[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19613]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING CHIEF JUSTICE WILLIAM REHNQUIST

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I would like to take the next 10 minutes 
to talk about a couple of different items.
  Not far from where we are today, the body of our late Chief Justice 
has lain in repose, and a number of us were privileged to go there 
earlier today just to say goodbye and to thank him for his service to 
our country--33 years. That is a long time, more than three decades 
that he has served us. His love for our country, his love for the law 
and the integrity of our Nation's judiciary system was only surpassed 
by his love for his family and for those with whom he worked.
  During his time on the Court, he fostered, among other things, real 
congeniality among the Justices--something that is not easy to do in 
that forum or, frankly, in this one. In return, he was held in high 
esteem by his colleagues who had called him, among other things, 
``brilliant,'' ``principled,'' ``generous,'' with ``a good sense of 
humor,'' something we can never have too much of.
  He demonstrated great personal strength and courage in leading the 
Court and this country through difficult and contentious times, 
continuing his work in the face of ever-daunting health problems that 
would have set most of us on our backs and far out of the courtroom.
  There are many judicial hallmarks of his time on the Court. 
Throughout his tenure on the Court, he staunchly supported the 
independence of the Federal judiciary and our overall governmental 
system of checks and balances. We will miss him, but we are grateful 
that he was here to serve us for as long as he has.

                          ____________________