Floor statement of Sen. Chuck Grassley
On the Late Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont
Delivered Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes to recognize the life of former Senator Jim Jeffords from Vermont who died this last august while the Senate was in recess. Yesterday, the Senate adopted a resolution commemmorating the former senator.
Senator Jeffords is probably best known for switching parties, from being a Republican to an Independent and caucusing with the Democrats back in 2001. As much as that switch hurt at the time, I always held Jim in high regard, and I knew him to be a very honorable man.
Jim and I were both so-called Watergate babies – two of the very few new Republican House members who survived the 1974 election after the Nixon resignation and subsequent pardon. So, we joined the House of Representatives together and became friends then.
It wasn’t only a tough political atmosphere back then. It was also a physical challenge for us. I had had surgery that year on my leg and was walking on crutches. Jim had been in a car accident and had to wear a neck brace.
The amusing story has been reported about the two of us walking down the house aisle to be sworn in after that devastating election for republicans – me on crutches and Jim in a neck brace. Somewhere in the chamber a democrat member yelled out, “there’s two more we almost got!”
The two of us laughed for years about that afterwards, because of course we had the last laugh, serving for many years and being elected to the Senate, and both becoming chairmen of committees.
One of the most honorable things Jim did for me, and I believe for the country, was in regard to the 2001 tax relief bill that was, by some measures, the largest tax cut in history.
Not many really know the history of that bill. I was Chairman of the Finance Committee, so I was in charge of putting the bill together and getting it passed in the Senate. The process started with a budget resolution with reconciliation instructions to the Finance Committee.
The Bush Administration pressed for a 1.6 trillion dollar tax cut. Senator Jeffords and other moderate Republicans insisted that number had to be cut by 300 billion dollars because they feared the money wouldn’t be there in the end. Of course they ended up being right on that point a few years later when we sank into years of deficit spending.
But, we needed their votes and I made it clear to President Bush and our leadership that if we wanted to get something done and have an historic tax cut, that we had to lower our sights a little, but still get most of what we wanted.
Unfortunately, I took a lot of criticism from my side for supporting Senator Jeffords and others. But, I knew where the votes were and where they weren’t. I remember a bunch of House Members even had a press conference saying some not so nice things about me and the idea of only accepting a 1.3 trillion dollar package.
But, our Senate Republican leadership wanted a good result and they agreed to compromise in order to get it. That’s not something you see nowadays on big bills. If the majority can’t have it their way, they just file cloture and let the bill die, which is why we don’t get much done around here anymore.
But, the pivotal point on the 2001 tax bill came right before the time senator Jeffords switched parties. I could never really blame Jim for his decision. I didn’t agree with it, but I know he felt he was mistreated by some in our party and had strong disagreements with some issues.
During floor consideration of the tax bill, we were near the end and the democrat minority at that time was offering amendment after amendment to stall the bill. And, we’d gotten to the point where they were just changing a few words in an amendment and offering it again.
At that point I walked over to the then minority whip, who happens to be the current majority leader, Senator Reid, and asked him what was going on. He said, “well, we think things may be changing around here soon.” Of course, I didn’t know what he was talking about and assumed maybe some votes were going to change. But, of course he was talking about the impending party switch that none of us knew about.
Remember, we were a 50-50 senate at that time. Of course what that meant was the senate leadership would change and, presumably, the new Democrat leadership would pull the tax bill from the floor and kill it. So, it was important for the Democrats to stall as long as they could on the bill, anticipating the switch.
But, to his great credit, Senator Jeffords came to me and told me that out of respect for me and the way I had worked with him on the bill, he would not officially change parties until after the tax bill was passed. So, we were able to finish that historic bill and get it signed into law.
This little known episode demonstrates what an honorable man and true friend Jim Jeffords was. He didn’t let politics dictate whatever he was determined to do, and he stood by his word. I only wish we could see more of that now in today’s senate.
We’d all certainly be in a better place. So, I commemorate Senator Jeffords in his death. My sympathies are with his family. I will miss him, and I wish him godspeed.