[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 11] [Senate] [Page 14923] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]REMEMBERING SENATOR JESSE HELMS Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to my late colleague, Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Other Senators have spoken at length in remembrance of our friend, recalling the man and his many accomplishments in this body. It was wonderful to hear the tributes by friends and family at his services in Raleigh, NC. It was my good fortune to come to the Senate when Senator Helms was leading a lot of fights for a strong America. Senator Helms took charge of the Foreign Relations Committee at the same time I arrived in the Senate. From that perch as chairman, he steadfastly defended the Nation's interests. Senator Helms relished defending his principles, and I am sure he enjoyed his victories. One such victory in this body is of particular note to me, for I was privileged to play a part in it. In 1999, in Senator Helms's fifth and final term in office, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was before the Senate, and it was poised for ratification. But, with his support and blessing, I helped secure the votes to defeat the treaty, and it fell far short of the two-thirds vote that had at one time seemed assured. That is but one of the many victories for U.S. national security in which Jesse Helms was involved in his three decades in the Senate. Senator Helms fought some of most contentious and courageous fights in the Senate on issues of profound significance. Yet even when the stakes were so high that they involved preserving and safeguarding this Nation, Senator Helms remained unfailingly courteous. He held to his principles even when they were not popular, but he did so in a way that did not damage friendships. My wife Caryll and I offer our sympathies to Jesse's wife Dot and their family. Senator Helms took the positions he judged to be right and he didn't flinch. He was a kind and gentle man who deeply believed in his country, his family, and his God. ____________________