Evan Bayh: “this week, with the passing of Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, we lost a dear colleague and a friend. John Chafee…”

“this week, with the passing of Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island, we lost a dear colleague and a friend. John Chafee was a real statesman. His passing is a tragedy, and a loss for America. As a new member of this body, I regret that my time serving with Senator Chafee was brief. Fortunately, the lessons I learned from working with him will last a lifetime. Senator Chafee was an all-too- rare voice for bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate. He was a force for common sense, and someone who always put politics aside and tried to do what was right for America. For those of us who value consensus over partisan politics, Senator Chafee's approach to service will remain the standard we strive towards. His central goal, he said, was to ``operate through consensus and cooperation wherever and whenever possible in order to get things done.'' And ``get things done'' he did: after what for most men would be a full and distinguished life in public service--World War II duty, company commander in Korea, Minority Leader in the Rhode Island State House, three-term Governor, Secretary of the U.S. Navy--after all that, John Chafee began his service in the U.S. Senate. In twenty-two years as U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, John Chafee's most remarkable accomplishments came when he managed to bring others to the middle-ground on contentious issues such as budget and tax policy, environmental protection, and health care.”