Political Quotes

“Mr. President, just over a year ago, I attended a dual celebration in the Town of Reston, VA--50 years since the town's founding and 100 years since the birth of its founder. That founder, Robert E. Simon, Jr., whose initials were the basis for naming the town, passed away on September 21st at the age of 101. Bob Simon was a visionary who recognized that all humans ought to be able to live together and be neighbors. His vision was of a community in which people could live, work, and play in the same general area. He believed that features like natural landscaping, open plazas, and public art were important to building a vibrant community and fostering a sense of place. Today we would call that ``smart growth,'' but to Bob, it was simply common-sense. His vision was ahead of its time in another way. It was a vision of a community in which people of all races and income levels could coexist--a vision that was not yet shared by all in the segregated Virginia of the early 1960s. The legacy of Bob Simon will live on in the community he created and loved. I and my Virginia colleague Senator Mark Warner ask the Senate to formally commemorate Bob and the ideals he championed in his life's work of a better and more just America. The preamble was agreed to. (The resolution, with its preamble, is printed in today's Record under ``Submitted Resolutions.'') ____________________”