Don Nickles

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 632, H.R. 3916.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, this is a bill that I know Congressman Ramstad and others have worked very hard on. I am pleased we were able to get it passed this evening.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to consideration of H.R. 1031 which was received from the House.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1734 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2579, received from the House.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be deemed agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 221, which was received from the House.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. I ask unanimous consent the resolution and preamble be agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution appear at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate turn to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 305, a resolution submitted earlier today by Senators Pryor, Bumpers, Johnston, Breaux, and Ford.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send to the desk a bill and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be deemed read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the bill be printed at the appropriate place in the Record.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I send a bill to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to congratulate the very distinguished senior Senator from Wyoming. I will say, for one who has been in combat with my colleague from Wyoming, I would always say that I want him on my side. I look forward to reading his books. You might note, you will have at least 51 copies I know you will be enriched by the royalties of. We have all been enriched by your humor and participation in this body, one of the most colorful Members, one of the most humorous Members, one of the most dedicated Members, I think, to serve in the Senate--and with courage too, taking on little issues, tough issues, like entitlements and Social Security and so on. I just compliment my colleague from Wyoming, and I can speak on behalf of all my colleagues, we certainly value his contributions to this body and to our country. We wish you and your lovely bride, Ann, all the best in the future.

Mr. NICKLES. Go ahead.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Also, Mr. President, I would like to acknowledge another retiring colleague, the Senator from Georgia, Senator Sam Nunn. Sam Nunn was elected to the Senate 24 years ago. He is an outstanding Senator. Many people know Senator Nunn as a leader of the Armed Services Committee. He has served as chairman and has served as ranking member. He has served in that capacity with distinction. He is a well-known expert in foreign policy and national defense matters. What some people might not know about Senator Nunn is he also has a great deal of talent in other areas. He is one of the best golfers I have known, a very competitive individual. But maybe my fondest memory of Senator Nunn will be when he made the speech at the national prayer breakfast just last year. I remember when he was talking about his accomplishments, he said, well, a lot of people would ask him about his accomplishments for his years of service, what bills did he pass, what legislative accomplishment was his real high water mark? He said the fact that he maintained a very strong relationship with his wife Colleen and maintained that relationship with his wife and his family. I thought that was a very inspirational comment. I have really grown to know and respect Senator Nunn for his work, not only on Armed Services, but also for his work on the permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, for his work that he has done in small business. He has been a colleague that, again, people on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. Senate have really grown to know and respect. Certainly we will miss Senator Nunn. We thank him for his many years of service, 24 years of outstanding service, in the U.S. Senate.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, likewise, I would like to acknowledge my friend and colleague, Hank Brown, who will be leaving the Senate after one term. I truly say--all the other colleagues I have alluded to have served 18 years or more in the Senate--I hate to see Hank Brown leave because he is leaving after 6 years in the Senate. He has made such a valuable contribution to this body. I have had the pleasure of serving with Hank Brown on the Budget Committee. He has just been a real asset, not only to the budgeteers, but he is a person who does his homework, he is a person who digs into the numbers, a person who is innovative, very intelligent--very bright--who finds a better way to do something, who is always working on trying to do something good for our country, to save some money, a fiscal conservative who is effective, who not only makes speeches--and in my opinion one of the best speakers we have in this body--but one of the most effective persons because he is the type of person that has the intelligence and the wherewithal to put together a budget package, and the type of person who can come up with amendments that can be enacted into law. He served in the House of Representatives for 10 years. Certainly, he also had private sector business experience, he served in Vietnam, a person that is very well respected, a Senator, frankly, that I hate to see leave the Senate after only one 6-year term in the Senate. He will certainly be missed by this Senator and I think all Senators. I wish Senator Hank Brown and his wife, Nan, all the best, as they return to the private sector. I yield the floor.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, likewise, I would like to say thank you to Senator Howell Heflin, commonly known as ``the judge.'' He has served 18 years in the Senate. He was a former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, a Senator with a southern drawl, a Senator who served on the Agriculture Committee and the Judiciary Committee, a Senator who has always done his homework. He knows the Constitution probably as well as anyone serving in this body. He is a Senator who served in World War II as a marine. He is a Senator who is well liked by, I think, all, who has made a significant sacrifice, in my opinion, by serving in this body, and certainly that has been to the benefit of the people of Alabama and the benefit of our entire country. So I wish Senator Heflin all the best and his lovely wife Mike. We have enjoyed their service. We wish them all the best as they return to the State of Alabama.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, also, I would like to make a couple comments about my friend and neighbor, Senator Nancy Kassebaum from Kansas. Senator Kassebaum will be leaving the Senate after 18 years of outstanding service. Senator Kassebaum is a Senator who is well respected by Democrats and Republicans and is the chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee--I might say, a very productive chairman. She has passed a lot of legislation through her leadership. She has been able to work in a bipartisan fashion to get things done. She is a commonsense fiscal conservative who is willing to take on some of the tough issues, who is independent, who is willing to get things done for the good of our country, and certainly the good of her State. Senator Kassebaum is certainly, in my opinion, one of the most decent Senators who has ever served in this body. She will certainly be missed. I thank her for her dedication to Kansas, and also to our country as well.

Mr. NICKLES

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, also, I would like to make a couple comments about our colleague, Senator Simpson from Wyoming, Senator Simpson, from Cody, WY, and his lovely wife Ann. What a wonderful example of a loving couple, who have been a shining example for so many people. He is an outstanding representative for the State of Wyoming. He represents the State of Wyoming, is independent, kind of hard-nosed, funny, humorous, maybe the most humorous Senator that we have. He is a colleague whom I have had the pleasure over the last few years to serve with on the Finance Committee. He is a courageous Senator, a Senator who is willing to take on issues that a lot of people would rather stay away from. He talks about problems in spending and Social Security. Not too many people want to talk about that. He talks about the problems and the need to try to rein in growing and exploding entitlement programs, a Senator who is willing to lead and stand up, a Senator who served Bob Dole and, frankly, the entire Senate so well, served as assistant majority leader for 10 years, a Senator who is willing to take on tough issues, like immigration. I am pleased that in the next day or two we will be passing immigration reform. It is largely because of the leadership of Alan Simpson. So he has a lasting legislative legacy in passing responsible legislation, like immigration reform, that most of us realize is very complicated, not a fun-type issue, yet Senator Simpson has shown the courage and the willingness, tenacity, and perseverance to make sure that we did the right thing. So I compliment Senator Simpson for his 18 years of service in the U.S. Senate. He has been an outstanding Senator. We certainly wish Senator Alan Simpson and his wife Ann all the best.