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“REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S10310-S10312 on Oct. 8, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, in this chamber we have witnessed incredibly moving eulogies and remembrances of our departed colleague Senator Edward Kennedy. Obituaries in national and international newspapers convey the historic milestones of his life that none could forget, as well as more personal stories of the man that fewer knew.
So much has been said and written since Senator Kennedy's death August 25, 2009. Many of these stories paint the picture of his family, his life, his accomplishments, his legacy all of it extraordinary. Many of us are students of history. Indeed Senator Kennedy lived history.
I am reminded of the recollections of one of my predecessors as U.S. Senator for Wyoming, and a dear friend of Senator Kennedy, Senator Al Simpson. In an interview from 1997 given to the Institute of International Studies at the University of California as part of their
``Conversation of History'' project, Senator Simpson was asked: Who was the finest legislator he had ever worked with? Senator Simpson replied:
The finest legislator I ever worked with was Ted Kennedy. He had a magnificent staff, he even had a parliamentarian on that staff of his. So when you were in the legislative arena and you were bringing your lunch and staying late, you wanted to get Ted on your side or at least use some of his expertise. I would go to him sometimes early on and say look, you'll have to trust me, what the hell do I do right now to move this bill? Boy I'll tell you he had ways to do it and as you can see he uses those skills on issues in which I was totally on the other side. I can't remember them all there were so many. We were never on the same side. But he is a legislator.
And so he was. He was a quintessential legislator. There is no question about that.
Most of those who have so eloquently written and spoken since his death knew the Senator much better than I Presidents, Senators, world leaders, and other dignitaries, members of his family and friends back in New England. They recall the Senator all of us in the Senate knew, even if only briefly a kind, caring, passionate, and deliberate figure.
Others have detailed his accomplishments they are legendary and lasting. What can I add to these recollections?
I was neither a close friend, confidante, nor legislative partner to Senator Kennedy. I was a new Senator from Wyoming when I first met him. But the story I have, I would like to share, as it is meaningful and illustrates his larger than life personality in the U.S. Senate.
On June 25, 2007, I was sworn in to the U.S. Senate. Senator Kennedy was one of a handful of Democrats in the Chamber. As you would expect, I had a lot of family members in the gallery. Later, they joined me along with Malcolm Wallop, former U.S. Senator for Wyoming, and Senator Mike Enzi in a reception off this floor.
As I was walking up the center aisle to leave the Chamber, there was a booming voice that reverberated through the Chamber. ``Senator, Senator!'' I was new. I had been a U.S. Senator at that point for all of 60 seconds, so I ignored the calls. At that moment a hand grabbed my shoulder, I turned and heard this booming voice again ``Hi, I'm Ted Kennedy.'' Senator Kennedy through his voice and his presence knew how to get your attention.
All of those who came to see me sworn in--family, friends from Wyoming--they heard it too and we all broke out laughing. ``Senator Kennedy, we know who you are.''
Senator Kennedy began to tell me stories of his life and about his visits to Wyoming. He spoke about a trip to Rock Springs, WY, when his brother John was running for President. He spoke of Wyoming casting the votes to secure the nomination for John.
He told me about the people he had met--members of the Wyoming Democrat Party at the time--relationships he had built nearly 50 years ago. He named one after another as if he was reading from text. It was a stunning moment to watch Senator Kennedy recall places, events, and people in my home State from 1960.
At my welcoming reception he took personal time with my son Peter and my daughter Emma, both in college. He said to them, ``So you're the brother and you're the sister--you know I had some brothers.'' He talked about John and Robert and Joe. A living history lesson. He invited them up to his office to show them pictures and other memorabilia.
In his office in the Russell Building he must have spent half an hour with Peter and Emma going over pictures of his father Joe, mother Rose, and the Kennedy kids. He shared letters, notes from history.
I think he enjoyed it nearly as much as we did. He beamed when he spoke about his family.
Senator Kennedy leaves behind an astonishing legislative record of accomplishment. He achieved his goals to a degree that perhaps no other Senator in history has. As a public servant, he has few equals.
But he was so much more. Ted also leaves us with the memory of the man--the memory of his kindness and grace, his humility.
Books will detail Ted Kennedy's legislative victories. His moments in history. I will remember the moments he took to warmly and unexpectedly welcome this new Senator and touch the lives of my family that day as well.
To Vicki, we extend our family's sympathy and hope the coming days are filled with more love, God's grace and strength to go on. Bobbi and I wish the Kennedy family our best and our prayers are with you.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I was deeply saddened by the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy in August, my colleague on the Health, Education, and Labor Committee, a statesman in every sense of the word, and a Senator not just for the people of Massachusetts but for every corner of the Nation. I am grateful for the time I shared with him as a colleague and as a friend.
Senator Kennedy may be best known in this body for his consistent leadership on the big national issues. Whether you agreed with him or not Senator Kennedy was ``all in'' on the issues he cared about, like health care and education, and a formidable force to be reckoned with.
While Senator Kennedy was firm in his convictions, he was open to the ideas of other Senators, regardless of party affiliation. As most Senators who worked with him know, Senator Kennedy had an unequaled reputation for compromise and negotiation. As legislation was being written and developed, he recognized the importance of other Senators' perspectives on an issue, including mine, and was therefore willing to alter legislative proposals for the sake of cooperation and finding middle ground with Senators from any political party. The two years I spent on the HELP Committee with him as my chairman were truly a blessing.
There was so much to admire about Senator Kennedy's career. But the thing I really admired about Senator Kennedy was his ability to look beyond the beltway to take up causes that might seem obscure to many in this body--causes that offended Senator Kennedy's sense of justice. Let me offer a few examples from my State of Alaska.
Federal law requires agencies to reinstate civil servants who go on active duty in the National Guard and Reserves when their service is complete. The law goes by the acronym USERRA. When Bob Traut of Palmer, AK, completed his active duty service with the Alaska National Guard, he was not reinstated to his position in the Indian Health Service. His position had been eliminated and he was not offered another. He filed a USERRA complaint with the Department of Labor, which was passed around among investigators and ultimately lost. Several years after he started this process he was offered a Federal position at a U.S. Coast Guard base hundreds of miles from his home. He couldn't drive to his new workplace--he had to fly there because Kodiak is an island not connected by road to the rest of Alaska. Even then his back pay claims were lost in a morass of bureaucracy, in spite of repeated inquiries from my office. Bob Traut's fortunes changed when Senator Kennedy decided to hold an oversight hearing about USERRA focused on Bob Traut's case.
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the 1971 law which resolved the aboriginal land claims of Alaska's first peoples, is truly one of the landmark pieces of federal Indian legislation. The administration offered Alaska's Native people 10 million acres of land. Senator Kennedy came to the floor on several occasions to argue that the number of acres should be no less than 40 million. The ultimate settlement was 44 million acres. A settlement which might not have been possible without Senator Kennedy's leadership.
As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian Education, Kennedy joined a few other Senate colleagues on a trip to several Alaska Native villages in April 1969. Kennedy recalls being stunned by the poverty and despair in the villages, many of which still lack basic sanitation and are plagued by high rates of sexual assault, domestic violence, and suicide. It affected Senator Kennedy so deeply that he found it difficult to ``numb the pain.''
The course of Senator Kennedy's life brought him many blessings and accomplishments. He was a father of three beautiful children and two stepchildren, a Harvard graduate, a nine-term Senator with the third longest time serving in the U.S. Senate in American history, a veteran of the Army, a talented football player who almost went pro but opted instead for a life of public service . . . the list goes on.
My condolences and blessings go out to his family, especially his wife and children. Despite Ted's passing, his spirit lives on. There is little doubt in my mind that this spirit will inspire generations of our colleagues in the years ahead to take up his causes and ensure that the vulnerable in America, the often forgotten Americans who live in remote places like rural Alaska, are never forgotten.
Ted, thank you for your service.
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