[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16641]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING ARLEN SPECTER

  Mr. REID. Madam President, as I came into the Chamber, I saw my 
friend Arlen Specter standing behind me. There will be other times I 
will say more about Arlen Specter, but I think it is appropriate to say 
a few words today about Arlen Specter. After the beginning of the year, 
he will no longer be with us as a Senator.
  I have followed very closely his career. I have read his book--he has 
written a number, but I read the book about his life--and it was 
fascinating, about his prosecutorial skills in Pennsylvania.
  We all know of his academic approach to the law in the Senate. When 
he comes to the floor, he is someone who speaks after having given 
serious, long thought to what he was going to talk about, as I am sure 
he will today. I have spoken in recent days with him at great length 
about something he strongly believes in; that is, making the Supreme 
Court something the American people can identify with by having cameras 
in and watching the arguments before the Supreme Court, not having to 
read a stale transcript but listen to the give-and-take of the lawyers 
and the Court.
  As I said, I will have a lot more to say about Arlen Specter at some 
time in the future, but I have appreciated his astute awareness of the 
law and his being so good to me. It doesn't matter whether he is a 
Democrat or a Republican, he is a Senator who I think is exemplary.

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