S7706 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE June 5, 1995 

1972, involved this same area, and Ray 

O’Keefe was there. 

His next assignment brought him to 

a post well-known in the annals of cavalry lore—Fort Riley, KS—the birthplace of the famous 7th Cavalry Regiment. Already an experienced combat 

veteran, Ray served with distinction as 

a troop commander and operations officer with the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 

refining his skills, coaching, and teaching the cavalrymen and officers entrusted to his care. 

Obviously, Ray O’Keefe stood out 

from his peers, for as an armor officer 

he was selected to attend Infantry Officers Advanced Course at the U.S. Army 

Infantry School. Selection to an advanced course of another branch is an 

indication that an officer has mastered 

his basic branch skills and is being 

groomed for positions of much greater 

responsibility. His follow-on assignment as a staff plans officer with the 

Joint Personnel Staff at Headquarters, 

8th U.S. Army, in Yong San, Korea, underscored the high regard in which he 

was held by his superiors. The assignment provided Ray valuable experience 

working with senior officers and those 

of the other Services and would serve 

him well in future assignments. 

Following promotion to major ahead 

of his peers, and with a Master of 

Science degree in Educational Administration in hand, Ray O’Keefe returned to New England. Assigned as 

the Assistant Professor of Military 

Science at the University of New 

Hampshire, he excelled as an instructor 

of young men and women. Those entrusted with attracting and developing 

our Army’s future leaders have a particularly important responsibility. Ray 

O’Keefe truly understood this responsibility and more than met the challenge. 

As a field grade officer, Ray continued with his service in a series of increasingly challenging assignments, 

this time in Germany. The cold war 

was at its height, and deterrence was 

the keystone of our defense policy. 

Trained and ready, Army forces provided NATO’s first line of defense in 

Europe against the Warsaw Pact. Serving 1 year as executive officer of the 

4th Battalion, 64th Armor, in 

Aschaffenburg, followed by almost 3 

years on the Operations and Plans staff 

of the 3rd Infantry Division in 

Wurzburg, then-Major O’Keefe was instrumental in successfully bringing the 

M1 Abrams main battle tank to the division. Personally selected by the commanding general as chief of training 

for the division, Ray soon became the 

recognized expert in Europe on fielding 

and training for the M1 tank. 

Battalion command is a challenge reserved for only the Army’s most capable and most promising officers. In 

June of 1984, then-Lieutenant Colonel 

O’Keefe’s demonstrated performance 

and potential resulted in his selection 

to command the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, a unit rich tradition. From its 

battalion colors fly streamers emblazoned with names we associate with 

gallantry, courage, sacrifice: Little Big 

Horn, Leyte, Korea. Equipped with 

tanks, helicopters, armored personnel 

carriers, and artillery, the division cavalry squadron is perhaps one of the 

most lethal fighting organizations 

within the Army and one of the most 

challenging to effectively command. 

Its mission was one of the cold war’s 

most difficult and sensitive—patrolling 

the border between freedom and tyranny in Europe. Under Ray O’Keefe’s 

expert hand, the troopers of the 3rd 

Squadron patrolled the intra-German 

border 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Tough, realistic training and competent, confident leadership were rewarded in 1985 when the 3rd Squadron 

captured the prestigious Flynn Cup, 

awarded to the best border squadron in 

the VII Corps. Through sustained superior performance, Ray O’Keefe proved 

he had what it took to command and 

care for 1,200 soldiers and their families. 

The Joint Staff provided Ray O’Keefe 

another opportunity to excel. Assigned 

as Chief of the Operations, Training, 

and Exercise Branch in the National 

Military Command Center, he played a 

key role in every world crisis for almost 2 years. Colonel O’Keefe developed and wrote the required operational concept for what was to become 

the automated Crisis Management System, now the heart of the Joint Chiefs 

of Staff crisis management response. 

The impact of this contribution to our 

Nation cannot be overstated. 

Colonel O’Keefe culminated his service as Chief, Congressional Activities 

Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, 

U.S. Army. In this capacity, Ray once 

again set the standard preparing senior 

Army leadership for their personal 

interactions with Congress, including 

confirmations, congressional testimony, and meetings with Members of 

Congress. Ray also supervised preparation and publication of the Army’s annual Posture Statement and Focus periodical. Both General Sullivan and 

Secretary West have come to rely on 

Ray O’Keefe’s sound judgment, keen 

insight, and sage advice. In this assignment, as in all the others throughout 

his career, Ray has been in the vanguard working to ensure that America’s Army maintains, the warrior’s 

edge. 

Col. Raymond W. O’Keefe is indeed 

the quintessential leader. His selfless 

service, commitment to excellence, and 

caring professionalism have continually provided inspiration to those 

with whom he has served. This exceptional officer truly personifies those 

traits of courage, competency, and integrity that our Nation has come to expect from our Army officers. When he 

was needed, he was there. He has 

served our Nation well, and our heartfelt appreciation and best wishes for 

continued success go with him.∑ 

THE BUDGET RESOLUTION FOR 

FISCAL YEAR 1996 

∑ Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I was 

forced to cast my vote against the 

budget resolution for the upcoming fiscal year. 

As a member of the Budget Committee, I take seriously my responsibilities to form and oversee our Nation’s budget. Accordingly, I believe 

the budget resolution is one of the 

most important documents produced 

by the Congress each year. 

This resolution is critical legislation 

because it sets our Nation’s priorities. 

It steers our economic policies. And, it 

carries weight with the American people. 

I believe this process should be used 

to give the American people hope. The 

American people deserve a sound budget, which reflects their spending priorities. And, they deserve economic security in youth as well as in older years. 

Unfortunately, Mr. President, this 

budget fulfills none of these requirements. It is truly the worst of slash 

and burn politics. It is misguided economic policy. It robs our constituents 

of hope and our children of their future. 

Mr. President, our colleagues offered 

a number of amendments which would 

have gone a long way to improve this 

bill. 

I must say, Mr. President, I was 

pleased that a strong bipartisan coalition of Senators supported a sense of 

the Senate measure I offered on impact 

aid. Impact aid is critical educational 

assistance for our federally impacted 

school districts. I hope my amendment 

will ensure that the Federal Government lives up to its responsibilities to 

our Nation’s schoolchildren who live on 

Federal property. That is the minimum 

we owe the children of our women and 

men in uniform, and I am pleased the 

distinguished chairman of the Budget 

Committee, Mr. DOMENICI, accepted my 

amendment as part of his resolution. 

Unfortunately, many other amendments which would have improved this 

bill failed to pass on largely party-line 

votes. 

I was pleased to support a substitute 

budget proposed by my friend, the Senator from North Dakota, Mr. CONRAD. 

His proposal—the fair share plan—

reached balance, closed loopholes, excluded Social Security, but smoothed 

the glidepath of reduced spending. It is 

my sincere belief that the budget proposed by Senator CONRAD would have 

been a better starting point than the 

one put forth by my Republican colleagues. The Conrad plan was not perfect, but it would have been better for 

our children, our elderly, the environment, and the most vulnerable members of our society. 

My friends, the distinguished junior 

Senator from South Carolina, Senator 

HOLLINGS, and the Senator from Iowa, 

Mr. HARKIN, offered a wise amendment 

which aimed at restoring the draconian 

cuts to education. I was pleased to 

speak in favor of this amendment, and 

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June 5, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S7707 

an truly sorry that our Republican 

friends were unable to join colleagues 

on this side of the aisle in restoring 

some hope for our children’s future. 

Similarly, my Budget Committee 

colleague, the Senator from New Jersey, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and my friend 

from West Virginia, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, 

offered an important amendment to restore some of the nasty cuts to the 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs. This 

amendment would have given some 

much-needed security to our elderly. It 

would have also loosened the squeeze 

on the middle class—average Americans like me, who are caught between 

elderly, frail parents, and kids at 

home. 

I was honored to join two of my distinguished colleagues from the Finance 

Committee, Senator BRADLEY and Senator BREAUX to roll back the tax increase on our country’s working families. This budget plan raises the taxes 

on families earning less than $28,000 per 

year. I think nearly everyone in this 

country would agree it is inherently 

unfair to raise taxes on the lower middle class and give a break to the 

wealthiest among us. Unfortunately, 

this amendment was rejected on party 

lines. That is a tragic and sad mistake. 

Time and again, some of our colleagues attempted to restore common 

sense to this budget, but we were 

caught up in the partisanship of this 

body. One of the worst examples of this 

came with the defeat of the Murray 

amendment. My amendment simply 

would have protected kids from Medicaid cuts. Despite the defeat of my 

amendment which would have put the 

Senate on record that children should 

not be left without insurance, I will 

continue to fight for the interests of 

children in this Nation as the Medicaid 

system is reformed by this Congress. 

Lastly, I was very disappointed that 

an amendment offered by my colleague 

from Delaware, Senator ROTH, was defeated. The Senator from Delaware correctly called attention to the risks to 

our environment if oil exploration were 

to be extended in the Arctic National 

Wildlife Refuge. This amendment was 

important for the future of our Nation’s environment, and its defeat is 

shortsighted and ill-advised. 

Mr. President, without these amendments, without this safety net for our 

children, without protections of our environment, and without other safeguards for our most vulnerable citizens, this resolution is fatally flawed. 

And, I cannot support this draconian 

and risky budget plan.

f 

∑ 

TRIBUTE TO DR. HIRAM C. POLK, 

JR. 

∑ Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I 

rise today to honor Dr. Hiram C. Polk, 

Jr., Hiram is chairman of surgery at 

the University of Louisville, and this 

week he will be inducted into the 

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scotland as an honorary fellow. 

The Royal College of Surgeons is the 

oldest surgical college in the world and 

is also the most renowned. The induction as an honorary fellow is the highest honor awarded by the college. This 

tribute is unquestionably one that 

Hiram should be proud of, because the 

college only gives out five or six 

awards in one year to the best surgeons 

around the world. 

Hiram was also asked to deliver the 

Lister lecture at the college’s annual 

meeting in Aberdeen, Scotland on May 

26, 1995, making him the first American 

to give the Lister lecture. Hiram is 

also one of only 13 people to ever deliver the lecture. He joins an impressive list of past lecturers which include 

two Nobel Prize winners. His speech 

will focus on his work to understand 

and control infection after trauma, research he has worked extensively on at 

the University of Louisville for more 

than a decade. 

Hiram received his medical degree 

from Harvard University in 1960, and 11 

years later he accepted a position at 

the University of Louisville. At the age 

of 35, Hiram was named chairman of 

surgery at the university, making him 

one of the youngest surgery department chairmen in the Nation. 

His research on surgery infection 

began in 1969, and he says it still has a 

long way to go. He best describes his 

work in a recent article from the Courier Journal, ‘‘you keep hoping for a 

breakthrough. But in fact * * * you’re 

crawling your way up the Washington 

Monument one step at a time.’’ And 

you can bet, Hiram will continue his 

research on surgical infections for 

years to come. 

Mr. President, I commend Dr. Hiram 

C. Polk, Jr., for his outstanding service 

to the University of Louisville and to 

the entire medical community. I ask 

my colleagues to join me in recognizing the hard work of this outstanding Kentuckian and to congratulate him on his induction as an honorary fellow into the Royal College of 

Surgeons.∑ 

f 

THE BALANCED BUDGET 

RESOLUTION 

∑ Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, unfortunately I was unable to vote on the 

balanced budget resolution and several 

pending amendments. I was the commencement speaker for the 1995 graduating class of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore from which my niece 

and nephew were also graduating. 

However, had I been here to vote I 

would have voted against the resolution because I believe it hurts too 

many Americans. It hurts our seniors 

and it hurts our students. 

Everything this country has fought 

for is being attacked in this budget, 

Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, 

veterans health care, and education. 

We must have a call to arms to save 

lives and save people. 

Mr. President, during consideration 

of the budget resolution, Senator 

CONRAD offered an amendment which 

would have achieved a balanced budget 

by 2004. 

I support Senator CONRAD’s approach 

to balancing the budget because I believe that it represents a far more equitable approach to balancing the budget 

than the budget resolution which 

passed the Senate. 

Mr. President, I support the Conrad 

amendment because it balances the 

budget without counting the Social Security trust fund surplus. I have stated 

in the past that I cannot support a balanced budget that does not protect Social Security. A promise made must be 

a promise kept. 

We cannot jeopardize the retirement 

benefits of the G.I. Joe generation—the 

generation that fought and saved civilization. We owe it to our veterans and 

their families to ensure a safe and secure future. 

In addition, I support the Conrad 

amendment because it fully funds education and restores some of the cuts to 

veterans programs, infrastructure investments, and technology programs, 

while still achieving a balanced budget. 

Mr. President, I also want to express 

my strong support for an amendment 

offered by my colleague, Senator KENNEDY, to restore funding for college aid. 

The Republican budget resolution 

would cut $30 million in Federal aid to 

college students over the next 7 years. 

This is the largest education cut in 

U.S. history. 

This is unacceptable. Education must 

be a No. 1 priority. It is with me and it 

should also be a priority in this budget. 

Senator KENNEDY’s amendment 

would have helped to restore college 

student aid funds. This amendment did 

not pass, but yet it is extremely important when half of all college students 

receive Federal financial aid. 

However, I am pleased that the 

Snowe amendment which was adopted 

will restore $9.4 billion over 7 years to 

student loans. I support this amendment because I know what it will mean 

to Maryland’s students. 

Our undergraduate students borrow 

the maximum of $17,125 just to be able 

to afford a college education, access to 

increased opportunities and to achieve 

the American dream. 

The cost of college has skyrocketed 

and our students need our support 

through Federal financial aid programs 

or through innovative initiatives like 

National Service. We cannot turn our 

back on them now. 

Mr. President, in this budget, we are 

given cuts, not compassion. As an appropriator, I know firsthand what 

these cuts mean. These are not numbers. These are not statistics. These 

are not line items. They are issues people care about. 

Balancing the budget should not be 

about rhetoric or about scoring political points. Balancing the budget 

should be about honoring the contributions of the G.I. Joe generation, the 

generation who worked hard, played by 

the rules, and served our country well. 

It is for those who are fighting for the 

future generations of Americans. 

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