S 13208 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE September 11, 1995 WELCOMING HIS HOLINESS THE Buffington, Civil Engineer Corps, U.S. daughters: Shawn who is married to DALAI LAMA TO WASHINGTON, DC Navy, will retire after 34 years of hon- Kurt Lohrmann, and Kelly, who is mar- Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I welcome orable and distinguished service. ried to Brian Corey. to Washington today one of the most Since September 1992 he has served My State of Mississippi is home to as the commander, Naval Facilities honorable and respected leaders of our one of the two remaining Seabee bases Engineering Command, and chief of time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. in this country. I know firsthand the civil engineers. As the senior civil en- His Holiness is a historical rarity, important mission they perform with gineer in the Navy he was responsible someone who has devoted his entire life unparalleled professionalism. Under for planning, design, and construction to finding a peaceful solution to an Jack Buffington's leadership, the of naval facilities around the world. On overwhelmingly difficult political Navy's Seabee legacy has grown and Capitol Hill he is best known for his problem with an often belligerent foe. flourished. Mr. President, I take this role in developing and executing the China invaded Tibet in 1949, under the opportunity to personally pay tribute Navy's Military Construction Program. banner of ``peaceful liberation,'' but to a superb naval officer, true gen- As such, he has testified before con- the presence of the People's Liberation tleman, and a good friend, Rear Adm. gressional committees and ensured Army in Tibet since then has been nei- Jack Buffington. As he begins the next that members and their staffs have ther peaceful nor liberating. The Ti- phase of his life, I wish him fair winds, fully understood the requirements of betan people continue to suffer repres- following seas, and godspeed in all of the Navy's construction program. his endeavors. sion under the too-often violent con- Previously he served as the com- trol of an outside power. But the Dalai mander, Pacific Division, Naval Facili- f Lama's response has been unswervingly ties Engineering Command, and com- one of seeking a peaceful solution to mander, Naval Construction Battal- MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT Tibet's conflict with China. His Holi- ions, U.S. Pacific Fleet. Prior to that ness' courage and leadership is widely Messages from the President of the he was assigned as the director, Shore United States were communicated to respected in Tibet and has assuredly Activities Division for the Chief of prevented the Tibetans from staging a the Senate by Mr. Thomas, one of his Naval Operations. His public works as- secretaries. violent uprising or insurgency, the re- signments included duty at the New sponse that suppressed people without York Naval Shipyard; the Public f such moral leadership often take. Works Center, Subic Bay in the Phil- EXECUTIVE MESSAGES REFERRED In accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in ippines; the U.S. Naval Academy; and 1989, His Holiness showed the world as commanding officer, Public Works As in executive session the Presiding how all-encompassing his call for peace Center, Norfolk, VA. Assignments Officer laid before the Senate messages and compassion was when he said he managing Navy construction contracts from the President of the United felt no ``anger or hatred toward those in the field included duty in New Orle- States submitting sundry nominations who are responsible for the immense ans, LA, and Bethesda, MD. which were referred to the appropriate suffering of our people and the destruc- Rear Admiral Buffington is best committees. tion of our land, homes, and culture. known however for his devotion to the (The nominations received today are They too are human beings who strug- Seabees of the Naval Construction printed at the end of the Senate pro- gle to find happiness and deserve our Force. His Seabee assignments in- ceedings.) compassion.'' How rare in today's cluded duty in Naval Mobile Construc- f worldÐor in the historyÐto find a tion Battalion 9 as company com- leader willing to see the human face of mander on Okinawa, on a detail in his or her enemies and to offer compas- EXECUTIVE AND OTHER Alaska, and as officer in charge of a COMMUNICATIONS sion in response to oppression. He ar- Seabee team in Vietnam. Later he gues not for retribution but for rec- served as executive officer, Naval Mo- The following communications were ognition that thoughtfulness and be- bile Construction Battalion 4, deployed laid before the Senate, together with nevolence towards others is in every to Okinawa and Rota, Spain. The high- accompanying papers, reports, and doc- individual's self-interest, and ulti- light of his career was probably his uments, which were referred as indi- mately is essential for relations in an tour as commanding officer, Naval Mo- cated: increasingly interconnected world. His bile Construction Battalion 1, EC±1404. A communication from the Assist- call for people to accept that we are a homeported in Gulfport, MS. Under his ant Secretary of State (Legislative Affairs), ``global family'' and recognize that ac- superb leadership NMCB 1 was awarded transmitting, pursuant to law, the report tions we take to hurt each other or the Best of Type and the coveted that a reward has been paid; to the Commit- damage the world we live inÐsuch as Peltier Award as the top Seabee battal- tee on Foreign Relations. acts of war or pollutionÐultimately ion in the Navy. He later went on to EC±1405. A communication from the Sec- harm us as well, is a model for global serve as commander, Naval Construc- retary of the Army and the Secretary of Ag- riculture, transmitting jointly, pursuant to interaction at the end of the 20th cen- tion Battalions, U.S. Atlantic Fleet, tury. law, notice of the intention of the Depart- where he was in charge of Seabees ments of the Army and Agriculture to inter- We can learn much from the teach- working in Europe, Africa, the Carib- change jurisdiction of civil works and na- ings of this ``simple monk.'' I urge my bean, and Central America. There is tional forest lands; to the Committee on Ag- colleagues to meet him at a coffee the nothing in the Seabee world which riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Foreign Relations Committee is Rear Admiral Buffington has not done, EC±1406. A communication from the Sec- hosting in his honor tomorrow after- and done superbly. As a result he is af- retary of Agriculture, transmitting, a draft noon. Come meet the leader whose fectionately known throughout the of proposed legislation entitled ``The Animal moral courage and commitment to fleet as Seabee Jack Buffington. and Plant Health Inspection Service Omni- nonviolence has put him in the ranks Rear Admiral Buffington is a native bus User Act of 1995''; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. of leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. of Westville, OK, and a graduate of the and Mohandas Ghandi. While His Holi- University of Arkansas where he re- f ness' visit to Washington is short, I ceived his bachelor of science degree in hope his lessons will live on in the civil engineering. He later attended the REPORTS OF COMMITTEE minds of us all. Georgia Institute of Technology where The following report of committee f he received his master of science in was submitted: civil engineering. Rear Admiral By Mr. HATFIELD, from the Committee THE RETIREMENT OF REAR ADM. Buffington is the son of Maxine JACK E. BUFFINGTON CEC, USN on Appropriations: Buffington and the late Ernest Special Report entitled ``Revised Alloca- Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, it has come Buffington of Westville, OK. He is mar- tion to Subcommittees of Budget Totals to my attention that on Friday, Sep- ried to the former Robin Bush of Lake- from the Concurrent Resolution for Fiscal tember 15, 1995, Rear Adm. Jack E. land, FL. He and Robin have two Year 1996'' (Rept. No. 104±138)..