CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE July 24, 2001
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July 24, 2001 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE 14221 that. They were truly wonderful, and Air Corps and Katherine followed him In 1991, she stepped down as chief ex- their families, of course, we all got to to military posts in South Dakota and ecutive of the Washington Post, and in know after this tragedy. They are fan- Pennsylvania. A devoted wife and 1993 resigned her position as chair. Yet tastic people. mother, she dedicated the next 20 years even ‘‘in retirement’’ she remained an I echo the comments of the Senators to her family as she brought up her active member of the Post’s board of from Maryland in making sure we four children: Lally, Donald, William, directors, chairing its executive com- watch out for them. and Stephen. mittee and maintaining an office at the Mr. DASCHLE. I thank the Senator Tragedy thrust Kay Graham into a Washington Post until her death last from Vermont. role she never envisioned for herself. week. She also found time during this I yield the floor. I suggest the ab- After the death of her husband in Au- period to write her memoirs, an exceed- sence of a quorum. gust of 1963, she took over the helm of ingly moving story entitled ‘‘Personal The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the Washington Post and then pro- History,’’ which won the Pulitzer prize clerk will call the roll. ceeded to build the company into one for biography in 1998. The bill clerk proceeded to call the of the finest news organizations and The achievements of Kay Graham roll. businesses in our country. When she were tremendous and her dedicated Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unan- took over as president of the Post, it service to the Washington Post, to our imous consent that the order for the was still a relatively small organiza- Capital City, and to our Nation, are quorum call be rescinded. tion consisting of the newspaper, News- great indeed. She will be sorely missed The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. week magazine, and two television sta- by all of us. She kept us informed, led JOHNSON). Without objection, it is so tions. It was Kay Graham and her asso- our community, shared her wisdom, ordered. ciates who built the company into the and was our friend. f publishing giant it is today. By empha- I extend my deepest sympathies to sizing both scrupulous news reporting her family and her many devoted col- EXTENSION OF MORNING and attention to the bottom line, she leagues at the Washington Post. BUSINESS was able to attract advertisers, inves- Mr. President, I have an editorial Mr. REID. I ask unanimous consent tors, and readers alike, all while adher- which appeared in the Baltimore Sun that the Senate extend the period of ing to the highest journalistic stand- about Kay Graham entitled ‘‘Industry morning business until 5 o’clock, with ards. Kay Graham built the Wash- Titan, Publishers courage and judg- Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 ington Post into a Fortune 500 com- ment made one newspaper great, others minutes each. pany and she was the first woman to stronger.’’ It is a wonderful tribute, as Mr. MCCAIN. I object. I would like to lead a Fortune 500 enterprise. it is from a peer. I ask unanimous con- speak on the bill. Despite, or perhaps because of, her sent that it be printed in the RECORD at The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ob- dedication to the family business, Kay the conclusion of my remarks. jection is heard. Graham was willing to risk it all in The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Mr. MCCAIN. I withdraw my objec- pursuit of a news story that needed to objection, it is so ordered. tion. be told. Many have spoken of the cou- (See exhibit 1.) The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without rageous editorial decisions she made Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I objection, it is so ordered. when the Washington Post published close with this thought. It is indicative The Senator from Maryland. the Pentagon Papers, and later when it of her wonderful accomplishments with Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, par- led the investigation into the Water- respect to the Washington Post that liamentary inquiry: Is the Senate now gate break-in. In both cases, Kay one can say, as I say now with con- in morning business? Graham bravely stood up to pressure fidence, that the Post will continue to The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- and, indeed, intimidation from the be a great newspaper. Kay Graham in- ate is in morning business. highest levels of Government, risking stitutionalized the Washington Post as f in a sense her livelihood to ensure that a great organ for truth and for respon- the public learned the truth. sible journalism. As one thinks back on TRIBUTE TO KATHARINE GRAHAM It is sometimes now difficult, being her legacy, perhaps one of its most sig- Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise beyond that period, to appreciate the nificant aspects is that we can look today to pay tribute to a wonderful import and significance of those deci- forward in the expectation that the American, an absolute giant in the sions. But at the time, her decision to newspaper she built will continue to be field of journalism, and someone who pursue those critical stories was filled one of the world’s great newspapers be- broke through barriers for women all with peril, and she set an example for cause of the standards she established across this country, Washington Post the country by coming through that and the legacy she has left. publisher Katharine Meyer Graham. difficult period like the true champion I yield the floor. There is little that has not been said she was. EXHIBIT 1 over the last few days about Kay Kay Graham was an irreplaceable [From the Baltimore Sun, July 18, 2001] Graham and the remarkable life she participant in the Washington commu- KATHARINE M. GRAHAM led as a citizen of the Nation’s Capital nity and on the world stage. She Industry titan: Publisher’s courage and judg- and the world. Although she was born formed close friendships with political ment made one newspaper great, others stronger into a well-off family and attended ex- leaders on both sides of the aisle, with U.S. newspapers are better and stronger clusive schools, Kay Graham did not business leaders, with world dig- because of what Katharine M. Graham did at retreat into a world of privilege and nitaries. Many of us had the privilege, the Washington Post. Her death at 84 de- leisure. After graduating from the Uni- on occasion, to discuss complicated and prives the industry of a giant. versity of Chicago in 1938, she worked complex policy issues with Kay The core of her achievement was in three gut-wrenching, high-risk decisions made as a reporter for the San Francisco Graham, and we deeply appreciated her from 1971 to 1975. News. Not able to stay away from keen intellect and her thoughtful in- In the first, she agreed over legal advice Washington for long, she returned the sights into the problems of the day. that the Post would print the Pentagon Pa- following year and took a job in the And throughout her life, she main- pers, prepared from government documents editorial and circulation departments tained a grace and sense of humor that detailing U.S. involvement in the Vietnam of the Washington Post. endeared her to all that had the privi- War, after the New York Times was enjoined Kay Graham then began the next lege of knowing Katherine Graham. from doing so. Other papers followed, and the precedent of prior censorship was undone. phase of her life, marrying Philip She will be missed, not only as a re- The second was to support dogged inves- Graham who had clerked in the Su- porter of the news but also as someone tigative reporting of the burglary of the bur- preme Court. Soon after their mar- who truly contributed to the dialog of glary of the Democratic National Com- riage, Phil Graham joined the Army world affairs. mittee, in behalf of President Richard Nixon, VerDate Aug 04 2004 13:53 Apr 04, 2005 Jkt 039102 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 0686 Sfmt 0634 E:\BR01\S24JY1.000 S24JY1.