S10698 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE November 20, 2008 

him, ‘‘Mr. Attorney General, tell me 

again how the Department of Justice 

works. Are you free of political influence from the White House?’’ I remember him saying, and I can see his eyes 

today as he looked me straight in the 

eye and said, ‘‘I have told the President 

that neither he nor anyone from the 

White House can interfere with prosecutions. We will make those determinations here in the Department of 

Justice based on the facts and the 

law.’’ I remember even at that time I 

thought if I was ever a prosecutor, that 

is the kind of prosecutor I would want 

to be. And this Attorney General whom 

I talked with did exactly that. When a 

person who was key to the election of 

the President of the United States had 

committed a crime, this Attorney General prosecuted that person. This was 

particularly significant because that 

Attorney General was Robert F. Kennedy. The President of the United 

States was his brother, John F. Kennedy. But he said: We will protect the 

integrity of the Department of Justice. 

I want to see that again. I had that in 

my mind when I was a prosecutor. I believe strongly that we need to enforce 

the law with neither fear nor favor 

when. There is no question in my mind 

that Eric Holder would do that. 

I think of the thousands of men and 

women who work for the Department 

of Justice, some of the finest people 

you will ever see anywhere, many I 

have known for decades. For most of 

them, I have no idea what their political allegiances are, whether they are 

Republicans or Democrats or Independents. But I know one thing about every 

single one of them: they are the best of 

the best. They deserve, as an Attorney 

General, the best of the best. 

I commend President-elect Obama 

for considering Eric Holder for this position. He is a public servant who has 

broad support within the law enforcement community and on both sides of 

the aisle. I was pleased to see that the 

initial reactions of Senator HATCH, 

Senator SESSIONS, and Senator 

COBURN—all Republican members of 

the Senate Judiciary Committee—and 

many others, were to acknowledge his 

public service, his integrity, and good 

qualities. Mr. Holder should have the 

support of Senators from both sides of 

the aisle if the President-elect chooses 

to nominate him. I can assure you if he 

is nominated that the Senate Judiciary 

Committee will hold prompt and fair 

nomination hearings. 

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. 

SALAZAR.) The clerk will call the roll. 

The legislative clerk proceeded to 

call the roll. 

Mr. GREGG. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call 

be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

TRIBUTE TO SENATORS 

JOHN SUNUNU

Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, a large 

number of very special and extraordinary individuals will be leaving the 

Senate at the end of this session, many 

friends and many people I have admired for a number of years and had 

the privilege to serve with. I wished to 

speak specifically to one, and that is 

my colleague from New Hampshire, 

JOHN SUNUNU. 

JOHN is the youngest Member of the 

Senate. He came here as the youngest 

Member, and he is still the youngest 

Member after 6 years, but he is one of 

the most accomplished and capable 

people in the Senate, one of the brightest, as we all know, and also one of the 

people who brings the most common 

sense to issues. Time and time again, I 

would come to the floor, and this was 

throughout his term but especially 

during the last few months when he 

was in a very challenging election, and 

there would be votes being cast that 

were very difficult political votes, 

votes which, when you cast these 

votes, most people knew they were not 

going to be understood and, in many 

instances, they were going to be misinterpreted or subject to misrepresentation but votes which were necessary 

to cast in order to preserve especially 

the fiscal responsibility of this Government. JOHN SUNUNU never backed away 

from any of those votes. He always cast 

the difficult vote, knowing in many instances that politically it was going to 

be characterized in a way which might 

hurt him; votes, the basic purpose of 

which, in most instances, were to protect the taxpayer, keep the size of Government under control, and be a force 

for a better country and for more individual rights. He understands as well 

as anyone in this body the basic values 

of making Government live within its 

means, of having a government which 

people can afford but is still compassionate and accomplishes the goals of 

delivering adequate services. He has 

worked very hard in order to pursue 

those goals. 

He also brought to the body a unique 

sense of humor, New Hampshire humor, 

quiet, witty, and comfortable with 

himself but also willing to make fun of 

himself, and an essential common 

sense, which I like to think is characteristic of New Hampshire, and also 

an integrity, a commitment to public 

service for the purposes of public service—the fact that he was here not to 

benefit himself in any way but simply 

to do what he felt was right in order to 

make our Nation better and make New 

Hampshire better. He served New 

Hampshire for 12 years, both in Congress and in the Senate. 

As I mentioned, he is the youngest 

Member of the Senate and his service is 

hardly completed, I hope. His opportunities are virtually limitless because 

his abilities are limitless. He has talent 

and capability, intelligence, drive, the 

personality to pretty much do whatever he wants as he moves forward. 

He also has one other resource which 

is very special and that is his wife and 

family. Kitty is an exceptional individual. Kathy and I have come to enjoy 

not only working with JOHN and Kitty 

but getting to know them as friends, as 

fellow travelers. Kathy has been 

through many years being a political 

wife, and she has put up with a lot of 

ups and downs. She and Kitty naturally 

bonded, as they understood the importance of what we do. Kitty is an individual who brings a smile whenever 

you see her because she is a person 

filled with good will to everyone. Their 

children, Grace and Charlie, John 

Hayes, great kids, very enthusiastic 

people, a wonderful family. That family is a tremendous support to JOHN, 

and he is a tremendous support to 

them. That unit, as it moves forward, 

will always be successful. 

It is obviously with great regret that 

I look on JOHN’s leaving the Senate. 

His talent will be lost here, and it will 

be a loss to the body. He is a special individual who had a special group of 

skills that uniquely worked for the 

benefit of New Hampshire and the people of New Hampshire. I hope he will 

stay engaged. 

Kathy and I wish him and Kitty and 

their children the best of luck as they 

go forward and that the road always 

rises to meet them. 

I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The legislative clerk proceeded to 

call the roll. 

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the order for 

the quorum call be rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

EXTENSION OF MORNING 

BUSINESS 

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I ask 

unanimous consent that the period for 

morning business be extended to 3 p.m., 

with Senators permitted to speak for 

up to 10 minutes each. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

HEALTH CARE REFORM 

Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we do 

not intend to wait until the new Congress convenes in January to begin 

work on health care reform legislation. 

The fact is, health care reform was one 

of the signature changes promised by 

President-elect Barack Obama during 

the campaign. This legislation is too 

important and too urgent to put off 

until tomorrow, to wait until the new 

President and the new Congress are 

sworn in. 

I applaud both Senator BAUCUS, Chair 

of the Finance Committee, and Senator 

KENNEDY, Chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, for plunging right into the ambitious and historic task of creating a 

comprehensive health care reform bill. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE