May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4565 make sure this is a wholesale war and we had an adversary that was dedi- later that America had John Glenn we are all in the same army, that we cated to the elimination of the United climbing into that Mercury capsule on are marching in the same direction, States of America and that for our de- top of an Atlas rocket that had a 20 and that we are coordinated in doing fense interests we clearly had to start percent chance of failure. Of course we that. doing something about it. know the rest of the story. As Senator KENNEDY wages his own There is the whole story of that ex- Interestingly, what happened in be- personal war on this dreaded disease, traordinary time of the late 1950s when tween that time when the Soviets had he will also be leading America’s war America came together, when we fi- taken the high ground with Gagarin on cancer with the Kennedy-Hutchison nally had to reach out to a group of up, before we could get Glenn up for bill that we will introduce in the Sen- German scientists. We were fortunate, three orbits, the President made the ate. So many times Senator KENNEDY at the end of World War II, to get to decision—and it was a bold, new vi- has been the voice for the American Peenumunde, Germany, before the So- sion—and said we are going to the people. He will truly be the voice for viets did, in order to get most of those Moon and back within 9 years. But this bill to renew the war on cancer at German rocket scientists, led by Wer- then he turned to his Vice President to this very difficult time in his life. ner von Braun. Ultimately that was the implement it. Therein lay the idea and I know he is going to be standing on team to which we turned to produce the secret to one of the most successful this floor, he is going to be negotiating the rocket that could get our first sat- governmental and technological this bill, he is going to be relentless in ellite—Explorer was its name—in orbit. achievements in the history of human- making sure it goes through with bi- But that was after we were shocked. kind with the White House, specifically partisan support. We will work with This Senate, this Congress, under the the Vice President, directing the way, the President—he will work with this leadership of Lyndon Johnson, said we giving complete carte blanche to their President—because I have seen how he have to organize ourselves in a way newly selected Director of NASA, Jim has worked with President Bush to fur- that we can take this on. That was the Webb, to go forth and do this magnifi- ther public education. birth of NASA, 50 years ago this year. cent technological achievement. Senator KENNEDY and I are going to NASA was the National Aeronautics Of course we had to scramble. Even renew the war on cancer with a new and Space Administration. Now that after we had John Glenn up, the Sovi- vigor and we are going to do it to- acronym has become the noun; every- ets still held the high ground. They did gether, and he is going to pass this leg- body knows it as NASA. It was the or- the first rendezvous in space. But then islation. I know he will be by my side ganization that was given the task we started to catch up and of course in his fight and in his fight for the after that majority leader put that America knows this wonderful success American people. We are going to sup- through this Chamber and through the story in which we were able to go to port him at this time in every possible Congress, to have it signed into law by the Moon and return safely, a feat that way. President Eisenhower, with all the in- has not been accomplished by any oth- I yield the floor. gredients in the law that would give us ers. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- this Federal agency that could take on I come back to why I am standing on ator from Florida. this daunting task. this floor today. America has had that Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. Presi- Along comes the election of 1960 and success because of the then Vice Presi- dent, I intend to speak about Senator Lyndon Johnson doesn’t get the nomi- dent of the United States, Lyndon KENNEDY at a later time in more depth. nation but, because the nominee is Johnson, who then became President Certainly there have been a lot of Sen- smart enough to realize he has to bring and pushed that program on through to ators who have said a quiet little pray- together the party in a tough election, extraordinary success. er for the complete recovery of Senator Lyndon Johnson is his Vice President. It is fitting that the space center KENNEDY that would include other col- So they get into their first year in of- that trains those astronauts is named leagues, some of whom we do not even fice and the Soviets surprise us again the Lyndon Baines Johnson Space Cen- know about. Certainly we know about and they take the high ground when ter. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The ma- the recurrence of the cancer in the they launch Yuri Gagarin into one jority leader. Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. SPEC- orbit. TER. We certainly know of the physical Mind you, we didn’t even have a f health challenges the President pro rocket at that point that we could put REMEMBERING LYNDON BAINES tempore, Senator BYRD, is going a human on the top of that could get us JOHNSON through. Since this is a Senate family, to orbit. We were still operating off of Mr. REID. Mr. President, it is my un- perhaps the world at large doesn’t un- that Army Redstone rocket that von derstanding that the time between now derstand that political differences, just Braun had successfully put up to put and noon is set aside for remarks re- as in a real family, can keep people the first satellite in orbit, but it only garding President Johnson; is that separated. But when there is a time of had enough throw-weight, or power, to right? need and healing, the family comes to- take that Mercury capsule with one The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- gether. That is certainly the case in human in it and put it into suborbit. ator is correct. what we feel about Senator KENNEDY, I remember when I was a young Con- Mr. REID. Mr. President, in the sum- Senator SPECTER, Senator BYRD. But I gressman back in the 1980s, one day Tip mer of 1908, a man named Sam Ealy will be speaking about that later. O’Neill, the Speaker, saw me on the Johnson, Sr., rode through the Texas f floor and he said: Bill, come here. He hill country, announcing to whomever knew I had just flown in space. He LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON happened to pass by, ‘‘A United States wanted to tell me a story. As a young Senator was born this morning!’’ Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. Presi- Boston Congressman, Tip O’Neill was The name of his grandson—Lyndon dent, when Lyndon Johnson was Sen- down at the White House—the John Baines Johnson. ator and majority leader, he had ob- Kennedy-Lyndon Johnson White I am pleased today to mark the be- served that during the Korean war, House—and he said: I had never seen ginning of the celebration for the 100th often the Soviet Union held the high the President so nervous that day. He birthday of that boy from Texas who ground because their MiGs could fly was pacing back and forth. He was just would not only be Senator, but Senate higher than our planes. Certainly as like a cat on a hot tin roof. majority leader, Vice-President, and majority leader he went through the He asked one of the aides what is President of the United States. shocks that the entire Nation experi- going on, and he realized that Kennedy There is a tradition on the floor of enced when the Soviets surprised us by knew that we were just about to launch the Senate of which our colleagues but the launch of the first satellite, Sput- Alan Shepherd, only in suborbit—and few Americans are aware. nik. We knew then that the Soviet this is a few weeks after Gagarin has If you open any of the desks in the Union had the high ground. At that already taken the high ground. Of Senate Chamber, you will find carved point the Nation came together, real- course it was then a second suborbit the names of each Senator who was as- izing we had a serious problem because with Grissom, and it was 10 months signed the desk in years past.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.008 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4566 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 Among the names carved in my desk minimum wage, extend social security bene- airport, to see the man at the end of is Lyndon Baines Johnson. fits, increase public housing construction, his first-ever jet plane ride. America and the world know Lyndon create an interstate highway system, create Johnson treated his guest to a bar- Johnson as the President with a steady a national space agency and enact the first becue at the LBJ ranch in Texas, en- civil rights legislation since 1875. The major- hand that guided our country through ity leader’s inspiration was the prophet Isa- abled him to step onto the floor of this a deeply troubled era—and was the iah, who preached ‘‘Come now, and let us U.S. Senate, and arranged for his visit guiding hand in creating the Great So- reason together,’’ a philosophy—and a re- to the Lincoln Memorial. ciety. sult—that unquestionably and dramatically He even brought together the camel- But those of us in the Senate—and improved the lives of all Americans. cart driver and the former U.S. Presi- his family and dear friends who join us On behalf of my colleagues, I wel- dent, Harry Truman, who was so taken here today—know that it was this Sen- come members of Lyndon Johnson’s with Ahmad’s eloquence that he re- ate Chamber—this Capitol Building— family, his former staff, and friends of ferred to the Pakistani visitor as ‘‘His that was his home. the Johnson family to the U.S. Senate Excellency.’’ Born in the Hill Country of Texas, to mark his 100th birthday and honor The final Johnson touch came just as Lyndon Baines Johnson came to the his life. Bashir Ahmad was about to board his Senate in 1948 after prevailing in one of This celebration is tinged with sad- plane for the ride home back to Paki- the closest Senate contests in Amer- ness that his beloved wife Lady Bird stan. He opened a telegram from the ican history. passed away last year and is not with Vice President which read: ‘‘Since your As my colleagues well know, most us today. return to Pakistan takes you so close rookie Senators arrive in Washington As President, Lyndon Johnson once to Mecca, arrangements have been resigned to spending a few years get- said—‘‘This nation, this generation, in made . . . for you to visit there.’’ ting to know the rules and traditions this hour has man’s first chance to This was just one example of many of of this body—biding their time and build a Great Society, a place where the canny Texan’s consummate polit- gaining seniority. the meaning of man’s life matches the ical skills. Not Lyndon Johnson. His rise to marvels of man’s labor.’’ Now just like Bashir Ahmad, I had power was laser-fast. Lyndon Baines Johnson’s pursuit of a the honor of being in Lyndon Johnson’s He was appointed to the powerful Great Society is a legacy that changed presence once, and for a very momen- Armed Services Committee within his America forever and will last as long as tous occasion. In August 1965, I came first 2 years, and was elected assistant our Republic stands. here, to our Nation’s Capitol, to visit democratic leader—or majority whip— Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I Senator John Sherman Cooper. in 1951. am honored to rise today to speak on In 1964, after receiving my under- No Senator ever rose to the leader- the life and legacy of Lyndon Baines graduate degree from the University of ship of the Senate faster. Johnson. He served his country as a Louisville, I worked as an intern for But Lyndon Johnson had good timing teacher, naval officer, Congressman, Senator Cooper and watched up close as well as talent as his allies. Senator, Vice President, and finally as he applied his wisdom and experi- In the 1952 election, Dwight Eisen- President of the United States. In ence to the issues that gripped Ken- hower was elected in a landslide, every stop along the way of his storied tucky and the Nation in the 1960s. sweeping Republicans into power in career, he blazed new boundaries of the After completing my first year in law both the House and Senate. possible in American politics. school, I came back to Washington to Among the defeated Democrats was When Lyndon Johnson first came to visit the Senator who had become my Majority Leader Ernest McFarland of this body in January 1949, he was mentor and friend. Arizona. teased by his fellow Senators with the I was waiting to see Senator Cooper With just 4 years tenure, 4 years in nickname ‘‘Landslide Lyndon,’’ due to in his outer office when suddenly he the U.S. Senate, Lyndon Johnson be- his victory in the Texas senatorial pri- emerged and motioned for me to follow came the Democratic leader of the Sen- mary election by just 87 votes. Within him. We walked together from his of- ate. a few years he had taken the fastest fice in Russell 125 to the Capitol Ro- At the time, the positions of major- path to being elected a floor leader in tunda, where I saw more people, and ity and minority leader took a back- Senate history. more security, than I had ever seen be- seat to the powerful committee chair- Johnson went on to serve as both mi- fore. manships. nority leader and majority leader dur- Then Senator Cooper told me what Lyndon Johnson had a different vi- ing the 8 years of the Eisenhower ad- was happening: President Johnson was sion, and it is no exaggeration to say ministration, and shaped legislation about to sign the Voting Rights Act, an that he singlehandedly made the job of dealing with the Cold War, agriculture, act that was the culmination of Lyn- leader what it is today. labor and civil rights. don Johnson’s years of effort in sup- After establishing himself as the leg- Lyndon Johnson showed the same port of civil rights that had begun islative and political leader of the Sen- compassion and courtesy to the Texas when he still served in the Senate. ate Democrats, Johnson was uniquely rancher or the destitute living in Soon enough, the President emerged. well-positioned in 1954, when Demo- America’s deepest pockets of poverty Every good biography of President crats regained the majority and he be- as he did to the powerful and the Johnson describes him as a larger- came majority leader. mighty. In fact, through his generosity than-life man, with an imposing phys- What followed is the stuff of legend. of spirit, he made a friend out of one ical presence. Let me testify right now, Based upon his philosophy that ‘‘The special Pakistani camel-cart driver. from personal experience, that they are only real power available to the leader Some of my colleagues who are old correct. is the power of persuasion,’’ Lyndon enough may remember that in 1961, as President Johnson seemed to tower a Baines Johnson used that power to the Vice President, Johnson toured the head taller than anyone else in the fullest. country of Pakistan and at one point room. He was a commanding figure In just 1 day in 1956, Lyndon John- stopped to meet an illiterate camel- that immediately filled the Rotunda. son’s Senate confirmed two appoint- cart driver named Bashir Ahmad. A journalist once described a typical ments and passed 90 bills a record that Still displaying his Texan manners Lyndon Johnson entrance as ‘‘the may stand for all time. half a world away, the Vice President Western movie barging into the The quantity of Johnson’s Senate told the man, ‘‘You all come to Wash- room’’—it’s hard to put it better than work was impressive, but so was the ington and see us sometime.’’ Imagine that. quality. his surprise when Bashir Ahmad de- I was overwhelmed to witness such a As an exhibit at the LBJ library cided to take him up on his request. moment in history. As he was about to says: But the quick-thinking Johnson sign the legislation that he would later By working to find common ground unit- turned his unexpected guest’s visit into point to as his greatest accomplish- ing liberals and conservatives alike, LBJ’s a boon for American-Pakistani rela- ment, President Johnson said, ‘‘Today Senate passed legislation to increase the tions. He met Ahmad personally at the is a triumph for freedom as huge as any

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.058 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4567 victory that has ever been won on any The Treatment could last 10 minutes or In this year of the centennial of his battlefield.’’ four hours . . . Its tone could be suppli- birth, our Nation would be well served Although I am sure that if my good cation, accusation, cajolery, exuberance, if we would all take that lesson to friend Phil Gramm, the former Senator scorn, tears, complaint, the hint of threat. It was all of these together. It ran the gamut of heart. from LBJ’s own Lone Star State, were human emotions. Its velocity was breath- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- here, he would add one more honor taking, and it was all in one direction . . . ator from Texas is recognized. that ranked above all the rest: Lyndon He moved in close, his face a scant milli- Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I Baines Johnson, Texan. meter from his target . . . his eyes widening rise today to talk about one of the Today this U.S. Senate recognizes and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and fall- ing. From his pockets poured clippings, most significant Presidents of the 20th the legacy of Lyndon Baines Johnson century, Lyndon Baines Johnson. Of and his many achievements. I join with memos, statistics. Mimicry, humor and the genius of analogy made the Treatment an al- course, I am especially proud that he is my colleagues today in asking all most hypnotic experience and rendered the a Texan, my home State, and was the Americans to celebrate the Lyndon B. target stunned and helpless. first President to be elected from Johnson Centennial. Almost always, the ‘‘treatment’’ suc- Texas. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the ceeded. opening pages of his acclaimed biog- This is the 100th anniversary year of He was a master of political power the birth of President Johnson. We all raphy, ‘‘Master of the Senate,’’ Robert and persuasion. He knew how to accu- Caro describes Lyndon Johnson in his know, during his 6 years as President, mulate power. More importantly, he he was a passionate advocate for equal prime, as majority leader. He recalls knew how to use his political power to how LBJ would come barreling through rights and expanded opportunities for make government work. He believed all Americans. those swinging double doors in the that one of the purposes of government Democratic cloakroom and stride out I did not know President Johnson was to try to make America better and personally because I was a freshman onto this floor—all 6-feet 4-inches of more just. member, very new member of the him—looking for that last vote he When he was 21 years old, Lyndon Texas legislature, when he died in 1973. needed to carry his cause. He was, Caro Johnson had an experience that had a said, like a force of nature. profound and lasting effect on him. He But the gracious family, Lady Bird As the Democratic whip, I have the was studying at Southwest Texas State Johnson, that ever wonderful hos- privilege of occupying an office in this Teachers College and he took a year off pitable wife whom we all loved, wanted building that LBJ used when he was to teach poor Latino children in the to make sure all the legislators in majority leader of the Senate. This little town of Cotulla, TX, near the Texas were invited to his funeral. So I afternoon, I had the privilege of meet- Mexican border. was able to attend at the Texas ranch, ing in that office with a longtime as- Nearly 40 years later, President which of course was a beautiful tribute sistant of LBJ’s, Ashton Gonella. Johnson spoke of those children and to his life in the place he loved the Mrs. Gonella regaled my staff and the impact they had on him. Proposing most. about how the office was arranged the Voting Rights Act to a joint ses- Though I did not know him, I will then, and what it was like to work for sion of Congress, then-President John- certainly say that since I came to the Lyndon Johnson. son said, ‘‘Somehow, you never forget Senate, I have heard story after story She said that her desk was located in what poverty and hatred can do when after story about his service in this an outer office, just outside LBJ’s of- you see its scars on the hopeful face of body. The book about his life, called fice. At 5 o’clock each evening is when a young child.’’ ‘‘Master of the Senate,’’ is considered the real negotiating began, she said. He added: required reading for all of us here. Part of her job was to spot a Senator I never thought then, in 1928, that I would Because, in fact, he was a master of as he walked down the hall, headed for be standing here in 1965. It never even oc- this Senate. He did things as majority curred to me in my fondest dreams that I an appointment with LBJ, and have leader that had never been done before. that Senator’s favorite drink mixed might have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students and to help peo- I have been privileged to know his won- and ready for him by the time he ple like them all over this country. But now derful wife Lady Bird Johnson, who is reached her desk. The Senator would I have that chance—and I’ll let you in on a one of our most loved First Ladies in then walk in to see the majority leader secret—I mean to use it. the history of our country. and together, they would see if they When he was told that his support for Lady Bird died last year, as was men- couldn’t find some way to reach an the Voting Rights Act might cause tioned before. She, in her own light, honorable compromise on the issue at problems for his Administration, LBJ left a legacy. He worked with her on hand. reportedly replied: Well, what the many of the things she did. The beau- Those were different days in the Sen- heck’s the presidency for? Only he used tification efforts Lady Bird contributed ate. If you come to my office today, the a different word than ‘‘heck.’’ to our country are a part of the overall strongest drink you are likely to be of- As a Senator and as President, Lyn- LBJ legacy. Of course, Head Start, fered is a cup of coffee or a soda. don Baines Johnson used what power which is one of the major accomplish- I tell that story about LBJ partly to he had to help give our Nation some of ments of the LBJ administration, giv- illustrate a point: When it comes to ne- the most important legislation of the ing every child that head start before gotiating compromises and finding second-half of the 20th century—in- they enter the first grade so there that lost vote needed to pass a bill, few cluding the Civil Rights Act of 1957— would be a more level playing field, Senators in the history of this institu- the first civil rights bill in nearly a was also a Lady Bird Johnson initia- tion have ever come close to Lyndon century—the landmark Civil Rights tive. Johnson. Act of 1965, the Voting Rights Act, the They worked together to make sure Stiff drinks were only one of the Elementary and Secondary Education the children of our country had that many means he employed. Act, the Fair Housing Act—the list opportunity. I wish to talk a little bit There is a famous series of photo- goes on and on. graphs taken by a New York Times He was not perfect, by any means. more about that in a few minutes. But photographer. It shows LBJ as major- But he helped move America forward in I do wish to mention two of the people ity leader, trying to persuade Senator many important ways. I now consider among my real friends, Theodore Francis Green of Rhode Is- Another phrase that Lyndon Johnson Linda and Luci. land to see things LBJ’s way. The used often was a passage from the Book Linda and I went to the University of photos depict what journalists used to of Isaiah. It has been a favorite passage Texas together. We became friends call ‘‘the full Johnson treatment.’’ of his father’s. ‘‘Come, let us reason to- there. She is a wonderful person. I have That experience was probably best gether.’’ become friends with Luci as I have described by the journalists Bob Novak He believed that in a democracy, peo- worked for the LBJ Library. and Rowland Evans in their book, ple could usually find an honorable I will never forget, as long as I live, ‘‘Lyndon Johnson: The Exercise of compromise if they would just talk to that I was in Austin and was promoting Power.’’ As they put it: each other and ‘‘reason together.’’ giving blood for one of the disasters,

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:49 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY6.014 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4568 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 and they needed more blood at the tion of Independence, ‘‘that all men are President Lyndon Johnson. In his fare- blood bank. I heard on the radio that created equal, that they are endowed well speech, President Johnson said: Luci Johnson had gone to give blood by their creator with certain I hope it may be said, a hundred after she heard I was there and pro- unalienable rights, that among these years from now, that by working to- moting the giving of blood. That is the are life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- gether we helped make our country kind of person she is. piness.’’ more just, more just for all its people, She and Linda truly carry on the leg- During his term in office, President as well as to ensure and guarantee the acy of their mother, Lady Bird who Johnson also embarked on a war on blessings of liberty for all of our pos- was a gracious, thoughtful, wonderful poverty, creating government pro- terity. person. grams such as food stamps, the Job It has been almost 40 years since that Linda and Luci take after their Corps, the Community Action Pro- speech and 100 years since his birth. mother, and, of course, the President gram, and Vista, among others. The Looking back, I think we can safely whom we all appreciated so much for war on poverty was a part of a larger say that our country is more just, and the leadership he gave. They had a initiative that President Johnson it is more prosperous, thanks in part to wonderful partnership, where they called the Great Society. One of the the leadership of President Johnson. filled in for what the other did not most important aspects of the Great On this LBJ day in our Nation’s Cap- have. Society was improving American edu- ital, let’s remember a man who helped Lyndon Johnson was born in Stone- cation. President Johnson believed our country reach the promise of her wall, TX, in 1908. After graduating that every American needed a solid founding document and gave us a vi- from high school and spending a year public education to turn the aspira- sion of a better America that even now as an elevator operator, he began his tions of the Great Society into reality. is worthy of our commitment. I am a career in the field of education. In his words: cosponsor of the resolution honoring In 1927, he borrowed $75 and started We must open the doors of oppor- President Johnson’s service and his attending Southwest Texas State tunity, but we must also equip our peo- positive legacy for our country. Teachers College in San Marcos, which ple to walk through those doors. I am pleased to note that in the gal- today is Texas State University. After From 1963 to 1969, President Johnson lery we have the President’s family, graduating in 1930, he devoted a year to signed over 60 education bills, includ- and we have the President’s extended teaching Hispanic children at the ing a pair of landmark achievements: family. He always considered the Mem- Welhausen School in Cotulla, which is the Elementary and Secondary Edu- bers of his Cabinet, the members of his 90 miles south of San Antonio. cation Act and the Higher Education staff, his extended family. We have the Decades later, when he was in the Act. He also launched Project Head people who are carrying on his legacy, White House, President Johnson remi- Start. In a very real sense, he was the people who run the LBJ library and nisced: America’s first education President. the LBJ school, which is such an im- I shall never forget the faces of the As President, Lyndon Johnson portant part of my alma mater, the boys and girls in that little Welhausen opened the doors of opportunity for University of Texas. It is such a won- Mexican School, and I remember even millions of Americans, but he would be derful place for students to come and yet the pain of realizing and knowing the first to acknowledge that we still learn about his era in office, public then that college was closed to prac- have a long way to go. As a former service. We are in the process of ex- tically every one of those children be- teacher, he knew how important edu- panding and renovating the library, cause they were too poor. And I think cation was to the competitiveness of making sure the library stays the won- it was then that I made up his mind, our country. Because of his achieve- derful edifice that it is, with all of the that this Nation could never rest while ments in the field of education, I wonderful artifacts in it. There will be the door to knowledge remained closed worked with all of my colleagues to a plaza called the Lady Bird Johnson to any American. pass a bill last year naming the De- Plaza that will also celebrate the beau- partment of Education headquarters tification she gave to our country right Lyndon Johnson never did rest. After after President Johnson. This is the there on the campus of the University serving as a teacher and principal in only building in the District of Colum- of Texas. The people who are keeping 1935, he was appointed head of the bia that bears the name of our 36th that legacy alive are also with us Texas National Youth Administration. President. While attending the naming today. The LBJ ranch that he loved so Then 2 years later, he ran for, and won, ceremony last year, I couldn’t help but much, where he and Mrs. Johnson are a seat in the U.S. House of Representa- think of Lyndon and Lady Bird John- buried, is also now a park. It is a State tives. He was subsequently reelected to son looking down on us and smiling park and a national park where people the House in every election until 1948 with pride. can come and have the freedom to when he was elected to the Senate. He I want to also mention something roam. They will be able to walk on later went on the ticket with President that my colleague, Senator BILL NEL- trails. They will be able to see a great John Kennedy. It was on November 22, SON, mentioned because another of his part of the State that I love so much 1963, that fateful day that none of us legacies, of course, is NASA. We all re- and he loved so much. The fact that we will ever forget, that Lyndon Johnson member when President Kennedy re- are preserving that as a park will be became the 36th President of the newed our space initiative, but it was one more way to show the love that he United States. During his Presidency, President Johnson who took that ini- and Lady Bird Johnson had for our Lyndon Johnson moved aggressively to tiative—the wonderful words we all re- country. confront the problems that plagued member of President Kennedy, that we This is a great day for us in the Cap- America, especially the extraordinary would put a man on the Moon—and im- itol. I am proud to be a part of the res- challenge that had vexed our country plemented that vision and made sure olution honoring this wonderful fam- since its very beginning, the challenge that we had the wherewithal to do it. ily. of racism. We needed the money. We needed to en- I yield the floor. In 1964, Lyndon Johnson used his for- courage scientists to propel us into Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I am midable legislative skills, honed from space and put us eventually on the pleased to come to the floor today to his days right here in this Chamber as Moon. It was President Johnson, and honor one of Texas’ most famous lead- majority leader, to pass the Civil we now have the Johnson Space Center ers, President Lyndon B. Johnson. This Rights Act. Then, in 1965, he pushed near Houston, Texas, where we still re- year will mark the 100th anniversary of Congress to pass the Voting Rights member the words: Houston, the Eagle his birth, and the LBJ Foundation has Act. has landed. When we did land on the chosen this week to honor his service The Civil Rights Act was the cul- Moon, it was the first words back to to America in Washington, DC. mination of a decade-long civil rights the Johnson Space Center that people Texas has a rich history of men and movement led by Dr. Martin Luther heard Neil Armstrong say on that won- women—often from humble begin- King, Jr. But in a real sense, it was the derful day. nings—who work to accomplish great fulfillment of a two-century struggle to As a Texan and an American, I am things. Lyndon Johnson was no excep- give life to the words in our Declara- certainly proud of the achievements of tion. Johnson was born near Stonewall,

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.039 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4569 TX, nearly 100 years ago, to Texas leg- It is my pleasure to stand today and figure towering over them, feel his islator and poor farmer Samuel John- honor President Johnson for his serv- hand on their lapel, hear his voice in son, Jr., and Rebekah Baines. ice, not only to Texas, but to our Na- their ear, pushing the legislative proc- Johnson was a natural public serv- tion as a whole. In his service to our ess toward a just conclusion. ant. In his early days he studied at country he never forgot the many So as we remember his life this year, then Southwest Texas University’s Texas values with which he was raised, there is no better time to rededicate teaching college. One of his first teach- and as such he and his wife, Lady Bird ourselves to the greatest of the prin- ing jobs was at a small school in Johnson, became iconic figures in ciples for which he lived. Cotulla Texas for Mexican-American Texas History. There is no better time to make sure children. His work with those students Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, this that when we sit in the presiding chair, would forever shape his dedication to year we celebrate the centennial of the we swing the gavel for justice; that those in need. birth of a man who dedicated his life to when we speak, we raise our voices for ‘‘[They] had so little and needed so the proposition that all of us are cre- equality; that when we vote, we vote much,’’ he once remarked. ‘‘I was de- ated equal. A legislator, a president of for compassion for fellow human beings termined to spark something inside the Senate, a President of the United regardless of the color of their skin, them, to fill their souls with ambition States: Lyndon Baines Johnson. the language that they speak, or the and interest and belief in the future.’’ It wasn’t just that Lyndon Johnson country in which they were born. This eagerness to help others would be was one of the first Presidents to care Even in his absence, let us remember a noble and defining characteristic of deeply about the well-being of people of his conscience. Let us allow his mem- Lyndon B. Johnson. color. It was that he was uniquely ca- ory to shame the shadows of bigotry While he spent time teaching at sev- pable of turning that desire to help out of this Chamber. And let us fill our eral schools across Texas, it was not into results. hearts with his spirit, so in our Nation, long before Lyndon Johnson took his It is almost impossible to overstate the spirit of progress will endure. first foray into public politics. the impact of the legislation he pushed The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Johnson quickly worked his way through Congress, impossible to over- CASEY). The Senator from Hawaii. Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, in 1960, through the Texas State Legislature state how much better off we are as a when I was a young Member of the and into the U.S. House of Representa- nation thanks to his heroic efforts to United States House of Representa- tives, and eventually into the U.S. Sen- guarantee civil rights voting rights and tives, I had the high privilege and the ate. educational opportunity for all. great honor of seconding the nomina- The seat he took, I should note, is Whatever else people will note about tion of Lyndon Baines Johnson for the same seat once held by another Johnson’s life, whatever disagreements President of the United States at the very famous Texan, Sam Houston. anyone had with him, whatever brush Democratic National Convention in That same seat now carries a long and historians will use to paint him, there Los Angeles. But, as we all know, Sen- honored lineage, and it is my privilege is no one who can convincingly cast ator John F. Kennedy was nominated. doubt on his very real devotion to the to now serve in this esteemed seat. However, before the convention ad- Early on, Senator Johnson made a interests of the less fortunate. journed, Senator Johnson was selected name for himself as a man of action, In 1928, Johnson took time off from as Senator Kennedy’s running mate. In who would work across the aisle to teacher’s college to teach at a small school for young Mexican Americans in November of that year, the Kennedy- pass important legislation, and who Johnson team prevailed by a very close Cotulla, TX. Right before he signed the held an incredible power of persuasion. margin. But in 1963, the tragedy of Dal- Higher Education Act in 1965, Johnson He quickly became majority whip, and las brought this winning combination thought back on his time in the class- eventually majority leader of the Sen- to an abrupt and sad halt. ate. room. Lyndon Johnson succeeded President He said: I know that one of his greatest ac- Kennedy, but it was sadly clear to all complishments in the U.S. Senate was I shall never forget the faces of the boys of Lyndon Johnson’s friends that this the passage of the Civil Rights Act of and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexi- can School, and I remember even yet the was not the way he wanted to become 1957—a landmark bill to help ensure President. Nonetheless, Lyndon John- the right of all people to vote. Of pain of realizing and knowing then that col- lege was closed to practically every one of son assumed the awesome responsibil- course, Johnson’s legacy as a staunch those children because they were too poor. ities of the Presidency and carried for- defender of civil rights would not end And I think it was then that I made up my ward the unfinished work of President there. mind that this nation could never rest while Kennedy. Of course, Lyndon Johnson’s presi- the door to knowledge remained closed to A year after the assassination, Lyn- dency would come in the wake of na- any American. don Johnson guided the Civil Rights tional tragedy. Despite the conditions I was 11-years old when he spoke Act of 1964 into becoming our Nation’s under which he took office, President those words. Seven years later, when it landmark law on civil rights. It was a Johnson helped console a nation in was time for a Latino kid from a work- great step forward in the rights of men mourning, and ensure that America ing-class family to go to college, I and women. It was also a great step would recover—both physically and could do it, because of educational as- forward for our Nation. But Lyndon emotionally. sistance from the federal government, Johnson did not stop. In 1965, he se- President Johnson continued the assistance Johnson had championed. cured passage of the Voting Rights same fervent defense of Civil Rights in Because of him, I could go on to law Act, opening polling places to all Afri- America that he had begun early in his school. Because of him, I felt that no can Americans in the South. Two years life. He helped enact the Civil Rights door in public service could legiti- later, he nominated the first African Act of 1964, and the famous Voting mately be closed to me. It is a powerful American to serve on the Supreme Rights Act. truth, and it is very clear: I would not Court. His nominee, Thurgood Mar- At the same time, Johnson worked be standing here today if it weren’t for shall, became recognized as one of the tirelessly to ensure a better education Lyndon Johnson. High Court’s finest Justices. In fact, it for all American children, and was a If he were still standing here today was Lyndon Johnson who, during the key proponent of NASA and the space himself, still a U.S. Senator, it is hard 11-year period from 1957 to 1968, was be- race. to believe there would be an atmos- hind the first five civil rights laws in Despite the turbulent times under phere of hyperpartisanship. It is hard our history, either as author or chief which he served this country, Presi- to believe that he would allow compas- architect or primary sponsor. dent Johnson did his best to unite our sion to lose out to suspicion in guiding For a southerner like Lyndon John- country and promote a freer, more the business of our Nation. son, taking such a leading role on civil equal society. He will long be remem- If only he could be with us today, rights took a special sort of courage. bered for his great advances for the each time we are on the verge of a cru- Yet he knew he was doing the right sciences, education, and civil rights— cial vote that will test our conscience, thing. He transformed the Emanci- to name just a few accomplishments. if only all Senators could see Johnson’s pation Proclamation of more than 100

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From 1963 to 1968, Con- Johnson and his contribution to the trustees. gress followed his lead and enacted Senate and to our country, but today I President Johnson used to joke about more than 40 major laws to foster edu- want to say a few words about his fam- how he would turn around and there cation. He also supported the arts and ily. My contemporaries were the John- would be Laurence Rockefeller and humanities by establishing the na- son children, Luci and Lynda, and espe- Lady Bird in the East Room of the tional endowments. cially Lynda and Chuck Robb. Chuck White House cooking up some new con- His Great Society declared war on was Governor of Virginia when I was servation agenda for him to pass in the poverty. He aided millions of older Governor of Tennessee. We have known Congress. Americans with passage of the 1965 each other well since that time. Her legacy of natural beauty is se- Medicare amendment through the So- I saw their daughter, Jennifer, this cure, but because she is now gone, cial Security Act. He also championed morning, and I can remember when she America’s legacy of natural beauty is older Americans with the passage of had our youngest son Will in a head- not so secure. We seem to have forgot- legislation in 1967 against age discrimi- lock one time at a Governors Con- ten how much natural beauty is an es- nation in the workplace. ference. I can remember learning, ei- sential part of our national character. As President, Lyndon Johnson also ther from Lynda or perhaps it was from Someone once said: Egypt has its Pyra- worked for peace and the survival of Luci, lessons about how children—and mids, Italy its Art, and our country the mankind. In 1967, he secured the ban on the Presiding Officer will appreciate Great American Outdoors. Or, to put it atomic weapons in space, and this is this, especially since his father was a less grandly, when I am at home in the universal law at the moment. The distinguished Governor of Pennsyl- Tennessee, I see the streets named Sce- following year, the Nuclear Non-Pro- vania—about how to grow up in a fam- nic Drive and Blue Bird Lane, and I liferation Treaty was signed, and it ily where your parents are public offi- read the real estate ads describing the still stands. Unfortunately, Lyndon cials, as Senators or Governors or even beautiful mountain views. And, if you Johnson did not seek reelection in 1968 Presidents, in their case. ask Tennesseans why they live in Ten- because of the war in Vietnam. But his One of the Johnson girls told me she nessee, even the most grizzled will say: legacy of leadership in both the Senate did not like very much going to polit- Because there is not a more beautiful and the White House continues to this ical events—our children were much place in the world. day. the same—until one day their father, Many Americans feel that way about The man from Texas will always President Johnson, said: Let me make our hometowns. After Lady Bird, there loom large in the history of the United a suggestion to you. I want you to find have come a number of stronger and States. For me, it was a most special one interesting thing about three peo- more outstanding environmental orga- privilege and a great honor to have ple at the event you go to, and then nizations devoted to clean air, clean known and worked with Lyndon Baines come back to me afterwards and tell water, and climate change, and more Johnson. me what you found out. Lynda told me recently, other conservation causes. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. that changed the way she thought But most of them seem to have dimin- CASEY). The Senator from Tennessee. about going to those events. It gave ished interest in scenic beauty. Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I her a way to go to them and make There was recently on the Senate first came to the Senate in 1967 as a them more interesting. I told all of our floor an effort that nearly succeeded to young aide to Senator Howard Baker children that, and they did it as well. gut Lady Bird’s Highway Beautifi- and was here during the last two years It was good advice for children of par- cation Act. It would have allowed hun- of the Johnson Presidency. So, I heard ents in public life. dreds of illegal billboards to become firsthand stories about Lyndon John- But in speaking of the family, I want legal. There has been almost no orga- son, the Senator, and his larger-than- to especially speak of Mrs. Johnson, nized outcry about the profusion of life, in-your-face personality with Lady Bird, and her contribution to pre- thousands of cell towers along the other Senators. I felt, in the elections serving the natural beauty of America. same interstates and in the same com- of 1966 and 1968—which were my first in Mrs. Johnson convened the first munities that Lady Bird sought to pro- politics—how his support for civil White House Conference on Natural tect from junkyards and billboards. rights legislation had made him a con- Beauty, saying: These cell towers have replaced almost troversial President. I felt, also, at my Surely a civilization that can send a man every available scenic view in America age, the agony of the war in Vietnam. to the moon can also find ways to maintain with a tall tower, usually ugly, always And I watched, with surprise, on tele- a clean and pleasant earth. with blinking lights. And, most of it is vision in 1968 when he said he would She became the de facto leader of the unnecessary because they could have not run for another term in the Presi- scenic conservation movement. She been co-located, or be smaller, or they dency. raised our consciousness about the nat- could have been put below the ridge Now, today, 40 years later, I see him ural world in our lives. It is fair to say tops, or even camouflaged. And we still as I think most Americans clearly see she is probably the most influential could have had access to our cell him: as one of our most consequential conservationist in America since Teddy phones and our blackberries. The Na- Presidents and public figures. Roosevelt. tional Park Service even erected a cell Every January or February, my When I visit my wife’s home in the tower in clear view of Old Faithful in youngest son and I go to Cotulla, TX. State of Texas in the spring, there are Yellowstone National Park. Senator HUTCHISON spoke of Cotulla, bluebonnets everywhere. Texans are In our enthusiasm to deal with cli- TX as the place where Lyndon Johnson immensely proud of those flowers. In mate change, we are spending billions taught in the elementary grades. I Austin—and Luci Baines reminded me of dollars to encourage Americans to never cease to go to Cotulla, TX with- today it is still going stronger than erect thousands of giant wind turbines out thinking of what a remarkable ever—is the Lady Bird Johnson that are twice as tall as football sta- comment it is upon our country to Wildflower Center. diums and can be seen for 20 miles, think that a graduate of San Marcos Many States copied Texas’ idea of without thinking to pass legislation State could go to Cotulla, TX, and be planting wildflowers in the interstate that would keep them away from our teaching in an elementary school, and medians. Lady Bird and Lyndon passed most scenic views, beaches, and moun- then 13 years later be in the Senate and the Highway Beautification Act to free taintops. on his way to being the Minority lead- us from highway billboard blight and If Ansel Adams were alive today, he er, the Majority leader, the Vice Presi- rampant ugliness. would probably be distraught because

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.011 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4571 he would have fewer and fewer beau- Great Society coincided with an end to eco- Security that kept us together. But I tiful places in America at which to aim nomic progress for America’s poor people. can remember it was like clockwork: his camera. So I thought I would come to the Every year, every winter, my father Lady Bird left America a legacy that floor today to discuss the ‘‘failures’’ of would get sick. He had this miner’s honors an essential aspect of the Amer- the Great Society. Well, I wonder cough, and usually in the winter it ican character, one that today is, un- where to start. But I suppose a good would get worse and he would come fortunately, too often ignored. If it place to start is with the great Civil down with pneumonia or something continues to be ignored, it will never Rights Act of 1964. like that. Since we didn’t have a car, be undone. It is almost impossible to Think about it. Prior to that act, Af- one of my cousins or someone—and my unclutter a highway or renew a view rican Americans faced brazen discrimi- father did not want to go to the hos- scape once that has been obliterated by nation and segregation—the American pital because we didn’t have any ugliness. version of apartheid. In many parts of money. He wouldn’t see a doctor be- So, I would hope that one result of our country, African Americans could cause we didn’t have money. So one of this commemoration of Lyndon John- not eat in the same restaurants or at my cousins or somebody would come son’s birthday would be to encourage the same lunch counters as Whites. over, and he would finally get so sick someone among us—or more among They could not use the same bath- he couldn’t stand it, and they would us—to revive in us Lady Bird’s passion rooms, the same swimming pools, the rush him to Mercy Hospital in Des for the natural beauty of America, to same water fountains, the same mo- Moines. Thank God for the sisters of encourage once again the planting of tels, the same hotels. They literally mercy at Mercy Hospital. They would wildflowers, to preserve the view were consigned, as we know, to the nurse him back to health, get him OK, scapes, and to remind American com- back of the bus. send him back home. This happened munities of how satisfying it can be to Well, because of the Civil Rights Act like clockwork every winter. My father live in one of the most beautiful places of 1964, and Lyndon Johnson’s cham- was always bothered by it. He was in the world. pionship of it, those Jim Crow laws and proud. He didn’t like to accept charity. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the practices were ended in the United Heck, if left to his own devices, he floor. States of America. It became illegal to probably would have died a long time The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- discriminate based on race, color, reli- before then because he just wouldn’t ator from Iowa. gion, gender, or national origin. Now have accepted that kind of medical Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, Lyndon we take it for granted that people of care. Johnson has always been a personal color, different nationalities, different I can remember coming home on hero to me. Every time I find myself in religions are seen in our parks and leave from the Navy for Christmas 1965. Austin, TX, I make a visit to the LBJ playgrounds, our libraries, our swim- Now, I hadn’t been paying too much at- Library. Only for me, it is not a trip, it tention—I was just trying to keep is more of a pilgrimage. I have been to ming pools, our sports arenas, our mo- alive, so I wasn’t paying too much at- that library so many times I think I tels and hotels, but it was not so long tention to legislation and things such could conduct a blindfolded tour by ago that this was not so. Hardly a as that. I didn’t mark the passage of now. ‘‘failure.’’ I was just there a couple months ago. Another ‘‘failure’’ of the Great Soci- the Medicare bill. I didn’t know it even My favorite place in that library, of ety, of course, the Medicare Program. happened. As I said, I was just in the course, is the Great Society Room, Let’s take a look at that. At the bill military doing my thing. But I can re- with the plaques on the wall listing the signing ceremony on July 30, 1965, member coming home on that Christ- incredible array of legislation and pro- President Johnson enrolled former mas break and seeing my dad, and he grams that Lyndon Johnson passed President Harry Truman as the first showed me his Medicare card. Now he into law. You go down it and you read Medicare beneficiary and presented could get medical care. He could go to them all: the Civil Rights Act, the Vot- him with the first Medicare card. the doctor. He could go and get taken ing Rights Act, Job Corps, VISTA, Up- We always talk about life after age 65 care of before he got so sick he had to ward Bound, the Food Stamp Program, as the ‘‘golden years.’’ For many, prior go to the hospital every time. You legal services for the poor, the Commu- to Medicare, life at 65 used to be the can’t imagine what this was like for nity Action Program, Community ‘‘nightmare years’’—with tens of mil- him. You see, he felt he had earned this Health Centers, Head Start, the Ele- lions of Americans unable to even af- through a lifetime of hard work, work- mentary and Secondary Education Act, ford basic medical care, condemned to ing for our country, raising a family. the Higher Education Act, Medicare, living out their senior years in the mis- This was not charity. He had earned Medicaid, the National Endowment for ery of untreated or poorly treated ill- this. It was part of his Social Security. the Arts and Humanities, public broad- nesses or diseases. So when someone tells me about casting, the National Mass Transpor- Here, Mr. President, I want to get Medicare, part of the ‘‘failures’’ of a tation Act, the Cigarette Labeling Act, personal. See, my father, Patrick Har- great society—hardly a ‘‘failure.’’ I the Clean Air Act, the Wilderness Act— kin, was 54 years old when I was born. wonder why there aren’t more people Mr. President, it takes your breath My father had an eighth grade edu- out here rushing to introduce bills to away when you look at what this one cation. Most of it he spent as a coal repeal it if it is such a great ‘‘failure.’’ person, with a Congress, was able to ac- miner. Now, most people don’t think It has saved so many people in our complish. there are coal mines outside of Penn- country, such as my father, who lived So, Mr. President, I come to the floor sylvania or West Virginia, but Iowa at out the remainder of his years in a lit- today to talk about the ‘‘failure’’ of one time was the second largest coal- tle bit better health because of Medi- the Great Society. Yes, the ‘‘failure’’ of producing State in the Nation. Young care. So it is very personal with me. the Great Society. At least that is kids who didn’t go to school went to Another ‘‘failure’’ of the Great Soci- what I have been hearing ever since I the coal mines. So my father worked ety was the Higher Education Act. In first started running for office in 1972 for the greater part of more than 20 1965, it was rare for young people from and 1974, coming to the House, and years in the coal mines. Later on in disadvantaged and low-income back- then to the Senate. All those years I life, he suffered what they called then grounds to go to college. The only way have heard from most of my friends on the miner’s cough, which we now know I got there is I had an NROTC scholar- the other side of the aisle and the con- is black lung disease. ship because of the Navy. That was the servatives what a great ‘‘failure’’ the My mother died when I was 10. My fa- only way I was able to go to college. So Great Society was. In fact, this sup- ther was just about 65, and he had paid President Johnson passed the Higher posed ‘‘failure’’ has become an article enough in, in the 1940s, to qualify for Education Act, creating work-study of faith among conservatives. Social Security. So he had Social Secu- programs, loans with reduced interest As President Reagan said on May 9, rity. He had three kids under the age of rates, scholarships, opening the door to 1983: 18 and no money. He lived in this little college for tens of millions of Ameri- The great expansion of government pro- two-bedroom house out in the middle cans to have access to the American grams that took place under the aegis of the of smalltown Iowa. But we had Social dream—again, hardly a ‘‘failure’’.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.013 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4572 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 In August 1964, Lyndon Johnson ing Rights Act, without title I of the up for Head Start, more Mexican-Americans signed into law the Food Stamp Act. Elementary and Secondary Education taking college scholarships or loans; more Prior to that act, hunger was Act, without Head Start, without com- billboards torn down faster—for the country, shockingly widespread in America, es- and for Lady Bird. munity health centers, without voca- And we remember his signature admoni- pecially in Appalachia and rural parts tional education. I could go on and on. tion: ‘‘Do it now. Not next week. Not tomor- of our country and in our inner cities. It would truly be a greatly diminished row. Not later today. Now.’’ Thanks to the Food Stamp Program, America, a less secure America, a less We who served him saw that Lyndon John- hunger in America is rare. Tens of mil- just America. And without the great son could be brave and brutal, compassionate lions of Americans—more than half of companionship of Lady Bird Johnson, and cruel, incredibly intelligent and infuri- them children—are ensured a basic nu- it would be a less beautiful America. atingly stubborn. We came to know his tritional minimum thanks to this pro- I know the Johnson family is here shrewd and uncanny instinct for the jugular of both allies and adversaries. We learned he gram. The farm bill we just passed, today, including Linda Bird, Lucy could be altruistic and petty, caring and with the Presiding Officer’s help in get- Baines, and their families, and many crude, generous and petulant, bluntly honest ting it passed, expanded the Food close friends and colleagues of Presi- and calculatingly devious—all within the Stamp Program. It took out some of dent Johnson and members of his ad- same few minutes. We saw his determination the barriers to access, so families in ministration. I thank them for keeping to succeed run over or around whoever or America can get more access for their the LBJ legacy alive and not letting it whatever got in his way. families and their kids. become invisible. As allies and enemies alike slumped in ex- In the State of the Union Address in Before I close, let me quote from a haustion, we saw how LBJ’s relentless zeal 1988, President Reagan said that the produced second, third and fourth bursts of small part of a speech that was given energy—to mount a massive social revolu- Great Society ‘‘declared war on pov- by Joseph Califano just this Monday at tion that gave new hope to the disadvan- erty and poverty won.’’ He said this in a luncheon here in Washington com- taged. As he did so, he often created a record the State of the Union Address. It is memorating the legacy of Lyndon that Machiavelli might not only recognize, another Reagan myth. Look at the Johnson. Obviously we all remember but also envy. To him, the enormous popu- facts. Look at the data. From 1963 Joe Califano being Lyndon Johnson’s larity of his unprecedented landslide victory, until 1970, during the impact of the Secretary of Health, Education, and and every event during his presidency—tri- Great Society programs, the number of Welfare. Listen to what he said: umphant or tragic—were opportunities to Americans living below the poverty give the most vulnerable among us a fair Of even greater danger to our Nation, by shot of the nation’s abundant blessings. line dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 making the presidency of Lyndon Johnson We saw these things. But somehow the percent. The poverty rate for African invisible, we lose key lessons for our democ- world beyond—and even the people of his Americans fell from 55 percent to 27 racy—courage counts and government can own party—seem not to see. percent. The poverty rate among the work—and it can work to the benefit of the Throughout this year, and last week in en- elderly fell by two-thirds. This is an least among us in ways that enhance the dorsing Barack Obama, John Edwards made well-being of all of us. amazing success. reducing poverty a centerpiece of his presi- What is unfortunate is that the pov- I can think of no sentence that sums dential campaign. Yet he never mentioned up the legacy of Lyndon Baines John- Lyndon Johnson, the first—and only—Presi- erty rate has not fallen significantly dent ever to declare war on poverty and since 1970. Our progress has been son better than that. Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- sharply reduce it. stalled. Indeed, in the last few years, A few weeks ago in his eloquent victory the gap between the rich and the poor sent to have the full speech of Joseph speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, Barack in this country has grown dramati- Califano printed in the RECORD imme- Obama followed a familiar pattern of omis- cally. So we need a new generation of diately following my remarks. sion. In recounting the achievements of pre- American leaders committed to reduc- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without vious Democratic presidents, he mentioned ing the gap. We need a new generation objection, it is so ordered. the pantheon of FDR, Harry Truman, JFK— but not LBJ. Not Lyndon Johnson—not the of leaders with Lyndon Johnson’s pas- (See exhibit 1.) Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, as every man who would be proudest of Barack sion and commitment to fighting pov- truly great leader in our Nation’s his- Obama’s candidacy and what it says about erty and hunger and homelessness and tory, Lyndon Johnson brought us a America, the president uniquely responsible inequality and discrimination. for the laws that gave this man (and millions Any fairminded observer would say giant step closer to achieving our high- of others) the opportunity to develop and that LBJ’s Great Society was far from est ideals. He fought passionately for display his talents and gave this nation the a ‘‘failure;’’ it was a monumental suc- social and economic justice for all opportunity to benefit from them. cess. The Great Society programs de- Americans. He fought to put the Amer- Earlier in the campaign, when Hillary ican dream within reach of every cit- Clinton publicly noted that ‘‘it took a Presi- fined the modern United States of dent’’ to translate Martin Luther King’s America as a compassionate, inclusive izen. That is the legacy we salute today. That is truly the success—and moral protests into public laws, she broke society, a genuine opportunistic soci- the taboo and mentioned President Johnson. ety where everyone can contribute not the ‘‘failure’’—of the Great Soci- The New York Times promptly rebuked her their talents and abilities. The Great ety. in an editorial for daring to speak that Society is very much the living legacy Mr. President, I yield the floor. name—and instantly things went back to of our 36th President. We see the Great EXHIBIT 1 normal: Lyndon Johnson was put back in his Society today in cleaner air and water, SEEING IS BELIEVING: place as the invisible President of the twen- tieth century. THE ENDURING LEGACY OF LYNDON JOHNSON young people from poor backgrounds The reason, of course, goes back to Viet- going to college, seniors and poor peo- (Keynote Address by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., nam. The tragedy of Vietnam has created a ple having access to decent medical May 19, 2008) dark cloud obscuring the full picture of Lyn- care, and people of color exercising For many in this room, Lyndon Johnson’s don Johnson’s presidency. their right to vote and live in the Centennial is a time for personal memories. Without downplaying in any way the trag- neighborhood of their choice. We see We remember how LBJ drove himself—and edy of the Vietnam war, I am convinced that many of us—to use every second of his presi- the Great Society in Head Start, qual- to make Lyndon Johnson the invisible Presi- dency. We remember his five a.m. wake-up dent—particularly for Democrats to indulge ity public schools, vocational edu- calls asking about a front page story in the such amnesia as politically correct—is un- cation, college grants and loans—all New York Times—the edition that had not fair not so much to him, but to our nation those rungs on the ladder that people yet been delivered to our home; his insatia- and its future. need to achieve the American dream, ble appetite for a program to cure every ill Why? Because if we make Lyndon John- even those from humble, hardscrabble he saw; his insistence that every call from a son’s whole presidency invisible—if we are backgrounds, such as Lyndon Johnson member of Congress be returned on the day unable or unwilling to speak his name—we himself or this Senator from Iowa. it was received—even if it meant running the become less able to talk about the lasting Americans have a tendency to take member down in a barroom, bathroom or achievements of this nation’s progressive bedroom; his insistence that hearings begin tradition—a tradition that spans both par- for granted the achievements of the one day after we sent a bill to Congress; his ties over the last century. If we are unable or Great Society. But just imagine an pressure to get more seniors enrolled in unwilling to see this President, we break the America without Medicare, without Medicare, more blacks registered to vote, chain of history and deny our people an un- the Civil Rights Act, without the Vot- more schools desegregated, more kids signed derstanding of the remarkable resilience of

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.014 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4573 progressive tradition from Theodore Roo- Below the college level, LBJ passed the El- health care have played an even larger role sevelt, through Woodrow Wilson. Franklin ementary and Secondary Education Act, for than medical advances. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Harry Truman’s Fair the first time committing the federal gov- For almost half a century, the nation’s im- Deal and John Kennedy’s New Frontier, to ernment to help local schools. By last year, migration laws established restrictive and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. that program had infused 552 billion dollars discriminatory quotas that favored blond Of even greater danger to our nation, by into elementary and high schools. He antici- and blue-eyed Western Europeans. With the making the presidency of Lyndon Johnson pated the needs of Hispanics and other immi- Immigration Reform Act of 1965, LBJ invisible, we lose key lessons for our democ- grants with bilingual education, which today scrapped that quota system and put sub- racy: courage counts and government can serves four million children in some 40 lan- stance behind the Statue of Liberty’s wel- work—and it can work to the benefit of the guages. His special education law has helped coming words, ‘‘Give me your tired your least among us in ways that enhance the millions of children with learning disabil- poor, your huddled masses yearning to well-being of all of us. Think about this: ities. breathe free.’’ This Great Society legislation Americans under 40 have seen in Washington Then there is Head Start, To date, more refreshed our nation with the revitalizing en- only governments that were anti-govern- than 24 million pre-schoolers have been ergies of immigrants from southern and ment, corrupt, mired in scandal, inept, grid- through Head Start programs in nearly Eastern Europe, south of the border, Asia locked, driven by polls, favored the rich and every city and county in the nation. Head and Africa, converting America into the powerful, or tied in knots by Lilliputian lob- Start today serves one million children a most multi-cultural nation in the history of byists and partisan bickering. year. the world and uniquely positioning our popu- Talk to many Americans today about If LBJ had not established the federal gov- lation for the Twenty-First century world of Washington and they’re likely to say: it ernment’s responsibility to finance this edu- new economic powers. In the year before Im- doesn’t work; it doesn’t care; it doesn’t un- cational surge, would we have the trained migration reform was passed, only 2,600 im- derstand my problems; the special interests human resources today to function in a migrants were admitted from Africa, less control it. Tell an American that Wash- fiercely competitive global economy? Would than 25,000 from Asia and 105,000 from Cen- ington can work, it can help them, and they we have developed the technology that leads tral and South America. With the lifting of react like doubting Thomas: I won’t believe the world’s computing and communications the quotas, in 2006, 110,000 immigrants were it till I see it. admitted from Africa, more than 400,000 from That’s the political reality of our skeptical revolution? Seeing is believing. Asia and 525,000 from Central and South times: seeing is believing. In 1964, most elderly Americans had no America. I can’t see LBJ eating at an Ethio- So as we begin our observance of this cen- health insurance. Few retirement plans pro- pian or Sushi restaurant, but I can see him tennial in this critical political year, here is vided any such coverage. The poor had little tapping into the intellectual acumen, diver- the question: Do we want to rekindle support sity and energy of this new wave of immi- for progressive ideas, for a modem progres- access to medical treatment until they were in critical condition, Only wealthier Ameri- grants. sive movement? If so, if we hope to restore Seeing is believing. belief in a government that serves and lifts cans could get the finest care, and then only by traveling to a few big cities like Boston Lyndon Johnson put civil rights and social up the many as well as the few, if we want to justice squarely before the nation as a moral make government work again, then we must or New York. Consider the changes Johnson wrought. issue. Recalling his year as a teacher of poor see our history more clearly and tell it more Mexican children in Cotulla, Texas, he once completely. We must see the full vision and Since 1965, some 112 million Americans have been covered by Medicare; in 2006, 43 million told Congress, ‘‘It never even occurred to me achievement of Lyndon Johnson’s presi- in my fondest dreams that I might have the dency, the domestic revolution that he not were enrolled. In 1967, Medicaid served 10 million poor citizens; in 2006, it served 63 chance to help the sons and daughters of only conceived, but carried out. Failure to those students and to help people like them do so not only distorts our past, it short million people. The program is widely re- garded as the key factor in reducing infant all over this country. But now I do have that changes our future. For there is a connection chance—and I’ll let you in on a secret—I between seeing and believing—and also be- mortality by seventy-five percent—from 26 deaths for each 1,000 live births when John- mean to use it.’’ tween seeing and achieving. And use it he did. He used it to make son took office to less than seven per 1,000 We live in an era of political micro- Washington confront the needs of the nation live births in 2004. achievement. In recent years, it is consid- as no president before or since has. With the The Heart, Cancer and Stroke legislation ered an accomplishment when a President 1964 Civil Rights Act Johnson tore down, all has provided funds to create centers of med- persuades Congress to pass one bill, or a few, at once, the ‘‘Whites only’’ signs and social ical excellence in just about every major over an entire administration: one welfare system that featured segregated hotels, res- city—from Seattle to Houston, Miami to reform; one No Child Left Behind. Partisan taurants, movie theaters, toilets and water Cleveland, Atlanta to Minneapolis. To staff attacks and political ambition choke our fountains, and rampant job discrimination. airways, not reports of legislation passed or these centers, the Health Professions Edu- The following year he proposed the Voting problems solved. cational Assistance Act provided resources Rights Act. When it passed in the summer of What a contrast. In those tumultuous to double the number of doctors graduating 1965, Martin Luther King told Johnson, ‘‘You Great Society years, the President sub- from medical schools and increase the pool have created a second emancipation.’’ The mitted, and Congress enacted, more than one of specialists, researchers, nurses and para- President replied, ‘‘The real hero is the hundred major proposals in each of the 89th medics. American Negro.’’ and 90th Congresses. In those years of do-it- Without these programs and Great Society How I wish that Lyndon Johnson were now optimism, presidential speeches were investments in the National Institutes of alive today to see what his laws have about distributing prosperity more fairly, re- Health, would our nation be the world’s lead- wrought—especially the Voting Rights Act shaping the balance between the consumer er in medical research? In pharmaceutical that he considered the most precious gem and big business, rebuilding entire cities, invention? In creation of surgical procedures among the Great Society jewels. eliminating poverty, hunger and discrimina- and medical machinery to diagnose our dis- In 1964 there were 79 black elected officials tion in our nation. And when the speeches eases, breathe for us, clean our blood, trans- in the South and 300 in the entire nation. By ended, action followed, problems were tack- plant our organs, scan our brains? In the dis- 2001 (the latest information available) there led, ameliorated and solved. This nation did covery of ingenious prosthetic devices that were some 10,000 elected black officials reduce poverty. We did broaden opportunity enable so many of our severely wounded sol- across the nation, more than 6,000 of them in for college and jobs. We did outlaw segrega- diers to function independently? the South. In 1965 there were five black tion and discrimination in housing. We did Seeing is believing. members of the House; today there are 42 guarantee the right to vote to all. We did im- Closely related to LBJ’s Great Society and the black member of the Senate is head- prove health and prosperity for older Ameri- health programs were his initiatives to re- ed for the Democratic presidential nomina- cans. We did put the environment on the na- duce malnutrition and hunger. Today, the tion. tional agenda. Food Stamp program helps feed some 27 mil- Seeing is believing. When Lyndon Johnson took office, only lion men, women and children in 12 million But LBJ knew that laws were not enough. eight percent of Americans held college de- households. The School Breakfast program Thus was born the concept of affirmative ac- grees; by the end of 2006, twenty-eight per- has served more than 30 billion breakfasts to tion. Johnson’s conviction that it is essen- cent had completed college. His Higher Edu- needy children. tial as a matter of social justice to provide cation legislation with its scholarships, Seeing is believing. the tutoring, the extra help, even the pref- grants and work-study programs opened col- It is not too much to say that Lyndon erence if necessary, to those who had suf- lege to any American with the necessary Johnson’s programs created a stunning re- fered generations of discrimination in order brains and ambition, however empty the casting of America’s demographic profile. to give them a fair chance to share in the family purse. Since 1965 the federal govern- When President Johnson took office, life ex- American dream. ment has provided more than 360 billion dol- pectancy was 66.6 years for men and 73.1 LBJ set the pace personally. He appointed lars to provide 166 million grants, loans and years for women. Forty years later, by 2004, the first black Supreme Court Justice work study awards to college students. life expectancy had stretched to 75 years for (Thurgood Marshall), the first black cabinet Today six out of ten college students receive men and 80 years for women. The jump was officer (Robert Weaver) and the first black federal financial aid under Great Society most dramatic among poor citizens—sug- member of the Federal Reserve Board (An- programs and their progeny. gesting that better nutrition and access to drew Britmmer). He knew that if executives

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY6.002 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4574 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 and institutions across the private sector any significant reductions in poverty. In 2006 cils in all 50 states and more than 1,400 pro- saw qualified blacks succeeding in positions the poverty level stood at 12.3 percent. Hil- fessional theater companies, 120 opera com- of high responsibility, barriers across Amer- lary Clinton in her presidential campaign panies, 600 dance companies and 1,800 profes- ica would fall—because for them, he knew, has promised to create a cabinet level pov- sional orchestras. Since 1965, the Endowment seeing was believing. erty czar in her administration. In the ad- for the Humanities has awarded 65,000 fellow- Less known, and largely ignored, was ministration of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the ships and grants totaling more than four bil- Johnson’s similar campaign to place women President was the poverty czar. lion dollars. in top government positions. The tapes re- Theodore Roosevelt launched the modern Johnson established the Corporation for veal him hectoring cabinet officers to place environmental movement by setting aside Public Broadcasting to create public tele- women in top jobs. He created what one public lands and national parks and giving vision and public radio which have given the feminist researcher called in her book, voice to conservation leaders like Gifford nation countless hours of fine arts, superb Women, Work and National Policy, ‘‘An af- Pinchot. If Teddy Roosevelt launched the in-depth news coverage, and programs like firmative action reporting system for movement, Lyndon Johnson drove it forward ‘‘Sesame Street’’ and ‘‘Masterpiece The- women, surely the first of its kind . . . in the more than any later President—and in the ater.’’ Now some say there is no need for White House....’’ LBJ proposed and signed process, in 1965, he introduced an entirely public radio and television, with so many legislation to provide, for the first time, new concept of conservation: cable channels and radio stations. But as equal opportunity in promotions for women ‘‘We must not only protect the countryside often as you surf with your TV remote or in the Armed Forces. Signing the bill in 1967, and save it from destruction;’’ he said, ‘‘we twist your radio dial, you are not likely to Johnson noted, ‘‘The bill does not create any must restore what has been destroyed and find the kind of quality broadcasting that female generals or female admirals—but it salvage the beauty and charm of our cities. marks the more than 350 public television does make that possible. There is no reason Our conservation must be not just the clas- and nearly 700 public radio stations that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting sup- why we should not someday have a female sic conservation of protection and develop- ports today. They, as well as the rest of the chief of staff or even a female Commander in ment, but a creative conservation of restora- media, have been helped by the Freedom of Chief.’’ tion and innovation.’’ Information Act, the Great Society’s con- LBJ had his heart in his War on Poverty. That new environmental commandment tribution to greater transparency in govern- Though he found the opposition too strong to spelled out the first inconvenient truth: that ment. pass an income maintenance law, he took ad- those who reap the rewards of modem tech- vantage of the biggest ATM around: Social Seeing is believing. So is listening. nology must also pay the price of their in- For urban America, LBJ drove through Security. He proposed, and Congress enacted, dustrial pollution. It inspired a legion of whopping increases in the minimum benefit. Congress the Urban Mass Transit Act, which Great Society laws: the Clean Air, Water gave San Franciscans BART, Washing- That change alone lifted 2.5 million Ameri- Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts cans 65 and over above the poverty line. tonians Metro, Atlantans MARTA, and cities and Amendments, the 1965 Solid Waste Dis- across America thousands of buses and mod- Today, Social Security keeps some thirteen posal Act, the 1965 Motor Vehicle Air Pollu- ernized transit systems. His 1968 Housing million senior citizens above the poverty tion Control Act, the 1968 Aircraft Noise Act, creation of Ginnie Mae, privatization of line. Many scholars look at Social Security Abatement Act. It also provided the ration- Fannie Mae and establishment of the Depart- and that increase. Medicare and the coverage ale for later laws creating the Environ- ment of Housing and Urban Development of nursing home care under Medicaid (which mental Protection Agency and the Super- have helped some 75 million families gain ac- funds care for more than 64 percent of nurs- fund. cess to affordable housing. ing home residents) as the most significant Johnson created 35 National Parks, 32 In the progressive tradition in which Theo- social programs of the Twentieth Century. within easy driving distance of large cities. dore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt con- Seeing is believing. fronted huge financial and corporate enter- Johnson’s relationship with his pet The 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act today prises, Johnson faced a nationalization of project—the Office of Economic Oppor- protects 165 river segments in 38 states and commercial power that had the potential to tunity—was that of a proud father often irri- Puerto Rico. The 1968 National Trail System disadvantage the individual American con- tated by an obstreperous child- For years Act has established more than 1,000 recre- sumer. Super-corporations were shoving conservatives have ranted about the OEO ation, scenic and historic trails covering aside the corner grocer, local banker, inde- programs. Yet Johnson’s War on Poverty was close to 55,000 miles. No wonder National Ge- pendent drug store and family farmer. Auto- founded on the most conservative principle: ographic calls Lyndon Johnson ‘‘our greatest conservation president.’’ mobiles were complex and dangerous, manu- put the power in the local community, not in factured by giant corporations with deep Washington; give people at the grassroots Seeing is believing. These were major areas of concentration pockets to protect themselves. Banks had the ability to walk off the public dole. the most sophisticated accountants and law- Today, as we celebrate LBJ’s 100th anni- for Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, but yers to draft their loan agreements. Sellers versary some forty years after he left office, there were many others. Indeed, looking of everyday products—soaps, produce, meats, eleven of the twelve programs that OEO back, the sweep of this President’s achieve- appliances, clothing, cereal and canned and launched are alive, well and funded at an an- ments is breathtaking. frozen foods—packaged their products with nual rate exceeding eleven billion dollars. Those of us who worked with Lyndon John- son would hardly consider him a patron of the help of the shrewdest marketers and de- Head Stan, Job Corps, Community Health signers. The individual was outflanked at Centers, Foster Grandparents. Upward Bound the arts. I can’t even remember him sitting through more than ten or fifteen minutes of every position. (now part of the Trio Program in the Depart- Seeing that mismatch, Johnson pushed ment of Education), Green Thumb (now Sen- a movie in the White House theatre, much less listening to an operatic aria or classical through Congress a bevy of laws to level the ior Community Service Employment), Indian playing filed for consumers: Auto and high- Opportunities (now in the Labor Depart- symphony. Yet the historian Irving Bernstein. in his way safety for the motorist a Department of ment), and Migrant Opportunities (now Sea- Transportation and National Transportation sonal Worker Training and Migrant Edu- book on The Presidency of Lyndon Johnson, titles a chapter. ‘‘Lyndon Johnson, Patron of Safety Board; truth in packaging for the cation) are all helping people stand on their housewife; truth in lending for the home- own two feet. the Arts.’’ Think about it. What would cul- tural life in America be like without the buyer, small businessman and individual bor- Community Action (now the Community rower; wholesome meat and wholesome poul- Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Service Block Grant program), VISTA Vol- try laws to enhance food safety; the Flam- where each year two million visitors view unteers and Legal Services are putting power mable Fabrics Act to reduce the incendiary performances that millions more watch on in the hands of individuals—down at the characteristics of clothing and blankets. He television, or without the Hirshhorn Museum grassroots. The grassroots that these pro- created the Product Safety Commission to grams fertilize just don’t produce the mani- and Sculpture Garden that attracts 750,000 assure that toys and other products would be cured laws that conservatives prefer. Of all visitors annually? Both are Great Society safe for users. When he got over his annoy- the Great Society programs started in the initiatives. ance that it took him five minutes to find Office of Economic Opportunity, only the The National Endowments for the Arts and me in the emergency room of George Wash- Neighborhood Youth Corps has been aban- Humanities are fulfilling a dream Johnson ington University Hospital, with my three doned—in 1974, after enrolling more than 5 expressed when he asked Congress to estab- year old son Joe who had swallowed a bottle million individuals. lish them and, for the first time, to provide of aspirin, he proposed the Child Safety Act Ronald Reagan quipped that Lyndon John- federal financial support for the Arts to in- which is why we all have such difficulty son declared war on poverty and poverty crease ‘‘the access of our people to the works opening up medicine bottles. won. He was wrong. When LBJ took office, of our artists, and [recognize] the arts as Seeing is believing. 22.2 percent of Americans were living in pov- part of the pursuit of American greatness.’’ By the numbers the legacy of Lyndon erty. When he left five years later, only 13 LBJ used to say that he wanted fine the- Johnson is monumental. It exceeds in domes- percent were living below the poverty line— ater and music available throughout the na- tic impact even the New Deal of his idol the greatest one-time reduction in poverty tion and not just on Broadway and at the Franklin Roosevelt. It sets him at the cut- in our nation’s history. Metropolitan Opera in New York. In award- ting edge of the nation’s progressive tradi- Seeing is believing. ing more than 130,000 grants totaling more tion. But there is also an important story be- Since Lyndon Johnson left the White than four billion dollars since 1965, the En- hind these programs that speaks to the fu- House, no president has been able to effect dowment for the Arts has spawned art coun- ture—that offers the lessons of what it takes

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY6.005 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4575 to be an effective President. What lessons four of them states that Democrats had not ican people. He knew that the endurance of does this President have for our nation and lost for 80 years. his legislative achievements, and their en- his successors, especially those who value Still he kept on. In 1965 he drove the Vot- thusiastic acceptance by state and local gov- the progressive tradition? ing Rights Act through Congress. In 1966, he ernments, powerful private interests and in- First, Lyndon Johnson was a genuine, true proposed the Fair Housing Act to end dis- dividual citizens across the nation, required believing revolutionary. crimination in housing. His proposal prompt- such bipartisan support. His Texas constituency and the tactical ed the most vitriolic mail we received at the He didn’t accomplish all he wanted. He constraints of his earlier offices reined him White House, and Congress refused to act on called ‘‘the welfare system in America out- in before he became President. But his expe- the bill that year. moded and in need of major change’’ and riences—teaching poor Mexican American In the November 1966 mid-term elections, pressed Congress to create ‘‘a work incentive children in Corolla, Texas, working as Texas the Democrats lost a whopping forty-seven program, incentives for earning, day care for director of Roosevelt’s National Youth Ad- seats in the House and three in the Senate. children, child and maternal health and fam- ministration, witnessing the indignities that Border and southern state governors met ily planning services.’’ his black cook, Zephyr Wright, and her hus- with the President at his ranch in December. He saw the threat posed by the spread of band Gene Williams, suffered during his sen- In a nasty assault on his civil rights policies, guns and proposed national registration of ate years when they drove from Washington they demanded that he withdraw his fair all gulls and national licensing of all gun to Texas through the segregated south— housing proposal and curb his efforts to de- owners. Congress rejected his proposals. But fueled his revolutionary spirit. segregate schools. he did convince Capitol Hill to close the He saw racial justice as a moral issue. He Undeterred, in 1968, he drove the Fair loophole of mail order guns, prohibit sales to refused to accept pockets of poverty in the Housing Act through the senate—tragically minors, and end the import of Saturday richest nation in history. He saw a nation so it took Dr. King’s assassination to give night specials. hell bent on industrial growth and amassing Johnson the leverage he needed to convince He tried, unsuccessfully, to get expand wealth that greed threatened to destroy its the House to pass it. Medicare to cover pre-natal care and chil- natural resources. He saw cities deterio- You have to see political courage like that dren through age six, and used to say, ‘‘If we rating and municipal political machines un- to believe it. I was fortunate to see it close can get that, future presidents and Con- responsive to the early migration of His- up. I want our people and future leaders to gresses can close the gap between six and panics and the masses of blacks moving be able to see it. sixty-five.’’ north. To him government was neither a bad Fourth, Lyndon Johnson knew how to use He spotted the ‘‘for sale’’ signs of political man to be tarred and feathered nor a bag power. corruption going up in the nation’s capital man to collect campaign contributions. To Johnson married his revolutionary zeal, and called for public financing of campaigns. him government was not a bystander, hoping impatience and courage to a phenomenal Our nation and its leaders pay a heavy wealth and opportunity might trickle down sense of how to use power skillfully—to ex- price when such a towering figure—among to the least among us. To LBJ, government ploit a mandate, to corral votes, to reach the most towering political figures of Amer- was a mighty wrench to open the fountain of across the aisle in order to move this nation, ican history—becomes at the same time opportunity so that everyone could bathe in its people and the Congress forward. America’s invisible president. In this year, the shower of our nation’s blessings. He Lyndon Johnson felt entitled to every when for the first time in our history a black wanted his government to provide the poor lever, to help from every person, every American is a leading candidate for the Pres- with the kind of education, health and social branch of government, every business, labor idency, when so many domestic issues domi- support that most of us get from our parents. and religious leader. After all. as he often re- nating the campaign—access to health care, Second, Lyndon Johnson was perpetually minded us, he was the only President we had. persistent poverty amidst such plenty, af- impatient, relentlessly restless, always in a He had no inhibitions in reaching out for ad- fordable higher education, effective public hurry. vice, ideas, talent, power, support. He often Andrew Marvell’s words could have been schools, environmental protection—are saw traditions of separation of powers. or an issues LBJ put on the national government’s written for him: ‘‘But at my back I always independent press, or a profit-minded cor- hear/Time’s winged chariot, hurrying near.’’ agenda, it is time to see the full measure of porate executive, as obstacles, to be put this President. Too many lessons of his pres- Lyndon Johnson saw himself in a desperate aside in deference to the greater national in- race against time as he fought to remedy the idency have been ignored because the Demo- terest as he defined it. He was brilliantly op- cratic party, the academic elite, political an- damage slavery and generations of prejudice portunistic, calling upon the nation and the had inflicted on black Americans. Why? Be- alysts and the mainstream media have made Congress in the wake of even the most hor- cause he feared that, once black Americans him the invisible president. rific tragedies—the assassinations of John sensed the prospect of a better life, the dis- In this troubled time, when political poll- Kennedy and Martin Luther King—to bring a crimination they had once accepted as inevi- sters and consultants parse the positions of new measure of social justice to all Ameri- table would become intolerable; they would candidates for public office, Johnson’s excep- cans. tional courage on civil rights should be a erupt—and, subvert their own cause. ‘‘Hell,’’ He knew how to harness the power of the he said to me during some of those erup- shining example for a new generation of po- protestors and the media to tap into the in- tions, ‘‘Sometimes when I think of what litical leaders. His recognition of the signifi- herent fairness of the American people. He they’ve been through, I don’t blame them.’’ cance of bipartisan support for controver- He saw himself in a race against time as he asked Martin Luther King in January 1965 to sial—but needed—domestic initiatives, and sized up Congress, political reality and atti- help with the Voting Rights Act by ‘‘getting his ability to muster such support, should be tudes of affluent Americans. LBJ knew that your leaders and you yourself .... to find studied by politicians and citizens who seek he must use—now!—the sympathy generated the worst condition [of voting discrimina- to change the world. His unique ability to by John Kennedy’s assassination and the tion] that you run into in Alabama .... and make Washington work. to nourish and huge margin of his own election victory in get it on radio, get it on television, get it maintain partnerships between the Execu- 1964. He knew that his political capital—no on—in the pulpits, get it in the meetings, get tive and the Congress, the public and private matter how gigantic in the early days of his it every place you can .... and then that sectors, and to focus the people on critical presidency—was a dwindling asset. will help us on what we are going to shove needs like racial justice and eliminating pov- Third, Lyndon Johnson was a man of ex- through in the end.’’ He loved King’s choice erty demonstrate ‘‘Yes, we can!’’ to skeptical traordinary courage. of Selma, Alabama. He knew, as he told Dr. citizens who have never seen Washington get For me the greatest price our nation pays King, that when the American people saw it done. for our collective blindness is this: By ren- the unfairness of the voting practices there, It’s time to take off the Vietnam blinders dering LBJ invisible we lose sight, for the fu- they would come around to supporting his and let our eyes look at and learn from the ture, of how much a truly courageous polit- bill. And they did. domestic dimension of this presidency. Let ical leader can accomplish. He offers a defining lesson in the impor- everyone think what they will about Viet- Sure, LBJ had the politician’s hunger to be tance of mustering bipartisan support. These nam. But let us—especially Democrats—also loved. But, more than that, he had the cour- Great Society proposals were cutting edge, recognize the reality of this revolutionary’s age to fall on his sword if that’s what it took controversial initiatives and LBJ assidu- remarkable achievements. to move the nation forward. He did just that ously courted Republican members of con- It is encouraging to me that some of John- when, in an extraordinary act of abnegation, gress to support them. His instructions to us son’s severest anti-war critics have begun he withdrew from the political arena to calm on the White House staff were to accord Sen- the call for recognition of the greatness of the roiling seas of strife and end the war in ate Republican minority leader Everett his presidency. Vietnam. Dirksen and House minority leader Gerald Listen to the words of George McGovern To me no greater example of Presidential Ford the same courtesies we extended to who ran for president in 1972 on an anti-war political courage exists than Lyndon John- Senate Majority leader Mike Mansfield and platform and maintains that ‘‘The Kennedy, son’s commitment in the area of civil rights. House Speaker John McCormack. It was not Johnson and Nixon administrations were all He fought for racial equality even when it only that he needed Republican votes to pass wrong on Vietnam:’’ hurt him and clobbered his party in the bills like the civil rights, health, education ‘‘It would be a historic tragedy if [LBJ’s] South. and consumer laws: he saw bipartisan sup- outstanding domestic record remained for- After signing the Civil Rights Act in 1964, port as an essential foundation on which to ever obscured by his involvement in a war he Johnson was defeated in five southern states, build lasting commitment among the Amer- did not begin and did not know how to

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY6.008 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4576 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 stop..... Johnson did more than any other Program, Pesticide Controls, International HARKIN. Tom and I arrived in the Con- president to advance civil rights, education Development Association, Civil Rights Act gress together 34 years ago in January and housing, to name just three of his con- of 1964, Water Resources Research. of 1973. I have listened to him give elo- cerns.... ’’ War on Poverty, Criminal Justice, Truth- quent speeches but none better than ‘‘ The late John Kenneth Galbraith, an- in-Securities, Food Stamps, Housing Act, other leading critic of the Vietnam War, has Wilderness Areas, Nurse Training, Library the one he just gave regarding Lyndon called for ‘‘historical reconsideration’’ of the Services. Johnson—not only the importance of Johnson presidency: 1965 the man but the importance of his ‘‘In the New Deal ethnic equality was only work and what a better country we are Medicare, Medicaid, Elementary and Sec- on the public conscience; in the Kennedy today. We are not that more perfect presidency it was strongly urged by Martin ondary Education, Higher Education, Bilin- Luther King and many others.... It was gual Education, Departent of Housing and union yet, but we are getting there. with Lyndon Johnson, however, that citizen- Urban Development, Housing Act, Voting One major step in that direction was ship for all Americans in all its aspects be- Rights. created by Lyndon Johnson and a guy came a reality.... On civil rights and on Immigration Reform Law, Older Ameri- by the name of TOM HARKIN who has poverty, the two truly urgent issues of the cans, Heart, Cancer, Stroke Program, Law carried on that tradition as well. So he time, we had with Johnson the greatest Enforcement Assistance, Drug Controls, would be very proud of you. I thank the changes of our time.... The initiatives of Mental Health Facilities, Health Profes- Senator from Iowa for his remarks this Lyndon Johnson on civil rights, voting sions, Medical Libraries. rights and on economic and social depriva- morning. Vocational Rehabilitation, Anti-Poverty I have some brief thoughts before de- tion.... must no longer be enshrouded by Program, Arts and Humanities Foundation, that [Vietnam] war.’’ Aid to Appalachia, Highway Beauty, Clean ferring to my seatmate and dear friend, And listen to Robert Caro, LBJ’s most me- Air, Water Pollution Control, High Speed ROBERT C. BYRD of West Virginia. ticulous and demanding biographer: Transit. Let me just say to all, we often re- ‘‘In the twentieth century, with its eight- Manpower Training, Child Health, Commu- flect on the impact this institution has een American presidents, Lyndon Johnson nity Health Services, Water Resources Coun- had on the United States, on our be- was the greatest champion that black Amer- cil, Water Desalting, Juvenile Delinquency loved country. But on this day, I think icans and Mexican Americans, and indeed all Control, Arms Control, Affirmative Action. Americans of color, had in the White House, we cannot help but consider the impact the greatest champion they had in all the 1966 certain Americans have had on this in- halls of government. With the single excep- Child Nutrition, Department of stitution and on our great Republic. At tion of Lincoln, he was the greatest cham- Transportaton, Truth in Packaging, Model this moment, we reflect not on legisla- pion with a white skin that they had in the Cities, Rent Supplements, Teahers Corp, tive accomplishments, which are Her- history of the Republic. He was . . . the law- Asian Development Bank, Clean Rivers. culean, as Senator HARKIN has identi- maker for the poor and the downtrodden and Food for Freedom, Child Safety, Narcotics fied—appropriately so, and with great the oppressed .... the President who wrote Rehabilitation, Traffic Safety, Highway mercy and justice into the statute books by Safety, Mine Safety, International Edu- eloquence—or even how that might which America was governed.’’ cation, Bail Reform. have changed the fabric of our coun- Historian David McCullough has said that Auto Safety, Tire Safety, New GI Bill, try—it certainly did—but, rather, on the threshold test of greatness in a president Minimum Wage Increase, Urban Mass Tran- the strength of character required by is whether he is willing to risk his presi- sit, Civil Procedure Reform, Fish-Wildlife those who made such achievements dency for what he believes. LBJ passes that Preservation, Water for Peace. possible. test with flying colors. It’s time for all of us Anti-Inflation Program, Scientific Knowl- I wish to join my colleagues and oth- to give his presidency the high marks it de- edge Exchange, Protection for Savings, Free- ers here today reflecting upon and pay- serves. dom of Information, Hirshhorn Museum. Lyndon Johnson died 36 years ago in 1972. ing tribute to one of this great institu- But his legacy endures. It endures in the 1967 tion’s most revered figures on this cen- children in Head Start programs in hamlets Education Professions, Education Act, Air tennial anniversary of his birth: the across our nation, in the expanded opportu- Pollution Control, Partnership for Health, former Senate majority leader, the nities for millions of blacks, Hispanics and Social Security Increases, Age Discrimina- 35th President of this body and the 36th other minorities. It endures in the scholar- tion, Wholesome Meat, Flammable Fabrics. President of the United States, Lyndon ships and loans that enable the poorest stu- Urban Reserch, Public Broadcasting, Outer dents to attend the finest universities. His Space Treaty, Modern D.C. Government, Baines Johnson. legacy endures in the health care for the Federal Judicial Center, Deaf-Blind Center, Emerson wrote that: poor and the elderly that are woven into the College Work Study, Summer Youth Pro- None of us will ever accomplish anything fabric of American life. It endures in the grams. excellent or commanding except when he lis- public radio stations millions of drivers lis- Food Stamps, Urban Fellowships, Safety at tens to this whisper, which is heard by him ten to as they drive to and from work. It en- Sea Treaty, Narcotics Treaty, Anti-Racket- alone. dures in the cleaner air we breathe, in the eering, Product Safety Commission, Inter- If that is true, then when the whisper local theatres and symphonies supported by American Bank. traveled through the winds sweeping the National Endowments, in the safer cars 1968 across the Pedernales River in the we drive and safer toys our children play plains of central Texas, Lyndon John- with. Fair Housing, Indian Bill of Rights, Safe Seeing is believing. Streets, Wholesome Poultry, Community Ex- son must have been listening carefully, That legacy also endures—let us remem- change Rules, School Breakfasts, Truth-in- indeed. ber—in the unfinished business of our na- Lending, Aircraft Noise Abatement. I think we all believe that a society tion’s long progressive movement that he New Narcotics Bureau, Gas Pipeline Safe- such as ours should aspire to greatness, pressed so impatiently for us to finish. LBJ ty, Fire Safety, Sea Grant Colleges, Tax Sur- aspire to that more perfect union our knew that movement could be stalled, but he charge, Housing Act, International Monetary forefathers envisioned. But Lyndon Reform, Fair Federal Juries. knew that it must never be stopped. Johnson understood something else of So, over these few days, as we look back Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, Guaran- and celebrate this centennial, let us also teed Student Loans, Health Manpower, Gun what was required of leaders to get us look forward and let us inspire others to see Controls, Aid-to-Handicapped Children, there: the importance of building alli- clearly and fully. Heart, Cancer and Stroke Programs, Haz- ances, however unorthodox; the ability Because seeing is not only believing; see- ardous Radiation Protection, Scenic Rivers. to find agreement, even with those ing has everything to do with achieving. Scenic Trails, National Water Commission, whom we most disagree with; and per- Vocational Education, Dangerous Drug Con- haps most importantly, Lyndon Baines SEEING IS BELIEVING: THE ENDURING LEGACY trol, Military Justics Code, Tax Surcharge. OF LBJ Johnson recognized that this institu- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- tion could achieve the most remark- WITH THESE ACTS PRESIDENT JOHNSON AND ator from Connecticut is recognized. CONGRESS WROTE A RECORD OF HOPE AND OP- able of things if its Members were will- PORTUNITY FOR AMERICA Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I see the ing to do the kind of work that more 1963 arrival of my seatmate, a great friend, often than not was decidedly College Facilities, Clean Air, Vocational ROBERT C. BYRD, and with permission, unremarkable. Education, Indian Vocational Training, Man- I would like to speak for about 2 min- It was his Herculean skills in the leg- power Training. utes, if that is all right. I know he has islative arena, of course, honed on this 1964 some important words. very floor and in these Halls, that Inter-American Development Bank, Ken- Before he leaves the floor, I wish to proved such a complement to the won- nedy Cultural Center, Tax Reduction, Farm commend my colleague from Iowa, TOM derful rhetorical flourishes of those

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21MY6.010 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE May 21, 2008 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4577 who identified the great goals we must Lyndon Johnson and my father and The PRESIDING OFFICER. The sen- achieve. But armed with his skills—his Lady Bird and my mother had a great ior Senator from West Virginia is rec- maneuvering, his understanding of his relationship. I have shared with Lynda, ognized. fellow Members, of what they could Luci, and their families that I remem- Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, today the tolerate, what they could agree with, ber vividly Mrs. Johnson being at our Senate marks the 100th anniversary of how far they could move—Lyndon home. My mother and she would meet the birth of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Johnson was able, in his very hands, to with Mercedes Douglas, Justice Doug- The Senate has changed much, in a mold the successful results of which las’s wife, to practice Spanish together. sense; in another sense, it has changed TOM HARKIN spoke so eloquently. In They had a great relationship over the little since the days when Senator and the absence of that ability, a lot of years. I remember vividly, as well, Majority Leader Johnson strode these achievements would have been President Johnson and Lady Bird through these halls and presided over nothing more than rhetorical flour- Johnson hosting a surprise wedding an- this great body. ishes. It took the brilliance of a legis- niversary party for my parents at a I was fortunate to serve with Major- lator—not unlike the skills of the gen- restaurant here in Washington one ity Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. I was tleman who sits next to me here this evening, as they celebrated their 35th fortunate to serve with President Lyn- morning, ROBERT C. BYRD—to be able wedding anniversary. So there are fam- don B. Johnson. And although most to fashion and create the very legisla- ily ties that run long and deep. Americans remember Lyndon B. John- tive achievements we talk about. In- I remember in 1964, when Lyndon son in his role as President of the deed, it is often said that it took the Johnson very graciously invited my fa- United States, it is as majority leader hardscrabble southerner from Texas to ther and Hubert Humphrey to come to and Senator that I especially recall broker a Civil Rights Act. I don’t know the White House on the eve of the Vice Lyndon B. Johnson. of anyone who would disagree with Presidential nomination in Atlantic As I noted upon his death in 1973: that or with the long litany of legisla- City. There was no doubt that Hum- In his heart, [he] was a man of the Senate. tive achievements TOM HARKIN has phrey would be the choice, but it was He had a deep and abiding faith in this body, identified. But I think it does in a and its place in the past and the future his- the gracious act of a President to rec- tory of this Republic. sense a disservice to just identify what ognize a friendship he had with this was perhaps Lyndon Johnson’s greatest It is, therefore, most fitting on the young man from Connecticut, going centennial of Lyndon Johnson’s birth skill, and that was moving a political back to the 1930s, that he invited him body reluctant to change, as most po- that he be remembered here in this to be part of that raising the expecta- Senate that he loved. litical bodies are. tion that he might be chosen as a Vice Lyndon Baines Johnson was the ma- To be sure, I would be remiss if I Presidential running mate for Lyndon jority leader when I came to the Sen- were not to mention my father’s rela- Johnson. My father seconded Johnson’s ate in 1959, and from my first day in tionship with Lyndon Johnson as well. nomination in 1960 when I was a page, the Senate, and for the next 2 years, I sit at the desk my father occupied in as well, and watching history unfold. Senate Majority Leader Lyndon John- this body for the more than 10 years he So it is with great joy that I come to son was a mentor and friend, as well as served here. But that relationship went the floor this morning to celebrate a a leader, to me. At that time, my col- back a lot longer than their years here. remarkable life that made a huge dif- leagues, the Senate had a long tradi- My father, as a young law school grad- ference. When students ask us—as they tion that a newcomer to the Senate uate at the outset of the New Deal, be- oftentimes do—‘‘can any one person would not be assigned to the more im- came the first State Director of the make a difference in the life of other portant Senate committees. Yet—hear National Youth Administration in 1933, people?’’ you need look no further than this, my colleagues—Majority Leader and Lyndon Johnson was a young man the initials LBJ. It is a story of how Lyndon B. Johnson placed me on the beginning his career in Texas politics one individual, as TOM HARKIN said, Appropriations Committee, even and was running a similar program in born in the hardscrabble territory of though there were several other more that State. central Texas, grew up and served in senior Members who coveted a position Their relationship started in the this body, managed this institution, on that prestigious committee. The 1930s and blossomed during their years produced the results he did, and be- rest, as they say, is history, still in the in public service in this very institu- came President of a country that al- making, because I, ROBERT C. BYRD, tion. I am sort of a creature of this lowed us to achieve the great achieve- am still on the Appropriations Com- place, in many ways, having grown up ments of the 1960s. mittee. here. I was a mere child of 8 when my We are all beneficiaries of Lyndon Whenever I went to Lyndon B. John- father came to Congress in 1952, and Johnson’s legacy. It is highly appro- son with problems concerning my then to the Senate in 1959, with my priate, not only today, this week, or in State of West Virginia, in every in- seat-mate, Senator BYRD. I sat in the the year of this centennial anniver- stance Majority Leader Johnson was family gallery in 1959 and watched him sary, and with great frequency, to re- considerate and, in every instance, Ma- take the oath of office. Three years mind the young people sitting here jority Leader Johnson tried to be help- later, I sat on the floor, dressed like today as pages that these great ful to me. I acknowledged that support these young men and women, as a Sen- achievements didn’t happen miracu- and leadership, not only to me but to ate page and watched Lyndon Johnson lously. They weren’t given out with a the Senate, the Democratic Party, and maneuver through this building. In gracious heart of those who fought. to our Nation, in an address that I ti- those days, there were no television They were won in hard-fought battles tled ‘‘The Role of the Majority Leader cameras or microphones that can carry that produced these results. Our gen- in the Senate,’’ given at the end of my your voice through the halls of this eration, your generation, will have to first year in the Senate. I pointed out room and beyond. I would watch Lyn- fight hard, too, to make sure we are that Senator Johnson was ‘‘the cohe- don Johnson at this table in front of going to achieve good things and learn sive, the centrifugal force by which the me here. Members would gather around the lessons of Lyndon Johnson—how majority is held together.’’ because you could not hear everything hard he fought to make a difference in When he became Vice President of he said—intentionally, I might add, as his country and in the world in which the United States, I again paid tribute he was careful that not everything he we live. to my former colleague and mentor, said was necessarily heard by everyone I am honored to be joining those who declaring that his ‘‘political leadership about the schedule of the Senate, or he today celebrate the life, celebrate an in the Senate [was] a guide and an in- may have been talking about achieve- achievement our country benefited spiration to all of us.’’ ments that were made. I was here for from, and as long as we survive as a re- Amidst tragedy, on November 22, some of the all-night sessions when the public, the legacy of Lyndon Baines 1963, Lyndon Johnson became Presi- civil rights debates were going on. I de- Johnson. It is a great moment that we dent of these United States. His admin- veloped friendships, which I still hold ought to remember and cherish for istration achieved many accomplish- today, with the other young pages I years and years to come. ments, especially in the areas of civil worked with in those early days. I yield the floor. rights and social policy.

VerDate Aug 31 2005 02:04 May 22, 2008 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G21MY6.015 S21MYPT1 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with SENATE S4578 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 21, 2008 I believe, however, in the observation heating prices, and in the Southwest There are also included provisions I made at the time of Lyndon B. John- and South of our country, cooling not requested by the President. There son’s death: prices this summer are extraordinary. is some assistance for the global food The years Lyndon Johnson spent in the It is a burden. It is a huge burden. We crisis and for the terrible natural disas- Senate might well have been the happiest have incorporated some funds for that ters in Myanmar and China. and the most satisfying of his life. situation. We also include, as another aspect of Lyndon B. Johnson will long be re- We also have moneys for unemploy- the legislation, something that is abso- membered here 100, even 200, years and ment insurance, not only necessary to lutely, I believe, critical, and that is more after his birth, for his leadership, sustain families in a time of economic conditions on our policy with respect his sagacity, his wit, for the sheer en- crisis but also one of the most effective to Iraq, particularly. This Congress joyment he derived from working in stimulus devices. The money from un- has, over my strenuous efforts other- the Senate, and his obvious love for employment insurance goes quickly wise, essentially given the President a this body and the great Nation it from the recipient to the local market, blank check. He demands money, and serves. to all the needs of a family struggling he has been given money but without Mr. President, I yield the floor, and I in this economy to get by. It is a tre- conditions. I think it is the responsi- suggest the absence of a quorum. mendous way to stimulate our econ- bility of this Congress to impose rea- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. omy. So it has both individual benefits sonable conditions on the funding, to MENENDEZ). The clerk will call the roll. and economic benefits for the country not only govern our operations but also The assistant legislative clerk pro- as a whole. to make it clear to the Iraqi Govern- ceeded to call the roll. I must also point out that included in ment that they are ultimately respon- Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unan- these domestic provisions is extraor- sible for their own safety, their own fu- imous consent that the order for the dinary legislation by Senator WEBB, ture, their own stability, the future of quorum call be rescinded. my colleague from Virginia, the en- the Iraqi nation and the Iraqi people. It The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without hanced GI bill of rights. Senator WEBB is not something we can do for them. objection, it is so ordered. has done an extraordinary job, and it is We have rendered extraordinary assist- Mr. REED. Mr. President, this is an not surprising. He approaches this not ance to them, but the task is truly opportunity for me to speak about the only as a very astute legislator but as theirs, and they must seize that task. supplemental appropriations bill, but I a combat marine veteran of Vietnam. These conditions, I think, are ter- would be remiss if I did not recognize He has borne the burden of battle. He ribly important. One would, for exam- the extraordinary life and service of understands now, in the famous words ple, ensure the readiness of our troops, President Lyndon Baines Johnson. of President Lincoln, that it is our re- who are being stretched to the limit, I can remember graphically, as a sponsibility to take care of those who ensure they are ready when they are high school student at La Salle Acad- have borne the burden of battle. deployed. That is something I hope no This responsibility is, I think, one of emy in Providence, RI, going down to, one is arguing with. the most paramount we face, and his at that time recently named, Kennedy Another provision directs the Gov- legislation goes right to the concerns Plaza in Providence to see President ernment to negotiate cost sharing for of so many returning veterans: How Johnson in a motorcade on his way to fuel and troop training with the Iraqis. will I get back to education? How will The Iraqi Government has accumulated Brown University to deliver a major I fund my education? How will I be policy address with, at that time, the upward of $10 billion or more because similar to my predecessors, the genera- of the surging oil prices. Very little, if senior Senator John O. Pastore. They tion of my father—when so many had were both celebrating tremendous leg- any, of those funds is being devoted to the opportunity to go to college, and their own people or to the joint effort islative accomplishments in education, then not only did they contribute to we have undertaken with them to sta- health care, and civil rights, none of their own family’s well-being, they bilize the country. It is only fair that which would have been wrought except helped build an economic powerhouse they should begin to pay their fair by the vision and work of Lyndon we have seen in America since World share, particularly since they are sit- Johnson. War II. ting on a significant amount of money We are commemorating an extraor- This is a program, again, which I resulting from high energy prices. That dinary President, an extraordinary think is extraordinarily important. I money should be devoted to stabilizing gentleman, someone truly larger than commend Senator WEBB for his vision, their country and helping their people, life whose contribution and whose in- for his persistence, and for his passion. much more so than they are doing fluence is with us today. In fact, many I hope we include it in the final version today. days on this Senate floor, I think our of the supplemental appropriations Then there is another provision tact is to live up to his ideals and his bill. which is something Senator LEVIN and accomplishments and to make them As I mentioned before, we are putting I have been stressing for many months fresh again in both the heart and spirit funds in for LIHEAP. I offered an now, and that is to begin a transition of America. I hope on our best days we amendment to include $1 billion. It is of the missions our military forces and do that. so necessary. In places such as Cali- diplomatic forces are performing in f fornia, there are 1.7 million households Iraq, particularly our military forces, behind in their utility bills. That is up SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS instead of an open-ended mission, and 100,000 from last year, and last year we have seen this mission from the Mr. REED. Mr. President, I wish to was a difficult year for many. There President’s standpoint change dramati- focus my remaining remarks on the are 650,000 households in Pennsylvania cally. supplemental appropriations bill which that are receiving shutoff warnings, a As you will recall, the first mission is pending before the Senate. We passed huge number of families who are facing was to find and destroy the weapons of a supplemental appropriations bill out the end of their utility service. In a mass destruction, a very difficult mis- of the Appropriations Committee, very uncertain economy, it is difficult sion, since there were no weapons of which I serve on, last week. This bill to reestablish that relationship going mass destruction. Then there was the contains $168.9 billion for funding oper- forward unless we help them. mission of creating a democratic oasis ations in Iraq and Afghanistan. That is We have seen a 162-percent increase in the Persian Gulf, a very grandiose the amount the President requested. in energy costs since 2000. It is extraor- mission, more or less, and that mis- But importantly, this bill also includes dinary. There is no paycheck for work- sion, I think, has been discounted dra- significant contributions to the domes- ing Americans that has gone up 162 matically over the last several months tic economy of this country, to the percent, but their energy bills have. We by the President’s own rhetoric. He has needs here at home, not just overseas. have seen heating oil prices in the last talked now about simply creating a It includes funds for LIHEAP. At a year increase 35 percent. So this is country that will sustain itself and not time when oil is topping $130 a barrel, something that is absolutely critical, threaten its neighbors. the drain on low-income Americans just as unemployment insurance, just We have to focus not on these and seniors particularly, simply to pay as so many aspects of this legislation. globalized missions which are more

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