100th Birthday of Former Senator Thomas Dodd

Floor Speech

100TH BIRTHDAY OF FORMER SENATOR THOMAS DODD -- (Senate - May 15, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I had not planned to speak until I heard Senator Chris Dodd with his tribute to his father. It brought back, quickly, an early memory, my own memory of his father. It goes back to an earlier time when I was a college intern in the office of Senator Paul Douglas, whose office was next-door to Senator Dodd's office. I can recall, as a college student, watching as Senator Dodd would come and go.

Of course, we all knew his name. We all knew what a great contribution he had made to the Senate. It was not until later that I read about what a great contribution he had made to the world.

I recall, when Senator Chris Dodd, his son, came to the floor when we were in the midst of debating how we would conduct ourselves on this war on terror and gave one of the most memorable speeches in the history of the Senate, talking about the standards that a nation should live by even in the midst of a war. He recalled the inspiration of his father, an inspiration that has been mentioned several times this morning--the service his father gave to America and to the world at the Nuremberg trials.

Senator Chris Dodd said on the floor:

To watch the U.S. Senate, on the anniversary of the Nuremberg trials, step away from the great principles enshrined at that time is one of the saddest days I've ever seen in ..... my almost 30 years in serving in this body.

I remembered that speech, and I wanted to enter this quote in the Record for one simple reason. We all wonder what our legacy will be, those of us who are fortunate enough to serve in the Senate. In the history of this country, 1,895 men and women have had this high honor to serve here. Some have faded into obscurity. Their names can hardly be recalled. Others left great legacies. Certainly, Senator Thomas Dodd did, in his public service, both before the Senate and the House, and after and during.

But he also left another piece of legacy which we in the Senate appreciate today. He left a son dedicated to public service, a son who has not only carried on in his tradition of public service but has honored his father's memory with that service. When Chris Dodd came to the floor and recalled his father's contribution in the Nuremberg trials, in a war-torn world trying to find some peace and some direction, he remembered his father's work and brought it with him to work that day in the Senate. His voice on the issue of habeas corpus and the treatment of prisoners has been an inspiration to all of us.

As I listened to him pay tribute to his father, a tribute which his father richly deserved, I wanted to join paying tribute to his father and to his father's son who carried on in such a great tradition of public service.

I yield the floor.

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