Remembering Senator Mark O. Hatfield

Floor Speech

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, my home State of Oregon has many towering and majestic features, such as our iconic Mount Hood and our beautiful State tree, the Douglas fir. Senator Mark O. Hatfield, who passed away on August 7, stood head and shoulders above all of them.

Last night, the Senate passed S. Res. 257, a resolution in respect of the memory of Senator Hatfield. This afternoon, Senator Merkley and I, with colleagues of both parties, would like to reflect on the extraordinary legacy of our special friend, Senator Mark Hatfield.

For me, Senator Hatfield's passing this summer, just as it seems the Congress has become embroiled in a never-ending series of divisive and polarizing debates and battles, drove home that Senator Hatfield's approach to government is now needed more than ever in our country.

Senator Hatfield was the great reconciler. He was proud to be a Republican with strongly held views. Yet he was a leader who, when voices were raised and doors were slammed and problems seemed beyond solution, could bring Democrats and Republicans together. He would look at all of us, smile and always start by saying: ``Now, colleagues,'' and then he would graciously and calmly lay out how on one issue or another--I see my friend, Senator Cochran from Mississippi, who knows this so well from their work together on Appropriations--it might one day be a natural resources question, it might one day be a budget issue or a health issue or an education issue, but Senator Hatfield had this extraordinary ability to allow both sides to work together so an agreement could be reached, where each side could achieve some of the principles they felt strongly about. They would not get them all, but they would get a number of them. That, of course, is the key to what is principled bipartisanship.

It was not very long ago, it seems, when Senator Hatfield walked me down that center aisle, when I had the honor of being selected Oregon's first new Senator in almost 30 years. I remember coming to the Senate, a new Senator, and watching Senator Hatfield at work. Sometimes he would be with Senator Kennedy and a big flock of the Senate's leading progressives, and sometimes he would shuttle over to visit with Senator Dole and a big group of conservatives. Somehow the public interest was addressed.

The question then becomes: How did he do it? What was the Hatfield approach all about? To me, Senator Hatfield was religious, but he was never intolerant. He was idealistic, but he was never naive. He was willing to stand alone but never one to grandstand.

But it was not his public life that shaped his belief and his principles. Those were forged in the most hellish of places: World War II in the Pacific. As a landing craft officer in the U.S. Navy, Senator Hatfield witnessed firsthand the battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was one of the first Americans to see the devastating effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Later, he served in French Indochina, where he saw the economic disparities that would later lead to war in Southeast Asia. Those images remained with him throughout his life, acting as a touchstone for his belief that the world should be a safer and more peaceful place. It was Senator Hatfield's beliefs--those beliefs--that served as the foundation for his career in the Senate and for his opposition to the Vietnam war and to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Senator Hatfield was a major player on the national stage. At the same time, he never forgot our home State or strayed very far from his approach of trying to bring people together. I see our friend, Senator Alexander, on the floor, who also has had a lot of experience on natural resources issues.

I can tell my friends on both sides of the aisle that watching Senator Hatfield champion the need for family-wage jobs in the forest products sector, while at the same time being a champion of environmental protections of wilderness areas and scenic rivers, was like a classroom in the effort to come up with sound public policy.

When colleagues come to our home State, they will have an opportunity to go to the Columbia River Gorge, a special treasure. We had a big anniversary recently on the anniversary of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. Senator Merkley and I were there. That never could have happened without that unique ability of Senator Hatfield to bring people together, and he went into every nook and cranny of our State, communities that barely were bigger than a fly speck on the map. He would make their roads better and their schools better and their health care better, again by bringing people together.

I know colleagues are waiting. I would simply wrap up by saying that my State has lost a great son. The Senate has lost one of its former giants. Our Nation has lost a man who represented honesty and decency in public service. I will never, ever forget how much Senator Hatfield has meant to my home State of Oregon.

I note Senator Merkley is here who served as one of Senator Hatfield's interns as well as Senator Alexander and Senator Cochran. I think we have, through the graciousness of Senator Reed and Senator McConnell, time for all our colleagues.

I yield the floor.

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