A resolution commending the service of the Honorable Trent Lott, a Senator from the State of Mississippi.

Mr. President, I can't help but feel honored and humbled by all that has been said here. My mother would have loved it and would have believed it all.

I feel totally inadequate to properly respond to much of what has been said. I thank my colleagues one and all, and, of course, the venerable symbol of this institution, Senator Byrd, and his comments, ending as he always does with magnificent quotes, from memory. So maybe it is appropriate that I would begin briefly by telling some of my experiences with Senator Byrd.

When you enter my son's home in Kentucky, on the wall, framed, is a tribute he gave to my first grandchild--a grandson--the week he was born. I was majority leader and came on the floor that Friday, and he asked me if I would be around for a few minutes; he had something he would like to say. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I had ever heard in my life. Maybe it was because I thought my grandson was the most beautiful I had ever seen, but it was so magnificent, and he ended with a quote of how a grandfather wants his grandson to remember him. So it hangs there in a place of great pride. ``Chester Trent Lott, III'' is the title.

Senator Byrd and I have worked together, and of course we have disagreed. There have been magic moments. I remember when I was involved in our little singing group, he came on the floor one day and asked me if I had a little time; he had something he would like to show me. So he went down to his office and he showed me a video of himself at the Grand Ole Opry playing great fiddle. So we were bonded by music, by heritage, by faith, and in so many ways.

I could tell a story about certainly each one of these colleagues here and a lot on the other side and how I have enjoyed being here and have enjoyed my

work, and a lot of it has been on a personal, one-to-one basis. Sometimes, when I really, really cared about something, on a personal basis, for my State or for the Senate or our country, I would go to that Senator's office. I remember one time it took me quite some time to track down Pat Roberts, because he was hiding from me, but I found him.

I remember one time I needed a vote, and I needed some votes on the Democratic side. So the simple thing I have always thought is, you know, go where the ducks are. If you are looking for votes, you have to go talk to them, you have to pursue those votes. So I went to Senator Byrd's office. As always, he graciously welcomed me into the inner sanctum. I think I smelled a cigar, which delighted me, and I sat down, and he listened to me as I made my pitch. I talked about the attributes of this nominee for a very important position and why it was so important, I thought, to the institution and why it was important to me and my State. He listened, he asked a couple of questions, and asked me to repeat the name.

At the end, he said: Well, I think everything will be okay. He didn't say: I will vote for him. He just said: I think everything will be okay. I figured it was good enough and time for me to take my leave, and I did. I talked to my senior colleague, Senator Cochran, and said: What does that mean? He said: I think it will be okay.

So the vote came, and it was okay. He was one of a number of Democrats who did vote for that confirmation. It was just sort of the epitome of Senator Byrd. I respect him as a great Senator, I respect him because of the way he loves this institution, and I respect him as a friend.

I take occasion, when I am in the Senate, sometimes when I am leaving, to go over and say: How are you doing, Senator Byrd? Because I know how he felt about Erma, I know how he loved Billie, and he has so many things that appeal to me and that make him a great man. I single him out now because of the beautiful remarks he just made and because really he is emblematic of the relationships I have had with so many of my colleagues here.

I guess, to tell you the truth, I really was kind of hesitant about this moment and about being here today and what you would say, but it all sounded so good, now I am thinking of changing my mind and maybe announcing for President or something.

But to our leaders, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader--he and I did work together on many occasions and without a lot of fanfare. I remember we would bring up a bill, and 100 amendments would always appear. I got to thinking it was the same 100, but then he and I would go to work, with me in the leadership of my party and he as the whip on his side, working with Senator Daschle, and we managed to get it done over and over again. We established a relationship of trust and honesty with each other that is so critical.

I think he has the toughest job in the whole city, being the majority leader in the Senate, and not just because I had it but because I got to see what it was all about. The President has the whole administration, the Speaker has the Rules Committee, but the leaders of the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, they lead because of who they are and the power of persuasion they have and the respect for the position they hold. Nothing in the Constitution gives them special powers.

So I appreciate what Harry Reid has said. He has been a friend, he has been a supporter, he has offered me encouragement when I was down and when I was up. He has been very generous and magnanimous in what he has had to say, and I admire him. I wish him only the best because when he succeeds in working and making this institution work and produce a result, most of the time the country succeeds.

To our Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, you knew just a little bit too much about my background, all these personal references, but I appreciate it. It means so much to me. You have been a great friend. We have been in the leadership together, we have kept our word to each other, we have been supportive of each other in tough times and good, and I really enjoyed having you work with me in the leadership when I was leader, and I have been so honored and thrilled to be a part of your leadership team.

I told you that I knew what your job was and I knew what the whip job was, and I would be your whip and I would support you. And I want the record to show here, and for one and all, I think you have been a magnificent leader for our party this year. It has not been easy. It has been tough. Both of you are going to get criticized, but I have been riding shotgun for you, and it has been a great pleasure, my friend. You have done a magnificent job for our party.

I have to recognize our most senior Republican, too, Senator Stevens. He told me yesterday he didn't like my nickname for him, so I am working on a more appropriate one for him, but he has been a good and loyal friend too. When I was a whip in the House and he was a whip here in the Senate, he took me under his wing, even took me on some flights with him. But I admire you so much, Senator Stevens.

And I have to say to my colleague from Mississippi, it has been quite a ride--35 years--but we have enjoyed each other's company. No matter how tough things get, we could always sit down and talk about Ole Miss. I really thought I would be the head coach this year, but that didn't work out. But the thing I will always say about Senator Cochran, and typically of him, after Katrina, which was a seminal event in my life, obviously in the lives of my families and neighbors and friends, and my State, we had so many needs, and Senator Cochran immediately went to work and produced appropriations--more than one--and he got everything we needed. He didn't jump up and down and brag about it.

He helped not only my State but, as Senator Vitter said, Louisiana and the entire gulf region, and here is what really impressed me about it. We all took credit for what he did--I did, our Governor did, our mayors did--and he sat there quietly in the second row in Biloxi, MI, on the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and public official after public official got up and took deep bows for what they had done. Finally, I had all I could stand, and I got up and said: I am glad we all got to take credit. Now it is time we recognize the man on the second row who actually did it. I will forever be grateful for what you did after Hurricane Katrina, which was obviously a very tough event.

To my staff, who are lined up back here--I have a great team. Typically, Senate staffers do so much of the work and we take the credit, but I have been blessed with super staff this year, and there are some former staff members in the balcony. I have a rule in my office that once you work for Trent Lott, you always work for Trent Lott no matter who pays your salary, and, you know, it seems to work. I never let them go. They are always on call and they are always there, and I thank you all for that.

I want to do something, too, that I have done before. We don't do enough to thank our entire Senate family, everybody from the elevator operators to our policemen and the people here. I think the staff of the Senate here on the floor appreciates it. I have always tried to think about you too. One of my speeches about the sun is setting, isn't it time to go home--as most of you know, I was serious when I said I wanted to go home and have supper with my wife Trish, and on occasion, I did it and didn't come back either.

But to all of the staff: Thank you. You have helped in so many ways. Our leaders on the staff--I think of Elizabeth Letchworth, Dave Chiappa, and Marty. They just do great jobs, and so I want to express my appreciation to them.

To my State of Mississippi, they have shown me a lot of leniency. They have honored me, and they have put up with me sometimes, and it has been quite a pleasure to represent that State. I love it, always will, and will always be working for the State.

But especially to my wife Tricia and our two children, Chet and Tyler, and now our four grandchildren, they have been very supportive, and they have always stood by me. My wife has been a lot more than a wife and mother, she has been a real helpmate. I thank them for all they have done.

I do want to say again to the Senate itself, I have learned to love the institution. Senator Byrd occasionally accused me of trying to make the Senate

into a mini-House, and I have denied it, but maybe I was, in my desire for order and neatness. The messiness of the Senate sometimes was hard for me to take.

But I love this place, and I was thinking about it today--the friendships. They are real here, but they don't go away. Some of our colleagues have gone before us whom I have dearly loved as friends and not just colleagues, people such as Connie Mack, Dan Coats, Phil Gramm, and Paul Coverdell was mentioned. These are friendships which will last forever.

Dianne Feinstein. One of my regrets in deciding to retire is that now we have sort of formed a team, and I think maybe she is a little peeved at me that she took a stand with me after I took a stand with her, and now I am going to the house. But this is a great Senator, and she is a symbol of what I hope the Senate will remember to do, and that is to really go the extra mile to be a friend and to have a personal relationship.

She took on the seersucker Thursday. When we lost everything, she was the one who made sure my wife had some glasses for us to drink out of. She didn't do it for publicity, and I never talked about it publicly, but it was a very special gesture.

I thank my colleagues for letting me be in the leadership. Thanks to my colleagues and the American people for allowing me to have some fun while being in the Senate. I commend it to you, for the future. I didn't form the Singing Senators, the quartet, just because I like to sing base or because I enjoyed music, but because I wanted to show that side of the Senate. Could the Senate really have soul? Could the Senate really have music in its heart? As bad as we sounded, there was method in my madness. I also thought it would lead me to find ways to get one of our Senators to vote with us more. I think it got one more vote than we would have otherwise.

But the kilts--you know, just being a little looser I think is a good idea every now and then. I believe whatever you do in your life you should find a way to enjoy it and have fun. I have to say I have had fun in the Senate because I really enjoyed it. That is all there is to it. But I tried to find a way to do some things that made us closer as friends.

I am glad we recorded some history with the Leaders Lecture Series. I urge my colleagues to restart that, bring in experts to talk to us, men and women who led the Senate, who led the country, who know the history of our country and the history of this institution, and give us some opportunity to have an intellectual discussion about what the Senate is, what it has been, and what it can be.

I do hope we will always find a way to be just a little bit family friendly. Remember, we all have families at home, back in our States. Our leaders sometimes could give us a little reward; if we would behave and allow them to get to a vote quicker, maybe we could get home to our families a little quicker.

Senator Byrd mentioned the fact that I have been on mountain tops and down in the valleys. I thought many times about my high school class motto. As class president--we had a class flower, we had a class color, we had a class song, we had a class everything. We had a class motto that has lived with me since those years at Pascagoula High School in 1959. Our class motto was:

The glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time

you fail.

I have had opportunities to fail, and I have had opportunities to persevere, as the people I represent. It has been a great motto, one I have learned to live by.

I am not going to give a long speech today. I quoted a great philosopher about how you should speak on occasions such as this. He said: You should speak low, you should speak slow, and you should be brief--John Wayne. I am going to try to honor that. I am not going to give you a list of achievements because I have been so pleased with what my colleagues have had to say. But among the things I really am proud that we have done in my years in the Senate: We have built our military, we have made it stronger, we gave them better pay, we gave them better retirement benefits. I will always be proud of that. We had tax cuts, tax reform, and strengthened the economy, even things such as safe drinking water. I had communities in my State that literally couldn't drink water out of the faucets. We have improved on that. We had insurance affordability, welfare reform, transportation.

When I announced my retirement a couple of weeks ago, one reporter asked about what was I most proud of. I said: To tell you the truth, I am not the kind of guy who sits around meditating on what I am going to put on a marker somewhere. I am proud of all of it. But I think I am the most proud of the effort we had with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, working very closely with Senator Domenici and Senator Grassley and others. So in my 6\1/2\ years as majority leader we have had balanced budgets, four, and surpluses two of those four. It hasn't happened since 1968, and we are kind of struggling again. That is something we need to do. Fiscal responsibility is a very important part of what we can do for our children and our grandchildren. I hope we will find a way to do that again in the future.

I have one regret. I guess I was part of the problem along the way. The one thing I always hoped we could get done for our children and our grandchildren we have not been able to do, and that is to find a way to preserve, protect, and ensure that Social Security will be there for our children and grandchildren in the way that it is here for us now. I hope we will find a way before it is too late to get that done.

With regard to recommendations, I have no anger, complaints, I have nothing but hope and joy in my heart for the future. I am so appreciative of the way the Senate and the Congress and the American people stepped up and helped us after Hurricane Katrina. But if there were just two things I would like to urge the Senate to do--I have touched on them, but I repeat them now--No. 1, find a way to make sure Senators have a life and have some time with their families. When you lose that, you have lost an important part of those pillars that make us who we are--family and friends, faith and freedom. You have to make sure you pay close attention to that and learn to know each other and know each other's families. It will make us better people.

Then, last, find a way to keep the human side. It has been hard for me, with my Scottish roots, to tell people when I really do appreciate them and love them; to call people when they are celebrating and call them when they are hurting. But when I hurt, myself, I know how much it has meant to me to have some of you call and offer your support and your encouragement. Find a way to do that. It is more important than anything else that happens in the Senate. Keep that personal, human touch.

Always find a way to disagree if you have to, but don't be disagreeable. There has come sort of a meanness, sometimes, that I do not think is befitting of the institution. I hope we will find a way to stay away from that.

Again, I repeat something I said a moment ago. This morning when I was doing my morning Bible devotional, the message that came through to me was one of hope and joy for the future. I look forward to my opportunities after the Senate. I am not going to say a fond farewell because I am not leaving. I will not be here, but my heart will be with you and I will be watching and I will stay in touch for the rest of my life.

Thank you so much for being able to serve with you. I thank you all for what you have had to say today. I do have a quick card in my topic. I do want to talk to you about some folks who will be coming up later this week.

Thank you very much. God bless this institution.

(Applause, Senators rising.)

Madam President, I noticed the Senator from California and I rose virtually simultaneously. I yield to her.

Madam President, I join my colleagues in expressing my heartiest congratulations to my good friend, Senator Trent Lott, on his historic career of 35 years as a member of the U.S. Congress. I also express deep regrets that following the new year, we will no longer have Trent Lott as a member of this body. His announcement that he will be retiring was a shock to some of us here in the Senate. Trent has been the embodiment of what's good in this body for so long, that it will be difficult to think of the United States Senate without the Senator from Mississippi. I applaud Trent's outstanding service to the people of Mississippi, and the nation which he has successfully undertaken in both wings of the U.S. Capitol.

Trent Lott was born on October 9, 1941, in Grenada, MS, the only child to a shipyard worker, Chester Lott, and a school teacher mother Iona. Trent attended a high school which in later

years would bare his name, the Trent Lott Middle School. Lott went to the University of Mississippi where he achieved an undergraduate degree in public administration in 1965 and a law degree in 1967. During his time at college he met and married his wife Patricia Thompson in December 1964. Together the couple had a son and a daughter, Chester and Tyler.

After graduating from law school, Trent began a law practice in Pascagoula, MS, but leaving after less than a year when he was offered a job working in Washington as an administrative assistant for Congressman William Colmer, a Mississippi Democrat. When Congressman Colmer announced his retirement from the House of Representatives, Trent Lott announced his candidacy as a Republican to seek the vacant office. Lott, even as a Republican, won Colmer's endorsement, vowing to fight the increasing power of Government that was developing in Washington. Lott went on to win the seat with 55 percent of the vote. The next 35 years would mark a series of extraordinary moments in history as Trent Lott begins his career as a Member of Congress.

I have had the privilege of serving with Trent in the Senate for the past 19 years. I have watched him throughout his Senate career develop into a strong and effective leader, mastering the art of compromise, a feat which is hard to accomplish in these times. These qualities served Trent well as he climbed the ranks in House and Senate leadership: he served as House minority whip from 1981 to 1989; Senate majority whip for 5 months in 1995; and in June of 1996, he succeeded my good friend, Senator Bob Dole, to become the 16th majority leader of the Senate. Trent served a brief stint as minority leader after the 2000 elections produced a 50-50 split in the Senate, with Vice President Al Gore still being the tiebreaking vote. As the Bush administration came into office, with Vice President Dick Cheney now being the tiebreaker, control went back to the Republicans and Trent resumed his duties as majority leader. Later in 2001, Trent would once again become Minority Leader as Senator Jim Jeffords, a Republican from Vermont, became an Independent and caucused with the Democrats, allowing them to regain the majority. Presumably, Trent will leave the Senate while serving in his most recent leadership position; he was elected this Congress to serve as the Republican whip. Senator Trent Lott is the first person to have served as whip in both Houses of Congress.

Drawing on his impressive experience as a legislator and a negotiator, majority Leader, Lott was instrumental in promptly moving legislation from Congress to the President's desk. Working harmoniously with the executive and legislative branches of Government, the country witnessed landmark bills being signed into law. Major policy initiatives, such as the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 and bringing balance to the Federal budget for the first time since 1968, were both accomplished under Trent's leadership. However, I was most impressed with the role Trent played in the impeachment proceedings for President Bill Clinton. Working with him during this difficult time in our country's history was an experience I will always remember.

Aside from a distinguished career as majority leader, Senator Lott has been a champion for his own State of Mississippi. Recognizing that the top priorities in Mississippi are an expanded transportation system and innovative education, Trent time and time again proved to the people of his State his ability to deliver. He has secured Federal funding to improve Mississippi's transportation expansion and has more than doubled research funding for Mississippi's public universities. Recognizing Trent's leadership through public service, the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he received both his undergraduate and law degrees, named its leadership institute after him.

On a personal note, I believe all my colleagues can agree with me, that along with his remarkable accomplishments in Congress, what we will miss most about Trent is his affability, commonsense persona, and his enjoyable sense of humor. He brings a breath of fresh air to Washington, a town which desperately needs it at times. No one questioned Trent's motive when he revived a long-forgotten Senate tradition known as Seersucker Thursday, a tradition which this Senator has participated in, and will continue to participate in.

Senator Trent Lott's service and leadership were invaluable to this institution. Truly a great Senator, he will be missed in this body. I wish him, his wife Patricia, and all his family the very best in the years to come.

I am pleased to join in this tribute to Senator Lott. My only regret is that it is occurring perhaps 18 years too soon.

I would characterize Trent's attributes, among many, as his talent, his character, and his flair. He has brought to this body enormous intellectual capability and great street smarts. Ordinarily, the two do not go together, but with Trent, they have been united to the great benefit of the body.

We have watched Trent in his positions in the Senate before taking a leadership role after his election in 1988, being the majority leader, and the way he makes contacts on the Senate floor. We all move around, none with the speed and alacrity of Trent Lott. There is always an intensity to his conversations. He doesn't buttonhole people or he doesn't lean over as Lyndon Johnson was reputed to have done, but there is a real intensity. Usually at the end of the short conversation, the other person is nodding in the affirmative.

At our Tuesday luncheons, the way he moves around from table to table, it was almost as if he were in Club 21. Here again, moving in and out with a great deal of speed and, again, the conversations and what I surmise at some distance to be success.

He has been characterized as a deal maker, a term which is not always used in the highest sense, but with Trent Lott it is. The great problem with our body is there are not enough deal makers. Not enough Senators willing to come to an accommodation. It is an understanding of the varied points of view.

On the rare occasions when I have disagreed with a majority vote--may the record show Trent is smiling--he has been understanding in his leadership position, never conceding, and frequently advocating, but always understanding.

If there is one thing this body lacks, it is a sense of accommodation. That is evident by anybody who will take a photograph of the Chamber today and note how many people on the other side of the aisle have appeared here. I hope their numbers will be increased before this proceeding is concluded.

The business about our political process being dominated by the extremes of both parties is very much to the detriment of the country. Those who are willing to cross the aisle, as the last speaker did on the Democratic side, the Senator from California, the country owes a great debt of gratitude to. And to those such as Senator Lott who have been able to forge compromises, it is in the greatest tradition of the Senate and the greatest tradition of the United States.

Just a word or two about his character. I attended the 100th birthday party of Senator Thurmond on December 4, 2002. I have seen many comments blown vastly out of proportion during my tenure in the Senate and before, but never have I seen one blown as much out of proportion as that one was. And I said so at the time. My record on civil rights is one which no one yet has questioned. What Senator Lott said was in no means out of line. And then to continue in the Senate and really move as a Member without leadership credentials was to his enormous credit. Then to come back and to run for another leadership position and be successful was in the greatest tradition of the Phoenix rising from the ashes. I haven't seen any greater display of character in this body in the time I have been here.

Then there is the matter of flair, which this body needs more of. Always a smile, always a pat on the back, always the joviality, and the great tradition of seersucker Thursday. It is always an interesting time when people come, not recognizing seersucker Thursday. One day, our leader, Bill Frist, went out and bought a suit--and I have a picture hanging proudly in my outer office--and Bill couldn't get the trousers adjusted, and the highlight of the picture is the unadjusted trousers of one of our Senate colleagues.

Let me end on a note which I have debated whether I should comment about, but it is relevant because of the response Trent made to a short story I told recently at the celebrity comedy evening. I dusted off an old story from mayor Bill Daley at the 1968 convention and made Trent the object of the story. It went to the effect that when Trent came back to the Senate after the losses in Mississippi, he was devastated and very glum.

I approached him on the Senate Floor one day and said: Trent, why are you so unhappy? What is wrong?

I knew, in one sense, but he seemed especially morose.

He said: Well, Arlen, not only was my entire property destroyed in Mississippi, but my entire library was destroyed--both books--and I wasn't finished coloring one of them, either.

Well, that little bit of joviality at Trent's expense was met with his approaching me on the floor--and this part of the story is true and what makes it perhaps relevant to these comments--and with a scowl on his face, he said: Arlen, I thought you and I were friends. We have been in this body a long time together. Now I hear you are making me the butt of jokes at comedy hour, so I don't really understand. And besides your unfairness and your incivility, you are wrong--I have more than two coloring books.

In a sense, that characterizes Trent Lott's magnanimity, and we are all going to miss him very much. He has made a great contribution. When Trent decided there was another course for him and his family, I had great respect for that decision as I have great respect for him.

Madam President, after the news of Trent's retirement had spread, a young farmer in Jackson had this to say about the man he had called ``Senator'' most of his life:

He's a good person to represent the State, caring for

people like he does.

That farmer had it exactly right because whether Trent was making sure an old man in Pascagoula got his Social Security check or ducking into a kitchen in Tunica to thank the cooks after a political event, no service was too small, no task too insignificant when it came to serving the people of Mississippi.

One time, when Trent was a young Congressman, a constituent called his office to have his trash removed. When Trent asked why he hadn't called the town supervisor first, the man replied that he didn't want to start that high.

Nobody ever saw Trent Lott as a Congressman or a Senator. To them, he was just Trent. As he vowed last month, that commitment to the people of Mississippi does not end here. ``I will work hard for the State, the last day I am in the Senate,'' he said, ``and I will work hard for this State until the last day I am alive.''

In a plaque on his office wall, visitors will find Trent's rules. The most important one he always said was this: You can never have a national view if you forget the view from Pascagoula.

He never forgot his roots. Trent dined with Presidents, yet he still remembers facing the winters of his childhood without indoor heat. He also remembers his first hot shower. And he never forgot the source of that luxury. ``It came from hard work,'' his mother said. He would spend a lifetime proving that he took her words to heart.

The love of politics came early, thanks in part to some lively debates with his folks around the dinner table. They always treated him with respect--``as an equal,'' he said--and they watched with pride as he threw himself into his studies and everything else that was available to a blue-collar kid growing up along the gulf coast in 1950s America.

Trent was an early standout. His high school classmates voted him class president, most likely to succeed, most popular, a model of Christian conduct, most polite, and, of course, neatest. One friend recalls that Trent was the only guy he ever knew who tidied up his bed before going to sleep at night.

Of course, Trent's reputation for neatness outlasted high school. It has been the source of a lot of jokes over the years. But some of those jokes really are not fair. It is not true, for example, that Trent arranges his sock drawer according to color every day. He is perfectly content to do it once a week--black on one side, blue on the other.

In college, the connection to Mississippi deepened. Surrounded by the white pillars and ancient oaks of Ole Miss, he formed lifelong friendships and grew in respect for the traditions of honor, integrity, duty, and service that had marked his beloved Sigma Nu from its beginnings.

There was always something to do, and Trent did it all: frat parties, swaps, campus politics, singing, leading the cheers at the football games, and, occasionally, even studying. One of Trent's college friends recalls that Mrs. Hutchinson's sophomore literature class was Trent's Waterloo.

But after a less than impressive showing on her midterm exam, he refocused--and one of the things that came into view was a pretty young girl he had first met in high school band practice. One day Trent told a fraternity brother he had met a girl he wanted to date. When he showed him Tricia's picture, the friend said: Yes, I think you should do that.

Then it was on to law school and marriage and private practice. Then, in the winter of 1968, a surprise phone call

came that changed absolutely everything. It was Trent's Congressman, Bill Colmer. He wanted to know if Trent would be interested in a job as his top staffer in Washington.

It was a tough decision. Trent had never thought of coming here, and the money was not good. But it seemed like a good opportunity. And, as Trent says, he never made a choice in his life based on finances. So he took it. And Tricia was behind him all the way. That spring, they packed everything they could pack into their Pontiac and headed north. It was the first of many gambles that would pay off for Trent Lott.

The new city and its temptations did not change the boy from Pascagoula. He put his energy and his people skills to work, learning the rules and customs of the House and cementing new friendships over a glass of Old Granddad and a cigar--always a cheap cigar--by night.

The second big gamble came when Congressman Colmer decided to retire. Trent wanted to run for his boss's seat, but he would do it his way. Although more than 9 out of 10 Fifth District voters were Democrats, Trent decided he would run as a Republican.

It was the hardest race of his life, but Trent loved every greased- pig contest, every county fair, every parking lot rally, and every conversation in every living room he burst into--often unannounced, and usually uninvited. And the voters loved him back.

Buoyed by the Nixon landslide and a last-minute endorsement by his boss, he won. And so at 32, Trent had achieved what so many others in this country have experienced: the realization, through wits and hard work, of an outrageous dream. The boy from Pascagoula would return to Washington as the gentleman from Mississippi full of energy and ready to put it to use.

A year later came Watergate, new wisdom, and soon the recognition by Trent's colleagues that he was a leader.

It was an exciting time to be in Washington. The Reagan revolution was about to take hold. As Trent later recalled: ``You could feel the political ground shift.'' And he would play a leading role.

Rising up the leadership ladder, he revolutionized the House's whip operation and found his place in the push and pull of counting votes. The only Member in history to serve as whip in both Chambers, Trent put his skills on display every day on the floor and in some close leadership races over the years, three of which he won by a single vote. ``If you win by two,'' Trent always said, ``you've wasted a vote.''

But his special gift back then, as now, was his ability to bring people around to his point of view. One of his college friends put it this way:

Trent could carry on a conversation with a tree stump--and

make it feel good about itself.

His colleagues soon learned that Trent Lott's word was as solid as a Mississippi oak. So armed with a reputation for honesty, charm, wits, and a group of trusted soldiers--including an Arizona lawyer named Jon Kyl and a young former Maine State senator named Olympia Snowe--he turned minority Republicans into a potent legislative force, ensuring some of the biggest victories of the Reagan revolution.

At the end of the Reagan years, Trent set his sights on the Senate, and his opponent in that first race came right at him. But Trent was ready for the fight. When the opponent said Trent's hair was too neat, Trent politely offered him a comb. When he falsely accused Trent of being an elitist, the pipefitter's son responded the old-fashioned way: He and Tricia met just about every voter in the State that summer. The voters could judge for themselves what kind of guy he was.

And, of course, they liked him, and they made him their Senator. And he did not disappoint. Again, he rose quickly, becoming conference secretary and then whip. Then came another retirement, sending Trent to the top of the class again as his party's leader in the Senate. On passing tough legislation, he did not understand the word ``no.'' On working out deals, he was without equal.

We all saw it up close after Katrina, when Trent became a ferocious advocate for the people of Mississippi and the wider gulf coast, many of whom would rather live in tents than move away. And in a fight that brought together all his skills as a politician and home State advocate, he won.

We all know how valuable good staff is. Trent has always had the best. We honor all of them today--past and present--for their tremendous contributions. To those who stay behind, we are glad you will be here. For those who do not, we wish you every success.

Trent has lived life fully, never afraid to reach higher and always ready to accept whatever fate would bring. Who in this Chamber was not impressed by the way he dusted himself off after stepping down as leader? He never quit. And there is something deeply admirable in that.

To me, Trent has always been the perfect colleague. We have been in a lot of tough spots together. He has always helped me in every possible way, and he has taught me a lot.

Looking back on his beginnings, it is astonishing to think of how far the son of Chester and Iona Lott has come. He leaves this place with a remarkable 35-year record of accomplishment of which he can be justly proud and scores of admirers from across the ideological spectrum. He will leave a mark on this institution that long outlasts the political fights of the day.

It is hard to believe Trent will not be around when we all come back in January and the gavel drops on another session. But when it does, we will remember at some point in the days and weeks that follow that mischievous grin or a heavy slap on the back or some happy tune we heard him whistle once when he passed us quickly in the hall.

Then we will be glad to have served with a man like Trent Lott, and renewed in the hope that this institution and this Nation that he loves--to borrow the words of another Mississippian--will not merely endure, they will prevail.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 409, which is at the desk.

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

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, I know that under the previous order, it is time for the policy luncheons. There are others here who may want to speak. I see Senator Gregg may well want to speak. Senator Lott would like to respond. Senator Byrd also wants a few minutes.

I suggest the following: that Senator Byrd be recognized for 3 minutes, after which Senator Lott be recognized for 5 minutes, after which we recess for the policy lunches. I know there may be others who wish to speak. Hopefully we can accomplish that sometime after the policy lunches. This is the last day we are here for our respective policy lunches. These are important lunches. We are going to have to begin them shortly. Therefore, I ask that consent.

It would be my hope and expectation, I say to my friend from Oklahoma, that there will be floor time after lunch and that any Member who wanted to comment on Senator Lott's career can do that. Of course, we ask consent that all be consolidated at this place in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise to speak about Senator Lott. The Senate is a place--and we have heard it today for 2 hours with wonderful eloquence and thoughts and humorous stories and anecdotes about Senator Lott--it is a place of words and language. It is also a place, obviously, of legislation, and

legislation leading to laws. But, most significantly, the Senate is a place of people, of individuals--individuals who come here from all over our Nation, representing their people but always representing America, and who meld into the institutions and traditions of this extraordinary place in various ways. Certain individuals leave an indelible mark. There are not too many, but there are some who have.

I would expect that Trent Lott will be one of those individuals.

I have had the great pleasure and honor of working with Trent Lott off and on for a long time. I was elected in the class of 1988 to the House of Representatives. He was elected Republican whip of the House at that time.

Somebody mentioned in their statement--and I served in the House with him and have served in the Senate with him for many years--that he won three major leadership elections by one vote. I know I, at least, voted for him in those three elections, so maybe I was that one vote.

Our wives and our families have integrated over the years and have been close and done a lot of interesting and fun things together. Kathy and Tricia are very close friends. Trent and Kathy are close friends. And I am a close friend of Tricia. We really enjoy that friendship, and it goes back to a lot of different instances.

There are a lot of stories told about Trent Lott. One of my favorites is that Trent tends to like to sing and dance. I guess that comes from his cheerleading days at Mississippi. But he has so much energy he has to let it out through song and dance. On occasion, he can be drawn into this. In fact, it does not take too much to get him to sing.

We were at a gathering once, where Tricia and I and Kathy were sitting around a table near a stage, and Trent was up on the stage singing with his good friend, Guy Hovis, and then there was dance music that started. Tricia, knowing Trent as she does so well, turned to Kathy and said under her breath: If you don't look at him, he won't ask you to dance.

Little did Tricia know that Kathy actually likes to dance too. So the two of them went off and danced away and had a great time. Tricia and I sat at the table dancing inside. But as a practical matter, he has an energy and a personality that is effusive and effervescent, and it draws everybody in.

He is truly the American story. He is not a southern story, he is an American story. He came from a family of moderate means. His father was a pipefitter. His mother was totally committed to him. He raised himself up and went to his beloved University of Mississippi, which I think he still thinks he is going there some days he talks so much about it.

His whole life has revolved around Mississippi and the people of Mississippi and the people he has helped in Mississippi. This is what has made him go: his ability to reach out and make people's lives better, to change their lives and improve their lives.

He has brought all those Mississippi values here. I think there is some sort of almost genetic quality to Members of the Senate from the South. They just have this ability to move through this body with ease and with comfort and make everybody feel relaxed and enjoy them. They do not have that stoic nature that we might have, those of us from the Northeast. Rather, it is just the opposite. They have an energy and an effervescence and a personality that brings people in and causes people to want to work with them.

Of course, numerous statements have been made about what a great individual he is, about going across the aisle and understanding how you go across the aisle and make things work here. That is absolutely true. He is a tremendous doer of legislation because he has the capacity to bring together coalitions. He knows how to reach out to people in a comfortable way. He also knows how to fight a fight and win it.

But it goes well beyond this issue of working to reach compromise to make legislation pass because he has had a passion for getting things done. He also has a philosophy of how we should govern. He is truly a conservative, a fiscal conservative, an individual who understands the importance of giving the individual opportunity, giving the individual the capacity to succeed in our Nation because he had undertaken that and accomplished it.

But it always goes back to his Mississippi roots, I believe. He now has--I think it is something Senator Alexander described because Senator Alexander and his wife, Honey, and Kathy and I had the good fortune to be invited down to visit him at Tricia's new home--we call it Tricia's home--in Jackson, MS, where they bought this very nice house they are restoring. It is an antebellum house. It is a beautiful house. He just loves the land. He loves the people who come to the house. The people he sees, he loves, throughout his day and when he is traveling in Mississippi.

Of course, he loves his tractors. He has this whole shed full of tractors. I am sure there must be maybe 7 tractors there, farm equipment. Of course, only 1 or 2 of them actually work. But as a practical matter, he loves them. He loves them. He loves to just drive around his property and make sure his fields are cut. He cuts them, and he makes sure they are properly taken care of. He is working his Mississippi land. He and Tricia built this beautiful home down there, where I suspect their purpose is to gather their family which is so important to them: Chet, Tyler, their grandchildren coming over on a regular basis. Kathy and I just looked at them and said: These are special people. These people represent the values we really have as Americans--not as southerners but as Americans--the value of family, value of honesty, value of integrity, the willingness to get things done and to work hard. Succeed, and then take advantage of your opportunities to make life better for others, and that was his whole purpose in the Senate--to make life better for America but especially for his constituents in Mississippi.

Of course, then came Katrina. What a devastating effect it had on him and Tricia. They had this beautiful home in Pascagoula which, again, Kathy and I had a chance to visit, an extraordinary house in a line of Victorian houses right on the waterfront. Out behind the house there was this magnificent oak tree, just huge. I have never seen such a spectacular and large tree. The storm came, of course, and it wiped out his house, it wiped out his brother-in-law's house, his sister-in-law's house, and every other house anywhere near there was devastated. He found his class ring, I believe, three blocks away, or somebody found it and gave it to him. All of their memorabilia, the things that meant so much to them, the photos of their families, their notes and comments they received from people, from Presidents and others, all the memorabilia that had represented his lifetime and Tricia's lifetime, of family and Mississippi activity was also spread and destroyed by the storm, and the house, of course, was eliminated by the storm.

But I asked him, because I was so startled, if the tree was still there. He said to me: Yes, the tree is still there. The tree is still there, this huge oak tree that is so beautiful, so magnificent and so elegant. As Trent leaves this Senate, I think of this oak. He may be leaving the Senate, but he is still here, and he will be here. His memory will be here, and the way he did things, the way he taught those of us who learned from him will be here. He will leave a legacy which, like an oak, will stand for a long time in this body. It was an amazing and an extraordinary privilege to have the ability, the right, and the privilege to serve with him, and for Kathy and I to get to know him and Tricia over these many years. So we thank him for his service, and we look forward to continuing our friendship as the years proceed.

Mr. President, let me first say of Senator Lott I must make a slight confession. You know I am leaving next year, and one of the reasons I am leaving is because I have an ailment that has an impact on my brain. I say that in all honesty. I already told the whole world that. The point of that is I have difficulty remembering some things. I still am a pretty good Senator, so nobody is fighting about that. I just know that you and I have gone through some incredible legal situations, legislative situations, and I am trying to pull them up now in the next few minutes just to share them with you and to share them with everybody here.

I have been here 36 years, which is a little bit longer than Trent, and that is six elections. You must know that I was in the middle of a lot of things or I couldn't have been here 36 years. I am not a back- bencher or an under-the-tabler. I am where the action is, and I lucked out on the committee that did a lot of exciting things.

One of the things Trent Lott has taught me about leadership is that it is quiet. It takes place without you knowing it is happening. That is what you did. When we had to put together the votes for the balanced budget and for the reconciliation tax bill, which was one of the most monumental acts, and we had to use that Budget Act drafted by the distinguished Senator Byrd and he didn't quite think we would be able to use it the way we did, and we had that battle and we won that on a vote, then we were using it to reconcile tax cuts for America. It is hard to explain, when you would get everybody around and then you would say: We are almost there, but we are not there. And here I am, I have been working on it forever, and we have this very unique process, and we just have to get the votes. We can't come back a second time on this kind of thing. We will get killed. It has to go right now. He would say we are one vote short or two, and you just knew that it was going to happen. He knew what was there, and when he would tell us to go, we would go, and sure enough, that is how it happened.

So I have had all kinds of situations, from the huge balanced budget, to--I remember when we reformed welfare. Many of these things came from the budget process, the way I used it on behalf of the Senate. We put in the numbers so that you couldn't avoid--if you did the welfare reform, you would get the protection of the budget. And I can remember that was an exciting day because it all of a sudden became bipartisan.

Do you recall, Trent, that it didn't end up with just us; it was them. They came to the party, and so ultimately did the President. It was one great big party. But it was also, in the end, absolutely imperative that we had the reconciliation instruction that came with it that Senator Lott--he wouldn't fuss with me. He wouldn't ask me to prove it. He would just say: Is that the way it is? I would tell him yes. And he said: Well, that is what we will do.

It was just terrific to be a chairman of important matters and have a leader like Trent who would say: If that is what it takes, that is what we are going to do. We didn't redo it or rethink it because it got tough. Many times the path I chose was probably the harder one. He would say: If that is the way we are going to do it, we are going to do it. It was rather terrific to be part of a team like that.

Now, I want to tell you, it works both ways because Trent Lott was on the opposite side of something very important when he was over in the House. We did a Social Security change here to permanently fix Social Security--we thought--and Trent--we heard from over in the House that the rocks and the stones weren't coming from the Democrats.

We said: Where are they coming from?

They said: They are coming from Trent Lott.

I said: Well, maybe I have to go over there and talk with him.

Then I said: Well, maybe I won't. Maybe I will just let him stew.

It was something Reagan was for and we were for, but his little team wasn't for. I think they were right. I think we made a mistake. But we didn't do that. We didn't get it done. Do you remember, Trent? It died. You were over there and, clearly, you knew what you were doing, and I don't think you liked it very much because it was Republicans against Republicans.

But we did get back together, and for the one angst we had many memorable pluses that are just terrific when it comes to thinking back on the life of the Senator over a complicated, tough period of time, when we learned how to use a Budget Act for innumerable

things. In fact, the Budget Act was used, over a period of 16 years, by me, as chairman, with my staff, as an instrument beyond which anybody ever thought it would be used. It changed how we functioned as a Senate because it permitted us to do things through the reconciliation process that were absolutely impossible without that act.

Then we got around to the balanced budget. That was the big monster event of our time. We had to get that done, and we got it done, sure enough, by reconciliation instruction that was really gigantic, and then sitting down in a little room that I use over here that I call my hideaway. I hope somebody puts a sign on it after I leave because that little room was the room wherein we negotiated, four people negotiated the balanced budget.

Trent was the guy who would come in every now and then to see if we were making headway and see if we needed help. It was Speaker Gingrich, myself, and somebody from the White House. Sure enough, when we were through, he was right there by our side, having participated as if he really knew what the budget was all about. He could put on a terrific face. He didn't have any knowledge of what I was doing in there, but he just asked: Is it going all right?

Yes, all right. Is it going all right? Fine. Then he would walk out and have a terrific press conference. They would all think he really knew what this budget was about. I mean, I have to admit, you don't have to tell him very much. We were still a long ways from getting there, and he would walk out and say: They are making great headway. This is really moving ahead.

I would go home after having not slept for 2 weeks, and I would be worried that he shouldn't be saying that because we were so far apart, and all he would say is: Don't worry. Just give them a little bit of optimism; we have to keep them alive a little bit.

I close by saying, Trent, I know what it is to sacrifice to be a Senator. I did that. I came here, believe it or not, with my eight children--and I am going to just mention it once because you had it a little bit better, not much--but the pay was about $38,000 with eight children, and we couldn't find a way to change the pay because we were scared to. That is the kind of suffering we went through. Trent did the same in his early days. When he and his wife came here, the Senate had decided for a number of years that we did not want to pay ourselves a salary, which is one of the worst things we did. A democracy should not do that. We must pay people for these important jobs.

That wasn't what kept him going. He loved the place, and his family loved it, it is obvious. His son was ambitious and rambunctious, wanting to get ahead, and he did get ahead. He was able to do that while his dad served here, and that is truly to their betterment and a compliment.

I say thanks for the sacrifice for serving us, for serving in the Senate, and for serving our Nation. It is important you are leaving at a time when you are strong and have a lot of energy left. That means you will have a second life and you will say to me what James Baker has said at least 10 times. He said: Domenici, there is life after the Senate. And I say that to you: May that life be as good as the Senate or better, and may your family enjoy it as much as they have enjoyed the Senate, and may it be successful for all of them.

I yield the floor.