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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary


For Immediate Release February 9, 1995

STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CLINTON ON DEATH OF SEN. FULBRIGHT

I am deeply saddened by the death of former Senator William Fulbright. Both Hillary and I send our condolences to his wife Harriet and to their daughters Elizabeth, Roberta, Heidi, Evi and Shelby. Our prayers are with them at this difficult time.

I am also grateful today for the conviction Senator Fulbright imparted to me when I was a young man. He taught me that we could make peace in the world if we seek a better understanding, if we promote exchanges among people and if we advance the cause of global education.

Senator Fulbright's legacy was about heart as much as brains. He made us feel that we could amount to something in our lives, that education could lift us up and lift this country up. He made us believe that we had an obligation to develop our God-given abilities to their fullest and then use them to engage in the passions of our day. He believed in reason and that, in the end, democracy would only prevail if we had the courage to seek the truth.

One of his greatest legacies, the Fulbright Scholarships, will celebrate their 50th anniversary in 1996. So far, 70,000 Americans and more than 200,000 people worldwide have participated in this program in more than 150 countries. Senator Fulbright left his mark on the lives of all the people who have benefitted from those scholarships -- and on many, many more of us along the way. We are all in his debt.