A resolution relating to the death of Howard S. Liebengood, former Sergeant at Arms of the Senate.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the first piece of legislation that I will sponsor in the 109th Congress--a resolution calling on the Senate to strengthen the Pell grant program so that more families can afford higher education.

The Pell grant program is the single largest source of grant aid for postsecondary education funded by the Federal Government. It provides grants to students based on their level of financial need to support their studies at the institutions they have chosen to attend. For this fiscal year, the Pell program is funded at $12.8 billion and is estimated to serve more than 5.3 million students.

I am pleased to have Senator Feingold and Senator Coleman joining me in this bipartisan effort to marshal additional Federal resources for the Pell program. They each have been a leader in the effort to expand access to higher education.

Our system of higher education is in many ways the envy of the world, but its benefits have not been equally available. Unfortunately, it is still the case that one of the most determinative factors of whether students will pursue higher education is their family income. Students from families with incomes above $75,000 are more than twice as likely to attend college as students from families with incomes of less that $25,000.

Even more unsettling are studies demonstrating the negative effect of unmet financial need on college attendance for even the most academically prepared students. Among the most highly qualified high school students, those from low-income families were 43 percent less likely to attend college than their wealthier counterparts.

To help remedy these inequities, the Federal Government has wisely invested in a need-based system of student financial aid designed to help remove the economic barriers to higher education. Central to this effort over the past 30 years has been the Pell grant program. This program was designed as the cornerstone of Federal student assistance.

Unfortunately, the purchasing power of the Pell grant has been significantly eroded in recent years, forcing students to rely increasingly on loans to finance their higher education. In 1975, the maximum Pell grant covered approximately 80 percent of the costs of attending a public, 4-year institution. Today, it covers less than half of these costs, forcing students to make up the difference by taking on larger and larger amounts of debt. On average, students from the University of Maine graduate with approximately $18,000 in debt from Federal student loans alone, and this reflects national trends. As startling as this figure is, it does not include additional indebtedness that many students incur through private loans or credit card debt to finance their education.

The decline in the value of grant aid and the growing reliance on loans bring other negative consequences. The staggering amount of loans can force some students to abandon their plans to attend college altogether. According to the College Board, low-income families are significantly less willing, by almost 50 percent, to finance a college education through borrowed money than their wealthier counterparts.

That does not surprise me. Many working families in Maine are committed to living within their means. Understandably, they are extremely wary of the staggering amount of debt that is now required to finance a college education.

I also know this to be true from my experiences as a college administrator at Husson College in Maine. At Husson, 85 to 90 percent of students currently receive some sort of Federal financial aid, and approximately 60 percent of students receive Pell grants.

As Linda Conant, the financial aid director at Husson told me, ``You cannot imagine how difficult it is to sit with a family and to explain to them the amount of loans that are needed to finance a post-secondary degree. It

scares them. That is why Pell grant aid is so important for low-income families. For these families, loans don't always work, but Pell does.''

I also heard from Judy Kenney from Northern Maine about the importance of Pell grants. Judy lives in Castle Hill, not far from my home town of Caribou. Her daughter and son both were able to attend college with the help of Pell grants. As she told me, ``At the time, my husband Maylen was farming and having a rough go of it and I was a teacher and didn't make much. But the Pell grants my children received made it possible for them to graduate, one from the University of New England and one from Thomas College. Without these grants, they couldn't have finished and now they are making good wages and paying taxes!''

Judy couldn't be more right on both counts. Not only can the typical bachelor's degree recipient expect to earn about 73 percent more over a lifetime than a high school graduate, they also typically contribute 100 percent more in Federal income taxes than the average high school graduate. So this is truly a Federal investment that pays for itself over the long run.

We also know that having a well-educated workforce is crucial to our economic future and competitiveness in the global economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that over the next 10 years, there will be significant growth in jobs requiring at least some post- secondary education. So increasingly, higher education is going to be necessary to ensure employability and to prepare Americans to participate in tomorrow's economy.

Pell grants make the difference in whether students have access to higher education, and a chance to participate fully in the American dream. That is why today I am introducing a resolution calling on the Senate to begin restoring the value of the Pell grant program.

This resolution calls on the Senate to raise the Pell maximum grant award to $4,500, a $450 increase in a single year. This increase is long overdue. The maximum grant award has been essentially level-funded for 4 straight years--at $4,050 for the past 3 years and only a $50 increase in FY 2002.

During these 4 years, think of the students who might have entered college and graduated with a degree, if only they had received additional Pell grant aid. Pell grants are targeted to the neediest of students--recipients have a median family income of only $15,200. An additional $450 in Pell grant aid may very well be the deciding factor on whether these students can pursue their college dreams.

The resolution also calls on the Senate to amend the Higher Education Act to provide higher authorization levels for the Pell maximum grant that would allow for a doubling of the maximum grant to $9,000 over the next 5 years. This is an ambitious goal but a worthy one for a nation that understands the opportunities that a college education brings.

As my colleagues know, the Higher Education Act is expected to be reauthorized this year. As the Senate HELP Committee considers the reauthorization, it is my hope that this resolution will prompt a discussion about the need for the maximum grant to grow.

I know that my good friends Senator Enzi, the new chairman of the Senate HELP Committee; Senator Kennedy, the ranking member; Senator Alexander, the chairman of the new Education and Early Childhood Development Subcommittee; and his Democratic counterpart will all work hard with other committee members to produce a strong reauthorization bill. I look forward to working with them further; they are all champions of ensuring greater access to quality education for all Americans, regardless of their financial means.

The President also has recently announced his intention to include a proposal in his 2006 budget request to eliminate the Pell shortfall and to provide an increase in the maximum grant of $100 for each of the next 5 years. I commend the President for focusing on Pell grants, and I hope that we can work together to provide a more substantial increase for the maximum grant for the upcoming year. An increase of approximately $100 for each of the next 5 years will not be enough to increase the purchasing power of Pell grants and will not keep pace with inflation or rising tuition costs. For 2004-2005, the average costs of tuition and fees for a public, 4-year institution rose by over 10 percent.

I will ask unanimous consent to have a letter of support for my legislation printed in the Record. This letter is from the Student Aid Alliance, a coalition of more than 60 organizations representing students, colleges and universities. Founded by the American Council on Education and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Student Aid Alliance includes members such as the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, to name just a few. I am pleased to have their support.

Mr. President, now is the time for us to make a commitment to raising the Pell maximum award to $4,500 for the upcoming award year. The Pell grant program is the foundation of making good on the American promise of access to higher education. I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this resolution.

I ask unanimous consent to have the letter to which I referred printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I am now turning to a resolution for a very close friend, and then I will take a few moments to comment on this resolution, really the man behind this resolution.

I send a resolution to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, Howard Liebengood loved the Senate. He loved the purpose of this institution; he loved its tradition; and, above all, he loved its people. The Senate was his extended family, and we all are going to miss him very much.

Howard Schuler Liebengood passed away on Thursday, January 13, at his home in Vienna, VA. He was just 2 weeks shy of his retirement. He had planned to travel and cook and devote himself to his wife Dee and their three grown children, Howie, John, and Anne.

We talked in detail at breakfast about a month ago, in late December, about his excitement of being able to retire and spend time with the family.

He also told me he planned on going to the track. One of his closest friends and a real friend of this institution, Marty Gold, said Howard loved anything that ran around the track, whether it was cars or dogs or people. And every May, without exception, Howard went to the Indy 500 with his family.

Howard lived with passion. He lived with conviction. He lived with generosity. He lived with grace. He accomplished so much because he loved life so well.

Howard was born on December 29, 1942, in South Bend, IN. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President, stamps cost 3 cents, and total Federal spending was a mere $35 billion.

Howard graduated from Plymouth High in 1960 and earned his bachelors degree in political science at Kansas State University. From there he went to Vanderbilt University Law School where he met a young man who would become his closest and lifelong friend and future U.S. Senator, Fred Thompson. Howard once described the two of them as misfits among the well-heeled southern scholars and Ivy League stars. But knowing them both, I suspect it was just Howard's characteristic midwestern modesty.

After earning his law degree from Vanderbilt, Howard served as an Army captain in the Vietnam war. His bravery and valor earned him the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal.

Upon his return from Vietnam in 1970, Howard applied for and won the competition to be assistant general manager and play-by-play announcer for the Kansas City Royals AAA farm club. But it was not to be. A young wife and the prospect of a future family led him to the offices of Manier, White in Nashville, TN, where he practiced criminal and entertainment law.

Then, just as he was to become partner, he got a call. Fred was minority counsel to the newly formed Senate Watergate Committee, and he wanted Howard at his side. It was 1973, the height of Watergate. Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee was vice chair of the committee. It was an offer too good to refuse.

Howard soon found himself in the center of the Watergate whirlwind, interviewing witnesses and ultimately coauthoring the Baker report.

It was a heady experience for the young lawyer and launched him on a 30-year career in politics. And yet somehow, despite this long and intimate exposure to Washington politics, Howard never lost his optimism. He never became cynical. He always looked for the good in any situation, and he always kept his good humor. And throughout, he also had the mentorship and friendship of Senator Howard Baker, his first boss in politics.

During the course of Watergate, Senator Baker and Howard became close friends. As minority leader, Senator Baker hired Howard to be his legislative assistant, and then as majority leader he elevated Howard to Sergeant at Arms. Howard would often stay with Senator Baker when the Senator was home in Scott County in Huntsville, TN.

Senator Baker tells this delightful story which speaks to their friendship and Howard's charm and his wonderful wit:

When Howard was Sergeant at Arms in the Senate during the

first Reagan inauguration in January 1981, I still have this

image of Howard in striped trousers and a cut-away coat

standing on a platform next to the emergency phone sweating

although the temperature was below freezing. I said:

``Howard, I see you're sweating. Are you OK?'' Howard

replied: ``I forgot the key to the emergency phone.''

Senator Baker asked him later:

What would you have done if that phone had rung?

And Howard replied:

I would have pulled that sucker out by the roots.

That is Howard Liebengood, and it is the Howard Liebengood we have all been pleased to know. He treated everyone, from Senators to interns, with a graciousness and genuine regard. If a constituent had a difficult request or an unusual request, Howard would say: Give them a chance. That is an idea that just may be worth considering.

When Senator Hatch injured his Achilles' tendon, Howard drove Orrin to the Senate every day. While he was my chief of staff, Howard Liebengood regularly invited young staffers on summer weekends to travel with him to Baltimore for a day of crabs and baseball.

He was just that kind of person--always extending himself, always making others comfortable around him, always making the personal connection, especially focusing on the young people in the office. He wanted to share with them the excitement and honor of working in Government. He always let them know, interns and staff alike, that their jobs mattered, that their jobs had a purpose, that they were serving their fellow citizens and advancing the cause of democracy.

Howard also reached across the aisle. He was known as the peacemaker for his ability to bring opposing sides together. Indeed, one of his great regrets was what he saw to be the growing partisanship in politics.

He missed the days when Members could set aside their party labels and share a 6 o'clock cocktail or a Friday night dinner. When he was legislative counsel for Senator Baker, what is now just down the hall my conference room and the leader's office, it was called the ``back room.'' It featured not a conference table but a sofa, a coffee table, two wingback chairs, and over at the end a wet bar.

Howard would host visits that began late in the afternoon and could last well into the evening. The regulars included Mac Mathias, Barry Goldwater--they tell me, two fingers of bourbon, no ice--Pete Domenici, and Joy Baker, who would often bring along Elizabeth Taylor Warner.

Two curious facts about the jovial and mild-mannered Presbyterian. The first, Howard kept a dozen bottles of

hot sauce in his desk drawer. After the 116 Club, the Szechuan Pavilion was one of his favorite restaurants. The second involves his friend, great friend Mike ``Mad Dog'' Madigan, who served with him on the Watergate Committee.

The story goes that one time in Manhattan, NY, of all places in the apartment of Fidel Castro's mistress, in the course of casual conversation, Mike Madigan said something that upset Ms. Marita, something she took as a challenge to her own personal integrity. She pulled a Derringer from her brassiere and threatened to shoot them both. It was a tense moment. Mike tried to dive under the couch over against the wall. Fortunately, Mike and Howard got out of there unharmed and with a great story to tell.

We all greatly admired Howard. When I became majority leader, I called him on a very late cold December night and asked him to be my chief of staff, and to my great, good, wonderful fortune, he said yes, and he brought incredible insight and judgment. Through his personal leadership, integrity, and generosity, he inspired us all.

He valued character. He valued honesty. He valued grace. Above all, he valued faith. Howard was loved and respected by individuals across the Capitol complex from Members to doorkeepers to photographers to the hundreds of Senate staffers, old and young, Democrat and Republican. Howard was a remarkable person who led a remarkable life.

Howard used to sign off his e-mails with the words ``all good wishes.'' I know I speak for the entire Senate family when I say our hearts are full of good wishes for Howard and his family. We are blessed to have had him in our lives, and we will miss him dearly.

Mr. President, before the distinguished Republican leader leaves the Senate floor, I wish to express to him through the Chair my appreciation for the kind and very thoughtful words about our friend Howard.

Howard Liebengood represents what the Senate is all about. Spread throughout the Senate, we have hundreds of people who work for us every day who are just like him, extremely well educated. If their goal in life was to see how much money they could make, they would not be working here. They do it because they have a sense of public service, as indicated with his record.

The Senator's kind words about Howard today are words that can be directed to each one of the people who work for us. He was what the Senate is all about. He not only should be but is a role model for what the Senate staffers, as we call them, try to be. If they completed their term of service having given up the fruits of how much money they could make outside the Senate and were thought of as Howard was thought of, I believe their lives would be complete.

I thank the leader very much. As I said, his remarks not only spoke of a good man but are representative of what the Senate is all about.

Mr. President, today I rise to honor all our military families by introducing a Resolution to designate November as National Military Family Month. As we all know, memories fade and the hardships experienced by our military families are easily forgotten unless they touch our own immediate family.

Today, we have our men and women deployed all over the world, engaged in this war on terrorism. These far-ranging military deployments are extremely difficult on the families who bear this heavy burden.

To honor these families, the Armed Services YMCA has sponsored Military Family Week in late November since 1996. However, due to frequent ``short week'' conflicts around the Thanksgiving holidays, the designated week has not always afforded enough time to schedule observance on and near our military bases.

I believe a month long observation will allow greater opportunity to plan events. Moreover, it will provide a greater opportunity to stimulate media support.

A resolution will help pave the way for this effort. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this tribute to our military families.