I
was honored to serve for seven years alongside Arlen Specter in the United
States Senate. As members of the “mod squad,” we worked over weekly lunches to
find bipartisan solutions to the country’s challenges, joining together to
resist the increasing pull toward partisanism and extremism. I am particularly
grateful that, as Chairman of the important Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator
Specter was generous to Rhode Island. I found that one of the best ways for
Senators to get to know one another was travelling on foreign trips, and I was
fortunate to travel throughout South and Central America with Senator Specter.
During this trip, I got to know a man who was thoughtful, intelligent, and
deeply devoted to his constituents and his country. He should be remembered as a
man who put the people’s business above partisan concerns, a characteristic that
is, sadly, increasingly rare.
