(At The Request Of Mr. Reid, The Following Statement Was Ordered To Be Printed In The Record.)

Floor Speech

(At The Request Of Mr. Reid, The Following Statement Was Ordered To Be Printed In The Record.)-- (Senate - October 14, 2009)

REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I join my colleagues in appreciation and admiration of Senator Ted Kennedy.

By the time I took my seat in the Senate, Ted had already held his for nearly four decades. He had already established himself as one of the most influential members in this body's history. He had already introduced hundreds of bills that became laws and shaped thousands of others. He had already grown from youngest son to elder statesman and become an icon for millions of Americans.

Before I was ever elected, I respected Ted Kennedy. And after becoming his colleague, my respect grew. I was privileged to serve with him on the Judiciary Committee and to be ranking member when he chaired our Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security. We worked together closely, and that experience has made me a more effective Senator.

Ted Kennedy and I often held different principles, but we shared key convictions too. We agreed that our immigration laws needed reform. We recognized that judicial philosophy mattered. We believed that providing advice and consent on appointments to the Federal bench was not merely a right of Senators but one of our most solemn responsibilities.

Ted Kennedy understood the power of language. On the Senate floor, he used words of passion, calling his colleagues to embrace grand visions with great urgency. In bill negotiations, he used words with precision, understanding better than anyone how legislative language governs, and how to codify his convictions into the law of the land.

Senator Kennedy and I shared an interest in the history of this body, and a special pride in those who held our seats before us. In my case, I have long admired Sam Houston, who liberated the people of Texas, served as one of our first Senators, and raised his voice against secession. In Ted's case, he looked to the great Daniel Webster, who also stood for union, and for liberty.

Ted was drawn in particular to this quote by Webster:

Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, promote all its great interests, and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.

All Americans can agree that Ted Kennedy's service in the U.S. Senate is something worthy to be remembered. Sandy and I continue to keep his wife Vickie in our prayers. And we offer our condolences to all who miss him most.

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