Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to pay tribute to an extraordinary Iowan with whom I shared a decades-long friendship--a very prominent Democrat from my State. Over this past weekend, former Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell passed away at the age of 98. For nearly a century of life, Berkley took his grandmother's advice to heart: ``You can do almost anything within reason if you will only set your mind to it.'' From an early age, Berkley Bedell set his mind to a high standard of achievement. He set an example for the rest of us. He practiced what he preached and he made a difference in this world. As a child raised during the Great Depression, Berkley became a soldier in the U.S. Army. He was, obviously, a World War II veteran, an entrepreneur, a job creator, a philanthropist, a policy influencer, and, most of all, a devoted husband and father. What I left out is how I got acquainted with him. He was a fellow Member of the House of Representatives during my early years and for some time after I came to the Senate. Our decades-long friendship began when Berkley and I were elected to serve Iowans in the House of Representatives in 1974. Soon after the orientation for new Members, Barbara and I developed a close relationship with Elinor and Berkley. This friendship remained for the next 45 years. Looking back, those were lonely days for a freshman Republican House Member. That is when the Watergate scandal upended the midterm elections.…”