[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 16987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CIVILITY IN THE SENATE

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, every Wednesday in a first floor office 
meeting room there is a Prayer Breakfast. Members of the Jewish faith 
and Christian faith appear there and talk about their life experiences. 
Today was a tremendously stimulating day. Senator Ted Kaufman, from 
Delaware, made the presentation.
  I bring that to the attention of the Senate for a number of reasons. 
One is that Ted Kaufman has a stunning life story, not the least of 
which is starting in 1972, with a 29-year-old man named Joe Biden, who 
stood no chance of being elected in the State of Delaware, running 
against a man who had served in many different positions, including 
Member of the House of Representatives, Governor, and was a sitting 
Senator. But this young 29-year-old, with Ted Kaufman helping run his 
campaign, was elected, surprising everyone.
  As we know, Senator Biden, who had been recently elected--on top of 
the world, barely old enough to serve constitutionally--after having 
been in the Senate for a little over a month, his wife and daughter 
were killed and his two boys were badly injured. Ted Kaufman served 
with him as a staffer until, I think, about 1995, when he went into the 
private sector and then came back as a Senator, appointed when Senator 
Biden was elevated to become Vice President.
  But the most important part I wish to relate to the Senate is that he 
said, from the time he left here in 1995 until the day when he came 
back as a Senator, the civility that is now here was not in the Senate 
in 1995. He said the atmosphere here is so much better now than it was 
in 1995.
  Everyone should appreciate what Ted Kaufman said. We have tried--
President Obama has tried, I have tried--and I hope that has helped 
civility here. We all have to understand, as Senator Kaufman indicated 
to the Members assembled there today, that there is a difference 
between Democrats and Republicans philosophically, but that doesn't 
mean they cannot work together as friends. He gave a couple examples of 
Senators on the floor debating and then walking off shaking hands.

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