[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9403]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      FORMER SENATOR LLOYD BENTSEN

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, Catherine and I were deeply saddened to 
learn of Lloyd's passing. Lloyd and his wife Beryl Ann or as she is 
known to friends, B.A. were part of our Senate family for 22 years. 
They were good friends to Catherine and me, and they were quite a 
couple. Their sense of humor could lighten any situation. I recall B.A. 
once read an erroneous news report that Lloyd was worth $70 million. 
She responded, ``Where is it?''
  B.A. was a great companion and partner for Lloyd in all things, and 
our hearts go out to her and their three children and eight 
grandchildren.
  Lloyd was Texan through and through. He used to tell stories about 
growing up on his father's ranch with the sign at the end of the road 
that read: ``To heck with the dog, beware of the owner.'' You would 
think someone raised up the road from a sign like that would have a 
temper, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Lloyd was 
gracious, composed, polished, and pressed. He was a true gentleman. 
``Gravitas,'' he liked to say, ``is gray hair and a pressed suit.''
  Lloyd was also a patriot. As fellow World War II veterans, we were 
comrades in the deepest sense of the word, and I admired him greatly. 
He was an accomplished legislator and statesman. He was also a dear 
friend.
  Those in Alaska will never forget his support of our State. In 1981, 
Lloyd came to the floor and spoke in favor of a waiver that would 
enable the construction of the Alaska natural gas pipeline. Congress 
recently approved the financial incentives needed to begin this 
project--and we owe a great debt to Lloyd for always making sure those 
in the Senate never forgot how important the Alaska gas pipeline is to 
our country's energy independence.
  Since Lloyd greatly respected the late House Speaker Sam Rayburn, I 
will close with one of Sam's sayings:
  ``You cannot be a leader, and ask other people to follow you, unless 
you know how to follow, too.''
  Mr. President, those are words to live by, and no one understood them 
better than Lloyd.
  Mr. OBAMA. Mr. President, I rise today to salute Lloyd Bentsen, a 
dearly departed former Member of this body. Senator Bentsen died 
yesterday at the age of 85, and he leaves behind a legacy of fiscal 
responsibility, steadfast service, and unwavering statesmanship.
  Senator Bentsen was born in Mission, TX, in 1921, a descendant of 
Danish immigrants. From a young age, he excelled in nearly all his 
endeavors: he was an Eagle Scout, a distinguished graduate of the 
University of Texas Law School, and a fighter pilot, flying B-24 combat 
missions during World War II. At the young age of 23, Senator Bentsen 
was promoted to the rank of major, a post that gave him command of over 
600 men. For his valiant service during the war, the Army Air Corps, 
now the Air Force, awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of 
the military's highest honors.
  Senator Bentsen went on to serve the people of Texas as Hidalgo 
county judge, U.S. Congressman, and, beginning in 1970, as U.S. 
Senator. He was overwhelmingly reelected to this body three times, in 
1976, 1982, and 1988.
  As a Senator, Lloyd Bentsen was a champion of sound national economic 
policy and fiscal responsibility. He served as chairman of the Joint 
Economic Committee and the Committee on Finance, and balanced his keen 
eye on progressive causes such as women's rights with a dogged 
determination to cut taxes and support our Nation's businesses. As his 
contemporaries will no doubt attest, Senator Bentsen's political acumen 
was unmatched, and the coalitions he built crossed party, ideological, 
and even international boundaries.
  Bentsen resigned his seat in the Senate in 1993 to serve as the 69th 
Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton. He helped 
President Clinton set the course for what would be our country's 
strongest fiscal climate in recent memory. As Treasury Secretary, 
Bentsen was known to be a firm and sound counselor on economic policy; 
the Houston Chronicle reports that an autographed picture from 
President Clinton was inscribed: ``To my friend Lloyd Bentsen, who 
makes me study things until I get it right.'' President Clinton went on 
to award Bentsen the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.
  Throughout his career, Lloyd Bentsen set a standard for no-nonsense 
service, responsible business practice, and judicious public policy. I 
honor his good work today, and the memory of a life lived strong and 
full.
  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I had the honor of serving with Lloyd 
Bentsen for 20 years, and I respected him as a Senator's Senator. He 
had a style about him. He was this really classy Texas gentleman who, 
when he walked into this Chamber or into a hearing room, you could just 
feel his presence and his desire to work something out.
  I admired him because he used the power of that office to help 
millions and millions of Americans, especially the people he felt 
needed it most, the very young and very old among us.
  Everyone in America who has an IRA and is saving for retirement can 
thank Lloyd Bentsen. Every American worker whose pensions are 
protected, is because of Lloyd Bentsen. He improved access to health 
care for needy women and children--not with some massive sweeping bill 
that would never have passed Congress but, incrementally, every year, 
giving a new benefit so more and more people were helped.
  When he went to Treasury, he was the architect of President Clinton's 
economic plan that eventually balanced the budget and created millions 
of jobs and brought credibility and leadership back to this country 
with other industrialized nations.
  I express my sympathy to his family, and especially his wonderful 
wife B.A. He liked to call her his best asset, but she was an asset to 
all of us. Our prayers are with her.

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