[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23783-23784]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO SENATORS

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise this morning to recognize and pay 
tribute to several colleagues who are concluding distinguished careers 
in the Senate. These gentlemen have distinguished themselves. They have 
dedicated themselves to representing their States and representing the 
best interests of the Nation.


                             Pete Domenici

  Senator Pete Domenici is an individual who has worked many years to 
strengthen our country in so many different ways. He has been a key 
member of the Committee on Energy and Water, and he has been a key 
member of the Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee.
  He was first elected to the Senate in 1972--36 years of outstanding 
service to the Nation and to his State of New Mexico.
  He will be remembered for many things but particularly for his 
unswerving commitment to mental health parity in the health care 
system. It is fitting that legislation we passed will bear his name, 
along with that of Senator Paul Wellstone. Senator Domenici's advocacy 
for those with mental illness, his understanding of these issues in a 
profoundly personal way, accounted for the momentum and ultimately the 
success of the legislation. I commend him and thank him for his 
service.


                              Larry Craig

  Senator Larry Craig, with whom I had the privilege to serve on the 
Committee on Appropriations, is someone who has vigorously defended his 
positions in the Senate. We have disagreed more often than agreed, but 
our debates have been both vigorous and civil. I can recall managing 
the legislation, Senator Craig on the opposing side, with respect to 
issues of guns and firearms. I recall a debate that was vigorous, 
robust but principled. I appreciate that effort and his service.


                              Wayne Allard

  There are three Senators with whom I have had the opportunity to 
serve closely. They are people I respect immensely and wish the best to 
as they go forward. Wayne Allard and I came to the Senate together. We 
were in the House of Representatives together. We have served on both 
the Armed Services Committee and the Banking Committee together. It 
seems, indeed, that on the Banking Committee, we were either the 
subcommittee chair or ranking member, depending on who has the 
majority, throughout our career in the Senate. In that effort, we 
worked closely with Senator Allard and his distinguished staff on 
issues with respect to homelessness, housing programs, many areas of 
endeavor. He has been a distinguished individual who has done a great 
deal, not only for the State of Colorado but for national housing 
policy and for many other areas of endeavor.
  On the Armed Services Committee, I had the privilege of working with 
him. He applied his energy and efforts to clean up the Rocky Flats 
plant, a nuclear facility in Colorado. He has made a lasting and 
extraordinary contribution to his State through those efforts. I 
commend him for all those. I wish him well as he goes forward.


                              John Warner

  Senator John Warner was my chairman on the Armed Services Committee. 
Frankly, he represents the

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model of a Senator. His integrity, judgment, and decency resonate 
throughout this Chamber and will make a lasting impression on this 
body. He has served Virginia with distinction. He has particularly 
served the men and women of our Armed Forces with distinction and 
unfailing dedication. Part of that comes from his own experience. As a 
young man he joined the Navy and then later was in the Marine Corps. 
His own experience, later amplified by his service as Secretary of the 
Navy, left an indelible impression upon him. That impression is the 
fact that all the great decisions made in Washington ultimately must be 
borne by young men and women who serve in uniform. He has never 
forgotten that. He has never forgotten that decisions we make play out 
in the lives of soldiers and sailors, marines, airmen, and their 
families. That unfailing sense of obligation to these young Americans 
is a profound contribution he has made.
  He is also someone who on many occasions has defied the current tides 
of popular opinion. I recall that when the deplorable incident 
surrounding Abu Ghraib broke, there was a sense in some quarters that 
we should try to avoid mention of that, that we should minimize the 
issue. Senator Warner recognized we couldn't do that, that we owed it 
to the men and women in the Armed Forces to look at the issue carefully 
so it would not be repeated, to ensure that it was, as it truly was, an 
aberration in the otherwise extraordinary dedication of our forces, not 
just to the military profession but to the ideals of decency that have 
been the hallmark of the American fighting man and woman throughout our 
history. His efforts there will be ruled as a remarkable display of 
placing the needs of country and respect for the institution of the 
military above any partisan political concerns. He is someone who has 
made a huge contribution. Again, that contribution will resonate 
throughout the history of this country, particularly the history of the 
Senate.


                              Chuck Hagel

  Finally, let me pay tribute to a dear friend and colleague. We 
entered the Senate together 12 years ago. Senator Chuck Hagel has 
represented Nebraska with rare insight and extraordinarily good humor 
for 12 years. He is one of those individuals who is respected and liked 
by everyone because he is an extraordinarily decent person, someone who 
takes his job seriously but himself not so seriously. He is someone I 
have had the privilege to travel with across the globe--Russia, 
Afghanistan, Singapore, the Philippines, northern Africa, and back 
again to Afghanistan and Iraq. He, too, has a rare dedication to the 
men and women of the armed services, born of his own personal 
experiences. As a young man he chose not only to join the U.S. Army but 
to serve in Vietnam. He had the opportunity to be posted to Germany. He 
would have served out his time and left. But he decided he had to march 
to the sound of the guns. His brother was already there. Together in 
the same unit, he and his brother served the U.S. Army. He was wounded 
in action, received the Purple Heart. He came back as a veteran and 
continued his education and then built a very successful business 
career. But he never lost sight of those men and women who serve in 
uniform. He is very active in the USO. He is someone who was active in 
veterans affairs. Then, finally, when he was elected to the Senate, he 
took his learning, his experience and appreciation and played a major 
role on the Foreign Relations Committee. His commitment to a broad 
multinational policy of using our alliances, of building our power not 
just through our military power but through diplomatic and reputational 
power has made a significant contribution to the country, not just for 
the moment but for many years. He is leaving the Senate to pursue other 
endeavors. I wish him well. He has been a remarkable friend. He, 
Lilibet, and their children, Allyn and Ziller, are a remarkable family. 
I will miss him particularly. I salute him, thank him. He, to me, is 
the very model of a Senator who has served his country in different 
ways and now has chosen to continue to serve in other ways. I am sure 
he will continue to contribute to the country.
  To these Members, I wish them well. I thank them personally for their 
kindness to me and their thoughtfulness on so many other occasions.

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