{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2000-12-15-pt1-PgS11849", "2000-12-15", 106, 2, null, null, "RETIREMENT OF SENATOR JOHN ASHCROFT", "SENATE", "SENATE", "RETIREMENT", "S11849", "S11849", "[{\"name\": \"Carl Levin\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"Kent Conrad\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}, {\"name\": \"John Warner\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "146 Cong. Rec. S11849", "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 S11849]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n                  RETIREMENT OF SENATOR JOHN ASHCROFT\n\n  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as we conclude the 107th Congress, we will\nbe saying goodbye to our colleague and friend, Senator John Ashcroft of\nMissouri.\n  A former two-term Governor, John Ashcroft has earned a reputation in\nthe Senate for his principled pursuit of conservative issues. He is\nalso recognized as a strong proponent of the wide use of the internet\nby federal agencies as a way to make the government more responsive and\naccountable. As a leader in the term-limits movement, he carried out\nthe innovative online petition drive.\n  Senator Ashcroft served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as\nwell as the Commerce and Judiciary Committees. He established himself\nas a leader among Republicans on a range of issues from term limits to\ntax reform and welfare reform. While in many instances I have found\nmyself on the opposite side of issues from John, I have always\nrespected his intellect, his integrity, his principled positions and\nhis ability to disagree without being disagreeable.\n  Since 1995, John Ashcroft and I have co-chaired the Senate Auto\nCaucus. In this capacity, we have worked together to provide Senators\nwith up to date information on issues affecting the automotive industry\nand its employees. Through the Auto Caucus we organized informational\nbriefings to give Senators and their staff and opportunity to better\nunderstand the auto industry's remarkable progress as well as the\nchallenges it faces. The Caucus provides a forum for Senators to\nexchange ideas on issues affecting the industry such as transportation,\nenvironment, trade, technology and health care.\n  Working together with Senator Ashcroft's, we were able to increase\nmembership in the Auto Caucus from six Senators to twenty-eight. The\nAuto Caucus played a leadership role in pressing the Administration to\nnegotiate market opening trade agreements with Japan and Korea in the\nautomotive sector and continues to weigh in on and monitor those\nagreements. In addition, the Caucus hosts meetings between Senators and\nAutomotive CEOs, provides timely briefings on US-Japan and US-Korea\nautomotive trade negotiations, and encourages the Administration to\nfight to open markets to U.S. vehicles and auto parts.\n  Last year, Senator Ashcroft and I worked together to urge the\nNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration to use an unbelted 25\nmph barrier test instead of a 30 mph test to design air bags that will\nhelp better protect children, teenagers and small adults. Our work on\nthis very complicated and controversial issue brought the\nAdministration and Auto industry together to reach a result that will\nincrease automobile safety.\n  We also worked together to continue the moratorium on unfair and\nineffective increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and\nworked toward a compromise in the Senate to ensure that a National\nAcademy of Sciences study of the effectiveness and impacts of CAFE\nstandards will include the effect of those standards on motor vehicle\nsafety as well as discriminatory impacts of those standards on the U.S.\nauto industry.\n  Also, we have worked together in the past to ensure that\nenvironmental regulations recognize and reinforce the voluntary\nenvironmental improvements and technological achievements of the\nautomobile industry.\n  Not only will John's contribution be missed in debate on the Senate\nfloor, but his voice will be sorely missed, I suspect, by the ``Singing\nSenators'', the wonderful quartet in which he has joined with Senators\nLott, Craig and Jeffords. My wife and family, join me in wishing the\nbest in the years ahead for John, his loving wife (and co-author),\nJanet, and their family.\n  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Senator\nJohn Ashcroft as he prepares to leave the Senate.\n  For the past six years, Senator Ashcroft has done important work as a\nmember of the Commerce, Judiciary, and Foreign Relations Committees in\nthe United States Senate. For example, Senator Ashcroft has focused on\nreforming our nation's use of agricultural sanctions during foreign\ntrade disputes. We share a common vision that we must not use food as a\nweapon in our disputes with other nations, and Senator Ashcroft has\nmade a high priority of changing this policy. His work is important\nboth domestically and internationally, and he can be proud of his\ncontributions.\n  I also appreciate Senator Ashcroft's recent work with Senator Dorgan,\nSenator Bond, and me on the Dakota Water Resources Act. This\nlegislation is critical for the economic future of North Dakota, and I\ngreatly appreciate the constructive role Senator Ashcroft played in\nrepresenting the interests of his state. During discussions on this\nbill he was a tenacious advocate for his state's interests. His\ndiligence in representing his state's interests, coupled with his\nwillingness to gain an understanding of the water needs of my state,\nultimately helped us reach a compromise acceptable to both states. The\npeople of Missouri can be proud of his work fighting for their\ninterests.\n  More generally, Senator Ashcroft has been a man of his word who\nserved his state and his country with distinction. I join my colleagues\non both sides of the aisle in wishing him well in his future endeavors.\n  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a colleague and\nfriend who will be greatly missed by the United States Senate--Senator\nJohn Ashcroft.\n  Senator Ashcroft, served Missouri and the nation with distinction.\n  In the Senate, he was a leader in passage of landmark welfare reform\nlegislation, authoring the Charitable Choice provision. He fought for\nlower taxes, a strong national defense, greater local control of\neducation, and enhanced law enforcement.\n  A popular, former two term governor of his home state, John brought a\nreal ``can-do'' sense of purpose to his work in the Senate. I have\nalways felt that those who come to the Senate with experience as\ngovernor, have especially valuable experience that the entire nation\nbenefits from.\n  There is a term used throughout the 211 year history of the Senate\ncalled ``Senatorial courtesy.'' John won the admiration of his\ncolleagues in many ways, especially his caring tradition of writing\nwonderful personal notes--not by computer--but always taking time to\nwrite them by hand.\n  We wish you, your wife and family well as you take on your new\nchallenges.\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-PgS11849"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 9.31921717710793, "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"}