{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11846", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "RETIREMENT OF SENATOR WILLIAM ROTH", "SENATE", "SENATE", "RETIREMENT", "S11846", "S11846", "[{\"name\": \"Carl Levin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Warner\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Kent Conrad\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11846", "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[Page S11846]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                   RETIREMENT OF SENATOR WILLIAM ROTH\n\n  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I want to join my colleagues in bidding\ngood wishes and God speed to Senator William Roth, the distinguished\nsenior senator of Delaware. I have served with Senator Roth for most of\nmy career on the Governmental Affairs Committee. For a significant\nperiod of that time, Senator Roth chaired that committee and its\nPermanent Subcommittee on Investigations.\n  Senator Roth proved an able and dedicated advocate of government\nreform, guiding our committee through oversight hearings and\ninvestigations into how our Federal programs were or were not working.\nHe also spearheaded a number of key efforts--many of which were\nsuccessful--to change our laws to reduce opportunities for waste, fraud\nand abuse.\n  When I sat in my seat on the dais of the Governmental Affairs\nCommittee, I often heard Senator Roth argue passionately and\nconvincingly for the enhancement of the M, or management\nresponsibilities, in OMB, the Office of Management and Budget. As much\nas anyone in this body, Senator Roth truly cared about the efficiency\nand effectiveness of government programs. He has my deep respect and\nthe gratitude of all of us for his efforts in this area.\n  In addition, Senator Roth distinguished himself as a gentleman in a\nchamber that has sometimes lost its gentlemanly manner. Senator Roth\ncould be tough, there's no doubt about that, on issues about which he\ncared, as well he should be, but he was always civil.\n  We will miss his gentlemanly ways and his guiding hand on the\nimportant but not-always-so-visible issues of government management. I\nwish him well and hope he enjoys an active but less hectic life which\nhe so clearly deserves.\n  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a man I have\nworked with my entire Senate career: Senator Bill Roth. He is a true\nfriend and gentleman, as well as a superb legislator whose\ncontributions to the nation are many.\n  Senator Roth will likely be best remembered as the co-author of the\nfamous Kemp-Roth tax cuts, initiated during President Reagan's tenure\nand for the Roth IRAs which have made it possible for millions around\nthe country to invest taxable income that can be withdrawn tax-free in\ntheir retirement.\n  Senator Roth has represented Delaware for 29 years, making him the\nlongest serving Senator in our ``First State's'' storied history.\n  Senator Roth is a decorated veteran of World War II, and began his\nCongressional service in 1966. He has served his country for almost 40\nyears. We all are indebted to him for his remarkable service.\n  I wish Senator Roth and his wife, Jane, well and hope that they will\ncherish the years to come in the same way they have those that have\npast.\n  Bill Roth's gentlemanly nature, his quietness and his humility were\nhis hallmarks and strength.\n  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, when this Congress finishes its work it\nwill also mark the end of a particularly distinguished 30-year career\nin this body. I rise to pay tribute to my chairman on the Finance\nCommittee and my friend, Bill Roth.\n  No Senator could hope to serve under a more thoughtful and\nconsiderate Chairman than those of us on the Finance Committee have\nexperienced over the last five years. Bill is a true gentleman who\nworks as hard as any Senator I know to make sure that issues under his\ncontrol have the broadest possible consensus. He has consistently\nreached out to members on our side of the aisle in order to make law in\na way that honors the Senate's best traditions.\n  Like Bill, I represent a small state. He knows, as I know, what a\nspecial responsibility that is. People in a small state expect to have\na personal relationship with their Senators, and I know from the times\nI have taken short vacations in his beautiful state the deep affection\nBill inspires all over Delaware.\n  I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to work so closely with\nhim on the important tax, health, and trade issues we deal with in the\nFinance Committee. Bill has a natural appreciation for the strong roles\nagriculture and tourism play in the economy of my state of North Dakota\nbecause they are such important components of Delaware's economy as\nwell. He knows instinctively the value of looking for common ground.\n  Even as he leaves the Senate, however, one thing will set Bill apart.\nMany Senators are well known among the public at large, but very few\nhave their names become household words. Senator Roth earned his\nmembership in that tiny elite. Bill's deep commitment to retirement\nsecurity and savings led directly to the establishment of the Roth IRA,\na retirement savings vehicle that will give savers decades from now a\nreason to be grateful to our beloved colleague from Delaware.\n  When we consider the departure of Senator Roth in conjunction with\nthe simultaneous retirement of the Senator from New York, the Committee\non Finance is losing more than half a century of institutional memory\nand experience. That is a loss not only for our committee, but for the\ncountry as well.\n  We wish Bill Roth all the best as he leaves us, but he will be\ngreatly missed by his many friends and colleagues in the Senate.\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-PgS11846"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 49.76570582948625, "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"}