Chuck Grassley: “I rise to say some words about the loss of our mutual friend, John Chafee from Rhode Island. His passing away this week…”

“I rise to say some words about the loss of our mutual friend, John Chafee from Rhode Island. His passing away this week was obviously sad for all of us in this body, as well as his family and his friends. He has left an impressive legacy both for this body and for his service to the United States. I would like to take a few moments to express my thoughts about this truly heroic person. When I came to the Senate in 1981, Senator Chafee was already one of the body's giants. He was well respected. I remember the budget battles we had in those years in the early 1980s, and the impact he had as a leader of moderate Republicans--usually about half dozen or so Senators who always had a major influence on the budget process. Disagree though some of us might with Senator Chafee's position on these issues, there was no disagreement among any of us that the results of his efforts were always a moderating influence on what this body did. I served with Senator Chafee on the Finance Committee for many years--the committee that has jurisdiction over taxes, over Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, foreign trade, and welfare. He had a passion; that was to preserve the safety net programs, and especially in the health sector. He was a strong supporter of the Community Health Center Program of Medicaid, and most importantly children's health programs.”