TOM DASCHLE
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, in these final working days of the 108th Congress, we are saying farewell to a number of retiring colleagues. A most painful farewell will be to my friend Senator TOM DASCHLE.
These days, there are fewer and fewer bipartisan agreements in this body. But there is bipartisan agreement about the senior Senator from South Dakota. We respect his decency, his fairness, his courage, his leadership, and, of course, his extraordinary capacity for hard work.
I cannot imagine a more difficult job in the Senate than being leader of the Democratic caucus. We've all heard Will Rogers's quip that he belonged to no organized party, he was a Democrat. Well, those independent, hardheaded habits flourish within our caucus. But, for the last decade, TOM DASCHLE's amazing skills and unlimited patience have brought us together as a team. And that is an accomplishment he can be very proud of.
The President of the United States has the persuasion of power. The leader of the Senate's Democratic caucus has only the power of persuasion. And I can't imagine anyone more persuasive than TOM DASCHLE. He has always been willing to talk with us, to accommodate us whenever possible, and to do whatever it takes to forge a consensus and move us forward. I am grateful for his leadership, and for the diligence and race that he has unfailingly brought to his job as leader.
I cannot emphasize too much TOM DASCHLE's sense of fairness as leader. He has been unfailingly fair to others. And he has demanded fair treatment in return. When Democrats were in the majority, majority leader DASCHLE was respectful of the rights and prerogatives of the Republican minority. Conversely, as minority leader, he has steadfastly defended the rights and prerogatives of the Democratic minority.
In the heat of a partisan campaign, some have tried to label this obstructionism. But that characterization is incorrect. The duty of the opposition party is to oppose, and to do so fairly, forthrightly, and within the rules of the Senate-to protect the rights of the minority. That is exactly what Senator DASCHLE has done-with great skill and persistence.
I also have enormous respect for the way Senator DASCHLE has advocated for his constituents back home in South Dakota. No one has fought harder for the revitalization of rural America than TOM DASCHLE. No one has fought harder to bring health care, good schools, and economic opportunity to Indian County. No one has fought harder to increase the income level of family farmers, and to give them a fair shake in the marketplace.
Another jewel in the crown of TOM DASCHLE's legacy is the emerging ethanol industry in the United States. Since TOM arrived in Congress in 1978, he has been a relentless champion of ethanol. I know because I was there, too, during those early years. People said that those of us who were advocating the expanded use of ethanol didn't have a chance against big oil. But Senator DASCHLE used the 1990 Clean Air Act to put in place policies that spurred the ethanol industry. And he has continued to promote tax incentives and a renewable fuel standard to advance ethanol and to move our country in the direction of energy independence. So, no doubt about it, Senator DASCHLE's leadership on ethanol will be greatly missed.
It has been a privilege to serve in this body with Senator TOM DASCHLE. I will miss him as a colleague. Most of all, I will miss him as a friend. The good news is that there are important chapters yet to be written in the life of TOM
DASCHLE. I wish TOM and his wonderful wife Linda the very best in the years ahead.
JOHN EDWARDS
Mr. President, I rise to express my respect and admiration for the retiring senior Senator from North Carolina, JOHN EDWARDS.
We will miss his uniquely skillful and persuasive voice in debates here on the Senate floor. Time and again, we have seen his knack for taking complex arguments and making them accessible and persuasive to ordinary people. Time and again, his skills have carried the day. So I fully understand the advice of one of our Republican colleagues: "Never yield the floor to John Edwards."
Over the last year and a half, people in my state of Iowa have gotten to know John and his wonderful wife Elizabeth very, very well. John has been in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. He's been in our schools, in our coffee shops, in our living rooms. In fact, if it weren't for that Southern accent, Iowans would think John was one of us. We Democrats are proud of his race for the nomination and his conduct as VP nominee.
He always comes across as "just folks"-which is what you'd expect from a person raised in very modest circumstances, the first in his family to go to college. This humble background is an enormous strength for John Edwards. It's a strength we saw last night. It allows him to understand people. It also allows him to communicate powerfully with ordinary people. And people respond in kind. They just plain like John Edwards. People trust him.
But if Iowans and other Americans see a "just folks" John Edwards on the campaign trail, Senators have been privileged to see a different side of him, hard at work in this body. John has been in the Senate for only one term. But he has made his mark.
He made his mark by challenging an incumbent Senator and single-handedly taking on the Jesse Helms machine in North Carolina-and beating it.
He made his mark as a lead cosponsor of the Patients' Bill of Rights in the Senate, along with Senators Kennedy and McCain. John managed the bill on the floor. And he was the lead negotiator in hammering out a bipartisan consensus on the bill.
He made his mark by sponsoring-and passionately advocating for-a bill to speed up approval of generic drugs.
And, in my State of Iowa, John Edwards made his mark-and won people's hearts-with his big smile, his friendly manner, and his boundless optimism. At the same time, he won our respect with a campaign that was always positive. Even under provocation, even when the stakes were highest in the final weeks of the campaign leading up to the caucuses, John never wavered from his positive message of hope and opportunity for "ordinary" Americans.
So here at the end of this 108th Congress, we say farewell to Senator John Edwards. But, clearly, we have not seen the last of this remarkably able person. I wish John the very best. And, of course, we all pray for the full recovery of Elizabeth. We will miss them both here in Washington, but our friendship will continue.
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