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Alan Cranston

LATE A SENATOR FROM

CALIFORNIA

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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES

AND ADDRESSES

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Alan Cranston


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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 2001

S. Doc. 107–2

Memorial Tributes and Addresses

HELD IN THE SENATE AND

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES

TOGETHER WITH MEMORIAL SERVICES

IN EULOGY OF

ALAN CRANSTON

Late a Senator from California

One Hundred Seventh Congress

First Session

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Compiled under the direction

of the

Joint Committee on Printing

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CONTENTS

Page

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

Proceedings in the Senate:

Tributes by Senators:

Biden, Joseph R., Jr., of Delaware ........................................... 18

Bingaman, Jeff, of New Mexico ................................................ 11

Boxer, Barbara, of California .................................................... 7

Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia ............................................. 5

Cleland, Max, of Georgia ........................................................... 15, 32

Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota ................................................. 23

Daschle, Thomas A., of South Dakota ...................................... 34

Dorgan, Byron L., of North Dakota .......................................... 14

Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois ................................................... 35

Feinstein, Dianne, of California ................................................ 3

Harkin, Tom, of Iowa ................................................................. 23

Hollings, Ernest F., of South Carolina ..................................... 16

Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas ............................................... 10

Kennedy, Edward M., of Massachusetts .................................. 27

Kerry, John F., of Massachusetts ............................................. 29

Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont ................................................... 17

Murkowski, Frank H., of Alaska .............................................. 15

Reid, Harry, of Nevada .............................................................. 7, 11

Rockefeller, John D., IV, of West Virginia ............................... 19

Sarbanes, Paul S., of Maryland ................................................ 13

Proceedings in the House of Representatives:

Tributes by Representatives:

Baca, Joe, of California .............................................................. 39

Dreier, David, of California ....................................................... 45

Farr, Sam, of California ............................................................ 41

Filner, Bob, of California ........................................................... 43

Harman, Jane, of California ...................................................... 37

Honda, Mike, of California ........................................................ 42

Kucinich, Dennis J., of Ohio ...................................................... 47

Lantos, Tom, of California ......................................................... 38

Napolitano, Grace F., of California ........................................... 37

Schiff, Adam, of California ........................................................ 40

Waxman, Henry A., of California ............................................. 46

Woolsey, Lynn C., of California ................................................ 44

Memorial Services:

Memorial Service, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco: ...................... 51

Biden, Joseph, U.S. Senator from Delaware ............................ 61

Cranston, Colette Penne ............................................................ 54

Cranston, Kim ............................................................................ 56

Davis, Gray, Governor of California ......................................... 59

Goodall, Jane, Primatologist ..................................................... 69

Granoff, Jonathan, CEO, Global Security Institute ................ 71

Hormel, James, former U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg ..... 66

Jones, Rev. Alan, Dean, Grace Cathedral ................................ 53, 73

Lilienthal, Sally, president, Ploughshares Fund ..................... 64

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Page

Memorial Services:—Continued

Reynoso, Cruz, former Justice, California Supreme Court ..... 70

Turnage, William, former president, Wilderness Society ....... 65

Turner, Ted, Founder, CNN ...................................................... 63

Wofford, Harris, former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania ...... 67

Memorial Tribute, Hart Office Building: ......................................... 75

Anderson, John B., former U.S. Representative from Illinois 96

Boxer, Barbara, U.S. Senator from California ......................... 92

Cantwell, Maria, U.S. Senator from Washington .................... 106

Cleland, Max, , U.S. Senator from Georgia ............................. 80

Cranston, Kim ............................................................................ 108

Feinstein, Dianne, U.S. Senator from California .................... 87

Kennedy, Edward M., U.S. Senator from Massachusetts ....... 90

Kerry, John F., U.S. Senator from Massachusetts .................. 102

Miller, George, U.S. Representative from California .............. 99

Montgomery, G.V. (Sonny), former U.S. Representative from

Mississippi ............................................................................... 95

Simpson, Alan K., former U.S. Senator from Wyoming .......... 83

Steinberg, Judge

Jonathan .... 79, 82, 86, 89, 92, 94, 96, 99, 102, 106, 108, 110

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BIOGRAPHY

ALAN MACGREGOR CRANSTON was born on June 19, 1914,

in Palo Alto, California, to William MacGregor Cranston and

Carol (Dixon) Cranston, both of Scottish descent. ALAN

CRANSTON and his sister Eleanor grew up in Los Altos,

where their father was in the real estate business.

At Mountain View Union High School in Los Altos, Mr.

CRANSTON was on the football and track teams, edited the

yearbook, and wrote articles for the school newspaper. After

graduating in 1932 he studied at Pomona College in Claremont, California, for a year. He then spent a summer term

at the University of Mexico before enrolling the following

year at Stanford University, where he majored in English.

Discussions with campus friends about the Depression, the

New Deal, and the rise of nazism in Germany had an important influence in shaping his ideas. His keen interest in journalism led him to work as a reporter for small-town newspapers during college vacations.

After obtaining his B.A. degree from Stanford in 1936, Mr.

CRANSTON joined the staff of the International News Service.

From 1936 to 1938 he served in England, Germany, Italy,

and Ethiopia as a foreign correspondent. He returned to the

United States in 1939 and settled in New York City, where

he contributed articles to the American Mercury and the New

York Times Book Review and lectured on such topics as the

dangers of American isolationism, the looming war, and the

threat of fascism.

Having read the original of Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ in

Germany, Mr. CRANSTON discovered that the version then

being distributed in the United States had been edited to delete passages that might alert Americans and the world to

the threat of nazism. He prepared a brochure, an abridged

version with anti-Nazi explanatory notes, and sold it for 10

cents a copy. The brochure, published by the Noram Publishing Company in 1939, sold 500,000 copies before Hitler’s

agents got it banned by American courts for copyright infringement.

In 1939 Mr. CRANSTON moved to Washington, D.C., where

he worked until 1941 as a representative of the Common

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Council for American Unity, an organization whose objective

was to exercise a liberalizing influence on legislation. After

the United States entered World War II, he joined the staff

of the Office of War Information. He served there for 2 years,

from 1942 to 1944, as Chief of the Foreign Language Division. It was partly as a result of Mr. CRANSTON’s efforts that

Italian citizens in the United States were removed from classification as enemy aliens. A post-war Italian premier later

suggested that it was that act of friendship toward Italians

that helped to expedite Italy’s decision to make peace with

the Allies. Mr. CRANSTON is also credited with the idea of

having an American town renamed Lidice in memory of the

Czechoslovakian town wiped out by the Germans in 1942. In

response, the Czech-American townspeople of Stern Park

Gardens, Illinois, renamed their town Lidice.

In 1944 Mr. CRANSTON enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private and was assigned to an infantry unit in the United

States. Later he served as editor of Army Talk and coauthored a pamphlet entitled ‘‘Fascism.’’ Discharged as a

sergeant in 1945, Mr. CRANSTON returned to Washington

with the determination to devote his efforts to world peace

and international organization. His book, ‘‘The Killing of the

Peace’’ (Viking Press, 1945), is an account of events from

1916 to 1923 that led to the defeat of the League of Nations,

with emphasis on the role of the United States. The New

York Times selected it as one of the 10 best books of 1945.

Mr. CRANSTON had a pioneering role in the world federalist movement that evolved after World War II with the advocacy of the formation of a Federal union of nations. He directed the executive committee of Americans United for

World Government and in 1945 took part in the Conference

on World Government in Dublin, New Hampshire, which

was attended by 30 writers, editors, lawyers, educators, and

others dedicated to the quest for peace. At that conference he

was assigned the task of presenting to U.N. delegates, who

met in London in February 1946, the ‘‘Dublin Declaration,’’

which proposed the transformation of the U.N. General Assembly into a world legislature with ‘‘limited but definite and

adequate power for the prevention of war.’’ During that period Mr. CRANSTON served as chairman of a world government conference at Princeton, New Jersey, and in 1945–46

he was executive secretary of the Council for AmericanItalian Affairs, Inc.

In early 1947 he returned to California, where he embarked on a successful career in real estate. He became the

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head of Ames-Cranston Co., a Palo Alto firm founded by his

father. He later became president of Homes for a Better

America, a Los Angeles building company, and vice president

of the Carlsberg Financial Corporation, a Los Angeles land

investment firm.

Meanwhile, Americans United for World Government and

five other organizations merged in February 1947 to form

the United World Federalists, Inc., and Mr. CRANSTON was

elected head of the new organization’s San Francisco chapter. He later became chairman of its Northern California

branch. In 1949 the national executive council of the United

World Federalists unanimously elected Mr. CRANSTON its national president. He served until 1952 and continued to serve

for years as 1 of 12 honorary vice presidents of the United

World Federalists.

An active Democrat, Mr. CRANSTON was a founder of the

California Democratic Council, a federation of local Democratic clubs formed to revitalize the party after its defeat in

the 1952 presidential election. He became the first president

of the council in 1953 and served until 1958. In his first bid

for public office, Mr. CRANSTON successfully ran for Controller of the State of California in 1958, becoming the first

Democrat to hold that office in 72 years. He was elected to

a second 4-year term in 1962.

Mr. CRANSTON entered the U.S. Senate race in 1964 in

view of the ill health of incumbent Democratic Senator Clair

Engle of California. He lost the Democratic nomination to

Pierre Salinger, former White House press secretary. In the

Republican landslide of 1966, Mr. CRANSTON was defeated in

his bid for a third term as Controller, although he received

47 percent of the vote.

He again entered the race for a Senate seat in 1968 and

won. Identifying himself with minority groups and the poor,

Mr. CRANSTON called for ‘‘justice through equal opportunity

for all regardless of race, religion, or class.’’ He asked for

‘‘peace and security on the streets,’’ and for ‘‘an immediate

and unconditional halt of the bombing’’ of North Vietnam,

but rejected demands for unilateral withdrawal of American

forces before an ‘‘honorable peace’’ was achieved. He advocated replacement of the military draft by a volunteer army

and called for a sweeping reform of taxation on the Federal,

State, and local levels.

At the opening of the 91st Congress in January 1969, Senator CRANSTON was assigned to the Committee on Labor and

Public Welfare (later Human Resources). He was Chairman

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of its Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee and a member of its

Subcommittees on Employment, Manpower, and Poverty;

Health; Labor; and Migratory Labor. He later served as

Chairman of its Subcommittee on Child and Human Development. He also served throughout his 24 years on the

Banking and Currency Committee (later Banking, Housing,

and Urban Affairs) and its Subcommittees on Housing and

Urban Affairs (later becoming its Chairman in 1987); International Finance; Production and Stabilization; and Securities. He served on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee from its

inception in 1971 and became its Chairman in 1977. Beginning in 1981, he served on the Foreign Relations Committee

and chaired its Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs. He also served on the Budget Committee, the Select

Committee on Intelligence, and the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs.

He began his first term supporting legislation on such subjects as agriculture, conservation, voting rights, the environment, employment and training, poverty, children, health

care, women’s rights, and improved veterans’ benefits. He opposed the controversial antiballistic missile system, and

gained a reputation for being a liberal Democrat identified

with the cause of world peace and the struggle for human

rights on many fronts. A hallmark of his legislative approach

was to work with a Republican Senator in a bipartisan effort, for example, on veterans’ issues. As Democratic Whip

for a record 12 years, he was a leader in seeking to improve

relations between the United States and the Soviet Union

and advocated establishing formal diplomatic relations with

the People’s Republic of China while working to ensure the

security of Taiwan.

[Mr. CRANSTON’s Senate record is summarized under ‘‘A

Legislative Legacy’’ and may be found on page 112.]

He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party nomination for President in 1983, campaigning principally on three

issues: nuclear arms control, improved U.S.-Soviet relations,

and the economy.

Mr. CRANSTON served 24 years as Senator, ending in 1992

when he chose not to seek a fifth term after he was diagnosed as having prostate cancer. During much of his Senate

career, he focused on civil rights, the environment, and veterans’ issues, but the centerpiece of his agenda was nuclear

arms control, a goal that in retirement led him to join former

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as chairman of a San Francisco-based think tank called the Gorbachev Foundation

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USA, which was dedicated to nuclear disarmament. He later

became president of the Global Security Institute, which he

founded. The Institute’s most important accomplishment was

to put together, as part of a new coalition of groups called

Project Abolition, the Appeal for Reasonable Security, which

calls for nuclear abolition and steps toward that end, and

was signed, at Mr. CRANSTON’s urging, by President Jimmy

Carter, Paul Nitze, General Charles Horner, and other dignitaries. The appeal will be circulated by Project Abolition as

the foundation of a wider nuclear abolition campaign in the

United States in the future.

He married Geneva McMath in 1940. They had two sons,

Robin MacGregor and Kim Christopher. Mr. CRANSTON’s

first marriage ended in divorce, and he married Norma

Weintraub in 1978. His eldest son Robin was killed in a traffic accident in 1980. The second marriage also ended in divorce.

To the end of his life, Mr. CRANSTON pursued his twin passions of arms control and environmental protection. He also

kept active in California politics by running the Committee

for a Democratic Consensus, which raised funds for candidates. Shortly before his death, Mr. CRANSTON completed

a book entitled ‘‘The Sovereignty Resolution.’’

Mr. CRANSTON is survived by his sister Eleanor, who wrote

a biography ‘‘Cranston, the Senator from California’’; his son

Kim and Kim’s wife Colette; and a granddaughter Evan—all

residing in Los Altos Hills, California.

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MEMORIAL TRIBUTES AND

ADDRESSES

FOR

ALAN CRANSTON

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Proceedings in the Senate

THURSDAY, January 4, 2001

TRIBUTE TO FORMER CALIFORNIA SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, this past weekend,

our Nation lost one of its finest public servants with the

passing of former California Senator ALAN CRANSTON.

Senator CRANSTON served California well, and our hearts

and thoughts go to his son Kim and the rest of his family

at this difficult time.

Senator CRANSTON holds the distinction of being the only

Democrat in our State’s history to win four terms to the U.S.

Senate, serving 24 years.

Born in Palo Alto, California, in 1914, ALAN CRANSTON

was a tireless champion for peace, justice and human rights.

He was also a steadfast advocate for the poor and oppressed.

Senator CRANSTON was educated at Stanford University

where he excelled as both a student and athlete. After graduating, Senator CRANSTON worked as a correspondent for the

International News Service and then served his Nation well

in the U.S. Army in World War II.

In 1939, ALAN CRANSTON edited the first unexpurgated

English translation of Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ published

in the United States in an effort to alert Americans to the

dangers of the Third Reich.

In fact, Senator CRANSTON had the very unique experience

of being sued by Hitler for copyright violation for his work

on this editing project and—in true ALAN CRANSTON form—

he wore this as a badge of honor and demonstrated that he

would stand up to anyone in pursuit of Democratic principles

and ideals.

His first service in elected office was when he won his race

for California State Controller in 1962. He then ran successfully for the Senate in 1968 and was elected seven times as

Party Whip.

He was called by many as one of the best ‘‘nose counters’’

in the Senate. My esteemed colleague and former Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd said of Senator CRANSTON, ‘‘He is

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absolutely superb when it comes to knowing how the votes

will fall in place on a given issue.’’

Senator CRANSTON also was a strong leader in an effort to

protect our environment. I am proud to say that he was the

original author of the Desert Protection Act, and he called

me shortly after I won election to the Senate in 1992 to ask

me if I would take over the effort to get the bill approved.

In 1994, we amended the bill a number of times but were

able to get it passed and make the legislation a reality.

This landmark measure created two new national parks—

Death Valley and Joshua Tree—and one national preserve—

the Mojave. In total, the measure has permanently saved

and protected over 7 million acres of pristine California

desert wilderness for all time.

As Thomas Jefferson said in 1809 that ‘‘the care of human

life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and

only legitimate object of good government,’’ it appears to me

that Senator CRANSTON demonstrated this view with strong

and forceful advocacy of arms control.

In the Senate, ALAN CRANSTON played a leading role in

moving the SALT and START Arms Control Treaties

through this body, and he drafted the first bill to eliminate

funding for the Vietnam War.

In 1983, ALAN CRANSTON said that ending the arms race

would be the paramount goal of his run for the Presidency.

That effort was not successful, but his effort to promote an

honest dialog on this issue grew, and he continued to work

toward a more peaceful planet right up until the time of his

death.

In 1996, he became chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation

USA based in San Francisco, founded by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and devoted to nuclear disarmament.

More recently, he served as president of the Global Security Institute, a think tank devoted to the same end. The Institute recently persuaded more than 100 international civilian leaders, including 44 former Presidents and Prime Ministers, to sign onto its nuclear weapon elimination initiative.

Signators included former President Jimmy Carter, former

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, Nobel Laureates Kenneth Arrow and Elie Weisel, Coretta Scott King, astronaut

Sally Ride and retired Supreme Allied Commander General

Andrew Goodpaster.

Former Representative Lionel Van Deerlin described Senator CRANSTON’s devotion to nuclear disarmament well when

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he said, ‘‘He’s got to be remembered for pioneering, when the

Cold War was still on, limiting the worst weapons ever conceived.’’

In summing up the career of Senator ALAN CRANSTON, I

believe a recent editorial in the Los Angeles Times aptly

sums up his life and his service to our Nation:

[Senator CRANSTON] toiled in the trenches during a long political career

in behalf of California and world peace. The value of his efforts and dedication was not fully appreciated at the time and was overshadowed by his departure from the Senate. It’s that body of work that should be remembered

and celebrated now.

Madam President, our Nation is no doubt a better place

because of Senator ALAN CRANSTON’s service, and we will

miss him deeply.

FRIDAY, January 5, 2001

ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, on December 31st the Nation

lost a remarkable man.

At his home in Los Altos, California, lands-end of the Nation and State he served, ALAN CRANSTON did not witness

the beginning of the new millennium.

It has been said that death is the great leveler. But ALAN

CRANSTON’s accomplishments in life have clearly set him

apart.

Nearly seven decades ago, a young American journalist

from California published an unexpurgated version of Adolf

Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’ ‘‘My Struggle’’—revealing, as few had

previously done, the true depth of the danger and the evil

that Hitler embodied. Hitler successfully sued for copyright

violation, and ALAN CRANSTON wore that loss as a proud

badge throughout his life.

After a career in journalism, service in the U.S. Army during World War II, business, and local politics, ALAN CRANSTON joined the Members of this U.S. Senate in 1969 by virtue of his election in the previous November.

Here, Senator CRANSTON’s vision and rich composition of

experiences, talents, and wisdom enriched our Senate deliberations.

In 1977, when I was elected Senate Democratic Leader,

Senator CRANSTON won election as Assistant Democratic

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Leader, or ‘‘Whip.’’ In all his years of working, first as my

proverbial ‘‘right hand’’ and, subsequently, as a close colleague in the Senate leadership when I became President

Pro Tempore, Senator CRANSTON was a conscientious adjutant and a congenial friend and partner in numerous legislative efforts. Unfortunately, words alone cannot adequately

convey the respect in which I held Senator CRANSTON, nor

the solid appreciation that I felt for Senator CRANSTON and

for his loyalty, his supreme dedication, his high purpose, his

contributions to the Senate’s work through many years.

He was a fine lieutenant, if I may use that term. He was

always there when I needed him. And many times I said

that he was absolutely the best nose counter that I had ever

seen in the Senate.

But friendship and respect are not always easily forged.

Tragedy makes a bond. In 1980, Senator CRANSTON was

dealt Fate’s glancing blow with the death of a child, a loss

of a promise to the future, when his son Robin Cranston died

in a traffic accident in 1980, at the age of 33. Two years

later, my wife Erma and I were dealt a similar blow with the

death of our grandson, John Michael Moore, in a traffic accident.

Mr. President, a valedictory is not always sad and it is fitting that Senator CRANSTON’s final words on this floor regarding his career be repeated here. On October 8, 1992, he

made these short and poignant remarks:

Mr. President, a Senator from California gets involved in myriad issues.

Just about every issue that exists has an impact, somehow, in the remarkable State of 30 million people that I represent. So I have been involved in

countless issues over my time in the Senate.

Most of all, I have dedicated myself to the cause of peace, and to the environment. In many a sense I believe that my work on the environment is

probably the longest-lasting work I have accomplished here.

When you deal with a social issue, or a war and peace issue, or an economic issue, or whatever the results, the consequences are fleeting. Whatever you accomplish is soon changed, and often what you have done leads

to new problems that then have to be dealt with.

But when you preserve a wild river, or a wilderness, or help create a national park, that is forever. That part of your State, our Nation, is then destined to be there forever after, as God created it.

I worked with particular dedication over these years, too, on issues of justice, equal rights, human rights, civil rights, voting rights, equal opportunity. I worked for democracy and freedom in my country and in all countries. I focused particularly on housing, and transportation, and veterans.

I thank the people of California for the remarkable opportunity I have

had to serve them in the Senate for almost a quarter of a century.

Today, I along with millions of Americans, thank my

friend, ALAN CRANSTON, for his work, his life, and his vision.

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No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent,

a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less,

as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of

thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in

mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls

for thee.

I yield the floor.

AUTHORITY FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that

the tributes to ALAN CRANSTON, late Senator of the State of

California, be printed as a Senate document and that Senators have until Friday, February 9, 2001, to submit said

tributes.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

MONDAY, January 22, 2001

SUBMISSION OF CONCURRENT AND SENATE RESOLUTIONS

The following concurrent resolutions and Senate resolutions were read, and referred (or acted upon), as indicated:

By Mr. INOUYE:

S. Res. 11. A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate reaffirming the

cargo preference policy of the United States; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

By Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein):

S. Res. 12. A resolution relative to the death of ALAN CRANSTON, former

United States Senator for the State of California; considered and agreed to.

By Mr. DASCHLE (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Johnson,

Mr. Baucus, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Kohl, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Wellstone,

Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Carnahan, Mr.

Dayton, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Stabenow, and Mr. Schumer):

S. Res. 13. A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the

need for Congress to enact a new farm bill during the 1st session of the

107th Congress; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

SENATE RESOLUTION 12—RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF ALAN

CRANSTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SENATOR FOR THE STATE

OF CALIFORNIA

Mrs. BOXER (for herself and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted

the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

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S. RES. 12

Whereas ALAN MACGREGOR CRANSTON had a long and distinguished career, beginning with service as a foreign correspondent and continuing with

service in the United States Office of War Information and in the United

States Army;

Whereas ALAN CRANSTON was a leader in his State before coming to the

Congress, serving as State Controller of California for eight years;

Whereas ALAN CRANSTON served the people of California with distinction

for 24 years in the United States Senate;

Whereas Senator CRANSTON was a lifelong advocate for world peace and

the defense of democratic institutions;

Whereas Senator CRANSTON was an unwavering friend of the environment

and California’s remarkable natural resources;

Whereas Senator CRANSTON was a leader in the United States Senate in

many areas, including the fields of affordable housing, mass transit, veterans affairs, civil rights and education; and

Whereas Senator CRANSTON left a lasting legacy in his post-Senate career

through his efforts to curb the spread of nuclear weapons and to eliminate

the scourge of nuclear weapons from the planet, efforts which continued

until the day he died: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable ALAN CRANSTON,

former member of the United States Senate.

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate communicate these resolutions

to the House of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy thereof to the

family of the deceased.

Resolved, That when the Senate adjourns or recesses today, it stand adjourned or recessed as a further mark of respect to the memory of the Honorable ALAN CRANSTON.

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to share with the Senate my thoughts on the life

of a friend and former Member of this body, Senator ALAN

CRANSTON.

ALAN passed away on December 31, 2000, at 86 at home

in California. It was a quiet end for a man who throughout

his career raised his voice for so many. ALAN enjoyed a long

life and was blessed with a keen mind, a strong spirit and

simple common sense. In return for these gifts he worked to

his last days to make this world a more peaceful and humane place. I will miss him and his example very much.

ALAN was first elected to the Senate in 1968. He served

the people of California in this Chamber for four terms,

eventually retiring in 1993. It was my honor to have been

elected to the seat he vacated.

Prior to his Senate service he was Controller for the State

of California. He served his country in World War II, first in

the Office of War Information and then in the U.S. Army.

After graduating from Stanford University and before the

onset of the war, ALAN was an overseas correspondent for

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the International News Service, covering such places as England, Germany, Italy and Ethiopia.

While a correspondent he saw an English language version

of ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’ sanitized to hide the truth from Americans. He published his own version highlighting the ‘‘worst

of Hitler’’ and was sued by Hitler’s publisher. While he lost

the suit, a half a million copies had already been distributed,

helping to educate many about the true nature of nazism

and Hitler.

As U.S. Senator he stood out as a tireless and effective advocate for his constituents. No matter how he grew in stature and influence within this institution, he never forgot

those who sent him to Washington and why. ALAN cared

deeply for people. He pursued policies that reflected his unwavering belief in the fundamental dignity and worth of others.

As Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, ALAN

played an invaluable role in America’s efforts to assist our

servicemen and women and their families. In addition, he

was a national leader on the environment, civil rights, workers’ rights, education and so much more. A consensus builder, he achieved success through a firm understanding of the

issues and a finely developed sense of not only what was

needed, but what was possible.

ALAN left his mark on many issues, but his true passion

was world peace. As a witness to the horror and devastation

of World War II, he committed himself to creating a world

where conflicts between nations could be resolved without

bloodshed. He was an outspoken opponent of the war in Vietnam and made the abolition of nuclear weapons a central

part of his agenda in the Senate. Upon his retirement, he devoted himself to the latter cause almost exclusively.

Encouraged by the end of the Cold War, after leaving the

Senate he became chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation,

which later changed its name to the State of the World

Forum. Based in San Francisco, the Forum has developed

into a widely respected organization for the discussion of

global issues. In recent years, the Forum has hosted multiday gatherings attended by world leaders. This year’s gathering occurred in New York and coincided with the U.N.’s

Millennial Summit. As an authority on non-proliferation,

ALAN CRANSTON prepared the program on the subject for

participants who included former Heads of State and some

of the most influential minds in foreign affairs, business, the

arts and the media.

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ALAN also formed the Global Security Institute. There he

and others conceived of Project Abolition, the Responsible Security Appeal. The purpose of this coalition is to rally people,

politicians and governments to support policies that lead to

a world safe from the nuclear threat. I am sure ALAN would

be pleased that this effort will continue even without him.

Recently, CNN founder Ted Turner and former Senator

Sam Nunn announced that they were forming a foundation

with an annual budget of $50 million dedicated to the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. This is great news,

and further evidence that ALAN’s message of peace continues

to resonate. In many ways, this foundation is a tribute to

him and his legacy.

Senator ALAN CRANSTON was a leader and citizen that

California, the United States and the world could be proud

of. Although we are all a little poorer today at his passing,

in the final tally we are all much richer for having known

him and benefited from his time among us.

I yield the floor.

RELATIVE TO THE DEATH OF ALAN CRANSTON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration

of S. Res. 12 introduced earlier today by Senators Boxer and

Feinstein.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.

The legislative clerk read as follows:

A resolution (S. Res. 12) relative to the death of ALAN CRANSTON, former

United States Senator from the State of California.

There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider

the resolution.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 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 be printed in the

Record.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

The resolution (S. Res. 12) was agreed to.

The preamble was agreed to.

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WEDNESDAY, January 24, 2001

TRIBUTE TO FORMER SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, ALAN CRANSTON was here

in the Senate when I first arrived in 1983. He was a staunch

advocate not only for California but also for a host of progressive policies at the national level. He was dedicated to

protecting the environment, to expanding voter opportunities

for all Americans, to closing the gap in our society between

the rich and the poor. He was a champion of equal rights for

all. He was a foe of bigotry in all its forms.

Perhaps his greatest passion during the years he served in

the Senate was reducing the threat of nuclear war. He led

the fight for arms control. Even after he left the Senate, he

continued his work and spoke out for arms control and for

the de-alerting of nuclear weapons.

I remember meeting with ALAN last year at Ricky’s Hyatt

House in Mountain View, California. I was in the Bay area,

and I called ahead to see if he was available for breakfast.

He said it was near his home and that he would meet me

there.

He was a little less vigorous during that breakfast than he

had been in earlier visits, but his commitment to arms reduction was undiminished. I remember thinking at the time

how impressive it was to see someone who felt strongly

enough about his views to find a way to continue advocacy

of those views after leaving public office. It was clear that although he had left public office, he had not left public service.

ALAN CRANSTON lived a remarkable life, and we are all

fortunate that he devoted so much of that life to public service. I, for one, will miss ALAN’s wise counsel and his passionate commitment to making the world a better place.

Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about a subject that brings me great sorrow—the passing of my old

friend and colleague, former California Senator ALAN CRANSTON.

Senator CRANSTON passed away suddenly last New Year’s

Eve, at the age of 86. His sudden death came as a shock to

all of us who remember him for his abundant energy and enthusiasm.

ALAN was elected to this body for the first of four terms

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rived here for the first time almost 18 years after him, and

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity

to serve alongside him. I will always remember him fondly,

both for the kind of person he was, and the kind of Senator

he was.

ALAN was elected Democratic Whip an unprecedented

seven straight times, and served in that role in both the majority and minority. Having now served as my Party’s Whip

for 2 years, I can say that nobody who holds that office can

possibly ignore the long shadow that he still casts over it.

Recently the Senate approved a historic power-sharing

agreement under which both parties would have an equal

number of seats in each committee. It remains to be seen

how this arrangement will work in practice, and whether the

split will create more cooperation, or more gridlock.

But I think that if we in the Senate are to make it work,

we would do well to follow the model set by Senator CRANSTON. Those of my colleagues who did not know him personally would do well to study the lessons of his life and his career.

The press called him ‘‘Colorless CRANSTON,’’ a nickname he

wore with pride, because it reflected his fundamental belief

that legislative accomplishment was far more important than

crafting sound bites or scoring political points. When you

needed to find ALAN, you didn’t look in the press gallery or

the recording studio—you looked for him in the cloakroom,

where he was always busy negotiating a compromise or finding ways to move legislation over obstacles.

Although he was known as one of the last true liberals, he

never let his ideology get in the way of getting things done.

He regularly reached out across the aisle and his close

friends included some of his most vigorous and outspoken political opponents. He was a workhorse who lived by the

maxim that a leader can accomplish great things if he

doesn’t mind who gets the credit.

Some of his greatest accomplishments found him in alliances that left outsiders scratching their heads—for example, teaming with Strom Thurmond to improve veterans programs, with Alfonse D’Amato on public housing measures,

with Barry Goldwater to protect First Amendment press

freedoms. Outsiders wondered whether he had sold out his

old liberal beliefs, but the truth was that he was just finding

ways to get things done with as little fuss as possible.

During his 24 years in the Senate, no legislation that

touched on his passions—veterans benefits, disarmament,

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environmental protection, human rights, or civil rights—

passed this body without his fingerprints on it, although

more often than not, only those closest to him realized the

extent of his contribution.

During his long and colorful career, he crossed paths with

some of the most famous men in history and was present

many times while history was being made. He was a track

star at Stanford and member of a record-setting relay sprint

team. As a young journalist, he reported on the rise of nazism in Germany, and was sued by Adolf Hitler for publishing an unsanitized version of ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ and revealing

Hitler’s true ambitions to the world. His lifelong commitment

to halting the use of nuclear weapons began after he was introduced to Albert Einstein in 1946. After retiring from the

Senate, he established a think tank with Mikhail Gorbachev

to promote world peace, where he worked until his death. He

counted Groucho Marx among his supporters.

Yet despite these brushes with fame and the long list of

bills that bear his name, he will always be best remembered

in this body for the things that newspapers don’t report—for

his grace, his humility, his leadership, and his devotion to

his son Kim and his granddaughter. He will be missed.

Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in honoring our friend and former colleague, Senator

ALAN CRANSTON, who died on December 31, 2000, at the age

of 86 in his native California.

While ALAN CRANSTON was elected to the U.S. Senate in

1968, his public service began years before when he served

in the Executive Offices of the President in 1942 as Chief of

the Foreign Language Division of the Office of War Information. Declining a deferment, he enlisted as a private in the

U.S. Army in 1944. First assigned to an infantry unit, he became editor of Army Talk and was a Sergeant by V–J Day.

He went on to serve two terms as State Controller of California before being elected to the U.S. Senate.

ALAN CRANSTON served the people of California with distinction in the U.S. Senate for 24 years. He chaired the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, providing invaluable assistance

to our Nation’s servicemen and women. He was in the forefront in the U.S. Senate on numerous issues of national importance, including mass transit, civil rights, the environment, women’s rights, housing and education.

I was privileged to serve with Senator CRANSTON on the

Foreign Relations Committee where he played an important

role during Senate consideration of the SALT II and START

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Treaties, helped pave the way for ratification of the Panama

Canal Treaty, and was active in efforts to promote peace in

the Middle East. Senator CRANSTON was a tireless advocate

for world peace and the defense of Democratic institutions.

Throughout his Senate service, ALAN CRANSTON worked

diligently to promote the reduction and, ultimately, the

elimination of nuclear weapons. After retiring in 1993, he

continued his extraordinary commitment and devotion to

these critical efforts. He chaired the State of the World

Forum, a widely respected organization for the discussion of

global problems, based in San Francisco. He was also founder and president of the Global Security Institute, concentrating on a worldwide effort to reduce, marginalize and eliminate nuclear weapons.

Mr. President, ALAN CRANSTON was a leader in the U.S.

Senate, a well-respected Member of this body. He had a

unique ability to achieve consensus under difficult circumstances, and his wise counsel will be missed by every

Member with whom he served. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to him and to extend my deepest

sympathies to his family.

Mr. DORGAN addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to

speak for as much time as I may consume.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, ALAN CRANSTON was a Senator in this Chamber for a long while. In fact, in recent

months he visited this Chamber, and I had an opportunity

to say a few words to him. He was someone who left a significant mark, especially in the area of fighting for a policy

in this country that would put this country in a leadership

position to reduce the threat of nuclear war.

Mr. CRANSTON worked diligently on that issue here in

Congress, but after he left his service in the Senate, he especially was interested, and active all around this country, in

trying to mobilize the energy and interest for this country to

lead in a range of areas dealing with stopping the spread of

nuclear weapons. I recall, perhaps 6 months ago, driving

down a rural highway in North Dakota and receiving a call

on my cell phone. The call was from former Senator ALAN

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CRANSTON, and he was calling from California. What he was

calling about was what he always talked about in recent

years. He was trying to find ways to continue our country’s

obligation to reduce the threat of nuclear weapons and the

threat of nuclear war.

He felt passionately about the Comprehensive Nuclear

Test Ban Treaty and was disappointed when the treaty was

voted down in the Senate last year or a year and a half ago.

But he never stopped working. He always believed that our

country, as strong and as big as it is, had a leadership responsibility in the world to mobilize its energy and commitment to find ways to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

So today we pay honor to his memory. We should be

thankful that there was an ALAN CRANSTON involved in public service. I say to his family that our sympathies go to

them. We will all miss his commitment in dealing with this

issue of nuclear arms reduction.

MONDAY, January 29, 2001

ORDER FOR RECORD TO REMAIN OPEN UNTIL FEBRUARY 20 TO

SUBMIT CRANSTON TRIBUTES

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, I ask unanimous

consent the order of January 5th with respect to the CRANSTON tributes be changed to reflect that Senators have until

Tuesday, February 20, to submit tributes, and that the tributes then be printed as a Senate document.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

TUESDAY, January 30, 2001

TRIBUTE TO ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, for the information of all

Senators, I am being joined by former Senator Alan Simpson

and my distinguished colleagues, Senators Boxer, Feinstein,

Kennedy and Rockefeller, in sponsoring a memorial tribute

to our former colleague and my dear friend, ALAN CRANSTON,

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who passed away on New Year’s Eve 2000. The tribute will

be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2001, at 2 p.m. in Room 902

of the Hart Building. I invite and encourage all Senators to

join us for this celebration of ALAN’s life of service to the people of our country.

TUESDAY, February 6, 2001

IN MEMORY OF ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, it is an honor for me to

pay tribute to my former Senate colleague ALAN CRANSTON.

With Senator CRANSTON’s passing, we lost a gifted leader, a

shrewd politician and a dedicated reformer. It seemed significant that Senator CRANSTON passed away on New Year’s

Eve 2000 because his life encompassed, literally, the 20th

century. He was born the year World War I began, grew up

during the Depression, covered the rise of fascism in Europe

as a foreign correspondent and led the fight for a nuclear

arms freeze during the Cold War. He called luminaries of the

age among his friends, most notably Albert Einstein. ALAN

CRANSTON arrived in the Senate shortly after I did and we

served together for 24 years until his retirement in 1993. We

even hit the Presidential campaign trail together, both running for the White House on the Democratic ticket in 1984.

Those of us who served with Senator CRANSTON will remember the tally sheets he carried around to count votes.

We will also remember the talent he had for carefully preserving his own liberal ideologies while working effectively

with those on the opposite end of the political spectrum. He

may have offended some with his push for disarmament, but

more often than not he disarmed them with his own friendly

manner. Senator CRANSTON left an indelible mark on environmental, civil rights and global security policy. His legacies are the Global Security Institute, his accomplishments

as a U.S. Senator and his dedication to the people of California. He will be missed, but a political giant like ALAN CRANSTON will not be forgotten.

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THURSDAY, February 8, 2001

A TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that

I rise today to pay tribute to our friend and colleague ALAN

CRANSTON. His death on December 31 last year was a shock.

ALAN was such a life force that it is hard for me to imagine

his silence and his not being there for great arms control debates.

Senator CRANSTON was a man of conviction, a true humanitarian in every sense of those words. He began his career

in public policy in the 1930s as a journalist warning his

readers of the dangerous rise of fascism. He knew even then

that the United States was locked in an intricate web of relations with the rest of the world and that our attempts to ignore that web could only lead to calamity for ourselves and

those around us. ALAN understood the concept of

globalization at least 50 years before it gained such notoriety

to earn a name.

It was primarily that impulse to engage the world that

brought ALAN into elective office and eventually to the U.S.

Senate. As State of California Controller from 1958 to 1967,

he worked to rationalize the booming State’s finances and

ensure that all Californians could benefit from that phenomenal rise.

But it was in the Senate where ALAN could most effectively work toward his vision of a peaceable world. Before

the people of California sent him here in 1968, he learned

about the Senate’s moderating influence and the consequences of its shirking that role. In his post-World War II

book, ‘‘The Killing of the Peace,’’ ALAN explained how the

U.S. Senate’s defeat of the League of Nations contributed to

the outbreak of that war and the horrible events that followed.

Most of his activities during his impressive 24 years here

were an expression of his deep desire for the Senate to avoid

similar mistakes. He brought a special seriousness of purpose and attentiveness to arms control issues as diverse as

the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and ongoing production

of the B–2 stealth bomber. On several occasions, I joined him

in opposing the production of new, destabilizing types of nuclear weapons, and I was always struck by ALAN’s sense of

nuance and willful resolve.

ALAN was not one to ignore his own personal responsibilities to the Senate. As Democratic Whip, ALAN made this

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body run efficiently. If there is anyone who was never afraid

to count the votes, it was ALAN. He knew how to smoke us

out on our intentions. What made him so effective was his

persuasive argumentation and downright persistence. Sometimes he could change my mind faster than he could run a

100-yard dash, which was pretty fast considering he was a

lifelong record-setting sprinter.

It was not surprising that after his Senate career he led

the non-profit Global Security Institute where he continued

to press for arms control initiatives. The Institute provided

a perfect platform from which he could promote his expanded

notion of security. After the Cold War, ALAN realized before

everyone else that security no longer meant merely protection from weapons of mass destruction. He saw that security

in the new millennium was also about avoiding environmental degradation, securing our food supply, and educating

our children.

ALAN was a forward thinker and an alternative voice at a

time when conventional wisdom demanded examination. He

worked to make our world safer, and he was a good friend.

I will miss him greatly.

THE ALAN CRANSTON I KNEW: INTENSITY, INTEGRITY, AND

COMMITMENT

Mr. BIDEN. A couple of weeks ago I had the sad duty to

travel to California to represent the Senate and the Senate

Foreign Relations Committee at a memorial service for Senator ALAN MACGREGOR CRANSTON. It was a moving ceremony, a chance for all those in attendance to re-dedicate

themselves to the noble goals which shaped ALAN CRANSTON’s life.

ALAN CRANSTON will be remembered by those of us who

knew and loved him as a man of peace who devoted much

of his adult life—four terms in the Senate and a decade as

director of the Global Security Institute—to the tasks of promoting nuclear arms control and encouraging world peace.

These are not small objectives, but of course ALAN CRANSTON’s interests extended beyond them, literally, ‘‘from the

Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream waters.’’ Never content

to sit on the sidelines, ALAN CRANSTON fought tirelessly for

the causes in which he believed: nuclear disarmament, the

environment, civil rights, and decent housing. He brought

the intensity of a sprinter and the endurance of a

marathoner to each of these causes.

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During his tenure as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1981 to 1993, ALAN CRANSTON was

a devoted supporter of strong U.S. leadership in the world,

whether it meant promoting the development of democracy

in the Philippines and Cambodia or working to halt the

spread of nuclear weapons.

ALAN CRANSTON knew that the United States could not go

it alone in the world. In an age when American

unilateralism, if not isolationism, has gained a certain currency in Washington, ALAN CRANSTON’s life reminds us that

the highest aspirations of the American people are those

which lead us to care about others and work with others to

address common problems.

The intensity, integrity, and commitment ALAN CRANSTON

brought to public service stand as an example we all might

follow as we begin work in this 107th Congress.

Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent that a transcript of the remarks made at Senator CRANSTON’s memorial

service be printed in the Record.

[The memorial service may be found on page 51.]

WEDNESDAY, February 14, 2001

TRIBUTE TO FORMER SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I join many of my colleagues in paying tribute to former Senator ALAN CRANSTON,

who died on New Year’s Eve, 2000. Since I came to the Senate in 1985, I have had the honor of serving on the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and my first 8 years on the committee were under the superb chairmanship of Senator CRANSTON. During our years, I came to know and appreciate his

unbounded dedication to the veterans of this country, and

his extraordinary record of leadership and commitment to

our Nation throughout his 24 years of public service in the

U.S. Senate.

Senator CRANSTON played an integral role in veterans affairs from his first days in the Senate, serving initially as

Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee of the thenCommittee on Labor and Public Welfare. When that subcommittee became the full Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in

1971, he was a charter member of it. He became Chairman

of the full Committee in 1977, was Ranking Member from

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1981 to 1986, and then Chairman again in 1987, until he left

the Senate in 1993.

Throughout his tenure, Senator CRANSTON demonstrated a

devoted commitment to the men and women who risk their

lives for the safety and welfare of our Nation. Although he

opposed the war in Vietnam, he was a strong champion for

the rights and benefits of those who served in it.

Senator CRANSTON’s vision—to ensure that our country upholds its obligation to meet the post-service needs of veterans

and their families—was the inspiration for the many pieces

of legislation passed during his tenure. He showed his concern for disabled veterans and their families in many ways,

including authoring support programs that provided for

grants, cost-of-living increases in benefits, adaptive equipment, rehabilitation, and other services.

Senator CRANSTON’s record on issues related to the employment and education of veterans is unequaled. As early as

1970, he authored the Veterans’ Education and Training

Amendments Act, which displayed his heartfelt concern for

Vietnam-era veterans, and served as the foundation for other

key initiatives over the years.

As a strong advocate for health care reform myself, I appreciated Senator CRANSTON’s efforts over the years to improve veterans health care through affirmative legislation.

He brought national attention to the many needs of VA

health care facilities, which resulted in the improvement of

the quality of their staffs, facilities and services.

Senator CRANSTON’s patience in pursuit of his goals is legendary. For example, he introduced legislation in 1971 to establish a VA readjustment counseling program for Vietnam

veterans. When it failed that year, he reintroduced it in the

next Congress, and the next, and the next, never losing sight

of his vision. Four Congresses later, in 1979, it was finally

accepted by the House of Representatives. The VA’s Vet Center Program was established that year and, in the ensuing

years, this program helped many Vietnam veterans deal

with their adjustment problems after service, including posttraumatic stress disorder.

After the program was established, Senator CRANSTON

fought successfully to make it permanent, thereby enabling

Vet Centers to survive proposed cuts by the Reagan administration. He also pushed for enactment of legislation which

extended the eligibility period for readjustment counseling.

In 1991, Senator CRANSTON authored legislation which allowed veterans of later conflicts, including the Persian Gulf

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War, Panama, Grenada, and Lebanon, to receive assistance

at Vet Centers as well.

Another example of Senator CRANSTON’s persistence was

his effort to provide an opportunity for veterans to seek outside review of VA decisions on claims for benefits. He began

working on this issue in the mid-1970s and stayed with it

through final enactment in 1988 of legislation which established a court to review veterans claims. That court, now

known as the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims,

stands as a legacy to Senator CRANSTON’s commitment to

making sure that veterans are treated fairly by the government that they served.

The list of Senator CRANSTON’s achievements is long—for

veterans, his home State of California, our country, and the

world. Senator CRANSTON’s leadership had a broad sweep,

way beyond the concerns of veterans. From nuclear disarmament to housing policy to education to civil rights, Senator CRANSTON fought to do the right thing, with energy and

passion. For nearly a quarter of a century, he was a true

champion for the less fortunate among our society.

His legacy is immense, and I know that his leadership,

which continued after he left this Chamber, will be missed.

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to

work side by side with him over the years. By continuing his

fight for the people we represent and the ideals we were

elected to uphold, I seek to carry on his mission.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that an article

about Senator CRANSTON by Thomas Tighe, a former staff

member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, be

printed in the Record. His thoughts on Senator CRANSTON,

which appeared in the January 7, 2001, edition of the Santa

Barbara News-Press, are quite compelling.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be

printed in the Record, as follows:

ALAN CRANSTON: HE SEPARATED THE WAR FROM THE WARRIOR

(BY THOMAS TIGHE, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL)

ALAN CRANSTON stood for and accomplished many important things during the course of his life and Senate career, which, as might be expected

given his low-key approach, received little comment upon his death. But

having worked for ALAN—as he insisted all his staff call him—during his

last several years in office, I was saddened by both his passing and the absence of public recognition for much of what his life’s work accomplished.

Elected in 1968, strongly opposing the war in Vietnam, Senator CRANSTON

was assigned the chair of the subcommittee responsible for overseeing the

veterans health care system. He was among the very first in our country

to separate the war from the warrior, as he sought to have the system do

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jury, and readjustment seemed somehow different from those of earlier

wars.

While retaining his aversion to war, ALAN CRANSTON devoted much of his

career in the Senate to ensuring that the country’s obligation to those who

fought in war—however unpopular—was recognized as fundamentally important and honored accordingly. He pushed hard to expand spinal-cord injury, blindness, and traumatic brain injury care, which were lacking and

desperately needed. He championed mental health services, authoring legislation to create ‘‘Vet Centers’’ where veterans themselves counseled each

other and to fund research that ultimately obtained formal recognition and

treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder as a ‘‘real’’ condition that affected soldiers. Drug and alcohol services, vocational rehabilitation, and

comprehensive assistance for homeless veterans all resulted from his insight, his perseverance, and his commitment to those who served our country.

The terms ‘‘paramedic’’ and ‘‘medevac’’ did not exist in civilian society in

the late 1960s—they do today because ALAN saw how effective the combination of medical personnel, telecommunications, and helicopters had been in

treating battlefield injuries in Vietnam, and he authored the first pilot program to apply this model to the civilian sector.

Senator CRANSTON also was the most vigorous, insightful, tough, and effective supporter that the Peace Corps has ever had in the Congress—stemming from his early involvement with Sargent Shriver in the early 1960’s

before he was elected. I know about these issues, and his remarkable legacy,

because I worked on them for ALAN as a committee lawyer in the Senate

and, after he left office, as the Chief Operating Officer of the Peace Corps.

But there were many, many other issues that Senator CRANSTON not only

cared about but worked to effectuate in a painfully thorough, respectful, and

principled way. He was an early and stalwart advocate for preservation and

judicious stewardship of the environment, an unyielding voice for a woman’s

right to make reproductive health choices, and of course, a relentless pursuer of world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons—upon which he

continued to work passionately until the day he died.

Those efforts have made a tremendous positive difference in the lives of

millions of people in this country and around the world.

For me, ALAN CRANSTON’s standard of adhering to principle while achieving practical success remains a constant source of inspiration and motivation, as I am sure is true for the hundreds of others who worked on his staff

over the course of 24 years. His was an example that one’s strongly held

ideological and policy beliefs, whether labeled ‘‘liberal’’ or ‘‘conservative,’’

should not be confused with or overwhelmed by partisanship if it prevented

meaningful progress. And he insisted upon honest and vigorous oversight of

publicly funded programs he supported—to avoid defending on principle

something indefensible in practice, thereby eroding support for the principle

itself.

Once, while trying to describe an obstacle on a Peace Corps matter, I

made a flip reference to the ‘‘America Right or Wrong’’ crowd. He asked if

I knew where that expression came from, which I did not. He said it was

usually misunderstood and, as in my case, misused, and told me that it was

a wonderfully patriotic statement. He stared at me calmly, with a slight

smile and with the presence of nearly 80 years of unimaginably rich experiences in life and politics, and said, ‘‘America, right or wrong. When it’s

right, keep it right. When it’s wrong, make it right.’’

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It was a privilege to work for ALAN CRANSTON, and to know that is what

he tried to do.

MONDAY, February 26, 2001

TRIBUTES TO ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in mourning the death of our former colleague from

California, Senator ALAN CRANSTON. The Nation lost a truly

remarkable man last December.

Senator ALAN CRANSTON had a long and effective career of

public service spanning six decades, including 24 years as a

U.S. Senator. He first entered public service in 1942 as Chief

of the Foreign Language Division of the Office of War Information in the Executive Offices of the President. This began

his very productive life of public service.

I served side by side with Senator CRANSTON for 6 years.

In those 6 years alone he had his hand in many fundamental

pieces of legislation. For example, he produced the CranstonGonzales National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, the first

major piece of housing legislation in a decade. He was also

the original author of the California Desert Protection Act,

which was enacted in 1993. Throughout his long career, Senator CRANSTON was a true advocate for the environment,

civil rights, and world peace.

Whether one agreed or disagreed with ALAN CRANSTON’s

views, we here in the Senate will always remember him for

his integrity and dedication. ALAN CRANSTON fought tirelessly for his beliefs, no matter what the consequence. Yet he

was also kind, energetic and thoughtful.

Put simply, I admired and respected Senator ALAN CRANSTON. I would now like to take this opportunity to extend my

thoughts and prayers to his sister Eleanor CRANSTON, his

son Kim, his daughter-in-law Collette Penne CRANSTON, his

granddaughter Evan CRANSTON, and to his remaining

friends, family and staff. We will all miss him.

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, when I heard that my friend,

ALAN CRANSTON, passed away this New Year’s Eve, I

couldn’t quite believe it. I remember ALAN as a man in a constant state of motion, always pressing on for the causes he

cared for, plotting the next steps, pondering how he could do

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more. It is hard to reconcile the finality of death with the

endless, focused energy that defined his life.

ALAN’s record of service spans the better part of the 20th

century. He was a journalist who covered World War II, an

author who warned Americans about the threat of Hitler, a

leader of an organization that opposed discrimination

against immigrants, long before that was fashionable.

He revived the California Democratic Party in the 1950s,

was the California State Controller in the 1960s, and served

his first term in the U.S. Senate in the 1970s. He was a Senator for 24 years, including seven consecutive terms as

Democratic Whip, and he even made a run for the Presidency in 1984. And since his retirement from the Senate in

1993, ALAN had dedicated himself to the cause he cared

about most: eliminating nuclear weapons.

If you didn’t know ALAN, his impressive list of accomplishments might lead you to think that he must have been a

man of great showmanship and obvious charisma. But that

wasn’t Alan.

ALAN believed in the philosophy of Lao-Tzu: ‘‘A leader is

best when people barely know that he exists. . . . But of a

good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they

will all say, ‘We did this ourselves.’ ’’ Accordingly, ALAN did

a lot of his work behind the scenes. He had neither the time

nor the patience for back slapping and schmoozing; he liked

to cut to the chase, let you know what was what, and move

on to the next thing.

ALAN was never loud or arrogant or flashy. He didn’t have

to be. His authority came from a force deeper than personality. It came from his conscience.

The anti-war activist, Father Daniel Berrigan, once talked

about the danger of ‘‘verbalizing . . . moral impulses out of existence.’’ That was never within the realm of possibility for

ALAN. Whether he was standing up for veterans, working to

save millions of acres of desert and wilderness, or speaking

out for nuclear disarmament, ALAN steadfastly followed his

conscience, even when it led him to the uncharted paths or

difficult places where no one else would go.

I don’t know whether it was the result of this active conscience or his fierce intellect or some combination of the two,

but ALAN had this extraordinary prescience, this ability to

predict with startling accuracy what the future would bring.

He understood the threat of Adolf Hitler long before many

others, and he worked to warn us before it was too late. He

fought discrimination against immigrants, long before most

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of us realized that was the right thing to do. He spoke out

about nuclear weapons long before the disarmament movement took root in the popular imagination.

And he believed in the notion of uniform world law decades before the rise of the global age. In fact, many decades

ago, he was the leader of the World Federalist Association,

a group dedicated to the idea of establishing a uniform world

law. Back then, the WFA must have seemed like a somewhat

eccentric organization, oddly out of sync with the times.

But it was vintage ALAN, just another manifestation of his

profound idealism. ALAN really believed that people of all different nationalities and races and ethnicities could rise to

meet the standard of a just rule of law.

ALAN once said of nuclear deterrence: ‘‘This may have been

necessary during the Cold War; it is not necessary forever.

It is not acceptable forever. I say it is unworthy of our Nation, unworthy of any Nation; it is unworthy of civilization.’’

ALAN had the highest hopes for our world. We owe it to

him to try to live up to them and to carry out his legacy of

peace in the new millennium he did not live to see.

In conclusion, I ask that a recent article from Roll Call on

ALAN CRANSTON by Daniel Perry appear in the Record at the

end of my remarks.

Dan Perry, a former staffer for ALAN CRANSTON, is a leader in his own right. For years he has been on the forefront

of aging and health policy as head of the Alliance for Aging

Research. His remarks reflect his deep admiration for Senator CRANSTON and his commitment to the Senator’s lofty

ideals.

The article is as follows:

[FROM ROLL CALL, JAN. 4, 2001]

CRANSTON LEGACY SERVES AS MODEL FOR MEMBERS OF THE 107TH

CONGRESS

(BY DANIEL PERRY)

The sharply divided 107th Congress would do well to ponder the quiet but

enduringly effective political skills of the late Sen. ALAN CRANSTON (D) of

California. His 24-year Senate career, during tumultuous and partisan

times, showed that strong beliefs make good politics, but success begins

with respecting the motives and sincerity of others, including your opponents.

CRANSTON’s sudden death, just hours before the first day of 2001, ended

a life devoted to issues about which he was passionate: International peace

and arms control, human rights and protection of the environment. For this

Californian the quest for high public office—even the United States Senate—was never a simple pursuit of power nor an end in itself.

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Politics and policy were the means by which he could help make the

human passage on earth fairer, safer and more serene. His commitment to

halting future use of nuclear weapons began when he was introduced to Albert Einstein in 1946. He was still working tirelessly toward that goal when

he died, at age 86, eight years after he left the Senate.

In the shorthand of the obituary writer, CRANSTON is remembered for

winning four Senate elections, serving seven consecutive terms as Democratic Whip, for having run for president as the champion of a nuclear

freeze and for being tarred by the so-called Keating Five scandal. While all

true, that doesn’t begin to describe a political career of amazing productivity

and accomplishment, showing just how much one person quietly can do to

shape his or her times.

By one count, there were 2,500 tallies in the Senate between 1969 and

1989 that were decided by fewer than five votes, and often by a single vote.

CRANSTON was often a crucial player, not only for his vote alone but as a

behind-the-scene strategist, head counter, marshaler of forces and shrewd

compromiser who always lived to fight another day.

He was frequently one-half of various Senate odd-couple pairings, meshing his principles with pragmatism. He teamed with conservative Senators

such as Strom Thurmond (R–S.C.) to improve veterans programs, Alfonse

D’Amato (R–N.Y.) on public housing measures and the legendary Barry

Goldwater (R–Ariz.) to protect press freedoms guaranteed under the First

Amendment.

CRANSTON was liberal and an idealist to the core, but never an ideologue

or blindly partisan. That balance enabled him to become one of the most durable and successful California politicians of the 20th century. He was elected six times to statewide office from California.

Representing the West Coast mega-State in the Senate meant skillfully

balancing myriad insistent and often conflicting home-State interests. Even

as California changed politically and demographically, CRANSTON managed

to steer a delicate course between the State’s giant agribusiness interests

and those of consumers, family farmers and farm workers; he weighed the

claims of home builders and growing communities against the need to preserve open spaces and wildlife habitats.

Amazingly, he helped end the Vietnam War and was a major figure in the

nation’s arms control and peace movements, even as he effectively represented the epicenter of the nation’s defense and aerospace industries.

It is a measure of the man that he was able to separate the warriors of

Vietnam from the war itself. From 1969 to 1992 all legislation concerning

America’s veterans bore his stamp, especially measures improving health

care and mental health services for those who fought in the nation’s most

unpopular war.

Teaming up with the late Representative Phillip Burton (D) of San Francisco on environmental issues, the two Californians managed to place under

Federal protection as much acreage as all the national park lands created

earlier in the 20th century combined.

Today there is a catalog of thousands of bills and amendments he personally authored affecting virtually every aspect of national life: civil rights,

adoption and foster care reform, wild rivers, research to improve aging and

longevity, workplace safety, emergency medical services and much more.

He lived by the maxim that a leader can accomplish great things if he

doesn’t mind who gets the credit.

The CRANSTON style has not been much in evidence in Washington during

recent years. However, Members in the 107th Congress—where many a

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cause will be determined by one or very few votes—would do well to consider the lessons of his enobling career. If they study the CRANSTON legacy

and seek to emulate it, the Nation and the world will be better for it.

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, Kim, Colette, Evan, R.E.—

let me begin by saying I loved ALAN too. I will never forget

the 24 years of friendship and leadership and achievement

with which he graced the Senate and the Nation. So it’s a

special privilege and honor for me to be part of this tribute

today. ALAN is profoundly missed by his family and friends,

his colleagues in the Congress, and by all those around the

world who pursue the great goals of hope and progress and

peace.

I must say, I grew up thinking CRANSTON was a city in

Rhode Island. But ALAN taught each of us that CRANSTON

stands for something else as well, the very best in public

service.

ALAN loved to lead behind the scenes; for 14 of those 24

Senate years with us, he was our Democratic Whip, and he

wrote the book about the job. In those great years, we used

to tease ALAN about the position, because so few people outside Congress knew what it involved. Since ALAN was from

California, a lot of people thought the Minority Whip was the

name of a leather bar in Malibu.

But seriously, ALAN was a giant of his day on many issues,

and his concern for social justice made him a leader on them

all. We served together for many years on the Labor Committee and especially the Health Subcommittee, and his insights were indispensable. I always felt that if we’d had another ALAN CRANSTON or two in those years, we’d have actually passed our Health Security Act, and made health care

the basic right for all that it ought to be, instead of just an

expensive privilege for the few.

Perhaps the greatest legacy that ALAN left us was his able

and tireless work for democracy and world peace. Every village in the world is closer to that goal today because of

ALAN. No one in the Senate fought harder or more effectively

for our nuclear weapons freeze in the 1980s, or for nuclear

arms control. His hope for a nuclear-free future still represents the highest aspiration of millions, even billions,

throughout the world.

I also recall ALAN’s pioneering efforts to press for Senate

action to end the war in Vietnam, and his equally able leadership for civil rights at home and human rights around the

world. We know how deeply he felt about injustice to anyone

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anywhere. His leadership in the battle against apartheid in

South Africa was indispensable.

Throughout his brilliant career, the causes of civil rights

and human rights were central to ALAN’s being and his mission—and America and the world are better off today because ALAN CRANSTON passed this way.

A key part of all his achievements was his unique ability

to translate his ideals into practical legislation. Few if any

Senators have been as skilled as ALAN in the art of constructive legislative compromise that fairly leads to progress for

the Nation.

He was a vigorous supporter of the Peace Corps, a strong

overseer of its performance, and a brilliant advocate for all

the Peace Corps volunteers. He was a champion for health

coverage of returning volunteers, and one of the first to understand that good health coverage had to include mental

health services too.

In many ways, his first love was the Peace Corps, and I

know that President Kennedy would have been very proud

of him. Even before he came to the Senate, he had his first

contact with the Corps, as a consultant for Sargent Shriver.

As ALAN often said, he became involved because he was so

inspired by my brother’s vision of a world where Americans

of all ages could work side by side with peoples throughout

the world to put an end to poverty.

Because of ALAN, the Peace Corps today is thriving as

never before—free of the partisan tensions that divide us on

other issues, spreading international understanding of

ALAN’s and America’s best ideals, educating new generations

of young Americans about our common heritage as travelers

on Spaceship Earth, teaching us about the beauty, the richness, and the diversity of other peoples, other languages, and

other cultures and about the enduring importance of the

greatest pursuit of all, the pursuit of peace.

Near the end of John Bunyan’s ‘‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’’ there

is a passage that tells of the death of Valiant:

Then, he said, I am going to my Father’s. And though with great difficulty

I am got hither, yet now I do not regret me of all the trouble I have been

at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in

my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks

and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought his

battle who now will be my rewarder.

When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him

to the riverside, into which as he went, he said, ‘Death, where is thy sting?’

and as he went down deeper, he said, ‘Grave, where is thy victory?’ So he

passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.

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We loved you, ALAN. We miss you. And we always will.

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, it is a special privilege to join

all of you today to honor the life and extraordinary accomplishments of ALAN CRANSTON.

As we all know, ALAN was a sprinter and—always with an

incredible mischievous twinkle in his eye he sprinted

through life. I think one of the most enduring images of him

is of ALAN on the eve of the Iowa caucuses in 1984 at the

Holiday Inn in Keokuk, Iowa, sprinting barefooted down the

40-meter hallway, walking back and repeating the exercise

for about 40 minutes. It was no coincidence that ALAN’s favorite hotel in the country, Chicago’s O’Hare Hilton, boasts

250-meter hallways.

Three weeks ago in California we shared a goodbye to our

friend, this sprinter, at a memorial service—calling to mind

the many ways he enriched public lives and personal relationships.

There in the Grace Cathedral, we heard Colette Cranston

say that in death ALAN CRANSTON ‘‘has become my Jiminy

Cricket—that little voice in her conscience that says,

‘Colette, think before you leap.’ ’’ It would not be an exaggeration to say that warning was characteristic of ALAN

when he served here in the U.S. Senate. He wanted us to

look, and he wanted us to leap. He implored us to put a

human face on public policy—to think not in statistics and

numbers and programs alone, but in terms of people; and the

people he spoke of most often were senior citizens, children,

those without decent housing, immigrants, and those in need

of a helping hand regardless of race or religion. He was a

moral voice, a voice of conscience, someone who understood

that even as he remained vigilant defending the needs of the

homefront in California, he was also a global citizen who

knew this institution had global responsibilities.

Through four terms as a U.S. Senator, he remained a man

of enormous humility; on his answering machine he was simply ‘‘Alan’’—as he was to so many who knew him. This personal sense of place and restraint made it easy to underestimate the contributions he made to the Senate, and to our

country. Certainly he never paused long enough to personally remind us of the impact of his service, of the history he

was a part of and the lives he touched.

I first met ALAN in 1971 when I had returned from Vietnam and many of our veterans were part of an effort to end

a failed American policy in Vietnam. In ALAN CRANSTON we

found one of the few Senators willing not just to join in the

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public opposition to the war in Vietnam, but to become a

voice of healing for the veterans of the war, a statesman

whose leadership enabled others, over time, to separate their

feelings for the war from their feelings for the veterans of

the war. At a time when too many wanted to disown its veterans, ALAN offered Vietnam veterans a warm embrace. He

was eager to do something all too rare in Washington: listen—and he listened to veterans who had much to say, much

of it ignored for too long. He honored their pride and their

pain with sensitivity and understanding.

That’s when I first saw the great energy and commitment

ALAN brought to the issues affecting veterans, especially

those of the Vietnam era. He was deeply involved in veterans

health care issues, among the first to fight for recognition of

post-Vietnam stress syndrome, and a leader in insisting on

coverage under the VA for its treatment. When the agent orange issue came to the fore, ALAN insisted on getting answers from an unresponsive government about the consequences of exposure to dioxin, making sure that veterans

and their families got the health care they needed. Under his

leadership Congress grudgingly increased GI bill benefits for

Vietnam veterans—veterans who too often had to fight for

benefits they should have been guaranteed without question—indeed, for veterans who had to fight if only to have a

memorial and if only to have the government recognize that

they fought in a war and not a police conflict. ALAN’s leadership made all the difference. It is a sad truth in our country’s history that a weary Nation seemed eager to turn its

back on so many Vietnam veterans who simply sought their

due; it should forever be a source of pride to the CRANSTON

family that ALAN was chief among those who insisted that

America honor that service and keep faith with sons who left

pieces of themselves and years of their lives on the battlefield in that far-away nation.

This was a man who fought with the greatest of passion

for those who had fought in a difficult war—even as he was

also the Senator who fought against all that war represents—remembering that war, brutality, and killing are

the ultimate failure of diplomacy.

ALAN CRANSTON was above all a man of peace. With him

it was not just a policy but a passion. Remember: This was

a man who, in 1934, found himself in the same room as

Adolf Hitler. Five years later, he wrote a critical English

translation of Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ in an effort to reveal the German leader’s true plans. He wore Hitler’s ensuVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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ing lawsuit as a badge of honor, proud that he had stood up

to try and warn the English-speaking world about the evils

of nazism.

Throughout the rest of his service he used public office to

force Americans to listen to other prescient warnings—about

nuclear arms, about a dangerous arms race spiraling beyond

our control, and about hopes for peace that he refused to give

up even as others chose to beat the drums for war.

Senator CRANSTON came to his famous commitment to

arms control after meeting with Albert Einstein in 1946. He

left that meeting convinced that the threat of atomic weapons had to be stemmed—and he spent the balance of his life

arguing that conviction before the Nation.

As a member of the Senate leadership and a senior voice

on the Democratic side of the Foreign Relations Committee

he worked to reduce the nuclear threat. One of his most important efforts was one of the least publicized. Throughout

the 1970s and the 1980s, ALAN convened a unique arms control study group, the ‘‘SALT Study Group.’’ This Senatorsonly gathering met monthly in his office, off the record, and

face to face to define common ground. He knew the impact

quiet diplomacy could have on the issues he cared about

most of all.

He loved what the Peace Corps does, and he fought for it.

He fought to attach human rights conditions on aid to El

Salvador and to halt contra aid. He was a leading national

advocate for a mutual verifiable nuclear freeze. He was always an idealist whose increase in political power was always met by progress for the issues he cared about so deeply. It was not just the work of a career, but of a lifetime—

after he left the Senate he chaired the State of the World

Forum and joined with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation USA, and in

1999 he founded the Global Security Institute.

He did that because he sensed that the end of the Cold

War, with all the opportunity it afforded, created a more

dangerous world, with aging nuclear weapons in increasingly

disparate and unreliable hands. He was haunted by the

threat of nuclear terrorism. He was passionate about the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and was angry when it went down to

a shallow and partisan defeat in the Senate. We missed his

voice in that debate; we miss him still more today.

When he left the Senate, ALAN reflected upon his service

and his accomplishments. Of his lasting legacy, he said simVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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ply: ‘‘Most of all, I have dedicated myself to the cause of

peace.’’

That dedication was real and lasting—a legacy of peace for

a good and peaceful man who gave living embodiment to

Culbertson’s simple, stubborn faith that ‘‘God and the politicians willing, the United States can declare peace upon the

world, and win it.’’ That belief was ALAN CRANSTON and it

is a belief worth fighting for.

TUESDAY, February 27, 2001

TRIBUTE TO ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, one of the first times I ever

came to the Dirksen Senate Office Building, a location where

I now have my Senate office, was on December 12, 1969,

some 20 months after my injury in Vietnam, when I was

summoned to appear before the Senate Subcommittee on

Veterans’ Affairs about how the Veterans’ Administration

was handling returning Vietnam War veterans. That meeting was chaired by a tall, lean Senator from California

named ALAN CRANSTON, and it was the start of a threedecade friendship. Thus, in 1974 after experiencing what

hopefully will prove to be my only electoral defeat, in the

Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, one

of the first people I turned to was Senator CRANSTON, who

generously accepted my offer to come out to California to

campaign for his successful re-election. Then, after the general election, he came to my aid by serving as guest of honor

at a fundraising dinner to pay off my campaign debt. And to

top it off, Senator CRANSTON helped me get a job as a special

investigator for the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee,

which is where I was serving when President Carter selected

me to head the VA, in no small part because of the strong

recommendation of ALAN CRANSTON.

I hope this short discourse makes it clear the debt of gratitude that I personally owed to Senator CRANSTON, but more

importantly, it is indicative of the kind of man ALAN was: dynamic, thoughtful, compassionate. He touched many lives,

including veterans who benefited from his tireless commitment, especially on behalf of Vietnam era veterans, future

generations of Americans who today and for all time to come

will benefit from his farsighted commitment to the protection

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of our land, air and water and for citizens of the world who

benefit from his long-time commitment to world peace, a

cause he continued to pursue till the end of his life through

the Global Security Institute.

Another part of the CRANSTON legacy is perhaps somewhat

less known to the general public: his efforts on behalf of the

disabled. When ALAN CRANSTON came to the Senate in 1969,

those with disabilities had virtually no legal protections

against various forms of discrimination and indeed faced

many barriers, physical and otherwise, to just getting in to

the halls of government. To ALAN CRANSTON, that was unacceptable. He led the efforts to enact the landmark Federal

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which outlawed discrimination

against the disabled in all federally funded programs.

Among its many provisions, the 1973 law: Required federally funded buildings to be made accessible; promoted the

hiring and advancement of qualified persons with disabilities

by the Federal Government; and established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, which

has responsibility for setting standards for accessibility and

for assisting and enforcing compliance with accessibility

laws. I was honored to be named to that board by President

Carter in 1979.

Throughout the remainder of the 1970s ALAN worked to

revamp federally assisted State vocational rehabilitation programs by his sponsorship of laws that gave priority to the

most seriously disabled and, most importantly, required a

focus and follow through on employment. In 1980, he sponsored successful legislation to make these same improvements in vocational rehabilitation programs for veterans.

And in 1990, Senator CRANSTON was a leading co-sponsor of

the Americans with Disabilities Act, which in many ways

was a culmination of two decades of leadership by Senator

CRANSTON on behalf of fairness and opportunity for persons

with disabilities.

It was a great honor to have known and worked with ALAN

CRANSTON. Our country is a better place because of his

achievements, which we celebrate today.

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WEDNESDAY, February 28, 2001

TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, on the morning of the last

day of the 20th century, as he was preparing his breakfast,

ALAN CRANSTON died at his home in Los Altos. After 86

years, his great huge heart just stopped.

There can never be a good time to lose someone like ALAN

CRANSTON. Such leaders are too rare. Still, there is something fitting about ALAN CRANSTON leaving us just as the

century came to a close. It was almost as if, having spent his

life working to protect us against the darker possibilities of

the 20th century, he held on until the last day in order to

see us safely to the new century.

I first came to know Senator CRANSTON from a distance.

He was 4 years into his second Senate term, and had just

been elected Democratic Whip when I was first elected to the

House. That was back in 1978.

Studying Senator CRANSTON from the other Chamber, I realized early on that he possessed a rare balance. He was a

standard bearer for great public causes—and he was as good

a behind-the-scenes organizer and vote counter as I have

ever seen. He was a pragmatic idealist.

I also noticed something else about ALAN CRANSTON back

then. I noticed that he listened respectfully to all kinds of

people and very often, just by listening, was able to bring

people together. In this practice, and in many others, I have

tried since then to follow his example.

Another thing I admired about ALAN CRANSTON was his

tremendous running ability. From the time he was in high

school, he was a champion sprinter. In college, he was a

member of the Nation’s fastest 1-mile sprint relay team in

America, and he remained a competitive runner most of his

life. At one point, I understand, he held the world record for

the 100-yard dash among 55-year-olds. As a 53-year-old runner who is not likely to break any speed records soon, I find

that amazing. I also find it a little ironic—because in politics,

ALAN CRANSTON was no sprinter. He was a marathon runner.

When ALAN CRANSTON signed on to a cause, it was for life.

As a reporter in Europe in 1936, he was among the first to

recognize the evil of fascism for what it was. He chronicled

the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. When he discovered that

Hitler had authorized the export of a sanitized copy of ‘‘Mein

Kampf’’ to America, he acquired a copy of the German text

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and had it translated accurately, with all its hideous lies restored. He sold copies for 10 cents—thus giving America

some of its true glimpses into the real Hitler.

A copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Hitler himself eventually forced ALAN CRANSTON to stop selling copies

of ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ in America. But nothing could ever stop

him from speaking out against oppressors of freedom and

human dignity.

In 1946, ALAN CRANSTON met Albert Einstein, who persuaded him that nuclear weapons must be banned or they

will destroy the human race. From that day until he died,

ALAN CRANSTON was a tireless champion in the effort to

monitor nuclear arms and reduce their use.

During his years here in the Senate, he also championed

an array of other noble causes—from the environment, to

civil rights, to the men and women who serve in our Nation’s

military.

Literally and figuratively, ALAN CRANSTON was a towering

figure in this Senate for nearly a quarter of a century. He

was an example to many of us and to me personally. I am

proud to say he was also a friend.

With some sadness, and with gratitude for his lifetime of

service to our Nation, I join my colleagues in honoring the

memory of ALAN CRANSTON and conveying our deep regrets

to his family—especially his sister Eleanor, his son Kim, and

his granddaughter—as well as his many friends across this

country and around the world. ALAN CRANSTON was loved in

this Senate, and he will be deeply missed.

TUESDAY, April 24, 2001

TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent

that the following tributes by current and former Members

of the Senate and House of Representatives at the memorial

service for the late Senator ALAN CRANSTON be printed in

the Record.

MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO SEN. ALAN CRANSTON BY SENATOR MAX CLELAND

On February 6, over 200 admirers gathered in Hart SOB 902 to pay tribute to our dear friend ALAN CRANSTON, who left us on the last day of the

year 2000. Joining with me as sponsors of this event were the Senators from

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West Virginia (Mr. ROCKEFELLER), California (Mrs. FEINSTEIN and

Mrs. BOXER), and Massachusetts (Mr. KENNEDY), and the former Senator

from Wyoming (Mr. SIMPSON). Ten Members and former Members spoke,

and a short film about Senator CRANSTON’s recent activities was shown. At

the end of the program, ALAN’s son, Kim, spoke. It was a memorable afternoon for all in attendance.

The program cover pictured ALAN and his beautiful, now 7-year-old granddaughter, Evan. On the second page appeared the following words of the

Chinese poet and philosopher Lao-Tzu, which ALAN carried with him every

day:

A leader is best

When people barely know

That he exists,

Less good when

They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when

They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people

And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,

When his work is done,

His aim fulfilled,

They will all say,

‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

The program participants and sponsors were shown on the third page.

The back page of the program set forth Senator CRANSTON’s committee assignments and the acknowledgments for the tribute.

As I said at the tribute, I would not be in this body were it not for ALAN

CRANSTON. My colleague, the Senator from Washington (Ms. Cantwell), expressed that same sentiment in her remarks. ALAN CRANSTON will always

be an inspiration for us. He will live in our memories and the memories of

all those who served with him and were touched by the causes he championed and in the hearts and minds of those he so ably represented in his

beloved State of California.

[The memorial tribute may be found on page 75. ‘‘A Legislative Legacy’’ distributed at the tribute, may be found on

page 112.]

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Proceedings in the House of

Representatives

TUESDAY, February 6, 2001

REMEMBERING ALAN CRANSTON

Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, my first job offer on the Hill

came from the late California Senator, ALAN CRANSTON, who

will be remembered at a memorial service this afternoon by

generations of colleagues and staffers.

Though I never worked on ALAN’s staff, I relied on him for

counsel and support for three decades. ALAN was a mentor

to me when I served in senior staff positions for Senator

John Tunney. I always had the sense that ALAN was looking

out for John and me, and for California’s interests.

We remained friends through the years and saw each

other last at Stanford University only a few months ago.

ALAN’s counsel and continued focus on issues he cared passionately about, especially world peace, set the marker. He

was always working. No doubt he was working until the moment he left us.

I was fortunate to know and learn from him. We were fortunate to have him as a congressional leader for 24 years.

HONORING SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mrs. NAPOLITANO. Mr. Speaker, today I remember an

icon in California public service and a true role model for

elected officials. Senator ALAN CRANSTON embodied many attributes that symbolize his dedication and commitment to

serving the constituents he represented.

Senator CRANSTON spent 32 years in public office, including 24 as a U.S. Senator, and rose to become a powerful force

in the Democratic Party. After founding the California

Democratic Council and winning two terms as State Controller, ALAN CRANSTON was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968,

where he served until his retirement in 1993. Always a defender of the less fortunate, Senator CRANSTON fought for

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citizens of all races, ethnicities and income brackets, firmly

believing that part of the American dream was equality and

opportunity for everyone.

In recognition of his astute leadership and perseverance,

Senator CRANSTON was elected Majority Whip by his colleagues from 1977 to 1981 and 1987 to 1991 and served as

Minority Whip from 1981 to 1987.

One of Senator CRANSTON’s most admirable causes was his

passionate advocation of arms control. He was a profound believer in the United Nations and joined with former Soviet

leader Mikhail Gorbachev to set up the Gorbachev Foundation USA, dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons.

On a personal note, Senator CRANSTON was a frequent visitor to my 34th Congressional District where he would attend receptions at the Whittier home of our mutual constituents Kauzo and Mary Miyashita in support of the California

Democratic Party. That is where my husband Frank and I

first met the Senator in the mid-1980s.

ALAN CRANSTON will be remembered as a superb mechanic

of the political process and for being one of California’s and

the Nation’s most devout public servants. His leadership

should inspire us all, and I am proud to celebrate his life and

his causes.

TRIBUTE TO SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join

me in paying tribute to former Senator ALAN CRANSTON of

California who passed away over the holiday break. In a career spanning most of the 20th century, both as a private citizen and a Member of Congress, he developed a reputation

as a tireless advocate of worthy causes from the environment

to veterans health, and most notably arms control. His passing gives us pause to reflect on the legacy of one who fought

hard his entire life for peace and Democratic freedoms.

Mr. Speaker, ALAN CRANSTON began his crusade for peace

early in his life as a journalist. Born in Palo Alto, California,

in 1914, CRANSTON graduated from Stanford University in

1936, and he worked for the International News Service

where he edited the first unaltered version of ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’

laying bare Hitler’s racist beliefs, and inviting a lawsuit from

the Fuehrer over copyright infringement. In 1939, CRANSTON

continued his fight against racism as an advocate for the

Common Council for American Unity, an organization opposing discrimination against the foreign-born.

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CRANSTON’s service to his country began during World

War II, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army and became a private. Because of his verbal skills, he was assigned to lecture

to soldiers on war aims. After the war, CRANSTON continued

to advocate peace through his career in journalism.

Mr. Speaker, in 1969, he became a U.S. Senator from California. In the U.S. Senate, ALAN CRANSTON’s tireless advocacy for protecting the California desert and advocating the

philosophy of arms control and arms reduction earned him

the reputation of a ‘‘workhorse,’’ and it is one he rightly deserves. And even after leaving the Senate at the age of 78,

ALAN CRANSTON continued until the time of his death to

press for arms reduction by chairing two San Franciscobased think tanks—the Gorbachev Foundation USA and the

Global Security Institute.

Mr. Speaker, Senator ALAN CRANSTON worked long and

hard for peace, and at his passing I join his many friends

and admirers in paying tribute to his distinguished service,

and it is my hope that we may carry on his work with equal

strength and conviction.

TRIBUTE TO THE LATE SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my sympathies to the family of the late Senator ALAN CRANSTON.

Senator CRANSTON passed away on New Year’s Eve, 2000.

Born in California, Senator CRANSTON honored our Golden

State for many years with his service to community and

country, serving for 8 years as State Controller of California,

and in the U.S. Senate for 24 years.

Senator CRANSTON will be remembered for his fight for

human rights in the world. He will be remembered for his

mastery of the issues, his hard work, plain-spoken manner,

and humility.

He fought against fascism and nazism, alerting people to

the threat of Hitler, by exposing the virulent nature of Hitler’s writings. This act of courage helped to show the world

the importance of fighting this menace to freedom and democracy. Many years later he fought with the same level of

conviction against apartheid in South Africa, helping to end

that unjust system through economic sanctions by the

United States.

He fought to protect Federal employees against job discrimination, worked for opportunities for women in the workforce, and strove to end discrimination against pregnant employees.

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He championed legislation to expand the Family Planning

Program, and he helped lead the fight for the proposed

Equal Rights Amendment.

Senator CRANSTON was always eloquent, honorable, tenacious in his causes, respected even by those who did not

share his position on the issues. He was a gentleman in the

best sense of the word, a scholar, a thinker, a doer, and a

leader. He will be missed.

IN RECOGNITION OF SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of

the life of the late Senator ALAN CRANSTON. Growing up in

California, I developed a strong admiration for the life and

work of this great leader. As a young man living in Northern

California and attending Stanford University, I came to view

Senator CRANSTON as a model for our time and an inspiration to young people everywhere. He served a legendary four

terms in the U.S. Senate and made history by being the only

U.S. Senator ever to have been elected his Party’s Whip

seven times. His vibrant intellect, persuasive skill, and evenhanded approach were recognized by leaders here and

abroad, and Senator CRANSTON came to be seen as a guiding

hand in shaping many of the important legislative measures

that came up for consideration during his 24 years on Capitol Hill. His devotion to the causes he cared about and his

expertise on both domestic policy and international relations

made him one of the most talented and well-respected public

servants of this century.

The people of California will be forever grateful for the

many accomplishments of Senator ALAN CRANSTON. He was

a tireless advocate for his constituents, while always being

mindful of the needs of the entire Nation. His efforts to provide affordable housing, protect our environment, secure a

woman’s right to choose, and advocate for the disabled paved

the way for groundbreaking legislation that transformed domestic policy in the United States. But what Senator CRANSTON is best known for is his lifelong commitment to world

peace and his conscientious objection to nuclear weapons. He

played a pivotal role in developing arms reduction and nuclear arms control treaties and traveled the world, building

relationships with foreign leaders and promoting peace. Senator CRANSTON will always be remembered for his many contributions to the global community, and I am proud to rise

today in celebration of his life of service to the State of California, this Nation, and our world.

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TRIBUTE TO LATE SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to

pay tribute to one of California’s finest and most respected

Senators, the late ALAN CRANSTON.

ALAN CRANSTON was born in Palo Alto, California, on June

19, 1914. He studied at the University of Mexico and then

continued at Stanford University. While he began his professional career as a news correspondent, the international

events of that time led him to join the U.S. Army. At the

conclusion of the Second World War, he left the Army to become president of the United World Federalists. This, along

with his founding of the California Democratic Council, propelled him into the political spotlight. Other positions he

held include Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs during his tenure at the Senate, chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation, president of the United States: Kyrgyz

Business Council, and senior international advisor for Schooner Capitol Corporation.

Those who know him and worked with him remember his

modesty and true commitment toward making the world a

safer one. Senator CRANSTON was honored with numerous

awards for outstanding achievements in the field of world security, and for his efforts toward global peace. During his 24-

year Senate career, Senator CRANSTON had a hand in developing and promoting some of the most influential legislative

measures considered by Congress. His efforts to end the

Vietnam War and to improve relations with the Soviet Union

go unmatched. In addition, he helped shape the Senate opinion of the SALT II and START Treaties.

After leaving public office, ALAN CRANSTON continued his

fight to abolish nuclear weapons. He founded and acted as

president of the Global Security Institute, enabling citizens

to express their concerns about security issues. His expertise

was frequently sought in treaty negotiation and nuclear

arms control, and he published many works on these issues.

Mr. Speaker, ALAN CRANSTON did not seek attention for

himself nor demanded honor, but he deserved it. He honored

all living beings by serving to promote peace and prevent destruction. Please join me in remembering the respectable and

truly remarkable man, Senator ALAN CRANSTON. I end with

a quote that Senator CRANSTON carried in his wallet for

years:

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, less good when they

obey and acclaim him, worse when they fear and despise him. Fail to honor

people and they fail to honor you.

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But of a good leader, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will

all say, ‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, today I honor the life of a great

American, Senator ALAN CRANSTON. While Senator CRANSTON left the Congress 8 years ago, after four terms in the

Senate, his legacy remains as strong as ever because of the

depth of his convictions and the significance of his accomplishments.

Senator CRANSTON was one of only two California Senators

to be elected to the Senate four times and he served 14 years

as the Democratic Whip. His accomplishments bear great

weight. During his service in the U.S. Senate, ALAN CRANSTON had a hand in many major pieces of legislation. He was

deeply involved with arms reduction and nuclear arms control and led the debate on the SALT II and START Treaties,

worked on ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty, helped

to expand trade for California technological and agricultural

products, and reduced military spending.

Senator CRANSTON also fought tirelessly to build affordable, adequate housing for our families and to protect our

national environment for present and future generations.

The Cranston-Gonzales National Affordable Housing Act of

1990 was a major housing bill he helped pass. He also authored legislation that created 3 major national parks and

expanded 2 others, 7 park wilderness areas and 51 forest

areas, and he was the original author of the California

Desert Protection Act.

Senator CRANSTON’s record of accomplishment in public

service spanned 10 Presidents and 6 decades, and his

thoughtful approach to making policy impacted the everyday

lives of many Americans. He helped formulate legislation to

get more highway money available for mass transit, which

reduced our dependence on oil and helped to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion. A champion of civil liberty and

individual rights, Senator CRANSTON authored the freedom of

choice bill to enact Roe v. Wade into law and created and

fought for a ‘‘Bill of Rights’’ for the disabled.

Senator CRANSTON’s dedication to public service has inspired generations of Californians and Americans to get involved in public service. His integrity and dedication influenced my commitment to fight for social justice and my decision to run for public office. Senator CRANSTON’s life ended

on the night of December 31, 2000—at the conclusion of the

20th century. While tragic, this is truly fitting, as it is due

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in no small part to the work of ALAN CRANSTON that the

20th century will always be known as the American Century.

A TRIBUTE TO ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to ALAN

CRANSTON, a man who walked among us as world leader,

candidate for President, Senator, public servant, businessman, writer, reporter, public speaker, athlete, and artist—a

true Renaissance man. He had a passion for civil rights, freedom of the press, nuclear disarmament and environmental

causes. He worked selflessly to try to make the planet a better place for us all.

I was honored to know Senator CRANSTON personally and

fortunate to benefit from his advice when I was first elected

to Congress.

We celebrate today his noteworthy efforts on the international level for world peace, especially helping to end the

Vietnam War and to improve our relations with the Soviet

Union. He was a leader in Senate consideration of the SALT

I and SALT II Treaties, Middle East peace, and reduced

military spending. In 1996, he entered private-sector work

on nuclear disarmament, as chairman of the Gorbachev

Foundation USA and later founding the Global Security Institute, both San Francisco-based think tanks.

Senator CRANSTON authored bills to create 3 major national parks and to expand 2 others, 7 park wilderness areas

and 51 forest areas. He was the original author of the California Desert Protection Act, finally enacted in 1993.

He was the second-longest serving U.S. Senator from California—and was Democratic Whip seven times and Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

His work in the Senate included not only the international

peace and environmental efforts already mentioned, but he

was in the forefront in the fight for affordable housing, mass

transit to combat air pollution and traffic congestion, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, choice and women’s rights,

veterans rights and medical care, education, civil rights and

civil liberties, immigration reform, and the prevention of

drug abuse and crime.

He was a Stanford University graduate, an early San

Francisco homebuilder, a foreign correspondent for the International News Service (now part of the United Press International), and an author of ‘‘The Killing of the Peace,’’ which

the New York Times rated one of the 10 best books of 1945.

This book was written about the Senate’s decision in 1919 to

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keep the United States out of the League of Nations, in an

effort to help the United Nations avoid a similar fate.

He was also athletically gifted. He was a world-class

quarter-miler in the mid-1930s and resumed his sprinting at

the age of 55. In 1984, as one of eight Democrats running for

President, he could be found sprinting barefoot through the

hotel hallways.

He credited his participation in track with teaching him

the need to focus. He said he could have been in the Olympic

Games in 1936 and was good enough but didn’t quite make

it because he did not concentrate enough. That taught him

a lesson that stayed with him throughout his life: success requires discipline and focus.

His artistic bent was evident by three of his oils that hung

in his Senate office.

When praising someone of such wide and varied interests

and talents, the tributes often end up listing accomplishment

after accomplishment. And, as impressive as that may be,

such tributes often miss the soul of the man. The life of

ALAN CRANSTON presents us with these goals: to put the

good of country and of the people of our Nation first; to work

tirelessly for the causes we believe are important; to understand that, working together, we really can change the

world! We will miss him deeply, but we pledge to remember

his dedication and to carry on his work.

IN MEMORY OF SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, earlier today several of my

colleagues gathered in the Senate to pay tribute and celebrate the life of former Senator ALAN CRANSTON. Like my

colleagues, I marvel at the passion and commitment Senator

CRANSTON brought to the issues he cared about during his

86 years.

Senator CRANSTON’s wide-ranging life experiences gave

him an incredible insight on some of the most important

events in the 20th century. We are fortunate that he shared

his experiences and perspective with us as a journalist and

an author, most notably with his 1945 book, ‘‘The Killing of

the Peace,’’ which was an account of the Senate’s failure to

join the League of Nations. The Senator’s distinguished career also included time as president of the United World

Federalists, Controller of California, and as a leading figure

in reforming the California Democratic Party. His contributions will always be remembered in these fields by those who

worked with him and benefited from his work.

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However, I am most thankful for his commitment and

leadership on issues of peace and nuclear disarmament. As

many of my colleagues know, Senator CRANSTON and I share

a common perspective and commitment to these issues. His

leadership on disarmament and the abolition of nuclear

weapons is truly admirable. After leaving the Senate in

1993, Senator CRANSTON continued his push for nuclear

arms reductions. He launched a much-needed effort at the

1995 State of the World Forum to abolish nuclear weapons

worldwide through educating U.S. citizens and world leaders. Senator CRANSTON took his message and crusade far

and wide, including to former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev. Locally, my congressional district—home to

many caring and dedicated peace and environmental

groups—was fortunate enough 2 years ago to have Senator

CRANSTON join us for an event highlighting the need to abolish nuclear weapons. Once again, he reminded us all that

while nuclear weapons will not be eliminated overnight, the

United States must be a leader and take the first steps toward elimination of these weapons. As the founder of the

Global Security Institute, he was able to forge ahead with

this dream of abolishing nuclear weapons.

With his passing, the peace and nuclear disarmament community certainly lost a true friend and leading voice. On behalf of the thousands of citizen groups that will continue to

campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons, I thank

him for his groundbreaking work in this arena. And, everyone should know, we will continue in this shared quest to

make the world safe from the dangers of nuclear weapons.

TRIBUTE TO LATE SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I wish today to join my colleagues in paying my respects to one of California’s longtime,

dedicated public servants, the late Senator ALAN CRANSTON,

who passed away last New Year’s Eve.

ALAN CRANSTON’s career of public service spanned almost

half of the 20th century. He was first elected State Controller of California in 1958, and was sent to the Senate by California voters in 1968. He served there through 1993.

Throughout his career, CRANSTON dedicated himself to a

range of important causes—seeking to strengthen Federal

environmental laws, to expand assistance to the disadvantaged in society and to bolster civil rights. His commitment

to arms control led him to work closely with President

Reagan for the Intermediate Range Nuclear Force Treaty,

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even though the two agreed on little else. Senator CRANSTON

was also respected for his advocacy of the interests of his

State—for farmers, filmmakers, aerospace companies, financial institutions and independent oil producers.

Throughout his career and throughout his life, ALAN

CRANSTON distinguished himself with his hard work, his tenacity and his self-discipline. He was an Olympic-class runner who kept himself in shape through the end of his life.

He took the time to make himself an expert in whatever

issue he was working on. Whether it was arms control, housing, or the views and concerns of his Senate colleagues, ALAN

CRANSTON took the time to master the subject. It was this

discipline that made him an extremely effective party builder, coalition builder, advocate and legislator. That dedication

and that commitment deserve our respect.

THURSDAY, February 8, 2001

TRIBUTE TO ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, ALAN CRANSTON, who died at

the age of 86 on December 31, 2000, represented California

in the U.S. Senate from 1969 until 1993. In addition to a distinguished political career, ALAN was an accomplished writer

and journalist, businessman, international advisor, and leader in the movement to eliminate nuclear weapons.

ALAN was effective in everything he pursued because he

had the intelligence to understand conceptual complexities

and the pragmatism to achieve what he wanted. He and Pat

Brown rejuvenated the California Democratic Party and led

it to power in 1958. My own experience with ALAN goes back

to 1960 when I was a student at UCLA and he was a model

for young Democrats to follow. We were both active in the

California Democratic Council, a grassroots party organization, and I was grateful for the personal support he gave me

a number of years later when I decided to run for public office.

I learned from ALAN that the enactment of good legislation

could not be accomplished without attracting good people to

our party. He was a visionary in knowing how to help build

a party to lead California, but he also worked hard on the

everyday nuts and bolts decisions that would make it happen. He brought the same skills to the U.S. Senate in 1968.

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He was a visionary in shaping the debate on great issues—

the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation, the rights of the disabled, medical care for veterans—and he served as the Majority Whip for 14 years. He was a consummate vote counter

and leadership strategist, and he had a hand in crafting and

moving some of the most important legislation enacted while

he served.

Lance Murrow once said, ‘‘Leaders make things possible.

Great leaders make them inevitable.’’ By every estimation,

ALAN CRANSTON was a great leader.

TUESDAY, March 6, 2001

IN MEMORY OF SENATOR ALAN CRANSTON

Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of

a truly remarkable man, one who genuinely exemplified

what it means to be a public servant, Senator ALAN CRANSTON.

CRANSTON served four terms in the U.S. Senate, and as

the Democratic Whip during seven consecutive congressional

sessions. But more than that he served the American people.

He fought to protect the environment, to promote peace and

human rights and to control nuclear arms, fighting tirelessly

to prevent future usage of such weapons. CRANSTON did not

compromise his personal views nor the best interests of his

constituents during his service.

A masterful legislator, Senator CRANSTON often served as

an integral figure in the passage of legislation. This deft political touch allowed him to build coalitions, using the power

of an idea to transcend ideological barriers.

An advocate of peace, Senator CRANSTON was an influential figure in the termination of the Vietnam War and in

leading U.S. arms control and peace movements. Despite his

opposition of war, he led support for the soldiers who fought

in the conflict, voting solidly for veterans benefits legislation

from 1969 to 1992.

As former aide Daniel Perry wrote in Roll Call January 4,

2001, CRANSTON embodied the maxim, ‘‘a leader can accomplish great things if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.’’

My fellow colleagues, Senator ALAN CRANSTON is a man

who deserves the respect and admiration of every citizen. Let

us recognize him for his years of dedication to public service.

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MEMORIAL SERVICES

FOR

ALAN CRANSTON

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Alan MacGregor Cranston

June 19, 1914–December 31, 2000

A Memorial Celebration

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

January 16, 2001

Reception to follow in the Pavilion room of the

Fairmont Hotel

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It is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted.

Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained.

But if, to please the people, we offer that which we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterward defend our work?

Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can

repair.

The event is in the hand of God.

—George Washington

At the Constitutional Convention

Soon after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Alan

was invited by Grenville Clark to a meeting of statesmen, to

examine the state of man in the atomic age, and to consider

steps requisite to survival and enduring peace.

Alan quoted Washington, urging participants to take bolder

strides than some were prepared for. His courage caught

Clark’s fancy, who soon became Alan’s friend and mentor,

and who guided Alan on his path as a crusader for peace—

a path that led him into public service, the U.S. Senate, and

beyond.

A leader is best

When people barely know

That he exists,

Less good when

They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when

They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people

And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,

When his work is done,

His aim fulfilled,

They will all say,

‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

—Lao-Tzu

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Prelude Christopher Putnam, Organ

Welcome and Opening

Prayer

The Very Reverend Alan Jones

Musical Celebration Glide Memorial Ensemble

Remembrances Colette Penne Cranston

Kim Cranston

Senator Joseph Biden

Governor Gray Davis

Ambassador James Hormel

Sally Lilienthal

Justice Cruz Reynoso

William Turnage

Senator Harris Wofford

Jonathan Granoff

Selection from ‘‘A German

Requiem’’ by Johannes

Brahms

Grace Cathedral Choir

Blessing The Very Reverend Alan Jones

Recessional Iain Sherwood, Bagpipe

Alan Jones. Good afternoon. I am Alan Jones, the Dean

of the Cathedral, and it is my privilege to welcome you to

Grace Cathedral for this celebration of the life of ALAN

MACGREGOR CRANSTON.

It is fitting that such a large-hearted man be honored and

remembered in a soaring and splendid space.

There was a comment in the London Times about the public reaction to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. First,

it showed that our instinct for devotion is still deep within

us. Second, that huge emotions require huge spaces, like cathedrals. And third, that the things we do in them are always up for change.

And so I invite you first to allow the instinct for devotion,

the call of something and someone larger than ourselves to

well up in you this afternoon, and I think the Senator would

have applauded anything that called us out of our cynicism

and challenged us not to accept futility as normal.

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I invite you also to acknowledge that huge emotions require huge spaces. We need great spaces and ways of celebration in order to locate ourselves in a larger vision of the

human enterprise.

And finally I invite you to be open to that fact, the fact

that things we do in places like this are always up for

change. Life is never business as usual, and nothing would

have pleased ALAN more than for us to leave this place resolved to make a difference.

So, we welcome you to Grace Cathedral for this celebration

of the life of a man who held a large and generous vision of

what it is to be human.

Our best way to honor him is to share and maintain that

vision of a just and humane society on a planet fit for all living beings.

So as you remain seated, I invite you to pray.

Dear God, we thank you for the life and the work of ALAN

MACGREGOR CRANSTON. His generous spirit opened doors

and touched many lives for good. His faith in the human enterprise inspired us to accept the great joy and responsibility

of being human. His political skills ensured an enduring legacy.

He was friend to those who had no voice, and a lover of

the great spaces of the wilderness. His long life touched and

was touched by the great events of our time. He was a man

for all seasons.

In public life he fought for what he believed with passion

and hard work. His caring, open-heartedness and his respect

for people touched the lives of many. His generous spirit

wanted everybody to do well, and this generosity was infectious.

And so we thank you for his capacity for friendship, his

probing intelligence, and his refusal to be enticed into meanness and pettiness.

Finally, we thank you for his life and example, and we

commend him into your gracious care. May we honor him by

re-dedicating ourselves to peace on Earth, and good will to

all people, and to building a more just and inclusive America. Amen.

Colette Penne Cranston. Hello! I am ALAN’s daughterin-law, Colette. I am the first speaker because I need to be.

Our daughter has commented that I seem to have an endless

supply of tears. Since I was honored to have such a close,

personal relationship with ALAN, I wanted to give you some

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insights into his gentle, unwavering spirit. He was much

more than my father-in-law, he was my friend, my advisor

and now, and I know he will love this, he has become my

Jiminy Cricket, that little voice in my conscience that says,

‘think before you leap!’

Kim, Evan, our 7-year-old daughter, and I live right next

to ALAN on the same property. ALAN’s big sister, who we call

R.E., lived up the hill from us until recently. This arrangement was such a gift for everyone! ALAN and Evan had great

sunset walks together, evenings of art work and stories

around the fire at his place, and dinner dates out just the

two of them. They would dress up and go to a restaurant,

often one with a piano player, and make an evening of it.

Evan called him ‘‘Gran.’’ One night when the two of them

were returning from a walk, Kim called me out to the balcony and said, ‘‘Listen!’’ We could hear their voices but

couldn’t see them yet. ALAN was saying, ‘‘Well, you know,

Evan, I don’t know why that’s true, but it is true dogs love

to ride in cars and cats don’t.’’ Just then they rounded the

corner to come up the driveway and they were holding

hands.

A couple of years ago, the four of us spent 3 weeks in the

United Kingdom. Our first week in London, ALAN was occupied with meetings and a quick turnaround to Geneva, but

the final 2 weeks we toured the countryside with no particular itinerary except to visit some relatives in Scotland and

the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor, an ancestor who ALAN’s

middle name is from. We also visited the graves of ALAN and

R.E.’s great-grandparents six generations back, whose tombstones were leaning together and touching. Each evening before dinner, ALAN would tell Evan a story, some lasting 45

minutes. In the parlor of one bed and breakfast where we

stayed for 3 nights, other guests would join in to listen and

ask if they could come the next night to hear the stories,

they were that good.

One of the most important, and I believe, reassuring lessons that we can take from ALAN’s life is that we do not have

to be limited in our later years. When we tell people that

ALAN never retired, he never stopped working, they do not

really hear that. The truth is that he was the most disciplined, diligent, and determined person I have ever met.

He was also still making friends with and inspiring young

people. Two such friends, a man in his thirties and a woman

in her forties, touched us with their expressions of personal

grief following ALAN’s death. The young men in their

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twenties who work with ALAN’s Global Security Institute,

Patrick Neal, Zack Allen, and Tyler Stevenson, are bright

and motivated and will do great things in their own lives

with memories of ALAN staying with them. Don’t we all wish

for a life of impact and meaning and a quick, painless end

surrounded by those we love? He did most everything right!

I can, of course, remember a difficult time in ALAN’s career. At the time I was in an elected position also, so I was

very interested in how he was handling it. As I watched

what was happening to him, I asked him, ‘‘Alan, how can

you bear this?’’ He answered, ‘‘Colette, there are politics in

the locker room, the boardroom and the U.S. Senate. Since

you have to put up with them wherever you are, I want to

be in the Senate, where the politics are intense, but I can get

the most done.’’

Over Thanksgiving, ALAN and his sister took a week’s vacation together. He was working to finish his book on sovereignty rather than just relaxing by the pool and she said,

‘‘you work too hard.’’ He replied, ‘‘I want to stagger across

the finish line knowing I’ve done all I possibly can!’’ He did

not stagger, he was still sprinting!

I want to close with a message from our 7-year-old daughter, Evan. Her Brownie troop leader read a story about loss

that she said helped her. It was about a badger who was the

oldest and wisest member of a community of animals. He

knew that because of his age, he might die soon. Dying

meant only that he would leave his body behind, and as his

body didn’t work as well as when he was young, he wasn’t

too concerned about that. His only worry was how his family

and friends would feel. He died before the start of a winter

and the animals were very sad. But as they thought about

him they realized he had given them each something to

treasure: a parting gift of a skill or piece of knowledge. Evan

said, ‘‘Didn’t Gran help lots of people and do lots of things

to make the world better?’’ I said, ‘‘Yes, he left behind countless parting gifts for all of us to never forget!’’

Kim Cranston. Thank you all for being here today to celebrate ALAN’s life—yes, I too called him ALAN.

In the program for this ceremony is the observation of the

Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu that ALAN carried in his pocket

most of his life as a guide to the style of leadership he practiced. It begins by observing that leaders are best when people barely know that they exist, and concludes by observing

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that of the best leader, when his work is done, and his aim

fulfilled, the people will all say, ‘‘we did this ourselves.’’

In the world of modern politics in which name recognition

is so important, this approach to leadership presented an interesting paradox for ALAN, which is also present today as

we celebrate the accomplishments of his life.

I understand, however, that there is a little known addendum to Lao-Tzu’s observation that states that ‘‘after such a

leader has passed on, people will join together to mourn

their loss, celebrate their accomplishments, and recommit to

the causes they shared.’’ I welcome you here today in that

spirit.

ALAN touched many people’s lives in many different ways.

We all have stories we can tell about times we spent and

things we did with ALAN to make the world a better place.

This afternoon we have time for just a few of ALAN’s friends

and collaborators to share some of their stories with us. I

want to invite each of you to join us after this ceremony at

the reception at the Fairmont Hotel where, in addition to

having the opportunity to catch up, laugh, and cry, there will

be video cameras so each of you can take a moment if you’d

like to tell your story.

My own story is simple. I was incredibly blessed to have

had ALAN as a wonderful father, my dearest and oldest

friend, a treasured teacher and mentor, and an invaluable

collaborator and leader in addressing the great challenges of

our time.

It is almost unbearable for me to think we will never again

in this life share another meal, or football game, or joke or

prank, or afternoon discussing strategy.

I learned many, many things from ALAN. Five stand out

today.

First, I learned about the subtle, profound power of the

style of leadership he practiced. In the past few days it’s

been very enriching for me to reflect on Lao-Tzu’s observation of leadership and everything that ALAN helped us accomplish in his lifetime.

Second, I learned that the greatest meaning in life is found

in making the world a better place. As one of ALAN’s heroes,

Martin Luther King, Jr., observed ‘‘Life’s most persistent and

urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’ ’’

Third, I learned something ALAN understood early on: We

live in one of the most extraordinary moments in human history. In our lifetimes, for the first time since humans have

inhabited the Earth, we have developed the capacity to deVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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stroy human and perhaps all known life in the universe forever, either through a sudden nuclear holocaust or the more

gradual destruction of the environment. Simultaneously, we

are developing the capacity to create sustainable and economically just societies.

What those of us alive now do together may well determine which of these two paths we take, and could help decide the fate of the human race. There exists a small window

of opportunity for us to act. A window of opportunity that

may well not exist for the generations of our children or

their children. If humanity is to continue, if we are to prosper rather than perish, we must transform our society and

develop effective approaches to resolve those challenges that

we share and can only address at the global level. This is the

task before our generation and it was to that end that ALAN

devoted most of his working life.

The fourth lesson is that in view of all this it is important

to keep a sense of humor. Colette told me she’d recently spoken with ALAN about something someone had done that affected them both, which she found very disturbing. Colette

asked ALAN why it didn’t seem to bother him as much and

he replied: ‘‘I find that in situations like this I can choose to

be either terrified or amused.’’

And the fifth lesson is to be compassionate to our fellow

living beings.

Of course, I learned a great deal more from ALAN, but

these are the lessons foremost in my mind today.

While to many people ALAN seemed a whirlwind of activity, he was also a voracious reader and a prolific writer.

In 1945, he published ‘‘The Killing of the Peace,’’ which detailed how a small group of people defeated Woodrow Wilson’s campaign to create the League of Nations to address

the global challenges we face, and which the New York

Times called one of the 10 most important books of the year.

And just a few days before he passed on, ALAN completed

a book—‘‘The Sovereignty Revolution’’ that begins with the

following passage:

It is worshiped like a god, and as little understood.

It is the cause of untold strife and bloodshed. Genocide is perpetrated in

its sacred name.

It is at once a source of power and of power’s abuse, of order and of anarchy. It can be noble and it can be shameful.

It is sovereignty.

I commend this book to you all and I’m happy to announce

today it will soon be available through, among other places,

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the Web site for the Global Security Institute

(www.gsinstitute.org), the non-profit organization ALAN recently founded to advance his work to abolish nuclear weapons and advance global security.

While we all miss ALAN, we can take solace in knowing

that he fulfilled the purpose of making a difference with his

life and leaving the world a better place.

In closing, I want to thank you again for being here to

mourn the loss we all share, celebrate what we’ve accomplished, and recommit to the causes that brought us together. As ALAN would say at the end of nearly all of his

speeches, I thank you for all you are doing and urge you onward.

Thank you.

Gray Davis. First I want to express the deep condolences

of my wife Sharon and I to Eleanor Cameron, ALAN’s sister,

to Kim, Colette, and to the extended CRANSTON family.

My friends, we come here today not just to mourn ALAN

CRANSTON, but to honor him. We’re greatly saddened by his

passing, but we’re grateful for his extraordinary life and the

rich legacy he left behind.

ALAN was a native Californian who grew up to be an extraordinary public servant. He had a sharp intellect, a humility of spirit, and a quality of compassion that is rare in

life and rarer still in public life. He was an extraordinary

person. Yes, he was a pragmatist who understood that

progress was a long struggle for common ground. But he was

also an idealist who believed that violence anywhere was a

threat to freedom everywhere.

He reminded us that there is a moral force in this world

more powerful than the mightiest of nations or the force of

arms. And one by one, he tackled the great issues of our

time: World peace; arms control; veterans health; environment. One by one, he made a difference.

For those of you fortunate enough to spend some time in

the Golden Gate National Recreational Area or the Santa

Monica Mountains or the desert lands that he protected, you

know what a difference he made. Future generations will acknowledge their debt of gratitude to ALAN CRANSTON, and it

is most appropriate that we thank him today.

ALAN was also a very good politician. He ran every race

with the same focus and intensity that he learned running

the 100-yard dash back at Stanford. He was almost always

the underdog. Critics dismissed his chances, saying he

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lacked the charisma to win. But ALAN proved time and again

that in this State character, not charisma, is what people

want most.

He became only the second Californian to be elected four

times to the U.S. Senate—Hiram Johnson being the first. He

became the patron saint of every candidate for office inflicted

with a charisma deficit, myself included. He is my personal

hero.

ALAN may have lacked charisma, but he was enormously

resourceful. Eleanor tells in her book the story of ALAN’s first

race for Controller in 1958. ALAN knew someone who had a

television show in Los Angeles. But the host of the show reminded ALAN he was contractually obligated to talk about

contact lenses. He couldn’t mention he was a candidate for

office and under no circumstances could he say he was a

Democrat. But as I said before, ALAN was very resourceful.

So he went on the show just a few days before his election

and he said, ‘‘My name is ALAN CRANSTON. I’m running up

and down the State making contacts and jumping in front of

lenses. I am ALAN CRANSTON.’’ The viewing audience didn’t

have a clue what he was talking about. But he mentioned

the name ALAN CRANSTON eight times. And even though he’d

never been elected to public office before, he was elected

Controller of the State of California. So ALAN knew what he

was talking about.

Finally my friends, ALAN CRANSTON was part of the World

War II generation, a generation that Tom Brokaw has aptly

described as our ‘‘Greatest Generation.’’ A generation from

which much was asked and a great deal was given. A generation that went to Europe and stood down Adolf Hitler’s

Nazi regime, rescued the survivors of the Holocaust, and literally saved democracy as we know it today.

It was a generation that came home with no expectation

of recognition and went about rebuilding a new America. A

generation that built roads, hospitals and businesses, and

paved the way for the digital economy, although most did not

live to enjoy it. A generation that did their duty, and then

came home.

God has called ALAN CRANSTON home. I know God has

blessed his soul. I know God will give ALAN enduring peace

for which he struggled his entire life to try and obtain for all

the peoples of the world. I ask you to say a prayer tonight

for ALAN, his family and his loved ones.

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It was my honor to lower the flag today in recognition of

his remarkable career, and it’s my honor now to present it

to Kim and Colette. Thank you.

Joseph Biden. My name is Joe Biden. I served with ALAN

for 20 of his 24 years in the Senate, but I consider myself

more a student of ALAN’s. Kim, Colette, Evan, I never fully

understood your father’s tenacity, by the way, until I heard

the repeated emphasis on the middle name MACGREGOR.

Now I understand it better. Eleanor, my sister Valerie says

it’s very difficult raising a brother; you obviously did well at

your chore.

I’m very grateful, and indeed privileged, for having the

honor of being here today to represent the U.S. Senate and

the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It’s a task that’s

well beyond my capabilities, because the life we commemorate was so extraordinary. To you, his family, to us, his colleagues and friends, and to the people of this State and Nation, we’re not likely to see anyone like ALAN anytime soon.

I can’t help but think of American architect Daniel

Burnham’s credo when I think of ALAN. He said—

‘‘Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir men’s blood. Make big

plans, aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing intensity.’’

Intensity, big plans, no little plans, that was the ALAN

CRANSTON that I knew. Most of us would consider it a successful career if we did nothing other than be sued by Adolf

Hitler. But here’s a fellow, a young man who came back from

Europe as a correspondent, who felt obliged to translate accurately ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’ who felt obliged to begin a crusade

to expose Adolf Hitler. This is a fellow who didn’t just decide

to help a little bit. I remember the lecture I got on redwood

forests. I had not seen one and did not know they had to be

preserved. This is a fellow who had no lesser aim than to

eliminate nuclear weapons in his time, to guarantee racial

equality, to provide durable, affordable housing. I know of no

man that I’ve served with in the Senate, and I’ve been there

28 years, who had as many intense interests and contributed

so much to so many different endeavors.

What accounted for that intensity that dominated ALAN’s

character? It used to baffle me until one day I figured it

out—it was ALAN’s integrity, his honesty, his inability to rationalize to himself that he didn’t have any responsibility for

this or that problem that he observed in this country.

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ALAN had an inner compass that would have plagued most

of us. He could spot injustice a mile away. He smelled hypocrisy almost before he walked in the room. He knew what had

to be done, and he unfailingly did it, or at least attempted

to do it, usually before anyone else, and almost always at

some risk to himself. I think integrity, political integrity,

personal integrity, is doing what you know to be right even

when you know it’s likely not to benefit you. ALAN was one

of the few people I served with who never, never wondered

whether he should act based on whether what he was about

to do was popular.

ALAN MACGREGOR CRANSTON was born in 1914. He was

almost 30 years my senior, yet he was one of the youngest

people I have ever known and have ever served with.

It was not just that his policy priorities would fit under

the heading of progressive, although they would, but with

Senator CRANSTON, the Senator from California, it was more

than that. There was what Robert Kennedy described as—

‘‘The qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper

of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.’’

We’ve all heard that quote a thousand times, but I can

think of none other that describes the ALAN CRANSTON that

I worked with, although some of you knew him much more

intimately.

ALAN’s commitment to arms control, his passion for environmental protection, his leadership in public housing and

transportation, women’s rights, civil rights, civil liberties, his

concern for justice in immigration laws; those efforts, those

views had nothing to do with fashion, and everything to do

with conviction.

The Senator was not one for looking at a situation and deciding what he believed, he knew exactly what he believed.

His public positions were not just what he said and what he

did, they were who ALAN CRANSTON was.

The Senator was armed with conviction, but he always

knew that wasn’t enough. He was an athlete, after all, and

understood that it’s not enough to have talent; that if you

want it to matter, you have to do something with it, and

work like hell at it.

ALAN CRANSTON did work, and he worked at leadership.

He understood power, not as a reflection of status, but a tool

for a purpose, and he used it as well as any man or woman

I’ve ever known.

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In his 24 years in the Senate and the years since, ALAN

CRANSTON pushed our consciousness and our conscience on

every issue of consequence, particularly nuclear weapons. He

was not just a powerful Senator from California, not just an

influential member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, not just a Democratic Whip; he was truly a world leader

on nuclear policy. In China, in North Korea, in the Middle

East, they had to factor in ALAN CRANSTON when they made

their decisions.

He was an internationalist in the great American tradition, with an idealist’s love of peace and a passion for freedom, and he had a realist’s understanding of the global balance of power and simple human nature.

He had learned from history, he taught from history, but

kept his eye and his aim always on the future: the future of

the Philippines, the future of our relationship with Russia,

and what that would mean to the world, the future of our

natural resources, and the generation of Americans that

we’ll never know.

ALAN CRANSTON ran the 100-yard dash in under 10 seconds when he was at Stanford, and I might add under 121⁄2

seconds when he was almost 60 years old. He was consistent,

and he was fast, in a hurry, I would suggest, not to reach

the finish line, but to get to the next race, the next test, the

next opportunity, the next possibility, always possibilities.

The certainty of a redwood, the spirit of a wild river, ‘‘a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.’’

The playwright Sam Shepherd wrote, ‘‘character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with,

it can be screwed around with, but it can’t ultimately be

changed. It is the structure of our blood that runs through

our veins.’’ Evan, you’ve got good blood, kid. It runs through

your veins.

Ted Turner (via video). I could not begin to say enough

about my dear friend Senator CRANSTON. I’m so sorry he’s

passed away. He has been an inspiration to me for a number

of years, no more so than in the area of weapons of mass destruction. And even though he did not live to get to see the

end and the abolition of nuclear weapons from this world,

there are a lot of us that are going to continue his work, and

I am one of them. We’re going to miss you very much, Senator. Thank you very much.

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Sally Lilienthal. Jonathan Schell wrote recently that

ALAN CRANSTON has quietly done more than any other

American to marshal public will to abolish nuclear weapons.

He brought the issue of nuclear arms reductions and abolition to the attention of business leaders, policymakers and

cultural figures—and most difficult of all, to retired generals

and admirals. And never by e-mail—he didn’t have it.

Our last endeavor together was a national campaign to

mobilize places of worship, which is gathering steam today

in Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and Muslim

mosques, and which was originally housed and organized at

the Washington Cathedral in the Nation’s Capital—the other

cathedral.

Early last summer, 2 years of work came to fruition at an

ecumenical service where religious figures together with

former generals and admirals called for the reduction and

abolition of nuclear weapons. That started the ongoing campaign, the nub of which was the statement ALAN wrote and

rewrote to get it finally signed by 18 retired admirals and

generals joining in with 21 religious figures around the country. ALAN was a marvelous writer and consensus builder. It

wasn’t easy to sign up the top military figures to reduce and

finally abolish nuclear weapons, for abolition is not part of

Pentagon thinking. And besides, less than 4 years before he

had traveled widely to recruit 63 different internationally

based generals and admirals to sign another affirmation on

the same subject. Let me read you two short sentences from

the statement signed by military and church which is at the

nub, one might say, of our ecumenical campaign.

‘‘We say that a peace based on terror, a peace based upon

threats of inflicting annihilation and genocide upon whole

populations, is a peace that is corrupting—a peace that is

unworthy of civilization.’’

And he went on to write: ‘‘We say that it defies all logic

to believe that nuclear weapons could exist forever and never

be used. This nuclear predicament is untenable in the face

of a faith in the divine and unacceptable in terms of sound

military doctrine.’’

ALAN was always positive. I never saw him downhearted

during this laborious struggle to rid the world of nuclear

weapons. He was tireless in working toward our goal and he

never ever thought of failure. So he leaves us with an active

legacy—the most important legacy of all—that of hope, good

solid hope.

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William Turnage. My name is Bill Turnage. I came to

know—and to love—ALAN CRANSTON during my 7 years in

Washington as president of the Wilderness Society. Kim has

asked me to talk about ALAN’s great work as an environmentalist.

California—our Golden State—has been twice-blessed by

the mountain gods.

We have been granted a land among Earth’s most sublime

yet diverse.

And we’ve been granted a few splendid champions to protect that heritage.

In early days, farsighted San Franciscans like Thomas

Starr King and Frederick Billings came forward to protect

the Yosemite.

The idea of a national park was born at the time—perhaps

the best new idea our American democracy has ever had.

And these early champions enlisted a great Californian

photographer—Carleton Watkins—to make pictures that

would help persuade the Congress.

And their dream of a Yosemite Park was first given shape

and form by America’s greatest landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted.

And when the Yosemite Sierra was threatened by hooved

locusts—and loggers—and miners—John Muir came forward

and founded the Sierra Club—and he protected the heart of

the High Sierra, the range of light.

And great Muir bequeathed the protection of the Yosemite

to his inheritor, San Francisco’s native son, Ansel Adams.

They were two of the greatest environmental philosophers

in our Nation’s history.

And to turn their dreams into reality, California was

blessed with two of our Nation’s greatest environmental legislators, Phil Burton and ALAN CRANSTON.

And ALAN and Ansel formed a very special friendship—a

friendship dedicated to saving wild California. Ansel wrote in

his autobiography, ‘‘I have known many great people in California’s history, spanning my 60 active years. But I have

never been in contact with a public official of such integrity,

imagination, concern and effectiveness as ALAN CRANSTON

. . . I have found him to be a great leader, one who transcends party politics for causes of essential human importance.’’

The honor roll of California’s wild places ALAN helped save

is too long to recite here; it encompassed our State from the

Oregon border redwoods to the Mojave Desert in the south.

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Perhaps ALAN’s most lasting contribution to our country’s

future was his characteristically quiet, determined and effective leadership of the long, arduous, but ultimately successful campaign to save the best of wild Alaska.

One hundred million acres—the size of the State of California—preserved for all time. We simply could not have

done it without ALAN’s undaunted leadership.

And it could be said that ALAN’s most lasting contribution

to our Golden State was his characteristically patient yet visionary leadership of the long, arduous, but ultimately successful campaign to save the best of the great Californian

desert.

In 1994, when the Desert Protection Act was finally coming to fruition in a Democratic Presidency—and ALAN had

retired from the Senate—I proposed, with ALAN’s consent,

naming the vast wilderness areas of Death Valley National

Park—95 percent of the largest park in the lower 48—‘‘the

ALAN CRANSTON Wilderness.’’

Regrettably, the proposal was declined. Today—at this

time of remembrance and in this hallowed place—I would

like to again propose that we join together to ask the Congress to name this wilderness—now known simply as ‘‘The

Death Valley Wilderness’’—for our great friend and Senator.

The honor, like the wilderness he made possible, will last for

all time.

James Hormel. My admiration for ALAN CRANSTON began

over a half century ago, although he was not aware of it at

the time. The United Nations was 4 years old. The Iron Curtain had fallen. Isolationists were urging the United States

to avoid international commitments. And President Truman

was moving—against that tide—to facilitate the economic revival of western Europe.

In that climate, at the age of 16, I became a member of

a student chapter of the United World Federalists, which

was hailed by some as a major movement toward peaceful

co-existence and was excoriated by others—a very vocal opposition—as a gathering of Communist sympathizers. ALAN

had just become president of the organization. It was typical

of the many challenges which he so willingly took on during

the course of his long and productive life.

ALAN already had taken on Adolf Hitler by publishing an

unexpurgated version of ‘‘Mein Kampf.’’ He already had

served during the Second World War both in the Office of

War Information and in the Army. He would augment that

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service during a long political career, including the resuscitation of the Democratic Party in California and the outstanding 24 years during which he was a U.S. Senator.

It was during his Senate years that we met and developed

a friendship which meant so much to me. I admired ALAN’s

courageous stands on conservation and social justice, and his

unswerving dedication to the peaceful resolution of conflicts

around the world. I discovered coincidentally that his grandfather had built the house next door to mine, a fact which

underscored his California roots and his deep concerns for

the well-being of his California constituents. Independently I

met and became a friend of his son Kim, which gave me a

window into another dimension of ALAN—ALAN as father.

One of ALAN’s last acts as a Senator was to write the letters which started the long and arduous process of my Ambassadorial appointment. ALAN was instrumental not only in

beginning the process, but also in guiding me through many

of the minefields which lay in my path.

My memory of ALAN is as a gentle giant. His goodness radiated to all around him. He was a great leader—the very

embodiment of the highest level of leadership as described by

Lao-Tzu, whose words he carried with him as his life’s philosophy, as he sought quietly and selflessly to make this

planet a better place for all of us.

May we have the wisdom and courage to follow his example.

Harris Wofford. You may not know that in her last

years, while still painting, Georgia O’Keeffe wrote some still

not published short stories that she showed me. The one that

rises in my memory was about a man she met in her first

days in New Mexico. He invited her to see his ranch, 300

miles away, and one day she drove down (hiding her suitcase

in case she decided not to spend the night). She stayed overnight and from time to time they would visit, doing very prosaic things, sometimes just watching the horses he trained,

or walking over the land, or looking at the hills.

Five decades later she drove down to his ranch, maybe for

the last time, she thought. They sat a long time looking at

the hills and she found herself saying to herself with great

satisfaction: ‘‘Fifty years of friendship with Richard.’’

That’s all the story said. Well, for me it’s 55 years of

friendship with ALAN. There was little—too little—time just

sitting and watching the hills. He was always on the go, running sprints or long distance.

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When we met just after World War II we were setting out

on no little prosaic mission—it was a crusade to make one

world a reality in a United Nations with the power to keep

the peace and prevent nuclear war. When we last met at his

home in Los Altos a year ago, his smile was still infectious

and he was still hard at work, in his irrepressible way, on

the same mission, persuading generals and admirals and

people of power to join in a new declaration for the abolition

of all nuclear weapons.

When I reread Eleanor’s wonderful, perceptive, loving biography of her brother, I realized how much our lives intersected over the years and how much his life intersected with

the great issues of our time.

In 1948, ALAN gave my wife Clare her first job directing

United World Federalists of Northern California. He caused

one of the greatest tensions in our half century of marriage

when he ran for President on the great central issue of nuclear peace and asked me to be one of the three co-chairs of

his campaign with Marjorie Benton and Willie Brown. Clare

did not want me to do that. She loved ALAN but did not

think he could win, and thought it was the one time in our

life when I should stick to working as a lawyer and make

some money.

Like many who would rally to his quiet calls over the

years, I could not say ‘‘no.’’ In his 60 years of public service

ALAN brought many people of different persuasions to say

‘‘yes’’ and to work together for good things. One of those

times he played a key part in my appointment to the U.S.

Senate—which I like to think was a good thing.

Two days after Senator John Heinz died in an air crash,

Governor Casey asked me if I knew a particular major donor

to the Democratic Party and I said no. ‘‘Then why did he

write me this extraordinary letter asking me to appoint you

to the Senate?,’’ Casey asked. I had no idea. That was the

beginning of a flood of different, well-done letters in the

same vein, from a range of significant people around the

country. A few days later ALAN telephoned to tell me that as

soon as he heard the news of John Heinz’ death he had gone

to work on the phone, producing those letters—which I’m

sure influenced Casey in my selection.

But the intersection of our lives began way back. From

Eleanor’s book I realized that ALAN’s first journalistic break

was covering Mussolini in 1938, and that the speech he

heard in the Piazza de Venezia when Mussolini took Stalin

out of the League of Nations was the same one I heard in

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that same square as a 12-year-old boy. ALAN’s greatest adventure in journalism was getting into Ethiopia for some

months after the Italian invasion. One of my greatest adventures was going to Ethiopia with my family, in the Peace

Corps.

Before we met, each of us had written a book in 1945 calling for a world union to keep the peace. ALAN’s was the powerful story of how isolationism in the Senate had killed the

peace after World War I. It was a sign of his determination

to go to the Senate to see that this did not happen again.

Despite all the help that ALAN gave me in my election

campaigns—and Joe Biden and John Kerry who are here—

my tenure in the Senate was very short. His was very long—

and great.

By my count only Ted Kennedy, in this century, rivals

ALAN in legislative accomplishments. ALAN’s mark was on a

thousand bills and countless votes, large and small, where

his coalition building skill was the key to success.

Like Lincoln, ALAN CRANSTON truly believed that the better angels of our nature can be brought forth in this land.

He did not discount the demons and distractions in the way,

but he demonstrated that politics is not only the art of the

possible—it is the only way to make reason rule.

It was our good luck—the good luck of so many of us here

and around the country—to have had these many years of

friendship with ALAN CRANSTON.

Jane Goodall (via video). I’m tremendously honored to

have been asked to take part in the memorial to someone I

admired so much as ALAN CRANSTON. My body is far away

in Africa but I want you to know that my thoughts are with

you now.

I never got a chance to know ALAN really well in life because our paths didn’t cross that often. But what I saw I

loved, and like everyone, I admired ALAN so much for his integrity and his sincerity and his determination to try and rid

the world of the most evil weapons of mass destruction that

we ever created, and ALAN did so much to alert people to the

hidden dangers of these weapons stockpiled around the

world.

We shall miss his leadership most terribly, but his spirit

is still around, still with us, guiding us, encouraging us, and

above all, joining us together so that we can move confidently toward the goal that he was setting, and make this

world a safer place for his grandchildren and ours and the

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children yet unborn. Thank you, ALAN, for being who you

were. Thank you.

Cruz Reynoso. I once read that ‘‘the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.’’

ALAN’s soul was always on fire for the welfare of those in

need, for the strength of our democracy, for human dignity,

and for a world at peace.

It must have been 1959 or 1960 when my wife and I, with

others from the El Centro Democratic Club from Imperial

Valley (the center of the world), traveled to Fresno for the

annual convention of the CDC, Council of Democratic Clubs.

A featured speaker was ALAN CRANSTON. To this day, I remember being inspired—he spoke of the role of government

in helping the disadvantaged, of the need for economic democracy, of the right we all have in equal protection and

fairness, and government’s responsibility in protecting those

rights, and of our responsibility to be active participants.

That a person with his soul on fire for those ideals I held

dear could actually be elected to statewide office was, to me,

a marvel and inspiration that I never forgot.

A decade later I found myself as director of California

Rural Legal Assistance. CRLA was the leading legal services

for the poor. Many entrenched interests, including the State

government, found themselves on the losing side of many

lawsuits CRLA brought on behalf of its clients—farmworkers, MediCal recipients, working poor. Those interests

fought back. ALAN worked closely with CRLA to protect our

professional independence and assure our continued existence. As I saw it, there was little political gain for ALAN—

it was his devotion to fairness and to the concept of human

dignity that brought us together. Eventually, it was President Nixon who overrode the State veto of CRLA, thereby

saving legal services.

And years later ALAN’s son, Kim, I and countless others

joined ALAN in our mutual efforts to register thousands of

new voters, an effort to include all in our Democratic society.

Not all efforts were on a grand scale. My latest, and still

ongoing task, has been to represent a prisoner who is in

Soledad for a life term. ALAN was convinced that the prisoner was fully rehabilitated. He called to see if I could help.

My associate, Tom Gray, and I worked with ALAN. We will

continue.

Not all was work. I remember those wonderful conversations as we dined in the Senate restaurant. Once, ALAN inVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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vited me to a marvelous San Francisco eatery. At the end of

the evening ALAN invited me to join his Washington, D.C.,

office in a position of considerable responsibility. Unfortunately, I could not accept the offer, but the food had been

great.

ALAN’s interest went beyond prison walls or the 50 United

States. His efforts have sought peace for this globe. John

Amos Gomenius, the Czech religious and educational leader,

wrote about 350 years ago:

‘‘We are all citizens of one world, we are all of one blood. To hate a man

because he was born in another country, he speaks a different language, or

because he takes a different view on this subject or that, is a great folly . . .

Let us have one end in view, the welfare of humanity.’’

ALAN’s soul was always on fire—for the welfare of an individual human being—or the welfare of all humanity.

Jonathan Granoff. My name is Jonathan Granoff. I’ve

had the privilege of working with Senator CRANSTON on the

abolition of nuclear weapons with Lawyer’s Alliance for

World Security, with the State of the World Forum, with the

Middle Powers Initiative, and, most recently, with the Global

Security Institute.

Recently, some journalists from Japan were here in the beginning of December interviewing Senator CRANSTON, and I

was there, and they asked me what I did as the CEO of the

Global Security Institute. So I said, and I meant this, when

a tree is ripe with fruit, an intelligent person will sit beneath

the tree and gather the sweet fruit. ALAN is still giving us

fruit. And ALAN’s example of being a true human being is

the sweetest fruit that we could be given, because ALAN

taught by seamlessly integrating the highest human values

with his daily life.

He exemplified decency and elegance in action. He lived

without prejudice. People say they live without prejudice;

ALAN didn’t say it, he just lived it. He didn’t harbor any

doubts or suspicions about others, he never engaged in backbiting or any pettiness, and he was tranquil in the midst of

an extraordinary dynamism, like a smooth, powerful river.

He was full of grace. ALAN CRANSTON remains for us a

statesman in a state of grace. His grace was exemplified in

the ease he had in the midst of conflict, because that ease

rested on a real faith in the intrinsic goodness of humanity.

Because he had found that goodness in himself, and for those

of us who had the privilege of working with him, we know

that’s how he got us to do things, because we knew that he

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never asked anybody to do anything he wouldn’t do; he’s the

guy who would be up at 2 in the morning, and then up again

at 6:30.

Adversaries were only so as to the issue at hand, but never

as to the person, because ALAN honored everyone. His inner

clarity and strength was coupled with this unique ability,

and even desire, to hear everyone’s point of view, not as a

political ruse, but because ALAN honored everyone.

ALAN understood fully two icons his parents did not have

that we inherited from the 20th century. The first is the

awesome, horrific mushroom cloud arising from science and

the quest for unbridled power, unreined by morality, law and

reason, and the other icon is the picture of the planet from

outer space, borderless, majestic, alive and sacred.

ALAN honored all life by holding the second icon before

him, and that is why he focused most intensely on the nuclear issue, because that and that alone can end all life on

the planet, and it becomes the moral standard of our civilization. I had the privilege of traveling with ALAN and going all

over the world working on this issue, and one of the amazing

things is I would forget how old he was, because his body got

old, but he didn’t. He had found that secret of the joyous

heart, he had found that place of tranquility in action.

George Crile is a CNN and ‘‘60 Minutes’’ producer, beloved, very beloved of ALAN, and he has put together some

footage to give us all a sense of what it’s like to be on the

road with ALAN CRANSTON.

[video insert]

Death is such a mystery, and the only comfort is the love

that we bring to our lives, and the faithfulness with which

we carry forth the mission that great men have given us.

ALAN, we will follow in your loving memory. We will stay the

course. We will be vigilant until nuclear weapons are abolished.

We are guided by the philosophy that you held with you

by Lao-Tzu:

A leader is best

When people barely know

That he exists,

Less good when

They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when

They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people

And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,

When his work is done,

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His aim fulfilled,

They will all say,

‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

Senator CRANSTON sought no honor for himself. He honored life itself through his service. Together and with your

help, we will follow in his large footsteps, and on the day

when the work is done, the aim fulfilled, we will know that

we did not do it alone. Thank you, ALAN. May God give you

infinite peace, infinite bliss, infinite love, Amen.

Alan Jones. We’ve come to the end of a deeply felt tribute

to a great soul. And any celebration of a great soul confronts

us with choices. And so I offer this final blessing.

There are only two feelings, love and fear. There are only

two languages, love and fear. There are only two activities,

love and fear. There are only two motives, two procedures,

two frameworks, two results. Love and fear. Let us choose

love.

The eye of the great God be upon you, the eye of the God

of glory be upon you, the eye of the son of Mary be on you,

the eye of the spirit be on you to aid you and shepherd you,

and the kindly eye of the three be on you to aid you and

shepherd you and give you peace, now and always, Amen.

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Memorial Tribute to

Alan Cranston

U.S. Senator

1969–1993

February 6, 2001

2:00 pm

Hart Senate Office Building

Room 902

Washington, D.C.

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[ 76 ]

A leader is best

When people barely know

That he exists,

Less good when

They obey and acclaim him,

Worse when

They fear and despise him.

Fail to honor people

And they fail to honor you.

But of a good leader,

When his work is done,

His aim fulfilled,

They will all say,

‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

—Lao-Tzu

(c. 604–c. 531 B.C.)

For a half-century,

Alan Cranston carried this poem,

reflecting his personal philosophy of leadership.

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Program

Musical Prelude United States Army Strings

Introductions and Closing Judge Jonathan Steinberg

Speakers Senator Max Cleland

Senator Alan Simpson

Senator Edward Kennedy

Senator Dianne Feinstein

Senator Barbara Boxer

Representative G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery

Representative John B. Anderson

Representative George Miller

Senator John Kerry

Senator Maria Cantwell

Kim Cranston

Family in attendance Kim Cranston

Colette Penne Cranston

Evan Cranston

Eleanor (R.E.) Cranston Cameron

Event Sponsors

Senators Cleland, Simpson, Rockefeller, Kennedy,

Feinstein, and Boxer

Event Planning and Arrangements

Bill Brew, Fran Butler, Kelly Cordes, Chad Griffin,

Bill Johnstone, Susanne Martinez, Dan Perry,

Ed Scott, Jon Steinberg, Lorraine Tong,

Elinor Tucker

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[ 78 ]

Senator CRANSTON’s 24 years of service in the U.S. Senate

exceeded that of any California Democratic Senator and was

the second longest tenure of any California Senator. He was

elected Democratic Whip seven times, and his service of 14

years in that position is unequaled. His Committee service

was:

1969–1993 Committee on Banking and Currency

(Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs)

1971–1973

1975–1979

Chairman, Subcommittee on Production and

Stabilization

1973–1975 Chairman, Subcommittee on Small Businesses

1979–1985 Chairman or Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions

1985–1987 Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on

Securities

1987–1993 Chairman, Subcommittee on Housing and

Urban Affairs

1969–1981 Committee on Labor and Public Welfare

(Human Resources)

1969–1971 Chairman, Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs

1971–1973 Chairman, Subcommittee on Railroad Retirement

1971–1981 Chairman, Subcommittee on Child and

Human Development

1981–1993 Committee on Foreign Relations

1981–1985 Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on

Arms Control, Oceans, International Operations, and Environment

1985–1993 Chairman or Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs

1971–1992 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs

1977–1992 Chairman or Ranking Minority Member

In addition, Senator CRANSTON served on the Committee

on the Budget (1975–1979), the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1975–1977), and the Select Committee on Intelligence (1987–1993).

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Judge Jonathan Steinberg. On behalf of the sponsors,

Senators Cleland, Simpson, Rockefeller, Kennedy, Feinstein,

and Boxer, welcome to this Memorial Tribute to Senator

ALAN CRANSTON. At the outset, I want to express our appreciation to the United States Army Strings for their prelude

musical offerings today. Also, thanks to C-Span for covering

this event. This turnout today is itself a wonderful testimonial to the work of this man of the Senate, ALAN CRANSTON, and we are absolutely delighted that his family has

journeyed here from California to share in this tribute—his

son Kim and daughter-in-law Colette, and their child and

ALAN’s granddaughter, Evan, who graces the program cover

with ALAN, and we are so happy that ALAN’s wonderful, 91-

year-old sister, R.E., who wrote a biography about ALAN, is

with us as well.

During his 24 years as a Senator, ALAN CRANSTON did

much to better the lives of the people of his State and the

people of this country and all countries. You will hear much

about those efforts and achievements today. In my role, I am

a proxy for the scores of staff who worked for ALAN CRANSTON over his Senate career. I began in March 1969, almost

at the beginning, and stayed 211⁄2 years. I’ve always thought

that one could tell a great deal about the kind of person

someone was by how those who worked most closely with

him felt about him. I think it speaks volumes about ALAN

CRANSTON—and ALAN is the way he asked his staff always

to refer to him—that so many worked with him for so long.

In fact, five worked for him for his full 24 years; two others

worked more than 20 years; five others for 15 years or more,

and three or four for 10 or more years. I doubt that any Senator has surpassed that record for staff loyalty and staff satisfaction.

ALAN was wonderful to work for and with. He was not a

saint, of course, but he was a gentleman through and

through. He gave respect to get respect. To me he was a

mentor, a teacher, an inspiration, and a friend. I loved him.

I will always remember him. And when I do, I will think

back to our last meeting—at dinner on November 13. He was

strong and vibrant and full of passionate commitment to the

cause of the elimination of nuclear weapons. I remember our

hugging goodbye. It was a great hug, but I wish I had held

on a little longer.

A few announcements before we get to our speakers: First

of all, I want to remind each of you to please sign one of the

guest books in the lobby before you leave. I hope you’ve each

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[ 80 ]

gotten a program. If not, you can pick one up on the way out.

And also on the way out, there is a paper on Senator CRANSTON’s legislative legacy in the Senate.

Before I introduce our first speaker, I want to note the

presence here—now or expected—in addition to those who

will speak, of many distinguished Members of the Senate

and House: Senator Rockefeller, who is one of our sponsors;

Senator Lugar, Senator Leahy, Senator Dodd, Senator

Bingaman, Senator Sarbanes, Senator Dorgan, former Senator DeConcini, and Representatives Waxman, Filner, Roybal, Capps, Woolsey, and Harmon. Also with us is former

Senator Harris Wofford, who spoke so eloquently at the

Grace Cathedral in San Francisco on January 16, and Mark

Schneider, former director of the Peace Corps, which Harris

Wofford was instrumental in starting, in which Senator

Dodd served as a volunteer in Central America, and in which

ALAN CRANSTON believed so deeply. We are also honored to

have the presence of three Cabinet Members, all from California—Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Tony Principi.

Our first speaker has timed it impeccably. Our first speaker is, fittingly, the lead sponsor of today’s tribute. Simply

put, ALAN CRANSTON loved Max Cleland—as do I. They first

met in 1969, and I’m sure Senator Cleland will talk about

that. ALAN was truly overjoyed at Max’s election to the Senate in 1996. I want to express my gratitude to Max personally and to his staff, Bill Johnstone, Farrar Johnston, and

David VanLandingham, for all of their help with the arrangements for this event.

And now our first speaker, Senator Max Cleland of Georgia.

Senator Max Cleland. Thank you all very much and

thank you, Jon Steinberg, for being uncharacteristically

brief.

I see so many of my colleagues here. Really my first real

exposure to the U.S. Senate came about because ALAN CRANSTON cared. He was an unusual individual. I visited the

Dirksen Building here for the first time in December 1969.

I was still basically a patient in the VA hospital system

when I was asked to appear before something called the Senate Subcommittee on Veterans’ Affairs about how the VA

was handling returning Vietnam War veterans. That meeting was chaired by a tall, lean freshman California Senator

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named ALAN CRANSTON. I really didn’t know him then, but

it became the start of a three-decade friendship.

In 1974, I ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in

Georgia, and, other than my own priority for my own race,

my second priority in the whole world in terms of politics

was to make sure ALAN CRANSTON got re-elected in 1974. Actually, ALAN was very kind to me, and brought me out to

California, and I got a chance to campaign for him and kind

of clear out some of the cobwebs that I had in my own mind

about politics and about life. We campaigned together and I

found him just as inspiring and invigorating in that campaign as when I had met him in 1969.

It’s amazing how life works. Little did I know that, as

someone from Georgia, someone from California would be

critical in my continued service in public life. I did lose my

race for Lieutenant Governor in 1974 and, therefore, was unemployed. Christmas Eve, 1974, I called my friend Jonathan

Steinberg, and said, ‘‘I just wanted to wish you the happiest

of holidays’’ and said, ‘‘By the way, if you’re looking for anybody who wants to work, I’m available.’’ He said, ‘‘Are you

serious?’’ And I said, ‘‘I am deadly serious.’’ Well, it was

ALAN CRANSTON that made it possible for me to get a

$12,500-a-year job on the staff of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in the spring of 1975. That was more money

than I’d ever made in my whole entire life.

I was there a couple of years and, in the summer of 1976,

when a young man from Georgia named Jimmy Carter

seemed like he was destined to win the Democratic primary,

ALAN CRANSTON talked to me and said, ‘‘I think you ought

to be the new head of the Veterans’ Administration.’’ That

scared me to death. I said, ‘‘Well, if you really think I can

do it, let’s go for it.’’ He talked to Senator Nunn and talked

to Senator Talmadge. By the August convention of the American Legion, a convention in Seattle, Senator CRANSTON

pulled Jimmy Carter aside and said, ‘‘I have two requests.’’

I don’t know what the other one was, but he said, ‘‘The second one is to make Max Cleland head of the VA.’’ And

Jimmy Carter replied, ‘‘I love Max Cleland.’’

So President Carter wound up in January 1977 as President of the United States, and ALAN CRANSTON wound up as

Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and I only had

two friends in Washington; one was President, and the other

was Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. So I was

nominated in March 1977, as the youngest head of the Veterans’ Administration, and, thanks to ALAN CRANSTON, I was

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[ 82 ]

confirmed in record time, and took over that agency, with

really the support of Jon Steinberg and ALAN. They were my

constant guides, and sometimes spurs, and encouraged me

all the way.

One of the things I’m proudest of that we were able to do

is put together something called the Vet Center Program.

ALAN CRANSTON, since 1971, had been introducing in the

Senate something called psychological readjustment counseling for Vietnam veterans and their families. It would usually

pass the Senate, die in the House, and had no Presidential

support; but I was able to talk to President Carter, we were

able to put the administration behind this legislation. It

passed, and we were able to sign it into law, and I put together one of the very first Vet Centers in 1980 in Van Nuys,

California. Now there are some 200 scattered around the

country. Some 31⁄2 million veterans and their families have

received counseling through this program, and ALAN CRANSTON was basically responsible.

Let me just say that, in 1973, he helped to pass legislation

that helped the disabled in this country, that required that

federally funded buildings be made accessible, that promoted

the hiring and advancement of people with disabilities by the

Federal Government. He established something called the

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance

Board, which has the responsibility for setting standards for

accessibility and for assisting and forcing compliance with

accessibility laws. I was named to that board by President

Carter in 1979.

Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, ALAN worked to

revamp federally assisted State vocational rehabilitation programs, sponsoring laws that gave priority to the most seriously disabled. In 1980, he sponsored legislation to make

some improvements in that program at the VA, and in 1990

he was a leading co-sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been a pioneer piece of legislation, as we

all know.

I just want you to know that I wouldn’t be in the U.S. Senate, I wouldn’t have ever been head of the Veterans’ Administration, without the mild-mannered distinguished gentleman from the great State of California. I mourn his passing, and we will miss him. God bless you.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you very much, Max.

Speaking of the ADA, I see Senator Harkin here. We welcome you.

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ALAN referred to our next speaker as his best friend on the

Republican side. They served together as their respective

party leaders on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee and as Assistant Floor Leaders, or Whips, as they were also called.

Another tall, lanky Alan, former Senator Alan K. Simpson of

Wyoming.

Senator Alan K. Simpson. Jonathan and former colleagues and friends and family, Kim, Colette, Evan, and Eleanor, and Cabinet Members, including one Norm Mineta,

who I met at the age of 12 in the war relocation center at

Hart Mountain. He was behind wire, I wasn’t, and I should

have been and he shouldn’t have. But, anyway, it’s a long,

wonderful friendship, with a guy I love, and I’m so damn

proud of you, pal, even when you did that when you were in

Boy Scouts, I’ll never forget.

Well, it’s a great honor and privilege to honor my old

friend. To be asked is very, very moving to me, and I want

to share just a few memories and thoughts about a very special friend. I came to the Senate in 1979. AL was Chairman

of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and that’s when I first

met Max. I said, ‘‘Max, you have a wonderful job there, Administrator of Veterans Affairs; veterans never pick on each

other—ha, ha, ha.’’ Well, anyway, it was an interesting time,

Max, wasn’t it? Well, enough of that. Butch is here and he

would correct anything that I said. But it fell to my pleasant

luck to soon become the Ranking Member in 1980, the

Reagan administration. Well, I knew who AL was, I knew of

his journalistic prowess, of his warning to his countrymen

about Adolf Hitler, and the two versions of ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’

one for domestic consumption and one for the naive and the

unwary, and ALAN was sending out the alert. I knew of his

athletic achievements and his stamina, and I very soon

learned of his powerful loyalty to America’s veterans.

He was so cordial to me, and his staff, so very helpful to

this new, pea-green freshman. And what a staff it was: Jon

Steinberg, Ed Scott, Bill Brew, Babette Polzer. Well, I sought

their counsel, and plumbed their expertise. AL would occasionally check up on me; he’d say, ‘‘How are you? Can we be

of more help?’’ I said, ‘‘I need a lot more help.’’ But then I

built my own staff. And, oh, to all of you who will be deprived of staff one day. Staff deprivation is a serious issue;

it is the most shocking of the transitions, and my wife, a

beautiful woman of 46 years, she said, ‘‘Alan, your staff is

gone, you have no staff, they are not here, and I am not one

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[ 84 ]

of your staff.’’ But there was Biblical precedent for this, you

look it up in the Good Book, it says, ‘‘Jacob died leaning on

his staff.’’ Now, so along came Ken Bergquist and one Tony

Principi, in those early years. Tony seems to have moved

along nicely in life, a wonderful human being with rare gifts,

who has been bestowed again on the veterans and the people

of this country. He will be serving very wisely and very well

as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and I’m damn proud of you,

too, pal.

Tom Harvey then came on. But Tony and Jon Steinberg

became a very dynamic duo, they worked with Tom Harvey

in those early years. And, as I say then, in 1980, I became

in the majority, and the first call I received after the election

was from AL CRANSTON. Of course, who else? In that cheery

voice, he said, ‘‘Congratulations, Mr. Chairman.’’ Well, I

thought, the power, I felt the surge . . . and I thought how

like him to do that. Well, we cranked out some good legislation together. With Sonny here, another dear friend on the

other side of the aisle, and John Paul Hammerschmidt, then

Bob Stump, those were men of my faith, my political faith.

And Sonny used to sit next to me and say: ‘‘Don’t do it pal.

I know what you’re going to do. Just shut up, won’t you?’’ I

know we’re not going to let that get away now, Sonny.

Anyway, the changing of the guard went well. The only

hitch was that all of the veterans organizations had selected

national commanders and officers from California. Well, you

know how that goes. And now their guy was gone, and the

cowboy from Wyoming was in the saddle. Well that was very

much fun to watch, I loved it. It was painful for Jonathan,

but I loved it. When I took over, we were able to get Steinberg’s statutory language down to 1 paragraph in 1 page. We

never let him go 2 pages with 1 paragraph. And he had a

tendency to do that.

Then, in 1984, I was honored to become the Assistant Majority Leader, and who was the Assistant Minority Leader?

AL CRANSTON. We worked closely together. We enjoyed each

other, we trusted each other. We gave good support and

counsel to Bob Dole and George Mitchell, and we thought it

was a silly idea, but that we oughta make things work. And

even when AL was running for President, imagine me, being

the Ranking Member of a committee with Kennedy and Hart

and CRANSTON, all three of them running for President. I

went to them and I said, ‘‘You cannot use these chores of

mine for your great cycle, and I won’t ever use the committee

to embarrass you’’ That’s the kind of friendship I had with

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Ted, with AL, with Gary, it was very special, and it can be

that way again. I urge it upon you all. Anyway, he ran for

President, he gave it his all, as he did in every phase of his

life, but the brass ring eluded his grip, and he came back to

his Senate home, his pride intact. The only time I really,

really flustered him, I was flush with power. Now a member

of the majority, the fever of the majority burned in my bosom

like a hot gospel. I ambled over to his offices, his spacious

offices, great view, two fireplaces, couches, cozy chairs, comfort, oh, and I said, ‘‘AL, yes I think this will do very nicely

for my new Whip office.’’ And the blood drained from his

face. And I said: ‘‘No, no, just kidding, AL. You represent

millions, I represent thousands. But when the wind shifts

around here, and you Dems have the horses, don’t let ’em

come around my office with a tape measure and some greedy

looking guy with a clipboard.’’ And he said, ‘‘It’s a deal.’’ And

we had a handshake. Then the time came, and no one ever

darkened my door, no unworthies with tape measures ever

came to see me.

So, we legislated together, we argued, we collaborated, we

joshed and laughed with each other, we took pleasure in confusing people. Same first name, same hairstyle; ‘‘hairing impaired’’ is what we called it in political correctness. Same

gaunt, emaciated frame. Same gait, same grin. And, people

would come up to me and say, ‘‘I just think the world of you

and you ran for President, and your views on the environment and nuclear freeze thrill me to death.’’ And I’d say,

‘‘No, no; I’m Al Simpson,’’ and they’d say, ‘‘Not you!’’ And AL

said he got that in reverse about, you know, twice a month,

too, so we would compare that, and our constituents were

often not in alignment, you might imagine. But the best one,

though, and then I’m going to stop: Cheney, Gulf War, Secretary of Defense, he called and he said, ‘‘We’re going over

to a game in Baltimore; bring Ann,’’ and we went over to the

game, and 53,000 Oriole fans, ‘‘Hey Cheney, we love ya!

Great stuff!’’ You know, I said, ‘‘Boy, this is getting bad in

here.’’ We left in the seventh inning and went back down

through the bowels, where all the guys, the beer drinkers

and the cigar smokers, were, and they went, ‘‘Hey, Cheney,

baby, you’re all right—we love ya!’’ And I turned to him and

I said, ‘‘You know, they never treated you like this in Casper.’’ And a guy from the audience said, ‘‘Hey, I know the big

guy, too; that’s AL CRANSTON!’’ So, I can assure you he loved

that story, when I told him that.

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Well, he handled life well. Stuck to his guns, worked

through pain, met life full in the face, as if in a track meet,

headed for the tape, and he loved that thrill. Many would

have buckled; not AL. The pain of loss of the Presidency, the

pain of loss of family members, the pain of loss of Norma to

Parkinson’s disease that withered her, that withered their

union. The pain of cancer, the pain of accusation and assault

by the media, the pain from his peers at that time; we talked

about that, oh yes we did, of that sense of being singled out,

very painful.

And he left the Senate and went on to vital other things,

and meaningful things in his life, undaunted, head high,

smile on his face, fire in the belly, finishing the course laid

out. We knew on one unknown day he would be taken from

us. And we shall miss him. But not mourn him. For he was

a man of vigor and joy and vision. And my life is much richer

for having shared a significant piece of it with ALAN CRANSTON. A race well run, my old friend. God rest his soul.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Senator Simpson, we greatly appreciate your having rearranged your schedule to come

down here from New York and we know you have to leave

to go back there.

We’re going to show a very short film now, it’s only 2 or

3 minutes, but we thought we ought to have ALAN with us.

Narrator. Moscow, Winter, 1998.

Voice. ALAN, you don’t wear a coat in the Russian winter?

Alan Cranston. I don’t believe in them.

Voice. He doesn’t believe in them. It’s like John Kennedy,

it’s . . .

Narrator. That was ALAN in retirement. For most people,

a time to slow down. But at 84, as he approached the Russian Duma, ALAN CRANSTON was a man on a lifelong mission.

Alan Cranston. I got into all this way back shortly after

Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I met Albert Einstein. He told me,

as he told others, that the whole human race could be wiped

out by nuclear weapons. I’ve been working on it ever since.

Narrator. And 40 years later, after trillions had been

spent on weapons of mass destruction, ALAN emerged with

a collection of allies that astonished even him.

Alan Cranston. One very dramatic moment, when Lee

Butler, who had command of all of our nuclear weapons,

gave his first public address at the State of the World

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Forum, in San Francisco, revealing the concerns he had developed about the whole deterrence policy and the ongoing

dangers from reliance on nuclear weapons. And, as he spoke,

presiding right next to him was Mikhail Gorbachev, the leader of the country that we would have destroyed. At the very

end of this remarkable speech, Gorbachev and Butler stood

up and embraced each other. That was a very dramatic moment.

Two weeks ago, General Butler and I made public a statement by 48 past and present Heads of State and some 75

other national leaders from 48 nations, advocating specific

steps toward abolition. Despite these and other favorable developments, there is significant doubt, skepticism, cynicism,

and outright opposition to much of this. So, plainly, there is

much to do, and we have a lot of hard thinking to do about

what is in order. But let me say in closing that I do not believe that we need to wait, and I do not believe that we can

afford to wait, until the end of the next century, to fulfill the

obligation of our generation to all generations that preceded

us and all generations that hopefully will follow us, to deal

with the threat to all life that exists and is implicit in nuclear weapons. Thank you.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. That film was pulled together from a larger documentary by George Crile, a former

CBS producer, who has developed documentaries on nuclear

arms for ‘‘60 Minutes’’ and CNN. We are indebted to him

and the Global Security Institute, of which ALAN CRANSTON

was president, for making that film available to us.

And now we will go a little bit out of order, and hear from

one of this event’s sponsors, the senior Senator from California, whose work with ALAN CRANSTON goes back many,

many years and who, among many other achievements, carried on successfully with some very important environmental

initiatives that Senator CRANSTON began.

Senator Dianne Feinstein of California.

Senator Dianne Feinstein. Thank you very much. It’s

really a great honor and a privilege to be here. I just want

to recognize two members of the California House delegation

that came in. First is Lois Capps, from the Santa Barbara

area, and Jane Harmon, from the southern Los Angeles area.

And I’m not sure whether Paul Wellstone and Jeff Bingaman

were introduced earlier, but I want everybody to know that

they’re here, too.

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[ 88 ]

Alan Simpson is a hard act to follow, there’s no question

about that. I look at life this way: That we’re here but for

an instant in an eternity. No one really knows when that instant is over, and the only thing that really matters is what

we do with that instant. Because, when it’s over, there’s

nothing we can take with us other than the legacy we leave

behind. ALAN CRANSTON first came into my life in 1962, and

that’s when I first met his sister, R.E., and it was in his

campaign for State Controller; believe it or not, it was the

first campaign for which I ever volunteered, and so I’ve always kind of taken a special interest in a lot of his achievements. From that point on, I found this former long-distance

runner really to be a tireless workhorse for all Californians,

and, as a matter of fact, for all Americans. This was a man

who really loved the intricacies of the legislative process. He

was the consummate vote counter. He possessed the uncanny ability to assess competing camps, to quickly find

where votes would fall and determine whether the best

course of action was to fight or compromise. Unfortunately,

neither my friend Barbara Boxer nor I really had an opportunity to work with him in his nearly quarter of a century

here in the Senate, but I think these traits are legendary, I

think they’re known by all.

ALAN CRANSTON yielded a whole array of wonderful accomplishments, but I want to just concentrate today on a few

things in the environment. And, in the true spirit of the legendary Californian conservationist John Muir, ALAN CRANSTON became a very passionate architect of measures to preserve our God-given natural treasures. ALAN CRANSTON was

the original author of something called the Desert Protection

Act. Shortly after I won in 1993 and knew I was coming to

Washington, the phone rang, and ALAN said, ‘‘Would you be

willing to take over the effort to pass a Desert Protection

Act?’’ And I said, ‘‘Of course.’’ And we came back and we revised the language, rewrote the bill somewhat, changed some

of the concepts, and moved it ahead. But, the basic originator

of this, let there be no doubt, was ALAN CRANSTON. The bill

was filibustered, but we were lucky in the Senate, we got it

through, and it became a reality in 1994. The legislation created the largest park and wilderness designation in our Nation. Over 6 million acres, two new National Parks, Death

Valley and Joshua Tree, and one National Preserve, the East

Mojave. And so because of that, we have actually protected,

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tine California desert wilderness for all time. Thank you,

ALAN CRANSTON.

He was also the lead sponsor of legislation which established the Golden Gate and the Santa Monica National

Recreation Area, the Channel Islands National Park, a

48,000 acre addition to the Redwoods National Park, and the

inclusion of Mineral King into the Sequoia National Park.

He also sponsored 12 different wilderness bills that became

law between 1969 and 1982. He helped close Death Valley

National Monument to open-pit mining. He helped craft the

Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection

Act, and with just two bills, on which he teamed with the

late and wondrous Phillip Burton of San Francisco, the Omnibus Parks Act of 1978, and the Alaska Lands Act of 1980,

as much acreage was placed under Federal protection as all

the park lands created earlier in the 20th century combined.

So, I can truthfully say, without his service, America

would have been a different, and certainly a poorer place, in

terms of our environment and the quality of life for many of

our citizens. ALAN CRANSTON leaves a legacy of preservation

that will be remembered and enjoyed and certainly by his

beautiful 7-year-old granddaughter Evan, who is here today.

And I think, for my granddaughter, for Barbara’s grandson,

and for all of us, who really look at this land and want to

do what we can to protect it.

This was a very special Californian. And life wasn’t always

easy for ALAN, either. But I think his ability to keep his eye

on the goal, to establish what he established, whether it was

from the translation of ‘‘Mein Kampf,’’ to his work against

nuclear devastation, to his environmental record, ALAN

CRANSTON truly lived that instant in eternity, and he has

truly left us a good legacy. Thank you very much.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. I’m sure there are others

that I failed to mention. I thank Senator Feinstein. I know

that Senator Reid is also here, and again I apologize if I

missed anyone.

No Senator has worked on more causes closer to ALAN

CRANSTON’s heart and soul than has Senator Edward M.

Kennedy. I am particularly grateful to him, because it was

through his chief counsel, Jim Flug, who is also here today,

that I was introduced to and came to work for ALAN in 1969.

Senator CRANSTON and Senator Kennedy served together for

12 years on the Labor and Public Welfare Committee, which

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[ 90 ]

Senator Kennedy chaired from 1987 to 1995 and again for 17

days this year.

Our next speaker, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Thank you, Jonathan. To

Kim, and Colette, and Evan, and R.E.—let me begin by saying that I loved ALAN CRANSTON too. I will never forget the

24 years of friendship and leadership and achievement with

which he graced the Senate and the Nation. And so it’s a

special privilege and honor for me to be part of this tribute

today. ALAN is profoundly missed by his family and friends,

his colleagues in the Congress, and by all those around the

world who pursue the great goals of hope and progress and

peace.

I must say—I grew up thinking Cranston was a city in

Rhode Island. But ALAN taught each of us that Cranston

stands for something else as well—the very best in public

service.

ALAN loved to lead behind the scenes—for 14 of those 24

Senate years with us, he was our Democratic Whip, and he

wrote the book about the job. In those great years, we used

to tease ALAN about the position, because so few people outside Congress knew what it involved. Since ALAN was from

California, a lot of people thought the Minority Whip was the

name of a leather bar in Malibu.

But seriously, ALAN was a giant of his day on many issues,

and his concern for social justice made him a leader on them

all. We served together for many years on the Labor Committee and especially the Health Subcommittee, and his insights were indispensable. I always felt that if we’d had another ALAN CRANSTON or two in those years, we’d have actually passed our Health Security Act, and made health care

the basic right for all that it ought to be, instead of just an

expensive privilege for the few.

Perhaps the greatest legacy that ALAN left us was his able

and tireless work for democracy and world peace. Every village in the world is closer to that goal today because of

ALAN. No one in the Senate fought harder or more effectively

for our nuclear weapons freeze in the 1980s, or for nuclear

arms control. His hope for a nuclear-free future still represents the highest aspiration of millions—even billions—

throughout the world.

I also recall ALAN’s pioneering efforts to press for Senate

action to end the war in Vietnam, and his equally able leadership for civil rights at home and human rights around the

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[ 91 ]

world. We know how deeply he felt about injustice to anyone

anywhere. And his leadership in the battle against apartheid

in South Africa was indispensable.

Throughout his brilliant career, the causes of civil rights

and human rights were central to ALAN’s being and his mission—and America and the world are better off today because ALAN CRANSTON passed this way.

A key part of all his achievements was his unique ability

to translate his ideals into practical legislation. Few if any

Senators have been as skilled as ALAN in the art of constructive legislative compromise that fairly leads to progress for

the Nation.

He was a vigorous supporter of the Peace Corps, a strong

overseer of its performance, and a brilliant advocate for all

the Peace Corps volunteers. He was a champion for health

coverage for returning volunteers, and one of the first to understand that good health coverage had to include mental

health services as well.

In many ways, his first love was the Peace Corps, and I

know that President Kennedy would have been very proud

of him. Even before he came to the Senate, he had his first

contact with the Corps, as a consultant to Sargent Shriver.

As ALAN often said, he became involved because he was so

inspired by my brother’s vision of a world where Americans

of all ages could work side by side with peoples throughout

the world to put an end to poverty.

Because of ALAN, the Peace Corps today is thriving as

never before—free of the partisan tensions that divide us on

other issues—spreading international understanding of

ALAN’s and America’s best ideals—educating new generations of young Americans about our common heritage as

travelers on Spaceship Earth—teaching us about the beauty,

the richness, and the diversity of other peoples, other languages, other cultures and about the enduring importance of

the greatest pursuit of all—the pursuit of peace.

Near the end of John Bunyan’s ‘‘Pilgrim’s Progress,’’ there

is a passage that tells of the death of Valiant:

‘‘Then, he said, I am going to my Father’s. And though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now I do not regret me of all the trouble I have

been at to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed

me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My

marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought

his battle who now will be my rewarder.

‘‘When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him

to the riverside, into which as he went, he said, ‘Death, where is thy sting?’

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[ 92 ]

and as he went down deeper, he said, ‘Grave, where is thy victory?’ So he

passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.’’

We loved you, ALAN. We miss you. And we always will.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you, Senator.

Our next speaker was elected to the Senate seat that ALAN

occupied when he retired in 1993. She and Senator CRANSTON collaborated on many matters while she served in the

House of Representatives, and she authored with Senator

Feinstein a lovely resolution of tribute to Senator CRANSTON

that was adopted by the Senate on January 22. On behalf of

ALAN’s family and his extended family and all his friends, we

express our gratitude for this most gracious action.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California.

Senator Barbara Boxer. Thank you. To ALAN’s family,

beautiful family, and to my dear colleagues who are here, it

certainly has been my honor for the past 8 years to serve in

the seat that was held by ALAN CRANSTON for 24 years.

ALAN was a deeply caring human being, and he cared even

for those whose distant cries were not always heard in

Washington.

From civil rights to arms control, from cleaning up the environment to improving the lives of our Nation’s veterans—

ALAN’s work knew no geographic boundaries. But, sometimes

ALAN’s legacy on women’s rights gets overlooked and that is

what I’m going to speak about today.

From his earliest days in the Senate, ALAN made improving the lives of women a priority. In 1969, he supported the

Equal Rights Amendment. Remember the ERA. It failed.

But, in 1972 he became a proud co-sponsor again of the ERA,

and it passed. But he didn’t stop there—he wrote letters and

he got on the phone to California legislators considering the

measure, urging their support, and his work paid off and

California ratified it that same year. Unfortunately, not all

the States followed suit. But ALAN did not stop his advocacy.

He continued over the next decade to push for the amendment’s ratification and when time ran out, he co-sponsored

another ERA in 1983 and another one in 1985, even before

he knew he was going to have a granddaughter. ALAN would

not give up.

He worked to eliminate gender discrimination in the workplace. He was the principal author of the Equal Employment

Opportunity Act Amendments of 1972, which extended protections against gender discrimination to Federal employees

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in the workplace. And he was the very first Member of Congress to introduce legislation aimed at eliminating wage discrimination in the Federal workplace.

ALAN understood the challenges faced by working mothers.

He worked to provide child care for this Nation’s working

families, introducing some of the first ever legislation to provide care both before and after school. He knew that many

kids were without adult supervision, and I was so proud

when under the Clinton administration, we saw afterschool

funding increase from $1 million in 1997 to $845 million in

2001. ALAN, you laid the groundwork for that.

He also worked tirelessly to protect a women’s right to

choose, authoring the Freedom of Choice Act to codify Roe v.

Wade. I proudly carry that bill now. He pushed for increased

access to family planning services for low-income women and

teenagers, and fought to provide medical care to low-income

pregnant women, who otherwise would have been left without it and would not have had healthy babies.

And he didn’t stop there. He sought to level the financial

playingfield for women, pushing for laws prohibiting discrimination against women trying to obtain credit. And we

forget today when we open our mailboxes and we keep getting all these applications for credit cards, that there was a

time when a woman could not get any credit. We thank you,

ALAN, although we have to restrain ourselves now and then.

We appreciate the work you did.

ALAN was responsible for the first appointment of a

woman to the Federal court bench in California. I’ve personally, and I know Dianne, we’ve recommended many women;

five of those that I recommended to President Clinton were

nominated and confirmed. ALAN laid that groundwork too.

An advocate for equal education for young women, he

fought hard for Title IX of the Education Amendments of

1972, and you know what that is, equal opportunity for our

children, for our girls in athletics.

And the list goes on, but I will stop there with it, because

it could go on and on. But I stand before you today, as a Senator who is carrying on the progressive work of ALAN CRANSTON. His belief that women are equal has borne fruit.

If you look around today in the Senate, there are 13

women Senators from both parties. That’s just in this building. Next door—and we have a couple here—there are 61

women in the House. We are doing better now, but as my

friend Barbara Mikulski often says, it takes the ‘‘Sir GalaVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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[ 94 ]

hads,’’ to get us there, and ALAN was definitely a Sir Galahad.

I’m just going to tell you one quick personal story, and

then I’ll end. ALAN decided to retire, I ran for the seat and

won the seat, and about a year later, he made an appointment to come to see me. Now, I know this, the family must

know this, but unlike the Whip’s office, which someone else

must have decorated, ALAN’s personal office here in the Hart

building was not the most beautiful place, because this was

not important to ALAN. It was dark; it was dark leather and

dark walls and the blinds were drawn, and that was it. ALAN

just saw it as a place to work—files all over the floor. So

when I got into the office, I said: ‘‘Let’s brighten it up. Let’s

bring California.’’ And I ordered all of these green plants,

and we opened up all the shades and we painted the walls

peach and we got peach and green fabrics, and I mean, it

was different. So I thought, you know, ALAN was coming to

see me about arms control, but I was excited that he was

going to see what had happened to his office. And he came

in and he sat down, and he sat there and his first thing is,

‘‘You’ve got to be more aggressive on arms control.’’ Now

that’s the first time anyone ever told me to be more aggressive on anything. But he started to lecture me and, you

know, time went on, it was an hour, he still hadn’t said a

thing about the room. So, finally, I got up my courage, and

I said, ‘‘So ALAN, what do you think of the office?’’ And he

looked around, and he looked around, and he said, ‘‘You

moved my desk.’’ That was it.

ALAN said about his role as Senator, and I quote him,

when he retired: ‘‘It has been a privilege I have cherished

and for which I can never adequately thank the people of

California.’’ Let me take this moment on behalf of the people

of California to say to ALAN CRANSTON thank you and your

work lives on.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you very much, Senator Boxer, and thank you for being with us so long. I

couldn’t help but note when you talked about women and

forging the way for women, that the United States Army

Strings that played at the beginning of our ceremony today

was composed of four women from the U.S. Army. And no

men.

I want also to acknowledge the presence here of Senator

Daniel Akaka, of the Democratic Leader, Senator Tom

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[ 95 ]

Daschle, and of Senator Hollings of South Carolina. We appreciate their presence with us very much.

Known to all veterans advocates as ‘‘Mr. Chairman,’’ our

next speaker was the counterpart in the House to Senator

CRANSTON and Senator Simpson as the Chairman of the

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs in the other body, as it is affectionately called. He and ALAN had to resolve many sticky

and tricky issues over the 14 years that he led the House

committee, and they were always able to do so with congeniality and mutual respect.

He has been a great friend to me personally, as has been

his committee staff. I now introduce former Representative

Sonny Montgomery of Mississippi, ‘‘Mr. Chairman.’’

Representative G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery. Thanks

very much, Jon.

To the family of Senator CRANSTON, my colleagues on this

panel, Cabinet Members, other distinguished guests, ladies

and gentlemen.

I’d like to thank you, Judge Steinberg and others for letting me participate in the remarks of this memorial tribute

to Senator ALAN CRANSTON.

ALAN and I became friends because he was Chairman of

the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee and I was Chairman

of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and we both enjoyed working for veterans and their families. ALAN was a

veteran of World War II and had really a good feel for veterans issues.

You know, at first, I was a little uncomfortable working

with the great Senator from California. I am kinda the handshaking, pat-on-the-back Congressman whereas ALAN was in

great physical shape, and he would look down on me and say

‘‘I am sure we can work together,’’ and we did.

He had a couple of veterans functions out in California

and asked me to come out.

Going from one veterans meeting to another in different

towns in California, we stopped at this restaurant, and he

said they made the best vegetable soup in California. People

recognized him when he walked in, but ALAN wanted the

soup and didn’t work the crowd, so to speak.

I said to Steinberg, ‘‘explain to me,’’ and he did. In California you had millions of people and you just don’t work the

crowds. So, I found out about that.

ALAN did many good things for veterans, and I will mention a few.

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He was the architect of the Veterans Readjustment Counseling Act that Max Cleland mentioned. There are 206 centers to help Vietnam veterans to readjust, and ALAN did pass

this legislation in 1979.

He had a strong interest in veterans health care and he

passed legislation that gave thousands of veterans more access to health care. He pushed for more outpatient clinics,

and more veterans use outpatient clinic facilities now, and

the VA, I’m happy to say, has been able to cut back on the

number of hospital beds in our 172 hospitals, because of

ALAN CRANSTON and our outpatient clinics.

He was part of our team that established the U.S. Court

of Appeals for Veterans Claims and worked very hard for the

upgrade of the VA to a Cabinet department.

Some Member of Congress, and what a mistake he made,

introduced legislation to tax veterans disability compensation. Senator CRANSTON went berserk, he killed this tax legislation before it even saw the light of day, and he was right.

ALAN was very helpful in establishing educational benefits

for veterans who completed their military obligation, and he

saw to it that the educational benefits go to the actives as

well as the National Guard and Reserve.

As big as California is and the many government programs

that the State has, I believe he really enjoyed working for

veterans and their families more than other issues in government.

He was a friend of the veteran, and veterans organizations

knew they could count on ALAN, and he came through for

them.

We all miss him and know even in Heaven ALAN has an

exercise program going.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you very much, Mr.

Chairman. I want to note Senator Jeffords who has just

joined us. We appreciate your being here.

Next, we will hear from a former colleague of ALAN’s who

knew him long before he became a U.S. Senator or held any

public office. He very graciously called last Thursday to offer

to say a few words in tribute to ALAN. I now introduce

former Representative and Independent Presidential candidate, John B. Anderson of Illinois.

Representative John B. Anderson. Thank you very

much, Judge Steinberg, and my distinguished former colleagues in both the House and the Senate, distinguished

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[ 97 ]

Members of the Cabinet, and ALAN’s family. I count it an

honor indeed to be included in the group that is privileged

this afternoon to say just a few words about the career of

this very remarkable man. You have already heard a great

deal about his commitment to the cause of civil rights, women’s rights, conservation, the environment, veterans affairs.

I will not attempt to repeat the comments or the praise that

could continue to be heaped upon him for the efforts that he

exerted in all of those fields. But, as a Member of the ‘‘other

body’’ for 12 of the 24 years that ALAN CRANSTON served in

the Senate, I was well aware of the distinguished record that

he had compiled in that body. And I would simply again

state what has already been remarked that earlier than

most he saw the folly of our entanglement in Southeast Asia,

and I remember his very clear and clairvoyant voice calling

for an end to the struggle there. He called for more than

that, for an end to the arms race.

And it’s really to that vision that he had in this particular

realm of international affairs that I wanted to direct my very

brief remarks this afternoon. Because, as a very young man

he was gifted with a passion for achieving peace in our time

that was shaped as someone said about a former President,

I forget who it was, he had a vision that enabled him to peer

around a corner of history, to see what lay beyond. In short,

he was, indeed, a globalist long before globalization had become a term used in common parlance.

And it was just 2 years after the founding of the United

World Federalists in Asheville, North Carolina, that young

ALAN CRANSTON at the age of 35 became the president of

that organization and served until 1951. One of his mentors

was the late, distinguished Grenville Clark, who, along with

Lewis B. Sonn, wrote that very magisterial work on world

peace through world law. And that indeed was the vision

that ALAN CRANSTON had. He had a vision of a democratic

world federation that would emerge from what was then,

when he was president of the United World Federalists, still

a very nascent United Nations. He maintained that interest

and served on the Board of Advisors of the World Federalists

Association until his recent death.

Upon his retirement from the Senate in 1994, and this is

the point, I think, that I wanted the opportunity to emphasize here this afternoon, he did not regard his career as

ended. I read the account of the marvelous memorial service

conducted in San Francisco just 3 weeks ago, in Grace Cathedral, where his son was quoted as saying that he had said

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[ 98 ]

that ‘‘when the end comes, I want to be able somehow to still

struggle across the finish line with my head up.’’ And he

added to that that when the end came, he was still sprinting;

he was not merely struggling, he was sprinting in pursuit of

the goals that he sought. And he became a leading and a

very strong voice in civil society in the area that, at the end

of his life, I am convinced, lay closest to his heart. It was the

interest in disarmament, an end to the threat of nuclear war

and the achievement of world peace through world law. And

he believed that that could be achieved only through the application and the use of the same federalist principles that

had inspired the Framers of our Constitution to write a Constitution that would bring about peace and domestic tranquillity among the then 13 independent sovereignties who

had found that under the Articles of Confederation their

bonds of unity had become frayed. And it was ALAN’s belief,

building on that historical fact, that only with a restructured

and an empowered United Nations, one capable of maintaining peace with justice, that we would recognize the goal that

he sought, of world peace through world law.

It’s been mentioned, I think, already, that he served as

president of the Global Security Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to disarmament and world peace. He saw

security not simply as an issue confined within the narrow

boundaries of nationalism but as an issue that required the

forging of new bonds of global cooperation.

And one of the last and most vivid memories that I personally have of ALAN CRANSTON was less than 3 years ago,

when the Hague Appeal for Peace drew thousands of peace

activists from around the world to the Hague to celebrate, to

commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Hague

Peace Conference. ALAN was there as one of the leading

spokespersons from the United States. And again, one of the

memorable experiences of that international meeting was to

attend one of its sessions and to hear him describe how he

was even then busy working on a book, a book on sovereignty, a book that would seek to explain that, in this new

millennium, the old Westphalian theory of State sovereignty

was simply not sufficient unto the needs of our present age,

and we had to re-conceptualize that term in a way that

would allow the formation of Democratic global institutions

that would carry out the goals of disarmament and build a

world in which peace could be achieved through reliance on

the rule of law.

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[ 99 ]

Those are the memories that I will certainly carry with

me, as inspiration for the remainder of my life, and I thank

you, ALAN CRANSTON, for the things that you did, both in the

Senate, and then in those very important years when you

carried forth your ideas and lived for your ideals as a strong

member of American civil society.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. I think that gave us all an

important glimpse of the formation of ALAN CRANSTON’s philosophy and thinking, and I know that there are a number

of people from those early days in the United World Federalists who are here today, including Neil Potter and Ted

Waller, who worked with ALAN so many years ago at the

founding of that organization.

Our next speaker has served for 26 years in the House of

Representatives. He worked very closely with ALAN on many

initiatives of significance to their California constituents and

particularly to the children of their State and the children of

the entire country. We are very grateful that he has taken

time to be with us throughout this entire ceremony this

afternoon.

Representative George Miller of California.

Representative George Miller. Well thank you, and to

all of you, to family and friends, and colleagues. I am very,

very pleased to be able to participate in this memorial to an

extraordinary life, to clearly one of the leading California

statesmen of the 20th century.

My familiarity with ALAN CRANSTON goes back long before

my politics, when as a young boy, I sat in the living room

of our home and listened to ALAN CRANSTON and my father

and many other California politicians plot campaigns and

create and organize the California Democratic Council,

which changed the politics of California, changed the Democratic Party in California, launched their careers, and later

the careers of so many other progressive politicians in the

State of California. It was a profound organization, in terms

of its influence in California. In the post-war, in the conservative years, it was an organization that, led by ALAN, would

speak out on nuclear arms control, on civil rights, on the

rights of labor—these issues that became the cornerstone for

so many of us who later sought to run for political life in the

State of California.

I think it’s rather fitting that we remember ALAN at this

time. Because we can remember when a conservative adminVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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[ 100 ]

istration came to this town 20 years ago and sought to

launch an attack on programs for the poor, on women and

the ill, on foster care and adoption, on child health, on

handicapped education, and so many other programs that

were targeted for elimination. ALAN and his colleagues not

only led that fight, but participated in it, stood their ground,

and fought against those efforts, and today, when we see a

new administration arriving in town, we’re no longer talking

about the elimination of these programs, we’re talking about

making them work better. We recognize the beneficiaries of

these programs, and the benefits to our society. We now see

that, in fact, because of the fight that was made a long time

ago, we now have a legacy of understanding the role and the

importance that government plays in so many American

lives, and the necessity of it. We’ve heard it with respect to

veterans, we’ve heard it with respect to the environment, to

women, and to so many others in American society.

Many of us would think that if you look at the last quarter

of the 20th century in American politics, you would think of

extreme ideological behavior, you’d think of political chaos,

and you would suggest that not a lot got done. But, as already had been mentioned here, if you look at the legacy and

the workload and the work product of ALAN CRANSTON, you

would recognize that, in fact, it was a golden age of legislation for people like ALAN CRANSTON. He was able to put his

signature and his work into so many efforts that became the

law of the land. I recall two of those, working with him as

a colleague in the House. One was in the 1970s; in the late

1970s, after 5 years of working together, of holding hearings,

site visits, talking with families and children, we put together legislation to deal with the problems of foster care, to

children who were trapped in a system from which they

could not escape, families who could not get their children

back from that system, and the impact that it had on these

children. That law was later signed by President Carter, and

it was ALAN’s tenacity that allowed us to get it through.

The other one, of course, that’s been mentioned here is the

California desert. ALAN started pioneering that effort so

many years ago, so many years before we actually considered

it on the floor of the House or the Senate. Where he walked

over those areas, he hiked over them, he spent time with the

constituents who were interested in them, with the organizations that were trying to preserve them. Kim has spent much

time in that area. And, after ALAN left the Senate, I managed the bill on the floor of the House. The opponents were

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[ 101 ]

numerous; we used to have to have security and armed

guards to go into the hearings on the California desert bill.

They held the controversial ones in Beverly Hills, so that

people would have trouble getting there, it was a grand ploy.

And it worked.

But, in any case, the opposition in the House was incredible. We spent many, many days debating this legislation, on

again, off again, part of the day, into the night. They filed

numerous amendments, all of which had unlimited debate

time. They had a coterie of people who would speak on every

amendment for the maximum time allowed, so that they

could delay this bill and not see it enacted. I called ALAN and

I said, ‘‘ALAN, we’ve got to accept some amendments to speed

this along. The Members of the House are starting to call me

Moses, they’ve said they’ve been in the desert for so long on

this legislation.’’ I said, ‘‘Some of these amendments, what

can we accept to narrow this down,’’ and he said, ‘‘None.’’

And I said, ‘‘ALAN, this is the House, it will never stop,’’ and

he said, ‘‘None.’’ He said, ‘‘We can’t accept them.’’ I talked to

him about a couple of amendments to move the boundaries,

he said, ‘‘No, I’ve been there; I’ve been there and if you go

to the bottom of that canyon, you’re going to find a little

spring down there—most people don’t know it exists. You

can’t put that outside the park, that’s going to have to be in.’’

Well, it’s turned out he was right. Dianne managed the bill

on the Senate floor, and Bill Clinton signed it into law, and

now it’s one of our leading attractions in the Nation and certainly in the State of California. Those who opposed it are

now seeking authorizations and appropriations for visitor

centers and various support systems for the park. The

Chambers of Commerce now think that this is a cash register, and they’d like to have it expanded, they’d like to have

the boundaries expanded, they’d like to have the protections

upgraded, so that more visitors would come and bless their

economy. It was ALAN CRANSTON’s foresight that brought

that about.

You know, the political mentor to so many of us, Phil Burton, used to say to us that when you came to the House or

you came to the Senate, that it was a privilege and it was

an honor, and you had to pay the rent, you had to pay the

rent all the time to stay there. And I think that ALAN fully

understood that, while this clearly was the world’s most exclusive club, he still had to pay the rent, and he did over and

over and over again, on behalf of so many Americans, on behalf of our environment, on behalf of world peace, on behalf

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[ 102 ]

of human rights. He paid the rent constantly to earn his

right to stay here and to work and to work and to work on

behalf of all of us. And I think we should thank him, for all

of the fights that he made, and all of the ground that he

stood, on behalf of America, and all of its people. Thank you

very much, ALAN.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you, Representative

Miller.

Next, we will hear from a Senator who served on two committees with Alan—Banking and Foreign Relations—where

they shared many common interests. Senator Kerry was a

highly decorated veteran of Vietnam and a co-founder of the

Vietnam Veterans of America, an organization which was to

play an important role in the enactment of much legislation

that he and Senator CRANSTON championed, particularly the

Veterans’ Judicial Review Act that created the court on

which I am honored to serve, along with another former

Member of Congress who is also with us today, Chief Judge

Ken Kramer.

Senator Kerry succeeded to the Democratic leadership of

the Banking Committee’s Housing Subcommittee, which Senator CRANSTON had chaired from 1987 to 1993. Also, I know

that Senator Kerry shares the passion that Senator CRANSTON lived and breathed for ending the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.

Senator John Kerry. Thank you, Jonathan. Kim,

Colette, Evan, and R.E., it’s a very special privilege to join

with all of you today in remembering the remarkable life and

achievements of our friend, ALAN CRANSTON.

As we’ve heard today, and as we all know, ALAN was a

sprinter, a record-holding sprinter, who, in his sixties, was

only 2 seconds slower than he was in his twenties when he

set the records. And I think it’s safe to say that those who

knew him well would agree that he really sprinted through

life; he sprinted through the U.S. Senate, always with a yellow pad in his hand and a felt-tip pen, covered with ink,

with more things on that pad to do in one day than most of

us would venture to accomplish in a week or a month, and

he got them done. And always with this incredible, mischievous twinkle in his eye. He had fun advocating and challenging the system.

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[ 103 ]

One of the most enduring images of ALAN would be at the

Iowa caucuses in 1984 at the Holiday Inn in Keokuk, Iowa,

where he was seen sprinting barefooted down 40-meter hallways, then he’d walk back, and he’d repeat the exercise for

about 40 minutes. And I think we can understand why it

was no coincidence that ALAN’s favorite hotel was the Chicago O’Hare Hilton, where they had 250-meter hallways.

Three weeks ago in California, we had a tender goodbye to

our friend, this sprinter, at a memorial service—calling to

mind the many ways in which he enriched our lives and this

country.

There in the Grace Cathedral, we heard Colette Cranston

say that in death ALAN CRANSTON ‘‘has become my Jiminy

Cricket—that little voice in [her] conscience that says,

‘Colette, think before you leap.’ ’’ It would not be an exaggeration to say that that warning was a characteristic of

ALAN—think before you leap, and, most of all, he wanted us

to think, he wanted us to look, and, by God, he wanted us

to leap. He implored us to put a public face on policy. He

wanted us to think not in terms of statistics and numbers

and programs, but in terms of people; and the people he

spoke of most often, as all of my colleagues who served with

him will remember, were senior citizens, children, those

without decent housing, immigrants, those in need of a helping hand regardless of race or religion. He was a moral voice,

a voice of conscience, someone who understood that even as

he remained vigilant in defending the needs and wishes of

his home State of California, he was also a global citizen and

he knew and felt the responsibilities of this institution toward the rest of the world.

Through four terms as a U.S. Senator, he also remained

a man of enormous humility—on his answering machine he

was simply ‘‘ALAN’’—as he was to so many who worked with

him and knew him. And this personal sense of place and of

restraint made it easy to underestimate the contributions

that he made to the Senate, and to our country. Certainly he

never paused long enough to personally remind us of the impact of his service, of the history that he was a part of and

the lives that he touched.

I first met ALAN in 1971 when I had returned from Vietnam and many of our veterans were part of an effort to end

what we thought was a failed policy in that country. In ALAN

CRANSTON we found one of the few Senators willing not just

to join in public opposition to the war in Vietnam, but to become a voice of healing for veterans of the war—a statesman

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[ 104 ]

whose leadership enabled others, over time, to separate their

feelings about the war from their feelings for the veterans of

the war. At a time when too many wanted literally to disown

this country’s own veterans, ALAN CRANSTON offered them a

warm embrace. He was eager to do something all too rare in

Washington: To listen—and he listened to veterans who had

much to say, much of it ignored for too long. He honored

their pride and their pain with his sensitivity and his understanding.

That’s when I first came to see the great energy and the

commitment that he brought to issues affecting veterans, especially those of the Vietnam era. He was deeply involved in

veterans health care issues, among the first to fight for the

recognition of post-Vietnam stress syndrome, a leader in insisting, together with Sonny Montgomery, on the extension

of coverage under the VA, under the GI bill. And when the

agent orange issue came to the fore, ALAN insisted on getting

answers from a government that was unresponsive. He made

sure that veterans and their families got the care that they

needed. Under his leadership, together with his partner in

the House, they increased GI bill benefits for Vietnam veterans—and I tell you that that was a time when veterans too

often had to fight for what was their simple due, whether it

was a memorial here in Washington, or simply to have the

government recognize that it was a war, and not simply a

conflict. ALAN’s leadership made all the difference. It’s a sad

truth in our history that a weary Nation indeed seemed

eager to turn its back on the entire war by also turning its

back on so many veterans. It should forever be a source of

pride to the CRANSTON family that ALAN was chief among

those who insisted that America honor that service and keep

faith with sons who left pieces of themselves and years of

their lives on the battlefield in Vietnam.

This was a man who fought with extraordinary passion for

everything. And he fought at the most difficult of times. Not

just for veterans, but as we’ve heard from others today, he

fought against all that war represents—remembering that

war, and the killing that follows it, is the ultimate failure of

diplomacy.

ALAN CRANSTON was above all else a man of peace. And

he was a man of peace not as a matter of public policy, but

as a matter of personal passion. Remember: This was a man

who, in 1934, found himself in the same room as Adolf Hitler. Five years later, he wrote a critical English translation

of Adolf Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ in an effort to reveal the GerVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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[ 105 ]

man leader’s true plans. And he wore Hitler’s ensuing lawsuit as a badge of honor, proud that he had stood up to try

and warn the English-speaking world about the evils of nazism.

Throughout the rest of his service he used public office to

force Americans to listen to other prescient warnings—about

nuclear war, about the arms race, about hopes for peace that

he refused to give up even as others chose to beat the drums

of war.

Senator CRANSTON came to his famous commitment, as we

learned from the film, after meeting with Albert Einstein in

1946. And he left that meeting convinced that he had found

his mission and he would indeed spend the balance of his life

arguing that conviction before the world.

As a member of the Senate leadership and a senior voice

on the Democratic side of the Foreign Relations Committee,

he worked tirelessly to reduce the nuclear threat. Obviously,

there were many of those efforts, but one of the most

unpublicized was his effort through the 1970s and 1980s,

when he convened a unique group known as the ‘‘SALT

Study Group.’’ A Senators-only gathering monthly in his office, off the record, face to face to define the confines of the

debate. He knew the impact that quiet diplomacy could have

on the issues, but on this issue above all that he cared about

the most.

He loved the Peace Corps, and he fought for it. He fought

to attach human rights conditions on aid to El Salvador. He

was a leading national advocate for the mutual verifiable

freeze. He was always an idealist whose increase in political

power, gratefully, was always met by progress for the issues

that he cared about so deeply. It was not just the work of

a career, but the work of a lifetime—and after he left the

Senate, we all know the remarkable commitment that he

continued with Mikhail Gorbachev and ultimately in his

founding of the Global Security Institute.

He did that because he sensed that the end of the Cold

War, with all of the opportunity that it afforded, which he

understood, still left us a world that was more dangerous,

and he was haunted by the threat of nuclear terrorism. We

missed his voice in the debate on the Test Ban Treaty, and

we miss him even more today.

When he left the Senate, ALAN reflected on his service and

he said of his own legacy, simply: ‘‘Most of all, I have dedicated myself to the cause of peace.’’

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[ 106 ]

That dedication was real, it was lasting, and the legacy of

peace for a good and peaceful man who gave living embodiment to Culbertson’s simple, stubborn faith that ‘‘God and

the politicians willing, the United States can declare peace

upon the world, and win it.’’ That belief was ALAN CRANSTON—and it’s a belief still worth fighting for.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Our concluding speaker

from this body is also one of its newest Members. She traveled to California 3 weeks ago, as did Senator Kerry, as he

told us, to attend the ceremony attended by over a thousand

persons at the Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. For reasons that I know she will share with us, she will be—along

with Max Cleland—a living legacy of ALAN CRANSTON in the

U.S. Senate.

Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington.

Senator Maria Cantwell. Thank you. To Kim and

Colette and Evan and R.E., thank you for allowing me to

share this occasion to remember ALAN and to have been

there a few weeks ago and to see so many of the friends and

faces that ALAN touched.

People today have talked about ALAN’s legislative career—

the many pieces of legislation that will live with us for a long

time. But I’d like to share with you today maybe a different

ALAN CRANSTON that I knew as I worked on his Presidential

campaign in 1983 and 1984. Some people might think running for President is a glorious task, but it is a very difficult

one that I think ALAN knew would help aid the cause and

message that he wanted to fight for. In fact, I’m not from

Washington State originally; it was ALAN CRANSTON that

dropped me off there in 1983. In fact, the first time I ever

visited, I was a part of his Presidential campaign staff, in

which he left me at SEA–TAC Airport in Seattle and went

on about his business to campaign. But people who knew

ALAN knew that he jumped into that race to deliver a message for the right reason. I was fortunate enough to have

read R.E.’s book about ALAN, and knew all the things that

ALAN had fought through in his life, some of the things that

have been mentioned today. About being sued by Adolf Hitler for translating in next to no time a version of ‘‘Mein

Kampf.’’ Being a pre-World War II journalist and being

smart enough to understand what was going to be advocated

and running back to the United States and having that published. And all of the other wonderful things that ALAN did

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[ 107 ]

in helping women, and on the environment; one thing I

haven’t heard mentioned today is his work with Native

Americans, which is something that I recognize.

But what was amazing about ALAN from a personal perspective, and you definitely get to know someone from a personal perspective when you travel with him on a Presidential

campaign, is that ALAN was very self disciplined. John Kerry

talked about his running, and that was something that was

very important to ALAN on a daily basis. And, yes, I can attest to the fact that he did sprint in the hotel corridors when

you didn’t schedule time for him to run outside. But, when

ALAN, challenged with the fact that maybe some of the other

hotel guests found it shocking to find somebody so tall and

long running down the halls at 7:30 in the morning, the Senator replied, ‘‘Well, maybe I should start at 6:30 instead.’’

But ALAN never complained about that task. And for me,

in Washington State, there were lots of World Federalists, a

lot of people part of the nuclear freeze movement, a lot of

people very appreciative of his efforts on the environment.

But ALAN was also a very self-deprecating person when it

came to making a moment light. And I’ll never forget the

time in Vancouver, Washington, where hundreds of people

had showed up at 8:30 on a Sunday morning, I think it was

the Fourth of July, to hear his message about the nuclear

freeze. And when he mistakenly called the host of the event,

whose name was ‘‘June,’’ ‘‘Jane,’’ and he heard a gasp from

the audience, he quickly looked down at his program and

saw that he had mistakenly called her the wrong name, and

all of a sudden started pounding on his chest, saying, ‘‘Me

Tarzan! You Jane!’’ Which put everybody at ease, and ALAN

went on to give his very important remarks to a community

that I don’t think has seen since the likes of ALAN CRANSTON.

And yet, when you run a Presidential campaign, you also

are a spokesperson for your issues. But I never saw ALAN

take advantage of that situation, where he was trying to

make more than the situation called for. In fact, he was very

reserved in his comments. I remember being with him on

August 31, in 1983, when the Korean Airline Flight 007 was

shot down. We happened to be in Anchorage, Alaska, at that

time, and many of you probably know the various controversies that arose out of that; 269 people were killed. And I remember waking up that morning to a press event where

probably 200 different people were there, including the national press, all wanting ALAN to make a statement right

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[ 108 ]

away, because he was a Presidential candidate, because his

remarks would be all over the news. And yet ALAN had the

self-discipline not just to say something immediately that

morning, but to say, in a calming way, ‘‘Let’s find out the

facts, first.’’ And when I think about that as a human being,

particularly in my new post and job, in which the world

moves so fast and in which people go about promoting their

idea and concepts, the very human side of ALAN CRANSTON

remains with me, and I hope it does with each of you.

I talked to him in October of this year, in which I was out

campaigning in Bellingham, Washington, one of the last

places I had to campaign with him, and I said to him, ‘‘Senator, you dropped me off here almost 17 years ago, and you

never picked me up.’’ And ALAN reminded me that it was

time to work together. So I guess I say to Kim, and Colette,

and R.E., and to those of you who are going to carry on the

CRANSTON legacy, that he left in each one of us a piece of

that flame that he carried for so long. You saw it on the film.

It started when Albert Einstein said to him, ‘‘Nuclear arms

could wipe out a whole race of people.’’ I think ALAN started

saying that from that moment on, and reminded people

about it until his last days. And so I hope that each and

every one of you, as I will, carries part of that torch and

flame that ALAN had of self-discipline, knowing that he was

not the message, but the messenger, in helping this fight.

Thank you.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. And now we’ll hear from

ALAN CRANSTON’s son Kim, who I know is committed to seeing that ALAN’s lifelong commitment to securing world peace

is carried on as his most important bequest to his granddaughter Evan and all the children of our planet.

Kim.

Kim Cranston. Thank you, all. Those of you who were familiar with the legal pads that ALAN carried around and the

black pens will be happy to know that Evan is over here

busy making a ‘‘to do’’ list. I’m not sure what it all includes.

Jonathan, thank you very much for helping to organize

this, and everybody else who was involved in this, the Senate

sponsors, and each of the other speakers; I deeply appreciate

your kind and touching words about ALAN and his work

here. It’s good to see all of you, so many old friends. It’s sad

under the circumstances that we come together, but it’s wonVerDate 19-JUN-2001 10:32 Aug 06, 2001 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00124 Fmt 6688 Sfmt 6688 C:\MEMTRIBS\CRANSTON\69654.TXT CRS1 PsN: CRS1
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derful to see you all again. I know how much ALAN cherished

your friendship and collaboration over the years.

I was really truly blessed, I feel, to have, through the genetic lottery, ended up as ALAN’s son, and had the opportunity to get to know him as my father, as my dearest and

oldest friend, and as a wonderful collaborator, mentor, teacher, and leader. And I know his loss as a leader is a loss we

all share.

I’ve been reflecting over the last month on many of the

things that I’ve learned from ALAN and our work together,

living with him, and a few things stand out that I wanted

to share today. One thing that stood out for me was the remarkable style of leadership he had. Inside the program is

the poem that he carried, the Lao-Tzu quote, for most of his

life, that really informed the style of leadership that he practiced. It concludes with:

But of a good leader, When his work is done, His aim fulfilled, They will

all say, ‘‘We did this ourselves.’’

And so today, we’re here, recognizing what we accomplished together with Alan. It’s an opportunity not only to

mourn his loss, but to celebrate what we accomplished together, and I think, beyond that, to recommit, and commit

to the ongoing causes that we engaged in with him.

Another lesson that has stood out in the last month for me

was something that I really remember when I first began

hearing it from him. I was told the central purpose of life

was to make the world a better place, or, as one of ALAN’s

heros, Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, ‘‘life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘what are you doing to serve

others?’ ’’ And it was certainly in that spirit that ALAN conducted his life and committed most of his public life.

And, finally, one other thing that stands out very strongly

for me, both in terms of the work that he did here in Washington, and to the work that he continued to do after he left

Washington, was his recognition of the extraordinary moment in history in which we all live. In that regard, I just

note that a friend commented after ALAN had left the Senate, that they had seen him, and they said, ‘‘Kim, you know,

he doesn’t seem to be slowing down, he seems to be speeding

up.’’ And I think that was true, because he said to me that

he’d felt since he left the Senate that he could really focus

in on the things that he was most concerned about, to devote

100 percent of his energy to those causes that were of greatest concern to him. And I think the cornerstone of that was

an understanding that we have entered a new age during

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our lifetime, when we’re facing global challenges that can be

addressed only at the global level, and that we need to come

up with effective new approaches for dealing with those challenges. After he left the Senate, the cause did continue, most

recently in the form of the Global Security Institute, which

is continuing, and it has a great board, and a wonderful director, Jonathan Granoff, our CEO, who is here today. And

I would really urge those of you who are here today who

shared in those causes with ALAN to look forward to opportunities to collaborate with us, because the work goes on, and

ALAN was just the messenger.

In closing, I’d just like to say something I know ALAN

closed most of his speeches with, which was, ‘‘I thank you for

all you are doing, and urge you onward.’’ Thank you.

Judge Jonathan Steinberg. Thank you, Kim. I know

your father would be proud of your personal actions to pick

up the torch and deeply moved by your words.

I want to close with some expressions of thanks to many

people. Again, I want to note how grateful all of us are to

the sponsoring Senators and to all who spoke so eloquently

and movingly about the man who will live forever in my

heart as ‘‘ALAN,’’ as the most important influence on the

lives of so many of us in this room today.

The presence here throughout this entire ceremony of

three Cabinet officials in this new administration should remind us all of ALAN’s abiding belief that it was possible to

form an alliance with every Senator on one issue or another,

and of his commitment to do just that. Common ground and

common sense was much more important to him than party

affiliation or political philosophy. We thank the three Secretaries who joined us today and helped remind us of how

important those sentiments are for the welfare of our country.

There are an enormous number of people who volunteered

their time and did just incredible work to make this tribute

as successful and meaningful as we hope that it has been.

If I leave anyone out, I apologize—as I do, and as I did before, if I left out any current or former officeholder, who I

should have recognized earlier. So, I offer special thanks, on

behalf of the family and myself, alphabetically, to Zack

Allen, Bill Brew, Fran Butler, Monique Ceruti, Kelly Cordes,

Chad Griffin, Bill Johnstone, Susanne Martinez, Katie

O’Neill, Dan Perry, Valerie Rheinstein, Alexandra Sardegna,

Ed Scott, Martha Stanley, Loraine Tong, Joel Wood, and one

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most special person, Elinor Tucker, without whose highly efficient logistical support we would never have made it to this

point. I thank Senator Rockefeller for allowing her to put in

so much time and effort and to do so in such an effective

way. Finally, an even more personal thanks to my wife,

Shellie, for helping to keep me on a relatively even keel over

the past month as this event was pulled together.

And, finally, thanks to all of you who joined us in tribute

today to Senator ALAN MACGREGOR CRANSTON, a great

American who lived his life by the philosophy of the Chinese

poet Lao-Tzu, whose words on leadership, printed in today’s

program, ALAN carried with him every day.

That concludes this tribute. Please remember to sign the

guest book, and thanks again for coming. And we’ll go out

to the theme song from ALAN’s Presidential campaign,

‘‘Chariots of Fire.’’

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A Legislative Legacy

Alan Cranston in the U.S. Senate

1969–1993

Overview

As an 8-year-old boy, ALAN CRANSTON lost his first election

to be bench monitor in his Los Altos grammar school. As an

adult, he became the State’s most electable Democrat and

one of the most durable and successful California politicians

of the 20th century. During decades of political and social

turbulence, when no other California Democrat was elected

more than once to the U.S. Senate, ALAN CRANSTON won

four Senate terms in the Capitol, serving a total of 24 years.

It is a California record unmatched except for the legendary

Hiram Johnson, a Republican who held his Senate seat from

1917 to 1945.

In addition, CRANSTON was elected to seven consecutive

terms as the Senate Democratic Whip, the number two party

position in the Senate. That, too, is an all-time Senate record

for longevity in a leadership post. ALAN CRANSTON is credited with rebuilding the Democratic Party in California

through grassroots activism and organization. In the mid1950s, he organized the then-powerful California Democratic

Council, a vast network of party volunteers that in 1958

helped sweep Republicans from most statewide offices. Edmund G. ‘‘Pat’’ Brown was elected Governor, Democrats

seized the California Legislature, and CRANSTON began two

terms as State Controller of California.

Senator CRANSTON sought the Democratic Party nomination for President in 1984. His campaign, though ultimately

unsuccessful, raised to new heights public support for international arms control and a superpower freeze on nuclear

weapons.

In terms of political style, Senator CRANSTON drew upon

an earlier Earl Warren tradition of bipartisanship, and was

well served by a diversified base of political support. Representing the California mega-State in the Senate, CRANSTON skillfully balanced a wide array of insistent and sometimes conflicting State interests. He steered a delicate course

between the State’s giant agribusiness interests and those of

consumers, family farmers and farm workers; he weighed the

claims of homebuilders and growing communities with the

need to preserve open space and wildlife habitats; and he

nurtured and led the California epicenter of the national

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arms control and peace movements, while effectively representing the home of the Nation’s defense and aerospace industry.

The record of congressional measures from 1969 to 1993

adds up to a catalogue of literally tens of thousands of legislative actions on which there is a CRANSTON imprint. These

include the large events of the past quarter century—Vietnam, the Cold War, civil rights, the rise of environmentalism, the conflict in the Middle East, Watergate, the

energy crisis, and equal rights for women.

The CRANSTON mark is on thousands of bills and amendments he personally authored affecting virtually every aspect

of national life. Without this legislative record, America

would be a different and poorer place in the quality of life

and environment for a majority of our people. Rivers would

be more polluted, the air less clean, food less safe. Fewer opportunities would be open to all citizens, fewer advances

made in medicine and science; there would be less safe conditions in workplaces.

Despite facile and careless cynicism about the work of government, the achievements of the Nation’s legislative branch

from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s have made a distinct

and meaningful difference in the lives of millions of Americans. ALAN CRANSTON’s particular contributions to progressive legislation is notable. The difference a single U.S. Senator can make is demonstrated by a study of all votes cast

in the Senate over two decades in which the outcome was decided by less than five votes and often by a single vote. Between 1969 and 1989 there were over 2,500 such votes in

which ALAN CRANSTON’s influence often was critical to the

outcome.

The figures do not include thousands of legislative decisions reached by less narrow margins. Nor do they reflect

the additional influence of Senator CRANSTON as a behindthe-scene strategist, nose counter, marshaler of forces and

shrewd compromiser who always lived to fight another day.

The sum of thousands of ‘‘small,’’ quiet, often little-noticed

and uncelebrated legislative actions over nearly a quartercentury adds up to steady progress in nearly every area of

American life.

As for one man’s place in such a record, former Vice President Walter Mondale called Senator Cranston: ‘‘The most decent and gifted Member of the United States Senate.’’

Even with so diverse a legislative record, certain points of

emphasis and priority emerge. Although never an ideologue,

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Senator CRANSTON was passionate in pursuit of world peace,

for extending opportunities to those left out of the mainstream, and for protecting the natural environment. Asked

by a reporter what he ‘‘goes to the mat for,’’ CRANSTON replied: ‘‘Peace, arms control, human rights, civil rights, civil

liberties. If there’s an issue between some very powerful people and some people without much power, my sympathies

start with those who have less power.’’

During the 8 years that remained to him after he left the

Senate, ALAN CRANSTON worked tirelessly on issues of war

and peace, speaking out for human rights, and for preserving

the environment of the planet for present and future generations. In 1996, he became chairman of the Global Security

Institute, a San Francisco-based research organization which

he founded together with former Soviet President and Nobel

Peace Prize winner Mikhail S. Gorbachev to promote world

peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Early History

Few people in modern history have entered the U.S. Senate as freshmen better prepared than ALAN CRANSTON to

combine lifelong concerns over foreign and domestic policy

with an understanding of the inner procedural, political and

human workings of the institution. It was a preparation

which made it possible to gain and hold onto Senate leadership as Democratic Whip for 14 of his 24 years in Congress.

In 1936, as a 22-year-old foreign correspondent, he joined

the International News Service (later part of United Press

International) immediately after graduating from Stanford

University. He was sent on assignments to Germany, Italy,

Ethiopia and England in years leading up to the outbreak of

World War II. He personally watched and listened as Adolf

Hitler whipped his audiences into mass frenzy. He saw Mussolini strut before tens of thousands in Rome. He covered

London in the fateful years ‘‘while England slept,’’ and he

watched as the world seemed helpless to act against the

dark march of fascism.

Three years later, following his return to the United

States, CRANSTON learned that an English-language version

of Hitler’s ‘‘Mein Kampf’’ was being distributed in the United

States. He was alarmed to discover that, for propaganda purposes, parts of the text had been purposefully omitted. These

were passages which would have made clear the nature and

full extent of Hitler’s threat to the world. To warn Americans

against Hitler, he prepared a complete and accurate version

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of the book, with explanatory notes making the Dictator’s

real intentions clear. It was published in tabloid form and

sold a half-million copies before a copyright infringement

suit brought by agents of the Third Reich put a stop to its

further distribution.

Senator CRANSTON’s strong commitment to human rights

and peace, and his alertness to the dangers of totalitarian

one-man rule, were clearly shaped by witnessing first hand

the rise of fascism in Europe and the deadly chain of events

leading to the Second World War and its Cold War aftermath. His first work in Washington, serving in 1940 and

1941 as a representative of the Common Council for American Unity, entailed lobbying Congress for fairness in legislation affecting foreign-born Americans. This activity gave him

an opportunity to learn at close range the inner workings of

the Senate.

With the outbreak of war, CRANSTON served as Chief of

the Foreign Language Division of the Office of War Information in the Executive Offices of the President. When offered

a draft deferment in 1944, he declined it and enlisted in the

Army as a private, where he was first assigned to an infantry unit training in the United States. Because of his experience as a foreign correspondent and journalist, he became

editor of Army Talk. His rank was sergeant by V–J Day.

While still in the Army, he began researching and writing

a book in hopes of influencing international decisionmaking

in the post-war world. It was an account of how, in the aftermath of the First World War, a handful of willful men in the

U.S. Senate, opposed to President Wilson and the 14-Point

Peace Plan, managed to prevent U.S. participation in the

League of Nations, thereby ultimately undermining the

peace and setting the stage for a second World War.

In 1945, ‘‘The Killing of the Peace’’ by ALAN CRANSTON

was published. The New York Times rated it one of the 10

best books of the year. The book served to warn against the

folly of repeating the same isolationist mistakes that followed World War I. The CRANSTON book also presented a

meticulous description of the byzantine inner workings of the

U.S. Senate during the debate over ratification of the League

of Nations Treaty. At age 31, the future Senator revealed a

full appreciation of the critical role played by individual egos,

personalities and interpersonal relationships in the legislative process, and showed how awareness to such human factors could be critical in determining the outcome of a vote.

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The immediate post-war years in Washington and publication of ‘‘The Killing of the Peace’’ marked the real beginning

of CRANSTON’s determination to become a Member of the

Senate. He wanted to enter that institution where he could

promote world peace and causes of social justice.

From 1949 to 1952 he served as national president of the

United World Federalists, dedicated to promoting peace

through world law. He was a principle founder of the California Democratic Council, established to influence the direction of the Democratic Party in the State, and was elected

as the first CDC president in 1953 and served until 1958.

He was elected California State Controller in 1958, which

placed him among the top ranks of the party’s statewide

elected officials. He was reelected in 1962 and served until

1966.

Senate Achievements

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Elected to the Senate in 1968, during the height of fighting

in Vietnam, Senator CRANSTON quickly allied with so-called

‘‘doves’’ who were a distinct minority in Congress at that

time. Together with Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, ALAN CRANSTON co-authored the first measure to pass

the Senate cutting off funds to continue the war in Southeast

Asia. The Brooke-Cranston Amendment paved the way to

the U.S. Congress’s ultimately asserting its prerogatives over

military spending and provided for the orderly termination of

U.S. military involvement in Vietnam.

Senator CRANSTON played key roles in shaping the SALT

and START arms pacts, and in framing debate on virtually

every new weapon system, arms control issue and foreign

treaty from 1969 to 1993. A recognized leader on the Foreign

Relations Committee beginning in 1981, ALAN CRANSTON

was a highly respected voice on behalf of arms control, nuclear non-proliferation, peaceful settlement of international

conflict, human rights around the world, sensible and compassionate approaches to immigration and refugee issues,

foreign trade and long-range solutions to problems of famine,

disease and oppression in the Third World.

In addition to U.S.-Soviet relations, those specific areas of

foreign policy in which Senator CRANSTON made a significant

impact include the passage of the Panama Canal Treaty, efforts to bar military aid to the Nicaraguan contras, aid to

Israel and efforts toward peace in the Middle East, helping

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to bring a halt to U.S. involvement in a civil war in Angola,

and opposition to apartheid in South Africa.

ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

Among the legacy of ALAN CRANSTON’s years in the Senate

is a wealth of parks, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, wild

rivers, scenic areas and coastline protection measures. With

just two bills in which ALAN CRANSTON and Representative

Phillip Burton of San Francisco teamed—the Omnibus Parks

Act of 1978 and the Alaska Lands Act of 1980—as much

acreage was placed under Federal protection as all the park

lands created earlier in the 20th century combined.

Senator CRANSTON was the Senate sponsor of legislation

creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the

Channel Islands National Park, a 48,000 acre addition to the

Redwoods National Park, and the inclusion of Mineral King

into Sequoia National Park. He sponsored 12 different wilderness bills which became law between 1969 and 1982. He

helped close Death Valley National Monument to open-pit

mining and was an architect of the Endangered Species Act

and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

He worked diligently throughout his Senate years for the

California Desert Protection Act that called for setting aside

millions of acres of desert lands as wilderness and park preserves, and creating better government conservation efforts

for a vast portion of the California desert ecosystem. His efforts ultimately came to fruition when Senator Dianne Feinstein, during the first Clinton term, was able to enact into

law the CRANSTON crusade for desert preservation.

Even this long list does not tell the complete story of Senator CRANSTON’s environmental record, which includes clean

air and clean water legislation, control of toxic wastes, liability for oil spills, restoration of fish and wildlife resources,

and support for new technologies for cleaner fuels. No other

period in American history has seen so much accomplished

for environmental protection as the last three decades of the

20th century, and Senator CRANSTON was an essential but

largely unheralded architect of these policies.

CIVIL RIGHTS/CIVIL LIBERTIES

In his first term as a Senator, ALAN CRANSTON wrote the

amendment that extended to Federal workers the civil rights

protections earlier mandated to private employers. He also

played a key strategic role in ending a filibuster which

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threatened the extension of the Voting Rights Act. He authored the first Senate bill to redress grievances of JapaneseAmericans interned in relocation camps during the Second

World War. CRANSTON co-authored landmark legislation protecting the civil rights of institutionalized persons. He was

the first U.S. Senator to employ an openly gay person on his

staff, and he fought official discrimination against homosexuals in immigration laws and access to legal services.

Aware from his days as a journalist of the importance of

protecting news sources, Senator CRANSTON fought the Nixon

administration to preserve an unfettered and free press in

America. He successfully blocked legislation in 1975 that

would have created an Official Secrets Act threatening First

Amendment freedoms.

HEALTH CARE

Both on the Senate Human Resources Subcommittee on

Health and Scientific Research, and as Chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator CRANSTON worked

to secure for all individuals access to health services necessary for the prevention and treatment of disease and injury and for the promotion of physical and mental well-being.

He authored the law, and extensions and refinements of it,

that provided for the development nationwide of comprehensive emergency medical services (EMS) systems and for the

training of emergency medical personnel. He steered the

original EMS Systems Act through Congress, then persuaded

a reluctant President Nixon to sign it into law. A few years

later, the CRANSTON measure was quite possibly responsible

for saving another President’s life. It was at a special trauma

care unit at George Washington University Medical Center

in Washington, D.C., established in part by the EMS Systems Act, where President Reagan’s life was saved following

an assassination attempt in 1981.

Senator CRANSTON also wrote laws that have made a

broad range of family planning services available to individuals who cannot otherwise afford or gain ready access to

them. He authored legislation that improved services to families with children afflicted with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and encouraged expanded research efforts.

Legislation to support community efforts to control venereal

diseases and tuberculosis were shaped by Senator CRANSTON. He authored several provisions of law substantially increasing funding for AIDS research, education and public

health activities.

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He wrote the law that expanded and coordinated Federal

research on arthritis, and he helped create the National Institute on Aging. Totally separate from his role as a Federal

legislator, he helped establish the private, non-profit Alliance

for Aging Research to spur research scientists to find answers for the chronic disabling conditions of aging, including

Alzheimer’s Disease.

His commitment to healthy aging was also personal. A lifelong physical fitness buff and accomplished runner, he set a

world record for his age group in 1969, running the 100-yard

dash in 12.6 seconds. He broke his own record 3 years later

running in the University of Pennsylvania Relays at age 59.

RIGHTS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

When ALAN CRANSTON came to the Senate, disabled persons had virtually no legal protection against unjust discrimination and there had been little progress toward removing physical barriers that excluded them from public buildings and facilities. He was acutely aware of these injustices,

due to crippling disabilities suffered by members of his immediate family. He often characterized people with disabilities as ‘‘the one civil rights constituency any of us can be

thrust into without a moment’s warning.’’ He led efforts to

enact legislation in 1973 for the first time outlawing discrimination in federally funded programs and requiring that

federally funded buildings be made accessible to disabled individuals, and promoting the employment and advancement

of persons with disabilities by the Federal Government and

Federal contractors. The sloping sidewalk curbs for wheelchairs on nearly every street in the Nation stem from ALAN

CRANSTON’s early advocacy for disabled people.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Senator CRANSTON authored a rich body of legislative reforms that humanized and vastly improved adoption assistance, foster care, child custody and child care. He was a

leader in sponsoring child abuse and neglect and domestic violence prevention laws and in investigating the abuse of children in institutions.

He was responsible for extending the original authorization of the Head Start pre-school education program. He authored successful bills extending Medicaid coverage for prenatal health care for low-income pregnant women. He cowrote the landmark 1975 law designed to provide educational opportunities for handicapped children, and he was

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a strong supporter and developer of children’s nutrition and

feeding programs throughout his time in the Senate.

Many private organizations honored CRANSTON for his

work, including the North American Conference on Adoptable Children, which named him ‘‘Child Advocate of the

Year’’ in 1979, the California Adoption Advocacy Network,

the Child Welfare League of America, the Day Care and

Child Development Council of America, the California Child

Development Administrators Association, and the JACKIE

organization, which cited ‘‘his leadership in obtaining national adoption and foster care reform.’’

VETERANS

Though opposed to the Vietnam War, Mr. CRANSTON was

deeply compassionate toward those who fought America’s

most unpopular war. Able to separate the war from the warriors, he was an early champion for the Vietnam veterans,

especially for improving health care in VA hospitals and clinics.

In his first year in the Senate, ALAN CRANSTON was assigned chairmanship of a Labor Committee subcommittee

dealing with veterans. He used that post to draw national attention to inadequate and shocking conditions in VA hospitals, which were ill prepared to deal with the returning

wounded from the Vietnam War. When a full Committee on

Veterans’ Affairs was established in the Senate, he chaired

its Subcommittee on Health and Hospitals and later chaired

the full committee for a total of 9 years.

Among a few highlights of this record: improvements in

compensation for service-connected disabled veterans, education and training programs tailored to Vietnam-era veterans, requirements for Federal contractors to give preference

in hiring for Vietnam-era and disabled veterans, and a long

list of initiatives to improve health care in the VA medical

system.

ALAN CRANSTON wrote the law that created a national network of VA counseling facilities known as ‘‘Vet Centers’’ to

aid returning Vietnam veterans in coping with readjustment

to civilian society, and helping to identify and treat the condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder.

He was among the first to draw attention to the health

problems believed associated with exposure to agent orange

and he gave the VA specific authority to provide Vietnam

veterans with medical care for those conditions. He also

helped bring to light health problems of veterans who were

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exposed to nuclear radiation as part of U.S. Government

atomic testing in the 1940s and 1950s, and he fought successfully to allow compensation for subsequent medical effects of the exposure.

For more than a decade he fought to allow veterans legal

rights to appeal VA decisions on claims for benefits and ultimately succeeded in establishing the United States Court of

Appeals for Veterans Claims. On his very last day in the

Senate, Mr. CRANSTON was responsible for passage of three

veterans bills: Veterans Reemployment Rights, Veterans

Health Care Services, and the Veterans Health Care Act.

WOMEN

Another constant throughout the CRANSTON Senate career

were his efforts aimed at eradicating sex discrimination and

providing equal opportunities for women.

He worked hard, both in the U.S. Congress and in the

California Legislature, for passage and ratification of the

Equal Rights Amendment. He authored provisions of the

Equal Employment Opportunity Act precluding discrimination in hiring and retaining women employees and those who

are pregnant. On the Banking Committee he pioneered laws

prohibiting discrimination against women in obtaining credit

and benefiting from insurance policies.

He consistently championed women’s access to health care

and reproductive health services. He was the Senate author

of a bill, the Freedom of Choice Act, that proposed to codify

into Federal law the Roe v. Wade court decision.

ADDENDA

Any summary of the CRANSTON record would be incomplete without also noting the following:

Senator CRANSTON helped lead the opposition in the U.S.

Senate to G. Harrold Carswell and Clement Haynsworth,

both nominated by President Richard Nixon to the Supreme

Court. Both nominations were defeated.

When Robert Bork was nominated to the Supreme Court,

it was a vote count taken by Democratic Whip ALAN CRANSTON that first showed the nomination could be defeated.

Senator CRANSTON skillfully used this information to persuade swing vote Senators to reject the Bork nomination.

During the Carter Presidency, when CRANSTON had the

patronage power to recommend Federal judicial appointments, he instead established a bipartisan committee with

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didates based on merit. Under this system four women, four

African-Americans, two Latinos and one Asian were appointed to the U.S. District Court in California. In addition,

one African-American, one woman and one Latino were appointed as U.S. attorneys.

He long championed Federal support for mass transit, including the Surface Transit Act, which for the first time

opened up the Federal Highway Act to allow mass transit to

compete for Federal funds on an equal basis with highways.

As Housing Subcommittee Chairman on the Banking Committee, he led efforts to pass the Urban Mass Transit Act of

1987, the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987. He then succeeded in gaining enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act in October 1990, a landmark

law that set a new course for Federal housing assistance,

stressing production of affordable housing units, improved

FHA insurance, elderly and handicapped housing expansion,

special housing for people with AIDS, and reform of public

housing. Passage of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 culminated Senator CRANSTON’s 24 years

of major legislative achievements steadily aimed at making

housing more available and fostering community economic

growth.

He helped strengthen the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act, the basic law which allows the Federal Government to regulate hazardous waste material to ensure that it

is safely managed.

He headed efforts in the Senate to break the filibuster

mounted against labor law reform.

Over more than two decades, he provided diligent oversight and direction for all Federal volunteer programs including the Peace Corps, the ACTION Agency, Foster Grandparents and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

Post-Senate Career

From 1993 until his death just hours before the first day

of 2001, ALAN CRANSTON pursued the opportunity afforded

by the end of the Cold War to abolish nuclear weapons. He

worked on the issue as chairman of the Gorbachev Foundation, and then as president of the Global Security Institute

in San Francisco, which he helped establish. An important

accomplishment of the Institute was to put together, with a

coalition of groups called Project Abolition, the Responsible

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nation of all nuclear weapons. At CRANSTON’s urging, this

document was signed by such notable people as former President Jimmy Carter, Paul Nitze, and General Charles

Horner. Project Abolition, founded by CRANSTON, promises to

be the foundation for a wider nuclear abolition campaign in

the years ahead.

During the decade of the 1990s, he traveled to the Indian

subcontinent, in Central Asia and elsewhere, working with

national leaders to accommodate peaceful change in the

world, especially the development of pluralistic, free societies

in the former Soviet Union. In the very last years of his life,

he was more often at home in the sprawling Spanish colonial-style residence in Los Altos Hills, where he was surrounded by three generations of his family. He assembled a

magnificent library encompassing a wide range of California,

American and international history and politics, in thousands of books, artworks, memorabilia and photographs. To

this library would come many friends, political allies old and

new, former staff and an occasional journalist intent on an

interview.

Former Senator CRANSTON made this assessment of his

priorities in one interview, just months before his death:

I am an abolitionist on two fronts. I believe we have to abolish nuclear

weapons before they abolish us, and I think we have to eliminate the incredibly important and significant role of money in politics before we’re going

to have our democracy working as it should work. If we blow ourselves up

in a nuclear war, no other issue, no matter how important it may seem to

be, is going to matter. And until we get money out of politics, money is

going to affect every issue that comes along, often adversely to the interest

of the public. So let’s abolish both.

Years earlier, while preparing to retire from the U.S. Senate, he expressed gratitude for the opportunities to make a

difference on behalf of California and people throughout the

world:

It has been a privilege I have cherished and for which I can never adequately thank the people of California. It is my hope that many of the accomplishments achieved over these past 24 years in the areas of world

peace, the environment, and in the effort to secure a better quality of life

for millions of Americans will survive and serve as the basis of continued

progress by others on behalf of future generations.

Æ