, in 
addition to restoring America's faith in itself, the way history will 
remember Ronald Reagan, the peacemaker.
  I want to address the question, What does it mean to have won the 
cold war? Revisionists suggest that Ronald Reagan had little to do with 
the Soviet Union's fall which they now claim was just inevitable. I can 
tell you no one thought that in 1979. Communism was on the rise and 
freedom was in retreat. The United States was the toothless tiger with 
the uncertain future. Energy shortages crippled us, and rampant crime 
hunted us down. Interest rates for homes, cars, and businesses were sky 
high. Our economy was wrenched back and forth between bouts of 
recession and inflation, both at the same time. America's decline was 
marked by new, unfamiliar words. We learned stagflation, 
``taxflation,'' and, of course, we learned malaise.
  America's economy was not the only thing in decline. So, too, was our 
foreign policy. Still suffering from a Vietnam syndrome, we watched and 
did nothing as Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviets, as hostages in 
Iran were seized, and as Cuban puppets invaded Africa and Central 
America. Our Navy was weak. Our planes couldn't fly. Our Army lacked 
volunteers and morale. The nuclear balance was tipping, and our 
intelligence services were ravaged by firings and mismanagement.
  We were declining and the Soviet Union was rising. Some people were 
ready to give up. Others suggested the Presidency was too big and 
complicated a job for any single person. It seemed as if we had lost 
our nerve. But not Ronald Reagan. You see, he had a vision.
  In 1982, he explained his ``sick bear'' theory:

       The Soviet Empire is faltering because rigid centralized 
     control has destroyed innovation, efficiency and individual 
     achievement. . . . The Soviet dictatorship has forged the 
     largest armed force in the world . . . by preempting the 
     human needs of its people and, in the end, this course will 
     undermine the foundations of the Soviet system.

  With his customary humor, he had a memorable way of explaining this. 
He talked of a Soviet citizen who went to a Soviet bureau of 
transportation to buy a car. After paying and filling out all the 
forms, he is told by the seller of the car: Come back in 10 years to 
get your car.
  The man asks: In the morning or the afternoon?
  The official responds: Well, we are talking about 10 years from now; 
what difference does it make whether it is the morning or afternoon?
  The man replies: Well, the plumber is coming in the morning.
  Beneath the humor, President Reagan knew the serious truth. The 
Soviet Union was as inherently weak as the U.S. economy was inherently 
strong, a fact too few recognized. So when President Reagan's policies 
began to revitalize our economy, the confidence restored here was 
matched by new uncertainty over in the Soviet Union.
  Others have and will talk about the Reagan revolution here at home, 
but in terms of our victory in the cold war, the Reagan economic 
recovery was the first body-blow that eventually exorcized the demon of 
communism from the Soviet Union.
  The real trouble for the Soviet Union was not Reagan's policies, but 
Reagan's values, his courage, and his willpower. Before he was ever 
elected, President Reagan recognized that the Soviet Union was an 
``arsenal of anarchy'' throughout the world. It was a sickness of the 
human condition, he said. And President Reagan was never afraid to do 
that which so many leaders lack the courage to do: look at evil and 
call it by its name. In this regard, Reagan was like Churchill. Reagan 
was the nemesis of communism, just as Churchill was of nazism. He 
understood the evil that communism represented and what it would do if 
unchecked.
  Interestingly, Reagan's understanding of this evil did not begin with 
the fate of millions, but of just one. In May of 1975, a 5-year-old boy 
fell into the Spree River, which divided then-Communist East Berlin 
from free West Berlin. As firemen from West Berlin--firemen, not 
soldiers--started to go to the boy's rescue, an East German patrol boat 
barred their entry into East German waters. The boy drowned.
  The mayor of West Berlin described that refused rescue as ``an 
incomprehensible and frightful act, placing political considerations 
before the saving of a human life.'' But for Reagan, it was the sad 
personification of a harsh and enduring reality: Communism is a system 
where every human life is sublimated to the ruthless needs of the 
state.
  Focused on the value of a single human life, Ronald Reagan looked 
across the globe and saw 600 million people living like slaves under 
the Communist lash. He did not mince words or deeds. He dubbed the 
Soviet Union the ``evil empire,'' a description brutally accurate, yet 
offensive to the tender sensibilities of most of the media and 
intelligentsia here at home. He called for a massive defense increase--
``peace through strength,'' he called it--and some even in his own 
Cabinet opposed it.
  In the face of criticism, Reagan strengthened our defense. He quoted 
Demosthenes in dismissing the Soviets' empty assurances of their good 
intentions on arms control:

       What sane man would let another man's word rather than his 
     deeds tell him who is at war and who is at peace with him?

  He then translated that demand into a Russian saying of no uncertain 
words--doveryai, no proveryai. In Russian, that means ``trust but 
verify.''
  Ronald Reagan did not have timid dreams. He wasn't interested in 
slowing the decline of freedom or just holding its position steady; he 
wanted freedom to ring across the globe and communism to be relegated 
to the ash heap of history. So he went to the Berlin Wall to call out 
in front of that colossal affront to freedom: ``Mr. Gorbachev, tear 
down this wall.''
  He left Reykjavik when it was clear that Mr. Gorbachev was only 
bargaining for the end of the Strategic Defense Initiative, which 
matching, the Soviets knew, would spend them into oblivion. Margaret 
Thatcher notes that Reykjavik, deplored as a loss by Reagan's critics, 
particularly by the European and American intelligentsia, marked the 
beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.
  Of course, all the significant arms control reductions came after 
Reagan walked away from Reykjavik. But today, President Reagan is 
vindicated by some 600 million people who breathe freely because of the 
collapse of the Soviet empire.

[[Page 11871]]

  So what does it mean to liberate almost 600 million from fear and 
terror? It means 49 million Ukrainians will never again worry about a 
class purge.
  It means 17 million former East Germans will never be grabbed in the 
night by the STASI, the secret police of Eric Honneker.
  It means 38 million Poles will never fear General Jaruzelski 
attempting to crush the Solidarity free labor movement.
  It means 22 million Romanians will never know the tortured madness 
and human experimentation of Nicolae Ceausescu.
  It means 16 million in the Czech Republic and Slovakia will never 
hear tanks rumbling through their city streets to crush self-rule.
  It means tens of millions of former West Germans lead lives oblivious 
to the cosmic nervousness that gripped their mother's and father's 
generation.
  It means that 5 million in Finland no longer look across the Gulf of 
Finland with dread at 7.2 million people in Latvia, Estonia, and 
Lithuania, who lived in slavery as a warning to any neighbors who would 
dare dissent from the Soviet world view.
  In all, 600 million lives were emancipated by the victory in the cold 
war--the greatest liberation in the history of mankind, and hopefully 
for all time.
  Now, having said all of that, let me just mention how much I miss 
that sweet-hearted man, especially his sense of humor. I have been 
reminded from all the replayed speeches just how wonderful he was. For 
example, during an exchange with the press one day, he said:

       I have given my aides instructions that if trouble breaks 
     out in any of the world's hot spots, they should wake me up 
     immediately--even if I am in a cabinet meeting.

  It makes you wonder what President Reagan said to Saint Peter. 
Something witty, no doubt, and delivered with a warm smile.
  So now the long goodbye that Mrs. Reagan, his rock and strength and 
the love of his life, has spoken of so movingly is nearly complete. So 
I will close with President Reagan's own words in his courageous letter 
to the American people upon discovery of the disease that would 
ultimately bring about his fall. President Reagan said 10 years ago:

       When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will 
     leave the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal 
     optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will 
     lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America 
     there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

  God bless Ronald Reagan, an American hero.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, our Nation has come together this week 
to mourn the passing of former President Ronald Reagan. However 
anticipated his death may have been, it is still a profound loss for 
the Reagan family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them all and 
especially with former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
  However, knowing the kind of man Ronald Reagan was, knowing his 
relentless optimism and his sunny disposition, something tells me he 
would prefer that Americans spend this week remembering and celebrating 
his unique character and quality. ``America in mourning'' just does not 
seem Reaganesque because Ronald Reagan was always about ``morning in 
America.'' He always looked at the bright side of every situation or 
circumstance. I remember the story he told about the little boy who 
walked into a barn and encountered a huge pile of manure. The boy, who 
was not the least bit disappointed, broke into a big smile and said: I 
just know there is a pony in here somewhere. That was the Ronald Reagan 
we remember and admire.
  Iowans relate strongly to Ronald Reagan because his roots were our 
roots. He grew up next door in smalltown Illinois and spent 5 formative 
years in Iowa. In fact, this was where the young Ronald Reagan found 
his voice as the Great Communicator--first as a radio announcer at WOC 
Radio in Davenport and later at WHO Radio in Des Moines where he became 
one of the most popular sports broadcasters in the region. That was at 
the height of the Great Depression.
  He remembered this period with obvious fondness. In his 
autobiography, ``An American Life,'' he wrote:

       I spent four years at station WHO in Des Moines and they 
     were among the most pleasant of my life. At 22, I'd achieved 
     my dream; I was a sports announcer. If I had stopped there, I 
     believe I would have been happy the rest of my life.

  During his two terms in the White House, I met President Reagan on 
many occasions, and just about every time he would eagerly tell me he 
had been an announcer at WHO Radio. He regaled me with stories of how, 
sitting in his studio in Des Moines, he faked the play by play of the 
Chicago Cubs baseball game based upon wire reports as they came 
through. He seemed to have this fixed in his mind, that when he would 
see me, it was Tom Harkin and WHO. If this is Harkin, I am going to 
tell him about my time at WHO. It sort of became a thing that every 
time we met, he, again, would tell me some story about his time at WHO 
Radio. So that was my experience with the Reagan charm.
  We disagreed on many important issues, but you could not come into 
contact with this man and not feel his personal warmth and charm. In 
fact, I have been struck this week by the bipartisan affection for this 
former President. He was the genuine article, a man who embodied so 
many of the traits we hold dear as Americans. We remember his 
conviction, his courage, his lack of pretentiousness, and, yes, his 
optimism.
  On a personal note, I will always be grateful to President Reagan for 
signing into law my bill to establish the National Institute on 
Deafness and Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of 
Health in 1988. Quite frankly, his advisers urged him to veto the bill, 
but the President, who himself suffered from hearing loss, vetoed his 
advisers. He signed the bill into law. As a result, we have had a 
series of medical breakthroughs that are helping millions of Americans 
cope with hearing loss and communication disorders.
  Lastly, he and Nancy fought a heroic battle with Alzheimer's disease, 
and they did a great deal to raise the level of awareness and 
understanding of this terrible disease. I am especially proud of the 
courageous leadership Nancy Reagan has displayed in our efforts to find 
a cure for this deadly disease by her advocating a more expanded stem 
cell research program in America.
  As I said, the most fitting way to pay tribute to President Reagan is 
not so much to mourn his death as to celebrate his life and to honor 
his service to our country. As he lies in state at the Capitol this 
week, a thankful American nation will say farewell to a truly unique 
American.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
American legend, President Ronald Reagan. Like all Americans, I was 
saddened to learn of his passing over the weekend. I had left our 
Republican State convention at a time when it was moving across the 
floor that he might be in his final hours. Of course, all of us started 
reminiscing. It was a moment of great loss, but yet a recollection of 
his humor, his contagious optimism, and the historic accomplishments he 
made for our country really were comforting and engendered so many 
wonderful moments.
  Although I was not a Member of this body while he was in office, I 
have lived and served under his conservative principles and ideologies. 
He was in his political prime when I was just beginning in politics. 
During his first campaign, my husband Ray was chairman of the Texas 
Republican Party and spent many hours traveling with him across Texas. 
In 1992, I was honored to be temporary chair of the Republican National 
Convention in Houston, TX, when he delivered his very important message 
that turned out to be his goodbye to America. It was there that he left 
us with these final thoughts:

       Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I 
     hope it will record that I

[[Page 11872]]

     appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your 
     confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will 
     travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps 
     and opportunity's arm steadying your way. . . . May each of 
     you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, 
     and the hand to execute works that will make the world a 
     little better for your having been here. . . . My fellow 
     Americans, may every dawn be a great new beginning for 
     America and every evening bring us closer to that shining 
     city upon a hill.

  At a time of great despair in our Nation, Ronald Reagan came into 
office and restored hope. He was an unequaled champion of freedom, 
smaller Government, and market-oriented principles. His philosophies 
guided our Nation to become the economic and military superpower it is 
today. Of course, he was often called the Great Communicator for his 
ability to give a rousing speech that could both rally the troops and 
yet make an individual in the crowd of thousands feel as if they were 
having a heart-to-heart talk.
  Beyond his optimism, his confidence, and graceful charm was a man of 
action who implemented great change in the United States of America. 
Under his leadership, our Nation sowed seeds of prosperity and reduced 
regulatory burdens on small business. He lowered taxes for all 
Americans, including reducing the top marginal rate from an oppressive 
70 percent to approximately half that, offering new incentives to 
create wealth and jobs and rebuild America.
  He encouraged Americans to embrace their own destiny and realized 
that Government was not the answer to social ills; people were. Good 
people working in concert to better their communities and their fellow 
man could accomplish far more than bureaucracy, from his vantage point.
  Perhaps most important, President Reagan took the steps to ultimately 
win the cold war. He pursued peace through strength and achieved an 
overwhelming victory that was inconceivable to a generation that was 
raised with fallout drills and backyard bunkers.
  Who can forget the famous challenge he laid down when he cried, ``Mr. 
Gorbachev, tear down this wall''? They were indeed great, dramatic 
words but more importantly words of action. Two and a half years later, 
what once seemed a permanent divider through the heart of Berlin was 
torn down piece by piece, section by section, until it was reduced to a 
pile of rubble.
  Visitors to the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center 
in Washington, DC, can view a section of that wall donated by the 
people of Berlin in honor of the President and in recognition of his 
leadership. The segment, which is over 9 feet high and weighs almost 3 
tons, is from a section of the wall near the Brandenburg Gate where 
President Reagan issued that challenge. It stands as a stark reminder 
of the great shift in global politics that spread freedom in Europe and 
encouraged new generations to pursue democracy.
  Today, we again find ourselves in a fight for freedom. This 
generation, like their World War II grandparents and cold war parents, 
has been called to stand and fight for freedom. Today, we are grappling 
with a new threat: global terrorism, an enemy with no borders, no 
uniforms, no respect for traditional rules of war, and more importantly 
no respect for human life.
  World War II took bitter years of fighting and sacrifice. The cold 
war took decades of dedication and patience. This battle against 
terrorism requires all that and more. The question is: Will our 
generation meet the test? Will we have what it takes to win the peace? 
I believe we do. I believe the strength, perseverance, and patriotism 
that Ronald Reagan embodied will help see us through.
  In 1987, he addressed a joint session of Congress saying:

       Let it never be said of this generation of Americans that 
     we became so obsessed with failure that we refused to take 
     risks that could further the cause of peace and freedom in 
     the world.

  Since learning of his passing last weekend, elected officials, former 
Cabinet members, and newspapers across the world have been penning 
eulogies, remembrances, and tributes to the beloved President.
  James Baker, his former Chief of Staff and Treasury Secretary:

       President Reagan restored America's source of pride and 
     confidence in itself. He was a wonderful person to work for 
     and a truly great President. His willingness to stick to his 
     principles changed the world.

  Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher:

       He will be missed not only by those who knew him, and not 
     only by the nation that he served so proudly and loved so 
     deeply, but also by the millions of men and women who live in 
     freedom today because of the policies he pursued. To have 
     achieved so much against so many odds and with such humor and 
     humanity made Ronald Reagan a truly great American hero.
  Secretary of State Colin Powell, who served as his National Security 
Adviser, said:

       President Reagan fueled the spirit of America. His smile, 
     his optimism, his total belief in the ultimate triumph of 
     democracy and freedom, and his willingness to act on that 
     belief, helped end the Cold War and usher in a new and 
     brighter phase of history.

  Mikhail Gorbachev, once Reagan's adversary, called him:

       A true leader, a man of his word and an optimist . . . He 
     has earned a place in history and in people's hearts.

  Finally, his Vice President, later our President, George H.W. Bush, 
has been giving interviews about how much fun he was and how they had 
lunch every week together and sometimes they would talk substance, 
sometimes they would talk policy, and sometimes they would just have a 
good time. They were very close, and yet he never lost that laser beam 
focus on the big issues, the things that really mattered that would 
move us one step toward the peace through strength that was his guiding 
principle.
  Indeed, his lasting place in the hearts of all Americans has been 
evidenced by the outpouring of love and admiration that we have seen 
across the Nation and around the world. Ronald Reagan was a leader who 
touched people with his words, inspired them with his actions, and led 
by his example.
  On November 5, 1994, nearly a decade ago, President Reagan announced 
to the world that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, the 
illness that would ultimately take his life. His poise and hopeful 
spirit, even in the face of the heartbreaking years ahead, were 
remarkable. He said:

       . . . Let me thank you, the American people, for giving me 
     the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. 
     When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will 
     leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and 
     eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that 
     will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for 
     America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank you, 
     my friends. May God always bless you.

  Standing by his side through good times and bad, his beloved wife 
Nancy, a beautiful woman, very slight in stature but strong as steel. 
Theirs was a partnership in every respect and one of the great love 
stories of our time. Ronald Wilson Reagan was a great President. He 
left an indelible impression on our country. As we say farewell, our 
thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and his family. We thank them and 
we thank the Lord that he gave us Ronald Reagan at a time when our 
country needed him the most.
  I yield the floor, and I 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. SUNUNU. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from New Hampshire.
  Mr. SUNUNU. Madam President, as Americans gather in our Capitol and 
across the country to remember and pay tribute to President Ronald 
Reagan, we have been provided a very special opportunity to reflect on 
his great achievements as our Commander in Chief, as well as the 
tremendous personal strength which he brought to the Oval Office.
  But as we salute President Reagan for his leadership, his integrity, 
and his vision, I am struck by the very personal nature of so many of 
these

[[Page 11873]]

memories and stories. Whether here in Washington or out across the 
country, whether it is a U.S. Senator or a teacher in a small school, 
it seems that so many of these recollections begin with phrases such 
as, ``I remember seeing him during his first visit to our State,'' or 
``I shook his hand when he visited our factory,'' or ``I recall a story 
that President Reagan loved to tell,'' or even ``because of Ronald 
Reagan, I chose to run for office.''
  These recollections are enormously personal, but I think they are a 
testament to the way he touched people in a very deep and unique way. 
He affected the lives of millions of people in America and around the 
world in countless encounters. Many of these encounters may have been 
for only a moment or two in a life that spanned decades, but his gift 
was in his ability to make a strong connection that had real power, the 
power to bridge generations, the power to last a lifetime, and the 
power to change a life as well.
  We remember his touch, his smile, and his encouragement, not simply 
because when he walked into a room Ronald Reagan conveyed a great 
personal warmth. That was certainly special in and of itself, and 
something that anyone who had the chance to meet him or see him in 
person would always remember, but it was because this personal 
connection conveyed a sense of purpose, a sense of kindness, and an 
enormous love for public service. That was the power of the Great 
Communicator, the power of the personal connection that he made.
  I consider this the greatest tribute of all. Despite the myriad and 
extraordinary legislative and foreign policy victories of President 
Reagan such as cutting taxes and reforming the code, rebuilding our 
Nation's defenses, turning back the Soviets in Afghanistan, or leading 
the West to a lasting victory in the cold war--despite the enormous 
substance of these achievements, Ronald Reagan, in the end, is not 
remembered first and foremost as a clever politician with great 
machinations of political strategy or hardball political tactics. 
Instead, the descriptive words that we heard here and across the 
country over and over again are integrity, character, courage, and 
leadership. These are qualities that transcend politics and qualities 
that transcend time. They are qualities that inspire the young and 
comfort the aged. They are the qualities of heroes.
  Ronald Reagan was fond of describing the heroes he saw in audiences 
at every speech he made or heroes he would see as he traveled across 
the country in every corner of America and coming from every walk of 
life. He saw in these men and women the very strength of character, 
courage, integrity, and leadership that he knew made our country unique 
and which kept our country prosperous and free. But by bringing these 
very same qualities to the Oval Office and drawing on them time and 
time again to guide our Nation through demanding and even dark times, 
he left a legacy that shined like the city on a hill which he knew 
America could be and would again become. It is a heroic legacy, and it 
is the legacy of a great American.
  Thank you, Madam President.
  I 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. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hagel). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I join with my colleagues in paying 
profound respects to our late President Ronald Reagan, and I do so with 
a deep, deep sense of humility.
  It is interesting, I walked into my reception room just the other 
day. No matter how long one is around here, I think you sort of have to 
go back and refresh your recollection as to what you put up in your 
reception room, and I found six different photographs of myself with 
the good fortune to be in the presence of our former great President.
  I think back over my 26 years in the Senate, having had the privilege 
of working with all the Presidents in that period of time and, prior 
thereto, those Presidents when I was in the Department of Defense. 
Again, I say with a deep sense of respect and humility, I believe it is 
clear in my mind that I had the greatest opportunity to work with 
President Reagan, and probably had more opportunities to be with him in 
a professional capacity than any other President.
  I was ranking for a period of time on the Armed Services Committee 
and in every way supported him in his remarkable vision to build and 
restore the Armed Forces of the United States, which buildup, in my 
judgment, was a major contributor, if not the major contributor, to the 
eventual demise of the Soviet Union.
  There are several pictures of when he visited my home, which was a 
farm in Virginia, a farm in an area where I grew up in the summers as a 
very young man. He loved coming down to the farm. My farm was adjacent 
to the home of former President Kennedy, and the owner at that time was 
Bill Clements, who was a former Deputy Secretary of Defense. I served 
under him as Secretary of the Navy. He and I were very close friends. I 
introduced him to that countryside, and he bought the Kennedy home, 
which is a very small, modest home, reconstructed, so to speak, and 
enlarged by President Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, his lovely, dear 
wife.
  President Ronald Reagan and Bill Clements set it up so he could come 
down there and spend some quiet downtime. And he loved to ride horses. 
In those days, I had a pretty good collection of horses, and I was 
happy to share them with him on occasion. He rode around on my farm. I 
certainly enjoyed being with him on several occasions. I have one of 
the pictures of the two of us riding together.
  I mention that because in that informal setting when there was just 
the two of us riding horses--I remember one time Mrs. Reagan was with 
us--this particular time I remember very well. We rode high up on the 
hill on the back of the farm. The hill has a vista down into the valley 
of Virginia. We checked the horses and began to talk about his great 
admiration for Stonewall Jackson and the various campaigns Jackson had 
up and down that valley during the Civil War.
  I was so impressed with his remarkable knowledge of the facts of that 
period of history, and in later years, in other discussions with him, 
again he would frequently make reference to the history of the United 
States. His knowledge was really second to none. He had a magnificent 
command of American history.
  But on this particular day, he reflected on a little self-deprecating 
humor, which he was very good at. He told me when Pearl Harbor 
occurred, he was a lieutenant in the Army Reserve Cavalry, again 
because he loved horses, he loved to ride. He promptly went down, Pearl 
Harbor Day or the day after, whatever the case may be, and said: I want 
to be activated. And sure enough, he was eventually activated. He 
wanted to take, as we say in the horse world, the bit in his teeth and 
charge--``Send me right away out to the front.''
  I remember he gestured with his hand. But, no, they sent him to an 
old cavalry post, which was down in one of the Indian territories, and 
he laughed and joked and said: When we put those posts out there, the 
primary thing was to secure the settlers and to hopefully strike a 
peaceful balance with the Indians and make life such that those 
territories could be developed.
  But he said: I did a little homework--as he always did--before I went 
to this cavalry post and studied who the commanding officer and the 
other officers were.
  Well, in those days, the custom in the military, particularly the 
Army, was that when a soldier reported, perhaps with his wife, whatever 
the case may be, the commanding officer would have them over to pay 
their respects, to get to know each other as soon as they arrived on 
the post. In the old days with the covered wagons, it was a long 
journey. By the time they reached their destination, they were pretty 
well exhausted--food and otherwise. So this was a chance to introduce 
them.

[[Page 11874]]

  Reagan described the evening with great humor. He said: I walked in 
and there was the little colonel. He was a rather short fellow. He was 
all dressed in his uniform, with his riding boots, his Sam Browne belt. 
I was there in my lieutenant's uniform. He greeted me very warmly. He 
looked at me.
  And President Reagan had a remarkable way of cocking his head. His 
body language was extraordinary. His walk, his mannerism, it was a 
great part of his character that I admired, how he conveyed so much 
feeling with just the way he would use his hands and his head, his 
stride. It emulated such tremendous confidence he had in himself.
  But anyway, the colonel said: Now, Reagan, where have I seen you? Do 
I know you?
  Lieutenant Reagan said: No, sir, we have never met.
  The colonel failed to guess. He circled back again and said: Look 
here, young man, I know somehow I have seen you. Let's figure out where 
that was. What do you do?
  And Lieutenant Reagan said: Well, sir, I am involved in making 
movies.
  Suddenly this colonel became silent. Then he said: That is where I 
have seen you. You were in that movie called ``Brother Rat,'' which was 
about the Virginia Military Institute, and that movie didn't exactly, 
in my judgment, properly characterize the magnificence of that 
institute. As a matter of fact, I think it reflected dishonor upon that 
institute. And I remember you were in that movie. Lieutenant, your duty 
on this post is over. I will transfer you.
  In due course the President said he was transferred off the post, but 
I mention that because those of us who had the opportunity to be with 
him, particularly in informal settings, remember so well the 
magnificence of this man, the lessons he taught each of us.
  Again, going back to those days in the buildup of the Soviet Union, 
he was very conscious of the fact that the Soviet Union was on pretty 
shaky financial status at that stage and that the cold war posed a 
threat to the United States--intercontinental missiles, the threat to 
the standard forces of NATO, the Warsaw Pact nations, all of which are 
now, save one, members of NATO.
  Those of us who worked in the Senate--I remember John Stennis and 
Barry Goldwater, Scoop Jackson, John Tower, to name but a few--formed a 
group to work with the President in a bipartisan way on trying to 
strengthen America such that we could send a strong signal to the 
world, particularly the Soviet Union, that we mean business. Don't ever 
entertain the idea of striking out against the free world, be it the 
United States or our NATO allies.
  And the rest is history. ``Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbachev.'' And 
that wall did come down. Those were extraordinary days I was able to 
share with him, and I say that with the deepest sense of humility. But 
I don't want to prolong my remarks.
  I do want to tell one other chapter. Just a few days ago I was a part 
of a delegation that went over to the Normandy 60th anniversary. 
Senator Akaka was with me and the distinguished Senator from New Jersey 
and his lovely new bride were with me. So there were three of us who 
had some experience in World War II, of the six here in the Senate. We 
spent a wonderful day at the ceremonies. But the next day we took time 
to go out to Pointe du Hoc. It was fascinating.
  There on June 6, 2004, I had been on that same spot of land 20 years 
before with Ronald Reagan. I remember the delegation. Strom Thurmond 
led it. Three of us went with him. Of course, Senator Thurmond had made 
a landing on the beaches on D-day. Other Senators, the Senator from 
Nevada, and Howard Cannon had likewise participated in the D-day 
landings. Of course, I was at that time the youngster, 17 years old, in 
that group back in the United States getting prepared to take our 
training and become replacements someday. That is all history. There I 
stood on that ground, and he had passed away within that 24-hour 
period.
  So I thought today I would read some of the remarks he made.
  I ask unanimous consent to print the entire speech, a very short 
speech, in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

    President Reagan's Speech in Normandy on D-Day 40th Anniversary

                              June 6, 1984

       We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied 
     peoples joined in battle to reclaim this continent to 
     liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a 
     terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in 
     the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was 
     enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in 
     Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought 
     against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human 
     history.
       We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore 
     of France. The air is soft, but forty years ago at this 
     moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, 
     and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the 
     roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June 
     1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and 
     ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of 
     the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these 
     sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The 
     Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns 
     were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop 
     the Allied advance.
       The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers--at the 
     edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine-guns 
     and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to 
     climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs 
     and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, 
     another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger 
     would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, 
     shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the 
     Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the 
     firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize 
     back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five 
     came here. After two days of fighting only ninety could still 
     bear arms.
       Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers 
     that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me 
     are the men who put them there.
       These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who 
     took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a 
     continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
       Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of 
     Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives 
     fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your 
     honor''. . .
       Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought 
     here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of 
     you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life 
     before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you 
     do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-
     preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What 
     inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at 
     you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith, and 
     belief; it was loyalty and love.
       The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was 
     right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a 
     just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the 
     next. It was the deep knowledge--and pray God we have not 
     lost it--that there is a profound moral difference between 
     the use of force for liberation and the use of force for 
     conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so 
     you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were 
     right not to doubt.
       You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's 
     country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, 
     because it's the most deeply honorable form of government 
     ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you 
     were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of 
     your countries were behind you.

  Mr. WARNER. I thought I would read part of this very moving speech. 
It starts midway in the speech and lays out the history of the brave 
men who participated in D-day landings, and in particular the Rangers.

       Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers 
     that were first thrust into the top of these cliffs. And 
     before me are the men who put them there.
       These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who 
     took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a 
     continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
       Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of 
     Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives 
     fought for life . . . and left a vivid air signed with your 
     honor.''
       Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought 
     here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of 
     you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life 
     before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you 
     do it? What compelled you to put aside the instinct for self-
     preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What 
     inspired all the men of the

[[Page 11875]]

     armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the 
     answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
       The men of Normandy had faith that they were doing what was 
     right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a 
     just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the 
     next. It was the deep knowledge--and pray God we have not 
     lost it--that there is a profound moral difference between 
     the use of force for liberation and the use of force for 
     conquest. You were there to liberate, not to conquer, and so 
     you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were 
     right not to doubt.
       You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's 
     country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, 
     because it's the most deeply honorable form of government 
     ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you 
     were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of 
     your countries were behind you.

  The Presiding Officer, with his distinguished military service, 
understands, as do I, those words. The vision that he had not only for 
America but the free world, the strength of his convictions, the 
strength of his actions--it reestablished the strength of the Armed 
Forces which today have carried on, since that speech, with missions in 
the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other areas of the world.
  It takes time to restructure and build up a military. I find this 
President is doing just that, President Bush. I am happy and privileged 
to be a part of the team that is working in the Senate to achieve that. 
As a matter of fact, the bill for the Armed Forces in 2005 is the 
current business before the Senate.
  Before I leave the speech, I was privileged, because of Senator 
Thurmond and the other Senators with me, we were not more than 15, 20 
yards from the President when he gave the speech, right on this little 
spit of land that I visited 2 days ago.
  And suddenly you saw the Secret Service men sort of break and go off 
and quickly perform the duties they have to protect the President. 
There was this figure which came up the cliff unexpectedly, 
unannounced, because there had been a reenactment with men of the Armed 
Forces currently on duty to scale the cliffs for all to see. So that 
part was over. Yet suddenly there appeared another individual who had 
scaled the cliffs and the Secret Service tackled him. I remember the 
President, always composed, stood there and looked at this scene. 
Suddenly, an aide went over and whispered in his ear and the President 
went over and grasped this man and gave him a hug. He was one of the 
original rangers who scaled that cliff. He wanted to show the President 
and the world that he was still able to do it. He had bits and pieces 
of his own uniform on.
  Last, what are the ways in which we can honor this great President? 
Our hearts are so filled with gratitude and a sense of deep remorse at 
his loss. But it was his wisdom and foresight that strengthened 
America's military, and I think that requires some special recognition. 
I don't have all the answers now. I will be happy to work with others.
  I am not trying to be the sole author of anything, but some thought 
has been given to the Department of Defense--and I went back last night 
and did a little research, and this morning I called the former 
Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, a very dear and valued friend, under 
whom I served as Secretary of the Navy, and we reminisced about our 
days and some of the initiatives he took. He mentioned one 
specifically. There was some thought about naming the Department of 
Defense building for President Eisenhower. After some very considerable 
thought, the decision was made not to do that. One of the main 
reasons--and I remember this very well--is that that building stands as 
a symbol of the bipartisanship that must be present as we work with the 
men and women in the Armed Forces. I strive to achieve that, as does 
the Presiding Officer and many others.
  I am proud of the committee on which I have served--Armed Services--
for 26 years, under a series of chairmen and ranking members. We have 
always tried to put partisanship aside and we have been successful. But 
it is important that the building be viewed as bipartisan.
  Therefore, I remember Secretary Laird saying the naming of the 
building was not, in his judgment, what we should do. He confirmed that 
this morning, and I shared that feeling. He said he conceived the idea 
of naming a corridor for General Eisenhower. There is a technical thing 
there. The corridor is named after him as a general of the Armed 
Forces, a five-star general. His picture in uniform and many other 
pieces of memorabilia are along the corridor by the office of the 
Secretary of Defense. Previous Secretaries of Defense have honored the 
commanders in chief, the Presidents. So there is a corridor set aside 
for the commanders in chief, with portraits of every President since 
George Washington. Five living Presidents are there. You have Ford, 
Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, President Clinton, and our current 
President Bush. All of their portraits are there. The way the 
Department of Defense has handled this in the past is to treat with 
equality the Presidents and their portraits, the recognition being 
bipartisan in nature in that building.
  We will have to put our minds together to see how best to do it. 
There is no question that Ronald Reagan gave a tremendous impetus to 
the concept of defending this Nation against missiles--missiles fired 
in anger or accidentally. Those things happen. He had the star wars 
concept. I was on the committee and we looked at this program. We began 
to do the initial work in the Congress to give support to the 
President's program. But eventually, from the standpoint of technology 
and costs, we looked at different ways to achieve our defense against 
missiles. It started way back under President Reagan when we put 
emphasis on this situation. Some of the thinking preceded President 
Reagan on how to defend this country against missiles. Today, we don't 
have a thing to interdict an intercontinental ballistic missile that 
would be fired in the direction of our 50 States. That is a separate 
matter.
  Therefore, I think we have to give a lot of careful thought and be 
ever mindful of how we recognize our commanders, with five still 
living, in terms of their contributions to the defense of this country. 
We will come up with an idea. I hope we can, in some way, appropriately 
recognize this great President for his extraordinary accomplishments in 
strengthening America.
  I conclude my remarks with the deepest sense of humility and 
gratitude toward the recollection, modest friendship, and the teachings 
I received from this great President.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The distinguished Senator from Delaware.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, today and this week, as we pause to 
reflect on the life of Ronald Reagan and his role in leading our Nation 
and the State in which I lived when I was in the Navy, I was thinking 
back and talking with my children this week about my first recollection 
of Ronald Reagan.
  My first recollection was when I was about their age, early in my 
teenage years, seeing him on television. I may have seen him earlier 
than that as a kid in the movies, but I do not remember. I remember 
fully--and the Presiding Officer is probably too young to remember 
this--a television show called ``Death Valley Days'' and watched later, 
I remember, a television show called ``GE Theater.'' He was the host 
and introduced each week's segment. My family would watch those shows, 
not religiously, but regularly. I enjoyed them as a kid growing up in 
Danville, VA.
  At the time, Ronald Reagan, who, I guess, was maybe in his fifties at 
that time, or maybe forties, had a reasonably successful career in 
motion pictures, certainly a lot more successful than any of us, except 
for former Senator Fred Thompson. But he had a reasonably successful 
career. We were in

[[Page 11876]]

this in-between place where television was coming of age and playing a 
role with respect to ``Death Valley Days'' and ``GE Theater.''
  I remember my first thoughts of him were that he was a nice-looking 
guy, a handsome kind of rugged fellow. He seemed to be amiable. He came 
across as amiable and exuded a certain warmth and also a sense of 
sincerity that came across clearly on that small television screen that 
we owned back in those days.
  I remember being surprised in 1964. I think I was 17 years old. I was 
about to enroll in Ohio State University. I was going to be a Navy ROTC 
midshipman. I was at the age of 17 a young Republican for Barry 
Goldwater. I do not know how I ended up on this side of the aisle. 
Churchill said: If you are young and not liberal, you don't have a 
heart; if you are old and not conservative, you don't have a brain. 
Somehow I ended up as a 17-year-old supporting Barry Goldwater.
  I remember watching the convention which was in San Francisco at the 
Cow Palace. Ironically, another one of our colleagues was there as a 
Goldwater supporter, too. She was there as a ``golden girl.'' Her seat 
is right behind me. It is ironic we both ended up where we are in the 
U.S. Senate. I remember watching on television the 1964 Republican 
Convention and actually watching the Democratic Convention that year.
  I remember being surprised to see Ronald Reagan speak and address the 
convention. I knew he had been a film star. I knew he played a role on 
these two television shows I watched as a kid growing up, but I had no 
idea. I heard he had been involved in the Actors Guild, sort of a labor 
union for actors, but I had no idea he was involved in politics to any 
extent and that he would end up with a major role at that convention 
speaking on behalf of Barry Goldwater.
  He came across in this speech a bit differently than he did in his 
other roles on television, but he did project a great deal of 
sincerity, a lot of conviction.
  He also suggested a good-naturedness and a certain warmth I have 
always found refreshing and enduring about him.
  We learned that evening, as we watched that speech, that this was a 
man who had some strong convictions and gave a powerful speech and one 
who got a lot of people to think about him as a future leader. Not long 
after that, he was elected Governor of California, served there for the 
most part with distinction and then ran against Gerald Ford for 
President, lost and came back a couple of years later, ran against 
Jimmy Carter and won.
  It is interesting, conventions were different then. The first 
convention I ever remember paying much attention to was in 1964. It was 
a convention with serious questions about who was going to be the 
President.
  We had the Republicans. Conservatives were supporting Barry Goldwater 
and we had the Rockefeller Republicans. There was a lot of give and 
take, and real primaries. It was hard fought right up until the 
convention.
  I remember in 1968 I was a supporter for Eugene McCarthy who was 
running for President. I respected both McCarthy and Goldwater because 
they were standup guys. They were willing to take tough positions and 
not mince their words. I respected them both for that. Conventions were 
different than they are today.
  Although I was impressed by the speech that then-citizen Ronald 
Reagan gave, I never imagined he would be Governor of California, and I 
certainly never imagined he would be President of the United States. I 
never imagined I would be a Congressman, Governor, or Senator, either. 
I am probably more surprised by that than I am about him ending up as 
Governor and President.
  As luck would have it, he ended up as President of the United States 
and I ended up here serving with our Presiding Officer, and that is 
something I enjoy very much.
  Before I was Governor, I served in the House of Representatives for 
10 years. Ronald Reagan was elected President in 1980; I was elected to 
the House in 1982. I had a chance to interact with him from time to 
time during limited opportunities as a Democratic Congressman. He had 
qualities I admired all those years ago when he was hosting those 
television shows. His warmth, his sincerity, his good humor, those were 
qualities he possessed in the real world off the TV screen.
  Sometimes the folks we see or admire on television and film or other 
venues do not turn out to be quite the same when we meet them in 
person. He was very much the same.
  While I did not always see eye to eye with him on environmental 
issues, for example, and I had concerns about the budget deficits we 
were starting to rack up, and questions about deploying space weapons, 
star wars, and the way we conducted our business in Central America, 
there was a lot he wanted to do and sought to do with which I did 
agree. He was an early proponent of welfare reform. He was a guy who 
believed work should pay more than welfare. We have all heard of the 
earned income tax credit. He was a major proponent of the earned income 
tax credit because he felt people who worked ought to be better off 
than folks who were on welfare.
  He presided over big tax cuts in the early 1980s, 1981, and later on, 
faced with ever-growing tax deficits, he presided over some of the 
largest tax increases that were adopted in our Nation's history.
  He was a staunch opponent of communism, but a fellow who could reach 
out not just across the aisle but across the world to Gorbachev to 
become friends, and they embraced one another at the end of their 
tenures as they together helped to change the world in a better way.
  I find in Ronald Reagan that he was someone who would stake out a 
position; he would adhere to that position with his convictions for as 
long as he could, and at the end, if he had to change, he would. He was 
willing to do that, but he did not back off easily or readily. He was 
willing in the end to compromise.
  In reacting to folks in my own State in Delaware this week who asked 
me for my reaction to what he was like, I said, well, whether or not 
you liked the man's policies, it was hard not to like the man.
  Since his death, there has been a fair amount of conjecture about 
what we should do to pay tribute to him and his memory. Some people 
have suggested we ought to rework Mount Rushmore and find a way to put 
his image on Mount Rushmore. We have had a few people suggest maybe 
Ronald Reagan's picture should be on the $10 bill instead of Alexander 
Hamilton. I heard our Republican leader suggest yesterday that maybe we 
should rename the Pentagon in honor of Ronald Reagan. I do not know 
that those are good or bad ideas. I have not given those a lot of 
thought.
  I ask we consider a couple of other legacies that might even be more 
important and more enduring. One of those deals with the disease that 
dogged him for the last years of his life, Alzheimer's disease, a 
disease my mom also suffers from. She lives in Kentucky. I visited her 
over the weekend. She does not remember much. Actually, she remembers a 
few things that happened a long time ago, but she does not have any 
recollection of Ronald Reagan and all of those years we watched him on 
television when I was a kid growing up.
  My mom is going to be 82 years this August and my hope is she will 
live to be as old as Ronald Reagan. I do not think that is likely, but 
that would be wonderful if it happened. My mom is one of 4 million 
people in the world today who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. It was 
something we saw the first signs of 5, 6, 7 years ago, and we knew 
where it was leading. Her mom suffered the same fate. Her grandmother 
had suffered the same fate as well.
  While there are roughly 4 million Americans today who suffer from 
Alzheimer's disease, by the year 2020 we are told there could be as 
many as 14 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease. It is 
a tough disease not so much for the person who suffers from it but 
certainly for their families and those who love them and who are unable 
to have the kind of relationship we once did.

[[Page 11877]]

  I know Senator Mikulski is going to be leading the effort, I think 
with Senator Bond, for us to focus anew as a Congress, as a Senate, on 
providing meaningful increases in funding to find a cure for 
Alzheimer's disease; not simply a way to treat the symptoms, but a way 
to stop it dead in its tracks. I commend them for their actions and I 
stand fully ready to support them. I hope others will as well.
  The other legacy I suggest that may be as important or we may be 
inspired to address and do something about other than dealing with 
Alzheimer's disease is civility. I am not the first person who has 
noticed this of late, but there has been a huge loss of civility not 
only in Washington, DC, but shortly after I heard of President Reagan's 
death I was flipping through the radio channels in my car and I came 
across one of these right-wing talk shows. There was pure vitriol 
coming out of the speaker on my radio. I find it hard to listen to that 
stuff so I turned it off. I find it hard to watch the television shows 
anymore because it seems there is no meaningful discourse; they are 
really shouting matches.
  Ronald Reagan, for whatever faults he may have had, was a civil 
person, he was a gentleman, and at a time when that kind of behavior 
characterizes too little of what not only goes on here but what takes 
place in politics throughout our country, he is a good role model in 
that the way he treated people was the way he would like to have been 
treated. It is a lesson that was good and meaningful then and it is one 
we can certainly take again today.
  I have heard our own leader, Tom Daschle, begin to speak of late of a 
new civility, and we need a new civility. We need some civility, not 
going through the formalities, but treating one another the way we 
would want to be treated; not just in this Chamber, not just in this 
Capitol, but throughout this country, even in a Presidential election 
year.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. FITZGERALD. Mr. President, as one of the two Senators from 
Illinois, I am very proud of Ronald Reagan and his contributions to 
this country. Ronald Reagan is the only American President who was, in 
fact, born in Illinois. Many people think of Abraham Lincoln as having 
been born in Illinois, but he was actually born in Kentucky and later 
moved there. Of course, I think there is no question that Ronald Reagan 
will join Abraham Lincoln as one of our Nation's greatest Presidents. I 
only want to say a few words about him.
  I didn't actually serve in the Senate when he was President. I didn't 
ever have the opportunity to get to know him. I did, however, get the 
opportunity to meet him once as a very young man, when I was about 20 
years old or so and he was campaigning for President in 1980.
  But my first real recollection of him came from watching his address 
on television in 1976 at the Republican National Convention. He had 
lost the primaries to incumbent President Gerald Ford but had 
nonetheless had a very strong showing. He gave a speech at that 1976 
convention that literally brought down the house and fired up the 
delegates. I remember watching that at home and thinking, What an 
outstanding leader. You could see that this man certainly still had a 
great contribution to make.
  He won against all the odds. All the pundits and many of the 
commentators dismissed Ronald Reagan. They thought he was too old. They 
thought he was too conservative to run and be elected President in 
1980. But he proved them all wrong.
  I think a pivotal moment came in 1980 during his primary elections. 
At that time he lost the Iowa caucuses and he had a lot of pressure on 
him to win the New Hampshire primary. Many of us will recall that New 
Hampshire primary debate where he grabbed the microphone as they tried 
to shut it off. He grabbed the microphone and said: ``Mr. Green, I paid 
for this microphone.'' He wanted his other opponents to be allowed the 
opportunity to speak at that debate, as opposed to just having a one-
on-one debate with George Bush, who later became his Vice President and 
succeeded him as President.
  I remember watching that Nashua, NH, debate in 1980 from the basement 
television room of my fraternity house in Hanover, NH, at Dartmouth 
College. I was very much paying attention to that primary because it 
was happening in New Hampshire where I was attending college. I will 
never forget seeing Ronald Reagan in that debate and his remarkable 
performance.
  Later, in 1980, I had the opportunity to meet him when he came to 
Illinois to campaign for a U.S. Senate candidate in October of 1980, 
about a month before Reagan was elected President. I was actually an 
intern on the campaign of a fellow by the name of Dave O'Neal who was 
running for the Senate in Illinois. He actually lost. But as an intern 
on that campaign, I had the opportunity to meet Ronald Reagan and to 
welcome him into the back room before we had the dinner in honor of 
Dave O'Neal.
  I will never forget Ronald Reagan. Everybody called him Governor at 
that time. That was the most recent office he had. They didn't call him 
President Reagan yet. But when he walked into the holding room, the 
bartender immediately told him: Governor Reagan, we have squeezed some 
fresh oranges for you. We have some freshly squeezed orange juice for 
you. Would you like some of this?
  Governor Reagan looked at him and said: I'll take it if you put a 
little vodka in that.
  I was struck immediately at the time by his charm and his sense of 
humor and his relaxed nature, even though he was just a few weeks out 
from the election day in what everyone thought would be a very close 
election with President Carter. But, of course, as we know, Ronald 
Reagan went on to win in a landslide.
  He had a remarkable career. He was an enormous source of inspiration 
to me as I was finishing college and going on to law school. I was very 
proud at the time to be a Republican and to have him as the leader of 
our party, but also to be an American and have him lead our country and 
represent us in the world. I thought he handled himself with incredible 
poise and dignity.
  His achievements are monumental. You will recall that he had few 
allies in Congress. The other party controlled both Houses of Congress 
while he was President. Yet he was able to work his will through 
Congress by calling upon the American people to lobby Congress for some 
of his important initiatives, such as lowering taxes. President Reagan 
succeeded in lowering the highest tax rates, which at that time were up 
to 70 percent. He dramatically lowered the tax rates and unleashed a 
flurry of economic activity that is with us today.
  He went on to achieve major arms control agreements, and also, with 
the threat of his willingness to spend whatever it took to defend our 
country--his will in that regard, his sheer will to succeed in 
defeating what he saw as an evil ideology, communism--in ending the 
cold war with the Soviet Union, he ultimately succeeded in doing that. 
No one has a greater claim on ending the cold war than Ronald Reagan 
and, as Margaret Thatcher has said, he did so without firing a single 
shot.
  I think one of his greatest accomplishments occurred in his second 
term, and that was the simplifying of the Tax Code. If you recall, we 
went for a time where we got rid of a lot of the Swiss cheese loopholes 
and deductions that are in our Tax Code. We dramatically simplified the 
Tax Code, collapsed the rates, and it held for a few years. We have 
gone back now and allowed all the special interests to fill up the Tax 
Code with all sorts of special interest loopholes and giveaways to 
politically connected interests. Sometimes I wish we were rereading 
what Ronald Reagan said at the time about the necessity of cleaning up 
that Tax Code.
  One of the most cherished treasures in the State of Illinois is the 
boyhood home in which Ronald Reagan grew up in the 1920s, in Dixon, IL. 
That home has been purchased and lovingly restored by a foundation and 
by members of the Dixon, IL, community. It is a

[[Page 11878]]

wonderful place for Americans who want to pay their respects to Ronald 
Reagan and his legacy, to go by and visit on Interstate 88 in Dixon, 
IL, just off Interstate 88. I certainly hope a lot more Americans who 
are interested in the history of Ronald Reagan will visit that home.
  Ronald Reagan himself went back to visit it, I believe, after he left 
the White House even. He has recounted many tales of his growing up 
there.
  He was actually born in Tampico, IL, in an apartment above a 
commercial building in downtown Tampico, and later moved to Dixon, IL. 
Some of his fondest memories are of growing up in Dixon, along the Rock 
River.
  Of course, many people will remember Ronald Reagan talking about one 
of his proudest accomplishments in life was actually saving 77 people 
from drowning over the 7 years that he was a lifeguard along the Rock 
River in Dixon, IL.
  If you go to Dixon, IL, you can see this wonderful small town that 
shaped Ronald Reagan, his character, his values, his common sense, his 
Midwestern way of thinking, of looking at the world. I don't think that 
ever left him.
  There is also an interesting story not many people are aware of, but 
President Reagan wrote about this in his biography. He graduated from 
Eureka College, about 130 miles south of Dixon, in Illinois. After 
graduating from college, he went back to Dixon and he applied for a job 
in the sporting goods department, I believe, at a Montgomery Ward store 
in Dixon, IL.
  Guess what happened. Montgomery Ward turned down Ronald Reagan for 
that job. That set him off in different pursuits, and he ultimately 
went to Iowa and became an announcer, did Cubs games from a regional 
radio station there. But he wrote in his biography he wonders what 
would have happened had he actually gotten that job at the Montgomery 
Ward store in Dixon, IL. He suspected he might never have left Dixon, 
IL.
  We need to thank somebody who failed to hire Ronald Reagan at 
Montgomery Ward in 1932, I think, because it was that little twist, 
that little turn in his life that turned out for the better, not only 
for him but certainly for our entire Nation and the world.
  I ask that we not forget the example of Ronald Reagan and his 
cheerful optimism about our country and our future. No one could 
communicate their thoughts as well as Ronald Reagan, in my judgment. I 
know of no equal he had in public service in terms of communicating 
with people. He was an inspiring leader.
  Ronald Reagan came to the presidency of a self-doubting nation, a 
nation more suspicious of its power than inspired by its possibilities. 
And he understood--as magnificently as any American leader--the 
restorative force of faith, of conviction, of pride. He was the Great 
Communicator, not because he mastered the sound bite, but because this 
midwestern man of 10,000 handwritten letters knew that words matter--
words with simple, self-evident integrity, words that reach into the 
vagueness of a volatile democracy and perfectly describe the essential 
goodness of our character.
  Ronald Reagan returned us to ourselves. He did not work miracles. But 
he emboldened us to see the grace of God in the destiny of our great 
Nation. He enabled us to hear the still, small voice in the clamor of 
great historical conflicts. He reminded us to treasure the simple 
miracles of life, laughter and love.
  This man, who survived into the 21st century, embodied as perhaps 
none other the panoramic sweep of America's 10th century. Reagan was 
born in the small town of Tampico, IL. It was 1911, the year of the 
first coast-to-coast airplane flight, a 49-day ordeal with 69 stops and 
16 crash landings. It was also the year of the first aircraft landing--
crude though it was--on a ship anchored in San Francisco Bay. A series 
of ropes stopped the aircraft. Ninety years later, on March 4, 2001, 
the United States christened the Navy's newest Nimitz-class aircraft 
carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, a 90,000-ton nuclear-powered fighting 
ship, and the pride of the most powerful navy in the world.
  Ronald Reagan fundamentally changed the face of American politics--
and profusely contributed his name to the new political lexicon. What 
American before or since Ronald Reagan has become the popular namesake 
for a theory of economics, a political and electoral sea change, and a 
decisive partisan crossover? I speak of Reaganomics, the Reagan 
Revolution, and Reagan Democrats.
  The man was that large. He had strong and distinct views which he was 
able to communicate with remarkable effectiveness. He had a 
irresistibly winning personality and was irrepressibly optimistic. 
Though the establishment of both political parties often ridiculed his 
beliefs, the people somehow always seemed to have faith and confidence 
in him. In fact, they loved as perhaps they have loved no other 
President in modern history.
  Conventional intellects and comfortable pundits were aghast when 
President Reagan spoke so freely of ``evil'' in the world. In a world 
where ``evil'' is neatly banished because it is too judgmental, the 
moral declarations of Ronald Reagan were inevitably revolutionary. The 
Great Communicator understood perfectly well that communication without 
a moral compass becomes all talk. And so we are the heirs of a more 
civilized and less menacing world because Ronald Reagan had the courage 
to maintain firm beliefs and to stand up for those beliefs.
  As a Senator from Illinois, I am proud to remark briefly and 
comparatively about another great son of Illinois, the only President 
to be elected from Illinois, Kentucky-born but Illinois-settled Abraham 
Lincoln, whom our history honors as few others. Lincoln and Reagan both 
grew up humbly and gained a natural comfort with people from all walks 
of life. They were both frequently underestimated by opponents who 
imagined themselves intellectually, culturally or socially superior. 
They both possessed an equanimity and fortitude that kept them serene 
while navigating treacherous waters. They both loved the United States 
of America. And they both cherished American freedom and staked their 
public lives on the resolute promotion of it--for Lincoln, against the 
forces of disunity and enslavement at home, and for Reagan, against a 
godless imperial tyranny abroad. I am proud to hail from the State of 
Illinois.
  When we finally measure the worth of a statesman, the words of 
political or ideological adversaries can speak volumes. And here Ronald 
Reagan--a statesman with many more converts than implacable enemies--is 
a shining beacon in his own shining city. When President Clinton 
announced in 1996 that ``the era of big government is over,'' it was 
homage to the durable influence--across the political landscape--of 
Ronald Reagan's faith in the American people. When Mikhail Gorbachev 
recently said of Ronald Reagan, ``he was sincere,'' he captured with 
fitting simplicity the worldwide power of the American dream in the 
hands of America's finest dreamer.
  Ronald Reagan stayed the course, throughout and after his presidency, 
until a progressive illness consumed him. Indeed, sliding irretrievably 
into forgetfulness a decade ago, Ronald Reagan remembered to say 
goodbye to his beloved American people. ``When the Lord calls me home, 
whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this 
country of ours and eternal optimism for its future,'' Reagan wrote. 
``I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. 
I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. Thank 
you my friends. May God always bless you.''
  May God rest his soul, and may God bless Nancy Reagan, who is also 
from Illinois, and all the Reagan children and their families.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). The Senator from Illinois.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I join my colleague from Illinois in 
paying tribute to the late President Ronald Reagan.
  Today the Senate passed by an overwhelming vote a resolution 
commemorating Ronald Reagan for his service to America and recalling 
his legacy.

[[Page 11879]]

  There has been a lot said on the floor about President Reagan. I come 
to this task with a little different perspective than some. Were it not 
for Ronald Reagan, I wouldn't be in the Senate today. I say that 
because I made three vain and futile attempts to be elected to public 
office. In 1982, I ran for the House of Representatives against an 
incumbent Republican Congressman. Were it not for the sorry state of 
the economy in Illinois after the first 2 years of President Reagan's 
Presidency, I would have lost. But because of the economy and the 
troubles faced at that moment in time, I was successful in my campaign 
against a long-time Republican incumbent Congressman.
  I will not mislead anyone before making these remarks. I will tell 
you that while a Member of the House of Representatives during the 6 
remaining years of President Reagan's Presidency, there were very few 
things I agreed with in reference to him. In fact, over 90 percent of 
the time we didn't see eye to eye. I had some very strong philosophical 
differences with President Reagan on economic policy, foreign policy, 
and many other things. But I will tell you this: He was an 
extraordinary person, and I think even those of us who disagreed with 
him politically respected him very much.
  I recall when I was elected in one of the largest new classes of 
Congressmen since Watergate, in 1982, that President Reagan and Mrs. 
Reagan invited all of the new Members of the House of Representatives 
and their spouses to come for a dinner at the White House. It was an 
amazingly heady experience to walk in as Congressmen-elect with our 
wives and shake hands with the President and Mrs. Reagan, realizing 
full well that most of the people in the room were new Democratic 
Congressmen who had been running against President Reagan and his 
policies. But he was gracious to a fault and could not have been more 
cordial to all of us who gathered that evening. One of my great 
memories of that period of time between the election and being sworn in 
was sitting there in the White House at this dinner hosted by President 
Reagan and Mrs. Reagan. At the same table was my Senate colleague, 
then-Congressman Mike DeWine, and his wife Fran, who had made the trip 
from Ohio for that special dinner with the Reagans and new Members of 
Congress days after she had given birth to a little baby girl, whom she 
brought to the same dinner in a basket which she had right next to the 
table. We have laughed about it all the time, because obviously after 
23 years that little girl has grown up to be a remarkable young woman.
  But those are some of the memories I have of President Reagan opening 
the door and welcoming in some new Congressmen who had spent months 
running against him and his policies.
  The same thing held true when it came to his State of the Union 
Addresses. I can remember so many different times when I marched to the 
House of Representatives' Chamber for the State of the Union Address by 
President Reagan. After a while I came to understand what the rules 
were. The rules were these: You didn't have a chance as a Democrat to 
say anything critical and be successful the night of President Reagan's 
speech. He had such a magical style and was so affable and friendly and 
approachable that after he concluded his State of the Union Address, 
the best for the loyal opposition was to wave and leave the stage 
because he was so good. He was one of the best. We did learn that after 
24 or 48 hours had passed, perhaps a closer look at what he said could 
lead to some constructive criticism. But we knew right off the bat when 
President Reagan took to the floor of the House of Representatives for 
the State of the Union Address and walked up those stairs, the best 
thing the loyal opposition could do was to be quiet.
  There was another aspect of Ronald Reagan which I miss so much. It is 
part of the political life which unfortunately we don't have enough of. 
He was President in an era of some great people--Tip O'Neill, Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, and Bob Michel, Republican minority 
leader from Illinois. They brought to this business of politics a 
certain humanity and civility which we have lost almost completely.
  I can recall the bitter battles we had on the floor of the House of 
Representatives with President Reagan over very contentious issues and 
the debates going on for days. Ultimately, someone would prevail, and 
many times it would be President Reagan and his position. Without fail, 
when it came to those critical votes, Tip O'Neill, then Speaker of the 
House, the leading Democrat, would pick up the phone, call the 
President and congratulate him. It was a gesture, but it was an 
important gesture to say that, frankly, we have both given it a good 
fight; the decision has been made; now let us move on to the people's 
business.
  President Ronald Reagan understood that, Tip O'Neill understood that, 
and Bob Michel understood that. I wish our generation of leaders could 
understand that more, that even though we disagree, and disagree with a 
great deal of conviction, we should try to look for that human side we 
can all share. I think time and again President Reagan did that. I 
commend him for it.
  Even though you have disagreed with him during the course of the 
debate, when it was all over, you knew you would be treated with 
respect.
  Time and again, my wife Loretta and I would go down to the White 
House for the Christmas party, the barbeques and picnics. It was always 
a warm welcome and greeting, even though the President was of a 
different party where there were very serious differences.
  I would like to reflect, too, for a moment on the former First Lady, 
Nancy Reagan. She has been a pillar of strength since it was announced 
that the late President was suffering from Alzheimer's; 10 years 
watching the man she loved the most of any in the world slip into 
darkness. She said in a few interviews since President Reagan passed 
away, the worst part was the advancing years and not being able to 
share memories anymore because President Reagan was inflicted with 
Alzheimer's disease. That takes a toll.
  We have had friends who have gone through it. It takes a special 
commitment and sacrifice to make it through that terrible illness. My 
heart goes out to Nancy Reagan and her family, all of them, for what 
they have endured for 10 years, standing by the former President while 
he was afflicted with this disease.
  My colleague Senator Carper mentioned earlier that many people are 
now talking about tributes to President Reagan, and he is deserving. 
Despite my differences with him politically, I voted for the renaming 
of the Washington National Airport in his memory. I thought that was 
appropriate for someone who had served our Nation as President of the 
United States. Now people are trying to think of other things they can 
do. They are kind of upping the ante: Well, you know, not the 50-cent 
piece, maybe the $10 bill; no, maybe Mount Rushmore. I would like to 
suggest to them the most enduring legacy for this President would be to 
help others in his name. I can't think of anything more important to 
ask for when the time comes for those to consider what to do in his 
memory than the contribution suggested by our colleagues Senators 
Mikulski and Bond, one which I think is worthy of our immediate 
consideration. They called for the establishment of the Ronald Reagan 
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2004. They believe we are near a 
breakthrough in treating Alzheimer's and they want us to put special 
attention and special resources and special efforts in that regard. 
That not only will serve the memory of President Reagan and his 
courageous family who stood by him, but it will also serve to help 4\1/
5\ million Americans inflicted with Alzheimer's disease today, and 
their husbands, wives, children, and their loved ones who stand by 
helplessly at their side as they drift into the darkness of this 
dreaded disease. That would be such a great tribute to President 
Reagan. I hope we can do it on a bipartisan basis with the civility and 
humanity which President Reagan demonstrated during the course of his 
life.

[[Page 11880]]

  I might also add that the First Lady's commitment to stem cell 
research is an exceptional statement on her part. She has broken with 
some members of the Republican Party on this issue. I know her position 
is controversial, even within this administration, but she understands, 
as many do, that unless we are committed to medical research, including 
stem cell research, the chances that we can successfully deal with 
Alzheimer's, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and other terrible 
afflictions will be diminished. I salute the First Lady and I hope we 
will, in recognition of her commitment and in memory of President 
Reagan, also decide we will step forward in this critical area of 
medical research involving stem cells.
  I am honored that President Reagan was a friend, at least in passing, 
on a political basis. I am happy he came from Illinois and happened to 
believe that perhaps his Midwestern roots might have helped him in his 
various careers. It certainly helped him serving this country as 
President.
  He had an amazing record of victories. I know because I was on the 
losing end of a lot of those campaigns. I campaigned for his opponents 
with little or no success. He carried 44 States in the first election 
and 49 States in the second. Probably few Presidents in history have 
had a mandate that substantial when they were reelected. It is a 
tribute to the fact that America loved that President, America wanted 
Ronald Reagan to serve, and he served our Nation so well.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, over the past few days, more than 100,000 
Americans have stood in line in California for 12 hours or even more to 
pay their respects to President Ronald Reagan. This great show of 
respect and affection will be repeated during the coming days in 
Washington.
  This overwhelming outpouring cannot be explained by merely citing the 
traits for which he was so well-known--his likability, his wit and 
optimism, his courage when attacked by a would-be assassin's bullet or, 
at the end of his life, by a devastating disease, or even his skills as 
the Great Communicator. Americans are standing in line because of 
President Reagan's ideas and the principles and convictions that gave 
those ideas their power: The God-given right to freedom, responsibility 
for one's own actions, and charity toward others--the very ideas that 
are the foundation of this great Nation were the foundation of 
President Reagan's character.
  President Reagan became President at a time when the world had begun 
to question the strength of that foundation. It was a time when 
freedom, balanced by personal responsibility and justified by charity, 
was in danger of becoming just one of the many ways in which human 
society could be organized. Rather than appease or accommodate 
communism, he confronted it and exposed its moral bankruptcy.
  President Reagan emboldened freedom-loving people everywhere--those 
behind the Iron Curtain and those in danger of being enveloped by it--
and gave them faith and strength. He believed, as he said in his first 
inaugural address, that no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so 
formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. He was 
right.
  President Reagan became President at a time when America had begun to 
question its place in the world and the values upon which this great 
Nation was built. He opened the gate of the American spirit. He tore 
down the wall of doubt.
  Ronald Reagan was a great communicator because he had something great 
to communicate. He was the right man for his time; and now he belongs 
to all time.
  He will be missed, but President Reagan's ideas will always be part 
of the American experience.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CRAIG. 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. CRAIG. Mr. President, I have, for the last day, listened to a 
good number of my colleagues reminisce about the late President Ronald 
Reagan, many of them quoting from his speeches, many of them quoting 
from books written about him, about his phenomenal life, and his 
phenomenal presence in this city as one of our Presidents. So I would 
guess that by this moment nearly everything that can be said about 
Ronald Reagan has been said but, then again, not everyone has said it.
  I find myself in that situation in these moments just prior to the 
adjournment of the Senate and hours before a coffin bearing President 
Ronald Reagan will arrive at the Rotunda of our great Capitol.
  What I might do for just a moment is reminisce about a couple of 
personal experiences I had the privilege of having with the late 
President that, to me, speaks volumes about the gentleman's personalty, 
his style of Presidency, and what he meant to my State of Idaho.
  Idaho, by its conservative character and its independence, was always 
a strong Reagan State. It spoke out loudly for the President. It voted 
in large numbers for the President. There was never a question where 
Idahoans would be when it came to supporting Ronald Reagan for his 
Presidency.
  My relationship with him began at the very time he came to 
Washington. I was a freshman in the House of Representatives in the 
winter of 1981. Both President Reagan and I were elected at the same 
time. I was one of those of the large class of 54 Republican freshmen 
who entered the U.S. House, many of them because of the strength of 
Ronald Reagan, and we all became known as ``Reagan babies.'' I suspect 
that is a title that at the age of 58 I still bear with some pride. 
Because we came at a time when we had a President who was speaking of 
change; and the American people were wanting it, demanding it, and his 
Presidency embodied it.
  The situation I want to relate for the record this afternoon occurred 
during the first budget process of the Reagan administration. David 
Stockman, a Congressman, had just been appointed Director of OMB. Of 
course, the major tax cut that our President was so well known for--
that began to stimulate the economy and turn the American people back 
into entrepreneurialism--was all at hand. But there were deficits. So 
David Stockman came up with the idea that we should sell off our 
strategic minerals stockpile.
  Well, that is something you do not hear talked about hardly at all 
today, but following World War II, Congress had passed legislation 
saying that we should stockpile silver and magnesium and titanium and 
zinc and a variety of other metals in case we got in another war, so we 
would have these supplies of metals available for industrial purposes.
  By 1981, it was largely determined on the part of the Reagan 
administration and David Stockman that they were just not necessary any 
longer. It was probably true that some Members of Congress believed the 
same thing. So when the announcement of the sale of these stockpiles 
became public--and the money then from their sale was to return to the 
Treasury, and that money would offset some of the deficits that might 
occur as a result of the tax cuts--the silver market plummeted. The 
price of silver on the world market dropped because the large supply of 
silver being held by our Government was going to enter the market at 
some point. So the market out there was beginning to adjust and prices 
fell.
  Because Idaho at that time was a primary silver producer, not only 
did prices fall in Idaho, but when they fell, many of our mines closed. 
There were 400 or 500 miners--men and women--out of work in the Silver 
Valley of Idaho, known as the Coeur d'Alene

[[Page 11881]]

mining district, that was in part a direct result of this announcement.
  I was a freshman Congressman. That was my congressional district. I 
had people out of work. This was largely still an old line labor 
Democrat stronghold in north Idaho, and the hue and cry was very loud. 
These men and women were out of work because of President Ronald 
Reagan.
  I had thought that if Ronald Reagan really understood the impact of 
what he was doing, he might change his approach. But because it was a 
directive from OMB, because it was a part of the budgetary policy of 
this administration, my small voice simply was not getting heard.
  I appealed one evening in a conversation to the then-Secretary of the 
Interior, Jim Watt. I said: Secretary Watt, how do I get to the 
President? How do I tell my story, our story, Idaho's story, about this 
particular problem?
  He said: Well, Larry, you have to get to the President directly. 
Obviously, David Stockman is not interested in hearing your story. The 
sale of the strategic metals, the sale of the stockpiles, is his idea. 
He's not going to be your champion. So if you're ever down at the White 
House, see if you can get the President's ear.
  Well, freshmen Congressmen do not often go to the White House. But 
because of the key tax votes that were coming up, I got invited to the 
White House to visit with Ronald Reagan. I had presented on one, small 
sheet of paper, on one side, a very brief, clear explanation of the 
impact of the sale of the silver stockpile out of the strategic metals 
stockpile on the people of Idaho. I put it in an envelope, and wrote 
across it ``To President Ronald Reagan,'' and stuck it in my pocket.
  Now I am down at the White House and conversations go forward. At the 
end of the conversation, I say: Mr. President, here is a note I would 
like to have you read. It's important to my people in Idaho. By your 
actions, you have put 500 Idahoans out of work.
  He said: Really?
  I said: Yes, selling off the strategic metals.
  He smiled and said: We are?
  Well, that did not surprise me. The longer I am here in Washington, I 
know not everybody knows every detail about everything. That is why you 
hire and have around you competent people, and Presidents are certainly 
no different than many of us.
  He kept the note. I saw it go into the breast pocket of his suit 
coat. A day and a half or two later, I got a call from the White House 
saying: Congressman Craig, can you come down and visit with the 
President about your problem in north Idaho and the sale of the silver 
stockpile?
  My, I was impressed. I went to the White House. There in the Oval 
Office was the President and David Stockman, the Director of OMB, the 
man who had established the policy of selling off the stockpiles to 
bring money to the Treasury. We discussed it at length. In fact, David 
Stockman and I had a small debate in front of the President about the 
pros and cons of doing so.
  What I said at that time was: Mr. President, I am not opposed to you 
selling off the stockpile of silver, but it's how you are approaching 
it, and how you are approaching it has had a dramatic impact on the 
market. As a result of that, it has dropped the price of silver 
worldwide, and men and women in Idaho are now out of work.
  He said: Well--in his inevitable way--let me think about that.
  A week later, there was a very small but very important announcement 
that no longer would there be any more sale of the silver stockpile, 
and, of course, the prices came back and the men and women in north 
Idaho went to work.
  What is the message? The message is that when this President, Ronald 
Reagan, understood the impact of an action--if it was hurting people or 
impacting them adversely, or if it was doing something that was against 
his market ideas and his philosophical belief in limited government and 
that government should not be the arbiter nor should government 
infringe upon the well-being of citizens--he would make changes. And he 
did. And of course, I have told that story many times in Idaho. It was 
very clear to Idahoans that the market changed because Ronald Reagan 
saw what he was doing or saw what his administration was doing and was 
willing to make a very important change to impact people's lives.
  Lastly, I remember coming to the U.S. Senate in 1990, certainly after 
President Reagan had left this city. The first office I took in the 
Hart Building had on a conference wall a very large map of the world. 
It filled the whole wall, and it still had the Socialist Republics of 
the Soviet Union written across that map. That will tell you how old it 
was in 1990. I remember at the time looking at that map and saying: 
Thank you, Ronald Reagan. You have made that map of the world obsolete. 
You as the President--not single-handedly but certainly by the force of 
your beliefs and by the force of your efforts--have made the Soviet 
Union obsolete in such a way that it simply withered and died, almost 
without a whimper. And that, of course, is one of the great legacies of 
our President, and many of our colleagues have spoken about that.
  We are not going to let revisionist historians suggest that the 
Soviet Union would have crumbled anyway. There was a reality they had 
to face. The reality was Ronald Reagan and the national resolve of this 
country in the cold war, built on the strength and the beliefs of a 
great President by the name of Ronald Reagan, that we not only could 
overcome communism but we would, in essence, arm ourselves and build a 
military ready and capable of defeating the Soviet Union. That 
combination of efforts, put together with his willingness to deal with 
Gorbachev and others, obviously changed the dynamics of world politics 
and the environment I grew up in as a child, known as the cold war.
  I will attend the ceremony in the Chamber tonight, and I will mourn 
the loss of Ronald Reagan. But more importantly, I will celebrate. I 
will celebrate a great President, a President who came to our country's 
call at the right time in our history, to lead us with optimism and 
enthusiasm and vision in a way few Presidents have. So while I will 
certainly miss the presence of the man, I celebrate his record and the 
history that will be written about him.
  I send my prayers and the prayers of my wife Suzanne to Nancy Reagan 
and all of the Reagans. They stand with a great legacy they are 
obviously very proud of, as we all are as Americans.
  To Ronald Reagan I say: Thank you, you built a place in history that 
is well deserving of the actions you took as President of the United 
States.
  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. LAUTENBERG. 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. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I wanted to be sure to have an 
opportunity to make some comments about President Reagan before we went 
out of session tonight. I will take the opportunity to do so right now.
  I join with my colleagues, so many of whom have already spoken, in 
tribute to our Nation's 40th President, Ronald Reagan. My first term in 
the Senate coincided with the last 6 years of his Presidency. I had the 
opportunity to work with him on several occasions. As someone who came 
from modest beginnings and a working-class family, I understood the 
fact that he rose from his humble beginnings to become one of the 
crucial world leaders. He was respected greatly. I had a chance to work 
with him on several occasions, not the least of which was something as 
simple as raising the drinking age to 21 across the country, thereby 
saving thousands of families a year from having to mourn the loss of a 
young person in their household. The bill was signed in the morning at 
the White House, and I was pleased I was able to return from a 
convention in San Francisco in time to be there and share those good 
moments

[[Page 11882]]

with President Reagan and then-Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth 
Dole.
  We did a lot of good for families across America with that 
legislation, and also offered support to say to those who would pollute 
our environment, ``If you pollute, you must pay to clean it up,'' and 
that was Superfund. It had a very important beginning in those days.
  President Reagan is appropriately being remembered for his 
overpowering sense of optimism and rock-solid faith in the fundamental 
goodness of America. Many of his actions stand as examples of ideas 
that we ought to consider as we carry out our responsibilities in 
Government. There was no doubt that he was the Great Communicator, and 
his ideas and his words will long be remembered.
  I just returned yesterday from the D-day celebration and 
commemoration in Normandy. No one will ever forget President Reagan's 
speech 20 years ago at Normandy commemorating the 40th anniversary of 
the D-day invasion; it will be permanently etched in our memories. Or 
his poignant remarks when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, and 
how he helped America recover from that terrible national tragedy. Or 
who can forget his insistence that helped break the iron grip of the 
Soviet Union on millions of people around the globe?
  President Reagan was known for his ideological zeal. But the 
interesting thing about him at the same time was that he ultimately was 
a pragmatist. Perhaps the clearest example of his pragmatic side is 
what happened after he pushed through a massive tax cut in Congress in 
1981. One thing that President Reagan disliked enormously was Federal 
budget deficits. He thought the idea of borrowing from future 
generations was truly repugnant.
  On the campaign trail in 1980, he promised he would work to balance 
the budget. When he took office, he argued that a tax cut was necessary 
to stimulate the economy. He believed the Federal Government would end 
up with more, not fewer, revenues. But when the revenues didn't 
materialize as predicted, and the Federal Government began running huge 
annual budget deficits, his pragmatism took over and he followed his 
1981 tax cuts with tax increases that were necessary in 1982 and 1984, 
determined to reduce the burgeoning budget deficits. His tax increases 
were a tacit admission that the plan wasn't working as expected. He was 
pragmatic enough to change the course.
  His personality was so unique for someone in that high office. As 
Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in Monday's New York Times op-ed page, 
President Reagan was ultimately someone with whom you could negotiate. 
His suggestion was that he was human enough, he was collegial, funny, 
and gracious, and you could discuss serious issues with him and 
accomplish goals.
  One of President Reagan's last great acts of public service was to 
acknowledge 10 years ago to the American people and to the people of 
the world that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
  He handled his affliction with his customary grace, saying that he 
was sharing the news with the public in the hope that it might 
``promote a greater awareness of this condition.'' That was a 
courageous thing to do. He went on further to say that he hoped it 
might encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families 
who are affected by it. He really brought a focus on the disease that 
ultimately consumed his remaining years.
  One truly meaningful way that we can honor President Reagan is to 
pursue the kind of research that might produce a treatment, or even a 
cure, for Alzheimer's disease and a host of other illnesses, something 
his beloved wife Nancy has called for. Since we witnessed the pain of 
the deterioration of this great individual, we have to be mindful of 
that for the future.
  His life yielded so many more things, besides those obvious ones, 
during his service as President of the United States.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Mr. President, I pay tribute to President Ronald Reagan, 
a man for whom I had the utmost respect.
  A strong, principled leader, President Reagan used his optimism and 
humor to help the Nation feel better in a post-Vietnam, post-Watergate 
country coping with an energy crisis and high inflation.
  He brought strong leadership and could relate to people from all 
walks of life very, very easily. Democrats controlled the House during 
both of his terms, and the Senate during his last 2 years in office. In 
order to advance his priorities, he had to bridge the partisan divide 
and work with members of the other party. He was also very proud of his 
good personal relations with Tip O'Neill and other Democratic leaders. 
The proof of his appeal was his ability to carry a Democrat stronghold 
like my state of Rhode Island in the 1984 election. He was the last 
Republican Presidential candidate to do so.
  With tremendous vision and dignity, President Reagan will ultimately 
be remembered for ending the cold war and promoting freedom and 
democracy throughout the world in a peaceful way.
  In closing, I recall a large color photograph on my father's office 
wall. It is a picture of merriment, Senator Robert Dole having just 
cracked a joke, with President Reagan, Alan Simpson and John Chafee 
standing by, smiling from ear-to-ear.
  Later, my father obtained a copy of the photo and at a later meeting 
with the President, slid it down the table towards him and asked if he 
would sign it. Without hesitation, Reagan penned a line and slid it 
back.
  It read simply, ``John--some times it is fun, isn't it?''
  Some times it is fun, isn't it? Ronald Reagan, with unfailing good 
humor and optimism, made Americans feel good about their country again. 
I believe that is his lasting legacy.
  The Chafee family offers our sincere condolences to Nancy, and the 
Reagan family.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to offer words in memory of 
America's 40th president, Ronald Wilson Reagan.
  Ronald Reagan was elected President on the same day that I was first 
elected to the United States Senate. I was somewhat of an anomaly that 
year, being one of only two freshman Democrats elected to the Senate, 
compared with 16 Republicans.
  Over the years, there is no question that when it came to matters of 
policy, Ronald Reagan and I disagreed, in a very fundamental way, on a 
great many occasions.
  But in today's very partisan atmosphere, it is easy to forget that 
personality can be much more important than agreements and 
disagreements. Many of the qualities that distinguished Ronald Reagan--
as a president, as a leader, as an individual--went beyond policies and 
politics.
  Ronald Reagan was one of our Nation's most personable presidents. His 
congeniality, wit and trademark sense of humor could bring a smile to 
the face of even the most ardent political opponent. And he had the 
uncanny ability to communicate his thoughts to the American people.
  As a Member of the opposite side of the political aisle, I had a 
particular appreciation for Ronald Reagan's openness. As we all know, 
President Reagan was a man of great conviction. It wasn't easy to 
change his mind. But he was willing to sit down and talk. He was open 
to listening to views that were different from his own, even if he 
ultimately chose to disagree with them. Ronald Reagan was able, as the 
saying goes, to disagree without being disagreeable.
  Though we had our differences on many issues, I would never doubt for 
a minute Ronald Reagan's commitment to this Nation, just as I don't 
believe he doubted the patriotism of his political adversaries. Ronald 
Reagan believed deeply in our country and in its values, and in its 
place in the history of humankind. He correctly saw the former Soviet 
Union, with its regime of repression, imprisonment, and stifling of the 
individual spirit, as antithetical to everything in which we believe. 
He presided over a historic time period during which we witnessed the 
beginnings of a dramatic, global political sea change.

[[Page 11883]]

  Ronald Reagan was a leader who reflected the optimism and spirit of 
this great Nation. At the time he was elected president, our country 
was experiencing a crisis of confidence. Many wondered if America's 
best days were behind it. Ronald Reagan had an unflagging belief in 
America, and he helped restore a sense of possibility in our land.
  As a society, we often elevate our public figures to practically 
mythological proportions, and our presidents are no exception. Towards 
the end of Ronald Reagan's life, though, we were reminded of his 
humanity. All of us, particularly those of us who have watched a loved 
one struggle late in life, were inspired by the dignity, grace, and 
courage with which he and his family battled a terrible and devastating 
disease--a disease that ultimately took Ronald Reagan, in the words of 
his wife Nancy, to a place where she could no longer reach him.
  Many tributes have been and will be paid to President Reagan's 
memory. But I can't think of a greater tribute than to commit our 
Nation to fully researching the causes of, and cures for, diseases like 
Alzheimer's that cause such great suffering for such great numbers of 
people.
  At this difficult time, my heart goes out to Nancy and the entire 
Reagan family. America celebrated with you on so many happy occasions. 
This week, we all join you in your sorrow.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in remembering our 
Nation's 40th President, Ronald Reagan, who passed away last weekend at 
his home in Bel-Air, CA.
  Of course, much has already been said, both in this Chamber and in 
the media, about the legend of his large life. His career in movies, 
his entry into politics and, of course, his two terms as President 
during a most tumultuous time have been well documented in the past 
several days.
  By all of these accounts, Ronald Reagan was a most admired 
politician, and while he and I had our policy differences, I have 
always shared in that admiration.
  Ronald Reagan held true to a strong conservative philosophy, which 
often made it hard for the two of us to find common ground. I was a 
Member of the House of Representatives during his 8 years as President, 
and you might say I was often a thorn in his side. We were on opposing 
sides when it came to many issues, most notably tax cuts and funding 
for the arts.
  But through all of our sometimes heated discussions and debates, it 
was so evident to me that President Reagan held a deep and abiding 
passion for his country, and an equally deep conviction for what he 
believed was right.
  As Americans take time this week to honor the life of President 
Reagan, it is that passion and conviction that they will remember and 
reflect upon. I believe, that those memories of our Nation's 40th 
President will inspire our future leaders.
  I extend my condolences to his wife Nancy, and to the entire Reagan 
family on the passing of President Ronald Reagan. May the memories of 
his life's accomplishments sustain them in their time of grief, and may 
the Nation's prayers bring them comfort.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to former 
President Ronald Wilson Reagan, our Nation's 40th President.
  Like many Americans, I admired President Reagan's eternal optimism 
and his belief in America and her people.
  I am struck by the numbers of mourners who have paid their respects 
to our former President. The outpouring of respect and grief is a 
testament to the great impact that he had on so many Americans. I am 
sure that one of the reasons so many have taken time to honor President 
Reagan is because of the great optimism and purpose that he showed. His 
trust in the fundamental decency and goodness of the American people is 
a guide and inspiration to us all.
  I admired his sense of civility and his ability to disagree with his 
opponents without being disagreeable. He fought hard for the policies 
in which he believed, but after the fight, he shook hands and moved on. 
We need more of that kind of statesmanship in Washington today. And I 
hope my colleagues will join me in trying to follow his example.
  During one of our Nation's greatest challenges--the cold war--
President Reagan was a strong voice against the enemies of freedom. His 
leadership and vision helped us to overcome our enemies.
  In the final years of his life, he and Mrs. Reagan were an example of 
the kind of sacrifice and love that we should all seek to emulate. Mrs. 
Reagan's quiet dignity and support for her husband during the most 
difficult of times should be an inspiration to us all.
  My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Nancy, his sons, Michael 
and Ronald, Jr., and his daughter, Patti.
  Ronald Reagan lived a full life and was a great American. His 
contributions to the American political system and to our way of life 
will not soon be forgotten.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Ronald 
Reagan, our Nation's 40th President. First, my condolences and prayers 
go out to Nancy Reagan, the Reagan family, and all of those who are 
mourning his passing.
  Ronald Reagan was an optimist. He was the best kind of optimist--a 
living example of the fulfillment of the American dream. From a small 
Midwestern town, he rose to become leader of the free world and was 
respected around the world by both our allies and our Soviet bloc 
opponents alike.
  President Reagan was called the Great Communicator for a reason. Many 
of his speeches touched the heartstrings of all Americans. Whether it 
was his speech at the Berlin Wall or his 1984 tribute to those who died 
on D-Day, President Reagan always conveyed a positive, optimistic sense 
of our shared destiny. His words will long be remembered.
  President Reagan loved America, and this love for our country shaded 
every word he spoke to the Nation as President. He always wanted our 
country to be the ``shining city'' on a hill.
  I also pay tribute and convey my genuine respect to our former First 
Lady Nancy Reagan, a woman whose unwavering commitment to her husband 
not only provided a testament to their love but also extended hope and 
empathy to countless Americans who share in the role of caregiver.
  As we begin now to consider ways to pay proper tribute to our admired 
former President, let us go beyond the erecting of a monument or the 
etching of a portrait. Instead let us act to help the many Americans 
who needlessly suffer from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's 
disease.
  We should increase research funding for Alzheimer's and expand stem 
cell research, which Nancy Reagan supports.
  I am pleased to be a cosponsor of a Mikulski-Bond bill that will 
double our investment in Alzheimer's research and refocus our efforts 
to find a cure. This bipartisan measure, if passed, would leave a 
lasting legacy to President Reagan.
  Earlier this month, I joined with 57 other Members of this body, both 
Republican and Democrat alike, to urge President Bush to broaden the 
current Federal policy regarding stem cell research. By expanding stem 
cell research beyond those stem cells derived by August 9, 2001, we 
will take the necessary first step of helping millions of Americans who 
are plagued by Alzheimer's--Americans, who like President Reagan, live 
out their daily lives traveling an unknowable journey of solitude.
  If we allow the medical experts to do stem cell research, we can 
begin the work Mrs. Reagan so steadfastly promotes: finding a cure to 
this devastating disease.
  To find a cure of Alzheimer's would indeed be the greatest tribute we 
could ever give to President Reagan.
  In this time of grief, let us evoke President Reagan's gentlemanly 
service, swift wit, jovial candor, and unconditional patriotism. With 
differences in philosophy and politics aside, let's all praise a man 
whose decorum and distinguished character exemplified the office for 
which he held.

[[Page 11884]]


  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to take a few moments today to join 
my colleagues in celebrating the life of our 40th President, Ronald 
Wilson Reagan.
  In many ways, Ronald Reagan embodied the American dream. He was born 
in the small town of Tampico, IL, and grew up 30 miles down the road in 
Dixon, another small town. His was a normal, middle class American 
family, and he was the all-American boy-next-door: Good-looking, 
popular, an actor, and an athlete. And from that modest background he 
fulfilled the American democratic ideal that anybody can grow up to 
become President of the United States.
  That ideal--that anyone can grow up to become President--captures 
America's optimism, so it is fitting that the word that comes most to 
mind when remembering President Reagan is exactly that: optimism. 
President Reagan was an incurable and infectious optimist when it came 
to America. By insisting that, as he said, it was morning again in 
America, he connected with Americans, lifted their spirits, and 
restored their confidence in our future.
  This power to communicate and connect with Americans from all walks 
of life was central to his success as President. He could sway skeptics 
and charm supporters with his simple eloquence and self-deprecating 
wit. People came to know him and feel comfortable with him; and they 
were moved by his simple, clear messages. President Reagan perfected 
the art of selling his policies to the American people and using that 
ability to pressure Congress to work his will. Not surprisingly, the 
Great Communicator, as he came to be known, left office with the 
highest approval rating of any recent President.
  President Reagan was one of the truly larger than life figures of the 
post World War II era. He brought a new conservative philosophy to the 
White House, and he championed freedom at home and abroad. One of the 
reasons for his success, I believe, was his willingness to compromise, 
to put aside partisan politics and ideological purity to do what was 
right for the country. When his 1981 tax cuts caused deficits to 
skyrocket, President Reagan supported tax increases in 1982 and 1983 to 
contain the damage. After tagging the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire, 
he negotiated historic arms control treaties with the Soviets, coining 
the famous phrase ``trust, but verify'' in the process. He had, as his 
chief of staff Howard Baker once put it, ``a capacity to surprise.''
  And throughout it all, he was a wonderful man, someone who you 
couldn't help but enjoy being with. I met with president Reagan several 
times during the last years of his presidency. The last time I was with 
him, President Reagan was telling two or three of us in the White House 
an Irish story full of warmth and wit. I believe that best describes 
President Reagan himself--a man of endearing wit and great personal 
warmth.
  As America mourns his passing, my thoughts and prayers are with Nancy 
and the rest of President Reagan's family and many, many friends. It is 
my hope that their memories of his life, laughter, and legacy will be 
of some small comfort in these days and weeks ahead.
  Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, on Saturday, June 5, 2004, President 
Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, passed 
away after a decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease. I extend my 
deepest sympathies to the members of his family, who have suffered a 
terrible loss, and I want them to know that Americans throughout our 
Nation, regardless of their political party or ideology, share in their 
loss and mourn with them.
  Ronald Reagan was an exceptional national leader who loved this 
country and its people. He will long be remembered for his infectious 
optimism and his faith in America's future. To President Reagan, 
America was always a shining city on a hill--a beacon of hope for all 
mankind. He understood just what a great country America is, and always 
remained a committed advocate for the ideal of freedom that helps 
define us as Americans.
  President Reagan was known as the Great Communicator, and he richly 
deserved the accolade. Few politicians, if any, have had his ability 
not just to connect with the American people but to inspire them. His 
speeches didn't just make a point, they touched a chord. He talked to 
Americans in a powerful and personal way.
  As is widely understood, Ronald Reagan had strongly held views about 
public policy, from his support for lower taxes to his strong 
anticommunism. But as is less widely appreciated, President Reagan was 
not inflexible or dogmatic. He actually was a practical and pragmatic 
leader who was willing to adjust his approach, sometimes dramatically, 
when circumstances called for change.
  For example, after pushing through a large tax cut at the start of 
his Presidency, he reversed course and increased taxes when the deficit 
started to explode. Perhaps most importantly, after denouncing the 
Soviets as an ``evil empire,'' he was willing to work closely and 
cooperatively with Mikhail Gorbachev, helping not only to end the cold 
war but to liberate millions of people and change the course of world 
history. In doing so, he was not following his party. He was not 
following the polls. He was following his conscience. And the entire 
world community owes him a deep debt of gratitude for his vision and 
his leadership.
  There were many issues about which I strongly disagreed with 
President Reagan. But I always had great respect for him personally and 
for the way he conducted himself while in office. President Reagan knew 
how to disagree without being disagreeable. He knew that those in the 
other party were not enemies. He knew that, at the end of the day, we 
are all Americans and, though we may disagree about particular 
policies, we all share a love of our country and a commitment to its 
future.
  President Reagan's life was marked by his fundamental personal 
decency and his sense of dignity. That was never more evident than when 
he announced to the world his struggle with Alzheimer's disease in 
1994. His and Nancy Reagan's courageous fight against this debilitating 
disease brought a new awareness to the devastation that accompanies 
this illness. I hope it also will bring a new commitment to do what it 
takes to find a cure for this horrible affliction.
  In conclusion, Americans throughout our Nation are saddened at the 
passing of President Reagan, and our hearts go out to his family. 
Ronald Reagan was an extraordinary man whose impact on our Nation, and 
our world, will be felt for generations to come. Today, we join 
together to honor his memory and to give thanks for his historic 
service on behalf of the country he loved so deeply.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, Robert Robb is one of the great columnists in 
American journalism today, and his tribute to Ronald Reagan is among 
his best work. I ask unanimous consent to have the following article 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Arizona Republic, June 9, 2004]

               My First Fan Letter Was Signed ``Reagan''

                            (By Robert Robb)

       Ronald Reagan wrote my first fan letter.
       When he announced for president in 1976, I was editor of 
     the student newspaper at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
       The Los Angeles Times had developed an obsessive dislike 
     for Reagan. And it pounded on his announcement speech, 
     denouncing it and him for superficiality and a lack of 
     specifics.
       Of course, it's standard fare for announcement speeches to 
     enunciate broad themes. And the only thing that would have 
     unhinged the Times more than a lack of specifics form Reagan 
     would have been if he had been specific.
       And so I wrote a column for the student newspaper having a 
     bit of sport with the Times' hypocrisy and disequilibrium.
       Not much later, I was astonished to receive a letter from 
     Reagan. Apparently being defended in a student newspaper was 
     an unusual enough event to catch the attention of his 
     campaign.
       Reagan thanked me for my ``generous words,'' and allowed 
     that ``a great part of my pleasure was your masterful 
     handling of the Times.
       That purposeful understatement was characteristic of Reagan 
     in political combat. He

[[Page 11885]]

     was far more inclined to give his opponents a gentle and 
     humorous poke in the ribs, rather than a rhetorical knife in 
     the stomach--a restraint he maintained even as the invective 
     and bile against him mounted.
       Bill Buckley invented modern American conservatism--a 
     sometimes uneasy blend of anti-communism, free-market 
     economics and traditional cultural values inspired and 
     informed by religious faith. Barry Goldwater launched it as a 
     political movement.
       But Ronald Reagan embodied the conservative movement. He 
     was the glue that held its factions and strands together long 
     enough, for a time, to be politically triumphant.
       This was no small feat. American conservatism is more 
     naturally a dissenting movement than a governing one.
       Yet Reagan not only governed, he transformed the country, 
     indeed the world.
       What began as Reagan Democrats are now simply Republicans, 
     and the Republican Party now competes with the Democratic 
     Party for majority status, rather than the semi-permanent 
     minority role the party seemed consigned to before Reagan.
       To complete with Reaganism, Democrats had to overcome their 
     legacy from the 1960s and 1970s, a belief that there was as 
     much wrong as right about America. Democrats reconciled 
     themselves to America's essential goodness, as well as its 
     defining institutions and values: free markets, enterprise, 
     faith and family.
       Bill Clinton was a reaction to Reaganism, and today's 
     Republican Party, unfortunately, is as much a reaction to 
     Clintonism as it is a legitimate heir to Reaganism.
       Winston Churchill believed that history was the story of 
     great men altering its course. In his History of the English 
     Speaking Peoples, writing about Alfred the Great, who united 
     much of modern-day England in the ninth century, Churchill 
     described his ``sublime power to rise above the whole force 
     of circumstances.''
       As much as Reagan dominated and transformed the domestic 
     political landscape, his greatness--his sublime power to rise 
     above the whole force of circumstances--was in the way he 
     managed the Soviet Union and communism.
       Early in his presidency, Reagan described the Soviet Union 
     as an evil empire and said it and Marxism-Leninism would be 
     deposited on the ``ash heap of history.''
       This was denounced by foreign policy sophisticates at the 
     time as naive and dangerously provocative.
       Yet he quickly embraced Mikhail Gorbachev, who gained power 
     in 1985, and his perestoika reforms. This made conservatives 
     highly nervous, and they openly wondered whether Reagan was 
     being had.
       But Reagan, having lived through the Hungarian and Polish 
     rebellions, intuited that the Soviet Union could not both 
     liberalize and remain intact.
       Reagan also knew the moment to apply pressure, as in 1987, 
     when he stood before the Berlin Wall and, against the advice 
     of his entire foreign policy team, famously called upon 
     Gorbachev to tear it down.
       A few years later, I was in Berlin, after the wall had been 
     torn down figuratively, but not yet physically. You could 
     travel freely in eastern Berlin, but it was like Dorothy 
     stepping from black-and-white into the colorful land of Oz, 
     only in reverse--from the vibrant feel of a free people into 
     the still-stale desolation of the repression of the human 
     soul.
       You could visit the wall and even take a blow against it 
     yourself. So, I clawed loose a few chunks and brought them 
     home.
       They're mounted now, pieces of history's sadness and joy. I 
     can never look at those chunks of concrete without thinking 
     about Ronald Reagan, a champion of freedom for our time.

  Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the late 
President Ronald Reagan.
  We were of different parties and very different political 
philosophies but I respected him as a strong leader--a man of principle 
and dignity. He was also good-natured and affable, never letting 
political differences drag him down into bitter partisanship.
  I was always impressed with President Reagan's ability to communicate 
and persuade and his talent for soothing our Nation in difficult times. 
In good times and bad, he sought to appeal to the best in all of us, to 
our hopes and better instincts, not our doubts and fears. And while he 
enjoyed a good political fight, he never demonized his opponents or 
accused those who differed with him of being unpatriotic. Ronald Reagan 
seemed to understand that we could disagree without being disagreeable 
and that we all love our country, even as we debate the best way to 
move toward a more perfect Union. All of us can learn from his example.
  As we pay tribute to our 40th President, this man who rose from 
humble beginnings to the greatest heights, I offer my condolences to 
Nancy Reagan and the Reagan family. I join my colleagues in saying 
farewell to Ronald Reagan, a modest man who was larger than life.
  Thank you, President Reagan, for your service to our Nation and for 
the important example you set for us all.
   Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on Saturday, our Nation lost a good man and 
a great American, the 40th President of the United States, Ronald 
Wilson Reagan.
  A former sports announcer, actor, television performer, and Governor, 
this man from a small mid-western town was eventually elected to our 
Nation's highest office, not once, but twice, in landslide victories. 
His was a success story, an American success story. He demonstrated 
that the key to the American dream is still determination, hard work, 
and perseverance. He did it by appealing to our ``best hopes,'' not 
``our worst fears.''
  Historians will study and evaluate the impact of the Reagan 
administration--his role in ending the cold war and the results of his 
domestic policies.
  What is beyond debate was his uncanny ability to connect with the 
American people. He knew where he wanted to take the country and 
attempted to do it with remarkable determination and charm. He restored 
a much needed sense of optimism in America, and he did it with a 
cheerfulness that was absolutely contagious.
  His optimism was prevalent and penetrating and inspiring even during 
the darkest moments of his administration. With the Challenger 
explosion, we grieved and despaired, but when President Reagan spoke of 
how those courageous astronauts reached out and ``touched the face of 
God,'' suddenly all of us realized that we, as a country, would make it 
through this grievous hour, and the American adventure into space would 
go on. He was truly the Great Communicator.
  I came to know and work with Mr. Reagan from a unique and important 
perspective. I was the leader of the opposition party in the U.S. 
Senate during both of President Reagan's terms.
  From this position, I came to understand and appreciate, probably 
even more than his strongest supporters, his hold on the American 
people, and the importance of the leadership that he provided.
  In fact, I found him to be as charming in person as he was when 
speaking to an audience or appearing on television.
  Never once did I hear him engage in personal attacks on his 
challengers.
  When we disagreed, which was more often than not, it was always in 
civil tones. He was always smiling, patting you on the back, asking you 
about your family, and wishing you the best. You simply could not help 
but like him. He seemed not to confuse differences of opinion with 
differences of ideals or values. After all, he liked to point out, ``we 
are all Americans.''
  That is the way American politics is supposed to be. That was the 
decency of Ronald Wilson Reagan. He might consider me a political 
opponent, but never a personal enemy. Just as I understood his 
difficulties as the leader of the free world during 8 years of trial 
and turmoil, he understood my role as the loyal opposition
  As much as I admired and respected him when he was President, never 
was my appreciation for him and his wife Nancy stronger than in their 
dealing with his last and greatest struggle--the struggle he eloquently 
and heart-
break-
ingly called the ``journey'' that would lead him ``into the sunset'' of 
his life--his battle with Alzheimer's disease. He and Nancy confronted 
this cruel, crippling disease with an openness and dignity that 
inspired a Nation.
  Mr. President, my wife Erma and I extend our most heartfelt 
condolences to Mrs. Reagan. She has been an inspiration to America, 
gracefully fulfilling the role of loyal, loving spouse even as she has 
watched her greatest love drift away into the fog of Alzheimer's. In 
the years when they should have been able to enjoy the warm memories of 
their storybook life together, she endured personal emotional tortures 
that are difficult to imagine. In these last years, the vigilance and 
caring she displayed throughout their marriage led her to become an 
outspoken advocate

[[Page 11886]]

for medical research, a role for which she has earned the immense 
respect and gratitude of the Nation.

                             A Sunset Fancy

                     (A poem by an unknown author)

     I saw the sun sink in the golden west
     No angry cloud obscured its latest ray;
     Around the couch on which it sank to rest
     Shone all the splendors of a summer day,
     And long--though lost of view--its radiant light
     Reflected from the skies, delayed the night.

     Thus when a good man's life comes to a close,
     No doubts arise to cloud his soul with gloom;
     But faith triumphant on each feature glows
     And benedictions fill the sacred room;
     And long do men his virtues wide proclaim,
     And generations rise to bless his name.

  Mr. President, 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. FRIST. 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. FRIST. Mr. President, for the information of Senators, we are 
going to do our wrap-up business, have a couple of closing statements, 
and then we will adjourn for the ceremony tonight.

                          ____________________