[Senate Document 108-22]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Doc. 108-22
TRIBUTES TO HON. THOMAS A. DASCHLE
Thomas A. Daschle
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T7206.001
Thomas A. Daschle
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Thomas A. Daschle
United States Congressman
1979-1987
United States Senator
1987-2005
a
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
Trent Lott, Chairman
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell..............................................
ix
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Akaka, Daniel K., of Hawaii....................
35
Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
44
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
25
Burns, Conrad, of Montana......................
3
Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
5
Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
40
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
9
Dayton, Mark, of Minnesota.....................
25
Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
36
Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
42
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
19
Edwards, John, of North Carolina...............
24
Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
40
Feinstein, Dianne, of California...............
23
Fitzgerald, Peter G., of Illinois..............
18
Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
12, 18
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
32
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
46
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
43
Johnson, Tim, of South Dakota
........................................
3, 13, 14, 15
Kohl, Herb, of Wisconsin.......................
41
Lautenberg, Frank, of New Jersey...............
26
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
16
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
8
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
19, 47
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
31
Nickles, Don, of Oklahoma......................
23
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
44
Sarbanes, Paul S., of Maryland.................
21
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
39
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
9
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
41
Biography
Tom Daschle was born on December 9, 1947, in Aberdeen,
SD, where he grew up in a working family as the eldest of
four brothers. He became the first person in his family to
graduate from college when he earned a political science
degree from South Dakota State University in 1969.
After serving 3 years as an intelligence officer in the
U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command, he spent 5 years as
an aide to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.
Tom Daschle is married to Linda Hall Daschle and is the
father of three children: Kelly, Nathan and Lindsay.
Congressional Career
In 1978, Daschle returned to South Dakota to run for
the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected and
served until 1986 when he ran for the U.S. Senate. After a
close race, Daschle became the junior Senator from South
Dakota. He then moved on to become senior Senator and
Democratic leader.
Legislative Record
Probably nothing better characterized Tom Daschle's
Senate priorities than his annual ``unscheduled driving''
tour, when he traveled across his home State of South
Dakota in his car with no staff and no schedule. He
stopped at Elks clubs, cattle auctions, health clinics,
schools, cafes, police stations or anywhere else that
people gather, to hear what was on their minds. He made a
point of traveling to each of the State's 66 counties
every year.
The visits, he said, reminded him where he came from,
and why he was in Washington--to put the priorities of
America first. As a respected and accomplished leader in
the Nation's Capital, Daschle put South Dakota values on
the national agenda.
In 1978, Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives, where he served four terms and was
quickly made part of the Democratic leadership.
In 1986, Daschle won his first Senate race in a hard
fought contest with incumbent James Abdnor. In his first
year, he was appointed to the powerful Senate Finance
Committee, an unusual honor for a freshman. In 1988, then-
Senate Democratic Leader George Mitchell named Daschle the
first-ever co-chair of the Democratic Policy Committee,
making him the first South Dakotan ever to hold a Senate
leadership position.
To enhance his State's economy, Daschle also became the
first U.S. Senator to hire a full-time economic
development director. He was also one of the first Members
of Congress to establish a toll-free telephone line that
connected South Dakotans to his Washington, DC, office.
In 1992 and 1998, South Dakotans re-elected Daschle to
the Senate by overwhelming margins. In 1994, he was chosen
by his colleagues to succeed the retiring Senator George
Mitchell as Democratic leader. In the history of the
Senate, only Lyndon Johnson had served fewer years before
being elected to lead his party. In addition to the
leader's post, Daschle also served as a member of the
Senate Agriculture Committee. He also served on the
Veterans', Indian Affairs, Finance, Ethics and Rules
Committees.
Throughout his career, Daschle has been a tireless
fighter for working families in South Dakota and across
the country. At the same time, he has demanded fiscal
discipline from Congress and the White House. He pressed
to give family farmers and ranchers a fair chance to
compete, and worked to ensure that rural communities had
access to quality education and health care. A champion of
veterans, Daschle led the fight for full funding of
veterans' health care and enacted legislation to treat and
compensate those affected by exposure to Agent Orange and
ionizing radiation. He also enacted legislation to
increase Indian housing funding and bring clean drinking
water to Native Americans in South Dakota, and led the
national effort to fully fund the Indian Health Service.
In the telecommunications age, Daschle led efforts to
ensure that rural America had access to the latest
technology.
As Democratic leader, Daschle pressed his fellow
lawmakers to cut taxes for working families, pay down the
national debt, and shore up Social Security and Medicare
for future generations. Daschle also introduced a
comprehensive legislative plan, South Dakota First, which
ensured that South Dakota's concerns would be at the
forefront of the national agenda. Daschle's plan would
help South Dakota expand economic opportunity, strengthen
rural communities, promote lifelong learning, keep
families healthy, and preserve the Black Hills.
Shortly after negotiating the historic 50-50 power
sharing agreement in the 107th Congress, Daschle became
the Senate majority leader. He steered the Senate, and
helped steer the Nation, through some of the greatest
challenges in recent history: the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001, and the anthrax attack on his office.
In the weeks that followed, Daschle worked with the
bipartisan leadership to enact landmark legislation to
respond to the terrorist threat and stabilize the Nation's
economy.
Daschle on Agriculture
Wrote the 1985 Emergency Farm Credit Act to aid farmers during the
depths of the farm crisis, and wrote major provisions of the Disaster
Relief Act of 1988, 1989 and 1993 to help farmers rebound from the
devastating effects of natural disaster.
Authored key provisions of the Omnibus Trade Act to help increase
overseas markets for agricultural products.
Worked to ensure that future agricultural programs and policies
improve farmers' incomes; give farmers the flexibility to plant for the
marketplace, not the government; minimize red tape; and increase the
emphasis on value-added agriculture.
Authored key provisions of the 2002 farm bill and ensured its
enactment.
Daschle on Economic Development
Was one of the first Senators to create an economic development
division in his Washington office.
Authored and passed legislation creating the Northern Great Plains
Rural Development Commission to expand development in the five Upper Great
Plains States.
Delivered clean water to rural communities throughout South
Dakota, including three of the world's four largest water projects.
Daschle on Health Care
Led a bipartisan effort to support meaningful, enforceable patient
protections for millions of Americans under managed healthcare plans.
Authored several important bills to expand health services in
rural areas.
Authored and passed legislation to protect seniors' health
security by regulating the sale and marketing of Medigap policies to guard
against fraud.
Introduced legislation to prevent companies from canceling retiree
health benefits without notice.
Enacted legislation to prevent and treat fetal alcohol syndrome.
Fought to expand health coverage for pregnant women and children,
and to allow those over 55 to buy Medicare coverage.
Daschle on Veterans
Authored and passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. Led the fight to
secure health care and disability compensation for Vietnam veterans
suffering from exposure to Agent Orange. He also passed legislation
addressing birth defects in children of veterans exposed to the defoliant.
Was instrumental in passage of the Veterans' Benefits Improvement
Act of 1994, which guaranteed priority health care and authorized payment
of disability compensation to Gulf War veterans suffering from undiagnosed
war-related illnesses.
Led the fight for full funding of veterans' health care.
Daschle on the Environment
Was the principal author of the reformulated gasoline provision of
the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. As a result of the provision, 30
percent of the gasoline sold in the United States is now reformulated with
clean-burning oxygenates, thus reducing smog and various cancer-causing
emissions.
Daschle on Native American Issues
Authored successful legislation to authorize housing and expand
education and health facilities on Indian reservations.
Brought clean drinking water to South Dakota reservations and
other rural communities.
Led the fight to guarantee health coverage to Native Americans
through the Indian Health Service.
Led the fight for reform of Indian trust account management.
Farewell
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, like the distinguished
Senator from Illinois [Mr. Fitzgerald], I take a couple of
minutes this afternoon to come to the floor to express in
the most heartfelt way, as he just has, my profound thanks
for the opportunity I have had to serve in the Senate.
I congratulate him on his successful career and wish him
well in all of his endeavors.
I would like to begin where he ended--by thanking my
family: my wife Linda, my mother, my daughter Kelly, and
Eric; our son Nathan, and Jill; and our daughter Lindsay.
I thank my staff. I actually believe--and I am sure each
of our colleagues shares this view--that I have the finest
staff the Senate has ever assembled. They have served me,
they have served this institution, they have served the
people of my State, and they have served this country with
remarkable professionalism, dedication, loyalty,
patriotism, and commitment in ways that nobody could
possibly register.
I thank the people of South Dakota, most importantly,
for the opportunities they have given me to live my
passion for these past 26 years. No Senator has ever been
more grateful, more fortunate than I.
I thank my colleagues for their friendship and their
loyalty, their support, and the remarkable strength they
have given me each and every day.
I congratulate the man on my left, Harry Reid. No Senate
leader has ever had the good fortune I have had to have an
assistant like the man from Searchlight. He is a
profoundly decent man who loves his State, this
institution, and his country. If friends are relatives
that you choose for yourself, then he is my brother.
I thank Dick Durbin and congratulate him and Debbie
Stabenow and Byron Dorgan and Hillary Clinton for their
willingness to take on the leadership roles in the 109th
Congress. I will say that this Senate and the caucus could
not be served better.
I congratulate especially Chuck Schumer for taking on
what may be one of the most challenging of all leadership
positions. I know that he will serve us well.
I can remember so vividly 10 years ago when I was
elected leader by one vote. I came to the Senate very
nervous and filled with trepidation, but I recognized that
we had a job to do. I wanted to use the power I had been
given wisely, recognizing that it was entrusted to me so
we might make the lives of all people better.
Shortly after I was elected leader, I was asked to come
to dinner with a good friend of mine, a man in his
eighties, whose name was Reiners, from Worthing, SD. Dick
was a farmer, had been one of my strongest supporters,
most loyal and dedicated friends, one of those people we
can all identify with. He asked me to come to dinner that
night and I went out to his farmhouse. We had dinner. I
asked him for advice. He paused and he looked at me and he
said, ``There are two things I will hope for you. One is
that you never forget where you came from. Come home.
Remember us.''
And then he pointed to some pictures on the wall that I
recognized very readily. They were pictures of his
grandchildren. He said, ``You have held each one of those
grandkids, as have I. Give them hope. Every day you walk
onto the Senate floor, give them hope.''
We hugged each other and I left. Later on that night, I
got a call in the middle of the night that Dick Reiners
had passed away. I never, ever, have been given better
advice in all the years before or since and I remember it
now.
We come to this body with great goals, and our challenge
is to stay focused on those goals, to never lose sight of
them in the daily challenges and the battles we take on as
we come to these desks.
Two touchstones, in particular, have helped me remember
my goals.
The first touchstone is this desk, the leader's desk.
You pull open this drawer and you see the names of all the
leaders carved in it. It is a constant reminder that we
are part of a continuum, a continuum that makes us the
heirs and the guardians of a miracle. That miracle is
democracy--a government founded on the ideal of freedom.
We have sworn to protect that ideal. We have a
challenge, as we sit at these desks, to do what soldiers
have done for 200 years. We either have to fight for this
freedom or work at it. In more than 30 wars, 1 million men
and women have given their lives for that freedom, and our
job is to work at it as if we have given our lives, too--
every day. We have to protect and defend that freedom and
we must pass it on to future generations undiminished.
My second touchstone is a practice I acquired many years
ago, making it a habit to get into my car and drive
without a schedule to all the counties of South Dakota.
There are 66 of them. I do it to be energized, to refresh,
to touch the land, to watch the sunsets and the sunrises,
the majestic beauty of my State. But more than anything
else I do it to be inspired, and to remember how what we
do here touches the lives of those I represent.
It is an amazing feeling to drive from one county to the
other and to see the results of our work in this body. I
am honored and very grateful that there is not one county
in the State of South Dakota that has not been touched by
our work and our efforts these years I have been here,
touched in ways large and small.
We now are an energy-producing State, which means a lot
to me. People said that would never be possible. We have
little oil, very little natural gas, no coal--but we now
produce 400,000 gallons of fuel a year that otherwise
might be imported. We passed farm legislation that is
truly giving our farmers and ranchers hope for a better
future.
My State suffers from poorly distributed water. Our
challenge has always been to find a way to take the good
water and get it to those locations where they have none.
One of the most emotional experiences I have ever had was
to watch a family turn on a tap for the first time and cry
and embrace each other and pass around a glass and look at
it and say ``thank you.''
I am honored to have been a part of creating a new
future for Indian students who had long ago given up any
hope of graduating in a traditional way, but who now can
walk through the doors of tribal colleges with a true
sense of fulfillment and optimism that they only dreamed
of just a few years ago.
The joy of walking into a town and talking to people and
being embraced by total strangers who tell you that you
saved their lives because of something your staff did,
recognizing that if it had not been for you, perhaps there
would be no life to save. What an honor. What a sense of
gratitude.
As leader, I have been privileged to meet some of the
greatest leaders of our time. I believe that Nelson
Mandela would probably rank in a class by himself. Vaclav
Havel, Lech Walesa, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, presidents
and kings: I have been inspired by them--but not as
inspired as I have been by people who are not well known:
Carolyn Downs, who runs the Banquet in Sioux Falls, SD,
touching lives every day and giving them hope.
Louie and Melvina Winters on the Pine Ridge Reservation,
who had absolutely nothing to their name and took a burned
out trailer house, rebuilt it, and have literally saved
the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of children who
had no other place to go, whom they found on their
doorstep when the word got out that somehow they were the
ones to whom children could turn.
Chick Big Crow, who witnessed the death of her daughter,
only to make the lives of young people on Pine Ridge
richer with her steadfast determination to build a Boys
and Girls Club.
And there are those like Elaine, who gets up at 4:30 in
the morning to go to work. She's 77 years old, with $900 a
month in Social Security and $900 a month in drug bills.
She works at McDonald's to be able to pay for the rest of
her living expenses, and says she is proud to do so.
And Mary Ann, who works three jobs, has a blood disease
and no health insurance. She says: ``I want you to know
something, Senator Daschle. I'm going to make it. I'm
going to make it, but I would like a little help along the
way, if you can find a way to remember me.''
They are the heart and soul of America, and they need us
now maybe more than ever before.
We are each given a number when we come to the Senate. I
think it is a wonderful tradition. And I have always been
so proud of my number. My number is 1776, the year of our
Revolution.
I think of that number not just because of its unique
nature, but it reminds me every day that we are still part
of an American revolution.
As a nation, we are making monumental decisions about
what kind of country this will be.
Will we use our powerful might as a force just for
vengeance and protection against those who would destroy
us, or will we use it for progress the world around?
Will we recognize that power is not just our arms, but
our wisdom, our compassion, our tolerance, our willingness
to cooperate not just with ourselves but with the whole
world?
Will we honor the uniquely American ideal that we are
responsible for passing onto our children a future that is
better, or will we forfeit the promise of the future for
the reward of the moment?
These are questions that we will continue to face.
Several months ago, I came to the floor and gave a
speech at this desk expressing the hope that regardless of
how the election turned out, we could continue mightily to
search for the politics of common ground.
I am proud of those times in this body when we showed
our very best.
I am proud of that moment on the Capitol steps when we
joined hands and sang.
I am proud of the effort we made after September 11 to
come together to pass legislation that our country so
desperately needed, not just for what it said, but for the
message it sent.
I am proud of that moment, on October 15, when we were
the target of the greatest biological attack in our
Nation's history and again we came together.
I am proud of those moments when we found common ground
on campaign finance reform and the farm bill and the
Patients' Bill of Rights, highways, measures that in some
cases have not yet become law but demonstrated that here,
collectively, with common will, there is common good.
I know we can continue to find common ground because we
have found it in the past, as those instances have
demonstrated.
If I could leave this body with one wish, it would be
that we never give up that search for common ground.
The politics of common ground will not be found on the
far right or on the far left. That is not where most
Americans live. We will only find it in the firm middle
ground of common sense and shared values.
Ten years ago, my wise friend pointed to his
grandchildren and asked me to give them hope. Linda and I
now have two beautiful grandchildren. I implore my
colleagues to give my grandchildren, Henry and Ava, hope;
give all the children and grandchildren of this Nation
hope.
Let us treasure and protect the great freedoms that we
have inherited, and let us always promise and commit that
we will pass them on undiminished.
I said a moment ago that one of my touchstones is my
unscheduled driving. I make notes constantly on these
trips. A couple of days ago I was telling my colleagues
about how I had been looking through the notes of a trip I
made a few years back. I noted I had met with some tribal
leaders, and met with a businessman who was trying to find
a way to provide childcare for his family as well as his
employees. I met a couple who wanted to tour the White
House. At the end of all my notes, I made the comment:
``Everything was worth doing.''
The same could be said for my service here. It has had
its challenges, its triumphs, its disappointments, but
everything was worth doing. And I am grateful for every
moment.
I love history, and there is wonderful history about the
relationship between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. They
were rivals, but they respected each other. And that
respect grew as they left office and began correspondence
that today is some of our most treasured writing.
In one letter to John Adams, Thomas Jefferson wrote, ``I
like the dream of the future better than I like the
history of the past.'' So it is with me. I have loved
these years in the Senate, but I like the dream of the
future.
It is with heartfelt gratitude to the people of South
Dakota, with great respect and admiration for my
colleagues, and with love for this institution and the
power it has to make this Nation even greater that I say
farewell and look to the future with great optimism, with
hope and anticipation.
a
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Mr. DASCHLE. 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 Nickles, 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.
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.
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's 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's 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
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.
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, bulletproof 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 has 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.
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's 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 seventies. 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.
TRIBUTES
TO
THOMAS A. DASCHLE
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. BURNS. * * * In 1986 Tom Daschle came to the Senate.
My neighbor from Aberdeen, SD, and I both learned a little
bit here. He was much more successful than I, reaching
into leadership of his party. We had a lot of common
friends in South Dakota. I will be sorry to see Tom
Daschle leave the Senate. But he has left big tracks here.
There are fond memories on issues that we agreed on and
issues that we did not agree, but we did not do it being
disagreeable. * * *
As to all of these men, I want to say you do form
relationships here, and there is a certain bond that
attracts us all, as we learn that even though you may be
on the same side of the aisle or the opposite side of the
aisle, one could always agree or disagree without being
disagreeable. That is what makes the Senate a special
place.
We will miss all of these men, but I am looking forward
to those who take their place as, there again, new
relationships will be developed, a new bond dealing with
the old challenges of a free society, with those who love
the Constitution and love this country who were prepared
to die for it and would if asked to do so today. No one
doubts the depth of their patriotism nor their service to
their country. We welcome them as we say goodbye to old
friends, old relationships that will never be forgotten.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, it is with great sadness
that I rise to bid official farewell to one of my best
friends and to one of the greatest Senators ever to grace
this body, Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
Not surprisingly, I am sure I have known Tom longer than
anyone here. I vividly remember his first campaign for
Congress in 1978, the same year I ran for the South Dakota
House of Representatives for the first time. We were two
young candidates, almost the same age, recent graduates,
the same year, of South Dakota colleges. While we were
running for very different offices, I felt an immediate
bond with him at that time.
Tom's first race for Congress was in many ways
predictive of the career that would follow. He was then,
and still is, the hardest working, most focused person I
have ever met in any sphere of my life. That year he
knocked on more than 40,000 doors, personally asking South
Dakotans for their vote. I can tell you, knocking on
40,000 doors in the middle of a South Dakota winter is a
real challenge.
Tom looked so young he was once mistaken as the paperboy
at one of those doors--a woman asked how much money she
owed him. I have a photo I cherish to this day of Tom and
me together during that first campaign, both of us looking
like we were 14 years old. It makes you wonder how anyone
voted for either of us at that time.
I remember watching the election returns coming in for
Tom's campaign that evening and it didn't look very good,
frankly. In fact, when I went to bed that night I was
almost certain he had lost. It was only when I woke up
that I found Tom was only behind by 50 votes with a
recount certain, and as it turned out, he was certified
the winner officially by 14 votes out of 130,000 votes
cast. Who would have dreamed that such a close victory in
South Dakota would have been the beginning of such a
distinguished career?
In the intervening years, I watched with admiration
while Tom's career advanced in the House of
Representatives. He was a natural leader, and I do not
believe that many who knew him were surprised, in 1986,
when he decided to run for the Senate, taking on the same
man who, 6 years previously, defeated Senator George
McGovern, an institution in our State.
It was far from an easy race, but Tom prevailed in the
end, and his leaving his House seat opened it for my
election that year as well. It was the culmination of
those two elections which led to an extremely close
working relationship but also to a very close friendship.
I have spent the last 18 years working side by side with
Tom Daschle. I cannot imagine a better partner with whom
to work. He is, as I mentioned earlier, the hardest
working person I have ever known. He is also the most
patient person I have ever known, as well as unfailingly
generous--qualities that served him very well as Senate
Democratic leader, an extremely demanding job.
There have been fewer than 2,000 Senators who have
served our Nation in this body, but there never has been
one who cared as much or worked as hard for his home State
as Tom Daschle. I can list his many and varied
accomplishments but I would be here for hours and that
would not serve the purpose of this farewell. It was the
Greek philosopher Plato who said, ``The measure of a man
is what he does with power.'' And it is that test that so
clearly shows the character and the humanity and the
values of Tom Daschle. Tom never used the power that he
had attained for self-aggrandizement. He used it to build
a better South Dakota, and a stronger America.
He has always realized that our country works best when
people have an opportunity to live up to their own
potential, when our children are not shackled by poverty
and lack of education, when our people who need a helping
hand are given one, and when our older Americans are able
to live out the balance of their lives with dignity. The
truth is, if it weren't for Tom Daschle and his untiring
work, there are children who would not be educated and
families who would not be housed and vulnerable people who
would be uncared for.
Tom Daschle's priorities and values have been the
priorities and values of his strong family and his devout
faith.
It was Jesus Christ who said:
Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these,
my brethren, ye have done it unto Me.
And no matter what level of accomplishment and power Tom
Daschle attained, he never forgot the ``least of the
people'' who Christ referenced.
While we will no longer have Tom Daschle to lead us in
this body, we are both instructed and warmed by the
example he gave us during his 26 years in his
congressional career. He and his wife Linda have made an
extraordinary team and will always be among the closest of
friends to my wife Barbara and me. I will never serve with
a man I admire more than Tom Daschle, and it is with very
great sadness that I say goodbye to his presence in this
body. But more than anyone I have ever served with, or
ever will serve with, he has given glory and meaning to
the term ``U.S. Senator.''
Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, there is an old Chinese curse
that says, ``May you live in interesting times.'' A Senate
equivalent of that saying could very well be: May you lead
the Senate in interesting times. If so, the Senate
leadership of Senator Tom Daschle would certainly qualify.
He led the Senate with a very quiet integrity during some
of the most difficult times in American history.
In 1994, Senator Daschle became Senate Democratic leader
by a single vote. No sooner had he become Democratic
leader than he was forced to deal with the Republican
revolution of 1994, including House Speaker Newt Gingrich
and his short-lived ``Contract With America.'' I never
read it, never signed it, and was not a disciple of it.
While he served as the Democratic leader for nearly a
decade, there was a period of 17 months in which he went
from minority leader to majority leader and back to
minority leader.
He was the Senate Democratic leader during the first
impeachment of an American President in 131 years. He was
the Senate Democratic leader on September 11, 2001, when
America experienced the worst terrorist attack in the
history of this great land. One month later, a
bioterrorist attack on his Senate office in the Hart
Building exposed 20 of Tom Daschle's staffers to deadly
anthrax spores.
As the Senate Democratic leader, Mr. Daschle has had to
deal with three different Republican leaders. During these
turbulent circumstances, he remained reassuring and
inspiring. Tom Daschle's soothing personality and his
mild-mannered demeanor were comforting under very trying
circumstances.
Looking back, it seems strange that many people once
considered this likable, soft-spoken young man to be too
likable and too soft spoken to be an effective Senate
leader. I am pleased and proud to say that we were wrong.
I say ``we'' because many people will recall that I
initially opposed his candidacy for Senate Democratic
leadership. But after Tom Daschle was elected leader, I
was impressed as I found him to be an engaging man with
whom to work, a most interesting man, a leader who has a
way of putting other people at ease, even in troubled as
well as in pleasant times.
He was always working to seek a consensus. He was always
listening. He was one of the best listeners I have ever
met during my 46 years in this body.
Even in the Senate's darkest moments, he retained his
sense of optimism, always preferring to see the glass as
half full rather than half empty. And that optimism was
infectious. Therefore, 2 years later, it was my pleasure
to nominate Tom Daschle for reelection as Senate
Democratic leader. In nominating him, I announced: I was
totally wrong about this young man. He has steel in his
spine, despite his reasonable and modest demeanor.
As a former Senate leader myself, I can say that a
Senate leader who can bring together and develop a
consensus on tough controversial measures must have the
patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon.
As a former Senate Democratic leader, I want to express
my gratitude to Mr. Daschle for the service that he
rendered to this Chamber, to our Nation, and to our
political party.
During the interesting times in which he led the Senate,
Senator Daschle was always working for the common good.
Because of his principled--let me say that again--because
of his principled opposition to the Bush administration,
critics denounced and demonized him as an obstructionist.
If placing the national good over blind obedience to any
President makes a Senator an obstructionist, then let me
say that our democracy--indeed, all democracies--need more
Tom Daschles.
Senator Daschle stayed above it all, as he refused to
engage in the gutter politics of his opponents. He always
retained and maintained the dignity that has characterized
him as a man and as a Senator. But then this mild-mannered
South Dakota Democrat, the only South Dakotan ever to be
elected to the Senate leadership, has always served the
people of his State and the people of our Nation proudly
and honorably, with diligence, sincerity, and distinction.
His entire career in public service has been based on
standing up for the common good. He has been a true friend
of rural America, especially America's farmers. Among the
many measures he promoted to benefit American farmers,
Senator Daschle pushed the development and the
commercialization of alternative agricultural products.
He was an aggressive advocate of health issues, having
authored legislation that expanded health services in
rural areas.
As a veteran himself, having served as an intelligence
officer in the Strategic Air Command of the U.S. Air
Force, Tom Daschle was a powerful advocate for American
veterans. In 1991, he won his 11-year struggle for
legislation to assist Vietnam veterans suffering from
exposure to Agent Orange.
I am sorry that I must now say goodbye to this decent
man and this outstanding Senator, especially in such
circumstances. And he is a decent man. He was always good
to me. He was always listening. He always listened to
whatever I had to suggest to him--always listened and
always tried to be helpful. So many times he spoke good
words concerning me. He was always asking about my wife
Erma: How is your wife? How is your wife Erma?
But as anyone involved in politics knows, political life
has its defeats as well as its victories, its sorrows as
well as its joys, and we must accept them as they come,
always looking forward, not backward, and knowing that the
future will present other opportunities to serve our
Nation.
I hope that Senator Daschle will continue a life of
public service because our Nation will always need men of
his background and experiences but, most important, his
wisdom, his integrity, and his optimism.
Let me say on behalf of Erma and myself that we are so
grateful to Senator Daschle and his lovely wife for their
many courtesies extended to us, their many kindnesses
which we will never forget. I am confident that despite
the happenings of November 2, Senator Daschle still sees
the glass as half full rather than half empty.
And so my wife Erma and I extend our best wishes to
Senator Daschle and his wife Linda in all of their future
endeavors.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, that is not why I came to the
floor, although it relates to why I came to the floor this
afternoon because I came here to pay tribute to a dear
friend, our Democratic leader, Tom Daschle of South
Dakota. This sadness is only tempered by the belief that
Tom Daschle will continue to play a vital role in our
Nation's public life in the future.
Tom Daschle has had a distinguished career as a
legislator on behalf of the interests of the people of
South Dakota and all of the people of our Nation. He has
fought for a fair share for the farmers of his State and
for farmers around the country. He has been in the
forefront of rural health, veterans' health, a fair tax
system, and a very broad range of other issues.
He has been as a leader of the Democrats in the Senate,
both as majority leader and minority leader, through one
of the most difficult periods of the Senate's history
where Tom Daschle has made his mark. He has been a
remarkable leader. As a principled and tireless advocate
for the issues he believes in, he has led by example. On
countless difficult and contentious issues, he has led by
carefully listening to all sides. Time and time again, on
complex and challenging legislation, he has led by
tireless negotiation and by building consensus. And, where
appropriate, he has been able to organize Democrats to
insist on our rights as a minority in the Senate.
It is, indeed, a bitter irony of the most recent
election that Tom Daschle, who is a legislator to the
core, and a man of compromise and soft-spoken wisdom, a
seeker of dialog, solutions, and consensus, was
caricatured as an obstructionist. In the time-honored
tradition of Senate leaders of both parties, he stood tall
when principle required it. In reality, though, it was Tom
Daschle's style to reach across the aisle, time and time
again, in an effort to legislate in the Nation's best
interest. Often he worked closely with the Republican
leader in some of the Senate's finest and most difficult
hours.
In the face of a very difficult impeachment trial that
tested this Senate, in response to the September 11
terrorist attacks, and when he himself was targeted in the
anthrax attack, as in countless other instances, Tom
Daschle demonstrated his talent for calm, inclusive, and
wise leadership.
As this session of Congress ends in the next few days,
the people of South Dakota will be losing a vigorous,
effective, and committed Senator. Democrats in this body,
indeed, all Senators, will be losing a great leader. And
all Americans will be losing a voice of reason, judgment,
and wisdom. I will be losing a friend and a confidante.
Tom Daschle is a beautiful human being and a nonpareil
leader. His good nature will enable him to overcome this
momentary defeat so that the contributions he makes to
public life will soon flower in a different place.
Mr. SHELBY. Tom Daschle will be leaving us. He served
this Nation well. He served in the U.S. Air Force as an
intelligence officer. He served as a staffer, and then he
was in my class in 1978 as a Member of the House of
Representatives. That is where I first met Tom and worked
with him and respected him. Sometimes we would be on other
sides of the issues, but nevertheless, I always thought in
his dealings with me and others he was a very honorable,
decent person.
He is a relatively young man. He served us well, I
thought, as majority leader. He was always fair and
upfront with us. He will go on to good things, I am sure.
I wish Tom and his wife Linda the best.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I want to take some time
today to pay tribute to one of my closest and best friends
in the U.S. Senate, our Democratic leader, Tom Daschle.
It is hard to put into words how much I will miss
Senator Daschle when he leaves the Senate at the end of
this session. Senator Daschle and I were both first
elected to the Senate in 1986. He immediately became a
friend, and that friendship has only grown stronger over
the years. Senator Daschle had already served South Dakota
in the House of Representatives for many years when he
came to the Senate, so he was able to help show me the
ropes when I first arrived in Washington in 1987. His
advice and counsel were given freely. But what really drew
me to Tom were his genuine delight in seeing and greeting
friends, staff and colleagues; his selfless passion for
serving the people of South Dakota; and above all, his
wonderful, self-effacing sense of humor. Put simply,
Senator Daschle was able to take on issues very seriously
without taking himself too seriously.
Over the years, we have served together on the
Agriculture, Finance and Indian Affairs Committees. We
have fought side by side in numerous battles to serve the
interests of the people of the Dakotas.
On the Agriculture Committee, Senator Daschle was a
tireless advocate for the interests of the Northern Plains
producers we both represent. We fought together for
targeted farm assistance to ensure that scarce Federal
dollars for commodity programs would most benefit average
size family farms. We fought together against
concentration in the agriculture industry. We fought
together against unfairly traded imports of Canadian
grain. We fought for disaster aid time and time again. And
we joined to make sure a new farm bill was enacted in
2002.
It is safe to say that without the active leadership and
support of Senator Daschle, we would not have had a new
farm bill in 2002. And if we had not written the bill in
2002, I firmly believe that mounting budget pressures
would have made it virtually impossible to write good
legislation in 2003 or 2004. So family farmers all across
this country, many of whom might not ever have heard of
Tom Daschle, have lost a champion.
On the Finance Committee, Senator Daschle fought
passionately for better health care for all Americans. We
fought together to strengthen the Medicare Program and
improve payment rates for rural health care providers. We
fought to preserve the Medicaid Program, which provides a
health care safety net for the most vulnerable among us.
We fought to create the State Children's Health Insurance
Program, which expanded health coverage for children who
otherwise would have no insurance. And Senator Daschle
again and again took the lead on trying to reform our
health care system to make health care affordable and
accessible. So average workers all across the country who
worry about losing their health coverage or skyrocketing
health costs have lost a champion.
And Senator Daschle took a special interest in working
on behalf of Native Americans. He has fought to bring
attention to the terrible epidemic of fetal alcohol
syndrome among Native Americans. And he has led the fight
to secure increased resources for the Indian Health
Service to help end the health care rationing that occurs
on too many reservations. He also has been a strong
proponent of the tribal colleges. His efforts have helped
put a college education within reach of many Native
Americans who might not otherwise get the opportunity.
Finally, Senator Daschle stood up and gave a voice to the
thousands and thousands of individual Indians seeking a
full accounting of their trust assets and fought to make
sure that the Federal Government fulfilled its trust
obligation. So Native Americans all across the country
have lost a champion.
As Democratic leader, he continued to work on all these
issues. And because he was leader, he delivered real
results for real people, time and again. That was
especially the case when it came to causes important to
South Dakota. Senator Daschle tirelessly used his clout to
ensure that South Dakota's interests were protected.
But Senator Daschle's role as a Senator and as a leader
cannot be summed up in a simple listing of the causes and
issues he championed, often without fanfare or great
recognition. The job of leader has often been compared to
herding cats. It is not easy, but Senator Daschle did an
outstanding job. Senator Daschle was a strong leader--and
a great Senator--because he didn't just listen to people,
he heard their concerns. He didn't just propose
compromises, he built consensus. It took enormous
patience, great flexibility, strong persuasive skills--and
a liberal dose of good humor and humbleness. It also meant
that much of what Senator Daschle accomplished was done
quietly behind the scenes. Too often, he did not get the
public credit he deserved for the painstaking hours he
spent building consensus and moving issues forward to
benefit the American people. Instead, he quietly stepped
back and let others take credit.
You cannot be successful as a Senator, and especially as
a leader, if other Senators cannot trust you. Senator
Daschle may at times have left our colleagues on the other
side of the aisle frustrated by his mastery of Senate
rules and political tactics. But they always knew he was
someone they could deal with in good faith. They always
knew they could trust his word. And they always knew he
would work hard to achieve the result he had committed to.
At the end of the day, that is the ultimate measure of
Senator Daschle's values--the values he and I learned
growing up in the Dakotas. He was honest, fair and hard-
working. He gave credit to others. And he genuinely
respected his colleagues and enjoyed their company. South
Dakota, the Senate, and the Nation are losing a true
champion, in every sense of the word.
As Senator Daschle goes on to other things, my wife Lucy
and I wish all the best to Tom and his wife, Linda.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I would like to say a few
words about the man from whom I have stood across this
aisle the past 2 years--Tom Daschle.
Tom, as we all know, is a good and decent man. He has a
big heart for the people of South Dakota, for every Member
of this body, and for all of the American people.
He has devoted his life to public service--from serving
as an intelligence officer in the Air Force to serving
four terms in the House to serving three terms in the U.S.
Senate.
That is seven times Tom Daschle has been reelected
statewide in South Dakota.
Tom has been such a successful leader because he has
always put others first. This selflessness, this
sacrifice, is the quality that I admire most about Tom.
Every year Tom returned to South Dakota for an
``unscheduled driving'' tour. He would travel without
staff or a schedule--going wherever the road and the
people of South Dakota would take him.
This driving tour helped him travel to each of South
Dakota's 66 counties--which he did every year.
But, most important, it was his way of staying in touch
with the people who sent him time and time again to
Washington to represent them.
Tom has served as the Democratic leader for 10 years
now. And those have been no easy 10 years for the Senate
or for America.
The Senate itself has switched hands and back again. And
we have helped lead the Nation through wars and recession
and the horrific September 11 attacks.
But throughout this Congress and throughout his career,
Tom Daschle has handled his job with grace and dignity.
And I have always seen in him a gentle, yet stirring
passion.
I wish Tom and Linda and their family all the best in
the many years to come.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to pay special
tribute to a group of men and women who have served over
the past 26 years as staff for Senator Tom Daschle in the
State of South Dakota. I join my colleagues in providing
the most heartfelt appreciation for the public service
career of Senator Daschle and that appreciation extends to
the work of his South Dakota staff.
The people of South Dakota have benefited greatly over
the years from the work of Senator Daschle's staff. These
men and women worked tirelessly behind the scenes on
behalf of South Dakota constituents. They served as the
eyes and ears for Senator Daschle, maintaining contacts in
South Dakota communities, attending meetings on projects
and sitting down with individual constituents to discuss
matters of importance.
Some of Senator Daschle's staff provided over two
decades of dedicated service to the people of South
Dakota. Their long hours of service, many of them spent
driving on country roads, sitting in coffee shops or
walking through drought-stricken corn and wheat fields,
underscored Senator Daschle's commitment to serve the
people of South Dakota.
Senator Daschle's South Dakota staff truly reflect the
tireless work ethic, dedication, and professionalism that
he has exemplified to all the citizens of our State.
Whether attending economic development outreach meetings,
sacrificing holidays and weekends to travel with Senator
Daschle across South Dakota, or tending to the many
casework issues facing our constituents, Senator Daschle's
South Dakota staff has done a superb job.
It is my hope that these valued members of Senator
Daschle's South Dakota staff recognize the importance of
their work and the great appreciation that many in South
Dakota hold for them for their great service.
Senator Daschle's current South Dakota staff includes:
Beth Smith, Betty Daschle, Jody Jordan, Maeve King, and
Virginia Newquist in the Aberdeen office; Ace Crawford,
Armon Gaddy, Dorothy Christensen, Jackie Heier, Georgeann
Johnson, Rose Larson, and Sheila Lane in the Rapid City
office; Bill Idema, Gene Dwyer, Jeff Wilka, Jenn Dolan,
Mark Gerhardt, Mary Peters, Michele Seaton, Nicole Deak,
Stephanie Devitt, Stephanie Koster Hoyme, Steve Dick, and
Steve Erpenbach, Senator Daschle's State director, in the
Sioux Falls office.
The work of Senator Daschle and his staff will be
remembered by South Dakotans for many years to come. I
want to thank them for their work and service and wish
them all the very best.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to pay special
tribute to a group of men and women who have served over
the past 26 years as staff for Senator Tom Daschle here in
Washington, both in his personal office and those who
served him as Democratic leader in the Senate for the past
10 years. Every Member of the Senate understands that our
success rests, in part, with the men and women we choose
to work with us on a daily basis in our offices. I join my
colleagues in providing the most heartfelt appreciation
for the public service career of Senator Daschle and that
appreciation extends to the extraordinary work of his
staff here in Washington.
The people of South Dakota, members of the Senate
Democratic Caucus, and the institution of the Senate have
benefited greatly over the years from the hard work and
dedication of Senator Daschle's staff. These men and women
worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Whether it be his
personal staff or his leadership staff, every single
person has been dedicated to making our State a better
place to live, and to making our Nation safe and secure.
Some of Senator Daschle's staff provided over two
decades of dedicated service to the people of South Dakota
and came with him to join his leadership staff. Their long
hours of service underscored Senator Daschle's commitment
to lead our caucus and to serve the people of South Dakota
and this Nation unselfishly. Senator Daschle's staff truly
reflect the tireless work ethic, dedication, and
professionalism that he has exemplified to all the
citizens of our State.
While each and every member of Senator Daschle's staff
is dedicated, committed, and hard-working, I think three
long-serving members of his Washington staff should be
recognized separately. Those senior staff members are Pete
Rouse, who served in Senator Daschle's leadership office
as chief of staff, Nancy Erickson, his deputy chief of
staff in the Capitol, and Laura Petrou, the chief of staff
in his personal office. All three of these dedicated
individuals served the State of South Dakota and the
Senate Democratic Caucus unselfishly and with distinction.
It is my hope that all of these valued members of
Senator Daschle's staff recognize the importance of their
work and the great appreciation that many in South Dakota
hold for them for their great service.
Senator Daschle's current personal and leadership staff
in Washington includes:
Aaron Fischbach, Amber Danter, Bart Chilton, Brad
Wolters, Brendan Hilley, Brian Hanafin, Chris Bois, Chris
VandeVenter, Chris Wagner, Christiana Gallagher, Chuck
Marr, Cindy Harris, Clint Highfill, Danny Franklin,
Darcell Savage, Denis McDonough, Grant Leslie, Jane
Loewenson, Jeff Nussbaum, Jennifer Duck, Jeri Thomson,
Jessica Leonard, Jessica Scheufele, Jim Oleske, Joan
Huffer, Jody Bennett, Jonathon Lehman, Kate Knudson, Kate
Leone, Kelly Fado, Lara Birkes, Larkin Barker, Laura
Petrou, Lisa Thimjon, Liz Dahan, Mark Childress, Matthew
Varilek, Michelle Singer, Molly Rowley, Nancy Erickson,
Nancy Hogan, Nick Bauer, Nick Papas, Pat Griffin, Pat
Sarcone, Pete Rouse, Phil Schiliro, Phillip Assmus, Randy
DeValk, Reid Cherlin, Sam Mitchell, Sarah Feinberg, Ted
Miller, Tim Mitrovich, Todd Webster, Tom McIntyre, and
Wizipan Garriott.
The work of Senator Daschle and his staff will be
remembered by South Dakotans, and all the Senators and
staff who have served with them, for many years to come. I
want to thank them for their work and service and wish
them all the very best.
Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to
submit the text of the attached resolution by the South
Dakota Farmers Union commemorating 26 years of service by
U.S. Senator Thomas A. Daschle.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
A Resolution Commemorating 26 Years of Service by United
States Senator Thomas A. Daschle
Whereas, Senator Tom Daschle has distinguished himself
as more than a reliable friend to South Dakota Farmers
Union and the cause of family-based agriculture, but more
so as a true hero to our cause; and,
Whereas, Senator Daschle performed his duties faithfully
to better the lives and opportunities of all South
Dakotans, and conducted exemplary public service to South
Dakotans with the assistance of his highly resourceful,
talented and dedicated staff in his offices in Washington,
D.C., Sioux Falls, Rapid City and Aberdeen; and,
Whereas, Senator Daschle championed the cause of ethanol
since his first campaign for the U.S. Congress, and is
chiefly responsible for its emergence as America's answer
to energy independence because of his relentless pursuit
of government support for its production and marketing;
and
Whereas, Senator Daschle earned his reputation as
America's most important Member of Congress for the
advancement of legislation important to South Dakota
Farmers Union, the National Farmers Union and family-based
agriculture because of his sincere interest in promoting
America's rural economy and because of his generous nature
and approachability to all citizens seeking his assistance
in Washington, D.C.; and
Whereas, Senator Daschle wisely used his influence and
leadership powers to the benefit of South Dakota,
resulting in unprecedented cooperation from urban states
to help advance the causes and unique, critical needs of
rural states and agriculture in the form of federal funds
and programs for agriculture, disaster aid, health care,
education, energy needs, air transportation, highway
maintenance, railways and water development; and
Whereas, Senator Daschle's powerful resources and status
as Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader gave
South Dakota unprecedented influence to pass legislation
which was of the greatest benefit to all South Dakotans,
especially to rural communities, farms and ranches; and,
Whereas, Senator Daschle was responsible for the
allocation of unprecedented federal funds to South Dakota
throughout his tenure in the United States Congress, and
that Senator Daschle's last term ended with victories for
South Dakota, including his quest to produce $2.9 billion
in disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers, against
the longstanding resistance and indifference of the
majority party in Congress and the White House; and,
Whereas, Senator Daschle's great influence and power on
behalf of South Dakota and rural America will be missed in
the unfinished battles for a Renewable Fuels Standard, a
mandatory Country of Origin Labeling law, fair trade
policies which are not predatory to South Dakota
agriculture, sufficient drought relief, rural water
development and a progressive agricultural agenda which
supports a strong rural economy, as well as the fights to
preserve social security and Medicare, lower prescription
drug costs, and make health care coverage affordable and
available to all Americans;
Now, therefore, we resolve that the Delegates of the
89th Convention of South Dakota Farmers Union commends and
highly appreciates the lifetime dedication and service of
Senator Thomas A. Daschle to improve the economy and the
quality of life in South Dakota and throughout the United
States.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, when the Senate concludes its
business in the coming days, the congressional career of a
remarkable man will come to an end. After 26 years of
representing South Dakotans as their voice in Washington,
Senator Daschle will be leaving the Senate.
His story is a classic one. As a young man from
Aberdeen, SD, Tom Daschle graduated from South Dakota
State University and immediately began 3 years of service
in the Air Force of the United States. After his service,
he got an early introduction to Washington as he went to
work for Senator Abourezk, eventually returning to South
Dakota to work out of the Senator's State offices.
Tom was elected to Congress in 1978 and went on to serve
four terms in the House of Representatives before being
elected in 1986 to the Senate.
After the resignation of George Mitchell in 1994,
Senator Daschle won a very tight race for minority leader.
I was proud to have supported him at that time. Nineteen-
ninety-four was a difficult year for our party and we had
some serious soul searching to do. Tom displayed the
strong leadership that was necessary to take Democrats in
the Senate forward. That is why, after that first tight
election for leader, he was reelected unanimously as
leader each time thereafter. He has always been a man who
radiates optimism and hope, making him an excellent face
for our party.
I have known Tom since he first came to this body in
1986. I closely followed his Senate race against James
Abdnor, and I was impressed by him. A few days after Tom
won that race, he and his wife Linda joined my family in
Vermont for Thanksgiving dinner. When they came to the
farm, my mother said to me, ``That is the nicest young man
I ever met.'' Well, she was right. Tom is a man of deep
resolve and strong character.
The Nation saw that character exhibited in the days
following September 11. Senator Daschle showed the country
the importance of setting labels aside when he publicly
embraced President Bush. In the face of that terrible
tragedy, America united behind our leadership.
Only a few short weeks later, Senator Daschle and I were
both targets of anthrax attacks--some of which killed
several people--in letters addressed to the two of us. I
know that the attacks brought home the reality of
terrorism to both of us, but also to the Senate community
as a whole.
In the ensuing years, Senator Daschle continued to show
resolute leadership in the Senate, routinely reaching
across the aisle even when those on the other side of the
aisle were at their most partisan.
On more than a few occasions, Senator Daschle and I have
joined together to work on a variety of national
legislative efforts. Together, we advocated for expanded
benefits for members of the National Guard and Reserve.
Senator Daschle has shown courage and resolve in holding
the line against the President's most objectionable
judicial nominations. We worked together on tort reform,
combating corporate crime, and efforts to help off-duty
police protect Americans. Those are just a few of the
initiatives on which we collaborated.
But during that time, he has also been a strong voice
for South Dakota on those issues important to his
constituents. He has fought for improved health and
education for Indians. He has led efforts to expand health
services in rural areas and to prevent companies from
canceling retiree benefits without notice. He is well
known as a champion for ranchers and farmers in South
Dakota. In fact, he made sure their voices were always
heard. He worked to ensure they had drought aid, but also
he worked to do what a true South Dakotan would do: He
wanted to make sure they could compete on a level
playingfield.
Despite a well-run campaign and putting forth his best
effort, Senator Daschle was not reelected to the Senate
this fall. The morning after election day, he gave a
speech before his supporters in Sioux Falls. He finished
that speech by recalling two memories. The first was of a
magnificent Washington skyline sunset he witnessed one
fall afternoon leaving his office in the Capitol. The
second was watching the Sun rise at Mount Rushmore with
his family, and the warm, sweet optimistic feeling
inspired by that sunrise. Tom said that, seeing both, he
likes sunrises better. I agree. For the past 18 years with
each daily sunrise, he sought to bring hope and optimism
to this body. He has worked to better his State and his
country, to ensure our children and grandchildren have a
brighter world in which to live. He is a remarkable friend
and colleague, and I thank him for his service to this
institution.
If I can be very personal, in my 30 years in the Senate,
I have not known a more honest and more decent Senator
than Tom Daschle. I believe that part of our Senate fabric
and our Senate conscience leaves with this special person.
Mr. FITZGERALD. I will miss people like Senator Byrd and
Senator Thurmond and all the others, the leaders with whom
I have had the privilege to serve.
Senator Trent Lott was the majority leader when I
entered. For a period of time, Tom Daschle was the
majority leader. Now Senator Frist is the majority leader,
and soon Senator Harry Reid will be the minority leader.
Each one of those individuals is remarkable, in my
judgment. They have always been gentlemen of the highest
order, and they work very hard. They are very good at what
they do in representing their perspectives. They are good
and honorable people whom our country is lucky to have.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, what we just heard on the
floor of the Senate captures the essence of this
remarkable body, the leadership, which dictates the
character, which dictates the fabric of the body that all
of us have the real privilege of participating in.
I know several Members want to speak, so I will be very
brief. I take a moment to pay tribute to a truly
exceptional leader with whom I have had the honor to serve
alongside, and whom I have had the opportunity to serve
with over the last year. We first began working together 2
years ago, when I suddenly became majority leader of the
Senate. Oftentimes, we have been on the opposite side of
issues. But I want to say how much I deeply respect his
abilities and his judgment as a Senator, as Democratic
leader, and as a person.
This environment is fiercely competitive, and as
leaders, both he and I are thrust into that competitive
environment. Yet Senator Daschle has always, without
exception, handled each and every situation in that
competition with class and with honesty, with integrity,
with forthrightness, and with true grace.
Clearly, I have had the opportunity to learn from him
much more than I could have ever possibly given him in any
way. I was the beneficiary of that each and every day.
From that very first day that I became majority leader, he
has treated me in that position with respect and with that
very same grace. For that, I will forever be grateful.
I wanted to pay tribute to Senator Daschle and close
with one reference. The great Daniel Webster once remarked
that the Senate is a community of equals, of men of
individual honor and personal character. Indeed, Senator
Tom Daschle is no exception. He is the epitome of that and
a great credit to this venerable institution. On behalf of
all of our colleagues, I wish all the best for Tom and
Linda and their entire family in the years ahead.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, all of us in the Senate
have just had an opportunity to hear an extraordinary
speech by the outgoing Democratic leader. We are indeed in
a very tough and competitive business. On the other hand,
when we enter this Chamber, we take on public
responsibility and have the obligation to deal with each
other in a civil and forthright manner. I think Senator
Daschle has always met that standard. We all admire his
work here. He is one of the longest serving leaders in the
history of the Senate. We wish him well in the coming
years. He can look back on his extraordinary career here
with great pride.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, you can learn a lot about a
person by the way he handles winning, and you can learn
even more about someone by the way he handles and accepts
defeat. Tom Daschle does not know that I know this, but I
saw an e-mail he sent recently to someone on his staff.
Tom Daschle was concerned about a man with whom he
talked one day late in the campaign when he was calling
undecided voters in his home State of South Dakota. The
man was not rich or powerful. He was just an average South
Dakota citizen.
This man used to work for the government. He received
many awards at his work. This is what Tom Daschle wrote in
that e-mail:
One day, the man started to suffer extreme stress and
even depression. The psychiatrist told him he had to
retire from his work . . . under a medical discharge.
Afterward, (the government) denied him a medical
retirement. They said it can only be for physical reasons.
He was denied medical access and retirement pay. He has
since also had a heart attack. He asked me for help in
getting a medical retirement. I told him we would be happy
to try and would follow up.
Tom Daschle in his e-mail went on to say:
Could you have someone contact him and look into this?
It just doesn't seem right.
The date on that e-mail was November 8, 6 days after the
election, 6 days after what had to be one of the most
heartbreaking losses in his life.
The reason Tom Daschle got into politics in the first
place, the reason he ran for leadership positions in the
Senate, and the reason he worked his heart out for this
job was never to get rich or to get attention. He tried to
bring power to help the powerless, the average person, the
people to whom life had given some unfair breaks.
Even now, until the minute he has to relinquish his
power, Tom Daschle is using his power to help people who
still look to him as their last best hope.
Golda Meir once famously told a political rival: ``Don't
be humble. You're not that great.''
But Tom Daschle is great enough and good enough to be
truly humble. He will never talk about all the people he
helped, all the people to whom he has given hope, but I
can tell you there are people all across South Dakota and
all across America whose lives are better because Tom
Daschle was in the Senate.
``It just doesn't seem right''--that is what Tom Daschle
wrote in that e-mail, and it just doesn't seem right that
we are going to have a Senate without Tom Daschle to keep
fighting for what is all good and decent about America.
My consolation is that I know Tom and Linda and their
family will find another noble way to continue serving
this Nation, defending the values we cherish and making
life better for people who need a champion.
Someone noted that this is a cruel business, and it is.
There are three ways to leave the Senate. Two of them are
not very good. In this situation, we have seen a man who
has given 26 years of his personal life to South Dakota
and to the Nation, and he made a decision a year ago to
retire. In the past year, I am sure there would have been
a succession of tributes, dinners, schools, and highways
and bridges being named after him and maybe statues and
plaques commissioned. But instead, he stood for election.
He had the courage to stand again. Although he did not
succeed, I hope the people of South Dakota realize that he
was a man who loved them throughout his political life and
those of us who were honored to call him a friend and a
colleague love him and will miss him.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, when the 109th Congress
convenes this coming January, the Senate will be a poorer
place for not having Tom Daschle among its Members.
By nature, Tom Daschle is a South Dakotan to the core,
born and raised and regularly returning to his hometown of
Aberdeen, with a population today of not quite 25,000. He
was the eldest of four children in a family who knew the
meaning of hard work and family. He went to college, the
first in his family to do so, at South Dakota State
University, some 150 miles from his home. When his
colleagues elected him Democratic leader, Tom Daschle
asked an old friend back in South Dakota, as he told us on
the floor only a few moments ago, for advice, and was
promptly told: Never forget where you came from.
That was something Tom Daschle knew without being told.
If he had set out to forget where he came from, he could
not have done it. The unscheduled driving tour that he
made every year around South Dakota was a kind of
pilgrimage. It did not create his close ties to South
Dakota and its people; rather, it reflected them. As an
editorial published on November 6 in Tom's hometown
newspaper, the Aberdeen American News, noted, ``Personal
stories abound of how Daschle and his staff have been able
to get things done for the average South Dakotan.''
The editorial concluded with a tribute worth quoting:
On behalf of all the thousands of people you have
helped, we would like to offer you our deep gratitude and
respect. With quiet dignity, you fought for the State that
raised you and which still so obviously holds a special
place in your heart. Thanks, Tom, and good luck.
If by nature Tom is a South Dakotan, by choice he is a
public servant. After receiving his college degree in
1969, he served 3 years in the Air Force Strategic Air
Command, one of the relatively small number of Members now
serving in the Congress who served in the military in that
period. And he has remained a forceful advocate for
veterans throughout all his years in public office.
He entered the House of Representatives after a vote so
close that it took a recount almost a full year, and Tom
became known as ``Landslide'' Daschle.
Following his service in the House in 1986, he was
elected to the Senate. In his 18 years in this body, Tom's
agenda for action on behalf of the people of South Dakota
has focused on health care, education, the outdoors,
security and safety, economic opportunity, and rural life.
Any State would be doubly fortunate to have an agenda and
an advocate as dedicated and skillful as Tom Daschle.
By temperament, Tom Daschle is a Democrat in the
fundamental meaning of that word--respectful of others, a
scrupulous listener, seeking consensus in the middle
ground on complex and controversial issues.
Time magazine has accurately described his instinct for
courtesy, reputation for humility, a willingness to
compromise, and a sense of Midwestern civility.
Tom Daschle's steadiness and reasonableness made him
especially well-suited to assume the responsibilities of
majority leader in that painful period when the country
was dealt successive hammerblows by a recession, the
crisis in the capital markets, and, above all, the tragic
attacks of 9/11 and their aftermath.
While others shouted at fever pitch, Tom Daschle never
raised his voice because it is not in his temperament to
do so. His calm manner was profoundly reassuring to
worried Americans, as was the strength of his resolve.
In the end, it is Tom Daschle's own words that tell us
all we need to know about him.
They explain why he is so respected around his State and
here in the Senate. His November 3 statement to the people
of South Dakota who support and love him speaks again and
again of gratitude--gratitude for the opportunity to
serve, gratitude to his family, gratitude to his devoted
staff, gratitude to the State that is his extended family.
It speaks of belief--in our people, in the future, in what
can be accomplished by people working together. It speaks
of work--of work yet to be done. And it speaks of hope.
On November 3, Tom compared the sunset over the Mall
with the sunrise over Mount Rushmore and concluded,
``Having seen sunsets and sunrises, I like sunrises
better.''
There is no question of Tom's public service having
ended; the only question is the direction it will now
take. Tom Daschle has honored Teddy Roosevelt's dictum
that ``Far and away the best prize that life offers is the
chance to work hard at work worth doing.''
It has been my privilege to work with so dedicated and
honorable a public servant, a dear friend. I like to think
that our work together on behalf of the people of this
great country will continue as we move on into the future.
Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to join my colleagues
in complimenting Senator Daschle for his years of service.
I did not really know Tom Daschle when he served in the
House. I have had the pleasure of serving with him for the
last 18 years in the Senate. Many of those years we were
both in leadership, and I will just say our relationship
has always been very good.
Having the pleasure of working with Tom Daschle and
Harry Reid, both for whom I have great respect, many times
we were political adversaries, but we were always friends.
We never had a heated exchange, maybe elevated on
occasion, but we always were friends and we could always
shake hands at the time we might have somewhat of a heated
discussion. We would always remain friends, and he
continues to be my friend to this day.
I compliment him for his many years of public service to
his State of South Dakota, for his service in the House of
Representatives, his service to the Senate, and his
service as the Democrat leader. He is a very competent
individual, speaker, and representative of his viewpoint,
and he happens to be my friend. I wish Tom Daschle and his
wife Linda all the best for the future.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am going to be very
brief. For many of us who knew Tom Daschle and know Tom
Daschle, we never thought this day would come. We never
thought Tom would really be defeated in an election. I
thought a lot about that. Why? I mean, this man is such a
good man. He is such a good friend. He is a good leader. I
do not know anyone who cares more about their State and
who has worked harder.
He talked about the State's energy sufficiency, and it
was Tom Daschle's sheer will of support to develop an
ethanol industry for the State. I know because I tangled
with him year after year because from a California
perspective this was not such a good idea; from a South
Dakota perspective, it was. For Tom, his State always came
first.
I thought he was unbeatable. He is for the little
people. I remember being in the State. I remember hearing
him talk about the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and the
state of the people in Pine Ridge and how deeply he felt.
When he feels very deeply, his voice gets that quaver and
it drops low.
This is a very hard day for many of us. As I went down
the aisle to embrace Tom, two people said this really is a
tough business. And, in fact, it is a tough business.
I also want to say that Tom Daschle was a great leader
for our caucus. Many of us on many days watched him
convince, cajole, push, and bring us together when we had
to be together. We watched him on the Senate floor in the
middle of the night, early in the morning, late in the
day, always gracious, always patient, always articulate.
We never had to worry about Tom Daschle's integrity or his
credibility.
I still wonder, how could he be beat? This is such a
good man, such a good leader, such a good State
representative. For me and my husband he was a personal
friend. When Dick was in Washington, early in the morning
he would run with Tom and they would talk about all kinds
of things. The run was always a good one and my husband
would come home and always say what a great guy Tom
Daschle is.
I think for all of us we wish him all the best. For me,
I do not believe this man has reached his potential yet. I
think he still has enormous gifts to give to this Nation,
to his State, and I believe he will, perhaps in a
different way. Perhaps we will see him come back in a
different form. For Tom Daschle, these 10 years were very
special years and for us we were so privileged because we
had an opportunity to be led by a good man, by a great
friend, and by a great leader.
Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, I first join the voices of
my friends and my colleagues in talking about our dear and
great friend, Tom Daschle, with whom I had the privilege
to serve for the last 6 years, and to be led by for the
last 6 years. I have never known a better human being or a
better public servant than Tom Daschle. He is a good,
honest, decent, and honorable man. The Senate will miss
him. The country has benefited from his long and
extraordinary service.
My thanks to my leader, to our leader, Senator Daschle,
for the work he has done and the leadership he has shown
and the grace and strength and courage he has shown in
leading in very difficult times, as others have said. He
is a good and decent man and we all look up to him and
respect him.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to make some
comments about our friends who are departing the
Senate. * * *
I want to finish my remarks by saying Tom Daschle is a
man of great courage and compassion and wisdom, quiet
leadership. I think today as we listened to his remarks,
his farewell to the Senate, we saw his goodness, we saw
his intelligence, and as my senior Senator said, it is
tough to imagine people wanting something different than
what Tom Daschle offered them. But that is what it is
about. It is about elections.
I say that Tom Daschle will go down as a great leader of
this Senate, as a man who put issues ahead of his own
personal gain. I think he is a role model for each and
every one of us. He is a class act.
I say to him and Linda, Godspeed. I know that in future
years you will be very much on the scene because you have
so much to offer. You have such a sense of history and
such a sense of the future. It is bittersweet. But it is
an honor to have known Tom.
Thank you very much.
Mr. DAYTON. * * * I want to join my colleagues in
expressing my highest personal regard for Senator Daschle.
It is, like others, a hard time for me. It was very hard
in the next day after the election to hear the results in
South Dakota. I have always had and will continue to have
the greatest respect for the democratic process in this
country. It is the ultimate and appropriate judgment of
the people. I felt that way even when I disagreed with the
verdicts they rendered.
I must say to the very slightest of majority, the voters
of my neighboring State in South Dakota, with all due
respect to them and their rightful judgment, that in my
humble opinion you were wrong. You cannot fully understand
the extraordinary leader, the superb public servant, and
the phenomenal human being you had in Tom Daschle as your
Senator, and as all of us in his caucus knew we had in our
Democratic leader.
What makes it so hard is he has been taken away from us
despite our wishes, and taken away from the country. And
it is very hard. It is hard, frankly, to hear all the
false praise of someone who went beyond the boundaries of
comity, of bipartisanship, of deserved respect for a
leader, who campaigned against Tom, who violated the
boundaries of his own State and disparaged him; and, most
recently, the comments of the incoming chairwoman of the
Republican Senate Campaign Committee which were untrue,
unwarranted, and just plain foul. Tom Daschle has too much
decency to say so.
That was the irony in and the indecency of those
remarks. They were directed after the election, after the
victory against the most decent man I have ever met in
politics, Tom Daschle. He is a gentleman in the very best
sense of that word: strong in his principles, firm in his
convictions, fierce in his dedication to serving the
people of South Dakota and their best interests, but a
gentleman in his decency, his personal respect and the
senatorial courtesies he extended to every one of his
colleagues.
But Tom, being the man he is, would not want me to end
on such a note. So I will not. I end by thanking him,
thanking him for his leadership over the last 4 years,
from the time during which I have been privileged to serve
under his leadership, for mentoring me, giving me the
opportunities I have had in committee assignments, to
listening to me and offering his astute guidance and
experience and wisdom. I thank him for showing me by his
living example every day and every night in the Senate
what it means to be a great Senator, what it entails, the
dedication, the hard work, the hours, the travel; what it
means when you can do what Tom Daschle has done for his
State to save people's lives, to improve people's lives,
create new opportunities for young and old, what he has
done for his country, what he has done for people who are
not his constituents who cannot even thank him and won't
be able to vote for him. But that did not matter because
he had the opportunity and he seized the opportunity to do
things that benefited their lives.
Thank you, Tom Daschle. Thank you for being a superb
leader. Thank you for being a great Senator. Thank you for
being a phenomenal human being. I wish you well.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, we could not help but
note the sadness we all experienced as our friend and
leader, Tom Daschle, made his goodbye speech. As usual,
when Tom Daschle spoke, it had meaning, substance. He
certainly had that as he closed his chapter here--I hope
not his book, just his chapter.
He talked about things he cared about and people he
cared about and what it is that drove him to take this
job. Everyone knows how difficult a task being a leader in
the Senate is. It is not always realized outside this
Chamber how hard one has to work to please so many, to
sacrifice so much in terms of personal life.
Tom Daschle, our leader, distinguished Senator from
South Dakota, outstanding leader--not just for this side
of the aisle but the entire country. He lost an extremely
tough, close race a couple of weeks ago.
Tom Daschle is the stuff of which so many of our lives
in the Senate are made.
It is a sad day. It is not just a sad day for me, who
treasured the friendship I had with Tom Daschle, listened
carefully to his words and followed, for the most part,
the directions he portrayed for all Members here, it is a
sad day, obviously, for Tom Daschle's family; it is a sad
day for the Senate and a sad day for everyone in this
great country of ours.
I said Tom is the stuff of which so many of our lives
are made. It is quite hard to see in this place of
splendor the route so many Members took to get here. There
is a substantial difference in age between Tom Daschle and
me but I had a similar experience. I was the first in my
family to go to college. My parents were hard-working
people. They did not work on a farm but they worked in the
store. They worked in the mills. My father worked in the
silk mills of Patterson, NJ, a factory town.
What was the legacy they imparted? It was to work hard,
to believe in America, to believe in yourself. Try to
achieve a degree of respect and dignity. That is what my
father did for me, even after I had enlisted in the Army
and he was on his deathbed from cancer. The messages were
all profound: work, study, learn.
He took me into his factory one time and said: You must
never work like this, so dirty, so dusty, so noisy, so
dangerous. He knew it was dangerous, that there were
chemicals in the weaving of that silk fabric to keep it
from growing too brittle, to keep the machinery oiled. It
took my father, his brother, their father, at very young
ages.
When we hear Tom Daschle talk about his background, how
his parents worked to provide him with not the funds but
the incentive to make something of his life, to give
something back to America, we know Tom Daschle is a model
for so many to follow, with that commitment to decency and
honor.
It is a sad day when we reflect on what happened in Tom
Daschle's last race. He wanted to be here. We wanted him
to be here. Tom has been an effective leader for us for 10
years. The Republicans threw everything they could at him,
including some $20 million in that race, including some
insults in recent days. And then to not permit the man to
leave with grace and hold his head high--no, called him an
obstructionist.
I know when the shoe is on the other foot what happens,
when the minority has to fight like the devil to keep from
being rolled over by the majority. We saw it when we were
in charge. How I miss those days when we were in charge.
The Republican Party, the minority party, they did their
filibustering. They did their obstruction. They did the
things needed to protect the interests they thought served
their constituents, their States, and their country.
It was ungracious when the Republican side could not
find enough of their Members to sit here out of respect. I
remember being here when Bob Dole left and I could not
wait to sit in my chair and salute his contribution to
America and to this body, because, although Bob Dole could
disagree with you, he was always interested in the well-
being of the country. You saw it from the result of his
service to country and the military.
I do not know why, in the closing days, some element of
comity, some element of grace, some element of respect for
a human being could not have gotten some of our friends
out of their offices to come down to the floor. You saw
the applause. The applause that I paid most of the
attention to was from the people who work back here, the
people who saw Tom Daschle at work every day. They know
what he meant to them personally, to this country, to this
institution. That is why they stood and applauded so
vigorously. You saw Tom's colleagues standing here, hating
to let go, hating to let him leave the room. They did it
with their applause and their hugs, their glances, and
their tears.
So we are sorry that the Tom Daschle segment of service
to this country and to this body is over. As usual, as
always, there was a characteristic graciousness in his
departure, in acknowledging that he had lost the race.
Everyone here has some sense of how painful it could be,
especially being leader of the party, especially when they
threw everything in the book at him that they could pick
up.
It is not going to be easy to forget Tom Daschle. We are
going to miss him. He had wonderful service to country. He
served as an intelligence officer in the Air Force for 3
years. He won his first race. Many cited the chronology of
his climb to leader of the Democratic Senate. He carved
out a national reputation. People knew who he was, but he
never forgot his South Dakota constituents.
We heard him talk about them. He talked about traveling
to each of the State's counties every year as an
unscheduled driving tour, where he stopped at the local
clubs, the Elks Club, the cattle auctions, the health
clinics, schools, cafes, police stations, or any other
place where people could gather to hear him talk about
what was on his mind, and to listen to them talk about
what was on their mind.
Tom has been an effective legislator. His aim: to help
his constituents, help his country, help those who were
less fortunate across America. He fought hard for small
farmers in his State.
We did not always agree. Those of us who come from an
urban environment disagreed with some of the votes he
took. But he always remembered from whence he came. He
fought hard for the people that he believed in, for Native
Americans from his State, veterans exposed to Agent
Orange. I joined him in that fight because I always
believed anyone who had any remote contact, no matter how
remote or how short a period of time, with Agent Orange
should be treated as any other veteran or any other
soldier who had a wound because we know what Agent Orange
has done to so many who have served so well, so loyally in
a war we could not agree on, much like what we are seeing
now in our country. And we had to respect his insistence
that we remember these people, the seniors, and the people
in the rural parts of the country where the economy has
never really been robust.
Nature always takes its toll. But Tom insisted we fight
back, that we make sure the farm community continued to
exist in this country so we could produce the nutrition
that is so vital--the products we all use so regularly.
And Tom is so young looking, soft spoken, self-effacing,
and fundamentally decent. He was actually mistaken for a
paperboy one time. But beneath that wonderful exterior,
that almost placid view of things, there was a spine of
steel. He could get up and fight hard and fight for the
issues. His leadership for us--and, believe me, it was not
easy. It is not easy on the Democratic side, it is not
easy on the Republican side, I am sure, to pull everybody
together because each of us has differences that come from
our geography, from our State, from the culture within our
States. But the fact is, Tom could get us together on the
most difficult issues, not always 100 percent, not always
in victory, but always with vigor and always with
commitment.
Tom has devoted practically all his entire life to
public service. We are going to miss his leadership, his
counsel, and his friendship.
In my closing comments to him I said: We are saying kind
of so long but hopefully not really goodbye. We want to
hear from Tom Daschle. I have made a plea to him that he
stays involved with the public interest. I hope he is
going to do that. Tom will have many offers for commercial
development and to make lots more money, but he feels an
obligation down deep, as I would think most of us or all
of us do here, to try to do something that counts.
I encourage him and his great wife Linda to get through
this difficult period. It is not easy when you are the
leader to lose a race. It is never easy, but it is
particularly difficult when you have had leadership
responsibilities.
So my message to Tom is: Tom, keep that spine of steel.
Keep that interest that you have in the well-being of our
society, in the belief that America can recover from all
kinds of difficulties, some of the worst that we are
facing right now. It is not just the war, as painful as
that is.
I have a display in front of my office of young faces,
of people, many of whom are in their teens, late teens,
18, 19. I enlisted in the Army when I was 18. I did not
realize then I was such a baby. I realize now that 18 is
so, so young. But I have those photographs there as
reminders about what the price of this war really is. It
is not just the financial side, which is enormous. It is
not just the humiliation side, which is enormous, the
humiliation because we failed to have the appropriate
intelligence, intelligence to tell us even most recently
how difficult Fallujah was going to be. We underestimated,
and as a consequence the costs are heavy. In the last
week, we lost two people from New Jersey. There are now
over 1,200 who have died in the course of that fight.
But again, Tom Daschle, and I think all of us here, have
to continue to fight for what is right. We can endure our
differences here. I will tell you what we cannot endure.
We cannot endure the bitterness that exists across the
dividing line here. We cannot endure the vitriol that is
constant in this room of ours. We cannot endure the anger
that exists. We have a cause that is greater than all of
us.
I am not saying it all comes flowing this way, but I am
saying it is unpleasant. It is now 22 years since I
arrived in the Senate. I remember different days. I
remember days when you could disagree and still be able to
say hello without grimacing when you saw one of your
colleagues. Lord willing, I hope Tom Daschle taught us
some of that, with his graciousness, his characteristic
willingness to listen and to understand and get back to
you when a problem existed.
So, Mr. President, I am going to yield the floor, but I
do want to talk about our other colleagues who are
retiring in a few minutes. There are a lot of good people
here on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, while the Senate
is holding in abeyance for the final omnibus
appropriations bill that the House is getting ready to
file sometime tonight, I want to take the opportunity to
pay tribute to our retiring Senators: Tom Daschle, Fritz
Hollings, Don Nickles, John Breaux, Ben Nighthorse
Campbell, John Edwards, Peter Fitzgerald, Zell Miller, and
Bob Graham.
I wish to make a speech about each one of these Senators
who has become a dear friend, in some cases, over the
years, such as Fritz and Peatsy Hollings, who took special
interest in me as I came to the Senate and made sure I got
on his Commerce Committee, which has been just an
extraordinary experience with him as chairman, as well as
with the present chairman, John McCain. * * *
There is a special part in my heart for Tom Daschle. We
came to the Congress together in 1978. Among the freshman
class in the House of Representatives that year, we knew
Tom as ``Landslide'' Daschle. He won his race for Congress
by 14 votes. Of course, he says that was a big percentage
of the total vote in South Dakota at that time.
We saw him grow over the years into a great Democratic
leader, both minority and majority leader of the Senate,
and we saw the pressure that Tom was under.
Who here would not remember exactly where you were and
what you were doing on September 11, 2001. We were in a
leadership meeting only a few feet from here on the West
Front of the Capitol watching the television of the World
Trade Center, and had tried to resume our meeting when
someone burst through the door and said: The Pentagon's
been hit.
We leapt to the window looking west across the Mall in
the southwest direction of the Pentagon and saw the black
smoke rising.
People went their separate ways. I leapt to a telephone
to try to get word to my wife because we had just moved
into an apartment overlooking the southwest corner of the
Pentagon.
That day I remember so vividly seeing the Constitution
at work, because as I came back into the room and saw the
people pouring out of the majority leader's office, under
the orders of the Capitol Police to get out of the
building, evacuate immediately, I saw the security people
of the Capitol Police take Tom in a different direction to
an undisclosed location where he, along with the rest of
the congressional leadership, was to be sequestered as a
protection of this constitutional government and its
continuity.
Tom grew a lot in those ensuing days. That was in the
morning, sometime right after 10 on September 11. I
remember that evening, as dark fell, Members of the House
and the Senate of all parties on the East Front steps of
the U.S. Capitol holding hands and singing ``God Bless
America'' to demonstrate in what little way we could that
those who sought to strike us down were going to see the
resolve and the unity of the Government of the United
States.
I could keep going on about Tom, but we heard his
comments today. Of course it is with a heavy heart that we
see Tom leave this Chamber. It is under circumstances that
I hope we never see replicated.
There has to be civility in this body. There has to be a
mutual respect. There has to be a respect for the truth.
There has to be respect for the dignity of individuals and
their families. Have we lost our compass? Have we lost our
anchor? Have we lost our sense of human beings?
This Senator can do something about that, as I have
tried in the past, by the way I conduct myself with regard
to my relationship to other Senators in wanting to treat
others as I would like to be treated. Now that the
fractiousness and the divisiveness of this highly
partisan, highly ideological, rigid time of debate is
behind us, it is my hope this Senate can start to come
together for the good of the people, even as we approach
another election time. It is for the sake of the Nation
that we must do this. * * *
So for all of these names I have mentioned, in the great
poem ``Ulysses,'' he says, ``I am a part of all that I
have met,'' and I am a part of all these great Senators. I
am much richer for it and for having been their friend.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, in these final working days
of the 108th Congress, as so many speakers before me have
said, we are saying farewell to a number of our retiring
colleagues. I intend to speak about a couple of them this
evening and will have more to say about some of the others
tomorrow.
A most painful farewell will be to my good friend
Senator Tom Daschle. I do not know that I have heard a
more heartfelt, soul-searching, and inspirational speech
about what a Senator should be, ought to be, and must be
than the speech given by our great leader Senator Daschle
earlier this evening.
As I sat and listened to that speech, especially when he
talked about Dick Reiners, my mind went back to 1978 when
I was just a second-term Congressman from the State of
Iowa and I was asked to go campaign in South Dakota for
this young guy running for the House whose name was Tom
Daschle. His former employer, Senator Jim Abourezk, came
to Iowa to campaign for me and asked me to reciprocate.
Because I had been active in some farm issues and
agricultural issues, he asked me to campaign in South
Dakota, and I did.
I struck up a friendship with Tom Daschle at that point
that endures to this day and will endure forever. So I
would go out and campaign for him and then he would come
and campaign for me and I would campaign and we would go
back and forth from Iowa to South Dakota. Of course, we
shared a common border up at Sioux City. Much of Sioux
Falls's television comes into Iowa. Much of Sioux City's
goes into South Dakota. So we have shared kind of a common
area there of constituents, constituencies over all these
years.
So it is a painful farewell to my good friend Tom
Daschle. These days, there are fewer and fewer bipartisan
agreements in this body. But I sense today that there was
bipartisan agreement about Tom Daschle. We respect his
decency, his fairness, his courage and leadership, his
extraordinary capacity for hard work. I cannot imagine a
more difficult job in the Senate than being leader of the
Democratic caucus. We have all heard Will Rogers's quip
that he belonged to no organized party, he was a Democrat.
Those independent, hard-headed habits flourish within
our caucus. For the last decade, Tom Daschle's amazing
skills and unlimited patience have brought us together as
a team. That is an accomplishment of which he can be very
proud.
The President of the United States, it is said, has the
persuasion of power. But the leader of our Senate
Democratic caucus has only the power of persuasion. I
cannot imagine anyone more persuasive than Senator Tom
Daschle. He has always been willing to talk with us,
accommodate us whenever possible, to do whatever it takes,
however long it takes, to forge a consensus and move us
ahead. We are grateful. I am grateful for his leadership,
his diligence, for his grace that he has unfailingly
brought to this job as our leader. I cannot emphasize
enough this fairness and this underlying grace of this
wonderful human being. Unfailingly fair to all.
When Democrats were in the majority, Majority Leader
Daschle was respectful of the rights and the prerogatives
of our Republican minority. Conversely, as our minority
leader, he has steadfastly defended the rights and the
prerogatives of the Democratic minority. In the heat of a
partisan campaign, some have labeled this
``obstructionism,'' but that characterization is
incorrect. The duty of the opposition party is to present
compelling alternatives, and to do so fairly,
forthrightly, and within the rules of the Senate. The duty
of the leader of our opposition is to protect the rights
of the minority so that our voice and our votes can be
heard; so that we can speak out and offer a different way,
a different path. That is our duty as opposition. Senator
Daschle protected the rights of the minority, so important
in our country, not just in the Senate, but important for
us as a country.
If there is one thing that is pervasive in our
Constitution and our Bill of Rights, it is just that; it
is the protection of the minority so the minority can be
heard. That is so the minority's voice and votes will be
counted. That is exactly what Senator Daschle has done.
There is not one hint of obstructionism. What he has done
is to protect and enhance the rights of the minority, and
he did it with skill and persistence, with fairness and
with grace.
Over all these years of service with Tom Daschle in the
House and in the Senate, I have always respected how he
fought and advocated for his constituents in South Dakota.
No one has fought harder in the House and in the Senate
for the revitalization of rural America than Tom Daschle.
No one has fought harder to bring health care and good
schools and economic opportunity to Indian country. No one
has fought harder to increase the income of family farmers
and give them a fair shake in the marketplace.
Another jewel in the crown of Tom Daschle's legacy is
the emerging ethanol industry in the United States. Since
Tom arrived in Congress in 1978, he has been a relentless
champion of ethanol. He mentioned that in his farewell
speech today. I know he was a relentless champion because
I was there, too, during those early years. People said
those of us who were advocating the expanded use of
ethanol didn't have a chance against big oil. But Senator
Daschle persevered. He used the 1990 Clean Air Act to put
in place policies that gave birth to the ethanol industry
in our country. He continued to promote tax incentives and
a renewable fuel standard to advance ethanol and to move
our country toward energy independence.
No doubt about it, Senator Daschle's leadership on
ethanol brought us to where we are today in the production
of this renewable and clean fuel in America. His
leadership on ethanol will be greatly missed in the
future.
It has been a privilege to serve in this body with Tom
Daschle. I will miss him as a colleague. I will miss his
leadership, that fairness, that gentleness of nature, but
that steely determination to make sure that our views and
our votes were counted; that steely determination to make
sure that people who live in small towns in rural America
are not forgotten, that their interests are protected
here. I will miss him as a friend. Oh, I am not going to
lose contact with Tom and Linda. My wife and I will
continue to count them as good friends. But I will miss
him as a friend here in the Senate.
As Tom Daschle said today, he has always been an
optimist. I have never known Tom Daschle to ever utter a
pessimistic word. For him the sunrise was always better
than the sunset. So the Sun rises on a new chapter in Tom
Daschle's life. That Sun is going to be bright. It is
going to be bright because of who Tom Daschle is, what he
is. So there are going to be some new days and important
chapters ahead written in the life of Tom Daschle. Both
Ruth and I wish Tom and Linda and his family the very best
in the years ahead.
We will continue to look forward to his input into the
political life of America and into the common wheel that
binds us as a country.
I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleagues
in saying thank you to a great Senator, a great American,
a wonderful leader, and a dear friend, Senator Tom Daschle
of South Dakota. In Hawaiian we say, mahalo nui loa.
``Mahalo'' means thank you; ``nui'' means large; and
``loa'' means wide. It is used to convey profound and deep
gratitude. I want to say mahalo nui loa to Tom Daschle for
his great service to our country and to the Senate as an
institution.
During his 26 years in the House and Senate, Tom Daschle
has epitomized the ideal that we can disagree without
being disagreeable. His prairie optimism and can-do
attitude served his constituents well and served our
Democratic caucus well.
I have always marveled at the fact that despite his
responsibilities as majority leader and Democratic leader,
Tom Daschle always kept the needs and interests of South
Dakotans as his top priority. He never lost sight of the
people back home. Perhaps that is best reflected by his
annual ``unscheduled driving'' tour, when he drives across
his home State, visiting every county, with no staff and
no schedule, just Tom, stopping to visit his constituents
and hear what is on their minds.
As Senator Daschle has said, these visits remind him of
where he came from, and why he came to Washington--to put
the priorities of America first. For that, and for so much
more, I say mahalo nui loa, Tom Daschle. Godspeed. God
bless Tom and his wife Linda.
This comes from me and my wife Millie. Aloha.
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I know the hour is getting late
and others want to be heard, but I briefly want to express
some thoughts about our colleagues who are leaving this
wonderful body. Today we have heard some very compelling
speeches, particularly the one given by my good friend,
Tom Daschle of South Dakota, our Democratic leader.
I was pleased to see so many of our colleagues remain on
the floor to listen to the departing Democratic leader.
The words he expressed about his State, his staff, his
colleagues, his feelings about the country, and the
future, are instructive. I know it can sound repetitive
when people hear us talk about our colleagues this way,
but I think it is important for the public to note that
while they might hear only about the bickering, the part
that you do not often see is the deep respect, affection,
and caring that goes on among the Members of this body.
This affection comes despite the differences that exist in
red States and blue States, or being strongly conservative
or strongly liberal.
There is this weaving of a common denominator through
each and every one of us, particularly after years of
common service in this remarkable institution we call the
Senate. There is a deep and abiding respect for those who
have come here, those who have served here, those who have
tried to make a difference for our country.
It may seem like it is inside discussion, but I hope the
public understands how deeply felt these comments are
about colleagues who will no longer have the pleasure of
spending each and every day in this Chamber, but whose
friendship and collegiality will continue in the years
ahead as we encounter each other in different walks of
life. * * *
Mr. President, I want to share a few thoughts about our
Democratic leader.
I mentioned at the outset of these remarks that I was so
deeply moved and impressed today by the words of Tom
Daschle. I hope all of our colleagues, if they were not
here, will read his remarks. It was about as good a speech
as I have heard given in this body in a long time. It laid
out some pretty important standards for all of us to keep
in mind, particularly those of us serving here--the notion
of hope that he talked about; the notion of not forgetting
where you come from no matter how important you think you
are at any given moment; to remember your staff; to
remember the people who helped make us successful and who
deserve great credit for their tireless contributions;
remembering people who work in the Senate, arrive here in
the wee hours of the morning to make these buildings
operate; and remembering his constituents and his family.
It was as eloquent a farewell address as you are ever
going to hear in the Senate.
Tom Daschle, of course, has served with me in the Senate
since 1987. He has served as Democratic leader for the
past decade. He has been a very able leader and spokesman
for our party and our beliefs on the Senate floor or on
national news programs.
Anyone who has observed Tom Daschle over these past 18
years knows he is generally not one to raise his voice.
But beneath his gentle demeanor and soft tone and human
decency is a fierce determination to do what is right for
both his constituents in South Dakota and the American
people. His service to the people of South Dakota has been
outstanding.
I noted earlier that Senator Paul Sarbanes of Maryland
quoted some editorials from newspapers of South Dakota
talking about his service to their State over these past
26 years in the House and the Senate.
As a Senator from our Nation's third smallest State in
terms of area, I am somewhat spoiled by the ease with
which I am able to meet with my constituents. Tom, on the
other hand, has represented a State of over 77,000 square
miles, smaller I might add than the State of the Presiding
Officer of Montana, but nonetheless daunting if you come
from a State such as Connecticut which is so much smaller.
You have counties in your State of Montana which are
larger, I think, than the State of Connecticut.
Each year Tom set aside time to drive to each of the 66
counties in the State alone in his car with no staff, just
arriving in town, seeing people and talking to them
regardless of the lofty position he held here on the
Democrat side of the aisle. He always took that time out
each year to go back to reconnect with the roots of South
Dakota and to meet with his people at home. That is one of
the reasons why he never was confused by the title of
``leader.'' He was always very firmly planted on the
ground and why he would fight as leader not only for our
national issues but for State issues.
He was completely understanding of other Senators who
would come to him and talk about the needs in their own
States. Because he was so rooted in understanding of his
own constituent needs, he was deeply sympathetic to other
Senators as they lobbied on behalf of matters that were
important to their constituencies.
He championed legislation to provide disaster relief for
farmers, expand health care services in rural areas,
expand health care to Native Americans, and the list goes
on.
In his role as Democratic leader, Tom Daschle has stood
for the values that are the bedrock of our Nation, such as
a strong middle class, a foreign policy that keeps America
strong by working with our allies, fiscally responsible
economic policies that invest in critical national
priorities such as jobs, education, and health care.
During President Clinton's term he helped advance the
agenda that created over 22 million new jobs in our
Nation, the longest period of economic expansion in
American history.
Over the past 4 years, he has led our party's efforts to
return to more responsible policies that can make our
Nation stronger both at home and abroad.
On a personal level, I will miss Tom Daschle very much.
I am the individual who lost to him by one vote 10 years
ago. I remember that day very well as we competed to
become Democratic leader. Many people assume when anyone
goes through a battle like that, an intense battle of some
24 days, that it may cause a permanent divide in a
relationship. We quickly got over that. I certainly did,
and Tom did. He reached out to me directly, invited me to
be part of a circle that would help shape positions within
our party. He is a gracious human being. We have become
very good friends, and we will retain that friendship.
I would be far less than candid with my colleagues or my
constituents if I didn't tell you I will miss this man
very much. He is as decent a human being as I have ever
known in my life, in public or in private life. He is a
good, good man. Whatever he does, he will bring great
integrity, great honor, and great decency to any endeavor
that he becomes involved in.
I look forward to many years of good friendship with him
and Linda. I wish he and his family the very best in the
years to come.
I apologize for taking this extra time. It is important
that the public hear Members talk about each other, even
those who disagreed on matters, that they understand why
this institution works more than 230 years after the
Founders created it.
I, as a Senator from Connecticut, take unique pride in
the Senate because it was Roger Sherman and Oliver
Ellsworth, both of Connecticut, who offered at the
Constitutional Convention the idea of the Senate
representing small and large States. Arguing over a
unicameral system, Sherman and Ellsworth said, how about
having a second body with equal representation, regardless
of the size or the population of the State. As a result,
this institution was created. It has been a great place
that has served our Nation for so long and I am confident
it will in the future.
We have been blessed by the participation of those who
are leaving. All of us wish each and every one of them the
very best in the years to come.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank Senator Dodd for
his comments. My relationship and experience with Tom
Daschle was a man who was a straight shooter. Every time I
asked him something, I got a legitimate answer. If he
committed to do something to help me, he did it. He was a
gentleman at all times. We never had a harsh word. We may
disagree--and we did disagree over policies, we all did--
and debated and argued and fussed, as we do in this
Senate, but there is something special about this body.
Senator Dodd, a son of a Senator himself, has deep
connections and many years here and understands it better
than most. It is important that we recognize the humanity,
the skill, the dedication of each Member of the body,
whether we agree politically, whether we are in the same
party, and we recognize that.
Senator Dodd, thank you for the comments. It means a lot
to the body, as does your leadership.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I congratulate the
distinguished Senator from South Dakota, Mr. Daschle, on
his remarkable career in the U.S. Senate.
Soon after he was elected to the Senate, in 1986, my
wife, Rose, and I had the pleasure of taking a trip to
Russia with Tom and his wife, Linda. We thoroughly enjoyed
their company; and, in spite of the difference in party
affiliation, I have had a feeling of respect and
appreciation for the Democratic leader ever since.
We have served together on the Agriculture Committee and
worked to help farmers solve their problems. I have
admired his dedication to the Senate and his intensity of
motivation as the opposition leader. He has been a very
effective leader, and I wish him and Linda much happiness
and satisfaction in the years ahead.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I am pleased to pay tribute
to Senator Tom Daschle, who has served South Dakota, and
the Senate, with dignity and devotion during his tenure in
this body.
I am proud to have worked with him on a wide range of
issues over the years, but perhaps most of all I thank him
for his work and leadership to reform the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers. This is a fight that will go forward in the
next Congress, where we will build on Senator Daschle's
hard work and commitment to this important issue.
I also want to take a moment to recognize Senator
Daschle's leadership, as both majority and minority leader
here in the Senate. He has led the Democratic caucus, and
the Senate as a whole, through a time of great change and
many difficult challenges: through a closely divided
Senate, through the tragedy of 9/11, and through the
anthrax attack on the Senate, which so personally affected
both of our offices. Through all of this, Senator Daschle
has inspired us with his dedication and ability to work
through tough problems, to guide the policies of our
party, and to provide steady leadership when we needed it
most.
Finally, I also want to extend my thanks to many of
Senator Daschle's staff, who were especially helpful to my
office over the past 12 years, and in particular, were so
thoughtful and generous with their time in the wake of the
anthrax attack on our offices. It is often the case that a
Senator's staff reflects the personality of the Senator
for whom they work, and I believe that is certainly the
case with Senator Daschle and his staff.
I thank Tom Daschle for his leadership and his service
to South Dakota and our country, and I wish him all the
best as he moves on to begin a new chapter in his
distinguished career.
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I honor the long and dedicated
service that Tom Daschle has given to our country. He has
been a true leader throughout his life in public service,
and South Dakota and the entire Nation are better off
because of his efforts.
For 29 years, South Dakota has been fortunate to have
Tom Daschle represent their interests--first as a Senate
staffer, then as a Member of the House of Representatives,
and finally as a U.S. Senator. He has worked tirelessly to
make sure that the people of South Dakota have a strong
economy, access to quality, affordable health care, and
the highest quality education system. He has worked with
unfailing determination to enhance the quality of life in
rural communities across South Dakota and the Nation.
Throughout his service, Tom has always kept the interests
of his State and his constituents as his top priority.
Tom Daschle has been a wonderful leader for South
Dakota, for the Democratic Party, and for all Americans. I
deeply respect and applaud his lifelong commitment to
public service, and his leadership and his friendship will
be missed by many in the Senate. I know he moves on to the
next phase of his career as a happy and wise man who will
continue to make important contributions to our country
long after he leaves the Senate. He is a true patriot who
has always served and will always serve his country. I
want to thank Tom for his dedication and his service, and
I wish him the very best in his future endeavors.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to
some of my colleagues who will be leaving the Senate at
the end of this session.
I particularly want to pay tribute to a great Senator,
someone whom I am proud to call a friend, our leader, Tom
Daschle.
Senator Daschle is truly one of the giants in the
history of the U.S. Senate and it has been a privilege to
serve with him for the last 4 years.
Tom Daschle has given his entire life to public service.
After serving in the Air Force, he came to Washington to
work for South Dakota Senator James Abourezk. A few years
later, he won election to the House and later won three
terms in the Senate.
Senator Daschle has been through some tough elections
and tough battles on the floor of this Senate. But he has
always conducted himself with grace, integrity and respect
for his opponents. He has been a leader in the Senate on
health care, veterans benefits, ethanol, agriculture and
rural development and has fought hard for the people of
South Dakota.
He is known all over South Dakota for his down-to-earth
manner and the personal relationships he has with his
constituents.
Every year, Tom Daschle would go on a driving tour of
all 66 counties in South Dakota, stopping in at diners,
bowling alleys, Elks clubs and feed stores. He would talk
to his constituents on a one-on-one basis and really feel
the pulse of different communities.
Therefore, when he debated an issue here on the Senate
floor, he knew first-hand what his constituents thought.
He represented them well, the way our Founding Fathers
would have envisioned a model Senator.
He was also a great leader. He worked with all members
of our caucus and did the hard work to develop a consensus
on many difficult issues. And he was always willing to
listen.
Tom Daschle would work across the aisle to get things
done for his State and the country. I remember how he rose
to the occasion after September 11 and worked hand in hand
with President Bush to protect our country, rebuild New
York and keep the airlines from going bankrupt.
If you were trying to get something done here in the
Senate, you always wanted Tom Daschle on your side.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to take this
opportunity to honor our departing colleagues who are
leaving the Senate. At almost each new Congress a
different group of 100 men and women comes together from
different backgrounds and political philosophies,
representing different interests and constituencies, but
through all our differences, we develop respect and
admiration for each other. Many times we step across the
aisle and work together on legislation and oftentimes
genuine friendships are created. As I pay tribute to these
departing Senators, whether they have been here one term
or seven, they are a remarkable group and we thank them
for their honorable service. * * *
I would like to pay tribute to a respected colleague who
is leaving the Senate after a long and distinguished
career. Senator Tom Daschle worked hard for 8 years as a
Member of the House of Representatives and for 18 years as
a U.S. Senator, to represent the interests of voters
across the State of South Dakota.
As the leader of his party for the past 10 years,
Senator Daschle has proven himself to be a capable
legislator and moreover, an advocate for his State's and
party's interests. During the 108th Congress, Senator
Daschle served on three committees: Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry; Finance; and Rules and
Administration; and today he serves as the senior Senator
and the Democratic leader of the Senate.
Influenced by his formative experiences during the
Vietnam war as an intelligence officer in the Air Force,
Senator Daschle worked hard to serve the interests of
veterans across this great country. His most notable
achievement in this field was the enactment of legislation
securing benefits for those soldiers exposed to Agent
Orange.
During his tenure, Senator Daschle also developed a
reputation for being a shrewd legislator on issues related
to agriculture and South Dakota's farming community. He
was always apprised of even the most minute issues at
stake and thus ensured that all of his constituents were
represented at the negotiating table.
Senator Daschle fought tirelessly for his beliefs
throughout his time in the Senate. I wish Senator Daschle
and his family the very best in the years ahead.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise to say goodbye
to several of my colleagues, dear friends and colleagues
with whom I have had the pleasure to work in the
Senate. * * *
I wish Senator Tom Daschle well as he moves on to new
challenges. As his party's leader in the Senate he was
smart and determined. Tom is an exemplar of the American
story. He grew up as the eldest of four brothers and
became the first in his family to graduate from college,
with a political science degree from South Dakota State
University.
He then served 3 years as an intelligence officer for
the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command.
He secured a job as an aide to South Dakota Senator
James Abourezk. From there, he rose to the highest job in
the Senate, Senate majority leader.
Tom Daschle married Linda Hall and they are the parents
of three children. He is proof that hard-working Americans
can make a difference.
Madam President, I will miss all of my colleagues. As we
take the opportunity to go forward in a new Congress, we
will make new friends, but we will never forget the old
ones.
Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I want to share my views, as
did Senator Hutchison and others, about our colleagues who
are leaving for new adventures in life.
I wish all the best to Senator Hollings. We will miss
his booming voice. We will miss Senator Edwards, Senator
Graham of Florida, and Senator Daschle. We will also miss
John Breaux, a man we know will enjoy life with his good
common sense and sense of humor. He is a good friend.
Mr. REID. There is no way I can, on the Senate floor in
the few minutes I am going to take, convey to my
colleagues and the people within the sound of my voice the
feelings I have about Tom Daschle. He and I came to the
Senate together 18 years ago. We served in the House of
Representatives before that. The last 6 years we have
worked together daily. There may be a day or two that went
by without our talking but they were rare. We spoke even
during the time we were on break. We have virtually been
together every day. The only time we really did not spend
a lot of time communicating is when he was in South Dakota
and I was in Searchlight. Our BlackBerrys would not work.
My BlackBerry now works in Searchlight. His still does not
work in South Dakota.
Tom's legislative record is certainly there. It is
apparent. He has done wonderful things for the State of
South Dakota and this country. I could, but it is really
unnecessary, explain what he has done for the farmers, the
environment, the military, including the veterans, but
what I can try in a very inadequate way is to express to
him, through this manner, the things I have tried to say
personally to him in the last couple of weeks, and that is
express my appreciation to him for the opportunities he
has given me.
Tom Daschle is a totally unselfish person. I can
remember about 6 years ago when I was selected by my peers
to be assistant leader I went to Senator Daschle and said:
What is this job going to be? He said: Whatever you make
it.
I took him at his word, and this job is what I thought
the assistant leader or the whip should be. I could never
have done what I have done and had the good fortune of
being in the places I have been and had the freedom to do
things on this Senate floor but for the support and
authorization of Senator Daschle.
I do not think I have ever raised my voice to Senator
Daschle. We both grew up with three brothers. We are the
first to really go to school of any depth in our families.
I have learned a lot from Senator Daschle.
As I have told everyone, I am not Tom Daschle and I am
going to be a different kind of person in the new duties I
have beginning at the first of the year.
I told Tom Daschle earlier this week that earlier this
year I lost my best friend. His name was Mike O'Callaghan.
He was someone who taught me in high school. He taught me
how to fight in the ring and in other places. When I went
to law school, he helped me. He was a disabled Korean
veteran but he gave me part of his pension money to help
me through tough times in school. I was allowed to take
the bar before I graduated from law school. I was married
and had two children, was desperate for money. I came back
to Reno and there was Michael O'Callaghan. That was in the
fall of 1963. He gave me a $50 bill. I had never seen one
before but he gave that to me. He knew I was desperate for
money.
Then I held a few offices, and as a very young man I ran
for Lieutenant Governor. People kind of thought I was
going to win that. He moved back from California to Nevada
to run for Governor because there was no Democrat to run
sitting for Lieutenant Governor. They knew O'Callaghan had
no chance, but he did. He became the Governor of the State
of Nevada.
I am trying to paint a picture for this man and how
close he was to me. He was so good to me, able to give me
advice and counsel. He told me what I needed to hear, not
what I wanted to hear, and I did not make a decision
important in nature unless I discussed it with my friend
Mike O'Callaghan.
He went to church early one morning this summer and
died. It was a very painless death. He went to church
every day. He was a devoutly religious man, and somebody
whom I have missed more than words can describe.
I told my friend Tom in his office a day or two ago that
he was now my Mike O'Callaghan, that I have somebody I
will call just as I did my friend Mike, that I will call
him often. He said: That is fine. You could not call me
too many times.
So Tom Daschle and I have developed a relationship that
can best be described as two brothers. I have three
brothers, one of whom is dead. So Tom replaces my brother
Dale. I will call Tom and I will talk to him when I feel
it necessary, knowing he will continue to give the advice
and counsel to me that he has for the last 6 years.
There are additional things I would like to say, but I
will suffice to say that for the 22 years I have known Tom
Daschle, which has culminated in the 6 years of intense
personal contact where we have dealt with the problems of
the country and the world in great depth, that there will
never be an opportunity and an experience like that again.
I am grateful to Tom and to his wonderful wife Linda for
their friendship and Tom's service to our country.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am grateful for this
opportunity to say a few words about our friend and
colleague, the distinguished minority leader, Senator Tom
Daschle.
Tom's commitment to public service, on behalf of the
people of South Dakota and America, is an example I hope
more citizens will follow. He served here as a Senate
staff member before being elected to the House of
Representatives in 1978. South Dakota is one of just seven
States with a single House member, which required Tom to
run a statewide race. That was familiar territory for him
when he ran for and won his Senate seat in 1986. Tom is
one of 49 Senators who previously served in the other
body, experience which I believe enhances their service
here and makes the Senate more effective in serving all
Americans.
Yesterday, our colleague Senator Durbin said that it is
hard to imagine the Senate without Tom Daschle. Some might
merit that compliment because of the sheer length of their
tenure. Tom merits it because of the presence he quickly
established, both as a Member and as a leader in this
body. He was only 2 years into a second term when his
fellow Democrats elected him their leader by just one
vote. Only Lyndon Johnson became his party's leader more
quickly.
Tom's 10 years as Democratic leader included periods as
both majority and minority leader. Those positions,
especially in a narrowly divided Chamber, are each very
challenging and each very different. Tom served in each
post with class and determination, unifying his caucus and
working to achieve their agenda. Needless to say, we have
not agreed on every element of that agenda. But in this
political world, it is really a compliment to say that Tom
effectively and skillfully used whatever tools were
available to fight for what he believed and for what his
caucus wanted to achieve. Even when we were at
loggerheads, when it seemed like the irresistible force
was meeting the immovable object, civility has always
marked Tom Daschle's presence in this body, as a Senator
and as a leader.
I was gratified to hear Senator Daschle's comments on
this floor yesterday and a few things really stood out.
First, I was struck by the fact that his number in the
chronological list of U.S. Senators is 1776. Tom offered
the valuable reflection that he is, as we all are, part of
the broad sweep of American history, from the American
revolution to the 108th Congress and into the future.
Second, Tom asked a very important question, whether our
power comes just from military might or also from wisdom,
compassion, tolerance, and willingness to cooperate.
Everyone who serves in this body should maintain that
perspective.
Third, Tom spoke of what he called the politics of the
common ground. Individual Senators, as well as the two
political parties, have certain bottom-line issues,
certain fundamental principles or positions on which they
just find little room to give. But on others, and I
sometimes wonder whether this list is longer than we might
think, we must practice the politics of common ground.
Reminding us of that was, by itself, an act of leadership
by the minority leader.
And finally, he told us of a note he wrote on one of his
famous unscheduled driving trips across his State. He
wrote, ``Everything was worth doing.'' Each of us who has
worked alongside Tom Daschle, whether on the same or
opposing sides, knows that this is his approach to, and
attitude about, public service. That sets a good example
for us all.
Mr. McCONNELL. We cannot conclude the 108th Congress
without a sense of sadness. There are many--in fact there
are too many--great Senators who are leaving this
institution. I have already had an opportunity to express
my goodbyes to Senator Nickles, Senator Campbell, and
Senator Fitzgerald.
I also wish a happy and healthy future to our colleagues
across the aisle, Senator Daschle, Senator Breaux, Senator
Hollings, Senator Bob Graham, Senator John Edwards, and
Senator Zell Miller. Each of these men has made a lasting
contribution to this marvelous institution.