Remembering Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Floor Speech
REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY -- (Senate - September 10, 2009)
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Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, it is difficult to imagine or accept the fact that Ted Kennedy is no longer serving in the Senate. He was such a presence here, a big man with a big smile and a bigger heart. He was sympathetic to those in need and willing to do all he could to address their needs. He got results, improving and expanding Federal programs to make available education and nutrition benefits to more Americans than ever before.
I first met the Senator from Massachusetts when he was running in his first campaign for the Senate in 1962. It was a happenstance meeting. I was an instructor at the Naval Officer's Candidate School in Newport, RI, and a friend had invited me up to Hyannis Port during the weekend. I ended up at Ted and Joan Kennedy's house. He was there working with his friends from Massachusetts on fund-raising activities. We exchanged greetings. He said: You are in law school?
I said: Yes, I am.
He said: It is hard as hell, isn't it?
I said: It sure is.
Well, that was about all the conversation we had that day and I had no idea, first of all, how his campaign would turn out and certainly the most remote thing in my mind would have been my being a Member of the Senate. But he and his wife Joan were spending the summer in Hyannis Port near the other Kennedy family members, so I was getting to see some of them as well as enjoying the New England weather; the ambiance in the summer was a real treat. But instead of politics, we talked about how hard law school was.
I didn't think I would ever see him again. I had no reason to think I would, much less end up serving in the Senate with him and serving the day he took charge as chairman of the Judiciary Committee from my predecessor in the Senate, James O. Eastland. It was a day that attracted a lot of attention. The hearing room was absolutely full of people. As a matter of fact, the news media was all over the place. It was hard to get near the seats of the committee members.
I remember when Alan Simpson and I were the two most junior Republicans, and as we were trying to get situated there at the end of the row of seats of committee members, one of the camera men bumped Al's head with his camera, and Al told him he should not do that again because he might have a hard time finding his camera--or some words to that effect. But what a day of excitement and interest. That is the kind of excitement Ted Kennedy brought not only to the Judiciary Committee and his leadership as a brand new chairman, but his entire career reflected that kind of exuberance. People responded and reacted to him in a very positive way in the Senate.
We could make a long list of the things he did in terms of legislative accomplishments and political leadership in the Senate. But he was a good person. He was a thoughtful person and generous with his house. He invited all the members of the Judiciary Committee to come out for dinner at his house in Washington. What a nice, thoughtful thing to do, and what an exciting evening it turned out to be. Everyone enjoyed it enormously.
Ted Kennedy became a very determined advocate for serious reforms, and he left an impressive record of legislative accomplishments and protecting and enlarging the civil rights of ordinary citizens.
I came to respect Senator Kennedy and appreciate his friendship over the years we served together in the Senate. His personal qualities, his generosity, and his serious commitment to fairness and assistance for those who needed help from their government will long be remembered and appreciated.
May he rest in peace.
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