[Senate Document 108-27]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Doc. 108-27
TRIBUTES TO HON. ZELL MILLER
Zell Miller
U.S. SENATOR FROM GEORGIA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Zell Miller
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Zell Miller
United States Senator
2000-2005
a
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
Trent Lott, Chairman
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell..............................................
vii
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Allard, Wayne, of Colorado.....................
22
Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
23
Burns, Conrad, of Montana......................
13
Chambliss, Saxby, of Georgia...................
3
Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi..................
20
Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico...............
20
Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
17
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
25
Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
22
Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
18
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
8, 26
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
19
Nickles, Don, of Oklahoma......................
14
Santorum, Rick, of Pennsylvania................
23
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
10
Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama.................
17
Proceedings in the House of Representatives:
Tributes by Representatives:
Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia....................
27
Biography
After serving two terms as one of the Nation's most
popular Governors, Zell Miller was elected to the U.S.
Senate in 2000 and quickly established himself as a strong
voice for the conservative, commonsense approach to
issues. Though he is a lifelong Democrat, Miller kept his
pledge to serve all 8.5 million Georgians and no single
party in the Senate. He chides the National Democratic
Party for putting partisanship ahead of the people in his
best-selling book, A National Party No More: The
Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. In the Senate,
Miller regularly reached across the aisle to work with
Republicans to cut taxes, improve education, confirm the
President's nominees, and strengthen national security by
giving the Commander in Chief his full support in Iraq and
in the global war on terrorism.
Miller also introduced legislation to crack down on
illegal aliens, to strengthen the Montgomery GI Bill for
soldiers, to demand more accountability from CEOs, to
improve conditions in the Southern Black Belt and to
significantly increase FCC fines for indecent broadcasts.
Miller also focused on Georgia's top industry--
agriculture--through his membership on the Senate
Agriculture Committee and through working with fellow
Southeastern Senators to improve conditions for Georgia
farmers. Miller also served on the Banking and Veterans'
Affairs Committees.
The native Georgian served in elective office in six
different decades, beginning with mayor of his hometown of
Young Harris, GA, in the late fifties. When he was elected
to the U.S. Senate to serve the remaining 4 years of the
late Senator Paul Coverdell's term, Miller became only the
third Georgian--following Richard B. Russell and Herman
Talmadge--to be elected as both Governor and Senator. As
Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, Miller gained
national prominence for passing the Nation's first two-
strikes-and-you're-out law against violent felons, for
starting the Nation's only voluntary pre-kindergarten
program for 4-year-olds and for creating the nationally
acclaimed HOPE scholarship, which has transformed
education in Georgia and which many other States have
sought to duplicate.
The Washington Post in 1998 called Miller the most
popular Governor in America, and Governing Magazine named
him Governor of the Year in 1998. His program was dubbed
by the Los Angeles Times as ``the most far-reaching
scholarship program in the nation,'' and his pre-
kindergarten program won an award for innovation from the
Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Throughout his
career, Senator Miller has credited two major influences
for his success: his strong mother and the U.S. Marine
Corps. Born February 24, 1932, in Young Harris, GA, Miller
followed his parents' footsteps into the teaching
profession and into politics. He was raised by his single
mother after his father died when Miller was only 17 days
old. Miller gets his work ethic and his appreciation for
the arts from his mother, Birdie Miller, an art teacher
and one of Georgia's first female mayors. She hauled
stones from a mountain creek to build the family home that
Miller still lives in today. Though he never knew his
father, Stephen Grady Miller, Senator Miller followed in
his father's footsteps by becoming a University of Georgia
graduate, a history professor at Young Harris College and
a State senator.
Miller's passions are history, baseball and music. He is
a walking baseball encyclopedia who is equally at home at
the Grand Ole Opry or Symphony Hall. He has written six
books, including Corps Values: Everything You Need To Know
I Learned in the Marines. Miller has been married to
Shirley Carver Miller since 1954. They have two sons,
Murphy and Matthew, four grandchildren and four great-
grandchildren. He also has two yellow Labs, Gus and
Woodrow, named after characters in one of his favorite
books, Lonesome Dove.
Farewell
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, I have listened with a
grateful heart to the generous words of my colleagues, the
Senator from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] and earlier this
morning the Senator from Alabama [Mr. Sessions]. I will
remember and cherish those words as long as I am on this
Earth. I thank each of them for their friendship.
I see my good friend from Montana [Mr. Burns] on the
floor. I thank him, a fellow marine, for his friendship.
This means more to me than I have words to express. I
did not come to this Senate expecting events to unfold as
they have. I guess I am living proof that politics is not
an exact science.
In Shakespeare's ``Hamlet,'' his friend Laertes went off
to college and his father Polonius gave him the usual
advice that you give when your sons go off to college.
After all the words of caution that I hope fathers still
give their sons, Polonius ended with these words:
This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
I have always believed that and I have tried to live
that.
I have had a most blessed personal life--personal and
political. Since 1959, voters in Georgia have been putting
me in one office or another, and I am deeply grateful to
them.
God has richly blessed my personal life. My wife Shirley
has been the perfect partner for over 50 years. She has
been my companion, my critic, my crutch. We have two
wonderful sons, Murphy and Matthew, and our daughters-in-
law and our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. We
are very blessed.
If he had lived, Paul Coverdell would be ending his
second 6-year term. As I told some of my colleagues last
night, not a day has gone by since I have been here that I
have not thought of this good man who left us so suddenly
and so tragically.
My most fervent hope during these 4\1/2\ years has been
that Paul would be pleased with the way I have served and
finished out his term. I know Paul is pleased, as I am,
that our mutual friend Johnny Isakson, one of the finest
public servants I have ever known, will soon be our
successor in this great body.
I also wish to say what an honor it has been to serve
the last 2 years with my colleague from Georgia, Senator
Saxby Chambliss.
Now as this page turns on the final chapter of my career
as a public servant, I cannot help but remember how it was
in that first chapter of my life. Growing up in a remote
Appalachian valley, we lived in a house made of rocks my
mother gathered from a nearby creek with only an open
fireplace for heat, no indoor plumbing, no car, no phone,
and no father.
On summer nights before the TVA dammed up the Hiawassee
River and brought electricity to that Appalachian valley,
after the Moon had come up over the mountain, the
lightning bugs were blinking, while the frogs croaked down
at the creek and the katydids sang, every once in a while
a whippoorwill's lonesome cry could be heard.
I remember after my mother had finally quit working and
was getting us quiet and ready to go to bed, we would play
a game. The game would start when the headlights of that
rare car would penetrate the darkness, maybe once every
half hour or so on that narrow strip of asphalt across a
big ditch in front of our house. We would stare at the
headlights of the car as it made its way around the steep
curves and finally over Brasstown Mountain. We would count
and see how long it took from the time it went by our
house until its taillights would disappear through that
distant gap and was no longer a part of that one and only
world I knew.
It was often at this time my mother would laugh and say,
``You know what's so great about this place? You can get
anywhere in the world from here.''
That world has turned many times since I first traveled
that narrow road through that gap and out of that valley.
It has been a long road with many twists and turns, ups
and downs, bumps, and, yes, a few wrecks, a road that
twice carried me to the highest office of the ninth
largest State in this Nation, to all the continents and
famous cities of the world and, finally, to the Senate.
So I leave this Senate, knowing that once again my
mother has been proved right. One could get anywhere in
the world from that little mountain valley and back again.
Everywhere I have ever been really was on my way back
home.
I thank all of you. I thank my family. I thank my very
special staff that has stayed with me through thick and
thin. I thank my friends and especially my God. It has
been one heck of a ride.
TRIBUTES
TO
ZELL MILLER
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, November 18, 2004
Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I rise this morning to
pay tribute to a very special friend of mine and a friend
of Georgia's and a friend of the United States of America.
We are in what we think are our last couple of days of the
108th session. That being the case, this will be the last
few days that Senator Zell Miller will be in Washington in
his capacity as the senior Senator from our great State of
Georgia. I want to take a minute just to talk about this
man who has been such an inspiration to any number of
politicians and others in my State relative to his public
service to our State and to our country.
Zell Miller was born in a little town called Young
Harris, GA, which is in the mountains of north Georgia,
one of the most beautiful parts of our State. His father,
unfortunately, died when he was 17 days old, so he was
raised by his mother, whom he has repeatedly talked about
in the books he has written as well as in his speeches.
His mother Birdie was the most influential person in his
life. She did a heck of a job with Zell Miller as a young
man and remained an inspiration to him throughout his
adult life, and particularly in his life as a public
servant to our State.
Zell did one of the best things any man can do; and that
is, he married way over his head early in his life. He
married his sweetheart, Shirley. Before he went into the
Marine Corps, he tells the story about leaving for boot
camp and he was afraid when he got back she might not
marry him, so while they were in the mood they ran over to
South Carolina, which is not far away from his hometown of
Young Harris, and got married; and they have had decades
of glorious years together. They have two wonderful sons
and four grandchildren and now four great-grandchildren
whom the two of them have enjoyed. Now he will have even
more of an opportunity to spend time with them and enjoy
them even more.
Zell entered the Marine Corps at an early age. Again, as
he has repeatedly said in his books, as well as in his
speeches, it is the best thing he ever did in his life
from the standpoint of straightening him out. All of us go
through difficult times in our early years, and there are
specific instances that make us what we are and sort of
chart the course for where we are going to be in future
years. Zell has been very open about the fact that the
Marine Corps is the institution that really put his mind
in the right frame that it needed to be for his adult
years.
Zell began his educational career at Young Harris
College following his tenure in the Marine Corps, and then
ultimately graduated from the University of Georgia, which
happens to be the same institution of which I graduated.
Again, having a colleague such as Zell to look to as a
fellow alumnus is a great privilege.
Zell then began a teaching career, and also very shortly
entered a public service career. He served two terms as a
State senator from his home county area of Young Harris. I
think that was the foundation for what was going to
ultimately become an outstanding career for him in public
service. Like all of us, he suffered defeat as well as
victory. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of
Representatives twice. Having run for Congress myself, and
lost the first time, I know it is not much fun, but you
also find out it is the greatest experience of your life.
You meet the nicest people in the world, and you get a
real sense of the fact that there are just literally
thousands and thousands of people in that congressional
district who have the same beliefs and philosophy that you
do, so you want to continue to make a difference.
Even though Zell lost those races when he ran twice,
that did not deter him from continuing in public service.
He served as our Lieutenant Governor for four terms, 16
years. He just did a masterful job. The Lieutenant
Governor in Georgia has a little more power than some of
the Lieutenant Governors in other States around the
country. He presided over the State senate, and in that
capacity had the obligation and the power to appoint
committee chairmen and to be involved in legislation from
a direct standpoint. He did an outstanding job as
Lieutenant Governor.
Following those four terms, he ran for Governor and, in
1990, was elected Governor of our State for the first of
his two terms. In 1990, he campaigned on the fact that if
we were going to have a State lottery, he wanted to make
sure the funds that were generated by that lottery were
used for one purpose, and one purpose only, and that was
to improve the quality of education in our State.
I have to say if there is any one man who is responsible
for the improvement of the quality of education in my
State of Georgia, it is Zell Miller because he not only
campaigned on doing that, he made absolutely certain all
the funds generated from that State lottery went to
improve the quality of education.
He is the father of the HOPE scholarship. It is kind of
interesting, in every campaign now, every statehouse
campaign and gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial
race now, those folks who have been involved in State
politics for a while who are running for those races all
claim responsibility for the HOPE scholarship. But
everybody knows that the father of the HOPE scholarship,
the person who was responsible for its passage and
implementation, is Zell Miller.
The HOPE scholarship is a provision in our law which
says if you graduate from a high school in Georgia and you
have a B average, you can go to any State institution that
you are successful in applying to and getting into, and
your tuition will be paid for. As long as you maintain a B
average, that tuition will be paid for throughout your
college career. It has been one of the best things we have
ever had happen in our State.
We have been successful keeping our top students at home
and attending our State universities. One of the main
reasons is the HOPE scholarship. We have kids who might
otherwise go to a school in the Northeast or the West
Coast that has a much greater national reputation, but
they do not give the scholarships like the HOPE
scholarship to all their students who maintain those
averages.
So Zell Miller has been primarily responsible for
keeping an awful lot of the top kids graduating from our
public institutions as well as our private institutions in
Georgia at our State institutions. As a result of that, we
have seen the average SAT scores at the University of
Georgia, for example, rise every single year since the
HOPE scholarship went into effect. I do not know what the
exact number is for the entering class this year, but I
have confidence in saying the average SAT score for the
entering freshmen class at the University of Georgia this
year is well in excess of 1250, probably closer to
something in excess of 1300. At Georgia Tech it is higher
than that. And in other institutions we have seen the same
impact. We are simply getting the brightest and the best
because of Zell Miller and his commitment to the people of
Georgia and his commitment to increasing the quality of
education in our State.
As Governor, he put into effect a voluntary pre-K
program for 4-year-old kids. All of us know that the
earlier we involve our children in the education process,
the more likely they are to come out, at the end of the
day, with a better education. It is one of the best things
we ever did from the standpoint of putting our kids in
touch with the school system at an early age. And it has
worked.
I could go on and on talking about the things that
Senator Miller did as Governor, but I want to sum it up
with two anecdotes.
First, he was committed to ensuring that the education
of the children of our State improved every year he was in
public service. I will never forget his last 4 years. I
remember specifically because my wife was a teacher in the
public school system at that point in time. We were ranked
49th out of 50 with respect to the average teacher
salaries. Zell Miller put into place a salary increase--
and he made a commitment to the teaching community and
made a commitment to the legislature that they were going
to have to abide by this. He was going to provide a 6-
percent increase in teacher salaries every year for his
last 4 years, about a 25-percent increase for teacher
salaries across the board. He not only made the
commitment, but he did it. We went from 49th in average
teacher salaries to somewhere in the high twenties over
the 4 years of Zell Miller's last tenure as Governor of
our State.
He also made a commitment to the people of Georgia that
if you elect me for 4 more years, then I am not going to
be just your average Governor and put it on cruise control
and go out as a popular guy--and he had every opportunity
to do that.
I will never forget riding back up here on an airplane
after one weekend, and I happened to sit beside Zell. This
was several years after he had left the Governor's office,
but I was a Member of the House. I said: Zell, I guess if
there is anything about you, and I were to remember one
thing over everything else, it is the fact that in your
last 4 years you did what you thought was right,
regardless of the fact that you could allow the
legislature to pass whatever they wanted and you could
sign it into law. A lot of the legislation were very
popular bills with the people back home, but they simply
were not the right thing to do. He would veto them. He
would veto them, not because he had anything against the
issue or the people promoting the bill, but it was the
right thing to do. It was not in the best interest of all
Georgians.
A lot of people ask me today, Why has Zell Miller
changed? Zell Miller has never changed. In his heart, he
believes we live in the greatest country in the world. He
believes in his heart that he and I live in the greatest
State in this great country. He is totally committed to
doing what he thinks is right. He did it then when he
vetoed a lot of popular bills, and he didn't have to do
that; it would have been easy not to do that. That is why
today when he speaks it is from his heart because he is
doing what he thinks is right.
As he closes out his career, he and I are both mindful
every day of the fact that Zell Miller didn't want to be
here. It was not his wish that he serve in the Senate when
he was asked to serve. He ran for the Senate in 1980 and
was not successful. But he had no intention of coming back
to the Senate. Unfortunately, Paul Coverdell, who was his
very close friend and one of my political mentors, passed
away in 2000, and our Democratic Governor, Roy Barnes,
went to Zell Miller and said: Your State needs you, your
country needs you, and I need you to fill the unexpired
term of Paul Coverdell. So Zell, after much thought about
it, decided to leave the mountains of north Georgia and
his hometown of Young Harris and go back into public
service, to come to Washington. He and Shirley have been
here since July 2000, when he was appointed to fill that
unexpired term. He ran in 2000 and was elected to the
remainder of the unexpired term. So it wasn't his desire
to come back, but, as always, when he has been called upon
to fill a void and to be a public servant for his State
and his country, he has answered that call--not unlike
when he joined the Marine Corps.
As he leaves this great institution at the end of this
term in another 6 or 8 weeks, this man is going to be
missed by those who have looked up to him from a political
perspective. He has been a person that all of us in
politics admire because he has always operated in a
bipartisan way and made sure he reached across the aisle
and brought Republicans into his Democratic administration
when he served as Governor. Probably one of the highlights
of that is the man who is replacing him in the Senate, my
good friend Johnny Isakson, who has been a long-time
Republican in our State.
In Zell's second term as Governor, he knew that with
education being a priority he needed a top-flight person
to head up our State board of education. He reached out to
Johnny Isakson, who was then out of politics, and brought
him into his administration to chair the State board of
education. Johnny did a terrific job. As a result of that,
he came to the House to replace Newt Gingrich, and now he
will be replacing Zell Miller in the Senate. That is
simply the kind of guy Zell Miller is.
So it wasn't politics; it was what was in the best
interest of our State, what could he do to continue to
improve the quality of the education of our kids. He just
did the right thing. It is the same as he did in
supporting our Republican President. He knew it was the
right thing to do. That is why he was so vocal about it.
Regardless of the consequences politically, he did what in
his heart he thought was the right thing to do.
So now as Zell goes back to Young Harris, I fully expect
him to stay engaged in the process. He is not the kind of
guy who is going to wilt away, but he will not be as
active as he has been for the last three decades. He will
be sitting on his front porch with his two dogs, Gus and
Woodrow, playing with his grandchildren, and enjoying his
family. I am sure his mind will, at times, wander back to
his times in Atlanta at the State capital, and to the days
he spent in this institution, and he will have some great
memories. But those of us who have had the privilege and
the opportunity to serve with him are going to have even
better memories.
Zell Miller is a great American, a great Georgian, and
he is somebody all of us are going to miss in the day-to-
day world of politics. But he is somebody who, when we
look back and say, you know, if I charted my course the
way he did, I can leave this institution with a great
feeling knowing that I have done what was in the best
interest of my State and in the best interest of my
country. So to Zell Miller and to Shirley, I say thank
you. Julianne and I have a great appreciation for you and
a great friendship with you. We look forward to continuing
that friendship. We will miss you here in the U.S. Senate.
God bless you.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the late Senator Paul
Coverdell was a great Senator and dear friend of many of
us in this body. His untimely passing left a great hole in
our hearts. But it also took from Georgia and from America
a great leader.
At the time, none of us had any idea how we would ever
manage without him. I remember when we were doing tributes
to him after his death. There was great emotion on the
floor of the Senate. I remember Senator Phil Gramm
tearfully giving Senator Coverdell a farewell. We all felt
great affection for him.
So when the Governor of Georgia, Governor Barnes, needed
someone to step into Paul Coverdell's place to be the
voice for Georgia, he called upon a fellow whom I had not
previously met but had heard of for some time, former
Governor Zell Miller.
Happily retired and without personal ambition for
further public office, Zell Miller responded to the call
of duty. And what a difference he has made in this body.
In a time of turmoil, a time of terrorist attacks, of
economic challenge, of foreign war, when America needed
somebody to lead, Providence blessed America with a great
Senator, Zell Miller.
During his short tenure here, this old marine has been
critical to our efforts to obtain economic opportunity,
homeland security, and national security for this Nation.
I can say with total certainty that Paul Coverdell would
be proud of the accomplishments of Zell Miller. They have
been good for Georgia, and they have been good for
America.
A review of every major battle this administration had
in the last 4 years shows that Zell Miller was in the
middle of each one and the linchpin to each success. Zell
Miller was instrumental to the economic recovery our
Nation now enjoys. Zell Miller was the key to the homeland
security our Nation has attained. Zell Miller was one of
the strongest voices to harden our Nation's resolve to
fully wage the war against terrorism. On these, the most
critical issues upon which history will judge this Nation,
this President, and this Congress, it was Zell Miller
whose vote and voice made the difference.
Zell made the difference when the numbers didn't add up
to victory. Like our mutual friend, Phil Gramm, apparently
being outnumbered was never a cause for concern to Zell.
Zell served in the proud line of Truman Democrats. Like
Harry Truman, he called for unity during a time of war
and, like Harry Truman, gave hell to anybody who played
games with our national security.
Like John Kennedy, he knew that tax cuts were not just
good for the economy but they were good for the take-home-
pay of workers and their families. But from Zell we didn't
just hear the thoughts of old-school Democrats, we also
rediscovered the truths of our Nation. He showed us that
integrity still matters, that nation comes before party,
and that thinking first of our children and grandchildren
is the right and proper way to judge national policy. Any
time Zell looked for his bearings, he gazed to those fixed
stars of his favorite constellation: His wife Shirley, his
children, his four grandchildren, and four great-
grandchildren. This internal compass served him well
because no one could ever accuse Zell of being confused
about what he believed in and why.
So Zell Miller heads back to the Appalachian Mountains
of north Georgia, whence he came. He returns with his wife
Shirley back to the base of Double Knob Mountains, where
the ravines flow to the Brasstown Creek and then the
Hiawassee River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. He returns
to the dirt roads he walked as a lad, where he worked with
his mother, to haul stones from a nearby field to build a
rock-walled house with no rafter, no subfloor, and a
ladder for a staircase in the house in which he was
raised.
From such modest beginnings, and such a modest man, the
world is better because of his leadership. He stands as a
lesson for all and for all time. Because of Zell Miller, I
can say, be you a Senator, a college graduate, a single
mother, or an elementary school student, never, never,
never doubt the impact a single person with clear vision
and a strong heart can make for your family, your
community, your nation, and, yes, your world--not just for
now but for generations to come.
So, Senator Miller, we will miss you around here.
Mr. President, we have had the privilege over the last 4
years to serve with a truly great American who has made a
difference in a body in which it is very difficult for an
individual Senator to frequently make a difference.
Farewell, Senator Miller. We look forward to seeing you in
the coming years.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank the assistant
majority leader for his fine words. I certainly agree with
those about Zell Miller. Democracies in general, America
in particular, seem blessed that in times of turmoil,
leaders do step forward and give us the guidance we need.
During a time of war and economic challenge, America got
such a leader in Zell Miller. It is not too much to say
that he was the key, the very hinge upon which much of the
fate of the agenda of the last several years swung. For
the goals of President Bush, from homeland security to
economic growth to the war on terrorism, Zell Miller has
been the difference between victory and defeat, the gap
between almost and barely.
I think part of the willingness of Senator Miller to
step forward, break ranks, and support President Bush came
because he is a man of experience and judgment and
integrity. He got to know President Bush. He looked into
his heart, he examined his policies, and he believed him.
He had a particular belief in this man at this point in
history, based on his study of history, his writing, and
his experience, and he was willing to step forward in an
unusual degree and take a lot of grief for it, to stand up
for what he believed was right.
When President Bush proposed a tax cut to get the
economy moving in 2001, and things were not going well,
Zell Miller was the first Democrat to support that plan.
He co-sponsored the bill with Phil Gramm of Texas, a great
Senator. When they teamed up I thought of that slogan in
the Alabama football network. Bear Bryant would have a TV
show every week to talk about the game. He promoted Coca-
Cola from Georgia, I guess, and Golden Flake potato chips,
and the slogan was: ``Great Pair Says the Bear.'' So when
Zell Miller and Phil Gramm joined forces, it was indeed a
great pair. When it came time to protect the homeland
against terrorist attacks, it was Zell Miller who stood
with the President in 2002 to make sure we had a
department that functioned more like the Pentagon than the
post office in protecting the lives of American citizens.
After 4 months and 11 votes and a national election,
finally it took. We passed the homeland security bill that
has succeeded in keeping us safe, since 9/11, at least--a
feat not many would have predicted possible at the time.
I would just say this: Senator Miller understood the
importance of that issue. I believe he called three press
conferences. He urged those who were blocking the homeland
security bill for some sort of internal governmental
union-type politics, not on the real merits--he warned
them that this was bad. It was bad for America, and it was
bad politically for those who blocked it.
They didn't listen. I think they wished they had.
Certainly, after the election they were quite willing to
pass the bill they had been blocking before the election.
When the economy slowed down due to the attacks and the
corporate scandal, and it came time to accelerate the tax
cuts in 2003, once again it was Zell Miller who made the
economic incentive plan the law of the land.
On the question of judges for America, Zell Miller had
the classical view of the role of a judge consistent with
his good friend, the wonderful Judge Griffin Bell, who was
a court of appeals judge and also Attorney General of the
United States under President Jimmy Carter. He follows
that philosophy. As a matter of fact, he analyzed each
nominee who came forward and I believe saw fit to support
the nominees, consistently, that President Bush sent
forward--not because of politics but because he believed
those judges would follow the law, not make law. They
would be constructionists, not activists.
Oftentimes, on each one of these issues it came down to
this one man making the difference, either taking the lead
or casting the key vote on those issues. He taught us once
again that nation, family, faith, heritage, and principle
are more important than politics and party. In this he
reaffirmed the belief that government for, of, and by the
people can work.
When he spoke, people listened. I will tell you why
people listened. I asked him how he found time, how he did
his speeches. He personally writes his speeches. It is not
written by staff. It is not generated by some computer. It
is not regurgitated from some document or some memorandum
or some summary somewhere. It comes from his heart, his
experience, his head, and his understanding of this great
Republic of which we are blessed to be a part. That is why
people listen to his speeches.
Most of us recall his speech in New York at the
convention, where he, in Trumanesque fashion, blasted
those who play games with our national defense. They
squalled and thought it was hell. He was just telling the
truth, I suggest.
It was clear, passionate, and powerful and helped change
the course of the national debate. It changed the course
of the national debate because it was true. What he said
was important. It had to do with whether this Nation would
have leadership committed to a strong America. He also had
some very fine words right here on the floor of the
Senate.
On the energy bill, he rose in ``defense of that great
American workhorse,'' in his words, the pickup truck. He
told a story of meeting a guy who was a PHD--that is a
post hole digger--who said:
If you really want to know when times are bad, take
notice of the number of people having to sell their
pickups. Look at the ads in the paper and the ``for sale''
signs in the yards. The more you see, the worse it is
because pickups are the very symbol of the working man. As
the pickup goes, so does the working man and the very
heart of this country.
He added:
Pickups are as essential to the carpenter as his hammer;
as essential to the painter as his paintbrush. So we must
leave this American workhorse, the pickup truck, alone.
Don't pick on the pickup.
Then he shared with us a tune called ``Talking Pickup
Truck Blues.'' He spared us the agony of singing it, but
he did share one verse.
Sure, an SUV is classy travel, but it ain't much good
for hauling gravel, or hay or bovine feces. So please do
not make my pickup truck an endangered species.
That is not often heard on the floor of this Senate--
words of eloquence that bring a smile to us all but more
than that drives home a truth about real people who serve
America day after day in pickup trucks.
So this man knows America. Given all the good he has
done in so little time--he has given so much to it--he
leaves much too soon. He has done a great job for this
Nation and for Georgia in replacing the departed Paul
Coverdell who we all loved and admired. He has been a
great leader and a great Senator, and the Senate will miss
the presence of this old marine sergeant.
I can say without contradiction I believe that few
Senators in the history of this Republic have in one short
term contributed so much to the health and welfare of our
Nation and made such a tremendous impact on it.
It is because he put his Nation first; he stood for what
we believe in. He was true to his raising.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I wish to say a few words
about my friend from Georgia, Senator Miller, who preceded
my remarks.
I was raised in the Midwest. We both come out of an era
of rural America. It was a different life. I remember when
we did not have electricity. We did not live on a gravel
road. We did not have running water in the house. In fact,
the water bucket froze on cold winter nights. We didn't
have the best clothes in the world. But they were clean.
And I have never gone to bed hungry.
I have an idea my mother was kind of like Mrs. Miller. A
home full of love on a Badlands farm made up of two rocks
and one dirt, trying to hang on to it, coming out of tough
times called the Depression of the dirty 1930s. It shaped
a lot of character. It put a lot of fiber in a lot of
people who went on to love this country and would serve
her and our States at any cost.
The highest compliment one could pay to any person we
meet in this body, comes from the West in an expression
that says: We'll not say goodbye; we'll just say so long
because you are welcome to sit at my fire anytime.
That is my feeling toward this old marine. I only have
one disappointment, that we never did get a trip to the
Pacific to visit Iwo Jima. I have been there but he never
got to go. We tried every way in the world. We had a
couple trips scrubbed because of business in the Senate.
We never did make it, but we are not going to give up.
So we say so long to Zell Miller, a good friend, a good
Senator, a great representative of Georgia, and a great
representative of this country. * * *
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. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to make a couple of
comments regarding the departure of one of our colleagues,
Senator Zell Miller. I have had the pleasure of working
with Senator Miller for the last several years and I think
the world of him. He comes from a great line of fantastic
Senators from the great State of Georgia.
When I was first elected, I served with Senator Sam Nunn
and Senator Mack Mattingly. Both were very good friends.
Both were outstanding Senators. Senator Paul Coverdell, a
very good, close friend of mine, served in the Senate for
a little over a term and, unfortunately, had a very sudden
illness and passed away. Zell Miller was appointed to take
his place.
I remember thinking at the time that Paul Coverdell was
a great loss to the Senate. I believe that today. He had a
great future in the Senate. He was actually elected to the
Senate leadership, which was very unusual for his first
term in the Senate. Paul Coverdell was one of my closest
friends. I really did mourn his loss.
I did not know his replacement appointed at that time,
Zell Miller, but I got to know him very quickly. I grew to
know him, respect him, and admire him as a patriot and as
a Senator. He did a fantastic job in service not only to
his State of Georgia but, frankly, to this country. He
made a valued, positive, and considerable impact on the
Senate and, frankly, on our country. I will talk about
that for a second.
I remember he was a real leader in passing the homeland
security legislation. That was very tough legislation. It
passed by a very narrow margin. We did that in his second
year in the Senate.
He supported efforts to enact tax reform. I was chairman
of the Committee on the Budget in 2003, and we passed a
budget, frankly, by one vote. Zell Miller's vote helped
make it happen. We had about 80 something amendments to
the budget during consideration of the budget process.
Zell Miller was with me on every one. He was my principal
co-sponsor of that budget.
That budget enabled us to pass the tax relief later that
year, the economic tax reform bill of 2003. That bill made
a lot of changes, I might add, a lot of positive changes,
that would not have passed had it not been for Zell
Miller. I was honored the President asked me to sponsor
it, and I was honored to ask Zell Miller if he would co-
sponsor it with me, and he did.
We defeated a lot of amendments designed to gut the
legislation, and we passed the budget. Again, we passed it
with the Vice President breaking the tie. It would not
have passed without Zell Miller's leadership, without his
sponsoring the legislation.
What did that legislation do? It made a difference on
every American taxpayer in this country. That legislation
allowed us to have a $1,000 tax credit per child. That
legislation allowed us to expand and provide marriage
penalty relief. For a couple making $58,000, marriage
penalty relief boiled down to about $905. That passed
because Zell Miller stood with us on that legislation.
It also allowed us to reduce the capital gains tax rate
from 20 percent to 15 percent. It allowed us to say that
we would not double tax corporate dividends, at least not
as punitively as we did before. We reduced the corporate
tax on dividends. Actually, the bill we passed in the
Senate had zero double taxation. The bill that came out of
conference was 15 percent, instead of the ordinary rates.
That is a big and positive change because this country,
unfortunately, taxed distributions from corporations
higher than any other country. We are tied with Japan at a
net effective tax rate of 70 percent.
Why would corporations distribute earnings to their
owners if the government would get 70 percent? Many did
not. They would accumulate earnings, hide the money, or do
something different with them. We passed that legislation,
and now people are paying dividends.
Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar distribution
because of that legislation. We tax it now at the
individual rate, 15 percent. When we started marking up
that legislation, the Dow Jones was at 7,700. Today it is
over 10,500. That legislation made a difference. The
legislation passed because Zell Miller stood with us on
the floor to pass that legislation.
It is not too often you can actually say you passed
legislation that made a real and positive impact. There
are over 2 million jobs that have been created in the last
14 months as a result of that legislation. I believe the
President signed it in June 2003. It has been almost a
year and a half now, and a couple of million jobs have
been created. The economy is moving. Revenues are coming
into the government. The deficit is $100 billion less than
estimated previously, 9 months ago, because there is
economic revival. A lot of that happened because of the
courage and conviction of the Senator from Georgia.
I said Paul Coverdell was my friend. He has certainly
been missed in this Senate, and that is a fact. I will
also say that Zell Miller is my very dear friend and he
will be missed in the Senate. He only served here for a
few years, but he had a great impact, a very positive
impact, not only on taxpayers and the country but to our
body politic, the body of the country. As a patriot, a
former marine, former mayor, former State senator, former
Lieutenant Governor, and as a former Governor, he had
enormous impact.
He was a speaker at the Republican National Convention.
I told him his speech wasn't so much that of a Democrat or
Republican; his speech was that of a patriot who was
speaking out strong because he believed strongly in this
country. You could see it. You could sense it. You could
believe it.
I am very proud to have Zell Miller as my friend. He and
his wife Shirley have been a blessing to this body and a
blessing to this country. I thank God for the fact I had
the opportunity to serve with him and the fact that he
served in this body. I think our country is much better
for it, and I wish him every good wish in the years ahead.
Mr. SHELBY. Senator Zell Miller, the colleague of the
Presiding Officer, is a distinguished Senator from
Georgia. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, I
believe, State senator, and then Governor of Georgia for
at least two terms. He came to the Senate and
distinguished himself. He is someone for whom I have a lot
of respect, for his integrity, for his forthrightness, for
his grit, for his perseverance, and also his foresight.
Zell, we will miss you in the Senate. But we will see a
lot of you. I hope to visit you in north Georgia. You tell
me what a beautiful place it is, and it is not too far
from my State of Alabama, so I hope you have a room for us
there. We will come see you, especially when the apples
are ready to pick and you are ready to show us around.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, Zell Miller commands a certain
respect. He has guts. He has integrity. He speaks simple
truths. He is as good and honest a man as I know.
Zell is the type of leader that takes a stand and
doesn't yield an inch of ground--no matter how hard the
political winds blow.
America saw this first-hand with his unwavering support
of President Bush in the most recent election.
At the Republican Convention, Zell described the
President perhaps better than anyone in our own party. He
said the President is: ``a God-fearing man with a good
heart and a spine of tempered steel.''
Those same words also describe Senator Miller.
As a former marine, Zell has never wavered in his
support of the men and women in uniform who defend our
liberty--or the values he shares with them. And he has
worked hard and steadfast to end the unprecedented
filibuster of judicial nominees.
More than anything, Zell loves his wonderful wife,
Shirley, and their family. Of course, by family, I also
include Gus and Woodrow, his two labrador retrievers.
Zell will always be a touchstone of good old common
sense for this body. He will forever remind us that all we
need to do is what is right--nothing more, nothing less.
Zell Miller is one of the most colorful Senators ever to
grace the halls of this Capitol. And he and Shirley have
been two of the most valued members of the Senate family.
We will miss them both, sorely, as a special part of our
daily lives.
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. KYL. Mr. President, obviously, in the brief time
here I am not going to be able to say everything that
comes to mind about the Senators who are retiring but to
summarize a little bit of the information for the benefit
of those who might be watching.
When you have long, distinguished careers of Senators
and they decide not to run for reelection but leave the
body, there is a lot that comes to mind about their
service. I think it is good to remind ourselves of just a
few of these things because of the service they have
provided, both to the people of their own States and to
the United States. * * *
Mr. President, let me mention our colleague Zell Miller.
Zell Miller is another person who will be in the history
books of this body because of his passion and because of
his unique character as well. He is probably best
exemplified by one of the books he has written called
Corps Values, obviously a reference to the U.S. Marine
Corps, in which he describes how a lot of the values that
have animated the course of his career and the values he
has held dear throughout the rest of his life came from
his training as a marine and from his drill sergeant whom
he describes so vividly in the book as having almost
literally pounded some very important lessons of life into
Zell's head at a very young age--lessons that he took away
to apply throughout the rest of his life and which have
stood him in very good stead throughout his career.
He has represented the people of his State of Georgia
with passion and with great capability, not only as
Governor but then to come to the Senate. He has certainly
been a friend of people on both sides of the aisle. He is
a Democrat, but he still, of course, has many friends here
on the Republican side of the aisle.
I can't think of Zell without thinking of some of the
more humorous things he has done as well because despite
his passion and enthusiasm, he also has a very good sense
of humor. I remember one case in particular when he and
Phil Gramm from Texas, who has left the Senate, teamed up
to offer an amendment which had no chance of passing.
There was no real rationale for it. It was an amendment to
exempt pickup trucks from the mileage standards we were
going to apply to all other vehicles in the energy bill,
but they thought there was something kind of un-American
about having these standards applied to pickup trucks. The
two of them offered the amendment.
During the course of the debate, more and more people
came over here to listen to them. Their case made such
great sense that one by one the Senators began to think
maybe this is an amendment that ought to pass. At the end
of the day, when they pointed out that, after all, there
was no other place to haul your coon dogs when you are
going to hunt, or have the rack for your gun, and all of
the other things they pointed out what a pickup is for,
and no other vehicle could do that job, the Senate
finally, I think on a voice vote, acquiesced in their
amendment. Because, after all, it made sense when Zell
Miller and Phil Gramm argued that pickup trucks should be
exempted from that standard, we exempted pickup trucks
from that standard.
In other words, they knew how to have fun with the
seriousness of this body to point out some of the
commonsense things most Americans believe and we sometimes
forget here in this body.
Senator Zell Miller from Georgia is a man of great
common sense, a man of the people who loves America
greatly, and who certainly inspired me.
These are only four of the colleagues who are going to
be leaving us at the end of this session. These are
Senators whom I became particularly close to. I wanted to
say a word about each one of them, to wish them all the
very best, bid them farewell, also to know they have too
many friends around here to ignore. And we are going to be
staying in touch with every one of them.
We thank them for their service to the people of their
States, to the Senate, and to the people of the United
States of America.
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. * * *
A southern icon, Senator Zell Miller, will go down in
southern history as one of the great progressive Governors
of the new South. He is one who has always extended
wonderful courtesies to me. * * *
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. COCHRAN. Mr. President, as I think about the
retirement of our colleague from Georgia, Mr. Miller, I am
reminded of the song, ``Johnny, I Hardly Knew You.''
It doesn't seem very long ago since I heard his maiden
speech. He said in a strong voice that he had not come to
the Senate to represent a political party but rather he
was here to represent the interests of the people of
Georgia. He has proven to be a man of his word. He has
demonstrated great courage and much conviction as he has
carried out his promise to the Senate and to the people he
has represented and voted for here in the Senate.
I have observed closely his work in the Agriculture
Committee where he has been a very thoughtful and
effective voice for his State and our Nation.
His well-reasoned and well-informed method of
approaching all the issues that come before the Senate is
very impressive. He is serious-minded about his
responsibilities, and he works very hard to be an
effective force for solving the problems that face our
country.
If more public servants had the character and the
commitment to doing the right thing, whatever the
consequences, as Zell Miller does, our destiny would be
assured.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to take this
opportunity to honor our departing colleagues who are
leaving the Senate. In 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 wish to take this time to honor a great Senator and a
true American patriot, Zell Miller. He is a man who has
served Georgia with dignity and honor these past 4 years
in the U.S. Senate.
Zell Miller embraced public service early on in his
life. His mother served as one of Georgia's first female
mayors. She taught him early on about public service and a
strong work ethic, which he has exemplified throughout his
career.
In the late fifties, Zell Miller served as mayor of his
hometown of Young Harris, GA. He then went on to serve as
a State senator, Lieutenant Governor, and eventually
served in the highest power in the State of Georgia as
Governor. Not surprisingly, Zell Miller was named by the
Washington Post in 1998 as the most popular Governor in
America and Governing Magazine named him Governor of the
Year in 1998. These career paths finally led him to the
U.S. Senate in 2000.
While Zell Miller was invested in politics, he was also
dedicated to education and students. Throughout his
career, Zell Miller was a professor of political science
and history at Emory University, University of Georgia,
and Young Harris College.
Senator Miller has continuously reached across the aisle
to work with Republicans, but it is probably best stated
in his own words when he pointed out that while he is a
lifelong Democrat, he pledged to serve all 8.5 million
Georgians and no single party in the Senate. Through this
approach, Zell Miller has been a supporter of a broad
range of issues such as tax cuts, improving education,
strengthening national security, and fighting the global
war on terrorism. While in the Senate, he dutifully served
on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee; and the
Veterans' Affairs Committee.
His time here has been all too brief, but Senator Miller
has made a difference and I will miss him. While he may be
leaving the U.S. Senate, I do not doubt that we have not
heard the last of Zell. I bid him farewell and extend my
best wishes to him and his family.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I take a moment to talk
about four colleagues whom I have had an opportunity to
serve with in the Senate. * * *
Madam President, I wish to take a moment to recognize
Zell Miller, who replaced Paul Coverdell. He is someone I
have grown to admire during my service here in the Senate.
He is a principled individual and truly represents his
great State of Georgia.
With each day of this session, I continue to admire his
strength and tenacity and ability to stand up for what he
believes is right.
These four individuals have distinguished themselves in
my mind. I have appreciated having the opportunity to
serve with them in the Senate, and I hold them in great
esteem. I wish them the very best as they pursue life's
journey, having served in a distinguished way in the
Senate. I wish them the very best and Godspeed.
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. * * *
Madam President, it is hard to say how much I appreciate
Zell Miller, a proud Democrat and a great American.
Senator Miller's early life was not easy. He grew up in
the hills of Georgia where people may not have had much
but they worked hard and had strong families and solid
values. He pulled a stint in the U.S. Marines, which he
said put him on the right path in life. His colorful
career in Georgia politics included two terms as Governor.
When U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell, my great friend, died
unexpectedly, Zell Miller was appointed until a special
election could be held, which he won handily.
After he arrived in Washington, Senator Miller was one
of the few who not only talked the talk of bipartisanship
but walked the walk. During the war on terror, he advised
bipartisan action on the homeland security bill. He called
for bipartisan support for traditional American values, a
lower tax burden, and a strong American defense.
I think the verdict on Senator Miller's stand for
oldtime Democratic values has been vindicated, first in
the 2002 elections and last in the 2004 elections. Someone
who is being friendly tells you things you want to hear,
but a true friend is one who tells you things he thinks
you should hear. Zell Miller is that kind of friend to
both Democrats and Republicans. He will be missed in this
august body, as one of those who told it like it is,
straight from the heart.
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.
I want to speak about four others, though. * * *
Zell Miller is probably the colleague that I have known
the longest. He and I served at the same time as Governors
of our respective States. He was always one of my role
models. We got to know each other very well in the
Southern Governors Association. Before I came to the
Senate, one of the people who motivated me to go to the
Senate was Paul Coverdell. Zell took his seat and his
office. When I came in, Zell gave up that office, and now
I am in Zell Miller's and Paul Coverdell's former office.
I will think of Zell a lot in the future. Two years ago,
when Zell announced his retirement, or that he was not
going to run again, some were saying Zell Miller is a lame
duck. Well, on this floor, at our convention in New York
City, and throughout this fall, Zell Miller was anything
but a lame duck. Zell Miller leaves office as a ``mighty
duck.'' We are going to certainly miss Zell. We know he
will stay active.
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute
to departing Senators for their service and devotion to
the U.S. Senate. They are not only my colleagues but my
friends as well.
The reality of elections for the Senate is that every 2
years we experience change--current Members depart and new
Members are welcomed. At every transition I am reminded by
the reality that life is more than just politics. I am
certain the departing Senators are experiencing a
tremendous feeling of sorrow, yet anticipation of things
to come, as they leave their friends, colleagues, and this
great nurturing institution.
Though we may fight hard during campaigns, we return to
the Senate after the election to realize that we are not
just losing Senators--we are losing friends. There is a
bond--a collegiality and friendship in the Senate that
crosses party lines. We face long hard battles on the
campaign trail and sometimes things can get ugly. But
after all is said and done, after election day, we must
all come back to Washington and work together to do what
is best for our country.
I will certainly miss my colleagues with whom I have
worked for several years. I have had the honor to serve on
the Finance Committee with four of my distinguished
retiring colleagues, including Senator John Breaux and
Senator Don Nickles. Both of these men were instrumental
in leading the fight to reform Medicare.
I had the privilege of getting to know Senator Zell
Miller as we traveled around the country together this
past fall. Senator Miller and I have worked hard on
education issues including the Paperwork Reduction Act. He
is a man who believes in the ideals of this Nation and
understands that we must sometimes take a stand if we want
to be heard. I treasure the friendship that Senator Miller
and I have formed during our service together. I want him
to know how much I admire him. He is a man with the
courage to stand up for his convictions. He did the
hardest thing for any man to do--he endorsed the opposing
party's nominee in this year's election. I cannot thank
him enough for his support. I will always have undying
gratitude for him. * * *
Our departing Senators have been lights of inspiration
and men who went above the call of duty to serve our
country in their congressional capacities. They each have
their own unique political perspective that has served the
Senate well. Although my philosophies may differ from some
Senators, we do not disagree on the greatness of America.
We can all agree that we live in the greatest nation in
the world, and we all believe that without democracy,
life, liberty, and justice cannot flourish.
My departing colleagues are great men and great
Americans. They have contributed immensely to our
country--making their States and our country significantly
better than when they first set foot on the Senate floor.
We are all going to miss their presence and wisdom here
in the Senate. Their departures will surely leave a hole
in expertise and leadership that will be hard to fill. I
wish them health and happiness in their future endeavors--
wherever the road may take them. May God continue to bless
them and their families.
Come January, as we face another transition, I welcome
the new Members and look forward to forging new
relationships as we continue to work toward making
Americans safer, healthier, and more financially secure.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am grateful for the chance
to take a few moments to recognize my good friend from
across the aisle, Senator Zell Miller of Georgia. Zell is
one of my best friends in the U.S. Senate. I know every
one of my Senate colleagues would join me in expressing
how much we care for Senator Miller and how much we will
miss him.
It is no secret that Zell is his own man, someone who
does what he believes is right, not what is politically
expedient. His values were shaped while growing up in the
South, raised by his strong mother and reinforced through
his service in the U.S. Marine Corps.
And for those who say you cannot be a successful
politician without sacrificing some of your principles, I
point to my good friend from Georgia. When he finishes his
Senate term this year, he will complete nearly six decades
of publicly elected service, starting with his first
election as mayor of his hometown of Young Harris, GA, in
the late fifties.
Zell was a popular two-term Governor of Georgia. In
fact, he was named the most popular Governor in America by
the Washington Post in 1998. His popularity came from his
successful programs that found national acclaim. Among
them was passing the Nation's first ``two strikes and
you're out'' law against violent felons; starting the
Nation's only voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 4-
year-olds; and creating the nationally acclaimed HOPE
scholarship that has had such tremendous success in
Georgia.
My good friend swept into the Senate to complete the
remaining 4 years of the late Senator Paul Coverdell. Many
political observers call Zell the last of the southern
conservative Democrats to serve in the Senate. He has
certainly established himself as a strong voice for the
conservative, commonsense approach to issues, reaching
across the aisle to support tax cuts, improve education,
confirm judicial nominations, and strengthen national
security.
Zell is widely known for his straight talk on the
issues. You know where he stands and what he stands for,
and everything he says comes straight from the heart. I
can't tell you how many times a constituent from my home
State of Utah will write to tell me how inspired they were
by a speech that Zell had given on this Senate floor.
I am sorry to see Zell leave, but I am grateful for the
service he has given these last 4 years. He is beloved by
Georgians, and I know he would have easily been reelected,
and he is beloved by millions in America. And, last but
not least, he is beloved by his colleagues here in the
Senate.
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.
Proceedings in the House of Representatives
Friday, November 19, 2004
Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, as Senator Zell Miller retires
from the U.S. Senate, he returns to the State he has
served so well for over four decades.
Zell Miller of Towns County, GA, has served his State as
a State senator, four-term Lieutenant Governor, two-term
Governor, and U.S. Senator. Though he reached the highest
peaks of political success, he never left his roots in the
mountains of north Georgia.
Today in Georgia, thousands of young adults have earned
college, university or vocational degrees through full
scholarships paid for by the HOPE scholarship Zell Miller
created.
Today in Georgia, thousands of young 4-year-old children
attend public or private prekindergarten provided through
Zell Miller's leadership.
As Governor of Georgia, Zell Miller empowered educators
and improved education. His no-nonsense approach to law
enforcement made Georgia's streets and neighborhoods
safer. Georgia's economy prospers because Zell Miller
invested in her ports, roads, and infrastructure.
Following the September 11 attacks on America, Zell
Miller's strong voice, leadership, and commitment to our
country and the safety of our people never wavered. His
legacy is a legacy of love of country, love of Georgia and
love of democracy.
Zell Miller has served Georgia and America as a
visionary statesman and a patriot. Georgia and America are
all the better for his service.