[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3467-3469]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING SENATOR THAD COCHRAN ON HIS 10,000TH VOTE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise on behalf of a colleague and 
friend, Senator Thad Cochran. Last Tuesday, Thad cast his 10,000th vote 
here in the Senate, and in typical fashion, we didn't hear a whole lot 
about it. As Thad once told a reporter:

       That is just the way I was brought up. I believe you don't 
     have to toot your own horn too much.

  Always humble, Thad is the perfect embodiment of the southern 
gentleman, and the Senate is a better and more civil place because of 
him.
  Thad's political career got off to an early start. As a teenager, he 
passed out campaign literature with his mom in Utica, MS. He helped his 
dad with voter registration drives, and a few decades later, he would 
make Bill and Emma Cochran proud by becoming the first Mississippi 
Republican in more than a century to win a statewide office--no small 
feat for a guy whose first job was working as a carhop at Gunn's Dairy 
Bar.
  Thad was always a standout. An Eagle Scout, he earned varsity letters 
in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis and was valedictorian of 
his high school class. He served with distinction in a 2-year tour with 
the Navy. He excelled in law school and became a partner in one of 
Mississippi's top law firms in just 2\1/2\ years. And he served the 
people of the Magnolia State with distinction and grace in the U.S. 
Congress for 35 years.
  Thad's colleagues in the Senate have seen his humility up close. The 
people at the Neshoba County Fair got to see it for themselves a few 
years back. As Thad's car pulled up, a big crowd gathered around to 
shake his hand. So when the passenger side door opened, they all rushed 
in and got a good close look at Thad's personal assistant, Fred Pagen. 
They didn't expect to see Thad behind the wheel, nor do a lot of other 
folks who have picked him up at events in DC and back home.
  Thad gets a lot of special treatment. The Ten Thousandth Vote Club is 
sort of like the Five Hundredth Home Run Club in baseball. As you might 
expect, Senator Byrd is the Hank Aaron of the Senate, but Thad might 
get there yet, and those of us who have had the good pleasure of 
working with him hope that he does.
  Winston Churchill once said of an enemy:

       He has all the virtues I dislike and all the vices I 
     admire.

  Mr. President, I feel the opposite about my friend, Thad Cochran. He 
has all the virtues I admire and none of the vices I dislike.
  So I congratulate him on his many years of dedicated service and 
thank him for his friendship and, above all, his extraordinary example.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, if there were ever a time during my career 
here in the Senate where I say I associate myself with those remarks, I 
do now. Thad Cochran is a wonderful man. As the distinguished 
Republican leader said, he is strong. He doesn't talk very much. He is 
silent most of the time. He loves the Senate. He is one of the people I 
look to for maintaining the dignity of the Senate.
  On the Appropriations Committee, which I have had the pleasure of 
serving with him since I came to the Senate, he is as dignified as he 
is in the Senate and as he is everyplace else. He believes in following 
regular order. He believes in working through the tedious process the 
Senate requires. I look forward to working with him this year.
  Senator McConnell and I have made a commitment, and Senator Cochran 
knows this, to do our appropriations bills this year. We are going to 
work together on a bipartisan basis to get those bills completed and 
Senator Cochran will be an integral part of our being able to do this.
  We all have fond memories of Thad Cochran. My personal feeling of 
warmth relates to a trip we took. I took my wife Landra and he took his 
lovely wife Rose and we had a wonderful time. Senator Glenn was there 
leading the delegation. I will always remember that. I will always 
remember the relationship of the two of you.
  So as we proceed through the difficult days ahead of us in the 
Senate, everyone within the sound of my voice should understand that 
one reason we will be able to make it through the troubled waters of 
the Senate is because of Thad Cochran.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican whip is recognized.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleague from Vermont, 
Senator Leahy, for allowing me to go next in line so I can speak 
briefly about my colleague from the State of Mississippi. I thank 
Senator McConnell for his remarks, and Senator Reid. They did a 
magnificent job summing up the character of this great Senator from 
Mississippi.

[[Page 3468]]

  Senator Cochran and I have been in the Congress together now for--
this is our 35th year. We came together in the House of Representatives 
in 1973. He moved over to the Senate in 1978. He was elected, and came 
here in 1979, and eventually I tagged along with him again.
  Senator Cochran and I go back to the 1960s. We were both students at 
the same university, the University of Mississippi. His wife Rose and I 
were in the same class, and we worked together in student activities. I 
always felt I had a special friendship with Senator Cochran because of 
my friendship also with his wife Rose.
  Our parents were schoolteachers--both his mother and father and my 
mother. We both started out as Baptists, and I think we still are, in a 
way. Just right down the line, we have a lot in common. In fact, some 
people wonder how I get as many votes as I do in Mississippi. It is 
because I think some people get confused between Thad and Trent, and I 
am known in some areas as Thad Lott, but it seems to work. I benefit by 
standing in the reflection of his great stature in our State of 
Mississippi.
  I am very proud of my colleague from our State. We have had some 
great Senators from our State, but Senator Cochran is rising to the 
level of the stature of the best of those. So I am very proud of the 
record he has achieved here, the number of votes he has cast, and I am 
hoping that he will cast 10,000 more before he decides to leave this 
great institution.
  But I must say on a very personal note, I have never been more proud 
of my colleague from Mississippi than I was in the aftermath of 
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and 2006. His quiet, steady, methodical, 
rational effort to help us get what we needed to recover from that 
major disaster was an incredible thing to watch. The respect he has in 
this institution on both sides of the aisle helped him to lead the way 
in getting the help we needed for our State. I was belated in doing it, 
but I will never quit doing it, when last fall I thanked the Senate--
the Congress--for what they did do for us after that hurricane. 
Everything Senator Cochran and I and others from our State asked the 
Congress to do, they did it, and we will always be in debt.
  On the 1-year anniversary of that cataclysmic event in our State, he 
and I were sitting on the same platform as the Sun came up in Biloxi, 
MS, on August 29, 2006--a hot morning. A year earlier, the water had 
been about--probably 25 feet from where we were sitting. The surge was 
that high, or more. There were many of us on that platform: mayors, 
supervisors, Congressmen, the Governor. We were all taking deep bows 
for all the money we had brought to the people of this devastated area.
  Finally, I had about all I could stand, including taking my own bows, 
and I finally rose and said: It is fine to share the credit, and there 
are many of us here who have done our best. But most of us could not be 
taking credit for what has happened if it were not for the man sitting 
right behind me on this platform, Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi.
  It is an incredible thing we have experienced in terms of pain and 
suffering but also in honor and in glory and in appreciation for what 
has happened since then. So I hope there are many other high-water 
marks in his great career, but none will ever be appreciated so much as 
the service he gave to our State and to our country in the aftermath of 
that hurricane.
  Thank you, my colleague. It is a pleasure serving with you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I think the Senator from Vermont has to go 
to a meeting quickly. How much time do you need?
  Mr. LEAHY. Less than a minute.
  Mr. BYRD. I yield to the Senator for that purpose.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator from West 
Virginia, the most senior person here and, of course, the one who 
serves the closest with Senator Cochran on the Appropriations 
Committee. I could not help but think, listening to the wonderful 
things my distinguished other friend from Mississippi, Senator Lott, 
was saying about Senator Thad Cochran, about a recent trip overseas we 
took together, and I heard him saying many of those same things out of 
the hearing of Senator Cochran, praising Senator Cochran very much on 
that trip with myself and other Senators. I mention that because 
sometimes praising you outside your presence means more than doing it 
inside your presence.
  Thad Cochran is as close a friend as I have ever had in the Senate. 
We have traveled together overseas. I have traveled to Mississippi with 
him. He explained to me I had to slow down my speech a little bit. He 
has come to Vermont with me. My late parents used to tell me what a 
nice young man he is. I know how much my mother and father enjoyed 
meeting him not only in Vermont but in subsequent visits to Washington.
  I recall what Senator Stennis once said of Senator Cochran: He is a 
Senator, all in capital letters. You could hear John Stennis's voice 
boom over here: He is a Senator's Senator. He is a Senator. Most 
importantly to me, he is my good friend.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Senators know of my good nature, and so some 
of them want me to yield, which I will do. I am the President pro 
tempore. I wouldn't ask another President pro tempore to do that. But 
may I yield to my seatmate, Mr. Dodd.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I thank my seatmate and colleague from West 
Virginia. I just want to add my voice to those who have spoken and 
those who are about to speak in saying that--just to repeat what 
Senator Leahy said well--we use the words ``Senator's Senator'' with 
some frequency here, but if I were to ask the question of which 
Senators reflected that expression more so than anyone else, it would 
have to be my colleague from West Virginia and my colleague from 
Mississippi. It is a pleasure to serve with him. I admire him 
immensely. He is exactly what a Senator ought to be: a good legislator 
and a good person who cares about his country, and I am proud to serve 
with him.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I know the Senator from West Virginia 
wants to make his comments. I wonder if I could just have one moment as 
well.
  Mr. BYRD. Of course. I yield to my friend from Massachusetts, Mr. 
Kennedy.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I had the good fortune of meeting Thad 
Cochran before he was even a Senator. This was when he was wearing the 
uniform of the U.S. Navy and he was stationed up in the New England 
area in the late 1950s and early 1960s. I didn't know at that time, 
when I was about to become a freshman Senator and he was in the service 
of our military, that our paths would cross again in this wonderful 
Chamber, or that he would go on to have the kind of career he has had 
in the Senate. But it was evident then, so many years ago, that this 
impressive young naval officer possessed the same qualities we all see 
today. Then as now, Thad Cochran possessed a deep sense of fairness and 
compassion, a great commitment to this country we all love, and, above 
all, good judgment and good humor.
  Thad and I don't always agree on policy matters--and more often than 
not we find ourselves on the opposite side of the issues--but those 
disagreements never diminish my respect for his thoughtfulness, and nor 
do they diminish the friendship I feel toward him.
  So I, too, want to join my colleagues in paying tribute to an 
extraordinary Senator and a great patriot as he marks this wonderful 
milestone. The people of Mississippi are fortunate indeed to have him 
fighting for them every day in the U.S. Senate, and all of us are lucky 
as well to call Thad Cochran our colleague and friend. He is a Senator 
of great integrity, and we congratulate you Thad on this extraordinary 
day.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia is recognized.

[[Page 3469]]


  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, last week my friend--my friend--Senator Thad 
Cochran, the very distinguished member of the Senate Appropriations 
Committee, achieved a milestone in his career of public service to the 
people of Mississippi and the United States. Senator Cochran cast his 
10,000th vote, his 10,000th rollcall vote, a record only 27 other 
Senators have achieved since the founding of this great Republic.
  A Senator's vote is so much more than a number on the final tally. 
Each and every vote represents an investment of time, research, and 
analysis on the part of himself and, in many cases, on the part of the 
staff, also on a given issue. Each vote is an evaluation of what best 
serves one's constituents, one's State, and one's country.
  Over these many years, I have personally noted that Senator Cochran 
approaches his responsibility with diligence. I have many reasons to 
know that. He approaches his votes with diligence, with a fine and keen 
intelligence, with sterling courage--he is from Mississippi--with 
courage and compassion.
  This son of public-spirited and politically aware schoolteachers 
demonstrated all these qualities at an early age as an Eagle Scout--I 
was never an Eagle Scout; I was a Tenderfoot--as a valedictorian--I 
know what that means--class valedictorian, as a varsity athlete--I 
don't know what that means--as a varsity athlete in four sports. Man, 
that is something, a varsity athlete in four sports. He is a hard 
worker--I know what that means--at whatever task to which he applies 
himself. I can't say much more than that.
  Senator Cochran achieved a scintillating academic record at the 
University of Mississippi School of Law and went on to serve as a naval 
officer in the Armed Forces of the United States. The discipline and 
the critical thinking he learned in those venues has served him well 
during his tenure in the Congress.
  The senior Senator from Mississippi has been a Member of the Senate 
since 1978, and 1978 was when I was serving as the Senate majority 
leader. He served three terms in the House of Representatives prior to 
that--and so did I, three terms in the House of Representatives.
  Throughout this time, Senator Cochran has paid particularly close 
attention to the needs of his constituents in Mississippi. That was his 
duty. Most recently, after his home State was hit by the worst natural 
disaster in the history of the United States, the distinguished 
Senator--a colleague of his has already spoken of that but I mention it 
here--Senator Cochran used his role as the chairman of the Senate 
Committee on Appropriations to advance legislation that provided over 
$87 billion--that is ``billion;'' a billion is one dollar for every 
minute since Jesus Christ was born--Mr. Cochran provided over $87 
billion in supplemental Federal assistance to the States affected by 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
  A country western artist once asked in song ``where would we be 
without the love of a woman?'' ``Where would we be without the love of 
a woman?'' Undoubtedly, the love and the support of his wife of over 42 
years, Rose--I remember Rose--helped Senator Cochran achieve this great 
milestone. As I have risen to recognize the Senator, I also wish to 
salute Rose. She was a beautiful lady, very warm smile, Rose.
  Again, I congratulate my colleague whose record in this Senate has 
been that of a true Christian gentleman and a man of genuine political 
humility.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I join my many colleagues today in 
recognizing this remarkable achievement of my longtime friend, Thad 
Cochran, who has crossed the threshold of casting 10,000 rollcall votes 
in the U.S. Senate. In the over 200-year history of the Senate, only 28 
Senators have reached this historic milestone. Thad and I both are 
privileged to be 2 of the 28.
  Thad and I were first elected to the Senate in 1978, and we are the 
only remaining Republican Senators of the class. He was sworn in 4 days 
prior to my taking the oath of office; and, consequently, he is senior 
to me. I have always dutifully acknowledged that seniority.
  Colleagues have extolled his extraordinary record, and I shall not 
add further to his wonderful chapter of public service to Mississippi 
and our Nation.
  I have, however, a most unique, unlike any other Senator, reason to 
have the highest regard for this wonderful man. For an extensive period 
in my life, over 20 years, I was a bachelor. There was a tragic loss of 
a life in our community--Belle Haven--of a man greatly admired and 
respected by all. I was privileged to have a friendship with this man. 
Thad helped his family and widow in the wake of that tragedy.
  There came a time in the years that followed that loss when I said to 
Thad, you know, this widow is someone I admire greatly, could I be of 
help, for I am making little or no progress whatsoever in gaining her 
attention. Being very protective, he allowed he would--in his own good 
time--try to draw his friend's attention to me. And I am so grateful 
today to have my extraordinary wife, Jeanne, who as you well know, 
loves you dearly.
  Mr. BYRD. Hear, hear.
  Mr. WARNER. I don't know that I would be standing here today, given 
my wayward ways in life, had it not been for Thad Cochran and this 
wonderful lady who cares for me now. So, Thad, I wish you well. What 
the future holds for both of us remains to be seen. But I am proud to 
be counted among your most devoted friends.
  As one describes you, I would say you reflect all the qualities a 
Senator should have--but foremost among them, is always your calm 
dignity. I yield the floor.
  I yield the floor.
  (Applause.)
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I ask to be able to address the Senate as 
if in morning business for up to 5 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ISAKSON. At the outset, let me say as a rookie in the Senate, I 
add and echo everything that was said about Senator Cochran. He is 
truly one to whom all of us who are new to this body should subscribe 
and hope in time we could equal his accomplishment.

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