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Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Madam President, it is an honor to be here this afternoon to address my colleagues of the U.S. Senate, and it is an honor that you sit in the Chair as I do so, as I pay tribute to the Honorable Senator Bob Dole.

I was in church on Sunday. I got out of church--it is Advent; Christians are preparing for Christmas--only to learn that during that church service, Bob Dole had died. It has been the topic of conversation by Kansans ever since--not that kind of curiosity conversation that sometimes you have when someone passes away but that deep respect, that concern, that care, that appreciation for a life well-lived.

Senator Dole grew up down the road from where I grew up. I remember kind of the earliest conversation with my own dad about World War II experiences was that Bina Dole, Bob Dole's mother, as well as my grandmother were on party lines, and the conversation between my grandmother and Mrs. Dole was the terrible circumstance that her son Bob Dole had experienced in the battlefields of Italy.

My dad, who served in World War II and served in northern Africa, Italy, was in the neighborhood, and the request of one neighbor to another, one party line participant to another: Do you think there is any way that Ray could find out how Bob is doing?

So my earliest recollection, my earliest understanding of the life of Bob Dole was as a soldier, a member of the Army, a person who served in World War II and was horrifically injured. My view is--and I don't know this, but having known Bob Dole and having seen the consequences of his life, what I think is true is that that experience, the near-death experience, the expectation not to survive, and the long road to recovery created in Bob Dole, in his mind and heart, a different circumstance and a different result than if that never happened.

People talk about Bob Dole's life as a Member of Congress. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960. I was asked over the weekend: When did you meet Bob Dole? And I can't remember the first instance, but he was my Congressman. I was engaged in Republican politics as a teenager, and Bob Dole was always there at every gathering. And so I grew up in politics around him, but never with the--other than the sense that this is somebody we really respect.

In 1968, Congressman Bob Dole became Senator Bob Dole and his life in this body and his life in the House of Representatives culminated in amazing achievements on the legislative battlefield.

But when people ask me, ``What do you remember or what made Bob Dole Bob Dole?'' my view is his service to America in World War II. I think it made him more aware of people who were struggling, people who had disabilities. I think he saw the challenges that people from across the country faced as a result of their service. He saw the challenges that people in foreign countries experienced in World War II.

And when we look at his legislative achievements, we often think--at least I think of three--Americans with Disabilities Act; food aid--what I call the Dole-McGovern bill, but many people call the McGovern-Dole bill that helps feed hungry people, particularly children around the world--and his service to other veterans.

His work on this floor resulted in many Americans and, in fact, many citizens of the world having a better shot at life. On my maiden speech on the Senate floor, I recognized the circumstance of me, now a U.S. Senator, serving in what we would call in Kansas the Dole seat and the tremendous challenge that caused for me knowing that those footsteps-- my feet would never fit in those shoes. I sit and work from the Dole desk. This drawer has his name sketched in it, and it is a reminder to me about those shoes left unfilled.

When I get frustrated with this place--which is not infrequent--I will put on my running shoes and I will walk to the Lincoln Memorial. But in the last decade, that allows me not only to go by the Vietnam Wall and come back by the Korean War Memorial, but now I can stop and pay my respects at the World War II Memorial. That is only because Bob Dole cared about those he served with.

Bob Dole demanded that there be a memorial to those who served in World War II. But he did more than demand, did more than insist. He helped plan it, he recruited volunteers, he raised the money.

So today we have the chance--and I assume this week we will be at the World War II Memorial paying respects to all World War II veterans, but we will emphasize the service of Bob Dole who made that place to pay those respects possible.

I try to visit with every Honor Flight that comes to Washington, DC. And in the beginning days of that Honor Flight, almost everyone-- perhaps everyone who came was a World War II veteran. My own dad got to see the memorial built in his honor because Bob Dole made it possible. My dad came here on an Honor Flight, and Bob Dole was there that day, just like he was at almost every circumstance in which veterans were coming to Washington, DC, particularly World War II veterans. Bob Dole didn't stand there for the glory of his service. He stood there to thank others who served in that war. He was there not to take the podium, not to be the public official, but to be the fellow soldier who served. There are lots of things we can commend and express our gratitude for what Bob Dole did, but he saw honoring veterans as a lifetime responsibility and opportunity.

It has only been a few years since veterans coming to the World War II Memorial didn't get to shake the hand of Bob Dole. Finally, at the age of 96, 95, it became physically impossible to do that. But he was there at every opportunity for as long as he could.

He served 36 years in Congress, 79 of his 98 as a public servant and servant of the Nation in the military. And in addition to the legislative accomplishments, he was a decent person. He exhibited civility. He had warmth. And no elected official--no offense to my friend and colleague who knew Senator Dole so well, Senator Roberts, no offense to Pat, but no one could compete with Bob Dole's wit.

My guess is, as an injured soldier spending months in a bed in a VA hospital where, incidentally, he shared the hospital with Daniel Inouye, who was also gravely injured, and later these two soldiers who survived battle and rehabilitation became fast friends--one a Republican, one a Democrat. The Republican-Democrat thing didn't mean that much. It was the shared service, the sacrifice of these two World War II heroes that brought them together and maintained that friendship.

Bob Dole exhibited that wit. In fact, I had so many people after Bob Dole's 1996 run for the Presidency--he appeared on shows in the evening, late-night talk shows--I don't know, hundreds of times people would say: If I had only seen that side of Bob Dole, he probably would have been elected President.

He had the capability of causing people to smile, and it could take the edge out of a difficult circumstance because of his wit.

We are going to spend some time honoring Senator Dole this week. I want to make certain that I use my opportunity that Kansans have given me to express on their behalf. Not every Kansan--in fact, not very many Kansans will be in Washington, DC, and not many people will be able to have the public eye and ear to express their thoughts. But even this weekend and throughout the time that Bob Dole has been in office and the time that Bob Dole was no longer in office, Kansans have held him in the highest regard. They have appreciated his service. They respect him even in disagreement.

I have seen disagreements. I have been in rooms where Senator Dole was there. He voted for the bill that raised taxes on financial institutions and something to do with farmers, and they were there to complain. But Bob Dole had such stature that no one could complain very long about a vote he cast, especially when he explained that you can't get everything you want here, but we can make things better if we give a little here to get a lot more there. A lesson--a lesson--for us today.

On behalf of all Kansans, I express their care, their love, and their sympathies and condolences to Senator Elizabeth Dole, his wife; to Robin, his daughter; to other family members, nieces and nephews.

I also express my condolences to all those who worked for Senator Dole in his office, whether it was his Kansas office or the office of the majority or minority leader. There are so many people in Washington, DC, today--in fact, I looked to see how many U.S. Senators served with Bob Dole during his tenure here that still serve today.

I heard Senator Leahy on the floor earlier this afternoon; Senator Grassley. Senator McConnell, I heard him as well. Senator Shelby, Senator Feinstein, Senator Murray, Senator Inhofe, and Senator Wyden all had the opportunity to serve with the Kansas Senator--the Senator from Kansas, Bob Dole. I can't imagine that doesn't influence the way they do their work and the way they look at the U.S. Senate.

But to those who served in his office as members of his staff--and many of them have gone on through nominations and confirmations to become hugely important people in agencies, departments, and bureaus across this government--his mentorship lives on.

Another legacy of Bob Dole is all the kids who were interns, all the young men and women who worked here for him, all the people who were influenced to have a little bit different approach to the rest of the world, a little bit different attitude toward people who they might disagree with, and a chance to bring the values that Bob Dole exhibited in his public life to more people across the Nation.

I don't know how to sum up, but I assume I will have a few more opportunities this week to express the life of Bob Dole, to express the value of the life of Bob Dole. This afternoon, it is not a conclusion, but it is an ending of these remarks.

I thank Senator Dole for being a Kansan with a lot of common sense. I thank Senator Dole for his willingness to serve our Nation, put on the uniform, go through the terrible experience of his injuries and his rehabilitation. I thank Kansans who helped him through that experience.

Most of my life I heard the stories of Bob Dole's hometown of Russell, KS. Again, I grew up within 15 miles of Russell. Upon his return from the VA hospital to his hometown, the community rallied to his survival, his success, his rehabilitation.

There is the story of cigar boxes in the drugstore where he worked as a soda jerk in high school. The businessmen and -women, the people, the farmers and laborers, the workers put nickels and dimes, a few dollars here and there, into the cigar boxes around town to make sure that Bob Dole and his mom and dad had the resources to recover.

Maybe it takes us back to that value of coming from a small town where people know each other and care about each other; where on a party line, two worried mothers could have a conversation about their sons in service; where a community knows the importance of respecting and helping those in need.

To the people of Russell and to the people across Kansas, thank you for the manner in which you have treated and respected a man worthy of our respect.
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