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[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 160 (Thursday, October 2, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10402-S10403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                          TRIBUTE TO SENATORS

                               Jack Reed

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I wish to make a comment about the Senator 
from Rhode Island before he leaves the floor. I have had the distinct 
privilege of serving with my colleague on a number of committees during 
my tenure in the Senate. I want the people of Rhode Island to know what 
a class act he is in representing their State in the Senate. It has 
been a thrill to be able to work with him on issues. We were on a 
couple subcommittees together and actually shared the chairmanship and 
ranking position depending on who was in control of the Congress at 
that time, whether it was Republicans or Democrats: the Personnel 
Subcommittee and the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, both very important 
subcommittees in the Armed Services Committee. Then we found ourselves 
on the Banking Committee. We found ourselves again working as the top 
Republican and top Democrat on housing and mass transit issues. We 
worked together on transit security issues. And now we are together on 
the Securities, Insurance and Investment subcommittee.
  Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island comes from a different part of 
the country. He has different issues that are important to him. I come 
from the West. I have different issues that are important to me. But we 
were able to find a lot of commonality and work together in a 
professional way. I attribute a lot of that to the high moral 
standards, dedication, and ability to work with others of my good 
friend from Rhode Island, Jack Reed.
  I want him to know what a pleasure it has been for me to be able to 
serve on the various committees with him through my tenure in the 
Senate.
  I am getting ready to retire with the close of this session. So I 
wished to make a few comments and to recognize a few people whom I have 
appreciated working with, and particularly I wish to recognize Senator 
Jack Reed from Rhode Island because he is a topnotch Senator and 
somebody I have enjoyed working with.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, if the Senator will yield, I say to him, 
thank you very much. Let me express my appreciation for your 
extraordinary assistance and help and collegiality. I wish you well. 
You represent the very highest traditions of integrity, dedication and 
decency and I wish you well. Thank you.
  Mr. ALLARD. I thank the Senator very much. The Senator from Rhode 
Island is one individual I am going to miss being able to work with.
  Mr. President, I wish to make some remarks about leaving the Senate, 
but I do see the top Republican is here.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, will my friend yield for a question?
  Mr. ALLARD. Yes.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I was wondering: I came to speak on behalf of my good 
friend, our senior Senator from Colorado. I wonder if he would object 
to my going ahead and making my comments about him prior to his speech? 
Or would that create a scheduling problem for the Senator from 
Colorado?
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, that does not create a problem for me and, 
I say to the Senator, I appreciate your willingness to come down and 
say a few words. When you are finished, I also would like to say how 
much I have appreciated your leadership on the Republican side. I think 
you have been a superb leader. I think we have been fortunate to have 
your leadership in the Senate during some very tough times. A lot of 
leaders have come and gone. I have always felt comfortable in 
supporting you all along. Sometimes I can be frustrating because of my 
commitments to my constituents and maybe my commitment to my issues, 
but you have been very tolerant of me, and I appreciate that very much.
  I yield the floor to the top Republican.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republican leader is recognized.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Colorado. I 
am here to talk about his distinguished career.

                              WAYNE ALLARD

  Mr. President, as the 110th Congress draws to a close, we must 
reluctantly say goodbye to some friends who will be leaving us. That 
includes, as we have been discussing, my good friend, the senior 
Senator from Colorado.
  As the Republican leader, I get to work closely with each and every 
one of our colleagues on this side of the aisle. The thing that has 
always impressed me the most about Senator Allard is the fact that he 
is a true citizen legislator in the model our Founding Fathers 
envisioned.
  The Founders favored ordinary citizens of extraordinary wisdom. Those 
who step forward from among the people they represent and return to 
them when their time here is done.
  So it is with Wayne Allard. He is retiring from the Senate because he 
is following a two-term pledge he set for himself when he was first 
elected in 1996. In the spirit of George Washington, he voluntarily 
retires ``from the great theatre of Action'' to return to the people 
and the place he has so ably represented.
  Anyone who knows Senator Allard knows he is a big believer in keeping 
close contact with the people he represents. As a member of the 
Colorado State senate, he passed legislation limiting the length of 
legislative sessions to 120 days to better ensure that State lawmakers 
stayed in touch with their constituents.
  After election to the Senate, he made a promise to Coloradans that he 
would visit every one of the State's counties every year--a promise he 
kept, keeping him in sync with Colorado sympathies and values.
  Even more impressive are the 700 town meetings across Colorado that 
Senator Allard has held since his election to the Senate.
  As a Senator, he has hosted the Allard Capital Conference, which 
brings Colorado community leaders to Washington to see the workings of 
the Federal Government up close--and to keep the Federal Government 
accountable to the people who elected them.
  If I may add, I have had the pleasure of speaking to the Allard 
Capital Conference attendees on more than one occasion, and I have 
always admired how Senator Allard has stayed tied to communities across 
Colorado. He is always seeking to bring them closer to their elected 
representatives.
  For 12 years, Senator Allard has been a strong voice for returning 
power from Washington back to the people and to the States. He has been 
a strong voice for lower taxes and lower Federal spending. Hailing from 
the Rockies, he has been a strong defender and protector of our 
environment.

[[Page S10403]]

  Senator Allard has a different background than most of his 
colleagues. Born and raised in Colorado, the son of a cattle rancher, 
he had a successful career as a veterinarian. He and his wife Joan 
started their own animal hospital. He maintained his successful 
practice while serving as a State senator, and was elected to the House 
of Representatives for three terms starting in 1990.
  I have had the pleasure of working alongside Wayne on many issues 
over the years. We have been allies in pushing the Department of 
Defense to safely and efficiently dispose of deadly chemical weapons 
stored in the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Depot in 
Colorado.
  I have watched with admiration as he fought to establish the Rocky 
Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which is crucial to preserving the 
natural habitats of so many diverse species in Colorado.
  That success came after he successfully pushed, as a Member of the 
House, legislation to make the Rocky Mountain Arsenal site a wildlife 
refuge, turning a site that was once a manufacturing center for nerve 
gas and other chemical weapons into what is now one of the largest 
urban wildlife refuges in the Nation.
  Wayne has fought to get aid for workers in Colorado who were exposed 
to unhealthy amounts of radiation at nuclear weapons facilities. He has 
also taken the lead on passing legislation to preserve the Great Sand 
Dunes National Park and Colorado's Spanish Peaks mountain area. With 
his retirement, Colorado is losing a longtime champion of conservation 
and environmental protection.
  Senator Allard has been a consistent and strong supporter of our 
military and our national security interests. He led the debate on 
establishing a system to protect America from ballistic missile 
attacks, and he has supported funding and rigorous testing for such 
programs.
  He has passed legislation multiple times to improve the system of 
voting for our men and women in uniform serving overseas, making sure 
the brave warriors who protect America are heard when it is time to 
elect America's leaders.
  With all these accomplishments, and many more, the senior Senator 
from Colorado is going to leave some very big shoes--maybe it is better 
to say boots--to fill come next January.
  He is also going to leave behind many friends. I am proud to call 
myself one of them. Elaine and I have enjoyed getting to know Wayne and 
Joan and their family over the years. We have had a chance to have 
dinner together from time to time, just the four of us. We will miss 
the common sense and grace they have brought to our Nation's Capital.
  We are sorry to lose such a fine Senator. But as Wayne has said 
himself about his pledge on term limits: A promise made should be a 
promise kept.
  The people of Colorado should be proud that their Senator ends his 
tenure with integrity, with honor, with humility--the same integrity, 
honor, and humility he brought when he came to the Capitol.
  Wayne, we all wish you the best of luck for whatever the future 
holds. You will always have friends in the Capitol. We look forward to 
seeing you and Joan in the coming years.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Colorado.

                            Mitch Mc Connell

  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Kentucky for his 
more than generous remarks. Joan and I have been thrilled to have been 
able to work with you and your lovely wife on many issues. The people 
of Colorado need to know I got things done in this body because of your 
help and your assistance. Many times we shared common issues that we 
wanted to see move forward. But lots of times you were more than 
generous in giving me an opportunity to put forth my bills and my 
arguments on various bills, and I will forever be thankful for that.
  I think the country needs to know that in your wife and you we have 
two great leaders in this country. I brag about both of you when I get 
back to Colorado and talk about those people who I think have made a 
huge influence on this country and have set a great example for 
Americans.
  So I thank you. I thank you for your continued leadership. I look 
forward to your continuing to serve in this body. America needs you, 
and the people of Kentucky ought to be thankful they have such a fine 
Senator.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I thank my good friend from Colorado.
  Mr. ALLARD. I thank the Republican leader.

                          ____________________
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