Congressional Record—Senate S1786
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S1786 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 22, 2010 is the Federal Government is causing Jill; his nephew, my friend and col- Stewart Udall set the highest stand- Medicaid costs to continue to rise and league, MARK UDALL, and his wife ards for public service and for decency Governors, therefore, make cuts and Maggie; and all the Udall family for as a human being. As Ben Jonson said tuition goes up. This bill will make this enormous loss. In several con- of Shakespeare, ‘‘he was not of an age, that worse. versations I had with Stewart in recent but for all time.’’ Stewart Udall had, as Then, on top of that, you have the years, it was clear that TOM’s own ex- he urged his grandchildren to have, ‘‘a last-minute takeover of the Federal emplary public service and I’m sure love affair with the wonder and beauty student loan program. Suddenly, 19 MARK’s as well, were a source of great of the earth.’’ We are all the richer for million students—well, 15 million of pride for him. it. those 19 million will go to the Federal Stewart Udall is best known for his EXHIBIT 1 Government to get their loan, begin- lifetime of service in preservation of [From the New York Times, Mar. 20, 2010] ning in July, instead of to 2,000 lenders our public lands. His accomplishments STEWART L. UDALL, 90, CONSERVATIONIST IN across the country. The Government is as Secretary of the Interior under KENNEDY AND JOHNSON CABINETS, DIES saying we are going to save money. Presidents Kennedy and Johnson are (By Keith Schneider) That may be true. But guess what the legendary. Those accomplishments Stewart L. Udall, an ardent conserva- Government is going to do with its were recounted yesterday in the New tionist and a son of the West, who as interior money. They are not going to say: Be- York Times. It said: secretary in the 1960s presided over vast in- cause the Government can borrow the creases in national park holdings and the . he presided over the acquisition of 3.85 public domain, died Saturday at his home in money at 2.8 percent it is going to cost million acres of new holdings, including four Santa Fe, N.M. The last surviving member of us less to operate the program, there- national parks Canyonlands in Utah, Red- the original Kennedy cabinet, he was 90. fore, we are going to give students the wood in California, North Cascades in Wash- Mr. Udall had been in failing health after a savings. They are going to spend the ington, and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas— fall last week, according to a son, Senator savings. So they are going to borrow it six national monuments, nine national recre- Tom Udall of New Mexico. ation areas, twenty historic sites, fifty wild- at 2.8 percent and loan it to the stu- Though he was a liberal Democrat from life refuges and eight national seashores. the increasingly conservative and Repub- dents at 6.8 percent. That is over- lican West, Stewart Udall said in a 2003 pub- charging America’s students to help I ask unanimous consent that the obituary from the Times be printed in lic television interview that he found in pay for the health care program. Washington ‘‘a big tent on the environ- These students are not Wall Street the RECORD, after my comments. ment.’’ financiers. They are working people, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- The result was the addition of vast tracts some of them pretty grown up, in their pore. Without objection, it is so or- to the nation’s land holdings and—through thirties and forties, going back to Wal- dered. his strong ties with lawmakers, conserva- tionists, writers and others—work that led ter State Community College. They [See exhibit 1.] Mr. BINGAMAN. His commitment to to landmark statutes on air, water and land often have a job. They are not going to conservation. be very happy when they find out they and achievements in conservation and President Obama said in a statement Sat- are paying higher interest. The esti- preservation are unequaled in our urday night that Mr. Udall ‘‘left an indelible mate that we have made in our office is country. He was a moving force behind mark on this nation and inspired countless it might be $1,500–$1,700 dollars over 10 all of the landmark environmental leg- Americans who will continue his fight for islation of the 1960s, including the clean air, clean water and to maintain our years in more interest. That is the many natural treasures.’’ amount the Governor is going to be Clean Air Act of 1963, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1965, Few corners of the nation escaped Mr. overcharging them to pay for other Udall’s touch. As interior secretary in the government programs, including health the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Land Kennedy and Johnson administrations, he care. and Water Conservation Act of 1965, presided over the acquisition of 3.85 million The action that is being taken may the Endangered Species Act of 1966, the acres of new holdings, including 4 national be historic. But we believe that it is a National Trails System Act of 1968, and parks—Canyonlands in Utah, Redwood in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. California, North Cascades in Washington historic mistake and that throughout State and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas—6 the rest of this year the debate will not Long after leaving public office, he was instrumental in securing the enact- national monuments, 9 national recreation end about health care; but it will areas, 20 historic sites, 50 wildlife refuges change. It will be larger than just ment of the Radiation Exposure Com- and 8 national seashores. He also had an in- health care. pensation Act of 1990 which I was proud terest in preserving historic sites, and helped As the President himself said last to support. save Carnegie Hall from destruction. year, the health care debate is a proxy But his commitment to our public ‘‘Republicans and Democrats, we all worked together,’’ Mr. Udall said in a tele- for a larger debate about the role of lands was part of a larger lifetime com- mitment, a commitment to public vision interview with Bill Moyers. But by government in America’s life. We be- the time of that interview, Mr. Udall added lieve that is a debate our country service. that Washington had been overtaken by should have, and we believe the coun- With all the rancor and heated rhet- money and that people seeking public office try will soundly reject a policy of more oric that surround us in Washington fought for contributions from business inter- taxes, more spending, more debt, and today, it is easy to lose sight of what is ests that viewed environmental protection as good about our system of government. a detriment to profit at best. more Washington takeover. In his years in Washington, he won high re- I yield the floor. And one of the very best things about our great country, and our system of gard from many quarters for his efforts to Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I preserve the American landscape and to edu- heard my colleague’s comments about government, is that it has attracted to cate his fellow Americans on the value of health care. I will plan to return to the public service many of the best among natural beauty, points he made in his 1963 Senate floor to discuss health care in us to devote their lives to work for us book ‘‘The Quiet Crisis.’’ The book, whose some detail in the next couple days. all. aim, he wrote at the time, was to ‘‘outline The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Stewart Udall was one of those peo- the land and people story of our continent,’’ pore. The Senator from New Mexico. ple. He devoted his life to pursuing the sold widely. common good the greater good and left It was Mr. Udall who suggested that John f F. Kennedy invite Robert Frost to recite a this Nation a better place because of it. REMEMBERING STEWART UDALL poem at Mr. Kennedy’s inauguration. Mr. Stewart cared deeply about the peo- Udall accompanied Mr. Frost to the Soviet Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise ple of this great country and that car- Union in 1962, a trip meant to foster better to speak about a great American who ing was evident in each encounter that ties with Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev. has inspired me and countless others he had. My wife Anne has fond memo- Mr. Udall also held evenings at the Interior with his leadership and commitment to ries of heartfelt conversations she had Department with the poet Carl Sandburg and public service. That great American is with Stewart where he spoke forcefully the actor Hal Holbrook. In addition, he in- vited the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Wal- Stewart Udall. about the challenges we face. I myself lace Stegner to be the department’s writer in At the outset, I extend my condo- was fortunate to always hear from him residence. It was Mr. Stegner’s presence that lences to my friend and colleague, words of encouragement and construc- prompted Mr. Udall to write ‘‘The Quiet Cri- Stewart’s son, TOM UDALL, and his wife tive advice whenever we would visit. sis.’’ VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:33 Jun 20, 2010 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD10\RECFILES\S22MR0.REC S22MR0 mmaher on DSKD5P82C1PROD with CONG-REC-ONLINE March 22, 2010 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S1787 Mr.