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TRIBUTES TO HON. ZELL MILLER 

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Zell Miller 

U.S. SENATOR FROM GEORGIA 

TRIBUTES 

IN THE CONGRESS OF 

THE UNITED STATES 

UNUM

E PLURIBUS


congress.#15
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Zell Miller 


97211.001
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 2005

S. DOC. 108–27 

Tributes 

Delivered in Congress 

Zell Miller 

United States Senator 

2000–2005 

÷ 

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Compiled under the direction 

of the 

Joint Committee on Printing 

Trent Lott, Chairman 

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CONTENTS 

Page 

Biography .................................................................................................. v 

Farewell ..................................................................................................... vii 

Proceedings in the Senate: 

Tributes by Senators: 

Allard, Wayne, of Colorado ........................................................ 22 

Allen, George, of Virginia .......................................................... 23 

Burns, Conrad, of Montana ....................................................... 13 

Chambliss, Saxby, of Georgia ................................................... 3 

Cochran, Thad, of Mississippi ................................................... 20 

Domenici, Pete V., of New Mexico ............................................ 20 

Frist, William H., of Tennessee ................................................ 17 

Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah ........................................................... 25 

Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas ............................................... 22 

Kyl, Jon, of Arizona ................................................................... 18 

McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky ................................................. 8, 26 

Nelson, Bill, of Florida ............................................................... 19 

Nickles, Don, of Oklahoma ........................................................ 14 

Santorum, Rick, of Pennsylvania .............................................. 23 

Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama ......................................................... 10 

Shelby, Richard C., of Alabama ................................................ 17 

Proceedings in the House of Representatives: 

Tributes by Representatives: 

Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia ...................................................... 27 

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[ v ] 

Biography 

After serving two terms as one of the Nation’s most popular Governors, ZELL MILLER was elected to the U.S. Senate 

in 2000 and quickly established himself as a strong voice for 

the conservative, commonsense approach to issues. Though 

he is a lifelong Democrat, MILLER kept his pledge to serve 

all 8.5 million Georgians and no single party in the Senate. 

He chides the National Democratic Party for putting partisanship ahead of the people in his best-selling book, A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. In the Senate, MILLER regularly reached across the 

aisle to work with Republicans to cut taxes, improve education, confirm the President’s nominees, and strengthen national security by giving the Commander in Chief his full 

support in Iraq and in the global war on terrorism. 

MILLER also introduced legislation to crack down on illegal 

aliens, to strengthen the Montgomery GI Bill for soldiers, to 

demand more accountability from CEOs, to improve conditions in the Southern Black Belt and to significantly increase 

FCC fines for indecent broadcasts. MILLER also focused on 

Georgia’s top industry—agriculture—through his membership on the Senate Agriculture Committee and through 

working with fellow Southeastern Senators to improve conditions for Georgia farmers. MILLER also served on the Banking and Veterans’ Affairs Committees. 

The native Georgian served in elective office in six different decades, beginning with mayor of his hometown of 

Young Harris, GA, in the late fifties. When he was elected 

to the U.S. Senate to serve the remaining 4 years of the late 

Senator Paul Coverdell’s term, MILLER became only the third 

Georgian—following Richard B. Russell and Herman Talmadge—to be elected as both Governor and Senator. As Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, MILLER gained national 

prominence for passing the Nation’s first two-strikes-andyou’re-out law against violent felons, for starting the Nation’s only voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 4-yearolds and for creating the nationally acclaimed HOPE scholarship, which has transformed education in Georgia and which 

many other States have sought to duplicate. 

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The Washington Post in 1998 called MILLER the most popular Governor in America, and Governing Magazine named 

him Governor of the Year in 1998. His program was dubbed 

by the Los Angeles Times as ‘‘the most far-reaching scholarship program in the nation,’’ and his pre-kindergarten program won an award for innovation from the Kennedy School 

of Government at Harvard. Throughout his career, Senator 

MILLER has credited two major influences for his success: his 

strong mother and the U.S. Marine Corps. Born February 

24, 1932, in Young Harris, GA, MILLER followed his parents’

footsteps into the teaching profession and into politics. He 

was raised by his single mother after his father died when 

MILLER was only 17 days old. MILLER gets his work ethic 

and his appreciation for the arts from his mother, Birdie Miller, an art teacher and one of Georgia’s first female mayors. 

She hauled stones from a mountain creek to build the family 

home that MILLER still lives in today. Though he never knew 

his father, Stephen Grady Miller, Senator MILLER followed 

in his father’s footsteps by becoming a University of Georgia 

graduate, a history professor at Young Harris College and a 

State senator. 

MILLER’s passions are history, baseball and music. He is a 

walking baseball encyclopedia who is equally at home at the 

Grand Ole Opry or Symphony Hall. He has written six 

books, including Corps Values: Everything You Need To 

Know I Learned in the Marines. MILLER has been married to 

Shirley Carver Miller since 1954. They have two sons, Murphy and Matthew, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He also has two yellow Labs, Gus and Woodrow, 

named after characters in one of his favorite books, Lonesome Dove. 

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Farewell 

Thursday, November 18, 2004 

Mr. MILLER. Mr. President, I have listened with a grateful heart to the generous words of my colleagues, the Senator 

from Kentucky [Mr. McConnell] and earlier this morning the 

Senator from Alabama [Mr. Sessions]. I will remember and 

cherish those words as long as I am on this Earth. I thank 

each of them for their friendship. 

I see my good friend from Montana [Mr. Burns] on the 

floor. I thank him, a fellow marine, for his friendship. 

This means more to me than I have words to express. I did 

not come to this Senate expecting events to unfold as they 

have. I guess I am living proof that politics is not an exact 

science. 

In Shakespeare’s ‘‘Hamlet,’’ his friend Laertes went off to 

college and his father Polonius gave him the usual advice 

that you give when your sons go off to college. After all the 

words of caution that I hope fathers still give their sons, 

Polonius ended with these words: 

This above all: to thine ownself be true, 

And it must follow, as the night the day, 

Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

I have always believed that and I have tried to live that. 

I have had a most blessed personal life—personal and political. Since 1959, voters in Georgia have been putting me 

in one office or another, and I am deeply grateful to them. 

God has richly blessed my personal life. My wife Shirley 

has been the perfect partner for over 50 years. She has been 

my companion, my critic, my crutch. We have two wonderful 

sons, Murphy and Matthew, and our daughters-in-law and 

our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. We are very 

blessed. 

If he had lived, Paul Coverdell would be ending his second 

6-year term. As I told some of my colleagues last night, not 

a day has gone by since I have been here that I have not 

thought of this good man who left us so suddenly and so 

tragically. 

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My most fervent hope during these 41⁄2 years has been 

that Paul would be pleased with the way I have served and 

finished out his term. I know Paul is pleased, as I am, that 

our mutual friend Johnny Isakson, one of the finest public 

servants I have ever known, will soon be our successor in 

this great body. 

I also wish to say what an honor it has been to serve the 

last 2 years with my colleague from Georgia, Senator Saxby 

Chambliss. 

Now as this page turns on the final chapter of my career 

as a public servant, I cannot help but remember how it was 

in that first chapter of my life. Growing up in a remote Appalachian valley, we lived in a house made of rocks my 

mother gathered from a nearby creek with only an open fireplace for heat, no indoor plumbing, no car, no phone, and no 

father. 

On summer nights before the TVA dammed up the 

Hiawassee River and brought electricity to that Appalachian 

valley, after the Moon had come up over the mountain, the 

lightning bugs were blinking, while the frogs croaked down 

at the creek and the katydids sang, every once in a while a 

whippoorwill’s lonesome cry could be heard. 

I remember after my mother had finally quit working and 

was getting us quiet and ready to go to bed, we would play 

a game. The game would start when the headlights of that 

rare car would penetrate the darkness, maybe once every 

half hour or so on that narrow strip of asphalt across a big 

ditch in front of our house. We would stare at the headlights 

of the car as it made its way around the steep curves and 

finally over Brasstown Mountain. We would count and see 

how long it took from the time it went by our house until its 

taillights would disappear through that distant gap and was 

no longer a part of that one and only world I knew. 

It was often at this time my mother would laugh and say, 

‘‘You know what’s so great about this place? You can get 

anywhere in the world from here.’’ 

That world has turned many times since I first traveled 

that narrow road through that gap and out of that valley. It 

has been a long road with many twists and turns, ups and 

downs, bumps, and, yes, a few wrecks, a road that twice carried me to the highest office of the ninth largest State in this 

Nation, to all the continents and famous cities of the world 

and, finally, to the Senate. 

So I leave this Senate, knowing that once again my mother 

has been proved right. One could get anywhere in the world 

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from that little mountain valley and back again. Everywhere 

I have ever been really was on my way back home. 

I thank all of you. I thank my family. I thank my very special staff that has stayed with me through thick and thin. I 

thank my friends and especially my God. It has been one 

heck of a ride. 

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TRIBUTES 

TO 

ZELL MILLER 

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Proceedings in the Senate 

THURSDAY, November 18, 2004 

Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I rise this morning 

to pay tribute to a very special friend of mine and a friend 

of Georgia’s and a friend of the United States of America. We 

are in what we think are our last couple of days of the 108th 

session. That being the case, this will be the last few days 

that Senator ZELL MILLER will be in Washington in his capacity as the senior Senator from our great State of Georgia. 

I want to take a minute just to talk about this man who has 

been such an inspiration to any number of politicians and 

others in my State relative to his public service to our State 

and to our country. 

ZELL MILLER was born in a little town called Young Harris, GA, which is in the mountains of north Georgia, one of 

the most beautiful parts of our State. His father, unfortunately, died when he was 17 days old, so he was raised by 

his mother, whom he has repeatedly talked about in the 

books he has written as well as in his speeches. His mother 

Birdie was the most influential person in his life. She did a 

heck of a job with ZELL MILLER as a young man and remained an inspiration to him throughout his adult life, and 

particularly in his life as a public servant to our State. 

ZELL did one of the best things any man can do; and that 

is, he married way over his head early in his life. He married 

his sweetheart, Shirley. Before he went into the Marine 

Corps, he tells the story about leaving for boot camp and he 

was afraid when he got back she might not marry him, so 

while they were in the mood they ran over to South Carolina, which is not far away from his hometown of Young Harris, and got married; and they have had decades of glorious 

years together. They have two wonderful sons and four 

grandchildren and now four great-grandchildren whom the 

two of them have enjoyed. Now he will have even more of an 

opportunity to spend time with them and enjoy them even 

more. 

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ZELL entered the Marine Corps at an early age. Again, as 

he has repeatedly said in his books, as well as in his speeches, it is the best thing he ever did in his life from the standpoint of straightening him out. All of us go through difficult 

times in our early years, and there are specific instances 

that make us what we are and sort of chart the course for 

where we are going to be in future years. ZELL has been very 

open about the fact that the Marine Corps is the institution 

that really put his mind in the right frame that it needed to 

be for his adult years. 

ZELL began his educational career at Young Harris College 

following his tenure in the Marine Corps, and then ultimately graduated from the University of Georgia, which happens to be the same institution of which I graduated. Again, 

having a colleague such as ZELL to look to as a fellow alumnus is a great privilege. 

ZELL then began a teaching career, and also very shortly 

entered a public service career. He served two terms as a 

State senator from his home county area of Young Harris. I 

think that was the foundation for what was going to ultimately become an outstanding career for him in public service. Like all of us, he suffered defeat as well as victory. He 

ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives 

twice. Having run for Congress myself, and lost the first 

time, I know it is not much fun, but you also find out it is 

the greatest experience of your life. You meet the nicest people in the world, and you get a real sense of the fact that 

there are just literally thousands and thousands of people in 

that congressional district who have the same beliefs and 

philosophy that you do, so you want to continue to make a 

difference. 

Even though ZELL lost those races when he ran twice, that 

did not deter him from continuing in public service. He 

served as our Lieutenant Governor for four terms, 16 years. 

He just did a masterful job. The Lieutenant Governor in 

Georgia has a little more power than some of the Lieutenant 

Governors in other States around the country. He presided 

over the State senate, and in that capacity had the obligation 

and the power to appoint committee chairmen and to be involved in legislation from a direct standpoint. He did an outstanding job as Lieutenant Governor. 

Following those four terms, he ran for Governor and, in 

1990, was elected Governor of our State for the first of his 

two terms. In 1990, he campaigned on the fact that if we 

were going to have a State lottery, he wanted to make sure 

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the funds that were generated by that lottery were used for 

one purpose, and one purpose only, and that was to improve 

the quality of education in our State. 

I have to say if there is any one man who is responsible 

for the improvement of the quality of education in my State 

of Georgia, it is ZELL MILLER because he not only campaigned on doing that, he made absolutely certain all the 

funds generated from that State lottery went to improve the 

quality of education. 

He is the father of the HOPE scholarship. It is kind of interesting, in every campaign now, every statehouse campaign and gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial race 

now, those folks who have been involved in State politics for 

a while who are running for those races all claim responsibility for the HOPE scholarship. But everybody knows that 

the father of the HOPE scholarship, the person who was responsible for its passage and implementation, is ZELL MILLER. 

The HOPE scholarship is a provision in our law which 

says if you graduate from a high school in Georgia and you 

have a B average, you can go to any State institution that 

you are successful in applying to and getting into, and your 

tuition will be paid for. As long as you maintain a B average, 

that tuition will be paid for throughout your college career. 

It has been one of the best things we have ever had happen 

in our State. 

We have been successful keeping our top students at home 

and attending our State universities. One of the main reasons is the HOPE scholarship. We have kids who might otherwise go to a school in the Northeast or the West Coast that 

has a much greater national reputation, but they do not give 

the scholarships like the HOPE scholarship to all their students who maintain those averages. 

So ZELL MILLER has been primarily responsible for keeping an awful lot of the top kids graduating from our public 

institutions as well as our private institutions in Georgia at 

our State institutions. As a result of that, we have seen the 

average SAT scores at the University of Georgia, for example, rise every single year since the HOPE scholarship went 

into effect. I do not know what the exact number is for the 

entering class this year, but I have confidence in saying the 

average SAT score for the entering freshmen class at the 

University of Georgia this year is well in excess of 1250, 

probably closer to something in excess of 1300. At Georgia 

Tech it is higher than that. And in other institutions we 

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have seen the same impact. We are simply getting the 

brightest and the best because of ZELL MILLER and his commitment to the people of Georgia and his commitment to increasing the quality of education in our State. 

As Governor, he put into effect a voluntary pre-K program 

for 4-year-old kids. All of us know that the earlier we involve 

our children in the education process, the more likely they 

are to come out, at the end of the day, with a better education. It is one of the best things we ever did from the 

standpoint of putting our kids in touch with the school system at an early age. And it has worked. 

I could go on and on talking about the things that Senator 

MILLER did as Governor, but I want to sum it up with two 

anecdotes. 

First, he was committed to ensuring that the education of 

the children of our State improved every year he was in public service. I will never forget his last 4 years. I remember 

specifically because my wife was a teacher in the public 

school system at that point in time. We were ranked 49th 

out of 50 with respect to the average teacher salaries. ZELL

MILLER put into place a salary increase—and he made a 

commitment to the teaching community and made a commitment to the legislature that they were going to have to abide 

by this. He was going to provide a 6-percent increase in 

teacher salaries every year for his last 4 years, about a 25- 

percent increase for teacher salaries across the board. He not 

only made the commitment, but he did it. We went from 

49th in average teacher salaries to somewhere in the high 

twenties over the 4 years of ZELL MILLER’s last tenure as 

Governor of our State. 

He also made a commitment to the people of Georgia that 

if you elect me for 4 more years, then I am not going to be 

just your average Governor and put it on cruise control and 

go out as a popular guy—and he had every opportunity to do 

that. 

I will never forget riding back up here on an airplane after 

one weekend, and I happened to sit beside ZELL. This was 

several years after he had left the Governor’s office, but I 

was a Member of the House. I said: ZELL, I guess if there 

is anything about you, and I were to remember one thing 

over everything else, it is the fact that in your last 4 years 

you did what you thought was right, regardless of the fact 

that you could allow the legislature to pass whatever they 

wanted and you could sign it into law. A lot of the legislation 

were very popular bills with the people back home, but they 

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simply were not the right thing to do. He would veto them. 

He would veto them, not because he had anything against 

the issue or the people promoting the bill, but it was the 

right thing to do. It was not in the best interest of all Georgians. 

A lot of people ask me today, Why has ZELL MILLER

changed? ZELL MILLER has never changed. In his heart, he 

believes we live in the greatest country in the world. He believes in his heart that he and I live in the greatest State 

in this great country. He is totally committed to doing what 

he thinks is right. He did it then when he vetoed a lot of 

popular bills, and he didn’t have to do that; it would have 

been easy not to do that. That is why today when he speaks 

it is from his heart because he is doing what he thinks is 

right. 

As he closes out his career, he and I are both mindful 

every day of the fact that ZELL MILLER didn’t want to be 

here. It was not his wish that he serve in the Senate when 

he was asked to serve. He ran for the Senate in 1980 and 

was not successful. But he had no intention of coming back 

to the Senate. Unfortunately, Paul Coverdell, who was his 

very close friend and one of my political mentors, passed 

away in 2000, and our Democratic Governor, Roy Barnes, 

went to ZELL MILLER and said: Your State needs you, your 

country needs you, and I need you to fill the unexpired term 

of Paul Coverdell. So ZELL, after much thought about it, decided to leave the mountains of north Georgia and his hometown of Young Harris and go back into public service, to 

come to Washington. He and Shirley have been here since 

July 2000, when he was appointed to fill that unexpired 

term. He ran in 2000 and was elected to the remainder of 

the unexpired term. So it wasn’t his desire to come back, but, 

as always, when he has been called upon to fill a void and 

to be a public servant for his State and his country, he has 

answered that call—not unlike when he joined the Marine 

Corps. 

As he leaves this great institution at the end of this term 

in another 6 or 8 weeks, this man is going to be missed by 

those who have looked up to him from a political perspective. 

He has been a person that all of us in politics admire because he has always operated in a bipartisan way and made 

sure he reached across the aisle and brought Republicans 

into his Democratic administration when he served as Governor. Probably one of the highlights of that is the man who 

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is replacing him in the Senate, my good friend Johnny 

Isakson, who has been a long-time Republican in our State. 

In ZELL’s second term as Governor, he knew that with 

education being a priority he needed a top-flight person to 

head up our State board of education. He reached out to 

Johnny Isakson, who was then out of politics, and brought 

him into his administration to chair the State board of education. Johnny did a terrific job. As a result of that, he came 

to the House to replace Newt Gingrich, and now he will be 

replacing ZELL MILLER in the Senate. That is simply the 

kind of guy ZELL MILLER is. 

So it wasn’t politics; it was what was in the best interest 

of our State, what could he do to continue to improve the 

quality of the education of our kids. He just did the right 

thing. It is the same as he did in supporting our Republican 

President. He knew it was the right thing to do. That is why 

he was so vocal about it. Regardless of the consequences politically, he did what in his heart he thought was the right 

thing to do. 

So now as ZELL goes back to Young Harris, I fully expect 

him to stay engaged in the process. He is not the kind of guy 

who is going to wilt away, but he will not be as active as he 

has been for the last three decades. He will be sitting on his 

front porch with his two dogs, Gus and Woodrow, playing 

with his grandchildren, and enjoying his family. I am sure 

his mind will, at times, wander back to his times in Atlanta 

at the State capital, and to the days he spent in this institution, and he will have some great memories. But those of us 

who have had the privilege and the opportunity to serve with 

him are going to have even better memories. 

ZELL MILLER is a great American, a great Georgian, and 

he is somebody all of us are going to miss in the day-to-day 

world of politics. But he is somebody who, when we look back 

and say, you know, if I charted my course the way he did, 

I can leave this institution with a great feeling knowing that 

I have done what was in the best interest of my State and 

in the best interest of my country. So to ZELL MILLER and 

to Shirley, I say thank you. Julianne and I have a great appreciation for you and a great friendship with you. We look 

forward to continuing that friendship. We will miss you here 

in the U.S. Senate. God bless you. 

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the late Senator Paul 

Coverdell was a great Senator and dear friend of many of us 

in this body. His untimely passing left a great hole in our 

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hearts. But it also took from Georgia and from America a 

great leader. 

At the time, none of us had any idea how we would ever 

manage without him. I remember when we were doing tributes to him after his death. There was great emotion on the 

floor of the Senate. I remember Senator Phil Gramm tearfully giving Senator Coverdell a farewell. We all felt great affection for him. 

So when the Governor of Georgia, Governor Barnes, needed someone to step into Paul Coverdell’s place to be the voice 

for Georgia, he called upon a fellow whom I had not previously met but had heard of for some time, former Governor 

ZELL MILLER. 

Happily retired and without personal ambition for further 

public office, ZELL MILLER responded to the call of duty. And 

what a difference he has made in this body. In a time of turmoil, a time of terrorist attacks, of economic challenge, of foreign war, when America needed somebody to lead, Providence blessed America with a great Senator, ZELL MILLER. 

During his short tenure here, this old marine has been 

critical to our efforts to obtain economic opportunity, homeland security, and national security for this Nation. I can say 

with total certainty that Paul Coverdell would be proud of 

the accomplishments of ZELL MILLER. They have been good 

for Georgia, and they have been good for America. 

A review of every major battle this administration had in 

the last 4 years shows that ZELL MILLER was in the middle 

of each one and the linchpin to each success. ZELL MILLER

was instrumental to the economic recovery our Nation now 

enjoys. ZELL MILLER was the key to the homeland security 

our Nation has attained. ZELL MILLER was one of the strongest voices to harden our Nation’s resolve to fully wage the 

war against terrorism. On these, the most critical issues 

upon which history will judge this Nation, this President, 

and this Congress, it was ZELL MILLER whose vote and voice 

made the difference. 

ZELL made the difference when the numbers didn’t add up 

to victory. Like our mutual friend, Phil Gramm, apparently 

being outnumbered was never a cause for concern to ZELL. 

ZELL served in the proud line of Truman Democrats. Like 

Harry Truman, he called for unity during a time of war and, 

like Harry Truman, gave hell to anybody who played games 

with our national security. 

Like John Kennedy, he knew that tax cuts were not just 

good for the economy but they were good for the take-homeVerDate jan 13 2004 11:09 Mar 26, 2008 Jkt 097211 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\DOCS\BYEBYE\BYEBYE05\97211.TXT CRS1 PsN: SKAYNE
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pay of workers and their families. But from ZELL we didn’t 

just hear the thoughts of old-school Democrats, we also rediscovered the truths of our Nation. He showed us that integrity still matters, that nation comes before party, and that 

thinking first of our children and grandchildren is the right 

and proper way to judge national policy. Any time ZELL

looked for his bearings, he gazed to those fixed stars of his 

favorite constellation: His wife Shirley, his children, his four 

grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. This internal 

compass served him well because no one could ever accuse 

ZELL of being confused about what he believed in and why. 

So ZELL MILLER heads back to the Appalachian Mountains 

of north Georgia, whence he came. He returns with his wife 

Shirley back to the base of Double Knob Mountains, where 

the ravines flow to the Brasstown Creek and then the 

Hiawassee River and on to the Gulf of Mexico. He returns 

to the dirt roads he walked as a lad, where he worked with 

his mother, to haul stones from a nearby field to build a 

rock-walled house with no rafter, no subfloor, and a ladder 

for a staircase in the house in which he was raised. 

From such modest beginnings, and such a modest man, 

the world is better because of his leadership. He stands as 

a lesson for all and for all time. Because of ZELL MILLER, I 

can say, be you a Senator, a college graduate, a single mother, or an elementary school student, never, never, never 

doubt the impact a single person with clear vision and a 

strong heart can make for your family, your community, your 

nation, and, yes, your world—not just for now but for generations to come. 

So, Senator MILLER, we will miss you around here. 

Mr. President, we have had the privilege over the last 4 

years to serve with a truly great American who has made a 

difference in a body in which it is very difficult for an individual Senator to frequently make a difference. Farewell, 

Senator MILLER. We look forward to seeing you in the coming years. 

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I thank the assistant majority leader for his fine words. I certainly agree with those 

about ZELL MILLER. Democracies in general, America in particular, seem blessed that in times of turmoil, leaders do step 

forward and give us the guidance we need. During a time of 

war and economic challenge, America got such a leader in 

ZELL MILLER. It is not too much to say that he was the key, 

the very hinge upon which much of the fate of the agenda 

of the last several years swung. For the goals of President 

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Bush, from homeland security to economic growth to the war 

on terrorism, ZELL MILLER has been the difference between 

victory and defeat, the gap between almost and barely. 

I think part of the willingness of Senator MILLER to step 

forward, break ranks, and support President Bush came because he is a man of experience and judgment and integrity. 

He got to know President Bush. He looked into his heart, he 

examined his policies, and he believed him. He had a particular belief in this man at this point in history, based on 

his study of history, his writing, and his experience, and he 

was willing to step forward in an unusual degree and take 

a lot of grief for it, to stand up for what he believed was 

right. 

When President Bush proposed a tax cut to get the economy moving in 2001, and things were not going well, ZELL

MILLER was the first Democrat to support that plan. He cosponsored the bill with Phil Gramm of Texas, a great Senator. When they teamed up I thought of that slogan in the 

Alabama football network. Bear Bryant would have a TV 

show every week to talk about the game. He promoted CocaCola from Georgia, I guess, and Golden Flake potato chips, 

and the slogan was: ‘‘Great Pair Says the Bear.’’ So when 

ZELL MILLER and Phil Gramm joined forces, it was indeed a 

great pair. When it came time to protect the homeland 

against terrorist attacks, it was ZELL MILLER who stood with 

the President in 2002 to make sure we had a department 

that functioned more like the Pentagon than the post office 

in protecting the lives of American citizens. After 4 months 

and 11 votes and a national election, finally it took. We 

passed the homeland security bill that has succeeded in 

keeping us safe, since 9/11, at least—a feat not many would 

have predicted possible at the time. 

I would just say this: Senator MILLER understood the importance of that issue. I believe he called three press conferences. He urged those who were blocking the homeland 

security bill for some sort of internal governmental uniontype politics, not on the real merits—he warned them that 

this was bad. It was bad for America, and it was bad politically for those who blocked it. 

They didn’t listen. I think they wished they had. Certainly, 

after the election they were quite willing to pass the bill they 

had been blocking before the election. 

When the economy slowed down due to the attacks and the 

corporate scandal, and it came time to accelerate the tax cuts 

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in 2003, once again it was ZELL MILLER who made the economic incentive plan the law of the land. 

On the question of judges for America, ZELL MILLER had 

the classical view of the role of a judge consistent with his 

good friend, the wonderful Judge Griffin Bell, who was a 

court of appeals judge and also Attorney General of the 

United States under President Jimmy Carter. He follows 

that philosophy. As a matter of fact, he analyzed each nominee who came forward and I believe saw fit to support the 

nominees, consistently, that President Bush sent forward—

not because of politics but because he believed those judges 

would follow the law, not make law. They would be constructionists, not activists. 

Oftentimes, on each one of these issues it came down to 

this one man making the difference, either taking the lead 

or casting the key vote on those issues. He taught us once 

again that nation, family, faith, heritage, and principle are 

more important than politics and party. In this he reaffirmed 

the belief that government for, of, and by the people can 

work. 

When he spoke, people listened. I will tell you why people 

listened. I asked him how he found time, how he did his 

speeches. He personally writes his speeches. It is not written 

by staff. It is not generated by some computer. It is not regurgitated from some document or some memorandum or 

some summary somewhere. It comes from his heart, his experience, his head, and his understanding of this great Republic of which we are blessed to be a part. That is why people listen to his speeches. 

Most of us recall his speech in New York at the convention, where he, in Trumanesque fashion, blasted those who 

play games with our national defense. They squalled and 

thought it was hell. He was just telling the truth, I suggest. 

It was clear, passionate, and powerful and helped change 

the course of the national debate. It changed the course of 

the national debate because it was true. What he said was 

important. It had to do with whether this Nation would have 

leadership committed to a strong America. He also had some 

very fine words right here on the floor of the Senate. 

On the energy bill, he rose in ‘‘defense of that great American workhorse,’’ in his words, the pickup truck. He told a 

story of meeting a guy who was a PHD—that is a post hole 

digger—who said: 

If you really want to know when times are bad, take notice of the number 

of people having to sell their pickups. Look at the ads in the paper and the 

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‘‘for sale’’ signs in the yards. The more you see, the worse it is because 

pickups are the very symbol of the working man. As the pickup goes, so does 

the working man and the very heart of this country. 

He added: 

Pickups are as essential to the carpenter as his hammer; as essential to 

the painter as his paintbrush. So we must leave this American workhorse, 

the pickup truck, alone. Don’t pick on the pickup. 

Then he shared with us a tune called ‘‘Talking Pickup 

Truck Blues.’’ He spared us the agony of singing it, but he 

did share one verse. 

Sure, an SUV is classy travel, but it ain’t much good for hauling gravel, 

or hay or bovine feces. So please do not make my pickup truck an endangered species. 

That is not often heard on the floor of this Senate—words 

of eloquence that bring a smile to us all but more than that 

drives home a truth about real people who serve America 

day after day in pickup trucks. 

So this man knows America. Given all the good he has 

done in so little time—he has given so much to it—he leaves 

much too soon. He has done a great job for this Nation and 

for Georgia in replacing the departed Paul Coverdell who we 

all loved and admired. He has been a great leader and a 

great Senator, and the Senate will miss the presence of this 

old marine sergeant. 

I can say without contradiction I believe that few Senators 

in the history of this Republic have in one short term contributed so much to the health and welfare of our Nation and 

made such a tremendous impact on it. 

It is because he put his Nation first; he stood for what we 

believe in. He was true to his raising. 

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I wish to say a few words 

about my friend from Georgia, Senator MILLER, who preceded my remarks. 

I was raised in the Midwest. We both come out of an era 

of rural America. It was a different life. I remember when 

we did not have electricity. We did not live on a gravel road. 

We did not have running water in the house. In fact, the 

water bucket froze on cold winter nights. We didn’t have the 

best clothes in the world. But they were clean. And I have 

never gone to bed hungry. 

I have an idea my mother was kind of like Mrs. Miller. A 

home full of love on a Badlands farm made up of two rocks 

and one dirt, trying to hang on to it, coming out of tough 

times called the Depression of the dirty 1930s. It shaped a 

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lot of character. It put a lot of fiber in a lot of people who 

went on to love this country and would serve her and our 

States at any cost. 

The highest compliment one could pay to any person we 

meet in this body, comes from the West in an expression that 

says: We’ll not say goodbye; we’ll just say so long because 

you are welcome to sit at my fire anytime. 

That is my feeling toward this old marine. I only have one 

disappointment, that we never did get a trip to the Pacific 

to visit Iwo Jima. I have been there but he never got to go. 

We tried every way in the world. We had a couple trips 

scrubbed because of business in the Senate. We never did 

make it, but we are not going to give up. 

So we say so long to ZELL MILLER, a good friend, a good 

Senator, a great representative of Georgia, and a great representative of this country. * * * 

As to all of these men, I want to say you do form relationships here, and there is a certain bond that attracts us all, 

as we learn that even though you may be on the same side 

of the aisle or the opposite side of the aisle, one could always 

agree or disagree without being disagreeable. That is what 

makes the Senate a special place. 

We will miss all of these men, but I am looking forward 

to those who take their place as, there again, new relationships will be developed, a new bond dealing with the old 

challenges of a free society, with those who love the Constitution and love this country who were prepared to die for 

it and would if asked to do so today. No one doubts the depth 

of their patriotism nor their service to their country. We welcome them as we say goodbye to old friends, old relationships that will never be forgotten. 

Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to make a couple of 

comments regarding the departure of one of our colleagues, 

Senator ZELL MILLER. I have had the pleasure of working 

with Senator MILLER for the last several years and I think 

the world of him. He comes from a great line of fantastic 

Senators from the great State of Georgia. 

When I was first elected, I served with Senator Sam Nunn 

and Senator Mack Mattingly. Both were very good friends. 

Both were outstanding Senators. Senator Paul Coverdell, a 

very good, close friend of mine, served in the Senate for a little over a term and, unfortunately, had a very sudden illness 

and passed away. ZELL MILLER was appointed to take his 

place. 

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I remember thinking at the time that Paul Coverdell was 

a great loss to the Senate. I believe that today. He had a 

great future in the Senate. He was actually elected to the 

Senate leadership, which was very unusual for his first term 

in the Senate. Paul Coverdell was one of my closest friends. 

I really did mourn his loss. 

I did not know his replacement appointed at that time, 

ZELL MILLER, but I got to know him very quickly. I grew to 

know him, respect him, and admire him as a patriot and as 

a Senator. He did a fantastic job in service not only to his 

State of Georgia but, frankly, to this country. He made a valued, positive, and considerable impact on the Senate and, 

frankly, on our country. I will talk about that for a second. 

I remember he was a real leader in passing the homeland 

security legislation. That was very tough legislation. It 

passed by a very narrow margin. We did that in his second 

year in the Senate. 

He supported efforts to enact tax reform. I was chairman 

of the Committee on the Budget in 2003, and we passed a 

budget, frankly, by one vote. ZELL MILLER’s vote helped 

make it happen. We had about 80 something amendments to 

the budget during consideration of the budget process. ZELL

MILLER was with me on every one. He was my principal cosponsor of that budget. 

That budget enabled us to pass the tax relief later that 

year, the economic tax reform bill of 2003. That bill made a 

lot of changes, I might add, a lot of positive changes, that 

would not have passed had it not been for ZELL MILLER. I 

was honored the President asked me to sponsor it, and I was 

honored to ask ZELL MILLER if he would co-sponsor it with 

me, and he did. 

We defeated a lot of amendments designed to gut the legislation, and we passed the budget. Again, we passed it with 

the Vice President breaking the tie. It would not have passed 

without ZELL MILLER’s leadership, without his sponsoring 

the legislation. 

What did that legislation do? It made a difference on every 

American taxpayer in this country. That legislation allowed 

us to have a $1,000 tax credit per child. That legislation allowed us to expand and provide marriage penalty relief. For 

a couple making $58,000, marriage penalty relief boiled 

down to about $905. That passed because ZELL MILLER stood 

with us on that legislation. 

It also allowed us to reduce the capital gains tax rate from 

20 percent to 15 percent. It allowed us to say that we would 

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not double tax corporate dividends, at least not as punitively 

as we did before. We reduced the corporate tax on dividends. 

Actually, the bill we passed in the Senate had zero double 

taxation. The bill that came out of conference was 15 percent, instead of the ordinary rates. That is a big and positive 

change because this country, unfortunately, taxed distributions from corporations higher than any other country. We 

are tied with Japan at a net effective tax rate of 70 percent. 

Why would corporations distribute earnings to their owners if the government would get 70 percent? Many did not. 

They would accumulate earnings, hide the money, or do 

something different with them. We passed that legislation, 

and now people are paying dividends. 

Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar distribution because of that legislation. We tax it now at the individual 

rate, 15 percent. When we started marking up that legislation, the Dow Jones was at 7,700. Today it is over 10,500. 

That legislation made a difference. The legislation passed because ZELL MILLER stood with us on the floor to pass that 

legislation. 

It is not too often you can actually say you passed legislation that made a real and positive impact. There are over 2 

million jobs that have been created in the last 14 months as 

a result of that legislation. I believe the President signed it 

in June 2003. It has been almost a year and a half now, and 

a couple of million jobs have been created. The economy is 

moving. Revenues are coming into the government. The deficit is $100 billion less than estimated previously, 9 months 

ago, because there is economic revival. A lot of that happened because of the courage and conviction of the Senator 

from Georgia. 

I said Paul Coverdell was my friend. He has certainly been 

missed in this Senate, and that is a fact. I will also say that 

ZELL MILLER is my very dear friend and he will be missed 

in the Senate. He only served here for a few years, but he 

had a great impact, a very positive impact, not only on taxpayers and the country but to our body politic, the body of 

the country. As a patriot, a former marine, former mayor, 

former State senator, former Lieutenant Governor, and as a 

former Governor, he had enormous impact. 

He was a speaker at the Republican National Convention. 

I told him his speech wasn’t so much that of a Democrat or 

Republican; his speech was that of a patriot who was speaking out strong because he believed strongly in this country. 

You could see it. You could sense it. You could believe it. 

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I am very proud to have ZELL MILLER as my friend. He 

and his wife Shirley have been a blessing to this body and 

a blessing to this country. I thank God for the fact I had the 

opportunity to serve with him and the fact that he served in 

this body. I think our country is much better for it, and I 

wish him every good wish in the years ahead. 

Mr. SHELBY. Senator ZELL MILLER, the colleague of the 

Presiding Officer, is a distinguished Senator from Georgia. 

He served as Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, I believe, 

State senator, and then Governor of Georgia for at least two 

terms. He came to the Senate and distinguished himself. He 

is someone for whom I have a lot of respect, for his integrity, 

for his forthrightness, for his grit, for his perseverance, and 

also his foresight. 

ZELL, we will miss you in the Senate. But we will see a 

lot of you. I hope to visit you in north Georgia. You tell me 

what a beautiful place it is, and it is not too far from my 

State of Alabama, so I hope you have a room for us there. 

We will come see you, especially when the apples are ready 

to pick and you are ready to show us around. 

Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, ZELL MILLER commands a certain respect. He has guts. He has integrity. He speaks simple truths. He is as good and honest a man as I know. 

ZELL is the type of leader that takes a stand and doesn’t 

yield an inch of ground—no matter how hard the political 

winds blow. 

America saw this first-hand with his unwavering support 

of President Bush in the most recent election. 

At the Republican Convention, ZELL described the President perhaps better than anyone in our own party. He said 

the President is: ‘‘a God-fearing man with a good heart and 

a spine of tempered steel.’’

Those same words also describe Senator MILLER. 

As a former marine, ZELL has never wavered in his support of the men and women in uniform who defend our liberty—or the values he shares with them. And he has worked 

hard and steadfast to end the unprecedented filibuster of judicial nominees. 

More than anything, ZELL loves his wonderful wife, Shirley, and their family. Of course, by family, I also include Gus 

and Woodrow, his two labrador retrievers. 

ZELL will always be a touchstone of good old common 

sense for this body. He will forever remind us that all we 

need to do is what is right—nothing more, nothing less. 

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ZELL MILLER is one of the most colorful Senators ever to 

grace the halls of this Capitol. And he and Shirley have been 

two of the most valued members of the Senate family. 

We will miss them both, sorely, as a special part of our 

daily lives. 

FRIDAY, November 19, 2004 

Mr. KYL. Mr. President, obviously, in the brief time here 

I am not going to be able to say everything that comes to 

mind about the Senators who are retiring but to summarize 

a little bit of the information for the benefit of those who 

might be watching. 

When you have long, distinguished careers of Senators and 

they decide not to run for reelection but leave the body, there 

is a lot that comes to mind about their service. I think it is 

good to remind ourselves of just a few of these things because of the service they have provided, both to the people 

of their own States and to the United States. * * * 

Mr. President, let me mention our colleague ZELL MILLER. 

ZELL MILLER is another person who will be in the history 

books of this body because of his passion and because of his 

unique character as well. He is probably best exemplified by 

one of the books he has written called Corps Values, obviously a reference to the U.S. Marine Corps, in which he describes how a lot of the values that have animated the course 

of his career and the values he has held dear throughout the 

rest of his life came from his training as a marine and from 

his drill sergeant whom he describes so vividly in the book 

as having almost literally pounded some very important lessons of life into ZELL’s head at a very young age—lessons 

that he took away to apply throughout the rest of his life and 

which have stood him in very good stead throughout his career. 

He has represented the people of his State of Georgia with 

passion and with great capability, not only as Governor but 

then to come to the Senate. He has certainly been a friend 

of people on both sides of the aisle. He is a Democrat, but 

he still, of course, has many friends here on the Republican 

side of the aisle. 

I can’t think of ZELL without thinking of some of the more 

humorous things he has done as well because despite his 

passion and enthusiasm, he also has a very good sense of 

humor. I remember one case in particular when he and Phil 

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Gramm from Texas, who has left the Senate, teamed up to 

offer an amendment which had no chance of passing. There 

was no real rationale for it. It was an amendment to exempt 

pickup trucks from the mileage standards we were going to 

apply to all other vehicles in the energy bill, but they 

thought there was something kind of un-American about 

having these standards applied to pickup trucks. The two of 

them offered the amendment. 

During the course of the debate, more and more people 

came over here to listen to them. Their case made such great 

sense that one by one the Senators began to think maybe 

this is an amendment that ought to pass. At the end of the 

day, when they pointed out that, after all, there was no other 

place to haul your coon dogs when you are going to hunt, or 

have the rack for your gun, and all of the other things they 

pointed out what a pickup is for, and no other vehicle could 

do that job, the Senate finally, I think on a voice vote, acquiesced in their amendment. Because, after all, it made sense 

when ZELL MILLER and Phil Gramm argued that pickup 

trucks should be exempted from that standard, we exempted 

pickup trucks from that standard. 

In other words, they knew how to have fun with the seriousness of this body to point out some of the commonsense 

things most Americans believe and we sometimes forget here 

in this body. 

Senator ZELL MILLER from Georgia is a man of great common sense, a man of the people who loves America greatly, 

and who certainly inspired me. 

These are only four of the colleagues who are going to be 

leaving us at the end of this session. These are Senators 

whom I became particularly close to. I wanted to say a word 

about each one of them, to wish them all the very best, bid 

them farewell, also to know they have too many friends 

around here to ignore. And we are going to be staying in 

touch with every one of them. 

We thank them for their service to the people of their 

States, to the Senate, and to the people of the United States 

of America. 

Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, while the Senate 

is holding in abeyance for the final omnibus appropriations 

bill that the House is getting ready to file sometime tonight, 

I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to our retiring 

Senators: Tom Daschle, Fritz Hollings, Don Nickles, John 

Breaux, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, John Edwards, Peter 

Fitzgerald, ZELL MILLER, and Bob Graham. 

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I wish to make a speech about each one of these Senators 

who has become a dear friend, in some cases, over the years, 

such as Fritz and Peatsy Hollings, who took special interest 

in me as I came to the Senate and made sure I got on his 

Commerce Committee, which has been just an extraordinary 

experience with him as chairman, as well as with the 

present chairman, John McCain. * * * 

A southern icon, Senator ZELL MILLER, will go down in 

southern history as one of the great progressive Governors of 

the new South. He is one who has always extended wonderful courtesies to me. * * * 

So for all of these names I have mentioned, in the great 

poem ‘‘Ulysses,’’ he says, ‘‘I am a part of all that I have met,’’

and I am a part of all these great Senators. I am much richer for it and for having been their friend. 

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, as I think about the retirement of our colleague from Georgia, Mr. MILLER, I am reminded of the song, ‘‘Johnny, I Hardly Knew You.’’

It doesn’t seem very long ago since I heard his maiden 

speech. He said in a strong voice that he had not come to the 

Senate to represent a political party but rather he was here 

to represent the interests of the people of Georgia. He has 

proven to be a man of his word. He has demonstrated great 

courage and much conviction as he has carried out his promise to the Senate and to the people he has represented and 

voted for here in the Senate. 

I have observed closely his work in the Agriculture Committee where he has been a very thoughtful and effective 

voice for his State and our Nation. 

His well-reasoned and well-informed method of approaching all the issues that come before the Senate is very impressive. He is serious-minded about his responsibilities, and he 

works very hard to be an effective force for solving the problems that face our country. 

If more public servants had the character and the commitment to doing the right thing, whatever the consequences, as 

ZELL MILLER does, our destiny would be assured. 

Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to take this 

opportunity to honor our departing colleagues who are leaving the Senate. In almost each new Congress a different 

group of 100 men and women comes together from different 

backgrounds and political philosophies, representing different interests and constituencies, but through all our differences, we develop respect and admiration for each other. 

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Many times we step across the aisle and work together on 

legislation and oftentimes genuine friendships are created. 

As I pay tribute to these departing Senators, whether they 

have been here one term or seven, they are a remarkable 

group and we thank them for their honorable service. 

I wish to take this time to honor a great Senator and a 

true American patriot, ZELL MILLER. He is a man who has 

served Georgia with dignity and honor these past 4 years in 

the U.S. Senate. 

ZELL MILLER embraced public service early on in his life. 

His mother served as one of Georgia’s first female mayors. 

She taught him early on about public service and a strong 

work ethic, which he has exemplified throughout his career. 

In the late fifties, ZELL MILLER served as mayor of his 

hometown of Young Harris, GA. He then went on to serve as 

a State senator, Lieutenant Governor, and eventually served 

in the highest power in the State of Georgia as Governor. 

Not surprisingly, ZELL MILLER was named by the Washington Post in 1998 as the most popular Governor in America 

and Governing Magazine named him Governor of the Year in 

1998. These career paths finally led him to the U.S. Senate 

in 2000. 

While ZELL MILLER was invested in politics, he was also 

dedicated to education and students. Throughout his career, 

ZELL MILLER was a professor of political science and history 

at Emory University, University of Georgia, and Young Harris College. 

Senator MILLER has continuously reached across the aisle 

to work with Republicans, but it is probably best stated in 

his own words when he pointed out that while he is a lifelong Democrat, he pledged to serve all 8.5 million Georgians 

and no single party in the Senate. Through this approach, 

ZELL MILLER has been a supporter of a broad range of issues 

such as tax cuts, improving education, strengthening national security, and fighting the global war on terrorism. 

While in the Senate, he dutifully served on the Agriculture, 

Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Banking, Housing, 

and Urban Affairs Committee; and the Veterans’ Affairs 

Committee. 

His time here has been all too brief, but Senator MILLER

has made a difference and I will miss him. While he may be 

leaving the U.S. Senate, I do not doubt that we have not 

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heard the last of ZELL. I bid him farewell and extend my 

best wishes to him and his family. 

SATURDAY, November 20, 2004 

Mr. ALLARD. Madam President, I take a moment to talk 

about four colleagues whom I have had an opportunity to 

serve with in the Senate. * * * 

Madam President, I wish to take a moment to recognize 

ZELL MILLER, who replaced Paul Coverdell. He is someone I 

have grown to admire during my service here in the Senate. 

He is a principled individual and truly represents his great 

State of Georgia. 

With each day of this session, I continue to admire his 

strength and tenacity and ability to stand up for what he believes is right. 

These four individuals have distinguished themselves in 

my mind. I have appreciated having the opportunity to serve 

with them in the Senate, and I hold them in great esteem. 

I wish them the very best as they pursue life’s journey, having served in a distinguished way in the Senate. I wish them 

the very best and Godspeed. 

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I rise to say goodbye to several of my colleagues, dear friends and colleagues 

with whom I have had the pleasure to work in the Senate. * * * 

Madam President, it is hard to say how much I appreciate 

ZELL MILLER, a proud Democrat and a great American. Senator MILLER’s early life was not easy. He grew up in the hills 

of Georgia where people may not have had much but they 

worked hard and had strong families and solid values. He 

pulled a stint in the U.S. Marines, which he said put him on 

the right path in life. His colorful career in Georgia politics 

included two terms as Governor. When U.S. Senator Paul 

Coverdell, my great friend, died unexpectedly, ZELL MILLER

was appointed until a special election could be held, which 

he won handily. 

After he arrived in Washington, Senator MILLER was one 

of the few who not only talked the talk of bipartisanship but 

walked the walk. During the war on terror, he advised bipartisan action on the homeland security bill. He called for bipartisan support for traditional American values, a lower tax 

burden, and a strong American defense. 

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I think the verdict on Senator MILLER’s stand for oldtime 

Democratic values has been vindicated, first in the 2002 elections and last in the 2004 elections. Someone who is being 

friendly tells you things you want to hear, but a true friend 

is one who tells you things he thinks you should hear. ZELL

MILLER is that kind of friend to both Democrats and Republicans. He will be missed in this august body, as one of those 

who told it like it is, straight from the heart. 

Madam President, I will miss all of my colleagues. As we 

take the opportunity to go forward in a new Congress, we 

will make new friends, but we will never forget the old ones. 

Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, I want to share my views, as 

did Senator Hutchison and others, about our colleagues who 

are leaving for new adventures in life. 

I wish all the best to Senator Hollings. We will miss his 

booming voice. We will miss Senator Edwards, Senator 

Graham of Florida, and Senator Daschle. We will also miss 

John Breaux, a man we know will enjoy life with his good 

common sense and sense of humor. He is a good friend. 

I want to speak about four others, though. * * * 

ZELL MILLER is probably the colleague that I have known 

the longest. He and I served at the same time as Governors 

of our respective States. He was always one of my role models. We got to know each other very well in the Southern 

Governors Association. Before I came to the Senate, one of 

the people who motivated me to go to the Senate was Paul 

Coverdell. ZELL took his seat and his office. When I came in, 

ZELL gave up that office, and now I am in ZELL MILLER’s and 

Paul Coverdell’s former office. I will think of ZELL a lot in 

the future. Two years ago, when ZELL announced his retirement, or that he was not going to run again, some were saying ZELL MILLER is a lame duck. Well, on this floor, at our 

convention in New York City, and throughout this fall, ZELL

MILLER was anything but a lame duck. ZELL MILLER leaves 

office as a ‘‘mighty duck.’’ We are going to certainly miss 

ZELL. We know he will stay active. 

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to departing Senators for their service and devotion to 

the U.S. Senate. They are not only my colleagues but my 

friends as well. 

The reality of elections for the Senate is that every 2 years 

we experience change—current Members depart and new 

Members are welcomed. At every transition I am reminded 

by the reality that life is more than just politics. I am certain 

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the departing Senators are experiencing a tremendous feeling of sorrow, yet anticipation of things to come, as they 

leave their friends, colleagues, and this great nurturing institution. 

Though we may fight hard during campaigns, we return to 

the Senate after the election to realize that we are not just 

losing Senators—we are losing friends. There is a bond—a 

collegiality and friendship in the Senate that crosses party 

lines. We face long hard battles on the campaign trail and 

sometimes things can get ugly. But after all is said and done, 

after election day, we must all come back to Washington and 

work together to do what is best for our country. 

I will certainly miss my colleagues with whom I have 

worked for several years. I have had the honor to serve on 

the Finance Committee with four of my distinguished retiring colleagues, including Senator John Breaux and Senator 

Don Nickles. Both of these men were instrumental in leading 

the fight to reform Medicare. 

I had the privilege of getting to know Senator ZELL MILLER as we traveled around the country together this past 

fall. Senator MILLER and I have worked hard on education 

issues including the Paperwork Reduction Act. He is a man 

who believes in the ideals of this Nation and understands 

that we must sometimes take a stand if we want to be heard. 

I treasure the friendship that Senator MILLER and I have 

formed during our service together. I want him to know how 

much I admire him. He is a man with the courage to stand 

up for his convictions. He did the hardest thing for any man 

to do—he endorsed the opposing party’s nominee in this 

year’s election. I cannot thank him enough for his support. 

I will always have undying gratitude for him. * * * 

Our departing Senators have been lights of inspiration and 

men who went above the call of duty to serve our country in 

their congressional capacities. They each have their own 

unique political perspective that has served the Senate well. 

Although my philosophies may differ from some Senators, we 

do not disagree on the greatness of America. We can all 

agree that we live in the greatest nation in the world, and 

we all believe that without democracy, life, liberty, and justice cannot flourish. 

My departing colleagues are great men and great Americans. They have contributed immensely to our country—

making their States and our country significantly better 

than when they first set foot on the Senate floor. 

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We are all going to miss their presence and wisdom here 

in the Senate. Their departures will surely leave a hole in 

expertise and leadership that will be hard to fill. I wish them 

health and happiness in their future endeavors—wherever 

the road may take them. May God continue to bless them 

and their families. 

Come January, as we face another transition, I welcome 

the new Members and look forward to forging new relationships as we continue to work toward making Americans 

safer, healthier, and more financially secure. 

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am grateful for the chance 

to take a few moments to recognize my good friend from 

across the aisle, Senator ZELL MILLER of Georgia. ZELL is 

one of my best friends in the U.S. Senate. I know every one 

of my Senate colleagues would join me in expressing how 

much we care for Senator MILLER and how much we will 

miss him. 

It is no secret that ZELL is his own man, someone who 

does what he believes is right, not what is politically expedient. His values were shaped while growing up in the 

South, raised by his strong mother and reinforced through 

his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. 

And for those who say you cannot be a successful politician 

without sacrificing some of your principles, I point to my 

good friend from Georgia. When he finishes his Senate term 

this year, he will complete nearly six decades of publicly 

elected service, starting with his first election as mayor of 

his hometown of Young Harris, GA, in the late fifties. 

ZELL was a popular two-term Governor of Georgia. In fact, 

he was named the most popular Governor in America by the 

Washington Post in 1998. His popularity came from his successful programs that found national acclaim. Among them 

was passing the Nation’s first ‘‘two strikes and you’re out’’

law against violent felons; starting the Nation’s only voluntary pre-kindergarten program for 4-year-olds; and creating the nationally acclaimed HOPE scholarship that has 

had such tremendous success in Georgia. 

My good friend swept into the Senate to complete the remaining 4 years of the late Senator Paul Coverdell. Many political observers call ZELL the last of the southern conservative Democrats to serve in the Senate. He has certainly established himself as a strong voice for the conservative, commonsense approach to issues, reaching across the aisle to 

support tax cuts, improve education, confirm judicial nominations, and strengthen national security. 

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ZELL is widely known for his straight talk on the issues. 

You know where he stands and what he stands for, and everything he says comes straight from the heart. I can’t tell 

you how many times a constituent from my home State of 

Utah will write to tell me how inspired they were by a 

speech that ZELL had given on this Senate floor. 

I am sorry to see ZELL leave, but I am grateful for the 

service he has given these last 4 years. He is beloved by 

Georgians, and I know he would have easily been reelected, 

and he is beloved by millions in America. And, last but not 

least, he is beloved by his colleagues here in the Senate. 

Mr. McCONNELL. We cannot conclude the 108th Congress without a sense of sadness. There are many—in fact 

there are too many—great Senators who are leaving this institution. I have already had an opportunity to express my 

goodbyes to Senator Nickles, Senator Campbell, and Senator 

Fitzgerald. 

I also wish a happy and healthy future to our colleagues 

across the aisle, Senator Daschle, Senator Breaux, Senator 

Hollings, Senator Bob Graham, Senator John Edwards, and 

Senator ZELL MILLER. Each of these men has made a lasting 

contribution to this marvelous institution. 

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Proceedings 

in the House of Representatives 

FRIDAY, November 19, 2004 

Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. Speaker, as Senator ZELL MILLER retires from the U.S. Senate, he returns to the State he has 

served so well for over four decades. 

ZELL MILLER of Towns County, GA, has served his State 

as a State senator, four-term Lieutenant Governor, two-term 

Governor, and U.S. Senator. Though he reached the highest 

peaks of political success, he never left his roots in the 

mountains of north Georgia. 

Today in Georgia, thousands of young adults have earned 

college, university or vocational degrees through full scholarships paid for by the HOPE scholarship ZELL MILLER created. 

Today in Georgia, thousands of young 4-year-old children 

attend public or private prekindergarten provided through 

ZELL MILLER’s leadership. 

As Governor of Georgia, ZELL MILLER empowered educators and improved education. His no-nonsense approach to 

law enforcement made Georgia’s streets and neighborhoods 

safer. Georgia’s economy prospers because ZELL MILLER invested in her ports, roads, and infrastructure. 

Following the September 11 attacks on America, ZELL

MILLER’s strong voice, leadership, and commitment to our 

country and the safety of our people never wavered. His legacy is a legacy of love of country, love of Georgia and love 

of democracy. 

ZELL MILLER has served Georgia and America as a visionary statesman and a patriot. Georgia and America are all 

the better for his service. 

Æ