[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1] [Senate] [Pages 58-61] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO CLAIBORNE PELL Mr. REED. Mr. President, this evening I have the privilege of joining my friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, to say a few words about our esteemed predecessor, Senator Claiborne Pell. Senator Pell served 36 years in the Senate--the longest serving Senator in the history of Rhode Island. He was elected in 1960, along with his friend and young Democrat John F. Kennedy. They brought a new spirit, a new vision, new hope to America. He served until 1997, when I had the distinct honor and, indeed, privilege of succeeding him as a Senator from Rhode Island. He was an extraordinary gentleman, and he will be missed by all Rhode Islanders and, indeed, by this Senate. I was honored yesterday to be asked by Nuala Pell to say a few words at his services in Newport, RI. First, I obviously pointed out that Claiborne's public service was sustained and inspired by his wife and his family. Nuala and all of their children were the support, comfort, and the meaning in his life. We owe them our thanks as well for his 36 distinguished years of service in the Senate. Claiborne Pell was a remarkable individual. He was born to great wealth and privilege, but he had an abiding affinity for the average guy. I sense that part of that was at a critical moment in his life, before Pearl Harbor, when the war clouds were gathering in Europe and Asia. He had graduated from Princeton, but he knew he had to serve. Because of his prestige, because of his family, he could easily have secured a safe posting somewhere. He chose instead to join the U.S. Coast Guard as an enlisted cook, to sail the North Atlantic on deadly convoy routes bringing needed supplies to Great Britain. There, he worked with other young Americans, without pretense, without preference. There, he understood the great talent, the great power of Americans, that if they had opportunity, if they could better themselves through education, they would be extraordinarily important to this Nation and they would be able to provide a better life for their families. They could, indeed, seize and realize the American dream. Many people had that experience in World War II, but Claiborne used to it shape his entire public life. He served in the diplomatic corps, but by 1960 he was committed to serving the people of Rhode Island, and he entered the primary against two venerable, well-known, distinguished Rhode Island Democrats, Dennis J. Roberts, former Governor, and J. Howard McGrath, former U.S. Senator, a former Solicitor [[Page 59]] General, former Attorney General in the Truman administration. Young Claiborne Pell won because he struck a cord with the people of Rhode Island, because he was able to translate his feeling for opportunity, for the privilege that education bestows on every person, to the people of Rhode Island. He and Nuala campaigned and won, and then for 36 years they served with such distinction, with such honor, and brought such credit to our State. He is best known as the author of the Pell grant, which provides grants to students to go to higher education, but he did so much more in the field of education. He was involved in numerous reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. He labored over these provisions to make sure young Americans were prepared for college. He was also the author of the national sea grant college grant. Just as we have land grant colleges dating back to the Moral Act of the 1860s, Claiborne said we should have a sea grant act that would allow the sciences of the oceans, maritime sciences, to be taught, to be explored, to be investigated on college campuses. He did so much. In addition to his dedication to education, he also was the creator of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1965. He understood that in the great sweep of time, our military power might fade, our economic power might fade, but the power of our ideals, as expressed in our literature, in our arts, would continue to move the world. And in order to make that access possible, not for the well-to-do but for everyone, he created the notion of a National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities. Thinking back in preparation for my words yesterday, I thought of how often his life intersected with mine, starting at 10 years old in 1960. I saw the motorcade rushing by my grammar school with John F. Kennedy and Claiborne Pell in those final days of the campaign. But in regard to the National Endowment for the Arts, my first exposure to theater-- and I was the proud son of working-class Cranstonians in Cranston, RI-- was Project Discover in which Trinity Repertory Company brought students in to see an act from Richard the II. That was all part of the vision Claiborne had of giving people an opportunity to explore the arts, to find their talent. He did it remarkably well. Today, these two institutions endure. They provide access for millions of Americans to the arts, to the humanities. They have encouraged creativity, and all of it is a tribute to Claiborne Pell. He was perhaps most recognized in international affairs for his staunch support of the United Nations. Yesterday, one of the eulogists, President Clinton, pointed out that every time he saw Claiborne Pell, as President, Claiborne would take out from the back pocket a worn copy of the U.N. Charter which he carried and point out to him the value of the United Nations, the value of collective security. He was there in San Francisco in 1945 when the U.N. was created. He was there in New York City 50 years later for its 50th anniversary. But his notion of a powerful America leading the world, not standing apart from it, his notion that our values, our system, our commitment to human decency would prevail in the face of Soviet totalitarianism and other forms of totalitarianism was wisdom of the ages. In his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he not only espoused those views, every day he reminded us our destiny would take us far beyond what simply a military operation or our economic power might because of our ideals, because of our commitment to multinational support of creating a world community--a remarkable man. He was someone who left and has left an indelible mark on Rhode Island and Rhode Islanders. As I mentioned yesterday, I had the privilege of witnessing this profound bond so many times. We have a parade each Fourth of July in Bristol, RI. It is the largest parade in Rhode Island. One hundred thousand people, which is about a tenth of the population of our State, gathers for it. It is the oldest consecutive Fourth of July parade in our country. To walk in that parade is a great honor. But to walk with Claiborne Pell is an extraordinary experience. For the first few steps, you pretend the cheers are for you, but that quickly fades because, mile after mile, people rush up and say: Thank you, Senator Pell. Thank you, Senator Pell. Thank you for the help when I needed it. Thank you for the Pell grant. Thank you for being the ideal public servant. Then you would see parents lift toddlers and say: There goes a great man, Claiborne Pell. Well, he has touched us and he has made us so much better. I had the rare privilege and opportunity yesterday to say, on behalf of the people of Rhode Island, something all of my fellow citizens wanted to say as soon as they heard the news, as soon as they realized the great light of Claiborne Pell had dimmed; and those are two simple words: Thank you, Senator Pell. Mr. President, now I would like to yield the floor to my colleague and friend, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who is someone who is molded in the image of Claiborne Pell, someone who understands, as Senator Pell did, that opportunity is the engine that drives America, that our great skills have to be harnessed to a higher purpose. It is such a privilege and pleasure to serve with him. And not only that, but he has been a dear and personal friend of the Claiborne Pell family for many years, indeed generations. I yield to my colleague. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Rhode Island. Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Thank you, Mr. President. And I say to Senator Reed, thank you. I rise in honor of a great friend and mentor. I look around me at a room that just this morning was filled with Senators. It was a crowded Senate floor, with packed galleries, as a group of bright and promising new Senators began their careers, with all that joy and hope. Now, as my senior Senator, Jack Reed, and I speak, the room is quiet, the galleries are mostly empty, and colleagues are gathering in remembrance because yesterday Rhode Island saw the sunset on a Rhode Island era with the funeral of our friend, Senator Claiborne Pell. I am deeply honored by Senator Reed's kind words, and he has a unique position as the successor to Senator Pell. It must be an interesting feeling to have served in the Senate for 36 years, to have loved this institution, to have accomplished extraordinary work in this institution, and then to walk away and leave your seat to a new, young Senator to replace you. Senator Pell had great confidence in Senator Reed from the very beginning. He was, indeed, able to assure that there was no primary to succeed a seat that was open for the first time in 36 years, and it was because of his confidence in Jack Reed that he put in that effort. I know firsthand how extraordinarily proud he was of the Senator Jack Reed has shown himself to be. We in Rhode Island are a little, tiny State, but over the years we have had some towering and remarkable Senators. Claiborne Pell, obviously, was one. John Chafee was one. John O. Pastore was one. Theodore Francis Green was one. Even the gentleman once known as the general manager of the United States, Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, was a towering presence. Certainly, Senator Reed has shown himself to have joined that pantheon. I probably have another 10, 20 years of work before I get there, but I will keep trying. But certainly Senator Reed is in that category, and I am deeply honored by his kind words. Many in this body knew Claiborne Pell and served with him. I wish to say on behalf of Rhode Islanders who watched the service yesterday how grateful we are to Majority Leader Reid, Majority Whip Durbin, Claiborne Pell's dear friends, Ted Kennedy and Joe Biden, and Senators Pat Leahy, Dick Lugar, Orrin Hatch, Chris Dodd, Jeff Bingaman, John Kerry, and Joe Lieberman, all of whom honored Senator Pell by attending the funeral. Of [[Page 60]] course, I give special thanks to President Bill Clinton, who came to Rhode Island, a place where he is beloved, and spoke for his departed friend. Senator Pell was there for me in my own career at key junctures in so many important ways, and I should give him credit and in front of all my colleagues express my deep gratitude for what he did. He recommended me to President Clinton for appointment as U.S. attorney. After I served my term as U.S. attorney, I ran for attorney general. I served with the Presiding Officer, Senator Salazar of Colorado, as an attorney general. I had a three-way primary for attorney general. Claiborne Pell endorsed me in the primary. He actually did a television ad with me. In his 36 years in the Senate, he wanted no part ordinarily of primaries. For two people he got involved in a primary and endorsed a candidate. One was me. The other was Congressman Patrick Kennedy. It is almost unimaginable what a difference it made in my fledgling campaign, my first bid for elective office in the Democratic primary to have a man of Senator Pell's towering reputation stake his reputation on me and express that kind of confidence. It is something for which I am indebted to him and to his memory and to his family forever. To me and to so many people in the Ocean State, Claiborne Pell was a mentor and an example, a leader whose vision, grace, and authentic kindness left an indelible imprint. He was born in New York City in 1918, and he first came to the Senate in 1961, after a colorful primary battle, described by Senator Reed, that pitted him as an essential unknown against two established Democratic powerhouses: Dennis J. Roberts and J. Howard McGrath, contending for the seat that was being vacated by Theodore Francis Green. It did not look good. Pell was the ultimate outsider. He was so much the underdog in that race that John F. Kennedy, who was running for President at the time--and who knew Claiborne quite well because he was a dear friend of Mrs. Kennedy, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and was in Rhode Island a good deal because of her family associations with Rhode Island; so he knew Claiborne Pell quite well--he called him the least electable man in America. At his funeral yesterday, I saw Pell buttons from that race back in 1961 on mourners' lapels. The Providence Journal described the race that ensued as ``the first modern political campaign the state had seen.'' Senator Pell invested his own money in television ads and polling, and he won the Democratic primary. He was the first unendorsed candidate in the history of Rhode Island to ever win a Democratic primary. He went on to win the general election. He won it by the largest margin ever at the time, 69 percent of the vote. To his great satisfaction, more Rhode Islanders voted for Claiborne Pell in that election than voted for John F. Kennedy--so much for being the ``least electable man in America.'' The fact that John F. Kennedy road on Claiborne Pell's coattails was a point Claiborne Pell, in his quiet way, loved to remind President Kennedy of whenever the opportunity presented itself. Of course, Rhode Island, in that election, got its first look at the one-of-a-kind political temperament that was to define Senator Pell for the rest of his life: courteous, innovative, and always quietly humorous. Senator Pell looked back on that election in an interview with the New York Times, and he said this: I remember my first campaign. My opponent called me a cream puff. That's what he said. Well, I rushed out and got the baker's union to endorse me. Frankly, I think a little bit of humor is sorely lacking now. How many people in today's politics being called a cream puff would go out and get a baker's union endorsement rather than trying to find some other way to hit back? Claiborne Pell believed, as he once told the Providence Journal, something that is so important: [T]hat government--and the federal government in particular--can, should and does make a positive impact on the lives of most Americans. He lived by that observation, and certainly Senator Pell's positive impact on the lives of the people he served will be remembered for generations. Two years after taking office, Senator Pell sponsored legislation that became the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, now known, thanks to its champion, as the Pell grant. At the time, the Nation's colleges wanted Federal aid for themselves, but Senator Pell wanted the aid to go directly to students. He enlisted in the Coast Guard 4 months before Pearl Harbor, serving in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and after that he used the GI bill scholarship to get an advanced degree from Columbia University. The GI bill showed him the transformative power of a college education, and Claiborne Pell resolved then that all Americans would have the opportunity for a college education that he and millions of veterans had received after World War II. So every year in September a new group of students goes off to college, and we see anew the work of Senator Pell, enlivening millions of young Americans who use Pell grants to pursue their dreams. In 2008, this Pell Grant Program was nearly 5.6 million grants, worth $16.4 billion--all from his idea. I am delighted the distinguished Senator from Colorado is presiding at this moment because I remember in Rhode Island a few years ago I was at an event with a number of Senators, and the distinguished Senator from Colorado, now our Interior Secretary designate, was present. Senator Pell came to the event. He was very disabled, and he came in a wheelchair. I went over to greet him. Senator Salazar--I say to the Presiding Officer, you will remember this--also came over to greet him. He took his hand, and he told him: Senator, my brother and I went to college because of the Pell Grant Program. Now here I am standing in front of you as a Senator, thanks to the vision and foresight you showed years ago--your vision that every American should have the dream of higher education at their disposal. I say to the Presiding Officer, you were then in your first term as a newly elected Senator. It was an unforgettable moment, I say to the Presiding Officer. It happened because Senator Pell understood the difference that higher education could make in the lives of America's young people--from a young Ken Salazar from rural Colorado, to toddlers across this country now who will seize the opportunities of America in years to come because of this man. Senator Pell knew that the arts, too, could transform lives. He authored the landmark legislation that gave rise to the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities. These institutions have secured a place for the culture and the arts in the public life of this Nation. Over the years they have helped bring poetry, drama, dance, painting, sculpture, song, literature, and history to millions of Americans. Of course, we New Englanders are deeply indebted to Senator Pell for his passion for public transportation and in particular for his long fight to develop for the Northeast corridor a transit system to support the cities of today and tomorrow. As we face the challenges of rising energy costs, economic recession, and urban stresses on our congested highways, Americans will rely more heavily than ever on systems such as Amtrak. Senator Pell's foresight again has served us well. Here in the Senate, Senator Pell is remembered for his big ideas. In Rhode Island, we remember him also for his gentle, generous spirit. He had lived all over the world. He had been honored with medals from at least 18 different nations. But Newport, RI, was always home. In both his personal and his political life, he was a consistent model of civility and kindness to his fellow Rhode Islanders--always, without fail--even sometimes at his peril. For example, in his final bid for reelection in 1990, Senator Pell reportedly insisted on warning Congresswoman Claudine Schneider, his Republican opponent, every time he was about to air a new television ad. He [[Page 61]] told his campaign staff that he would not permit a self-promoting press release to go out, chiding: ``No, no, no, we never boast.'' In a debate I remember watching, he was given two huge political softball opportunities. One, he was asked to criticize his opponent, to critique her capacity to defeat him and serve in the U.S. Senate. The only thing he had to say was she has been a very fine Congresswoman. Then he was asked what his most significant legislative achievements had been during the previous term that had helped Rhode Islanders. He said: You know, I really can't think of one right now. My memory is not as good as it should be. One would think those answers would be lethal politically, but Rhode Islanders loved it and they loved him for it because he was as genuine and as authentic as a man could be. I guess one of the great lessons of his life is that voters don't want you to be perfect; they want you to be you. They want you to be authentically who you are and from there to fight for them, and he certainly lived that. For his authenticity and gentleness of spirit, Claiborne Pell was beloved by all of us in the Ocean State who were privileged to know him or work with him or learn from his example. We all will miss him deeply. To his wife Nuala, to his children, Toby and Dallas, and their families, and to the families of his departed children, Bertie and Julie, I know I join my distinguished senior Senator and all in this body and indeed all of America in holding them in our thoughts and prayers. As his family reminded us last week, Senator Pell summarized his role as a Senator with seven simple words: Translate ideas into actions and help people. Would that all of us could have ideas as big as Claiborne Pell's and the strength, grace, persistence, and courage to translate them into action. I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized. Mr. KYL. Mr. President, would it be in order for me, before I begin my remarks, to compliment the Presiding Officer for his nomination to be Cabinet Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and wish him very well before the Senate in being confirmed and serving in that position? I guess that question doesn't need a response. I certainly hope it is in line for me to be able to say that. ____________________