S10970 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 12, 2008 

than when his country called on him to 

serve in Vietnam, where he and his 

brother Tom, having bravely enlisted 

together, fought shoulder-to-shoulder 

as infantry squad leaders with the U.S. 

Army’s 9th Infantry Division. Both displayed enormous heroism on the field 

of battle and were decorated soldiers, 

with CHUCK earning two Purple Hearts. 

As you can imagine, it has been a 

privilege over these past 12 years to 

witness the courage and candor of this 

American hero and esteemed colleague, 

whether on measures addressing war, 

specifically in Iraq, or matters concerning the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA. Senator HAGEL

was indeed my compatriot and ideological soul mate on the Senate Intelligence Committee. If you must go into 

battle whether in war or in politics, 

you want to engage your opponents 

with someone of CHUCK HAGEL’s mettle 

and fortitude. 

A true conservative who believes in 

limited government—and that the diffusion of power and authority are the 

surest check against despotism and the 

best hope for democracy—Senator 

HAGEL has demonstrated a visceral and 

unending passion for this institution 

and for the possibilities of effective 

governance by people of good will. And 

Senator HAGEL crystallized this deeply 

held belief in his farewell speech on the 

floor of the Senate when he emphasized 

to his colleagues that . . . 

Article I of the constitution is about the 

Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government. And if anything I’ve learned in the 

12 years I’ve been here is the importance of 

sharing, participating in the governance of 

our country, being part of that governance, 

helping make decisions with the president 

and the executive. 

Finally, as a Mainer, I must say how 

fitting it was that a few years ago Senator HAGEL was recognized as one of 

the esteemed recipients of The Edmund 

S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service 

Award. Senator HAGEL exemplifies the 

best of the Muskie tradition which was 

built upon certain irrefutable, sterling 

standards for high intellect, unassailable integrity, and a lifetime of legendary service. 

To his wife Lilibet and their daughter Allyn and son Ziller, thank you for 

sharing your husband and your father 

with us for these 12 years. And to 

CHUCK, we will miss your voice and 

your vision. By your words and in your 

deeds, you bring to mind the Greek 

playwright and poet, Aeschylus, who 

wrote that ‘‘his resolve is not to seem 

the bravest, but to be.’’ You have been 

a brave steward of the public trust, and 

we are forever thankful.∑ 

WAYNE ALLARD

∑ Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, one of 

the great privileges of my tenure in the 

Senate has been to serve with my colleague WAYNE ALLARD from Colorado. 

He and his wonderful wife and partner Joan have contributed greatly to 

the life of the Senate. WAYNE has been 

a leading advocate for a strong space 

and missile defense program, an important issue when he chaired the Strategic Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate 

Committee on the Armed Services. I 

was honored to follow him in that position when he moved to the prestigious 

Appropriations Committee. 

WAYNE has also been a firm and consistent voice for a sound economic policy based on the free market, lower 

taxes, free trade, and restraint in 

spending. Day after day—year after 

year—he never wavered in those principles. 

I deeply regret that WAYNE took a 

pledge to not seek a third term in the 

Senate. His unqualified commitment to 

principle will be sorely missed. WAYNE

is a man of integrity, and he never 

hesitated to keep the promise he made 

to the voters of Colorado. 

WAYNE and I came to the Senate together. We have been good friends 

throughout our time here. We have 

stood together in the Armed Services 

Committee in support of our men and 

women in uniform. We were thrilled to 

see the child tax credit become law, 

providing relief to hard-working American families. We witnessed many 

other important pieces of legislation be 

enacted into law. And we were able to 

stop quite a few bad pieces also. 

Mary and I send our best and most 

sincere wishes to WAYNE and Joan. I 

know that he will continue to contribute to the good of Colorado and to 

the Nation.∑ 

f 

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY CRISIS 

∑ Mr. WYDEN. Yesterday, when I heard 

the majority leader was going to call a 

cloture vote, I changed my schedule 

and hurriedly returned to Washington, 

DC, from Oregon, where I had been 

working on the Oregon Business Plan 

at the Oregon Business Summit in 

Portland. I was on an airplane, about 

an hour away from the Capitol, when 

the Senate Leader called the vote, and 

I missed the cloture vote on the $14 billion loan package for the U.S. automobile industry. It is my understanding that if my vote could have 

possibly made the difference, the Leader would have waited for my plane to 

arrive, but I want it to be noted that it 

was my intention to vote for cloture. 

While I continue to have concerns 

about ensuring that taxpayers are protected if this loan is to occur, I believe 

that if the President can unwisely provide $700 billion of taxpayer money for 

the investment banks that took horribly unacceptable risks and helped 

trigger an economic collapse, we certainly have a duty to attempt to preserve a cornerstone domestic industry 

and the jobs of hundreds of thousands 

of working people whose personal actions are in no way responsible for the 

current economic crisis.∑ 

∑ Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I am extremely disappointed that the Senate 

was not able to pass legislation to 

make bridge loan funding available to 

our country’s automotive industry— 

not because I condone the behavior of 

these companies in recent years which 

brought them to the brink but because 

I believe allowing their failure at a 

time of great economic uncertainty 

could deal a serious blow to our national economy. 

The domestic automotive industry 

represents almost four percent of our 

Nation’s gross domestic product and 

ten percent of our industrial production by value. One out of every 10 U.S. 

jobs is impacted by the U.S. automotive industry. GM, Ford and Chrysler account for roughly 65 percent of 

U.S. auto production and support millions of jobs across all 50 States. The 

Center for Automotive Research recently reported that in Massachusetts 

alone, the automobile industry accounts for more than 28,000 jobs and 

$256 million in wages. The bridge loans 

that would have been made available 

through this legislation would have 

gone to protect not only the jobs dependent on this industry but the American economy as a whole, which is suffering from a widespread liquidity crisis that extends well beyond the vital 

automotive sector. 

I believe this critical moment presents an opportunity for the Federal 

Government and the automobile manufacturers to transform an industry that 

has long resisted the changes that are 

so clearly necessary for their continued 

global competitiveness. The assistance 

provided in the bill was conditioned 

upon a commitment by the industry to 

use this money wisely to become more 

efficient market participants. The legislation included important provisions 

that would help ensure American taxpayers that this assistance is not used 

as a line of credit simply to continue 

business as usual. The legislation also 

included important safeguards to limit 

executive compensation to ensure that 

taxpayer funds are not wasted. 

I was absent for the vote that occurred Thursday evening because—as 

the incoming Foreign Relations Committee Chairman—I was representing 

the Senate at ongoing international 

climate change negotiations being held 

in Poznan, Poland. But I was prepared 

to return from Poland at a moment’s 

notice had we reached a bipartisan 

agreement or were my vote needed to 

pass cloture and break a logjam. Instead, thanks to obstruction by the minority, the 110th Congress has come to 

a close, and the automobile industry 

teeters on the brink of collapse. In the 

absence of Congressional action, I urge 

the President to tap the Troubled Assets Relief Program so that American 

automakers can access sufficient capital to survive in the short-term. I remain hopeful that the 111th Congress 

will be a Congress of real economic 

progress and will work to ensure that 

the American automobile industry remains globally competitive in the longterm.∑ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with SENATE