Mr. President, nearly 26 years ago, I arrived in Washington as a newly elected Congressman with an urgent desire to help the people of my State but not nearly as much knowledge as I wanted about exactly how to do that. Having good ideas…
Mr. President, nearly 26 years ago, I arrived in Washington as a newly elected Congressman with an urgent desire to help the people of my State but not nearly as much knowledge as I wanted about exactly how to do that.
Having good ideas and getting those ideas enacted into law, as my old friend Paul Wellstone used to say, are often
two very different matters. I decided to call on some of my heroes men who were serving in Congress then who had contributed greatly to the life of our Nation and whom I admired. One of those men was Claude Pepper. Another was Mo Udall. Both shared their time and wisdom generously with me and gave me advice that has guided me all these years.
In 1988, Mo Udall wrote a wonderful book entitled ``Too Funny to be President.'' I recommend it to anyone, especially those who have the privilege of serving in elected office in our great democracy. The ability to see humor in one's own circumstances and to share a good- natured laugh with others is essential if you are going to last long in public office.
Mo Udall dedicated his book ``to the 3,000 members of Congress living and dead with whom I served for nearly three decades.'' As I prepare to end my own nearly three decades in Congress, I, too, am deeply grateful to all of the Members of Congress living and dead with whom I have had the privilege of serving and from whom I have learned so much.
The list of such members is long. In addition to my early mentors, Claude Pepper and Mo Udall, it includes members who were gone long before I was born, but whose legacy is still felt today giants like Webster, Clay, and Calhoun.
It includes Senators such as Margaret Chase Smith, who had the courage to take on the red-baiting and bullying Senator Joe McCarthy in 1954 in her famous ``Appeal to Conscience'' speech not far from where I stand now.
The list includes two Senators who first inspired me to pursue a life in public service John and Robert Kennedy and it includes their brother and my friend, Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the finest, most capable Senators America has ever produced.
The list also includes earlier Senate leaders--men such as Lyndon Johnson, the ``master of the Senate;'' Mike Mansfield, one of my personal heroes, who showed that progress and bipartisanship are not mutually exclusive; and Howard Baker, a master of the art of principled compromise.
The list of those who have inspired me includes George Mitchell and Bob Dole, the two leaders who taught me the most about this job.
It includes my fellow South Dakotan, George McGovern; Mark Hatfield, who offered to resign from the Senate rather than cast a vote he could not square with his own conscience; and Jim Jeffords, who showed the world that one person can change history. It also includes Paul Wellstone, the soul of the Senate; Robert Byrd, as eloquent and determined defender of our Constitution as has ever lived; and many others.
Today, I would like to say a few words about eight additional Senators with whom I have served these last historic 6 years, all of whom will be leaving when this Congress ends.
Senator Nickels, Senator Campbell, Senator Fitzgerald, and Senator Miller, it has been a privilege to work with each of you. You have each sacrificed much to serve our Nation and I am sure you will continue to serve America well in the years to come.
Six Democratic Senators are leaving at the end of this Congress. Among them is our friend, the senior Senator from Louisiana.
John Breaux
I was joking with another friend recently that the good thing about John Breaux retiring is that maybe now he will finally be able to loosen up a little.
John's ability to make us laugh even in tough times is a gift we have all treasured. Another gift of John's is his ability to find workable compromises on even the most difficult issues. He really is a master of the art of the compromise.
A couple of years ago, I read a newspaper article in which John talked about what he might do if he ever left the Senate. He pointed out that Huey Long had actually served as Louisiana's Senator and Governor at the same time. I thought when I heard that that maybe John would never leave the Senate; he would just diversify. Regrettably, he is leaving now.
I know that serving as Ambassador to France has always been high on John's list of post-Senate dream jobs. I understand that a few years back, John asked President Clinton, ``Do you think I could handle France?'' to which President Clinton replied, ``The question is whether France could handle you.''
Whatever John Breaux decides to do next, I have no doubt that he will continue to find ways to serve the people of Louisiana and America. And I know he will have a heck of a good time in the process. John and Lois are special members of our Senate family, and we wish them all the best in the future.
John Edwards
We also say goodbye to John Edwards.
I think it is probably no coincidence that John Edwards holds Sam Ervin's old seat in the Senate. Like Sam Ervin, John has a brilliant legal mind and a deep love of justice.
In 2001, the first bill Democrats brought to the floor after we retook the majority was the Patients' Bill of Rights. I couldn't believe my luck: My first bill as majority leader--the Patients Bill of Rights and I was able to tap as floor leaders Ted Kennedy and John Edwards. It was like looking down the bench and seeing Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. You just knew the Patients' Bill of Rights was finally going to pass the Senate. And it did--in large part because of John Edwards' remarkable skill and deep personal commitment.
I think one of the great lines in American literature is the line near the end of ``Death of a Salesman'' where Willie Loman's wife Linda says her husband wasn't famous or powerful, but he was a good man to whom respect must be paid. That same conviction is what has motivated John Edwards' whole life: The belief that there is dignity and worth in every person, including people who work hard every day in mills, and factories, and farms.
In his race for the Democratic Presidential nomination and with John Kerry as our party's Vice Presidential nominee, John Edwards brought a sense of hope and optimism to millions and millions of Americans.
John and Elizabeth Edwards both won places in our hearts immediately, and our hearts and prayers are with them and their wonderful children today as Elizabeth continues her recovery from breast cancer. We look forward to spending many more happy years with them. We also look forward to the good work we know they will do for our Nation in the years ahead.
Bob Graham
The best way I found to stay in touch with the people who elected me was to drive through every county in South Dakota every year and just talk to whomever I ran into about whatever was on their mind. Bob Graham found an equally effective way of staying in touch with average Floridians. He calls them workdays. He would spend a day working in another job.
This year, he worked his 400th workday. He spent that day the same way he spent his first workday 30 years ago: as a teacher. That is appropriate because, in fact, Bob's entire career has been a living lesson in public service.
A while back, I was looking over the list of Bob's workday jobs and I have to tell you, I am amazed! Think about all the things he has done: NASA payload specialist, firefighter, bagel maker, bullet-proof vest maker, pea picker, phosphate miner, Air Force Special Operations gunner, circus worker elf!
Clearly, it wasn't lack of other career options that has kept Bob in the Senate for 18 years. What is kept him here is simple. It is his love of Florida, and of this country. It is a sense of responsibility that he inherited from his father and that has animated his whole life.
Bob Graham is a moderate with a capital M. And he is one of the nicest people you could ever meet. But when it comes to the people of Florida, when it comes to doing right by America, strengthening America's economy, creating good jobs, investing in children, and standing up for America's veterans and military families, Bob Graham is a fierce fighter. And when it comes to protecting our Nation from terrorism, he is a heavyweight fighter. America is safer today because of his courage and tenacity.
I suspect the only people who could possibly be sadder about Bob's retirement than the members of our caucus are the people who make those Florida ties! We wish Bob and Adele the very best of luck in all their future endeavors.
Ernest Hollings
Another remarkable Senator who is retiring this year is Fritz Hollings.
I used to joke with Fritz Hollings that he is the real reason C-SPAN first started its closed-caption broadcasts. Fritz's deep Charleston accent, like the man himself, is an American classic.
When you look inside Fritz Hollings' desk on the Senate floor, you see the names of giants: John Calhoun, Huey Long, Russell Long, Wayne Morse--courageous men who never hesitated to speak their minds. Fritz has earned the right to stand with those legends.
He was 36 years old when he was elected Governor of South Carolina. As Governor, he wrote the book on governing in the New South. He raised teacher salaries, invested in education and training, and laid the foundation for South Carolina's economic transformation from an agrarian State to a high-tech, high-wage State.
One of the amazing things about Fritz Hollings is how often he has been able to see the future before others--not just on matters of race, but on issue after issue.
He was the first Deep South Governor to acknowledge the existence of widespread hunger in his State. He was also the first southern Governor to understand that you can't create a modern economy simply by cutting taxes, you have to invest in education and training.
He has been a relentless advocate of balanced budgets and fiscal discipline since long before they became political buzzwords. In 1984-- years before Ross Perot uttered the words Fritz Hollings made deficit reduction a central plank in his Presidential bid.
He has been fighting for fair trade, and against the export of American jobs, his entire career. He has been calling for a long-term, comprehensive energy plan since before the first OPEC oil crisis in 1973. He wrote America's first fuel-efficiency standards--in 1975.
He was in the forefront of the movement to protect America's oceans in the early 1970s. He saw the future of telecommunications before a lot of Americans knew what ``surfing the Internet'' meant. He was pushing for increased port and air security before September 11.
If some people have occasionally found Fritz a little difficult to understand, I suspect it was not so much because of his wonderful Charleston accent but because he was so often ahead of his time.
Now Fritz and Peatsy are moving home to live full time in their beloved South Carolina, but they will always have a special place in the Senate family. We wish them the very best.
I have to be honest, Mr. President, it was not my wish to depart with these fine Senators. But it has been my honor and a joy to serve with them, and one that I will remember all the days of my life.
