Tom Harkin: “with the passing of Senator Frank Lautenberg this month, the Senate lost one of its most respected and accomplished…”

“with the passing of Senator Frank Lautenberg this month, the Senate lost one of its most respected and accomplished members--a great progressive driven by a passion for justice and a deep love for this country. Indeed, Frank Lautenberg's remarkable life is the American dream personified. He was the son of poor, hard-working immigrant parents who entered America through Ellis Island. He served in the U.S. Army in World War II, attended Columbia University thanks to the GI bill, founded an enormously successful company, and was elected five times to the U.S. Senate. Senator Lautenberg will be remembered here in the Senate for his tenacity and fearlessness in pursuit of his ambitious legislative goals. Frank was a fighter. Time and again, he took on powerful interests to improve the health and safety of the American people, and countless individuals have led longer, healthier lives as a result of his tireless advocacy. One of Senator Lautenberg's great early accomplishments came in 1984, just 2 years into his first term. As a freshman Senator in the minority party, he successfully passed legislation establishing a national drinking age of 21. That law alone is estimated to have saved more than 25,000 lives. Sixteen years later, he championed legislation effectively creating a nationwide ban on driving by anyone with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher, a change that also dramatically reduced alcohol-related traffic fatalities.…”