S6200 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 5, 1995

Senate reassembled when called to

order by the Presiding Officer (Mr.

COVERDELL).

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

Chair, in his capacity as a Senator

from the State of Georgia, suggests the

absence of a quorum. The clerk will

call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to

call the roll.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the

quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.

DEWINE). Without objection, it is so ordered.

MOVED BY TRIBUTE TO SENATOR

JOHN C. STENNIS

fMr. BYRD. Mr. President, recently I

received a letter from a Dr. Wayne M.

Miller of Killeen, Texas. The letter was

in reference to my recent eulogy for

the late and beloved Senator John

Cornelius Stennis.

Dr. Miller wrote that he was deeply

moved by the tribute, so much so that

he sat down and composed a poem after

hearing it. I call attention to the letter

and to the poem enclosed with it because it demonstrates not only the sensitivity and talent of the writer, but

also the power and the passion which

words can evoke.

In these days of often destructive,

rude, and even dangerous rhetoric, let

us stop and reflect on the tremendous

power of our words.

Such reflection may help those of us

in public life and in the media to strive

to use our voices to inspire rather than

to enflame.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Dr. Wayne M. Miller’s letter

and poem be printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the

RECORD, as follows:

KILLEEN, TX,

April 27, 1995.

U.S. Senator ROBERT C. BYRD,

Hart Senate Office Building,

Washington, DC.

DEAR SENATOR BYRD, when I tuned in to a

C-Span telecast last night, I caught the latter part of your eloquent tribute to the late

Senator Stennis. It was truly one of the

greatest speeches I have ever heard. To be

sure, it had the two basic ingredients of a

great speech: substantive thinking, and rhetorical skills to effectively express it.

Although I am not a West Virginian, I have

admired your accomplishments and the stature of your leadership. I was reared just

eighty miles north of Wheeling, in a small

town of Harmony, Pennsylvania. After serving as chaplain in the Air Force, I became a

field director for American Red Cross—and

am now retired with that organization. For

the past sixteen years I have been teaching

composition and rhetoric at Central Texas

College.

Would it be possible to have a copy of your

outstanding speech? I would be ever so grateful!

I am so happy that we still have statesmen

of your caliber in our nation’s capital. I am

enclosing a poem which I wrote after listening to you on television. It reflects, in some

small measure, my responsiveness to your

deeply, moving words.

Respectfully,

WAYNE M. MILLER.

Enclosure.

To the Honorable Mr. Byrd, Distinguished U.S.

Senator from the State of West Virginia,

after hearing the stirring tribute delivered

on the floor of Congress for the late Senator

John Stennis of Mississippi (1901–1995):

Your well selected words, like highly polished marble

(Uniquely Mr. Byrd’s!)

Were fitted in a pyramid of architectural

marvel—

Arousing such a sentiment in the shaping of

your thoughts

Keen emotions were unharnessed from what

common birth allots

And, untouted, undergirds

The daily warp and woof of our fabric of existence.

You talked about our too brief pilgrimage,

And you pricked our unsuspecting Achilles

Heel

When you sharpened our awareness of fragility

That stamps the mold of our mortality—

And your sobering reflection of the little

bird

That fluttered through the crack from the

raging storm

Into the blinding light of the banquet hall,

And then, so very soon, fluttered out again—

Demonstrated our fitful wandering,

Our groping sightlessness, our straining

stammering,

Our hurried exit from the ever-blinding light

Of the babbling banquet hall and ‘‘much ado

about nothing.’’

You addressed so poignantly the human predicament

In the never ending journey ‘‘east of Eden’’—

Never ending, that is,

Until that special day of reckoning

When all our shattered dreams, our broken

vows . . .

Will have their consummation

In all-glorious transformation

From the ugly to the beautiful

And the painful to the joyful

Where there will be no night,

No parting and no sorrow.

You led us like thirsting sheep

To the oasis of our being—

The wells of spiritual refreshment

Where first we saw the mirroring of our impoverished selves

And then experienced the waters that revive

us

And show us the way of day.

You showed us what we are—

And what we can become

In the ‘‘long journey into night’’

While we suffer in our little rooms,

Waiting for the fateful end—

To be transposed by the Great Composer

From our dischords into harmonies,

Rejoicing with the Children of the Light.

WAYNE MEREDITH MILLER,

1995 Nominee for Poet of the Year.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I suggest

the absence of a quorum.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The

clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk proceeded to

call the roll.

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the

quorum call be rescinded.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

TRIBUTE TO NAOMI NOVER

Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, on April 22,

the Washington journalism community

lost one of its most enduring figures.

For decades, Naomi Nover was a distinctive presence on Capitol Hill and at

the White House, often claiming a

front-row seat at Presidential news

conferences. Known for her perseverance and her determination to continue her passion for journalism,

Naomi fell ill last month while renewing her Senate press credentials. It was

the first day for gallery members to

renew their press cards, and as usual,

Naomi was one of the first in line.

A native of Buffalo, NY, she and her

husband Barney moved to Washington

in 1936. After receiving a masters degree from George Washington University, she worked with her husband for

the Denver Post, wrote a column called

‘‘Washington Dateline,’’ produced a

radio program called ‘‘Views and Interviews,’’ and when Barney Nover retired

from the Denver Post in 1971, Naomi

cofounded the Nover News Bureau.

After her husband passed away in 1973,

Naomi established a journalism prize

in his memory, the Barnet Nover Memorial Award, given for journalistic

excellence at the annual White House

Correspondents Association dinner.

Naomi’s perseverance was legendary.

Sam Donaldson tells an admiring story

about the time Naomi was hit by a

truck while crossing Pennsylvania Avenue. ‘‘The vehicle was almost totalled,’’ Donaldson says. ‘‘She walked

away without a scratch.’’ President

Clinton called her ‘‘years of dedication

to her craft and her efforts to cover

events * * * a lesson to us all in hard

work and the persistence of the human

spirit.’’

Mr. President, I know all my colleagues join me in sending our warmest

condolences to Naomi’s friends and

family.

ORDER OF PROCEDURE

fMr. DOLE. Mr. President, I say for

the benefit of my colleagues and others

who would probably like to get out of

here, we are waiting for an amendment

to be drafted. It is almost complete.

Upon completion, it will be sent to the

desk. Then there will be a cloture petition filed, and we will be able to leave

for the day.

It should not be long. I am told 15 or

20 minutes.

THE STAKES IN LEGAL REFORM

fMr. DOLE. Mr. President, as we continue the legal reform debate, I think

it is important to take a few minutes

and focus on what is and is not at stake

here.

What is at stake is whether we are

going to continue with a legal system

that is too costly, too long, and too unfair. What is at stake is whether the