SENATOR CHAFEE DIES

October 25, 1999
		John Chafee, Rhode Island's popular Republican senator and former governor who earned the reputation as one of Congress' most prominent moderates, has died. He was 77. -- Posted Monday, 7:15 EDT

Feb. 12, 1999: The Senate Republicans on impeachment. Feb. 9, 1999: Four Senators discuss the impeachment of President Clinton. Feb. 4, 1998: Senator Chafee participates in an Online Forum on health care.     The U.S. Senate	Chafee died of heart failure Sunday night at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland, according to a hospital spokesman. President Clinton called Chafee the embodiment of the "decent center" and a "patriot." Other Congressional colleagues also expressed sadness. "He was my best friend in the Senate. I will miss him dearly," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. Before going to Washington, Chafee, part of one of Rhode Island's most prominent families, served as secretary of the Navy, Rhode Island's governor, and minority leader of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Chafee also served in the Marine Corps during World War II and took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal, the largest of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.
	Crossing party lines
	But as a politician, the four-term Senator was most known for crossing party lines on certain issues. Chafee played a large role for a minority member in the passage of the 1988 law against ocean dumping, the 1989 oil spill law and the 1990 Clean Air Act. He also backed the Rio treaties on global climate change and biodiversity. Environmentalists often were among the biggest contributors to his campaigns. And though representing a largely Roman Catholic state, Chafee remained a strong advocate for abortion rights -- and supported gay participation in the military. But Chafee regularly stood firm with his fellow Republicans on other issues. He voted against President Clinton's 1993 budget and was a strong supporter of George Bush's 1991 nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, Chafee announced he would not seek a fifth term to the Senate in the year 2000. His son, Lincoln, has already announced his candidacy for the seat. It is unknown who will fill the seat in the meantime. Under state law, the governor must appoint someone to fill the vacancy until next year's general election. Chafee, a 1950 Harvard Law School graduate, won his Senate seat in 1976, after an unsuccessful bid against Democrat Claiborne Pell in 1972. Chafee is survived by a wife, five children and 12 grandchildren.

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