[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 18735-18736]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARK PRYOR

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am going to take just a minute, because 
time is running out, to talk about a couple of Senators.
  I rise to honor Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas upon his departure 
from this institution. I have been in the Senate 28 years, and there 
has been a Pryor here for 22 of those years. I first worked with Mark's 
dad, David Pryor. David Pryor left this institution because he had 
quite a significant heart attack. What a fine Senator. I have said 
before, and I will say again, he was the best legislator I ever served 
with, whether during my experience in the State legislature of Nevada 
or here: David Pryor. He was very, very good.
  Six years after David left, Mark came. What a good legislator he is. 
He is just such a fine person. But it is no surprise to me that he 
followed in his dad's footsteps. After all, the Pryor family has worked 
as public servants in Arkansas for five generations. Mark's great-
great-grandfather was a sheriff. Mark's great-grandfather was a 
sheriff. Mark's grandfather Edgar was a county sheriff also in 
Arkansas. In fact, just last year, an Arkansan said to Mark: ``I'm for 
Mark Pryor not because of his dad David but because of Edgar.'' That is 
how deep the Pryor roots run in Arkansas.
  On Mark's desk is a plaque that reads: ``Arkansas Comes First.'' This 
was a plaque that was on his dad's desk and that Mark put on his desk. 
This has been Mark's mission since he has been here--to put Arkansas 
first. The Senate and the entire country have benefited from the 
influence of the Pryors in the United States Senate--David and Mark.
  Mark was born in Fayetteville, grew up in Little Rock, and attended 
the University of Arkansas as an undergraduate and later to law school. 
While working as an attorney in private practice, he began his public 
service in 1990,

[[Page 18736]]

when he ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. He was elected 
and served there for 4 years.
  In 1996, Mark was faced with the fight of his life. He had a 
situation occur near his Achilles tendon on one of his legs. They tried 
physical therapy, but it didn't seem to get well, and they discovered 
he had a very rare form of cancer--clear-cell sarcoma--in his left leg. 
So it is an understatement to say it was a trying experience for Mark. 
He was faced with the prospect of dying or losing his leg.
  Mark was buoyed in this difficult experience that he had by his 
family, his friends, and the people of Arkansas praying for him. It was 
quite a spiritual experience for Mark and his family. This experience 
deepened his compassion for those who suffer physically, financially, 
and emotionally, and he has translated that into his public service.
  In 1998, he was elected attorney general of the State of Arkansas. In 
his 2002 Senatorial election he bucked the national trend to become the 
only Democrat to defeat a Republican incumbent. Bucking trends would 
quickly become one of his hallmarks here on Capitol Hill. As a Senator, 
he has shown courage in voting according to his conscience.
  Key among his legislative accomplishments have been bills to extend 
tax benefits and improve medical services for men and women to make the 
products that people buy, especially children, safe. He has also been a 
strong advocate for honest and transparent business practices in order 
to preserve our American tradition of responsible free enterprise.
  His respect for tradition extends to the Senate itself. I say this 
for a number of reasons, but once a reporter asked him what he would do 
if he had absolute power over Congress. In his characteristic fashion, 
he responded he would instill in his fellow Senators greater respect 
for each other and for the world's greatest deliberative body. That is 
what Mark Pryor said.
  While some may have disagreed with Mark, they never ever questioned 
his sincerity, his integrity. I admire his impeccable dedication to his 
conscience.
  Mark Twain said:

       The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you 
     are in the wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you 
     are in the right.

  With apologies to Mark Twain, if eternal agreement were the price of 
friendship, we would all have fewer friends. Friendship can transcend 
policy preferences, as Mark's and mine do. We agree on most everything. 
There are a few things we don't agree on politically, but that doesn't 
matter. It doesn't matter because he is my friend.
  He is a friend to my wife and me. It is no secret there are many 
people--the Republican leader and his wife--who reached out to console 
me and Landra during her terrible accident, and then when the cancer 
was ravaging her body. But she pulled through that. And one reason she 
did, I am convinced, is Mark Pryor. Mark Pryor, who almost died from 
cancer, called my wife often--often--texted her often telling her: You 
are going to be OK; don't be afraid. So my wife loves Mark Pryor.
  We were talking about the elections not long ago, and I said: I have 
never prayed to win an election, and this election I didn't either. She 
said: Well, I did. That is how she feels about Mark Pryor.
  I am really honored to have served with Mark Pryor, who is such a 
genuine person, so sincere. He has been an invaluable asset, his 
service here in the Senate. I congratulate Mark on his exemplary 
service here in the Senate.
  Mark will always be my friend. There is a quote that bears directly 
on my feelings about Senator Pryor: ``A good friend is hard to find, 
hard to lose, and impossible to forget.'' I will never ever forget Mark 
Pryor. He is a unique, one of a kind, kind, thoughtful, considerate 
man.

                          ____________________