Wendell Ford

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Several Senators addressed the Chair.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Kerrey), the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Moseley- Braun) is necessarily absent. I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Moseley-Braun) would vote ``no.''

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) and the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent. I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) would vote ``aye.''

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Conrad) and the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye), the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kerry), the Senator from Maryland (Ms. Mikulski), the Senator from Illinois (Ms. Moseley-Braun), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Torricelli), and the Senator from Oregon (Mr. Wyden) are necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, it is hard to take all these kind words that are being said about me, and I think I will notify my grandchildren to listen in. But I do thank my colleague for a bit of history as it relates to my political career. His is somewhat akin to mine. When he ran for office, he was not expected to win, and he did. So I think we can relate to those periods in our lives and our political tenure. I do thank him for his kind words today, and I look forward to working with him to accomplish things for our Commonwealth and this country in the next few months we will serve together. I am grateful to him. I thank the Chair. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. FORD. Will the Senator withhold?

Mr. FORD. Mr. President, as has been obvious last Friday and today, this Senator succeeded the service of the distinguished Kentucky statesman, Alben Barkley. It is an extraordinary gift that the people of my State have given to me, because it is a gift only they have to give; that is, through their votes. If there is any significance to this period of service, it is that I have served my people well, have voted the way they would have hoped I would vote, and they understand that I work hard even though I do not accomplish everything that I hope to. Mr. President, on Friday, one of the finest young men that I have known in a long time, Senator Daschle, said some very kind words about me and our association. I am grateful to him. John Glenn, whom everybody knows--and you want to stand close to him so you can get your picture made--John and his wife Ann and Mrs. Ford and I have become very close personal friends. John is going to do what he feels he can still make a contribution to, and that is how we can prevent aging. I wish him all the success in the world. After I leave here, I intend to form the Government Education Center in my hometown for high school students. The John Glenns of this world will do what they can do best. I hope that Wendell Ford can do what he does best and try to encourage young people to take an interest in government, whether it is local, State, or Federal. Maybe we can find another Henry Clay, or Henrietta Clay, as the times would dictate, in the class of high school students. We will begin that in January of next year when I leave the Senate. Harry Reid, who talked about Searchlight, NV, a very small community, reminds me of Yellow Creek, KY, where I came from; the little town of Thruston. Senator Kennedy, for the remarks he made on Friday, I am grateful to him. We have just listened to some words from the distinguished Senator from West Virginia, Robert Byrd. As he said, he was the whip when I came to the Senate, and he was almost a ``third Senator'' for Kentucky, because we had so much in common between West Virginia and Kentucky, particularly in eastern Kentucky. I thought I knew the love of this institution until I met Senator Robert Byrd and understood his love for this institution. I thought I understood ``to defend and support the Constitution'' of these United States until I met Robert C. Byrd and saw his tenacious support of the Constitution and how sometimes he would stand alone in his defense of it. So the years with Senator Robert Byrd have been very meaningful to me. We need people such as him to give us the legislative history not only of our beginning and prior to that but so that we understand why we are here and how we work. Mr. President, I may have formal remarks later on in this session before we leave, but I could not let this time pass without thanking my friends for their kind words and hope that somehow I may be able to develop and encourage young people to come and be a future Robert C. Byrd or a Tom Daschle or a Harry Reid or a Ted Kennedy. I thank all of them for their kind words, and particularly the people of my State who have been so kind to me in the years we have worked together for its betterment. Maybe I ought to apologize to some of my colleagues for being so tenacious at times in trying to serve the people in my State, whom I love so much. A lot of them I love I have never seen or met, but the relationship is still there. As we go through this trying time as it relates to support for the farmer in my State, I probably have been more tenacious than I have ever been because it is the largest political problem I have had since I have been in politics some 35 years. Mr. President, I thank you for the opportunity to speak. There being no Senator wishing to be recognized, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Inouye) is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I move to lay it on the table. The motion to lay the amendment on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 1998 to Amendment No. 1676

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Madam President, Senator Baucus, who is the floor manager from our side, was called away from the floor, and I am attempting to assist his staff and to help our distinguished chairman. I am advised this side has no objection to the amendment.

Mr. FORD. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy) is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Kennedy), is necessarily absent.

Mr. FORD. Madam President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. Members have until the hour of 10 a.m. to file first-agree amendments to S. 1173. Is that in addition to the amendments that are already filed correctly, and this gets around the hour in advance?

Mr. FORD. I wanted to be sure about that so there would not be any confusion. I thank the leadership for accommodating those so we would not have to file those tonight and so we could prepare those overnight and file them at 10 o'clock in the morning. I am grateful for that accommodation. I thank the chairman and I thank the Chair. Mr. CHAFEE addressed the Chair.

Mr. FORD. Compelled.

Mr. FORD. So the second-degree amendments can still be offered?

Mr. FORD. Well, the Senator knows that, given overnight, there is a lot of thought going into what they might file tomorrow, and to accommodate your colleagues, it may have gotten you in a little more trouble than you wanted. So I throw that in. I believe the Senator will be surprised at the small number of amendments that are filed by 10 o'clock tomorrow.

Mr. FORD

Mr. FORD. I suggest the absence of a quorum.