Kent Conrad: “for the past 38 years, Senator Hollings has served the state of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate with honor, grace…”

“for the past 38 years, Senator Hollings has served the state of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate with honor, grace, and, most famously, a fiery wit. It is an understatement to say that the Senate will not be the same without him. During his 38-year career, he has been an outspoken champion of fiscal discipline, an early proponent of maintaining Social Security solvency, and a fighter against trade agreements that put the domestic textile industry at an unfair disadvantage. I will particularly miss Senator Hollings whenever I attend meetings of the Budget Committee. Senator Hollings is the only serving Senator who has served on the Senate Budget Committee since it was created in 1974. As the last of the original members of the, committee, his institutional knowledge and passion for fiscal discipline will be missed. Budget issues have always been a passion of Senator Hollings, and he shares my penchant for using charts to prove a point. Senator Hollings' favorite chart shows gross debt, and I am sure he will be taking it with him when he leaves. Senator Hollings was tireless in his efforts to educate his Senate colleagues and the public on the dangers of gross Federal debt and the need to use honest numbers in describing our budget outlook. His dedication to bringing truth to budgeting was unsurpassed.”