Chris Dodd: “I rise for the purpose of paying tribute to our colleagues who are leaving the Senate. There are some 10 of our…”

“I rise for the purpose of paying tribute to our colleagues who are leaving the Senate. There are some 10 of our colleagues who are leaving under various circumstances. I would like to speak about them and to express my deep appreciation for their friendship, for the years we have worked together, or opposed each other, as the case may be, on various matters that have come before this body. Mr. President, of course, we all have great affection for Senator Thurmond, who has served here for 54 years and is on the brink of celebrating his 100th birthday--a remarkable achievement in and of itself. As someone once said, if they had known they would have lived that long, they would have taken better care of themselves. And Strom Thurmond took very good care of himself over the years. Senator Max Cleland, a remarkable person, has served here for only 6 years, representing the State of Georgia. He has done a remarkable job during his years here. But he has had a distinguished record, of course, that has accumulated prior to his arrival in the Senate. Senator Jesse Helms, with whom I have served on the Foreign Relations Committee for my entire service, my 22 years in the Senate. He has served for 30 years here. We have been the best of colleagues serving together.…”