{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11831", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "SERVING IN THE SENATE", "SENATE", "SENATE", "ALLOTHER", "S11831", "S11832", "[{\"name\": \"Frank R. Lautenberg\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Robert C. Byrd\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John McCain\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Trent Lott\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11831", "Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 155 (Friday, December 15, 2000)]\n[Senate]\n[Pages S11831-S11832]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                         SERVING IN THE SENATE\n\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, one of the things I wanted to do, as I\ntried to plan my Senate objectives, was to make sure the children of\nour country were as protected as they could be by legislation that we\ndeveloped in the Congress.\n  Under Republican leadership, when President Reagan was the President\nin 1984--Elizabeth Dole was the Secretary of Transportation--we were\nable to write a bill and create a law that made the 21-year-old\ndrinking age the minimum drinking age for serving liquor across the\ncountry. Since that time, 17,000 families have been spared the need to\nmourn the loss of a child.\n  Mr. President, 17,000 youngsters, that is enough to fill a large\narena. If one looked at the number of young people who would fill that\narena, you would say: My Lord, are we lucky that these children have\nlived and will survive to their adulthood and through their full life\nbecause we were able to restrict their access to alcohol.\n  Therefore, it was appropriate, toward the later days of my career,\nthat we were able to add another item of protection by lowering the\nblood-alcohol level to .08, a standard which will save an additional\n500 to 700 lives a year. President Clinton recently signed that into\nlaw, as well. So I am pleased with the fact we were able to get that\ndone. My team and I worked very hard to make that happen. It took\nseveral years for it to be accomplished, but accomplished it was.\n  A large part of that accomplishment, I must say, was because of our\ndistinguished friend and leader--I think they would have a reference in\ntotalitarian governments, but I mean it in the kindest way--as a leader\nfor life, that Senator Byrd has brought to us, not only with his\nknowledge, his understanding of the process, but he is virtually the\nhistorian of the Senate. The thing that has always amazed me is he can\ndo it virtually from memory, and bring us all to our senses about how\nwe conduct ourselves and how we process legislation. I am not only so\ndelighted and honored to have been able to serve with him as a mentor\nbut as a friend as well.\n  We learn on a continuing basis in this place that Senator Byrd is\nsomeone to whom we can always turn, not only to understand his thinking\non issues, and the decisions that he provides, but also his leadership.\n  We saw it manifest again this day because he wanted to help us out of\nthe dilemma with which we were struggling, to find a way to get Amtrak\nthe strength and resources that it needs, but reminding us at this\nmoment there were so many things in front of us that it was not the\ntime, but nevertheless was helpful in his reassurance that he, too,\nwould help process this early in the next Congress. I just am sorry I\nwill not be here to see the day when that takes place.\n  But I am grateful for the friendship and guidance that the\ndistinguished senior Senator from West Virginia has given me, and all\nof us, over these many years.\n  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the distinguished Senator yield?\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I am happy to yield to the Senator from West\nVirginia.\n  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senator for his\nremarks. I shall miss him. We shall all miss him. He has served on the\nAppropriations Committee, and served well, served as chairman of the\nTransportation Appropriations Subcommittee, and served well.\n  He has the highest interests of the Nation always at heart. He has\nbeen a very capable Senator. He is never one to forget his obligations,\nhis responsibilities, his duties to the people who have sent him here.\nI have considered it to be a great honor and high privilege to serve\nwith the Senator. I shall miss him. I am sure he will continue to serve\nhis country in some way.\n  But I do hope the Senator will come back and visit with us from time\nto time. May the Creator of the universe, Father of all of us, watch\nover and guide Frank Lautenberg and his family. He is so proud of his\nfamily. He often speaks of his children, his grandchildren. I know they\nlove him. He will always be in our recollection. May heavenly angels\nalways attend him in whatever he endeavors.\n  I thank the Senator.\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from West\nVirginia.\n\n[[Page S11832]]\n\n All of us look to him for his guidance and wisdom.\n  I have said about Senator Byrd in the past that he is a model for\nwhat a computer might do, and he does it without all of the transistors\nand switches and chips, and all of that. If anyone doubts Senator\nByrd's capacity, let them attend one of his lectures on the kings of\nEngland or the development of government in the Roman Empire. One will\nbe astounded. I have always felt a little bit like a student when I\nlistened to Senator Byrd. I thank him for his warm comments.\n\n  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, will the Senator from New Jersey yield to\nme for a question of him?\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I am happy to yield to our colleague from Arizona.\n  Mr. McCAIN. First of all, I thank the Senator from New Jersey for his\nadvocacy and his strong and heartfelt support about the need for a\nviable railway system in the Northeast and around America. There has\nbeen no one in this body who has been more committed to that\nproposition than the Senator from New Jersey. I congratulate him. As I\nsaid before, we will miss him very much in this body.\n  I would like to make one additional comment, if I may, to the Senator\nfrom New Jersey.\n  We will go through a regular process next year to bring up an\nauthorization bill for Amtrak which would then be followed by\nappropriations.\n  I objected to an appropriation this year because it was $10 billion\nover 10 years stuck into an appropriations bill for which there had\nnever been a hearing. I hope the Senator from New Jersey can understand\nthat.\n  The second point is, I urge the Senator from New Jersey to consider\nthat we have to make a fundamental choice about the national rail\nsystem in America--not just an east coast rail system but a national\nrail system.\n  There are many countries in the world, including European countries,\nthat regularly subsidize their railway systems. I understand that. I\ndon't dispute it. Perhaps that decision has to be made in the United\nStates of America and in the Congress of the United States with the\ncooperation of the administration.\n  I remind the Senator from New Jersey that a few short years ago the\ndecision was made to make Amtrak completely independent. Maybe that was\nnot a wise decision.\n  Last year, Amtrak lost, I think, 900 million and some dollars, and\nwill lose another $900 million, or so.\n  I think we need to make a fundamental decision: Is it a high enough\nnational priority?\n  I am not prepared to make a decision yet that the taxpayers of\nAmerica should subsidize a rail system for America. I think the Senator\nfrom New Jersey would agree with me that the west coast needs one\nprobably almost as much as the east coast does.\n  We need to make a fundamental decision about what the Government's\nrole will be in a national railway system, and then we need to decide\nto what degree it is subsidized.\n  I think a strong argument can be made by anyone who has tried to fly\nto Newark, or to LaGuardia, or Kennedy lately that they recognize the\ndifficulties in relying simply on air transportation. I think an\nargument can be made. But I think it deserves full debate and\ndiscussion.\n  I thank the Senator from New Jersey. I understand his disappointment\non this issue. But I would like to make a personal commitment that his\nspirit will live on, and we will fully examine and fully ventilate this\nissue and try to come up with a proposal that will satisfy the needs of\nhis constituents and Americans all over this country. Again, I say that\nwith profound admiration and respect for the Senator from New Jersey.\n  Could I make one final comment? I hope to get a recorded vote on this\nbill. I will be recorded as voting against it for the usual reasons,\nand will have a statement included in the Record.\n  I thank the Senator from New Jersey.\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Arizona for\nhis laudatory comments. It is nice to hear that one will be missed. We\nhaven't discussed the degree, but nevertheless being missed counts.\n  I wish to say one thing in response to the thoughtful statement of\nthe Senator from Arizona about Amtrak and a national railroad. I am\nglad that he did it because I misunderstood. Frankly, perhaps it is\nsomething I thought I heard the Senator from Arizona say in times past\nabout the fact that he would resist advancing resources to Amtrak. I\nthink it was described in terms of a ``cash guzzler,'' if I am correct\nin that recognition. But I am glad to hear the Senator from Arizona.\n  Let it not ever be mistaken that Senator John McCain and I have had\nsome differences on the floor and off the floor, but the fact is that I\nbelieve there is mutual respect. Certainly, I respect him for his\ncontributions to America and for his contributions to this body.\n  If anyone has any doubts about John McCain's capacity to deliver a\nmessage, one only need to look at the recent election to see that with\nvery limited resources John McCain was able to influence the direction\nof policy that we are going to be witnessing in the next\nadministration.\n  But I also hope that Senator John McCain, the Senator from Arizona,\nand the Senator from Wisconsin, Mr. Feingold, will be able to\naccomplish something that has been lingering over this place. It is\noverdue. It has been talked about forever, and it has never been\naccomplished. The reason I made a decision to leave this body that I\nlove dearly was because I didn't want to go out and raise that money.\n  The Senator from Arizona and the Senator from Wisconsin, Mr.\nFeingold, have done a masterful job in working inch by inch to get to\nthe place where we examine as a proposal for the near future, I hope,\nhow we ought to finance Senate races. I think the moment is near at\nhand. I hope that examination, frankly, obviously without my\nparticipation, will be taken. I will be encouraging you from the\nsidelines.\n  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, will the Senator yield again?\n  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Boy, I could really carve out a few chips if I were\ngoing to remain here. I am happy to yield, provided I recover the\nfloor.\n  Mr. LOTT. I thank the Senator.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11831"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.3951250109821558, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}