January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S21 

To his children and to his wife, I pass 

on my sincere condolences and my 

thanks for the support they gave to a 

great father and a great Georgian, Griffin Bell. 

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

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The 

clerk will call the roll. 

The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll. 

Mr. REED. I ask unanimous consent 

that the order for the quorum call be 

rescinded. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without 

objection, it is so ordered. 

f 

TRIBUTE TO CLAIBORNE PELL 

Mr. REED. Mr. President, this 

evening I have the privilege of joining 

my friend and colleague from Rhode Island, Senator SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, to 

say a few words about our esteemed 

predecessor, Senator Claiborne Pell. 

Senator Pell served 36 years in the 

Senate—the longest serving Senator in 

the history of Rhode Island. He was 

elected in 1960, along with his friend 

and young Democrat John F. Kennedy. 

They brought a new spirit, a new vision, new hope to America. He served 

until 1997, when I had the distinct 

honor and, indeed, privilege of succeeding him as a Senator from Rhode 

Island. He was an extraordinary gentleman, and he will be missed by all 

Rhode Islanders and, indeed, by this 

Senate. 

I was honored yesterday to be asked 

by Nuala Pell to say a few words at his 

services in Newport, RI. First, I obviously pointed out that Claiborne’s public service was sustained and inspired 

by his wife and his family. Nuala and 

all of their children were the support, 

comfort, and the meaning in his life. 

We owe them our thanks as well for his 

36 distinguished years of service in the 

Senate. 

Claiborne Pell was a remarkable individual. He was born to great wealth 

and privilege, but he had an abiding affinity for the average guy. I sense that 

part of that was at a critical moment 

in his life, before Pearl Harbor, when 

the war clouds were gathering in Europe and Asia. He had graduated from 

Princeton, but he knew he had to 

serve. Because of his prestige, because 

of his family, he could easily have secured a safe posting somewhere. He 

chose instead to join the U.S. Coast 

Guard as an enlisted cook, to sail the 

North Atlantic on deadly convoy 

routes bringing needed supplies to 

Great Britain. There, he worked with 

other young Americans, without pretense, without preference. There, he 

understood the great talent, the great 

power of Americans, that if they had 

opportunity, if they could better themselves through education, they would 

be extraordinarily important to this 

Nation and they would be able to provide a better life for their families. 

They could, indeed, seize and realize 

the American dream. 

Many people had that experience in 

World War II, but Claiborne used to it 

shape his entire public life. He served 

in the diplomatic corps, but by 1960 he 

was committed to serving the people of 

Rhode Island, and he entered the primary against two venerable, wellknown, distinguished Rhode Island 

Democrats, Dennis J. Roberts, former 

Governor, and J. Howard McGrath, 

former U.S. Senator, a former Solicitor 

General, former Attorney General in 

the Truman administration. Young 

Claiborne Pell won because he struck a 

cord with the people of Rhode Island, 

because he was able to translate his 

feeling for opportunity, for the privilege that education bestows on every 

person, to the people of Rhode Island. 

He and Nuala campaigned and won, and 

then for 36 years they served with such 

distinction, with such honor, and 

brought such credit to our State. 

He is best known as the author of the 

Pell grant, which provides grants to 

students to go to higher education, but 

he did so much more in the field of education. He was involved in numerous 

reauthorizations of the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act. He labored over these provisions to make 

sure young Americans were prepared 

for college. He was also the author of 

the national sea grant college grant. 

Just as we have land grant colleges 

dating back to the Moral Act of the 

1860s, Claiborne said we should have a 

sea grant act that would allow the 

sciences of the oceans, maritime 

sciences, to be taught, to be explored, 

to be investigated on college campuses. 

He did so much. In addition to his 

dedication to education, he also was 

the creator of the National Endowment 

for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1965. He understood that in the great sweep of 

time, our military power might fade, 

our economic power might fade, but 

the power of our ideals, as expressed in 

our literature, in our arts, would continue to move the world. And in order 

to make that access possible, not for 

the well-to-do but for everyone, he created the notion of a National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities. 

Thinking back in preparation for my 

words yesterday, I thought of how 

often his life intersected with mine, 

starting at 10 years old in 1960. I saw 

the motorcade rushing by my grammar 

school with John F. Kennedy and Claiborne Pell in those final days of the 

campaign. But in regard to the National Endowment for the Arts, my 

first exposure to theater—and I was the 

proud son of working-class 

Cranstonians in Cranston, RI—was 

Project Discover in which Trinity Repertory Company brought students in to 

see an act from Richard the II. That 

was all part of the vision Claiborne had 

of giving people an opportunity to explore the arts, to find their talent. He 

did it remarkably well. 

Today, these two institutions endure. 

They provide access for millions of 

Americans to the arts, to the humanities. They have encouraged creativity, 

and all of it is a tribute to Claiborne 

Pell. 

He was perhaps most recognized in 

international affairs for his staunch 

support of the United Nations. Yesterday, one of the eulogists, President 

Clinton, pointed out that every time he 

saw Claiborne Pell, as President, Claiborne would take out from the back 

pocket a worn copy of the U.N. Charter 

which he carried and point out to him 

the value of the United Nations, the 

value of collective security. He was 

there in San Francisco in 1945 when the 

U.N. was created. He was there in New 

York City 50 years later for its 50th anniversary. 

But his notion of a powerful America 

leading the world, not standing apart 

from it, his notion that our values, our 

system, our commitment to human decency would prevail in the face of Soviet totalitarianism and other forms of 

totalitarianism was wisdom of the 

ages. In his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he not only 

espoused those views, every day he reminded us our destiny would take us 

far beyond what simply a military operation or our economic power might 

because of our ideals, because of our 

commitment to multinational support 

of creating a world community—a remarkable man. 

He was someone who left and has left 

an indelible mark on Rhode Island and 

Rhode Islanders. As I mentioned yesterday, I had the privilege of witnessing this profound bond so many 

times. We have a parade each Fourth of 

July in Bristol, RI. It is the largest parade in Rhode Island. One hundred 

thousand people, which is about a 

tenth of the population of our State, 

gathers for it. It is the oldest consecutive Fourth of July parade in our country. To walk in that parade is a great 

honor. But to walk with Claiborne Pell 

is an extraordinary experience. For the 

first few steps, you pretend the cheers 

are for you, but that quickly fades because, mile after mile, people rush up 

and say: Thank you, Senator Pell. 

Thank you, Senator Pell. Thank you 

for the help when I needed it. Thank 

you for the Pell grant. Thank you for 

being the ideal public servant. Then 

you would see parents lift toddlers and 

say: There goes a great man, Claiborne 

Pell. 

Well, he has touched us and he has 

made us so much better. I had the rare 

privilege and opportunity yesterday to 

say, on behalf of the people of Rhode 

Island, something all of my fellow citizens wanted to say as soon as they 

heard the news, as soon as they realized the great light of Claiborne Pell 

had dimmed; and those are two simple 

words: Thank you, Senator Pell. 

Mr. President, now I would like to 

yield the floor to my colleague and 

friend, Senator SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, 

who is someone who is molded in the 

image of Claiborne Pell, someone who 

understands, as Senator Pell did, that 

opportunity is the engine that drives 


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S22 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 6, 2009 

America, that our great skills have to 

be harnessed to a higher purpose. It is 

such a privilege and pleasure to serve 

with him. And not only that, but he 

has been a dear and personal friend of 

the Claiborne Pell family for many 

years, indeed generations. I yield to my 

colleague. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The junior Senator from Rhode Island. 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Thank you, Mr. 

President. And I say to Senator REED, 

thank you. 

I rise in honor of a great friend and 

mentor. I look around me at a room 

that just this morning was filled with 

Senators. It was a crowded Senate 

floor, with packed galleries, as a group 

of bright and promising new Senators 

began their careers, with all that joy 

and hope. 

Now, as my senior Senator, JACK

REED, and I speak, the room is quiet, 

the galleries are mostly empty, and 

colleagues are gathering in remembrance because yesterday Rhode Island 

saw the sunset on a Rhode Island era 

with the funeral of our friend, Senator 

Claiborne Pell. 

I am deeply honored by Senator 

REED’s kind words, and he has a unique 

position as the successor to Senator 

Pell. 

It must be an interesting feeling to 

have served in the Senate for 36 years, 

to have loved this institution, to have 

accomplished extraordinary work in 

this institution, and then to walk away 

and leave your seat to a new, young 

Senator to replace you. 

Senator Pell had great confidence in 

Senator REED from the very beginning. 

He was, indeed, able to assure that 

there was no primary to succeed a seat 

that was open for the first time in 36 

years, and it was because of his confidence in JACK REED that he put in 

that effort. I know firsthand how extraordinarily proud he was of the Senator JACK REED has shown himself to 

be. 

We in Rhode Island are a little, tiny 

State, but over the years we have had 

some towering and remarkable Senators. Claiborne Pell, obviously, was 

one. John Chafee was one. John O. Pastore was one. Theodore Francis Green 

was one. Even the gentleman once 

known as the general manager of the 

United States, Nelson Aldrich of Rhode 

Island, was a towering presence. Certainly, Senator REED has shown himself to have joined that pantheon. I 

probably have another 10, 20 years of 

work before I get there, but I will keep 

trying. But certainly Senator REED is 

in that category, and I am deeply honored by his kind words. 

Many in this body knew Claiborne 

Pell and served with him. I wish to say 

on behalf of Rhode Islanders who 

watched the service yesterday how 

grateful we are to Majority Leader 

REID, Majority Whip DURBIN, Claiborne 

Pell’s dear friends, TED KENNEDY and 

JOE BIDEN, and Senators PAT LEAHY, 

DICK LUGAR, Orrin Hatch, CHRIS DODD, 

JEFF BINGAMAN, JOHN KERRY, and JOE

LIEBERMAN, all of whom honored Senator Pell by attending the funeral. Of 

course, I give special thanks to President Bill Clinton, who came to Rhode 

Island, a place where he is beloved, and 

spoke for his departed friend. 

Senator Pell was there for me in my 

own career at key junctures in so many 

important ways, and I should give him 

credit and in front of all my colleagues 

express my deep gratitude for what he 

did. He recommended me to President 

Clinton for appointment as U.S. attorney. After I served my term as U.S. attorney, I ran for attorney general. I 

served with the Presiding Officer, Senator SALAZAR of Colorado, as an attorney general. 

I had a three-way primary for attorney general. Claiborne Pell endorsed 

me in the primary. He actually did a 

television ad with me. In his 36 years in 

the Senate, he wanted no part ordinarily of primaries. For two people he 

got involved in a primary and endorsed 

a candidate. One was me. The other 

was Congressman PATRICK KENNEDY. It 

is almost unimaginable what a difference it made in my fledgling campaign, my first bid for elective office in 

the Democratic primary to have a man 

of Senator Pell’s towering reputation 

stake his reputation on me and express 

that kind of confidence. It is something 

for which I am indebted to him and to 

his memory and to his family forever. 

To me and to so many people in the 

Ocean State, Claiborne Pell was a mentor and an example, a leader whose vision, grace, and authentic kindness left 

an indelible imprint. 

He was born in New York City in 

1918, and he first came to the Senate in 

1961, after a colorful primary battle, 

described by Senator REED, that pitted 

him as an essential unknown against 

two established Democratic 

powerhouses: Dennis J. Roberts and J. 

Howard McGrath, contending for the 

seat that was being vacated by Theodore Francis Green. 

It did not look good. Pell was the ultimate outsider. He was so much the 

underdog in that race that John F. 

Kennedy, who was running for President at the time—and who knew Claiborne quite well because he was a dear 

friend of Mrs. Kennedy, Jacqueline 

Bouvier Kennedy, and was in Rhode Island a good deal because of her family 

associations with Rhode Island; so he 

knew Claiborne Pell quite well—he 

called him the least electable man in 

America. 

At his funeral yesterday, I saw Pell 

buttons from that race back in 1961 on 

mourners’ lapels. 

The Providence Journal described the 

race that ensued as ‘‘the first modern 

political campaign the state had seen.’’ 

Senator Pell invested his own money in 

television ads and polling, and he won 

the Democratic primary. He was the 

first unendorsed candidate in the history of Rhode Island to ever win a 

Democratic primary. 

He went on to win the general election. He won it by the largest margin 

ever at the time, 69 percent of the vote. 

To his great satisfaction, more Rhode 

Islanders voted for Claiborne Pell in 

that election than voted for John F. 

Kennedy—so much for being the ‘‘least 

electable man in America.’’ 

The fact that John F. Kennedy road 

on Claiborne Pell’s coattails was a 

point Claiborne Pell, in his quiet way, 

loved to remind President Kennedy of 

whenever the opportunity presented 

itself. 

Of course, Rhode Island, in that election, got its first look at the one-of-akind political temperament that was to 

define Senator Pell for the rest of his 

life: courteous, innovative, and always 

quietly humorous. 

Senator Pell looked back on that 

election in an interview with the New 

York Times, and he said this: 

I remember my first campaign. My opponent called me a cream puff. That’s what he 

said. Well, I rushed out and got the baker’s 

union to endorse me. Frankly, I think a little bit of humor is sorely lacking now. 

How many people in today’s politics 

being called a cream puff would go out 

and get a baker’s union endorsement 

rather than trying to find some other 

way to hit back? 

Claiborne Pell believed, as he once 

told the Providence Journal, something that is so important: 

[T]hat government—and the federal government in particular—can, should and does 

make a positive impact on the lives of most 

Americans. 

He lived by that observation, and certainly Senator Pell’s positive impact 

on the lives of the people he served will 

be remembered for generations. 

Two years after taking office, Senator Pell sponsored legislation that became the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant, now known, thanks to its 

champion, as the Pell grant. At the 

time, the Nation’s colleges wanted Federal aid for themselves, but Senator 

Pell wanted the aid to go directly to 

students. 

He enlisted in the Coast Guard 4 

months before Pearl Harbor, serving in 

the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and after that he used the GI bill 

scholarship to get an advanced degree 

from Columbia University. 

The GI bill showed him the transformative power of a college education, 

and Claiborne Pell resolved then that 

all Americans would have the opportunity for a college education that he 

and millions of veterans had received 

after World War II. 

So every year in September a new 

group of students goes off to college, 

and we see anew the work of Senator 

Pell, enlivening millions of young 

Americans who use Pell grants to pursue their dreams. In 2008, this Pell 

Grant Program was nearly 5.6 million 

grants, worth $16.4 billion—all from his 

idea. 

I am delighted the distinguished Senator from Colorado is presiding at this 

moment because I remember in Rhode 

Island a few years ago I was at an 

event with a number of Senators, and 


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January 6, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S23 

the distinguished Senator from Colorado, now our Interior Secretary designate, was present. Senator Pell came 

to the event. He was very disabled, and 

he came in a wheelchair. I went over to 

greet him. Senator SALAZAR—I say to 

the Presiding Officer, you will remember this—also came over to greet him. 

He took his hand, and he told him: Senator, my brother and I went to college 

because of the Pell Grant Program. 

Now here I am standing in front of you 

as a Senator, thanks to the vision and 

foresight you showed years ago—your 

vision that every American should 

have the dream of higher education at 

their disposal. I say to the Presiding 

Officer, you were then in your first 

term as a newly elected Senator. 

It was an unforgettable moment, I 

say to the Presiding Officer. It happened because Senator Pell understood 

the difference that higher education 

could make in the lives of America’s 

young people—from a young KEN

SALAZAR from rural Colorado, to toddlers across this country now who will 

seize the opportunities of America in 

years to come because of this man. 

Senator Pell knew that the arts, too, 

could transform lives. He authored the 

landmark legislation that gave rise to 

the National Endowments for the Arts 

and the Humanities. These institutions 

have secured a place for the culture 

and the arts in the public life of this 

Nation. Over the years they have 

helped bring poetry, drama, dance, 

painting, sculpture, song, literature, 

and history to millions of Americans. 

Of course, we New Englanders are 

deeply indebted to Senator Pell for his 

passion for public transportation and 

in particular for his long fight to develop for the Northeast corridor a transit system to support the cities of 

today and tomorrow. As we face the 

challenges of rising energy costs, economic recession, and urban stresses on 

our congested highways, Americans 

will rely more heavily than ever on 

systems such as Amtrak. Senator 

Pell’s foresight again has served us 

well. 

Here in the Senate, Senator Pell is 

remembered for his big ideas. In Rhode 

Island, we remember him also for his 

gentle, generous spirit. He had lived all 

over the world. He had been honored 

with medals from at least 18 different 

nations. But Newport, RI, was always 

home. In both his personal and his political life, he was a consistent model 

of civility and kindness to his fellow 

Rhode Islanders—always, without 

fail—even sometimes at his peril. 

For example, in his final bid for reelection in 1990, Senator Pell reportedly insisted on warning Congresswoman Claudine Schneider, his Republican opponent, every time he was 

about to air a new television ad. He 

told his campaign staff that he would 

not permit a self-promoting press release to go out, chiding: ‘‘No, no, no, 

we never boast.’’ 

In a debate I remember watching, he 

was given two huge political softball 

opportunities. One, he was asked to 

criticize his opponent, to critique her 

capacity to defeat him and serve in the 

U.S. Senate. The only thing he had to 

say was she has been a very fine Congresswoman. Then he was asked what 

his most significant legislative 

achievements had been during the previous term that had helped Rhode Islanders. He said: 

You know, I really can’t think of one right 

now. My memory is not as good as it should 

be. 

One would think those answers would 

be lethal politically, but Rhode Islanders loved it and they loved him for it 

because he was as genuine and as authentic as a man could be. I guess one 

of the great lessons of his life is that 

voters don’t want you to be perfect; 

they want you to be you. They want 

you to be authentically who you are 

and from there to fight for them, and 

he certainly lived that. For his authenticity and gentleness of spirit, Claiborne Pell was beloved by all of us in 

the Ocean State who were privileged to 

know him or work with him or learn 

from his example. 

We all will miss him deeply. To his 

wife Nuala, to his children, Toby and 

Dallas, and their families, and to the 

families of his departed children, 

Bertie and Julie, I know I join my distinguished senior Senator and all in 

this body and indeed all of America in 

holding them in our thoughts and prayers. 

As his family reminded us last week, 

Senator Pell summarized his role as a 

Senator with seven simple words: 

Translate ideas into actions and help 

people. Would that all of us could have 

ideas as big as Claiborne Pell’s and the 

strength, grace, persistence, and courage to translate them into action. 

I thank the Chair, and I yield the 

floor. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona is recognized. 

Mr. KYL. Mr. President, would it be 

in order for me, before I begin my remarks, to compliment the Presiding 

Officer for his nomination to be Cabinet Secretary, the Secretary of the Interior, and wish him very well before 

the Senate in being confirmed and 

serving in that position? I guess that 

question doesn’t need a response. I certainly hope it is in line for me to be 

able to say that. 

f 

GAZA RESOLUTION 

Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I hope—and 

I am joined here by Senator 

LIEBERMAN—that the Senate will have 

an opportunity to consider before this 

week is out a resolution we believe has 

been drafted by the majority leader 

and the minority leader that deals with 

the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and 

that we believe needs to express the 

will of the Senate. We believe as well 

that a similar resolution would be 

voted on in the House of Representatives to express the will of the House. 

So then the whole world—and certainly 

the administration—would know of 

this body’s strong support for the State 

of Israel and our support for the actions Israel is taking right now. We 

hope that vote can occur before this 

week is out. I wish to commend Senator LIEBERMAN for his considerable 

leadership on this issue. 

We support this resolution. The first 

thing the resolution does is to remind 

people why the State of Israel had to 

act. 

Last February, on a trip to the Middle East, I visited the Israeli town of 

Sderot, which is about 3 miles from the 

border of Gaza, and I learned from the 

town’s mayor of the toll taken on the 

residents of this town and neighboring 

cities from more than 8 years of rocket 

attacks by the Hamas terrorists. At 

the police station, I saw rack after 

rack of these spent rockets, the remains of the rockets that had been 

launched by Hamas against the civilian 

population of this city. In fact, about 

15 minutes after we departed the city, 

one of these Hamas launched a Qassam 

rocket—identical to the hundreds we 

had seen at the police station—which 

fell on an Israeli home in town, destroying it. Thankfully, no one in that 

attack was harmed. 

Is there any doubt that if the United 

States were suffering an attack from 

just across the border similar to this, 

that we wouldn’t react to stop that 

from happening? I think there is no 

question that we would act to stop this 

terrorism. It is our hope that the resolution would express our acknowledgment that a nation has the right to defend itself, that Israel has had to respond to this, to more than 6,300 rocket 

and mortar attacks on its citizens 

since it fully withdrew from Gaza in 

the year 2005. In fact, this town has 

been suffering for over 8 years from 

these attacks. 

The second point the resolution 

makes is that there is no equivalency 

between the actions of Hamas and 

Israel in this case. Israel conducts its 

military operations to spare innocent 

life. They have specifically targeted 

Hamas command centers and security 

installations and rocket-launching 

sites, weapons stockpiles, and weapons 

smuggling tunnels. They have tried 

very hard to avoid civilian casualties. 

In fact, Israel has transmitted very 

specific warnings to Gazans. They have 

dropped leaflets and made phone calls 

to targeted areas to warn citizens to 

leave because an attack is imminent. 

This, of course, even means they lose 

the element of surprise and potentially 

put the lives of Israeli soldiers at risk. 

But Israel believes it is important 

where possible to avoid jeopardizing innocent life—quite the opposite from 

Hamas, which deliberately and cynically fires rockets from civilian areas 

to make it more difficult for Israel to 

target the terrorists and to increase 

the likelihood of civilian casualties 

when Israel does take action. 

Hamas has ignored a plea by U.N. 

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on 

April 28 that: 


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