[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9] [Senate] [Page 12458] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO PHILIP MERRILL Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Philip Merrill--journalist, diplomat, philanthropist, patriot--and friend. Phil Merrill was an original. Yet his life story was the American dream. He was born in a row house in Baltimore. Through hard work and brilliant business sense, he built a major publishing company--Capital- Gazette Newspapers. He was a champion for sound environmental stewardship. He endowed the School of Journalism at the University of Maryland. He served his Nation, and he served his State. And he was part of a strong, loving family. Phil Merrill ran the oldest continually published newspaper in the United States--the Annapolis Capital. Each of his newspapers is known for strong local coverage and for strong opinion pages. He endowed the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland-- which trains the next generations of journalists in the skills and values that Phil Merrill put into action every day of his life. Phil Merrill served three Presidents in important international appointments--including Assistant Attorney General of NATO. When he was appointed by President Bush to be president of the Export-Import Bank-- I laughed with him, saying ``I thought diplomats were supposed to keep us out of wars.'' A dainty diplomat--no. A determined advocate for democracy--yes. Phil was also a passionate environmentalist. He especially loved the Chesapeake Bay. He endowed a ``green'' building for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. This is not just a building where the Bay Foundation does its outstanding education and advocacy work; it is a building with a design that is environmentally friendly. Much has been said of Phil Merrill's feistiness. Well, I happen to like feisty people. He stood up for what he believed in. He fought for what he felt was right. And he made a difference. His partner in life was his wife Eleanor. In publishing, in philanthropy, she shared his zest for life and his many passions. I know that Ellie Merrill will continue to guide the institutions that she and Phil built and supported. She and her family are in my thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time. Phil Merrill's death is a tragedy. Yet his life was a triumph. I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting this extraordinary man. I ask that an article from the Annapolis Capital be printed in the Record. The material follows. Philip Merrill, Capital Publisher, Dead at 72 Philip Merrill, 72, publisher, diplomat and philanthropist, died June 10 after going sailing aboard his 41-foot sailboat Merrilly on the Chesapeake Bay. His body was discovered yesterday in the bay near Poplar Island. A longtime resident of Arnold, Phil Merrill combined publishing and public service throughout his career. The Baltimore native received a degree in government in 1955 from Cornell University where he was managing editor of the student newspaper. After serving in the Army, he worked for newspapers in New Jersey until 1961 when he joined the State Department and graduated from Harvard University's management development program. In 1968 he returned to journalism when he bought The Evening Capital with several partners. Later he brought in Landmark Communications Inc. as a minority partner and grew the newspaper's circulation from 13,000 to 48,000. Chairman of the board of Capital-Gazette Communications, he also owned Washingtonian magazine and five other newspapers--the Maryland Gazette, the Bowie Blade-News, the Crofton News- Crier, the West County Gazette and South County Gazette. He also formerly owned Baltimore magazine. During his public service, he took leaves of absences from the publishing business to serve six presidential administrations. From 1981 to 1983 he was counselor to the under secretary of defense for policy and from 1990 to 1992 was assistant secretary-general of NATO for defense support in Brussels, Belgium, at the treaty organization headquarters. He also had served on the Department of Defense Policy Board. From 2002 until last summer he was chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Mr. Merrill represented the U.S. in negotiations on the Law of the Sea Conference, the International Telecommunications Union and various disarmament and exchange agreements with the former Soviet Union. He was a former special assistant to the deputy secretary of state, served as the State Department's senior intelligence analyst for South Asia and worked in the White House on national security affairs. He was vice chairman of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and the U.S. director of the International Institute of Strategic Studies. He also served on the Department of Defense Policy Board and the Department Business Board. During the Gulf War he was on President George H.W. Bush's Air Power Survey and served on President Reagan's Commission on Cost Control. In 1988 the Secretary of Defense awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Service, the department's highest civilian honor. Mr. Merrill was chairman of the Capital-Gazette Foundation and the Merrill Family Foundation. He was a trustee of the Aspen Institute, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Johns Hopkins University and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. He was on the board of visitors of the University of Maryland and the boards of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the Advanced Physics Laboratories, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, the Johnson School of Management at Cornell, the University of Maryland Foundation, the Federal City Council, the National Archives Foundation and the World Affairs Council of Washington. His board memberships also included those of Cornell, the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, the Washington Airports Task Force and Genesco. A former fellow of the Institute for International Affairs of the University of Chicago, he also was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Chief Executives Organization and the World Presidents' Organization. For many years he was chairman of the White House Fellows Commission regional panels. A sailor since age 7, he served in the Merchant Marine to earn money for college. He supported the America's Cup campaigns and the Hospice Cup sailing regatta which raises money for charity. He donated $1 million to Cornell for a sailing center, $10 million to the University of Maryland School of Journalism, $4 million to the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins and $7.5 million to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for its ``green'' headquarters in Annapolis. Since 1988 Capital-Gazette newspapers have awarded $661,000 in academic scholarships to outstanding high school students. Mr. Merrill enjoyed his family, snow skiing, sailing and ice cream. Surviving are his wife of 45 years, Eleanor Pocius Merrill, who has assumed his publishing duties; his family, Doug and Lisa Merrill of Shelburne, Vt., Cathy and Paul Williams of Washington, D.C., and Nancy Merrill of Arlington, Va.; four grandchildren, Alexander Merrill, 6, Jack Merrill, 4, Wynne Williams, 17 months, and Bryce Williams, two weeks old; and one sister, Suzanne Watson of Chicago, Ill. A celebration of life ceremony for family and friends will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Mellon Auditorium, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you cherish a memory. ____________________