obama. how closely tracks with the way the president talks about this issue. that has been an evolution. there's been a lot of focus on the public option. i agree with the president on one thing, which is that there is only one part of the reform package but it has gotten most of the attention because it triggers feelings in people about what is the appropriate role of government. to hear senator bingaman articulate his view on why that is important but why it is not the be all and end all in the same way that the president did in his speech the other night, and to hear senator reid on thursday -- and you mentioned this -- talking about how the cooperatives could do the same thing of the public option could do, giving an alternative for private health insurance. the president mentioned that in his speech as well. and that -- the public option has taken a long journey with democrats. there are many in the house that feel very strongly that it has

to be in the bill. senator bingaman is, i think, one of a small number of democratic leaders in congress who had been open in saying i support this, but i am not willing to hold up the entire process for it. and i think that we heard him say that again today. dolorous the house committees have already passed legislation. p ehlp committee has passed. preston and obama has spoken -- help committee has passed. president obama has passed. >> there has been so much pressure and spotlight on the finance committee is that they -- that they have to come up with something. i think that would give it some momentum. >> if they come out with a bipartisan bill, that really indicates senator bacchuses approach to this for staying in

this for so long. so many democrats were getting very frustrated with how much time they had been spending with republicans, feeling that they had been moving too far to the right. that would be huge. if they can say that we have a bipartisan bill, it would be difficult for the white house with the senate democratic leadership to say, we do not care. we're moving ahead. i think that would go through the rank-and-file, and ultimately how many democrats are going to be voting against a major health care reform bill, despite what may or may not be in it. even that -- even if they failed to get the republicans, it is important from the democrats' point of view to say look how hard we tried. we tried to give them everything. we made copper eyes is that matter to us. we've given them all that extra time and they walked away. that means that they do not want to do health care reform. that talking point could be

helpful to them in trying to win the public over because they can say, hey, look, we did not force this through. we tried really hard to get republicans and they were not interested. >> senator reid has met a goal of passing a bill by thanksgiving. the real test comes down into the house and budget conference committee meeting and crafting something to send to the president. >> there's also an appropriations bill due this fall. if they do not get it done by the end of the year, it looks like a failure. they have got to get something done. we will have to wait to see what happened. >> at the end of the process, it would be unbelievable to me if they did not pass something and then call at health care reform. even if it is a small bill, if the president does not have something that has the word health care on the top of the page that he can sign at the bottom, and shades of 1993 all over again. it would be very bad for them.

ultimately, that is what the leadership is counting on, is that at the end of the day, even people in the left or people in the middle not happy with parts of the bill, the argument that the white house is making privately to people is that it is bad for all of us if we do not pass something. find a way to like this. >> is a policy in the house leadership, it will be interesting to see what they say about the public option. >> the gang of six meets again tomorrow. stay tuned. jeff young and michael coleman, thank you for being with us. >> it was my pleasure. >> this is c-span, public affairs program courtesy of america's cable companies. several senators paid tribute to senator edward kennedy. and later on "q&a," christopher caldwell talks about the democratic experience in europe.

>> monday on "washington journal," our role of -- a discussion on the role of why c -- white house czars. also, a look at the response to the collapse of lehman brothers one year later with the chairman of the commodities futures trading commission. and later, a discussion on whorunsgov.com. that is live on c-span. one monday, the house considers authorization for nearly $3 billion through the year 2014 for energy department based research on gas efficient turbines and hybrid vehicles. also, consideration of a measure that would change federal is

subsidized student loans. house gavels and monday at 12:30 p.m. eastern for general speeches with legislative work starting at 2 eastern. the senate also returned the money to work on fiscal year 2010 federal spending. senators are considering $122 billion for transportation and housing programs. that will catalan at 2:00 p.m. eastern. and then at 3:00 p.m., the senate will begin legislative business. live coverage of the senate on c-span2. >> following the senate's return from august recess, they held a formal tribute for senator edward kennedy. we will hear from senator robert byrd, sexy chambliss, and several others. this is one hour and 20 minutes. mr. byrd: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

senator from west virginia. mr. byrd: mr. president, i thank the chair. mr. byrd: mr. president, on august 25, a towering figure on our national political landscape left us forever. edward moore kennedy succumbed to a malignant brain tumor after an 18-month battle for his life.

as i look now at his desk, draped with black cloth and covered with flowers, i still have difficulty believing that he is gone. my eboulant, irish-to-the-core friend has departed this life forever. how bleakly somber, how eterly final, how totally unlike ted

kennedy in life. ted kennedy in life was a force of nature, a cheerful, inquisitive, caring man who never accepted somberness for loclong or the finality -- or te finality of anything. his energic adherence to perseverance, his plain dogged determination, his ability to rise from the ashes of whatever

new horrific event accosted him, always with grace and usually with a liberal dose of humor. were his trademarks. it was almost as if ted kennedy were at the top of his form when coping with adversity. life itself inspired him. he believed that life was a contact sport but that it should never be played without joy in

the game itself. and that is how he saw politics as well. ted kennedy and i were friends, yet we were the oddest of odd couples. he was the silen of a wealthy and storied family. i am a coal miner's son who had no bottom rungs in my ladder. in my early years, we, ted kennedy and i, were rivals --

rivals. what ted kennedy and i discovered, however, was that somehow we had many things in common: a love of history, an affection for poetry, a fondness for dogs, a commitment to the less fortunate in our society. many will speak of ted's stunning career, his huge and lasting impact on our culture,

his no, ma'am daition ohis domil scene through so many decades. by all means, let us never forget ted kennedy's extraordinary contribution to this great and magnificent country. it is largely unmatched. but i shall especially cherish the personal side of this big man, with his infectious laugh, his booming voice, his passion for the things and the people

that he cared about. i will remember the dog lover who brought sunny and splash to my office to visit. i'll never forget that. i will recall a considerate friend who sent dozens of rose to mark my wedding anniversary on a special birthday. i will again enjoy a very special recitation of the midnight ride of paul revere.

by habit, i shall immediat%@@@@ my heart goes out to his steadfast wife, vicki, and to his wonderful family.

his spirit surely lives on in all of you. not very long ago i picked up a book of poetry which teddy kennedy had given to me in july of 1996. it bore this inscription -- quote -- "to bob, the master of our legislative poetry who has already left so many extraordinary footprints on the sands of time."

after that, ted had written, "see page 371." i close with a few stanzas from "a psalm of life" on page 371 of ted kennedy's gift to me. "life is real, leaf i life is et and the grave is its gold, dust thou art to dust thousan thou t,

not spoken of the soul, lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime and departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time; footprints that perhaps another sailing ore life's solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing shall take heart again. let us, then, be up and doing, with a heart for any failure

still achieving, still pursuing, learn to labor and to wait." the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. chambliss: mr. president, i have been fortunate during my life in public service to witness a lot of historical events but none parallels the tribute just paid by one icon of the united states senate to another member of the united states senate. mr. president, i rise to pay my respects to the late senator ted kennedy. it's, as one of my colleagues

said earlier, it is a little bit ironic when you come to the senate you find out those with whom you have significant political disagreements were folks that you get to know well and that you have the opportunity to work with. i'm sure that during my political campaign for the united states senate todayed it raised me a lot of money by virtue of the fact that i would sight him in my fundraising mailouts. because coming from a very conservative part of the country it was popular to cite the liberal members of the senate and say you needed to be there to counteract when but when i came to the senate and certainly senator kennedy and i do come from opposite ends of the political spectrum, i learned very quickly if senator kennedy what the senate is all about. i was here about, gee, it

couldn't have been but a couple of days, something less than 48 hours and i was notified that i was going to be on the judiciary committee and i would be the chairman of the immigration subcommittee on judiciary. and my ranking member would be ted kennedy. senator kennedy came to me on the floor within a few hours of me being notified of that and he said, he said, saxby you and i need to sit down and discuss some immigration issues that we want to accomplish during the next two years and i just want to talk with you about it, get your thoughts and give you my thoughts. i said, well, sure, ted, that would be great. i'd be happy to come to roar office and sit down with you. he said, no, that's not the way the senate works. you're the chairman and i will come to your office.

so the next day a senator who had been in office for well offeover40 years came to the ofa member of the senate who had been here a little over 40 hours and sat down and had a conversation. that was a lesson about the way the united states senate works that i will never forget. as we begin working together on the immigration subcommittee we worked for about a year. it was in excess of a year, i guess, on an issue that we talked about that first day in my office and it involved the expansion of the l1h16789 visas. our economy was booming and voices across our country needed access to more employees who had a specialized expertise. we were successful in ultimately striking a compromise. it was difficult for ted because

the left wing of his party was very much in opposition to what we were doing. it was somewhat, although a little less difficult for me because the right wing of my party was in opposition to what we were doing. ted called me up one day after we had finished our negotiations and he was laughing and he said, saxby we have entered into an agreement on this and i'm going to do exactly what i told you i would do but, boy, am i ever getting beat up by the far left in my party. they are just killing to me. it is to the point where i am up for reelection and you may have to come to massachusetts and campaign for me is we laughed about that. well, two days later i had been besieged by phone calls from ultra conservative folks from my state and i called ted and i said, ted, you won't believe this i'm getting beat were by the same issues by ultra

conservatives in my party but don't worry i don't need you to come to georgia to campaign for me. he laughed about that like i've never heard him laugh and the last conversation i had with him to any extents with when he was here for president obama's inauguration and he reminded me of that story and he never forgot that. i will have a very fond memory ted by virtue of the fact my grandchildren were eight and six years old when i first came to the senate. we have anti an ice cream social across from the park of our offices. his office was directly below my office. i am walking back from the ice cream social with my grandchildren who were here for that because it happens the same time as the white house picnic and ted's driving off in his car and he sees me coming across

with my grandchildren, stops the car, gets out and he says, saxby these must be your grandchildren and i said, they are, and i said i want my dogs to see them and have a chance to meet my dogs so he got out of the car and got the dogs out and my grandchildren just love playing with those dogs. every year after that i never called him, he called me because he knew when the white house picnic was going on that my dprch would be here. and he would insist on bringing the dog up when the grandchildren were here so he would have a chance, they would have a chance to play with them. that's just the kind of guy that ted was, much softer side than what we see, had seen so many times with ted with the passionate debate and what not. lastly, let me say that another story, i was going down to speak to a society in savannah that

has the secondest largest st. patrick's day parade in the united states. it is a big deal and we have 1,000 folks at the dinner. you go in and you tell jokes. well, i needed a bunch of irish jokes. so i called up ted and told him what i was doing and i said i know you must have a become of irish jokes. he said, i do and i've going to send it to you and he said, i tell you something else, i know in savannah that's a very conservative part of the world. you are going to see in these jokes that you will have an opportunity to point out somebody to kind of poke fun at and when you have an opportunity in telling these jokes you use my name. well, i took him at his word and i did and boy did i ever get a rousing welcome from all those irish men in savannah, georgia

so i have fond memories of this man who came from a difficulty t part of the country, a different political background from where i come and somebody who certainly had much more political experience than i will ever have but the thing i appreciated in ted kennedy was and i have said this often, he was the best legislator in this body. when ted kennedy told you something, you could take it to the bank. you never had to worry about it thereafter. while we disagreed on many things, we agreed on some things and were able to work together in a very unusual way and even when we disagreed we were able to walk out of this chamber and still be friends. to vicky and patrick and the children, ted was a great american, a great guy, and he is going to be missed in this body. he was a true inspiration to a

lot of us and we're going to miss that compromising aspect of ted kennedy that won't be here even though someone else will take up the mantle. with that, mr. president, i yield back. the presiding officer: the senator from california is recognized. mrs. feinstein: mr. president, as i sit here and listen to the remarks of my colleagues, and i look over at that black velvet-draped desk, with the pristine white roses and the poem by robert frost and i think of the past 17 yours i've been here and have looked up and, perhaps, late at night, perhaps

it's in the morning, perhaps it's in the afternoon, and senator kennedy is at his desk and he is talking about a bill that he cares a great deal about and as senator lautenberg said earlier, he passed 550 bills that were passed into law. now, around here you can introduce a bill and maybe it goes somewhere and maybe it doesn't and you can introduce a bill and maybe it's a small bill but introducing a big bill that goes somewhere, that passes the house and that's signed by the president of the united states, is not a small feat. i listened to senator byrd and in the past he has spoken about lions in the senate. and ted kennedy was a lion of the senate. during 47 years and this morning

in the judiciary committee we learned he had been the longest serving member, during 47 it enabled people with mental illnesses to live in their communities with minimal hospital care. the children's health insurance program which has already been spoken about, providing health insurance to children of low- income families. the commitment to health reform that did not diminish even as he suffered a terminal illness. his dedication to edit -- to education, a leader and a landmark and to carry -- elementary and secondary education act. poor children in public schools. "no child left behind" widely

hailed as the greatest example of bipartisan cooperation during the bush administration. the bill he did with orrin hatch, the serve america act, the greatest expansion of national service since the new deal. and it goes on and on and on: big bills; bills that changed people's lives. not just in a county or a city but all across this great country. in civil rights, as you look across at that deck, he had no peer, he would stand up and i would watch the lower jaw would quiver slightly and he would begin and the thunderous tones either in the judiciary committee or here that would fill the room, filled with passion, filled with conviction, filled with filled with passion, filled with conviction, filled with determine apings. he played a major role in every civil rights battle in this

congress for 40 years. who can say that? he fought for people of color, for women, for gays and lesbians, for those seeking religious liberty. his amendments to the voting right act in 1982 led to significant increases in minority representation in elective office. he was a major sponsor of the americans with disabilities act to insure that americans with disabilities could live productive lives. these are big bills. and the civil rights act of 1991 which strengthened civil rights protections against discrimination and harassment in the work place. a big bill. i was part of that froop of senators that met on immigration reforms, hour after hour in hot rooms, watched hour

after hour with senator kennedy with his sleeves rolled back, to sit back and wait for just the right time to change the tenor of the discussion. true, that was one that was not successful, but it was was not because he did not try. 17 years ago, joe biden asked me if i would be the first woman on the senate judiciary committee, and i had the honor of doing. ted kennedy was number two in seniority sitting on that committee, and you saw his commitment first hand. it was very special. you see, i was a volunteer in the campaign for john fitzgerald kennedy. i was a full-time volunteer for bobby kennedy for his campaign. i saw the nation ripped apart by these double assassinations. and i saw senator kennedy, in

addition to being a lion in the senate, become a surrogate father to nieces and nephews. i saw him accept this mantle with enthusiasm and love, and with a commitment that showed. >> i lost my husband, berth through cancer. and i know well, what the end is like, and i know the good time that gross less and less, and the bad time that becomes more and more. ted tend's life was enriched by a very special woman. her name is vicky kennedy. and for me, she is really a mentor of what a wife should be. i've watched her sitting with him writing speeches. i have watched her at weekend retreats. i've watched her fill his life

with love, companionship, understanding. and i know a little bit about what the last months of a cancer victim is like. and i can only say to her that well do everything we can to end cancer in our lifetime in this body. yes, ted kennedy leaves very big shoes, shoes that probably will never than filled in quite a way, a family that will probably never been replicated as the kennedy family has been. i want to end my remarks with a passage in the prayer book of the high holy day services for reformed judaism. it was written when i was a teenager by a young rabbi that i very much admired, and i would like to share it at this

time. birth is a beginning, and death, a destination, and life is journey from childhood, to maturity, from youth to age, from innocence to awareness, and ignorance to3úy knowing, fr foolishness to discretion, and then perhaps to wisdom. from weakness to strength, or strength to weakness, and often back again, from health, to sickness, back we pray to health again, from offense to forgiveness, from loneliness to love, from joy to grad tude, from pain to compassion and grief to understanding. from fear to faith, from defeat to defeat to defeat until, looking backward or ahead, we see that victory lies not in some high place along the way, but in having made the journey

stage by stage a say credit pilgrimage. birth is beginning, and death a destination, and life is a journey, a sacred pilgrimage to life ever lasting. ted kennedy leaves a giant legacy in this body, and we should not foresake it. thank you very much, mr. president. i yield the floor. >> mr. president. >> the senator from montana is recognized. >> mr. president, following the passing of president john f. kennedy senator mike mansfield said he gave us of his love that we, too, in turn might give. these words ring true today as we remember the life of our late colleague, senator ted kennedy. so much of this country's

history in the past half century can be aattributed to this one man. but ted kennedy was also a modest man. he would not have put it that way. speaking almost 30 years ago at the 1980 democratic national convention, he said and i quote. i am a part of all i have met. though much is taken, much abides. that which we are, we are one equal temper of work, hearts, strong of will, strifing to see, to define, and not to yield. in the more than 46 years that senator kennedy served this body, he did not yield. and in turn, he affected each and every american. during his career in this senate, senator kennedy authored thousands of bills and hundreds of them became law. from championing civil rights to advocating equal opportunity

and higher education, to fighting for access to affordable health care for all americans, senator kennedy's work is quite -- has quite simply improved the quality of life for millions of americans. over the past two weeks we have heard from many speak of these accomplishments. mr. president, it didn't take long for me to realize when i came to this body, and more and more as each year passed, that ted kennedy is probably the greatest legislator in modern american political history. the guy was amaze can't, absolutely amazing, an inspiration for me personally to try to be a very, very good legislator. many people have always said that. i'm not the only one who has recognized his talents and that he is probably the best legislator in modern american

political history. let me just say why that was true for me. first of all, it was the passion of his convictions, his moral compass was set to true. for the average person, the little guy, the person who didn't have representation, health care, the poor, civil rights, he just believed so passionately and steadfastly, his moral come as was so firmly set, there was no question as to who ted kennedy was and what he believed in. he fulfilled the lives of people that he worked so hard for. all of us remember ted kennedy working so hard to fulfill his dream. his desk over here, he would stand up, and he would thunder, red-faced. he would get so involved, so nash nature, -- passionately,

he couldn't help but shouting. here is a guy who believes what he says, and let's listen to him. he also had terrific staff. ted kennedy's staff had him so well prepared, all these briefing books. i will never forget the briefing books that ted took. and he read them and studied them. he was so well prepared. along with his passion was his preparation and his staff just helped him prepare, because they were all one time. they were working so closely together for the causes they believed in. i was also impressed and found him to be such a great legislator because after the speeches in which he believed so thoroughly and passionately, he would sit down and try to work out an agreement, try to work out some solution that made sense for him and made

sense for you if you happened to be on the other side. it was amazing to sit in a room and watch him work. a different demeanor, different temperment. he would sit there, co-joel -- cajole, talk, all in an attempt to try to get to the solution he wanted to be. on one hand here in the chamber he would be thundering, and in a conference room he would be ok, let's figure this out, how do we get this done? it was amazing. it was such a lesson learned to watch him legislate. i think he's also one of the best legislators in modern american political history because he had such a light touch. he really cared individually for people. not just grooms and massively, but individually. we have heard references to the book he gave senator byrd, the

poetry book, and how senator kennedy would bring his dogs over to senator byrd's office. and senator chambliss would make sure the grandchildren were here so they could see his dogs. senator byrd referred to it. at his 57th wedding anniversary. ted had the foresight -- and he was a caring guy, he sent 67 roses to senator byrd and his wife. and all the handwritten letters he wrote. here is a wonderful guy who probably never used a blackberry. he writes notes, hundreds of notes, thousands of handwritten notes, tens of thousands of handwritten notes.

he would write a note to anybody at any time. just a light touch on their birthday, or call them up on their birthday, or to call them up in the hospital. he would just do that, mosh any other senator i can think of, and i would venture to say probably more than most senators examined here. he was just that way. let me just give you one small example. my mother. several years ago in my home town of helena, montana, i was late at night in a meeting. my mother said max, ted kennedy call. i told him you were out, and we had a nice chat. what did you talk about? we talked about the miles city bucking horse sale. ted kennedy rode that in 1960.

a few days later i walked up to ted and said i understand you talked to myxf,ñ mother. oh, he said, you know sometimes when you talk to somebody, you can tell how a person is. your mother is so wonderful and gracious, talking about the conversation the two of them had. they had never met before. my mother is a staunch republican, and they hit it off. i told my mother and told her ted kennedy was impressed with the conversation you had. my mom was impressed, and she wrote him a note for praising her to me, her son, a few days earlier. the next things i knew, my mother and ted were pen pals. ted wrote a letter back to my mother. they were back and forth. i would be at a committee hearing some place, and ted would say here is the letter i

am writing your mother. basically they were reminiscing about montana and the miles city bucking horse sale. he lived life so full. he loved life, and he embraced life in every way available to a man. he was just wonderful that way. back in 1960 when his brother was running for president, ted was assigned the western states in the 1960 presidential campaign. ted was out in montana, and he went to a democratic gathering. there wasn't anybody there, so he went to the miles city bucking horse sale. miles city, montana would have this bucking event. they would take the horses off the prairie, and buck them and bid on the horses. the best bucking horses would

get the highest bid, and the rodeo stock operators would use them. the long and short of the story is ted went to the miles city bucking horse sale and he got in the booth and said he wanted to speak. the announcer said if you want to speak, ted said first you have to ride a horse. ted said why not. there is this wonderful photo there.vmeñ somebody had a quick finger on the camera. there is ted on the brog -- bronkx+q. he is a great man for so many reasons, and we loved ted for all that he was. the greatest legislator in modern american political history. i also am so touched with what a family man he was. as the years went by, his

brothers tajikally lost, carb tragically happened, and everything that happened to the family, he was a rock to the family. he had been through so much, and it built character. he fought for causes. he was more than a voice for the commonwealth of massachusetts. as i mentioned, he is a loving son, brother, husband, father, uncle. working with him for the past 30 years is one of the greatest honors i have had as a unless senator, and i would just say ted, as far as i am concerned, we are going to take up your last great cause, and that is health care reform. we are all here in the senator, and we are going to do all we can to get that passed. i am here personally to pledge every ounce of energy at my

command to get health care passed for all the american people. i might say, mr. president, i don't think there is going to be another man or woman in the senate again who was such a giant as ted kennedy. he is that great a guy. yield the floor. >> mr. president? >> the senator from wyoming is recognized. >> mr. president, i appreciate having this opportunity to join in this celebration of the life of ted kennedy. his loss was deeply personal to all of us because he was strong and a vital presence not only senate, but in our day-to-day lives as well. he was interested and concerned not only about his colleagues, but about our staff and all those with whom he worked on a

long list of issues that will continue to have an impact on our nation for many generations to come. that was the kind of individual ted was, active and completely involved in all things that had to do with the work of the senate. for my part, i lost a senate colleague who was willing to work with me, and with senators on both sides of the aisle. he was my committee chairman and my good friend. for those across the country who mourn this passing, they have lost a trusted and treasured voice in the senate, a champion who fought for them for almost 50 years. the political landscape of our country has now been permanently changed. i think we all sensed what his loss would mean to the country passing. now we take this time to look back to the past and remember our favorite stories and instant replay memories of the senator from massachusetts. in the more than 12 years i have had the privilege of serving the people of wyoming in the senate, i had the good

fortunate to know ted on a number of levels. as a senator, he was a tremendous force to be dealt with on the floor. if he was on your side, you knew you had a warrior who went to battle with you without the slightest sense of failure on or defeat. fur on the other side, you knew you had a tremendous battle because when it came to the things he believed in, no one said it better or with more depth of passion. as a result, he was able to notch an impressive list of victories. during his long career there were few initiatives that didn't attract his attention, and his touch changed them from faint faints to dreams that came true. minimum wage, equal rights for all americans, or the effort to reform our nation's health care system, which was his greatest dream, ted operated at one speed and one direction, and

that was full speed ahead. and it always found him making progress on the task at hand. over the years of i was fortunate to have an opportunity to work with him on a number of issues that were of great importance to us both. he knew we had to have a bill to get this side to agree on it, and i was fortunate to have a sense of what it would take to get votes on my side. so we were able to craft several bills that were able to make it through committee and to the floor. when i served as the commarme of theyce÷ committee on health regulation. we passed 35 bills out of committee, and 2 of them were signed into law by the president. most of them passed unanimously. k÷ a finding with the president during which he remarked, your committee is the only committee sending me anything. he was right and that was due

in large part to ted kennedy's willingness to get something done. >> one time we were working together on a mine safety law. nothing had been done in that area for almost 30 years. the average bill around here takes about six years to pass. thanks to ted, we got that one done in six weeks, and it has made a difference. another had to do with my first legistlative initiative after i arrived as a new freshman senator. i knew that ted had a good working relationship with my predecessor, al simpson. as i began worked on an osha safety bill, i scheduled with my colleagues to go through it section by section. i knew ted's support beaubois instrumental to pass the bill, so i arranged to pleat with him. he opened the meeting by presenting me with some press clippings about my mother's award as mother of the year. that impressed me and showed me

how he kept up on anything that was important to the people he worked with, both members and staff. then he spent a great deal of time going over the bill with me section by section and helped make it a winner. although the bill as a whole did not pass, several sections of it made into law. i found out later that it wasn't usually the way things were done around here. over all the years,3mñ no one h gone over a bill a section at a time. probably didn't need to. relationship. i tried to be a sounding board for him, and he was for me. our frensship can be summed up when he came to my office and presented me with a photo with cowboys and crimson make a great team. ted was one of those remarkable

individual who made those he worked with more productive. he was blessed to have a truly remarkable help meet by his symptom. vicky was his most trusted confidant, a best friend and a well spring of good advice and political counsel. he would have never been all he was without her and should forever be ì;écial part of i will remember how thoughtful he was when my grand children were born. he was almost as excited about it as i was. he had a great appreciation for all of us, and he true treated same kindness and concern. we got irish mist training pants for each of them as they were born. when ted was asked during an interview what he wanted to be remembered for, he said he wanted to make a difference for

his country. he was. he will be missed by us all. all of us who knew and loved him will carry a special memory with us of how he touched our lives as he tried to make our nation and the world a better plails. i would ask that the balance of my speech be included in the record. >> without objection so ordered. the senator from washington is recognized. >> thank you, mr. president. when i was young, ted kennedy was larger than life. i was just 12-year-old when i was first elected to the senate as the youngest son of a political dynasty that seemed to dominate television each night in my house and newspapers every day. at first he served in the shadow of his older brothers. but as i grew up. the youngest brother of the kennedy family did, too, in front of the entire nation. for me and so many others, ted kennedy became a symbol of perseverence over tragedy. from his walk down pennsylvania avenue at the side of

jacqueline kennedy, to the heart-breaking speech he delivered at his brother bobby's funeral, to his pledge to carry on the causes of those who had championed his bid for the presidency. ted kennedy routinely appeared before the american people with great courage at the most trying times. and all the while he was also standing up in this chamber each day with that same grit and determination to fight for the people of massachusetts and the nation. on issues from protecting the environment, to civil rights, to increasing the minimum wage, to health care. he was a passionate and unmatched advocate and leader. and so it was with a lifetime of watching senator kennedy with admireation from afar i arrived here as a freshman senator in 1993. by the time i was elected, ted was already well on his way to becoming one of the most powerful and influential senators of all-time.

so i couldn't believe it when i first walked out on to this floor, and he walked over personally to me. for me, that would have been enough. the lion of the senate reaching out to a rookie? but to ted kennedy, it wasn't. through calls to my office, discussions here on this floor, and by taking me under his wing on the senate health committee, he became a friend, a mentor, and sooner than i could ever imagine, a courageous partner on legislation that i cared deeply about. mr. president, as a state senator in washington, i had worked very hard before i got here to successfully change the state laws in washington on family and medical leave. it was an issue that was extremely personal to me. my father had been diagnosed with multiple disclose when i was very young, and since that time my mother had always been

his primary caregiver. a few years before i ran, my mother had a heart attack and had to undergo bypass surgery. suddenly my brothers, sisters and i were faced with the question of who was going to take time off to cared for the people who cared for us? a family leave policy would have allowed any of us just the few weeks necessary to see them through their medical crisis. but at the time, none was available. so, after running, winning and coming here to the united states senate, the family and medical leave act was a bill i wanted to stan8h8'x up%wa7w and for. and as it turnedn2s2 out, it wa the first bill we considered, and senator kennedyí managing that bill on the senate floor. i found out he, too, had a personal connection to that bill. i well remember one day when senator kennedy pulled me aside to tell me about how he had

spent a lot imtime with his own son in the hospital fighting cancer, and how he had# many people at that time who couldn't afford to take time off to care for their loved one, and how some were forced to quit their jobs to take care of somebody they loved because they were sick. he told me that together we were going to work hard and get this bill passed, and then he showed this rookie how you do it. week after week he fought against bad amendments to get the>yñ votes we needed to pass he blended just the right mix of patience and passion. he spoke out loudly in speeches when he needed to, and he whispered into the ear of his colleagues when that was called for. in the few days after senator kennedy pledged to me we would get it done, we did. through that effort and other battles on the floor, i learned so much from him and so has all of us. more than anyone, senator kennedy knew the senate.

he knew how to make personal friends even with those he didn't afwroo with politically. he knew how to reach out and find ways to, about with people to get them to compromise for the greater good. and he knew when not to give up. he knew when to change the pace or turn the page÷' to get thin done. he knew when to go and sit down next to you, or pick up the phone and call you. he knew how to legislate. and because of that, he built an incredible legacy. mr. president, it's a legacy that will not only live on here in the senate chamber, where he was so well-loved and respected, it's a legacy that is going to live on in the classrooms across america, where kids from head start to college have benefited from his commitment to opportunities in education. it will live on in manufacturing floors where he fought for landmark worker safety protections. it's going to live on in our

hospitals where medical research that he championed is saving lives every day. it would live on in courtrooms, where the legacy of zeggation was dealt a blow. and it will live on in the voting booth where he fought for basic rights in a democracy to be sexabbeded and protected for decades. it will live on by ways it was touched by his passion and heart.k6d'y ted kennedy fought and won so many battles, but for many of us, it may be the small moments that will be remembered the most. the personal tougher he brought not only to legislating, but to lewis. pv

one of the few and maybe the only times she did leave my dad whause when i was elected to the senate, and she flew from washington state to washington, d.c. to see me sworn in. to my mom, ted kennedy and his family were amazing individuals who she followed closely throughout their lives, threw their triumphs and tragedies.ís after i was sworn in here and my mother was in the gallery watching. we walked back through the halls of congress and back to my office. shortly after that, we had a visitor. senator kennedy unexpectedly came over to my office and gave my mom a huge hug. i will never forget the look on her face, the tears in her eyes. the clear disbelief that she had met ted kennedy, and it was overpau gasol her. it was a moment i will never forget for my mom, and it is

certainly now a moment i will never foreget with my friend, ted kennedy. i'm going to miss him. i know our country is going to miss him. but as he reminded us in his courageous speech that he delivered last summer in denver, the torch has been passed to a new generation, and the work begins anew. for today, as we honor all of his contributions to the senate and the nation, we must also remember to heed that brave final call and continue his wh cannot fight for themselves. thank you, mr. president, i yield the floor.z;ms >> mr. president. >> the senator from new york is recognized. >> first i thank my friend and colleagues for their heartfelt words, and all of my

colleagues. the love we all felt and feel for ted kennedy is genuine. it's person-to-person, because that's how he was. there is so much to say. i know we are limited inchx ti. we could speak3íp.ñ forever. i think every one of us could speak forever about ted kennedy because he had so many interactions with each of us. it's amazing that every person has a long list of stories in this body, and thousands of people in massachusetts, and thousands more throughout america. you would think there were 20 ted kennedies. he had1óue so much time for the small gesture that mattered so much, surf as the hug, going out of his way from a reception and hug patty murray's mom. it happened over and over again. i know my time is limited. i know my colleague from oregon

is waiting. so i will put all3ew of my rema in the)a6 record and just touc a few things. but i could speak forever about ted kennedy. i thought of him every day when he was alive. he was gone.d aream about him w he was taking me around various place ns boston and explaining a little bit about each one a joke, a smile and a resemblance. there is also nothing we can say about ted kennedy because nothing is going to replace him. no words can come close to equaling the man. mr. president, you read about history, and you read about the great people in the senate. the websters, the clays, the wagners. what a privilege it was for somebody like myself, a kid

an exterminator, graduated from college, and i was in the presence and actually a friend to a great man. really about anyone else. it is amazing. what i want to tell the american people, you allred about him, and -- you all read about him, and there were the good times and the bad times, and the brick bats thrown at him in the early days. in the senate, you get to know people personally. and in our walk of life, you get to know people personally, and you meet a lot of famous people. some of them are disappointing. the more you see them, the less you think of them. you got to see him, the closer

you got, the better he looked. i mean he had flaws, but he was flawless. and he was such a genuine person and such a caring person , and such an honorable and decent man that i just wish that my children had gotten to know him, that my friends had gotten to know him, that all of my 19 million constituents had gotten to know him like i did. what a guy. there are so many stories and so many memories. one day ted and i sat next to each other. i used to sit over there. i think it was one of the votarammas, a long session. i said to ted, and we occasionally would go up to his hide away just to talk.

i said why don't we bring a couple of the freshmen. i regret you mr. president, and the senator from oregon didn't have that experience. we went up to his hide away, and he would regale us with stories. he would talk about the pictures on the wall and teach each person in really caring detail what each pick meant, what each represent came meant. he would tell jokes and laugh. his caring for each person in that room was genuine, and we knew it. we would go up regularly. and these were freshmen members of the senate. ted didn't really need them. he could get whatever he had to get done, and they would support him. but he just cared about them as if they were almost family. and then whenever we had a late night, we would sort of gather,

and i would be the emissary, and i would go overwñ" to ted say can weigh up stairs? >> and amy, and claire, and bobby, their faces would light up, and up we would go to hear more stories about the past, about the senate and about the slids. it is sort of a memory i think none of us will forget. and ted kennedy would size people up early on, and he would care about them. he was very kind to me, but he knew i was the kind of guy he had to put in his place a little bit. i would get hayesed by ted kennedy. j. rockefeller said he went through the same thing. he knew who i was, but he would deliberately not mention my name. we would be standing together and he would say senator, you will do this and that, and i was the last one standing, and then he would say the others would do this. it was fun. he did it with a twinkle in his

eye. and we loved, he and i, the give and take, brooklyn-boston. the first year i was here, the red sox were playing the yankees in the world series playoffs%xh1n, and ted and i ma bet. he said well, the loser will have to hold the pennant of the winning team over his head and recite kasey at the bat. >> we went, and i went over to him, and he was faning fear, this man who had been through everything. when we went out on the steps, he was hiding behind me. we were joking and laughing, and then he did his duty. i was just a freshman senator, sort of like patty or anybody

else. he just went out of his way for all of us. he would tell me to remember the birthdays and the individual happeningings in each senator's life and go over and say something to them. it was his way of teaching me, and it was done like a father. an amazing person. as i said, the closer you got to him, the better he looked. as a legislator and a giant in our history, and all the history books record it, and people have referred to all of his accomplishments, but i just wanted to share with people how it was in person. just one-on-one. you could be a senator or two guys on a street corner, and he was fun, and he was caring, and he was loving. he was a big man, but his heart was much big are than he was.

he loved almost everybody. he saw the good in people and brought it out. he saw the faults in people, and in a strong but gentle way tried to correct them. he was great on the outside, and he was even more great on the inside. and again, i see my colleagues or waiting, so i will part with this little memory that i will never forget. ted and i became good friends and spent time together in many different ways. and when he got sick, i felt bad like we all do, and i would call him every so often. this was october of last year. he was ill, but he was still in strong health. i called him a couple of days before. i said we have a dfcc event in

boston. i thought i would call and say i was gooding to be in his state, his territory. he said what are you doing before the event? i said i don't know. he said why don't you come out to the compound at hiannus. so i can. he picked me up at the airport. i will never forget. he was in his hat, but he was happy as could be and pointing out everything in full venus williams and vigor. it is obvious why the man wasn't afraid of death. when you know yourself and you have done everything he has done on both a personal basis and as a leader, you're not afraid of death. he wasn't at all, talking about that. we were supposed to go out sailing, but it was too windy. so we had lunch, he, vicky and i, clam chowder andbq all the usual stuff. then he said i want to show you something. he lived in the big house on the compound, the one you see

in the pictures. but he took me to the house by the side. that was the house where president kennedy lived, because when president kennedy was president, ted's father, joseph p. kennedy, lived in the little house. for about three hours he opened all these drawers and closets on the wallace d -- walls, and with each one in loving detail talked to me about the family and what happened, through his father and ted growing up, and all these pictures, laughing and reminiscing. then about president kennedy as he was growing up, and then as president in this little house

and through to ted. and he was sort of passing on the memories. and he did it again out of just general off the of spirit and love. he was just a great man, and every one of us know his greatness was not just in the public eyes, but in the private one-on-one, a great man. the term is overused. thererh;y aren't many. he was one. i was privileged to get to know him, to get to be his friend, to stand in that large shadow,> learn from itate and just enjoy and to love him. so ted, you will always be with

us. they may take those flowers off that desk, and they may take the black crepe off the desk, but you will always be here for me, all of us and our country. >> mr. president. >> the senator from oregon is recognized. >> thank you, mr. president. i rise today to remember and honor our colleague, senator edward kennedy. i first had the pleasure of hearing senator kennedy speak in 1976. i had wanted to come out to washington, d.c. to see how our nation operates, and i had the great privilege5[%ñ of serving an intern from my home state, senator hatfield. my father had always talked about senator kennedy.

he was someone who spoke for the disenfranchised, someone who spoke for the dispossessed, someone who cared about the working man. so i was looking forward to possibly meeting him or at least hearing him. andña8j low and behold, i foun he was scheduled to speak to the interns that summer. so i made sure to get there early. and what followed was exactly the type of address that you might anticipate. a roaring voice, a passionate spirit, a principled presentation of the challenges we face to make our society better. i walked out of that lecture and thought thank goodness, thank goodness we have leaders linda cohn senator kennedy fighting -- leaders like

senator kennedy fighting. each time that summer i heard that senator kennedy was on the floor, i tried to slip off and go up to the staff section so i could sit up and see a little bit of the lion in the senate in action. well,p) through that time i ne anticipated that i would have the chance to come back and serve here in the u.s. senateó with senator kennedy. january when i was sworn in, eventb of serving with him occurred. i wanted to talk to him about the possibility of joining his health, education and labor committee, a committee where so many battles for working americans, so many battles for

disenfranchised americans are waged. and so with some prepare dation i approached him on the floor here to speak with him and asked if i thought i might be able to serve on that committee, if he might whisper in the ear of our esteemed majority leader in that regard if i thought i might serve well. and it was with some pleasure that weeks later i had a message on my phone in which he went on at some length welcoming me to that committee. it was the first committee to which i received an assignment here, and i couldn't have been more excited and more pleased. i didn't have a chance to have a lot of conversations with senator kennedy. i was very struck when, a bit

more than a month ago, his staff contacted me and said that in conversation with senator kennedy, that they were wondering if i- might like to carry on the torch on the employment nondiscrimination act, a civil rights measure that he cared a great deal about. they were asking me because this was a battle that i had waged in the oregon legislature. it had been a hard battle fought over a number of years, and a battle that we won.haw and i am more than excited, more than honored to help carry the tomp on such an important civil rights measure. and i hope i will be able to do that in a way that he would have been satisfied and pleased . the senator from new york talked about the many conversations that took place in senator kennedy's hide away

with freshman senators and )y on. i didn't get to share much in those types of conversations. but as we were working on health care, senator kennedy invited a group of us to his hide away to brainstorm. and through the course of about two hours, we went through many, many of the features, many of the challenges, and how we might be able to go forward and finally realize that dream of affordable accessible health am bcñ concluded, i had a chance to speak9a)mñ with picture he had on his wall of his beautiful yacht. now, senator kennedy and i both have a passion for sailingi,d. it connected us across the

generation. it connected us from the west coast to the east coast. it connected us between the son of a mill write -- mill wright and the sun of a u.s. senator. it was magic to see the twinkle in his eyes when he started to talk about his love of sailing. some of the adventures he had had on various boats over time, i asked him if he was familiar with one of my favorite stories, an autobiography written by captain joshua slocum. now joshua slocum had been raised in a large family, and to my reco!1áion, in a family of no great means. he went to sea when he was a

young boy as a cabin boy or deckwe he learned tozwqii sale the tal shims. over time he advanced through the ranksv$í÷ until he was the captain of a merchant tall-mastersed ship. he had amissed some considerable amount of investment and value and wanted to share that ship. and when the ship went down, he lostú9;ñ everything. saved his life, but he lost all of his possessions. and so he was up in new england wrestling with how to overcome this tragedy, and what to do with his life. captain slocum had a kernel of an idea. he was the offered the gifert of a ship -- not really a ship. a modest boat between 20 and 30 feet long, single mastersed. he later overhauled it and added an after masters.

he said i can rebuild this ship. he says in his story that he rebuilt it basically all but the name. the name the spray stayed from beginning to end. he rebuilt it, and it wasn't to his liking much, and captain slocum had an used that he was going to perhaps sale around the world. why not sale across the atlantic? it was a revolutionary idea, to sale around the world by themselves, a single person. 7ñ europe. i tell you this story atot. so length because senator kennedy knew this story well, and we enjoyed sharingbud+y pieces of back and forth. he had gone forth in 1895 and taken three years to cirque navigate the globe.

he came back to new england in 1898. people were astounded to see him sailing into the harbor all by himself, having crossed the broad expanses of ocean. well, in some ways, the life of captain slocum represents a kennedygj[zñ. someone who faced great y who faced+t great tragedy, looked at all that sn said i am going to go forward. i am going to go forward and do something bold, something important. kennedy, it wasn't literally sailing around the world, but it was sailing through a host of major issues that affect virtually every facet of our lives.

certainly the issue of public service, the national service act. the issue of mental health. the issue of health care and education. and others who have served with him have spoken in far more detail and he will quentinly than i ever could. but i just want to say to senator kennedy thank you for your life of service. thank you for overcoming adversity to undertake a bold journey, a journey that has touched every one our lives. thank you for reaching out to converse with thisclfç@,$éájzto felt so privileged to be here on the floor and to have just a few months with this master of the senate, and to hopefully carry some of the passion and

the principle that he so embodied forward. thank you, mr. president. >> on monday, the houseg considers authorization for nearly $3 billion through the year 2014 for energy department based research on gas efficient turbines and hybrid vehicles. also, consideration of a measure that would change federally subsidized student loans. the house galveston else in monday at 1:30 eastern, with legistlative work starting at 2:00 eastern. that is live on c-span. the senate returns on monday to work on fiscal year 2010 federal spending. senators are considering $122 billion for transportation and housing programs. they will gavel in at 2:00 p.m. eastern for an hour of general speeches. then, at 3:00 p.m., the senate

will begin legistlative business. life coverage of the senate on a discussion on the role of washington czars with kneel king of the "wall street journal." and then ab]ñd discussion on th associated press' series with chuck hawkins. also, a look at the response one year later to the collapse of lehman brothers with gary gensgensler. and that is life at 7:00 a.m. heern here on c-span. >> this is c-span, public affairs programming courtesy of america's cable companies. ne