Tribute to Senators

Floor Speech

TRIBUTE TO SENATORS -- (Senate - October 02, 2008)

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise this morning to recognize and pay tribute to several colleagues who are concluding distinguished careers in the Senate. These gentlemen have distinguished themselves. They have dedicated themselves to representing their States and representing the best interests of the Nation.

PETE DOMENICI

Senator Pete Domenici is an individual who has worked many years to strengthen our country in so many different ways. He has been a key member of the Committee on Energy and Water, and he has been a key member of the Appropriations Committee and the Budget Committee.

He was first elected to the Senate in 1972--36 years of outstanding service to the Nation and to his State of New Mexico.

He will be remembered for many things but particularly for his unswerving commitment to mental health parity in the health care system. It is fitting that legislation we passed will bear his name, along with that of Senator Paul Wellstone. Senator Domenici's advocacy for those with mental illness, his understanding of these issues in a profoundly personal way, accounted for the momentum and ultimately the success of the legislation. I commend him and thank him for his service.

LARRY CRAIG

Senator Larry Craig, with whom I had the privilege to serve on the Committee on Appropriations, is someone who has vigorously defended his positions in the Senate. We have disagreed more often than agreed, but our debates have been both vigorous and civil. I can recall managing the legislation, Senator Craig on the opposing side, with respect to issues of guns and firearms. I recall a debate that was vigorous, robust but principled. I appreciate that effort and his service.

WAYNE ALLARD

There are three Senators with whom I have had the opportunity to serve closely. They are people I respect immensely and wish the best to as they go forward. Wayne Allard and I came to the Senate together. We were in the House of Representatives together. We have served on both the Armed Services Committee and the Banking Committee together. It seems, indeed, that on the Banking Committee, we were either the subcommittee chair or ranking member, depending on who has the majority, throughout our career in the Senate. In that effort, we worked closely with Senator Allard and his distinguished staff on issues with respect to homelessness, housing programs, many areas of endeavor. He has been a distinguished individual who has done a great deal, not only for the State of Colorado but for national housing policy and for many other areas of endeavor.

On the Armed Services Committee, I had the privilege of working with him. He applied his energy and efforts to clean up the Rocky Flats plant, a nuclear facility in Colorado. He has made a lasting and extraordinary contribution to his State through those efforts. I commend him for all those. I wish him well as he goes forward.

JOHN WARNER

Senator John Warner was my chairman on the Armed Services Committee. Frankly, he represents the model of a Senator. His integrity, judgment, and decency resonate throughout this Chamber and will make a lasting impression on this body. He has served Virginia with distinction. He has particularly served the men and women of our Armed Forces with distinction and unfailing dedication. Part of that comes from his own experience. As a young man he joined the Navy and then later was in the Marine Corps. His own experience, later amplified by his service as Secretary of the Navy, left an indelible impression upon him. That impression is the fact that all the great decisions made in Washington ultimately must be borne by young men and women who serve in uniform. He has never forgotten that. He has never forgotten that decisions we make play out in the lives of soldiers and sailors, marines, airmen, and their families. That unfailing sense of obligation to these young Americans is a profound contribution he has made.

He is also someone who on many occasions has defied the current tides of popular opinion. I recall that when the deplorable incident surrounding Abu Ghraib broke, there was a sense in some quarters that we should try to avoid mention of that, that we should minimize the issue. Senator Warner recognized we couldn't do that, that we owed it to the men and women in the Armed Forces to look at the issue carefully so it would not be repeated, to ensure that it was, as it truly was, an aberration in the otherwise extraordinary dedication of our forces, not just to the military profession but to the ideals of decency that have been the hallmark of the American fighting man and woman throughout our history. His efforts there will be ruled as a remarkable display of placing the needs of country and respect for the institution of the military above any partisan political concerns. He is someone who has made a huge contribution. Again, that contribution will resonate throughout the history of this country, particularly the history of the Senate.

CHUCK HAGEL

Finally, let me pay tribute to a dear friend and colleague. We entered the Senate together 12 years ago. Senator Chuck Hagel has represented Nebraska with rare insight and extraordinarily good humor for 12 years. He is one of those individuals who is respected and liked by everyone because he is an extraordinarily decent person, someone who takes his job seriously but himself not so seriously. He is someone I have had the privilege to travel with across the globe--Russia, Afghanistan, Singapore, the Philippines, northern Africa, and back again to Afghanistan and Iraq. He, too, has a rare dedication to the men and women of the armed services, born of his own personal experiences. As a young man he chose not only to join the U.S. Army but to serve in Vietnam. He had the opportunity to be posted to Germany. He would have served out his time and left. But he decided he had to march to the sound of the guns. His brother was already there. Together in the same unit, he and his brother served the U.S. Army. He was wounded in action, received the Purple Heart. He came back as a veteran and continued his education and then built a very successful business career. But he never lost sight of those men and women who serve in uniform. He is very active in the USO. He is someone who was active in veterans affairs. Then, finally, when he was elected to the Senate, he took his learning, his experience and appreciation and played a major role on the Foreign Relations Committee. His commitment to a broad multinational policy of using our alliances, of building our power not just through our military power but through diplomatic and reputational power has made a significant contribution to the country, not just for the moment but for many years. He is leaving the Senate to pursue other endeavors. I wish him well. He has been a remarkable friend. He, Lilibet, and their children, Allyn and Ziller, are a remarkable family. I will miss him particularly. I salute him, thank him. He, to me, is the very model of a Senator who has served his country in different ways and now has chosen to continue to serve in other ways. I am sure he will continue to contribute to the country.

To these Members, I wish them well. I thank them personally for their kindness to me and their thoughtfulness on so many other occasions.

Source