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Congressional Daily Record
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April 15, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. MARKEY. Mr. President, today we honor and remember Richard Ottinger, a mentor and friend and an historic environmental champion whose life and career is an inspiration to all dedicated to fighting for the people and the planet.
After serving in the U.S. Air Force and cofounding the Peace Corps, Ottinger served in Congress for 16 years from 1965 to 1971 and then again from 1975 to 1985. In his first year in Congress, he wrote and passed the Hudson River Compact Act, establishing an interstate commission to clean up the river. He continued to be the environmental visionary, being one of the first to call for addressing climate change as a moral, economic, national security, and health imperative. He helped found the bipartisan Environmental Study Conference and served as a moving force behind several landmark pieces of environmental legislation, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, PURPA.
goals for a healthy democracy. He was a bold and effective advocate for peace and diplomacy, civil rights, consumer protections, and the day- to-day concerns of working families, often battling and winning against the powerful special interests and political players. He was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam war, and in 1969, Ottinger introduced the Vietnam Disengagement Act and in 1970 co-authored an amendment to end that unjust war. He never shied from the big challenges confronting the times in which he lived.
and Climate Center to working closely with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature—IUCN—Ottinger continued to be a champion for climate solutions even after leaving office. I am deeply grateful to Richard Ottinger for being a pioneer in environmental legislation and advocacy and for paving the way for a fairer, cleaner, more just future for us all.