[Senate Document 109-30]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



From the Senate Documents Online via GPO Access
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From the Senate Documents Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              S. Doc. 109-30
 
                   TRIBUTES TO HON. MIKE DeWINE




                                           
                          Mike DeWine


                   U.S. SENATOR FROM OHIO



                          TRIBUTES


                    IN THE CONGRESS OF

                     THE UNITED STATES



                                           


                                           

             
             

                       Mike DeWine


                       Tributes

                 Delivered in Congress

                       Mike DeWine

                 United States Congressman

                        1983-1991


                 United States Senator

                         1995-2007

                                           
              U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                     WASHINGTON : 2007


                                           

              Compiled under the direction

                        of the

                 Joint Committee on Printing


                                          

                          CONTENTS


             Biography.............................................
                                                                      v
             Farewell to the Senate................................
                                                                     ix
             Proceedings in the Senate:
                Tributes by Senators:
                    Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
                                                                     11
                    Allen, George, of Virginia.....................
                                                                     12
                    Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky......................
                                                                     37
                    Byrd, Robert C., of West Virginia..............
                                                                 14, 20
                    Carper, Thomas R., of Delaware.................
                                                                     23
                    Clinton, Hillary Rodham, of New York...........
                                                                     22
                    Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
                                                                  3, 20
                    DeWine, Mike, of Ohio 
                     ...............................................
                     ......
                                                          3, 11, 19, 24
                    Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut...........
                                                                     29
                    Dole, Elizabeth, of North Carolina.............
                                                                     39
                    Durbin, Richard, of Illinois 
                     ...............................................
                     .....
                                                              4, 13, 26
                    Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
                                                                     34
                    Feingold, Russell D., of Wisconsin.............
                                                                     16
                    Frist, William H., of Tennessee................
                                                                     38
                    Hagel, Chuck, of Nebraska......................
                                                                      5
                    Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
                                                                     30
                    Hutchison, Kay Bailey, of Texas................
                                                                     38
                    Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia....................
                                                                     17
                    Kohl, Herb, of Wisconsin.......................
                                                                     21
                    Kyl, Jon, of Arizona...........................
                                                                     24
                    Landrieu, Mary L., of Louisiana................
                                                                     22
                    Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
                                                                     33
                    McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
                                                                     25
                    Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland..............
                                                                     28
                    Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
                                                                     12
                    Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
                                                                     11
                    Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
                                                                     24
                    Rockefeller, John D., IV, of West Virginia.....
                                                                     27
                    Salazar, Ken, of Colorado......................
                                                                  3, 14
                    Snowe, Olympia J., of Maine....................
                                                                     36
                    Stevens, Ted, of Alaska........................
                                                                     38
                    Voinovich, George V., of Ohio..................
                                                                      6
                    Warner, John, of Virginia......................
                                                                     18
                                      Biography

               Mike DeWine was born on January 5, 1947, and grew up in 
             Yellow Springs, OH. As the son of parents and grandparents 
             who ran a small agricultural business, he spent his youth 
             and early adult life working in the fields and in the 
             mill, learning the value of hard work and determination. 
             He carried these values with him first to Miami University 
             in Oxford, OH, where he graduated in 1969 with a degree in 
             education and then to Ohio Northern University Law School 
             in Ada, OH, where he graduated in 1972 with a law degree.
               Soon afterward he began his career in public service--a 
             career that spanned more than 30 years and involved work 
             at all levels of government. Firm in his belief that 
             criminals should be brought to justice, Mr. DeWine--at the 
             age of 25--started working as the assistant prosecuting 
             attorney for Greene County, and in 1976 he was elected 
             prosecutor. What he learned during those years in the 
             prosecutor's office stayed with him and compelled him to 
             continue in public service in a variety of capacities. He 
             served as an Ohio State Senator, a four-term U.S. 
             Congressman, and as Ohio's 59th Lieutenant Governor. He 
             was sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 4, 1995, as the 
             first Republican U.S. Senator to represent the Buckeye 
             State in more than two decades. In 2000 he was the first 
             Republican U.S. Senator in nearly a half century to be 
             reelected to serve Ohio.
               In his determination to get things done for those in 
             need, Mike DeWine has been dubbed the ``bodyguard of the 
             poor.'' He developed a reputation in Washington, DC, for 
             being hard-working, honest, and solution-oriented. He 
             immersed himself in issues that do not necessarily grab 
             headlines, but are vital to the well-being and prosperity 
             of Ohioans, Americans, and citizens across the globe. Mike 
             DeWine became a recognized national leader in efforts to 
             secure the health, welfare, and safety of children; 
             provide young people with the best possible education; 
             help ease humanitarian suffering and the spread of disease 
             around the world; and improve the Nation's ability to 
             gather intelligence to protect Americans from terrorists. 
             He also worked to protect and restore unique natural 
             areas, including the Great Lakes, for the enjoyment of 
             future generations; promote job opportunities through an 
             improved, user-friendly job training system; ensure law 
             enforcement officials have access to advanced technology; 
             stem the flow of drugs into the United States; and secure 
             a balanced budget, cut taxes, and promote economic 
             opportunities.
               Mike DeWine and his wife Fran, who have been married 
             more than 37 years, are the parents of 8 children and 
             grandparents of 10 grandchildren. As a parent, 
             grandparent, and U.S. Senator, he knows that the safety 
             and security of American children extend beyond measures 
             to protect their immediate well-being. He knows that the 
             world he helped shape is the world these children and 
             grandchildren will inherit tomorrow, and he remains 
             vigilant in his work to secure the children's future 
             through the stabilization of countries around the world.
               Through his membership on several Senate committees, 
             Mike DeWine was able to work on legislative efforts that 
             directly impact American's health, safety, and security. 
             Senator DeWine was the first Ohio Senator in nearly six 
             decades to serve on the Appropriations Committee--a 
             committee tasked with the responsibility of determining 
             the use and distribution of U.S. Federal tax dollars. He 
             was chairman of the Antitrust, Competition Policy and 
             Consumer Rights Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. 
             As a member of the Judiciary Committee he worked on many 
             anti-crime initiatives as well as immigration and judicial 
             nominations. As chairman of the Retirement Security and 
             Aging Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor and 
             Pensions (HELP) Committee Mr. DeWine helped develop and 
             review legislation to modernize and strengthen America's 
             pension system and study the needs and concerns of the 
             aging U.S. population. As a member of the HELP Committee 
             he continued his work to protect the health and welfare of 
             children, adults, and the elderly, as well as his efforts 
             to limit drug and alcohol abuse and promote vital mental 
             health services for those in need.
               Other committee work in the Senate included his 
             membership in the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, 
             where he helped lead the Joint House-Senate Intelligence 
             Committee investigation into U.S. intelligence lapses and 
             the events preceding and following 9/11. He understood 
             that the safety of Americans is intrinsically linked to 
             the quality of U.S. intelligence, and through his 
             membership on the Intelligence Committee he worked to 
             improve U.S. information-gathering capabilities and 
             protect Americans from terrorist threats. He also served 
             as cochairman of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force; the 
             Senate Caucus on Missing, Exploited, and Runaway Children; 
             and the Senate Global AIDS Crisis Working Group; and was a 
             member of the Senate Drug Task Force.
                               Farewell to the Senate
                              Friday, December 8, 2006

               Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, early on Thanksgiving day, 
             Mary Frances Darling was born. She is our 10th grandchild 
             and the 6th child of our daughter Jill and her husband 
             Bill. As I said on election night this year, I am a very 
             lucky man. I am blessed with a wonderful family.
               I am also blessed because for the last 30 years--30 
             years--the people of Ohio have given me the opportunity to 
             represent them, first as Green County prosecuting 
             attorney, then as State senator, then as a Congressman for 
             four terms from the Seventh Congressional District, then 
             Lieutenant Governor, and now, for the past 12 years, in 
             this wonderful body as a U.S. Senator. For that 
             opportunity, I will be eternally grateful.
               When I came to the Senate in 1995, it had been a little 
             over a year since our daughter Becky had been killed. I 
             was, quite candidly, still numb. We as a family had been 
             through a lot. But I knew that our time here on Earth is 
             short, and I wanted as best I could to spend my time in 
             the Senate, whatever time I had, working on tangible 
             things, getting concrete results that impact the lives of 
             families in Ohio and in our Nation. I have tried to do 
             that, but I have not done it alone. Whatever I have 
             achieved has been with the help of so many people.
               Over the past 12 years, I have worked with every Member 
             of this Senate, and I consider each Member of this Senate 
             a friend. I have had the privilege to work with two 
             Republican leaders and one who in January will become the 
             Republican leader.
               Trent and Tricia Lott were two of the first people Fran 
             and I met when we came to the House in 1983. Tricia is 
             Fran's best friend here in Washington, and Trent is my 
             dear friend. I have benefited from his counsel, from his 
             advice, and from his help, now for well over 20 years.
               Bill Frist and I came to the Senate together in 1995. 
             Karyn and Bill are very good friends. Bill has been an 
             unbelievably accessible leader. We share a passion for 
             fighting the spread of AIDS. Bill's public role in that 
             cause is obvious and apparent to everyone. But what is not 
             so obvious and what is little known is what Bill Frist has 
             done behind the scenes, what his role has been in working 
             with so many people, working with the White House and 
             others to get this job done. No one has played a bigger 
             role. And when the history is written, Bill Frist's name 
             will be there in bold print as someone who has saved so 
             many, many lives.
               Mitch McConnell. Mitch and Elaine are dear friends. When 
             I faced the tough challenge of getting a bill or amendment 
             passed, I went to Mitch. I have done it for 12 years. I 
             did it as recently as yesterday. Mitch McConnell is tough. 
             He is strong. He is wise. He will be a great leader. His 
             advice as to how to thread the legislative needle is 
             responsible for so much of what I have passed. He also has 
             a big heart, as was demonstrated time and time again when 
             I would go to him. He is chairman of the Foreign 
             Operations Subcommittee. After I talked to him, he would, 
             at my request, put money into things which saved 
             children's lives, child survival or to save little 
             children, little babies in Haiti. He did it. He got it 
             done. He made a difference.
               I have been lucky enough to serve on the Judiciary, 
             Appropriations, HELP, and Intelligence Committees, and I 
             want to thank the chairmen who have led those committees 
             over the past 12 years. I was the first Ohio Senator to 
             serve on the Appropriations Committee since 1945. With the 
             help of Chairman Stevens, Chairman Cochran, and their 
             staffs, I was able to secure well over $1 billion for 
             projects throughout Ohio that make a difference.
               I particularly thank Arlen Specter. I thank his clerk 
             and my good friend, Bettilou Taylor. They have both been 
             so helpful to me in securing millions of dollars for 
             programs through Labor-HHS appropriations. These two 
             dedicated public servants helped me provide funding for 
             important programs, things such as the Children's Hospital 
             Graduate Medical Education Program and projects in Ohio to 
             build facilities and provide services for people with 
             disabilities. They also helped me fund projects to help 
             meet the health needs of seniors and low-income 
             communities throughout the State. Because of them, I have 
             been able to secure over $12 million for Ohio's children's 
             hospitals.
               Senator Specter, Bettilou, let me tell you from the 
             bottom of my heart and on behalf of Ohio's sick and poor 
             kids and their families, I thank you.
               I also sincerely thank Judiciary Committee Chairmen 
             Specter and Hatch; HELP Committee Chairmen Enzi, Gregg, 
             and Jeffords; and Intelligence Committee Chairmen Roberts 
             and Shelby. I have been fortunate to have passed dozens of 
             bills and amendments in my career in the Senate, and most 
             of them were provisions that I worked along with these 
             chairmen to pass. It would never have happened without 
             them. I appreciate their help.
               I appreciate all the help Finance Committee Chairman 
             Chuck Grassley has given me--a dear friend--especially 
             when it came to passing my bills to improve the foster 
             care and adoption system. I have worked with many Members 
             of the Senate on this very important issue, foster care 
             and adoption, including Senators Jay Rockefeller, Mary 
             Landrieu, Larry Craig, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, John 
             Chafee, Jesse Helms, Bill Roth, Jim Jeffords, Dan Coats. 
             They all shared a passion for foster care children. They 
             all shared a passion for the adoption issue.
               I also thank my good friend from Pennsylvania, my friend 
             who keeps the candy drawer over there, Rick Santorum. Like 
             so many who spoke about him yesterday, I applaud Rick for 
             his passion and his absolute fearlessness in standing up 
             for what he believes. I recall being on this floor many 
             nights late at night during the debate over partial-birth 
             abortion. Some nights it was just Rick and me, and we 
             closed this place. He got it done. I thank him for that.
               I also remember how Senator Santorum stood with Senators 
             Lindsey Graham and Sam Brownback to help me pass my unborn 
             victims of violence bill and see it signed into law. It 
             took several years to pass this legislation, and 
             Congressman Graham had been the sponsor and was the 
             sponsor of the bill in the House. I applaud his 
             determination to get this done. When it comes to foreign 
             policy issues, I share an interest in western hemisphere 
             issues with my friends Senator Norm Coleman, the chairman, 
             and Mel Martinez. Mel, thank you. Senator Coleman has 
             admirably served this body as chairman of the Western 
             Hemisphere Subcommittee. I sincerely enjoyed traveling 
             with him to Haiti.
               I also enjoyed traveling to Africa with the good Senator 
             from Tennessee, Lamar Alexander. Lamar has contributed a 
             great deal to this body. He will contribute more, 
             especially in the area of education policy, where he is 
             clearly the expert.
               Senator Judd Gregg and I also worked on a very important 
             education issue. He started it. He worked it. I helped 
             him. We got it done. That is the School Choice Program 
             here in Washington, DC. We broke the logjam. We got it 
             done. I applaud his commitment to the children of this, 
             our Nation's Capital.
               I thank my friends Chuck Hagel and Lindsey Graham for 
             the good conversations they have shared with me on foreign 
             policy issues. Speaking of that issue, I thank my neighbor 
             on the floor and my neighbor to the west in Indiana, Dick 
             Lugar, for being the rock that he is on foreign policy and 
             for giving me good counsel and advice.
               I want to thank my dear friend John McCain, with whom I 
             came to the House of Representatives in 1983 and who has 
             been my friend since. I thank him for his courage. I thank 
             him for his wise counsel on military and foreign relations 
             issues.
               I also thank a dear friend of mine who does not now 
             serve in this body, former Senator and Secretary of Energy 
             Spence Abraham. He did a lot of things. One of the things 
             that took guts and courage is he fought with me and others 
             to protect legal immigration while he served in the 
             Senate. He took a lot of flack for it.
               I was honored to work with Senator Gordon Smith, 
             Senators Harry Reid, Jack Reed, and Chris Dodd, to pass 
             the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. I applaud Senator 
             Smith and his wife Sharon for having the courage to take 
             the tragedy of their son Garrett's suicide and do so many 
             wonderful things with it. They are wonderful people.
               Last year, I was extremely proud to be 1 of 14 
             bipartisan Members of this great body who decided to work 
             together to break what had become a gridlock in the Senate 
             over judicial nominations. In the grand tradition of the 
             Senate, individuals from both political parties came 
             together to solve a problem which threatened not only the 
             judicial nomination process but was threatening to shut 
             the Senate down completely. I want to thank my friends 
             with whom I was proud to stand in that effort: John 
             McCain, John Warner, Lindsey Graham, Olympia Snowe, Susan 
             Collins, Lincoln Chafee, Joe Lieberman, Senator Byrd, Ben 
             Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Daniel Inouye, Mark Pryor, and Ken 
             Salazar. They got it done.
               I thank my friend, my colleague, my partner, Senator 
             George Voinovich. George and I have worked together in the 
             Senate on so many things for Ohio, from NASA Glenn to the 
             Great Lakes. We first got together in 1989. We joined up 
             as partners in 1989 when I decided to leave the U.S. 
             House--it was a tough decision for me--and join him as his 
             Lieutenant Governor candidate. I have not regretted it. It 
             was the right decision, and we have worked together ever 
             since then. I thank him and I thank his wonderful wife Jan 
             for their friendship and love.
               I also want to thank all the members of the Ohio 
             congressional delegation with whom I have sincerely 
             enjoyed working over the years. I have worked with every 
             one of them. They have all made a difference. They are all 
             my friends, Democrats and Republicans. Specifically, I 
             extend my appreciation to my Congressman, my dear friend 
             Dave Hobson. He is a savvy man. I have gone to him many 
             times for advice, and I have gone to him to get things 
             done for Ohio.
               I would be remiss if I didn't thank the wonderful staff 
             people in addition to my own staff whom I have had the 
             pleasure to work with in the Senate. I thank the 
             outstanding Senate floor staff: Dave Schiappa, Laura Dove, 
             and all the other floor staffers who are such wonderful 
             professionals and who serve us all so well. Thanks to the 
             staff of the Republican leadership: Eric Ueland; Bill 
             Hoagland, whom I talked about earlier today and whom I go 
             to for advice a lot; Kyle Simmons, Malloy McDaniel, Laura 
             Pemberton, and on and on.
               I also thank all the committee staff with whom I had the 
             pleasure to work. They are too plentiful to name, but I 
             cannot leave this body without thanking my dear friend 
             Mary Dietrich, clerk of the DC Appropriations Committee. I 
             saw Mary on the floor last night. I so enjoyed working 
             with her. She is a pro. She is great. I also thank Paul 
             Grove, clerk of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, who 
             worked with me in helping increase funding for the various 
             humanitarian aid programs. I know he got tired of seeing 
             me coming, but he was always gracious and got the job 
             done.
               If there is one thing I have learned in the Senate, it 
             is that you must work together with members of both 
             parties, Democrats and Republicans. I see my friend on the 
             floor, Senator Paul Sarbanes, who will be leaving. I have 
             worked with him over the years. I have worked with many 
             Democratic Senators over the years. I want to take a few 
             minutes to thank them for their willingness to set aside 
             party politics to make a difference and to get tangible 
             results.
               First, I thank my very good friend Senator Chris Dodd. 
             Senator Dodd and I have worked together on many bills that 
             have become law. We worked together--not once, not twice, 
             but three times--to pass three bills into law to expand 
             the research and testing of drugs prescribed for children. 
             Senator Hillary Clinton also joined us in this effort, and 
             I thank both of them for their dedication and dogged 
             determination in helping to ensure our children have 
             access to the medicines they need.
               Senator Dodd and I also came together to create a 
             national toll-free poison control hotline--I will remind 
             my colleagues one more time of that number: 1-800-222-
             1222.
               Senator Dodd and I also share a commitment to providing 
             additional resources for our Nation's firefighters and 
             first responders. We know that these men and women have 
             the responsibility of looking out for us and our families, 
             and we, in turn, have a responsibility to provide them 
             with the resources they need to do their jobs. Together, 
             Senator Dodd and I passed the FIRE Act in 2000, and that 
             law has provided over $3.1 billion for grants to fire 
             departments around the Nation for needed equipment, 
             training, and communications technology. I am proud of the 
             over $100 million in FIRE Act grants that my home State of 
             Ohio has received.
               Finally, Senator Dodd and I worked together with a 
             wonderful American statesman--Senator Daniel Patrick 
             Moynihan--to pass the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act, 
             which has led to the declassification of countless U.S. 
             Government files containing information about Nazi war 
             criminals. The American people deserve to have access to 
             this information. For all of our work together, Senator 
             Dodd, thank you.
               Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Jay Rockefeller 
             for joining me in fighting to make our adoption system 
             work better for children around the country. My good 
             friend Senator Rockefeller was the lead cosponsor of two 
             of my bills that we got signed into law, and I was the 
             lead cosponsor of one of his bills that also became law. 
             These laws have helped minimize the amount of time 
             children spend in foster care and increased the number of 
             adoptions across the country.
               Those laws are making a difference every day. They are 
             changing children's lives.
               As members of the Senate Steel Caucus, Senator 
             Rockefeller and I also worked successfully together to 
             impose tariffs against foreign countries that were dumping 
             steel in the United States. The dumping by these countries 
             was hurting our steel industry and, therefore, it was 
             hurting families throughout Ohio and West Virginia. 
             Senator Rockefeller and I also teamed up to increase 
             automobile and highway safety. He is a champion there, 
             too.
               Last year, Senator Rockefeller was the lead cosponsor of 
             several bills with me that will save lives on our roads. 
             Together, we passed these bills into law as part of the 
             last highway bill. We will never know the names or faces 
             of the people whose lives will be saved by these laws, but 
             it is enough for both of us to know those men, women, and 
             children are out there. Senator Rockefeller--it has been a 
             pleasure to work with you. Thank you.
               Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Mary Landrieu. 
             Senator Landrieu and I share a profound concern for low-
             income students around the country and for the welfare of 
             young people here in the District of Columbia. In 2001, we 
             worked together to amend the No Child Left Behind Act to 
             make sure that additional funding went toward low-income 
             schools and the students who attend those schools. Since 
             passage of our amendment, low-income schools in Ohio have 
             received $259 million. I applaud Senator Landrieu for her 
             commitment to these children.
               I also want to thank Senator Landrieu for the excellent 
             work we did together on the District of Columbia 
             Appropriations Subcommittee. We worked together on this 
             subcommittee from 2001 to 2004, and again, our focus was 
             on improving the health and well-being of children. We 
             improved the city's long-troubled foster care system and 
             helped fund various improvements to children's hospitals 
             in the District. It was truly a pleasure working with the 
             good Senator from Louisiana.
               Mr. President, I have had the great fortune to work 
             closely on the Judiciary Committee with my friend Senator 
             Pat Leahy. I am proud of the many things that we worked on 
             together. Specifically, we both know that our State and 
             local law enforcement officers need to have the best 
             technology available to protect our families and loved 
             ones. I thank Senator Leahy for working with me in 1998 to 
             pass the Crime Identification Technology Act, known as 
             CITA. We worked together to develop, pass into law, and 
             provide funding for this critical bill, which has included 
             over $500 million to help law enforcement officials 
             purchase cutting edge forensic and communication 
             technology and improve their crime labs--all in an effort 
             to help local law enforcement fight crime and make our 
             communities safer.
               I also appreciated working with Senator Leahy to pass my 
             bill in 2003 that eliminated the statute of limitations 
             for child abduction and sex crimes, and required child 
             pornographers to register as sex offenders. Finally, 
             Senator Leahy and I worked together, along with 
             Congressman Ted Strickland in the House, to pass my 
             mentally ill offenders bill and get it signed into law in 
             2004. This law goes a long way toward providing mental 
             health services for criminals desperately in need of those 
             services. Thank you, Senator Leahy. And, of course, 
             neither of these laws would have happened without the help 
             of Judiciary Chairmen Specter and Hatch.
               Mr. President, since 1997, I have been a member of the 
             Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee. During my time in the 
             Senate, sometimes I chaired the subcommittee, and 
             sometimes my friend Senator Herb Kohl chaired the 
             subcommittee. But no matter who had the gavel, we ran it 
             the same way--as a bipartisan committee, which shined a 
             light on competition issues and helped consumers and 
             businesses get a fair shake in the marketplace. Both of 
             our staffs planned the subcommittee agenda together, 
             organized hearings together, and held meetings together. 
             That is exactly the way it should be, and I am proud that 
             Senator Kohl and I were able to achieve and promote a 
             bipartisan consensus on important antitrust issues in many 
             critical parts of our economy.
               Senator Kohl and I also worked together to write and 
             pass into law the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act in 
             2000. We worked on this bill after learning that many law 
             enforcement agencies did not have the funding to process 
             DNA material from crime scenes and those DNA samples ended 
             up just sitting on shelves and not getting analyzed. Our 
             law provides funding to process these samples, identify 
             criminals--such as rapists--and get them off the streets. 
             It has truly been an honor and a privilege to work with 
             Herb Kohl.
               Mr. President, I also have had the distinct pleasure to 
             work together with Senator Mikulski on the Retirement 
             Security and Aging Subcommittee. I always knew that my 
             good friend from Maryland was a tough negotiator, but over 
             the last Congress, I was reminded of just how determined 
             and tough she can be when she knows she's right. Thank 
             heavens, she and I were on the same side.
               Senator Mikulski and I worked together this year and in 
             2000 to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, and we also 
             joined forces to fight against efforts to weaken the 
             pension plans of millions of manufacturing retirees and 
             employees. It was during these negotiations that I was 
             glad to have a partner as tough as Senator Mikulski, and I 
             thank her.
               Since 1999, I have been the cochairman of the Senate 
             Great Lakes Task Force with the senior Senator from 
             Michigan, Carl Levin. Together, Senator Levin and I have 
             fought side by side to pass laws and increase funding to 
             help restore and protect the Great Lakes. We passed the 
             Great Lakes Legacy Act, which has brought over $60 million 
             to clean up contaminated rivers flowing into the lakes, 
             including $25 million to clean up the Ashtabula River.
               Senator Levin and I also recently won Senate passage of 
             the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act to 
             increase the authorization of grants to protect the Great 
             Lakes, and we worked together to prevent invasive species 
             from entering the Great Lakes by authorizing and funding a 
             barrier in Chicago, where Asian carp might enter the 
             lakes. I thank Senator Levin for his dedication to this 
             unique natural resource.
               I have spent a great deal of my time here in the Senate 
             fighting for those who are less fortunate and who cannot 
             fend for themselves--not only here in the United States, 
             but also throughout the world. Over the years, I have 
             sponsored and passed several provisions that have 
             increased funding for humanitarian programs.
               I want to thank my good friend Senator Dick Durbin for 
             working with me to increase funding by $100 million for 
             the Global Fund to Fight AIDS and to increase funding by 
             over $60 million for the prevention of mother-to-child 
             transmission of HIV/AIDS. Senator Durbin has also worked 
             with me to help provide assistance to the poorest nation 
             in our hemisphere--and that is Haiti. Dick, Fran and I 
             traveled together to Haiti and I thank him for joining me 
             in efforts to provide a better life for the people of 
             Haiti. He is a good and compassionate man, and I thank him 
             for his work and for his friendship.
               Once again, these things would not have happened but for 
             Mitch McConnell, Pat Leahy, and the people on the 
             subcommittee who provided the money.
               While I am talking about Senator Durbin, I also want to 
             thank him for joining me in passing legislation that 
             guaranteed that the children of service members who die in 
             service to their country don't lose their free health care 
             coverage. Before our law, children of service members who 
             died serving their country would lose their free health 
             care after 3 years. But, children whose parents were in 
             the military and did not die would receive health care 
             until they turned 21. That just wasn't right, and Senator 
             Durbin agreed with me. Together, we changed that law. I 
             thank him for working with me on that effort, and I thank 
             Chairman Warner for working with us on this bill. It could 
             not have happened without him.
               Mr. President, I also had the pleasure of working with 
             Senators Durbin, Corzine, Biden, and Brownback, as we have 
             tried to help bring a stop to the terrible genocide that 
             is occurring in Darfur.
               Together, we have increased funding for humanitarian 
             relief and security efforts in this war-torn region, where 
             so many innocent victims continue to suffer. I was proud 
             to join my friends in this effort, and I know they will 
             continue this fight.
               Mr. President, none of these important increases to 
             these HIV/AIDS and humanitarian aid programs could have 
             happened without the help of the chairman and ranking 
             member of the Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations 
             Subcommittee--Senators McConnell and Senator Leahy. To 
             both of them and to their able staffs, thank you.
               I want to thank Senator Frank Lautenberg for working 
             with me to set a national 0.08 blood alcohol content 
             standard for alcohol-impaired drivers.
               This was a tough fight, and Senator Lautenberg is a good 
             man to have with you in such a fight. I am proud to say 
             that in 2000 we successfully got our bill passed and 
             signed into law.
               Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Byrd, not only 
             for the legislation that we have worked on together, but 
             more important for the outstanding service he has given 
             this body and this country. Senator Byrd and I worked 
             together years ago to pass the Continued Dumping Subsidy 
             Offset Act--a law that helped bring hundreds of millions 
             of dollars to U.S. manufacturing companies that were the 
             victims of illegal dumping by foreign companies. This law 
             brought over $315 million to manufacturers in Ohio. Thank 
             you Senator Byrd for the work we've done together and for 
             your outstanding service to this Senate and to this 
             Nation.
               Mr. President, I want to wish the best to all of my 
             fellow Senators who were defeated this fall or who are 
             retiring this year--Senators Frist, Santorum, Talent, 
             Burns, Allen, Chafee, Dayton, and Jeffords. They are all 
             good people and all good friends. I wish them well.
               Mr. President, I want to take a moment to say that I 
             still miss my good friend Senator Paul Wellstone. Senator 
             Wellstone was a determined and outstanding public servant. 
             In 1998, Paul and I worked closely together to write the 
             law that reformed and improved the effectiveness of job 
             training programs. It was always a pleasure to work with 
             Paul Wellstone--such a passionate and committed and 
             dedicated public servant.
               Mr. President, as my colleagues all know, none of us 
             could get anything done here in this body if it were not 
             for the extremely dedicated, hard-working people on our 
             staffs. I am grateful for the men and women who work for 
             me now and those who have worked for me all through my 
             time in the U.S. Senate. I didn't say thank you often 
             enough, but I want each of you to know how much I 
             sincerely appreciate all you have done for me--all you 
             have done to help the people of Ohio and the people of 
             this Nation. I say to them: You have done such great work. 
             You have helped people. You have improved their lives and, 
             in some cases, you have saved lives through your efforts. 
             You have made a difference, and you all should be very 
             proud. I know I am proud of each and every one of you.
               I have been so fortunate to have had so many qualified, 
             talented people working for me over the years. Time will 
             not permit me to name each one, but I thank all of them 
             collectively for their efforts.
               Thank you to all the schedulers who through the years 
             got me where I needed to go and kept me on track. I would 
             be lost, literally, without you.
               Thank you to all my personal assistants and executive 
             assistants. You all have taken such good care of me, 
             which, admittedly, has been tough to do. I have not made 
             it easy.
               Thank you to my press team--all my past press 
             secretaries and press assistants. You have helped spread 
             the word about the good things this team has done for the 
             people of Ohio. I thank you for your diligence and 
             dedication.
               I thank my legislative staff--all my legislative 
             assistants, professional committee staff, legislative 
             aides, legislative correspondents, researchers, and 
             writers. You have been the best team any Senator could 
             ever ask for. I am proud of you. You have worked so hard, 
             so tirelessly, and with such commitment. You got things 
             done. You have made a difference.
               Thank you to all my current and past staff assistants, 
             receptionists, and interns. You have been on the front 
             lines every single day. You have heard a lot. You manned 
             the phones. You greeted all of our constituents. You have 
             helped me in countless ways. You have done your job so 
             well with great respect, grace, and patience.
               Thank you to our mail team. One thing is certain in this 
             business: the letters and e-mails never stop coming. That 
             is a good thing. Thank you for opening all the 
             correspondence, sorting it, taking care of it, and making 
             sure responses got out. I bless you for that.
               Thank you to all my past office managers and system 
             administrators. You have kept my office running. Without 
             each of you, we couldn't open our doors each business day. 
             You are great.
               Thank you to my entire team in Ohio--to all my current 
             and past regional directors, district representatives, 
             staff assistants, and caseworkers. You are the best Ohio 
             has to offer. I am proud to have worked with each one of 
             you. I couldn't have done my job without you. You all know 
             our State so very well. You have been so caring and kind 
             to our constituents. Thank you from the bottom of my 
             heart.
               While it would be impossible for me to talk about each 
             of my past staff members individually, I would like to 
             take a moment to say a few things about some of my key 
             advisers over the years. I will dearly miss working with 
             each one of you. Bluntly, I don't know how I am going to 
             get along.
               Thank you to my past and present finance team. They are 
             the ones who got me here: Mary Sabin, Rachel Pearson, Amy 
             Ford Bradley, and last, but certainly not least, Brooke 
             Bodney, who has taken me through the last few years. You 
             all have amazed me over the years. You have pushed me, 
             prodded me, you made me do something I don't like to do: 
             make phone calls and ask people for money. Please know how 
             grateful I am to each one of you. Your jobs were not easy, 
             and you did a phenomenal job.
               Thank you to my past campaign managers--Curt Steiner in 
             1992, Laurel Pressler Dawson in 1994, Josh Rubin in 2000, 
             and Matt Carle from my 2006 race. Curt has been my friend 
             for over a quarter of a century. He is smart and 
             politically savvy. Laurel was a great campaign manager in 
             1994. I will have more to say about her in a minute. Josh 
             has been a permanent fixture in the DeWine family since 
             the early 1990s. I have always appreciated his advice and 
             wise counsel. Matt did a fine job this past election 
             cycle. He knows Ohio very well.
               I would also like to mention my friend Chuck Greener who 
             has been a friend for over 25 years. I am grateful for his 
             friendship and wise counsel. He always takes my calls. He 
             always calls back. He is there for me. He is there for 
             Fran.
               Thank you to each of the individuals who have served as 
             staff directors of my subcommittees. Louis Dupart served 
             as staff director for our Antitrust Subcommittee. Louis 
             always came to me with such great legislative ideas. He is 
             the one who came to me with the idea of the Nazi war crime 
             legislation. I will forever be grateful for that.
               Pete Levitas also served for several years now as staff 
             director for the Antitrust Subcommittee. Pete is a 
             brilliant lawyer. He has been one of my most dedicated 
             staff members, and he is one of the funniest people I have 
             ever met. He can always make me laugh, and we always need 
             people around us, Pete, to make us laugh.
               Dwayne Sattler served as staff director for our 
             Employment and Training Subcommittee. He worked tirelessly 
             to help reform this country's job training program. A lot 
             of the bill was his work product. I thank him for that.
               Last, but certainly not least, Karla Carpenter, who has 
             served as the staff director for three of my 
             subcommittees: Aging, Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
             Services, and Retirement Security. What in the world will 
             I do without her? She has been with me since 1994. She is, 
             as she likes to say, ``the smartest person she knows.'' 
             Mr. President, let me tell you, she is certainly one of 
             the smartest persons I know. She got our Adoption and Safe 
             Families Act signed into law, as well as the Older 
             Americans Act and pensions bill. Thank you, Karla.
               I would also like to thank my able Intelligence 
             Committee designee, John Pack, and my excellent former 
             designees Jack Livingston and Jim Barnett. You have been 
             great advisers.
               I have been most fortunate to have had the chance to 
             work with three of the smartest, hardest working 
             legislative directors around. My first Senate legislative 
             director and chief counsel was Nick Wise. He was also 
             legislative director for me in the House of 
             Representatives. Nick always had a unique ability to 
             analyze an issue and drill it down to the essence of the 
             matter, and then explain it to me. Unique talent.
               My next legislative director was Robert Hoffman. He came 
             to my office from Senator Larry Pressler's office, where 
             he was the Senator's legislative director. Robert did a 
             fantastic job for me. He has an unstoppable work ethic. He 
             was so dedicated and had such a solid understanding of the 
             legislative process. I thank Robert.
               My current legislative director is Paul Palagyi. What 
             will I do without Paul, who is my go-to guy on so many 
             things? He has been my LD for nearly 6 years and has built 
             an extraordinary legislative team. Paul has put up with a 
             lot. He is also an adviser on my two dogs at home.
               During my time in the Senate, I have had two 
             speechwriters. My first Senate speechwriter was Mike 
             Potemra. I can say with honesty Mike is one of the most 
             intelligent people I know. He is just so knowledgeable. In 
             his own words, Mike is an ``unusual guy.'' That he is, but 
             he is also deeply endearing, and I am fortunate to have 
             had the opportunity to work with him. I thank Mike.
               Now, Mr. President, I come to the point in my speech 
             where it is not scripted, and that is because it is about 
             Ann O'Donnell. Ann O'Donnell has been my speechwriter. Ann 
             O'Donnell has been someone who has made an unbelievable 
             difference in my life. She is a tireless worker. She is a 
             compassionate person. Fran and I have traveled with Ann to 
             Haiti. I have seen her compassion for the children of 
             Haiti. She is someone who never stops working.
               During this past week, because I am leaving the Senate, 
             because I would not be here in January, I have tried to 
             finish giving tribute speeches to all soldiers and troops 
             who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was an unbelievable 
             task. Ann put it together. She got it done. We did 75 
             speeches this week. It wouldn't have happened without her. 
             A lot of things I have done would not have happened 
             without her. I thank her. I thank her for being who she 
             is.
               I have had two communications directors during my time 
             in the Senate. First was Charlie Boesel. Everyone loves 
             Charlie. His personality is as flamboyant as his taste in 
             colorful clothes. Charlie was a pleasure to work with and 
             did a fine job for us. I will tell you, it was great fun 
             to have Charlie join us for a few days on the campaign 
             trail. Fran and I were so happy to see Charlie back.
               My current communications director is Mike Dawson. I 
             first met Mike when I was running for Governor in 1989. 
             Mike, whom I did not know, came to me and kept coming to 
             me and said: ``Hey, I want to work for you, I want to help 
             you on your campaign.'' We finally said yes, and he was on 
             the campaign. He worked on my Governor's race and then my 
             Lieutenant Governor's race when I joined George in his bid 
             for Governor. Mike worked in the Voinovich administration, 
             he worked for Senator Voinovich, and he has been my 
             communications director for the last 5 years. I am 
             grateful for his wise counsel. He is my friend. I will 
             always remember what he has done for me.
               I have had one State director while I have been in the 
             Senate. That has been Barbara Schenck. Barbara worked with 
             me when I was Lieutenant Governor. She is truly one of the 
             finest individuals I have ever known. She is smart; she is 
             articulate; she is spirited; yes, she is feisty; and she 
             is passionate. She is also extremely compassionate. She 
             has been my right hand in Ohio. I talked to her many days 
             six, seven, eight times. I can't imagine not working with 
             her in the days ahead, but I know she is going to do some 
             amazing things. Barbara, you are the greatest. Thank you.
               Finally, my chief of staff, Laurel Pressler Dawson. I 
             truly believe-- I have not checked this--that she has been 
             chief of staff to a Senator and a Congressman probably 
             longer than anybody in this body. Laurel has been my chief 
             of staff since January 1983 when I entered the U.S. House 
             of Representatives. We have seen and been through so much 
             together in our personal lives, as well as professional. 
             She has been there during the great tragedies in my 
             family. She has always been there. When our daughter Becky 
             died, she was at the hospital. She was the one who came.
               She was the one person who had the ability to tell me 
             no, and I would listen to her. Everybody needs someone who 
             tells them ``no'' and listens to them. I have been 
             privileged to have her be my most trusted adviser for over 
             two decades. She always just got it done. She managed my 
             organization with great skill. I cannot thank her enough 
             for all she has done for me and for my family.
               As my colleagues in the Senate are well aware, Fran and 
             I have a big family. We are blessed. We are parents of 8 
             children, now the grandparents of 10 grandchildren. I 
             would like to take a couple minutes to talk about my 
             family before I end.
               First, I thank my oldest child, my son Patrick. I always 
             turned to Pat for his thoughts on policy and politics and 
             have so appreciated his help in my campaigns and his keen 
             advice and his input. Pat's three boys--Michael, Matthew, 
             and Brian--are a delight. They are a delight every day. 
             They were a delight to have on the campaign trail. I thank 
             each of them for all their hard work and their efforts.
               I thank my daughter Jill, her husband Bill, and their 
             children, Albert, Isabelle, David, Caroline, Justin, and 
             newborn Mary Frances. Jill and Bill and the kids walked in 
             so many parades this summer and fall and throughout the 
             years, as all our kids have. I can count them. They have 
             always been so helpful and supportive. I thank Bill for 
             his expertise on issues regarding persons with 
             disabilities. He has helped me understand the needs of 
             those with disabilities. He has helped me do more to help 
             them.
               Our son John recently completed his Ph.D. in ecology. 
             Fran and I are so proud of him. He and his wife Michele 
             and their sweet little daughter Josie Jean have recently 
             moved to West Virginia, where John is now working on river 
             restoration.
               Our son Brian is engaged to Kalie Spink. They are 
             planning their wedding for this coming April. Fran and I 
             are so looking forward to that and looking forward to 
             having Kalie join our family. Brian works in the best job 
             probably in the family. He works for a minor league 
             baseball team, the Carolina Mudcats. I envy him every day.
               I thank my daughter Alice for the sacrifices she made 
             this year to help with our campaign. She is a law student 
             at Ohio Northern University--my alma mater--and took the 
             fall semester off to work on the campaign where she was in 
             charge of coalitions. Thank you, Alice. You did a great 
             job.
               Our son Mark is a sophomore at the College of Wooster, 
             where he runs cross-country and track. Mark is a good 
             person, a person who is very compassionate. For his Eagle 
             Scout project, he traveled to Haiti, a place my colleagues 
             know is very important to Fran and myself. He planted 
             trees there. He worked with Father Tom Hagan and helped 
             with the reforestation project.
               Our daughter Anna is a freshman in high school. She is a 
             runner like all her brothers and sisters. She is a sweet, 
             quiet, caring young woman. She has put up with a lot this 
             past year with her mom and dad being gone quite a bit of 
             the time, going back and forth between Washington and 
             Ohio. But she has handled it so well. We are very proud of 
             her.
               To each of my children and grandchildren, Mr. President, 
             I simply want to say thank you and I love you.
               As an only child growing up, I was dating Frances in 
             high school and I used to love going over to her house 
             because she had a big family. There was always something 
             going on. I want to thank Fran's brothers and sisters and 
             their families for all they have done for us over the 
             years, their friendship and love and help and support. We 
             are so very fortunate to have all of them in our lives. I 
             want to thank Fran's parents especially, Bill and Mary 
             Struewing. You are great. No one could have a better 
             mother-in-law and father-in-law. You have put up with me 
             since Fran and I started dating in high school, for a long 
             time, and for that I am very grateful.
               Of course, I want to thank my parents, Dick and Jean 
             DeWine. I have talked about my dad on the Senate floor 
             many times in regard to the K-Company and what he did 
             during World War II. I could not have asked for two more 
             wonderful parents. They always believed in me. They gave 
             me my interest in politics. They gave me their values. 
             They gave me their work ethic, and I owe them everything, 
             and I love them very much.
               Finally, every day I think of our daughter Becky who 
             died in 1993. Becky was a compassionate, honest, caring 
             young woman who would have done so much with her life. I 
             think of her every day. The things that Fran and I do for 
             children, we do in her memory.
               In conclusion, I love Ohio. I love our country. I see a 
             great future for both my State and for America. I am an 
             optimist. My wife Fran says that anybody with 8 kids by 
             definition is an optimist, and I am an optimist. 
             Throughout my career in the Senate and after I leave, I 
             will continue to care about the health, education and 
             welfare of our kids. I will continue to care about 
             stopping the spread of AIDS around the globe. I will 
             continue to help improve the lives of our world's most 
             impoverished men, women, and children. I will continue to 
             care about highway safety and the importance of making our 
             cars and roads safer. I will continue to care about making 
             our communities safe for our families, safe from crime, 
             safe from terrorism.
               As I leave the Senate, however, I leave behind 
             unfinished business, as we all do, and I encourage my 
             colleagues to continue the work we shared on so many 
             different issues.
               Just this week I introduced the Pediatric Medical Device 
             bill with Senator Dodd, a bill that will help ensure that 
             our children have access to lifesaving medical devices 
             that are designed specifically for small bodies. I hope 
             someone will take up that cause.
               I thank my colleague Ted Kennedy for working with me, 
             and I was working with him, on the bill to give the Food 
             and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco. 
             It is long past due. It needs to happen. It has not 
             passed, but it will. I know it will pass. I know it will 
             pass, because it is the right thing to do.
               Two days ago I introduced a bill to make cars and roads 
             safer for our families, especially our children. That bill 
             would simply direct the National Highway Traffic and 
             Safety Administration to research new ways to keep 
             pregnant women and their unborn children safer in our 
             cars. I hope someone will take that up as well.
               I will finally conclude my remarks by thanking the most 
             important person in my life, my bride of 39 years, Fran. 
             As most people know, I would be literally lost without 
             her. She takes care of me. She takes care of our family. 
             She is our rock. Fran is my partner in all things. She is 
             my best friend. She is the passion of my life. She is my 
             love. She is everything to me. We met in the first grade. 
             It took me until the seventh grade to talk her into going 
             out on a date with me, and it took me 7 more years to 
             convince her to marry me. I am a persistent man. We got 
             married between our sophomore and junior years at Miami. 
             We tell people it was a productive 4 years at Miami. We 
             ended up with two degrees and two children by the time we 
             left. I could not have done any of this without her by my 
             side.
               She has been through every one of my campaigns. She has 
             done everything. Thirty ice cream socials for 2,500 people 
             who just dropped by her house on a Sunday. She has done 
             that for 30 years. She does anything and everything. She 
             is smart, she is witty, she is organized, and she is very 
             compassionate. She accomplishes more than anyone I know, 
             and she never stops working. I love her more than anything 
             else in the world. Someone said to me earlier this year 
             that if I lost my reelection bid, it wouldn't be so bad, 
             because even if I lost my Senate seat, Fran would still be 
             there by my side. They were right. And for that, I am very 
             fortunate.
               Mr. President, my colleagues, my friends, come visit us 
             in Ohio. That is where we will be. After this month, we 
             will be in our home in the county where we grew up, the 
             county where we were born, the county where we live. We 
             will be home in Greene County. Come see us. You are always 
             welcome.
               I thank the Chair for his indulgence, and my colleagues.
               I yield the floor.


                                           

                                      TRIBUTES

                                         TO

                                     MIKE DeWINE
                              Proceedings in the Senate
                                              Monday, November 13, 2006
               Mr. SALAZAR. ... I will say this as well. In the days 
             ahead, we will hear many things about some of our 
             colleagues, some of whom are newcomers to our institution, 
             the U.S. Senate, and some of them who are leaving. For me, 
             it is a sad day that Senator Chafee and Senator DeWine, 
             who were members of the Gang of 14, will not be around to 
             be a part of that future bipartisan coalition that we are 
             going to have to have in the Senate. But I hope, on the 
             side of both the Democrats and the Republicans, that there 
             is a great number of Members of the Senate on both sides 
             of the aisle who will come together to address those 
             significant issues that face us as a country. ...
                                           Wednesday, November 15, 2006
               Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I say to my colleague, 
             Senator DeWine, those have been very moving tributes to 
             fallen soldiers from his State of Ohio. He has set a good 
             example for all of us in recognizing the service and 
             sacrifice of those from his home State. I find as I listen 
             to those tributes that they are extremely well done. I 
             thank the Senator for that.
               I also wish to acknowledge that the Senator from Ohio 
             will be leaving at the end of this term and that I have 
             very much appreciated working with him. He has been one of 
             the very serious Members of this body, and we are going to 
             miss him. I wanted to say to him that I certainly 
             appreciate his service in the Senate. He has always been a 
             constructive colleague, somebody who was working 
             diligently to try to solve problems facing the country. We 
             very much appreciate his dedication to the country.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.

               Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I thank my colleague and tell 
             him that I have enjoyed working with him very much. We 
             have worked on things together. You can work across the 
             aisle in this body and get things done. I thank him for 
             his very kind and generous words.
                                            Thursday, November 16, 2006
               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, a few moments ago, our 
             colleague from the State of Ohio, Senator Mike DeWine, 
             gave tribute to three Ohioans who lost their lives in 
             Iraq. I listened to these carefully and I hope others did 
             as well. They were beautiful life stories, beautifully 
             written, beautifully spoken by the Senator. I went up to 
             him afterward and asked him how many Ohioans had lost 
             their lives in Iraq. He said the number was 140. He has 
             given 90 tributes on the floor and hopes before he leaves 
             the Senate in a few weeks to finish the last 50. He is 
             determined to get it done as a tribute to these families. 
             He said: It is about all we can do, isn't it? He is right. 
             It says a lot about Mike DeWine, a lot that many of us 
             already knew.
               I came to Congress with Mike in 1982. I recall we were 
             both elected to the House of Representatives. I was from 
             the central part of Illinois and he was from Ohio. We had 
             a dinner at the White House. I recall that his wife Fran, 
             who had just had a baby a few days before, came in her 
             beautiful gown with her husband Mike in a tuxedo, carrying 
             a basket with their baby in it. They sat down next to 
             Loretta and myself for dinner with President Reagan that 
             night. I have joked about that because I met that little 
             girl recently. She has grown up now, and we remembered the 
             first time we ever laid eyes on her.
               Mike and I have worked on so many things--the global 
             AIDS epidemic. He has been my go-to guy on the Republican 
             side of the aisle. When I had absolutely given up any hope 
             of passing legislation for hundreds of millions of dollars 
             to save hundreds of millions of lives, Mike managed to 
             help out in many different ways.
               He invited me once to travel to Haiti with him. Haiti is 
             a DeWine family project. Mike and Fran have made over 15 
             trips to that poor island and have met with so many people 
             there in orphanages and on streets trying to help them. 
             There is a little school in Port-au-Prince, the Becky 
             DeWine School, named after Mike and Fran's late daughter. 
             They have poured more love and resources into that school 
             for some of the poorest kids on this planet than we could 
             ever count. They worked together with Father Tom of Hands 
             Together and so many other great charities that have done 
             such work.
               As I listened to Mike tonight give his tributes to these 
             Ohio soldiers, I was reminded what a quality individual he 
             is. Elections come and go. People win and people lose. But 
             the quality of Mike DeWine's service to the Senate on 
             behalf of the people of Ohio is written large in the 
             history of this institution.
               I thank him for his friendship and for his leadership. I 
             wish him, Fran, and the entire family the very best in 
             whatever their future endeavors might entail.
                                              Tuesday, December 5, 2006
               Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, I have listened carefully to 
             our colleague from Ohio [Mr. DeWine], spending his few 
             minutes in the Senate talking about brave men and women 
             who serve our country. It is the mark of our colleague 
             from Ohio, the kind of person he is--not just the kind of 
             Senator he is--that he would come to the floor of the 
             Senate in his last few days as a Member of this 
             institution and focus on others, focus on those who have 
             given the ultimate sacrifice for their families, for our 
             country and for our future. It shows us, once again, that 
             Senator DeWine is the consummate Senator.
               I am here this afternoon to recognize and thank and pay 
             tribute to our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate. 
             They are a varied group. Again, I can think of no finer 
             example of this group of public servants than one of 
             Senator DeWine's last speeches in the Senate to recognize 
             others.
               I thank you, Senator DeWine, for your service.
               As we recognize, it is a distinct privilege and high 
             honor to serve our country in any capacity, and certainly 
             none higher than in uniform. But it is especially 
             important that we recognize those who have given years of 
             their lives, sacrificing their families, their own time, 
             to help make a better world for all of us. I know of no 
             capacity in which we serve our country that has given 
             those who have had this rare opportunity to serve in the 
             Senate anything more noble than trying to shape a better 
             world from this Senate.
               These individuals who will leave the Senate, some on 
             their own terms, some on the terms of the election, but, 
             nonetheless, in their own specific way have contributed a 
             great deal to this country.
               I take a few minutes to recognize each. I start with our 
             colleague, your dear friend, former Lieutenant Governor, 
             the senior Senator from Ohio. I need not tell the 
             distinguished Presiding Officer what Senator DeWine has 
             meant to his State and to this country. I had the 
             privilege of serving on the Intelligence Committee with 
             Senator DeWine for 4 years. I have teamed up with Senator 
             DeWine over the years on many legislative matters. I don't 
             know of an individual who cares more, contributes more, to 
             what they believe, than Senator DeWine. His years of 
             service in the House, the Senate, and as Lieutenant 
             Governor are to be recognized. We should thank him and 
             tell him that we will miss him and we will especially miss 
             a friend. ...
               Mr. President, in conclusion, it is not easy to put 
             one's self on the firing line and offer one's self as a 
             candidate for any office. It takes a certain amount of 
             courage and, I suspect, a little dose of insanity. But 
             nonetheless individuals who believe deeply enough to 
             commit themselves to a cause greater than their own self-
             interests need to be recognized. Having nothing to do with 
             me or you or any one individual, but it is the essence of 
             our country, it is the very fabric of our democracy that 
             makes it all work and probably gives rise to, more than 
             any one reason, why we have been such a successful nation 
             for over 200 years--because people from all walks of life, 
             in every community, in every State, offer themselves for 
             office. Whether it is a mayor, a Governor, city 
             councilman, county official, a sheriff, these individuals 
             deserve recognition.
               We all make mistakes. That is who we are. But in the 
             end, it is not unlike what Teddy Roosevelt once referred 
             to in his magnificent quote about the man in the arena. 
             And it is the man and the woman in the arena who change 
             our lives. It makes a better world that shapes history, 
             that defines our destiny. And for these individuals who 
             will no longer have that opportunity to serve our country 
             in the Senate, we wish them well, we thank them, and we 
             tell them we are proud of them and their families and wish 
             them Godspeed.
               Mr. President, I thank you for the time and yield the 
             floor.

               Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise to speak about our 
             senior Senator from Ohio, Mike DeWine. Let me begin by 
             saying this is a speech I hoped I would never have to 
             give. For many in this Chamber, winter came a little early 
             this year. A blizzard of political change swept through 
             the country and, unfortunately, many were unable to 
             weather the storm; in my particular case, in our State, 
             through no fault of their own.
               Mike DeWine was one of the most effective legislators we 
             have in the U.S. Senate. He was a victim of this storm. I 
             am deeply saddened that our respective colleagues will not 
             be joining us when we congregate again for the 110th 
             Congress. Mike's tireless commitment to legislating, his 
             willingness and ability to work with both parties, and his 
             ingenuity will be sorely missed by everyone in the Senate 
             and the State of Ohio.
               Mike has served the people of Ohio for more than 30 
             years, beginning as an assistant county prosecutor in 
             1976. He served as Green County prosecutor for 4 years, 
             State senator for 2 years, Congressman for 8 years, and he 
             was my Lieutenant Governor for 4 years when I was Governor 
             of Ohio. And, of course, he has served us for 12 years as 
             our U.S. Senator. He is one of the most effective and 
             least partisan Members in this body.
               During campaign season, some of our colleagues on the 
             other side of the aisle kept asking me: How is Mike doing, 
             how is he doing? Frankly, I think they were secretly 
             hoping his poll numbers would be strong enough that he 
             would not become a target. Unfortunately, those numbers 
             never got up to that place, and he ended up being a 
             target.
               Far too many Members see differences between Republicans 
             and Democrats as an unsurpassable deep divide. Not Mike 
             DeWine. Over and over again, Mike built bridges between 
             our parties, and he got things done for America and for 
             Ohio. Janet and I feel like Mike and his wonderful wife 
             Fran are part of our family. After working with Mike for 
             the past 16 years, I can tell you that there is something 
             special about him. In fact, right from the start, I knew 
             there was something refreshingly different about Mike 
             DeWine.
               The inception of our friendship came in 1990, when Mike 
             and I were both running in the Republican primary for 
             Governor of Ohio. It was a crowded field with Mike, Bob 
             Taft, and me vying for the Governor's slot. It was then we 
             really got to know each other. We talked about what would 
             be the best for Ohio and for the Republican Party and, 
             quite frankly, for our respective political futures. We 
             decided to combine our efforts as running mates, and Mike 
             agreed to run as my Lieutenant Governor.
               I knew this was a very tough decision for Mike because 
             he wanted to be Governor and was giving up a very safe 
             congressional seat to run for State office. At that 
             moment, I knew I had a first-rate partner, a man with 
             great character and humility as well as unique political 
             poise and promise. Both of us knew we had a long, tough 
             race ahead of us with no guarantees. This was not a layup 
             shot. There was a real question of whether we were going 
             to be successful. He had given up a safe seat in the U.S. 
             Congress, with a big family. But we had a great time 
             running for State office. Mike had an opportunity to 
             connect with the State as a whole. I remember when he and 
             Fran packed the kids in the van and traveled every inch of 
             Ohio, becoming intimate with the Appalachian east, its 
             manufacturing north, and its interior farmland.
               We went on to win the general election and, as I like to 
             say, together we did it. Together we won the election, and 
             together we charted a new course for Ohio.
               As Lieutenant Governor, Mike took over the State's 
             criminal justice agencies, where he led the fight against 
             crime and illegal drugs. It was a relief to have Mike as 
             my partner when we had the Lucasville riots which broke 
             out on Easter Sunday in 1993. It was the largest prison 
             disturbance in the history of the United States, 
             generating a great deal of national tension. Mike's 
             background in criminal justice and his close relationship 
             with law enforcement helped us respond quickly and 
             effectively. It could have been a tragedy, but 
             fortunately, together, and with the help of the Holy 
             Spirit, we made it through.
               In 1992, when the Ohio Republican Party needed a 
             challenger to run against the famous astronaut and giant 
             in Ohio politics, John Glenn, Mike was the obvious choice. 
             He and Fran worked tirelessly to win that seat. 
             Unfortunately, victory was not in the cards that year but 
             triumph was imminent. Two years later, Mike became a U.S. 
             Senator and our party swept the State, just as the 
             Democrats did this year in Ohio. Mike returned to 
             Washington as a U.S. Senator with more perspective, more 
             experience, and more insight into the challenges facing 
             Ohio than when he left the Congress as a Member of the 
             House of Representatives. Without a lot of fanfare, he 
             quietly went to work.
               Of course, Mike has been shaped by many things. It is 
             impossible to talk about his achievements in public 
             service without mentioning the terrible misfortune he and 
             Fran experienced back in 1994. I will never forget the day 
             Mike and Fran lost their daughter Becky. I am familiar 
             with the tremendous pain they suffered. The day that 
             changed their lives sticks in my memory, much like the day 
             Janet and I lost our daughter Molly. Mike translated the 
             love he and Fran had for Becky into his work in the 
             Senate. He became a champion for our youth and for those 
             who cannot represent themselves. That is why today I am 
             hard pressed to think of anyone who has not been helped by 
             Mike DeWine.
               His legislative achievements, which span both domestic 
             and foreign policy, reflect his effectual and 
             compassionate nature. Mike has shown tremendous dedication 
             toward improving the safety of our highway system. He not 
             only amended the 2005 highway bill to make preferences for 
             highways noted as being unsafe, but he also allocated more 
             than $56 million of SAFETEA-LU, intended for improving 
             highway safety.
               He succeeded in getting further testing and approval of 
             medications for children. He helped establish a national 
             toll-free poison control hotline. He acted on behalf of 
             the children of U.S. service members to make sure they had 
             access to affordable health care. And he has stood up for 
             foster children to make sure they are protected and to 
             help them find adoptive parents.
               Time after time, Senator DeWine has protected Ohio. He 
             was a critical voice in passing the Senate pension bill 
             which helped ensure that workers' futures in Ohio are on 
             better footing. He is a cosponsor of the Health 
             Partnership Act because he understands how important 
             health care reform is to Ohioans and to this country. He 
             helped ensure that our fire departments are better 
             equipped to fulfill their missions as first responders.
               During the BRAC process, he worked to keep Federal 
             facilities, such as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 
             Dayton and the Defense Finance and Accounting Center in 
             Cleveland and Columbus, open and operating. And he led a 
             new mission for Ohio's NASA-Glenn in Cleveland. Today 
             these facilities are thriving and contributing to Ohio's 
             aerospace industry and national defense. I don't think 
             there was a State in the country that benefited more from 
             the BRAC process than Ohio, and it is attributable to the 
             outstanding leadership Mike DeWine gave all of us in terms 
             of that BRAC process.
               Mike has also been a friend of the Jewish community and 
             has made it a priority to help stamp out anti-Semitism and 
             intolerance in America. He played a pivotal role in 
             helping disclose previously classified documents about 
             Nazi aggression, legislation that made those records 
             available to the public through the National Archives and 
             Records Administration. Today, thanks to Mike, doctors, 
             nurses, and aid workers are more prepared to confront the 
             global AIDS epidemic.
               Mike has carried a heavy burden while he has been in the 
             Senate. He sits on the Judiciary Committee, the HELP 
             Committee, and the Intelligence Committee. He also sits on 
             one of the most prestigious committees in the Senate, 
             Appropriations. In fact, Mike was the first Ohioan in 50 
             years to sit on Appropriations. His position of 
             leadership--and the resources he has been able to bring 
             back to Ohio--has made a tremendous difference for our 
             State and a tremendous difference in the lives of the 
             people of our State. I used to joke with Mike that my job 
             as the debt hawk was to make sure we didn't spend the 
             money. But once we decided we were going to spend it, his 
             job was to make sure Ohio got its fair share. And boy, did 
             he do a good job.
               These are just a handful of examples where my close 
             friend and colleague Mike DeWine has made a difference. 
             His legislative accomplishments and his legacy of 
             principled public service have had a deep impact on all of 
             our lives. The Senate will suffer a loss without Mike. But 
             he will not slip out of the Senate. He will walk out these 
             doors with his head held high because he can feel good 
             about all he has given to the people of Ohio and to the 
             United States of America. He has truly made a difference 
             in their lives.
               Married for more than 39 years, Mike and Fran are 
             parents to 8 children and grandparents to 10. They have 
             been blessed with much happiness and success, and they 
             have carved out many meaningful paths during their life 
             together.
               While Mike will be missed, I am confident that he and 
             Fran will begin something new in this next chapter of 
             their lives. They have both been given so much. I believe 
             that God does have a plan. Sometimes we are not sure about 
             what it is, but God does have a plan.
               I am reminded of one of my favorite verses from the 
             Bible, Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6:

               Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and learn not 
             unto your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge 
             Him, and He will direct your path.

               Mike will be missed. But I know the Holy Spirit will 
             continue to inspire Mike and Fran as they embark on a new 
             journey together.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thune). The Senator from 
             Ohio, Mr. DeWine, is recognized.

               Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I thank my dear friend--the 
             now junior Senator from Ohio, who in January will become 
             the senior Senator from Ohio--for those very generous and 
             kind comments.
               George Voinovich and I first got to know each other in 
             1989. I will not repeat the story the Senator recounted, 
             but we got together and formed a partnership that has 
             lasted until today. I gave up my run for Governor and 
             joined with George as his Lieutenant Governor candidate. 
             We won and, as they say, the rest is history. George was a 
             great Governor for 8 years. I was his Lieutenant Governor 
             for the first 4 of those years. We worked very closely 
             during that period of time, of course, and after I went to 
             the Senate, when he was still Governor. We have worked 
             even closer since he has been a Senator from Ohio. So I 
             thank him. George Voinovich and Janet are dear friends. 
             They are people whom we care very much about. George is a 
             great public servant, and I appreciate him very much and 
             am touched, frankly, by his very kind comments.
                                            Wednesday, December 6, 2006
               Mr. REED. Mr. President, this is an opportunity to 
             recognize the service of several of our colleagues who are 
             departing from the Senate. To Senator Jeffords, Senator 
             Frist, Senator DeWine, Senator Talent, Senator Santorum, 
             Senator Burns, and Senator Allen, let me express my 
             appreciation for their service to their States and their 
             service to the Nation and wish them well. ...
               To all my colleagues who served and conclude their 
             service, let me once again express deep appreciation for 
             their friendship and for their service to the Nation.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, we are coming to the end 
             of the session and 10 of our colleagues are retiring. I 
             want to say a word about them ...
               Or Mike DeWine, with his 8 children and 10th grandchild, 
             whose heart is nearly as big as he is. He lost a child, 
             and he and Fran have gone to Haiti time after time after 
             time to help people there who need help. ...
               When the most recent class of Senators was sworn into 
             office nearly 2 years ago, in the gallery were three 
             women. One was the grandmother of Barack Obama. She was 
             from Kenya. One was the mother of Senator Salazar, a 10th 
             generation American. One was the mother of Mel Martinez, 
             the new Republican National Committee chairman, who, with 
             her husband, put her son on an airplane when he was 14 
             years old and sent him from Cuba to the United States, not 
             knowing if she would ever see him again.
               In a way, each one of us who is here is an accident. 
             None of us knew we would be here. Each of us is privileged 
             to serve, and one of the greatest privileges is to serve 
             with our colleagues. We will miss them and we are grateful 
             for their service.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. ALLEN. Mr. President, as the time for my departure 
             from the Senate draws near, on behalf of the greatest 
             blessing in my life, my wife Susan, and on behalf of 
             myself, I thank all of my colleagues for their many 
             courtesies and friendships that have been forged during 
             the past 6 years. I offer a few concluding reflections 
             about our time here together, as well as about the future 
             of our Republic. ...

               Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I see others who 
             wish to speak, and I will make a couple of brief comments.
               In the comments of the Senator from Virginia [Mr. 
             Allen], his final couple of comments recalled for me a 
             statement made in the closing of the Constitutional 
             Convention in Philadelphia, when on the back of the chair 
             of the presiding officer was a sunburst. Someone opined in 
             that Constitutional Convention: Dr. Franklin, is that a 
             rising sun or is it a setting sun? And Franklin ventured 
             to say that with the birth of the new Nation, with the 
             creation of the new Constitution, that he thought it was a 
             rising sun.
               Indeed, it is that hope of which the Senator from 
             Virginia has just spoken that motivates this Senator from 
             Florida to get up and go to work every day, and to look at 
             this Nation's challenges, not as a Democratic problem or a 
             Republican problem, but as an American problem, that needs 
             to be solved in an American way instead of a partisan way.
               We have had far too much partisanship over the last 
             several years across this land, and, indeed, in this 
             Chamber itself. And of the Senators who are leaving this 
             Chamber, I think they represent the very best of America, 
             and on occasion have risen in a bipartisan way. It has 
             been this Senator's great privilege to work with these 
             Senators: Allen of Virginia, Burns of Montana, Chafee of 
             Rhode Island, Dayton of Minnesota, DeWine of Ohio, Frist 
             of Tennessee, Jeffords of Vermont, Santorum of 
             Pennsylvania, Sarbanes of Maryland, Talent of Missouri.
               As the Good Book in Ecclesiastes says: There is a time 
             to be born and a time to die. There is a time to get up, 
             and a time to go to bed. There is a time for a beginning, 
             and there is a time of ending.
               For these Senators who are leaving, it is clearly not an 
             ending. It is an ending of this chapter in their lives, 
             but this Senator from Florida wanted to come and express 
             his appreciation for their public service, to admonish 
             those where admonishment is needed when this Chamber, 
             indeed, this Government, has gotten too partisan, but to 
             express this Senator's appreciation for the quiet moments 
             of friendship and reflection and respect in working 
             together, which is the glue that makes this Government 
             run.
               Whether you call it bipartisanship, whether you call it 
             friendship, whether you call it mutual respect, whatever 
             you call it, the way you govern a nation as large and as 
             complicated and as diverse as our Nation is--as the Good 
             Book says: Come, let us reason together--that is what this 
             Senator tries to be about. And that is what this Senator 
             will try to continue to do in the new dawn of a new 
             Congress. So I wanted to come and express my appreciation 
             for those Senators who will not be here, for the great 
             public service they have rendered.
               Mr. President, I am truly grateful for their personal 
             friendship and for their public service.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. DURBIN. ... I also express my best wishes to my 
             colleagues on the other side of the aisle leaving the 
             Senate at the end of this session. I already made mention 
             of Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio. So many times over the 10 
             years that I served in the Senate I walked across the 
             aisle searching for an ally and found Mike DeWine. Whether 
             it was a fight to put more efforts into the global AIDS 
             effort to reduce the deaths around the world or an effort 
             to reach out and provide assistance to Haiti, a country 
             which my friend Mike DeWine has adopted, time and time 
             again he rose to that challenge. Debt reduction in 
             Africa--so many other issues. His speech today on the 
             floor was just another indication of the kind of 
             compassion that he brought to service in the Senate.
               Elections come and go but the record that has been 
             written by my friend Senator Mike DeWine will endure. ...
               I wish all of my colleagues who are retiring well as 
             they begin the next chapters of their careers.

               Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell 
             to several of my friends here in Washington. Too often we 
             get caught up here in the back-and-forth of politics and 
             lose sight of the contributions of those with whom we work 
             every day. It is only at moments such as these, at the end 
             of a cycle, that we have a moment to reflect on the 
             contributions of our colleagues. And while we may not 
             always see eye to eye, this Senate is losing several 
             admirable contributors who have made many sacrifices to 
             serve our democracy. ...
               A number of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
             will be departing in January, as well. There is our 
             colleague from Virginia, Senator Allen, who wears, in my 
             opinion, the second best pair of boots in the Senate. 
             There is Senator Santorum of Pennsylvania, whose passion 
             is admirable and whose energy is always enviable. Also 
             leaving us is my colleague in the centrist Gang of 14 that 
             helped bring this Senate back from the abyss; Senator 
             DeWine of Ohio, who will head back to the Buckeye State 
             with my respect and admiration; and my friend Senator 
             Talent from Missouri, with whom I spent many hours in the 
             Agriculture Committee working to level the playing field 
             for America's farmers and ranchers. We will miss Senator 
             Chafee of Rhode Island's independence and his clear voice 
             for fiscal discipline in Washington. And we will miss 
             Senator Burns of Montana, who shares my passion for rural 
             America and who is headed home to Big Sky Country, back to 
             the Rockies that I know we both miss so much. ...
               America, when held to its finest ideals, is more than a 
             place on the globe or a work in progress. It is the 
             inspiration to those around the world and here at home to 
             seek out excellence within themselves and their beliefs. 
             It has been a pleasure to work alongside each of these 
             gentlemen, who have helped me as I have found my way, 
             sometimes literally, through the halls of the Senate, in 
             the pursuit of these greater ideals that we all share: 
             security, prosperity, and an America that we leave better 
             than when we arrived. These ideals will resonate here long 
             after we all are gone and another generation stands in our 
             place making the decisions of its day.

               Mr. BYRD. ... Mr. President, with the conclusion of the 
             109th Congress, Senator DeWine will be leaving us.
               I do not want to say farewell to him, but to thank him 
             for being a congenial colleague and an outstanding 
             Senator, a Senator who truly appreciated this Chamber, its 
             traditions, and the way it is supposed to work.
               For 12 years, he was an effective Senator, a Senator who 
             built a long, impressive list of legislative 
             accomplishments on a wide range of issues, largely, I 
             believe, because of his willingness to reach out, and to 
             work with Members on this side of the aisle. In a true 
             bipartisan spirit, he worked with my dear friend, Senator 
             Kennedy, to increase Federal regulation of tobacco.
               He worked with Senator Dodd for a bill to provide health 
             screening for newborns.
               He worked with Senator Paul Wellstone on legislation 
             that revamped job training programs, and with Senator 
             Lautenberg on bills to crack down on drunk drivers.
               With Senator Clinton, he promoted legislation to ensure 
             that drug companies do a better job in studying the 
             effects of their products on children.
               For nearly a decade, whether in the majority or the 
             minority, Senator DeWine cooperated with Senator Kohl in 
             running the Antitrust Subcommittee on a bipartisan basis, 
             and in the process, helped provide Americans with cheaper 
             phone service, more choices on television, and direct 
             flights home for the holidays.
               He teamed up with my colleague from West Virginia, 
             Senator Rockefeller, in promoting legislation that changed 
             the Government's emphasis in child custody cases from 
             preserving family structure to protecting the best 
             interests of the child.
               Indeed, caring for and protecting America's children was 
             a major focus of his tenure in the Senate, and I applaud 
             him for it. His concern for children, among other 
             concerns, led him to successfully push for legislation to 
             improve school bus safety and tougher child pornography 
             laws.
               I, of course, know Senator DeWine best from his service 
             on the Senate Appropriations Committee. He chaired the 
             District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee, which I 
             know from personal experience is no easy chore. It is one 
             of the most difficult and thankless tasks in the Senate, 
             and he did it very effectively. One of his objectives in 
             this position was to reform the District's child welfare 
             system--and, again, I know from personal experience, just 
             how difficult and thankless reforming the District's 
             welfare system can be. Senator DeWine worked at it, and 
             had some outstanding successes.
               Senator DeWine and I worked together to enact and defend 
             the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, a trade law 
             that returns to injured companies and workers the duties 
             that are collected by Customs on unfairly traded imports. 
             He also supported the enactment of the Emergency Steel 
             Loan Guarantee Program--a program that has kept Wheeling-
             Pittsburgh Steel in business and over 3,000 people 
             employed for decades. It is well recognized that, if the 
             program had not provided Wheeling-Pitt with its loan 
             guarantee, the company would no longer exist.
               I will always remember Senator DeWine as a Senator who 
             took the risk to help preserve the Senate as it was handed 
             down to us by the Framers of our Constitution, and all the 
             great lawmakers who served in this Chamber before us. 
             Senator DeWine was of the seven Republicans who helped 
             form the so-called Gang of 14 to help block the majority 
             leader's determination to use the ``nuclear option'' that 
             would have destroyed the U.S. Senate as a unique 
             institution.
               I know this effort cost him support from members of his 
             own party, and from folks back home. It reminds me of the 
             words of Senator John F. Kennedy, who wrote:

               If the American people comprehended the terrible 
             pressures which discourage acts of political courage, 
             which drive a Senator to abandon or subdue his conscience, 
             then they might be less critical of those who take the 
             easier road--and more appreciative of those still able to 
             follow the path of courage.

               For 12 years Senator DeWine took the path of political 
             courage.
               Mr. President, shortly after coming to this Chamber, 
             Senator DeWine remarked, ``when you go to the Senate, you 
             don't know how long you'll be there. So you want to use 
             your time wisely.'' In his two terms in the Senate, 
             Senator DeWine used his time wisely and effectively. As he 
             leaves the Senate, he should take pride in the knowledge 
             that his presence here may well have saved this sacred 
             institution, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank him 
             for it.
               I wish him and his wife Fran health, happiness and 
             never-ending success as they begin the next phase of their 
             lives and careers. ...

               Mr. FEINGOLD. ... Mr. President, I am pleased to pay 
             tribute to Senator Mike DeWine, who has served Ohio, and 
             the Senate, with honor and integrity during his 12-year 
             tenure in this body.
               I am pleased to have worked with him on a wide range of 
             issues over the years, including reforming children's 
             health care and Medicaid. We also worked together quite 
             frequently on other issues of importance to this Nation, 
             and he has been a valuable colleague on both the Senate 
             Judiciary Committee and the Senate Select Intelligence 
             Committee. Although we did not see eye to eye on every 
             issue, we found common ground on several initiatives 
             including passing stricter antitrust legislation.
               Together with Senator Dick Durbin, we introduced the 
             Clean Diamonds Act, a bill to ensure that the United 
             States is not participating in the conflict diamond trade. 
             This bill would prohibit the importation of diamonds from 
             countries that fail to implement a clearly articulated 
             system of controls on rough diamonds. Senator DeWine 
             believed in the international community's responsibility 
             to stop the trade in conflict diamonds, and I have been 
             proud to work with him in that effort.
               I also want to take a moment to recognize Senator 
             DeWine's dedication to honoring fallen service members 
             from Ohio. By coming to the floor to pay tribute to those 
             who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has 
             reminded all of us of the tremendous debt we owe these 
             brave men and women in uniform.
               I thank him for his leadership and his service to Ohio 
             and our country, and I wish him all the best as he moves 
             on to begin a new chapter in his distinguished career.

               Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I would like to express my 
             sincere appreciation to the Senator from Ohio [Mr. DeWine] 
             for allowing me to intercede for a few moments. Since he 
             is on the Senate floor and he has been so gracious as to 
             give me this time--I did not come to the floor and will 
             not talk long about Senator DeWine, but since he is on the 
             Senate floor and gave me the time, I wanted to express to 
             him my grateful appreciation for his service to the 
             Senate, not just the people of Ohio but the people of this 
             great country.
               One of the great joys I have had as a Member of the 
             Senate, having been elected 2 years ago, was to serve on 
             the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee with 
             Senator DeWine. One of my great joys I had early on as a 
             Member of this body was to watch him join the Gang of 14 
             and break the logjams, allowing us to confirm Supreme 
             Court Justices Alito and Roberts. I worked closely with 
             him on the pensions bill. Time and again, I saw his 
             tireless effort on behalf of the best interests of this 
             country and in particular always the best interests of the 
             people of Ohio.
               To Senator DeWine, not to pander because of his 
             graciousness in giving me the time but for giving me the 
             unique chance to express that, we are all very grateful.
                                             Thursday, December 7, 2006
               Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I have had the privilege of 
             being here for the 28th year beginning shortly. I 
             calculated not long ago that I have served with 261 
             individuals. I am not about to try and review all of the 
             many magnificent friendships I am privileged to have 
             through these years. Indeed, if one looks at the rewards, 
             of which there are many serving in this historic 
             institution, the Senate, it is the personal bonds, the 
             friendships that we so firmly cement and that will last a 
             lifetime as a consequence of our duties of serving the 
             United States of America and in our respective States.
               We are called ``United States'' Senators. I often 
             believe it is the first obligation, our Nation, the 
             Republic for which it stands. ...
               I would also like to pay tribute to nine other U.S. 
             Senators who will retire from the Senate in the coming 
             days. ...
               Now, I would like to take a few moments to salute our 
             majority leader, Senator Frist, as well as Senators 
             Chafee, Burns, Santorum, DeWine, Jeffords, Talent, and 
             Dayton. Each and every one of these U.S. Senators has 
             served his State and his country with great distinction.
               Without a doubt, I could speak at-length in honor of 
             each of these outstanding individuals. In light of time 
             constraints, however, and the fact that so many of my 
             colleagues wish to similarly pay tribute, I shall endeavor 
             to keep my remarks brief. ...
               Senator Mike DeWine has been in public service nearly 
             his entire adult life. He was an assistant prosecuting 
             attorney, he has held various State elected positions, he 
             was a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and 
             most recently, since 1995, he has served the State of Ohio 
             in the U.S. Senate. I am pleased to have served on the 
             HELP Committee with Senator DeWine where we worked 
             together on various children's health issues. There is not 
             a bigger champion of children's health than Senator 
             DeWine. Senator DeWine was also an instrumental member 
             with me on the Gang of 14. Throughout his years in the 
             Senate, Senator DeWine has proven to be a thoughtful, 
             highly respected Member who has always been willing to do 
             what is right. In my view, he is a true statesman. ...
               In conclusion, over the years I have served with each of 
             these 10 Senators, each has not only been a trusted 
             colleague, each has also been my friend. I will miss 
             serving with each of them in the Senate but know that each 
             will continue in public service in some capacity. I wish 
             each and every one of them well in the years ahead.
               Mr. President, I see a number of colleagues here anxious 
             to speak, and I have taken generously of the time the 
             Presiding Officer has allowed me to speak.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I say to my neighbor in West 
             Virginia [Mr. Byrd], my friend and my colleague, first of 
             all, that the poem he just recited [``Abou Ben Adhem''] is 
             one that my wife Frances and I learned in the seventh 
             grade in Yellow Springs. The Senator reciting it brings 
             back very good memories, not only of the poem but of being 
             in the seventh grade with my friends.
               There will be many things about this Senate that I will 
             miss, and certainly one that I will miss is having the 
             opportunity to sit here and to listen to my colleague from 
             West Virginia as he speaks. It is a great privilege. It is 
             a great thrill.
               I must tell him, however, that there is C-SPAN in 
             Cedarville, OH. I suspect the library does get the 
             Congressional Record at Cedarville College and other 
             places, so I will have the opportunity to listen to him 
             and read what he has to say. He is a great treasure of 
             this Senate.
               I might also tell my colleague, as I told him personally 
             yesterday, that I will carry around with me and keep with 
             me and prize the small Constitution that I know is in his 
             pocket right now that he gave me. I deeply appreciate 
             that. And I know he gave one to the Presiding Officer as 
             well.
               One of the first things I did when I came to the Senate 
             in January 1995 was walk across the hall to see Senator 
             Byrd. Senator Byrd was kind enough to give me his 
             ``History of the Senate.'' I have cherished that, have 
             read it. That will be going back with Frances and myself 
             to Ohio. If I do, I say to my colleague from West 
             Virginia, do what I hope to do--do a little teaching at 
             the college level--I am sure those books will certainly 
             come in very handy.
               I thank my colleague for his friendship and for his 
             great service now beginning this January his ninth term in 
             the Senate.
               One final note. I will tell my colleague, and I don't 
             know if I have told him this, but my son and my daughter-
             in-law and our new granddaughter now live in West 
             Virginia, so they are constituents of my colleague.

               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, will the distinguished Senator 
             yield?

               Mr. DeWINE. I am pleased to yield.

               Mr. BYRD. I thank this friend of West Virginia, this 
             friend of mine. I shall always remember as long as I 
             live--however long that may be--I shall carry in my heart 
             a very warm feeling for him. He is our neighbor. He 
             represents the people of Ohio, our neighbor to the west of 
             the West Virginia hills. I thank him for his friendship 
             and for his services to his people. His people are my 
             people. I wish him well in the days and years ahead 
             wherever he may serve. May God always bless you, my 
             friend, and may He always keep you in the palm of His 
             hand.

               Mr. DeWINE. I thank my colleague for his very generous 
             and kind comments. One final comment to say that it was 
             his great leadership, along with the great leadership of 
             Senator McCain and others, which allowed us--group is the 
             word I would prefer--a group of 14 Senators to make an 
             agreement that I think was in the best interests of the 
             Senate, and it has proved to be in the best interests of 
             the Senate, in regard to our judges and how we confirm 
             them. It has worked so far. My wish for you and my other 
             colleagues as you go on is that you will continue to keep 
             that agreement and it will continue to work. That is my 
             wish.

               Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the able Senator. I 
             shall do my best to help fulfill his confidence and 
             wishes.

               Mr. CONRAD. ... Mr. President, I rise today to pay 
             tribute and recognize the accomplishments of a colleague 
             who will be leaving the Senate at the end of this term. 
             Senator Mike DeWine has represented Ohio in the Senate for 
             12 years. During his tenure, he has been an important 
             advocate for the interests of the Buckeye State.
               Senator DeWine will be remembered for his work on the 
             Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and 
             particu1arly his success as chairman of the Subcommittee 
             on Retirement Security and Aging. He was a vital and 
             constructive member of the conference committee on the 
             Pension Protection Act, and he illustrated what can be 
             accomplished when you are willing to work across party 
             lines on a common goal.
               I have also admired Senator DeWine's commitment to our 
             Nation's children and his efforts to stop teen drug and 
             alcohol abuse, as well as crack down on tobacco companies' 
             marketing of their products to children and teens. With 
             unfailing courage, he took on those in his own party and 
             other special interests to protect our kids from harmful 
             tobacco products.
               In addition, I believe he has set a good example for all 
             of us in the Senate in how to honor those from our States 
             who have fallen in service to our Nation. With deep 
             admiration, I have listened to Senator DeWine come to the 
             floor and speak about the lives and families of Ohio 
             service men and women who have died in Iraq and other 
             fields of battle. It is clear that he understands and 
             deeply respects the sacrifices made by our troops and 
             their families.
               Mr. President, for these and many other reasons, I have 
             been honored to serve with Mike DeWine. I would like to 
             join my colleagues in wishing the Senator and his family 
             the best in the future and in paying tribute to his 
             contributions to the Senate and our Nation. I wish him 
             well.

               Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to bid farewell to 
             one of our esteemed colleagues, Mike DeWine of Ohio. It 
             has been my special joy and privilege to work closely with 
             Senator DeWine for the last decade. Since 1997, we have 
             led the Antitrust Subcommittee, each taking our turns as 
             chairman and ranking member. Thanks to Mike's honesty, 
             candor, and cooperative nature, we have forged a 
             productive bipartisan partnership as we have worked to 
             promote competition in many vital sectors of our Nation's 
             economy.
               This productive, bipartisan working relationship has 
             been a hallmark of Senator DeWine's leadership of the 
             Antitrust Subcommittee since he assumed the chairmanship 
             of the committee in 1997. From the beginning, he reached 
             out to me and established our tradition of setting our 
             agenda jointly, planning our hearings together, and even 
             sponsoring legislation and writing letters to the 
             administration jointly. We tackled together such thorny 
             issues as encouraging competition in telecommunications, 
             health care, the oil and gas, and airline industries, 
             investigating dozens of important mergers ranging from 
             AOL/Time Warner to AT&T/Bell South, and pursuing antitrust 
             reform legislation. While we have not always agreed on 
             every issue that came before our subcommittee although I 
             am happy to say we agreed more often than not--Mike DeWine 
             and I always agreed that we should put partisanship aside 
             and accomplishing practical results for the American 
             people first.
               On a personal note, our close working relationship has 
             caused me to come to know Mike DeWine very well. I have 
             come to learn that Mike is a sober-minded, hard-working, 
             and caring person. In my career, I have been privileged to 
             know and work with a few distinguished Members of this 
             Chamber whom I can truly call statesmen, leaders, and 
             friends. Mike DeWine is one of them. He will be missed.

               Mrs. CLINTON. ... Finally, I also wish the very best to 
             my Republican colleagues who will leave the Senate at the 
             conclusion of this Congress. The Senate, at its best, is a 
             body that promotes bipartisanship, deliberation, and 
             cooperation, and the dedication to shared values. It has 
             been a privilege to work with my departing colleagues on 
             the other side of the aisle.
                                               Friday, December 8, 2006
               Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I have a few more minutes 
             before the 10:30 vote, and I take this time to say a few 
             words about some of my colleagues who are retiring. We had 
             a good bit of time yesterday devoted to their tremendous 
             contributions, and as each of us, the 100 of us, do know 
             each other pretty well, I have come to the floor to say a 
             few things about several of the colleagues I have had the 
             distinct pleasure of working with very closely. ...
               Mr. President, I wish to speak about Senator DeWine, my 
             distinguished colleague from Ohio, a good friend, and a 
             man whom I have worked very closely with in our capacity 
             as appropriators. Also, we share a passion for the child 
             welfare system in this Nation, trying to improve it--of 
             course, promoting adoption, the notion that there is no 
             such thing as unwanted children, just unfound families.
               I could not but come to the floor and say that Mike 
             DeWine is literally one of the most compassionate men I 
             have ever known. That compassion is obvious to anyone who 
             works closely with him day in and day out. It is not fake. 
             It is very real. And the spiritual depths of which he and 
             his wife Fran and their children live their faith--not 
             just talk about it, not just use it as a shield to protect 
             them, but as a way to serve others--is quite 
             extraordinary.
               This Senator has seen that in him and his work, side by 
             side with him. I want my other colleagues to know that if 
             it were not for Senator Mike DeWine, the District of 
             Columbia would not have their family court, the country 
             would not have the stable families legislation he and 
             Senator Rockefeller pushed through this Chamber at a time 
             when not that many people understood the consequence of a 
             foster care system in disrepair and what happens to 
             children when they get stuck in a system that does not 
             appreciate their dignity or respect their right to a 
             family.
               Senator DeWine, a family man himself, most certainly 
             understands that and pushed that legislation through, and 
             dozens of other pieces of legislation that I had the 
             privilege to help him with, and to assist him with, and to 
             watch him lead on. So I am certainly going to miss his 
             leadership. But I will commit to him my focus on Haiti. I 
             will never be able to fill his shoes or do the work he has 
             done, but several of us intend to continue his work with 
             Haiti, the poorest nation on the Earth, and continue his 
             great passion, as much as we can, in our time here in the 
             Senate. ...
               To all of our retiring Members, I say thank you. Thank 
             you for your efforts on behalf of my State when you were 
             needed and thank you for your service to America.

               Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, before Senator DeWine leaves 
             the floor, he was speaking of a loss [Ohio soldiers killed 
             in Iraq] that he and his family and others are mourning, I 
             presume in Ohio, where I spent a number of years as an 
             undergraduate at Ohio State University. I would associate 
             myself with his remarks in extending our sympathies from 
             Delaware. We received some devastating news of our own in 
             Delaware a day or two ago with the news that Army SGT 
             Keith Fiscus had been killed in action in Iraq at the age 
             of 26. Our hearts go out to him. I will be talking more 
             about him later.
               There is a loss that we mourn as well, not the loss of a 
             life here in the Senate, but the loss of Senator DeWine 
             who will be returning to Ohio and to other challenges in 
             the days ahead. Senator DeWine and I were elected to the 
             House of Representatives in 1982. We came here together 
             with people such as John McCain, Tom Ridge, John Kasich, 
             Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Dick Durbin, and John Spratt, a 
             remarkable freshman class in the House of Representatives. 
             It was the year we elected a lot of Democrats and not 
             nearly as many Republicans. Somehow, then, Congressman 
             DeWine managed to swim against the tide and to be elected 
             against those odds in Ohio.
               He served as a Congressman of distinction, later as the 
             State's Lieutenant Governor where he trained with George 
             Voinovich, who served as Governor, and then to be elected 
             to the Senate. It was my privilege to serve with him in 
             the House of Representatives and it has been a privilege 
             to serve with him in the Senate.
               On a personal level, I will miss him. I want to say how 
             much it has been a privilege to serve with my friend from 
             Ohio, who has a good mind and a good heart, wonderful 
             family, and is deeply devoted to them and the people of 
             Ohio, whom we both revere.

               Mr. DeWINE. If the Senator will yield.

               Mr. CARPER. I do.

               Mr. DeWINE. I thank my colleague, who has pointed out to 
             my colleagues in the Senate that he and I came here 
             together in the election of 1982 and came to the House in 
             1983. We have been dear friends ever since. I will miss 
             working with him. He is someone who I believe exemplifies 
             what this institution is all about, and that is getting 
             things done, working in a bipartisan way, making a 
             difference. He has done that and will continue to do that.
               I wish him well.

               Mr. CARPER. I appreciate very much those words and the 
             chance to be a friend of Senator Mike DeWine.

               Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I also will say a word about a 
             couple of my colleagues who are leaving, and I will be 
             brief. ...
                Mike DeWine and I served together on the Judiciary 
             Committee. We came together to the Senate at the same time 
             and I will certainly miss Mike's friendship as well. ...
               I know we all move on at some time and that none of us 
             is irreplaceable. But by the same token, these colleagues 
             of ours who will be leaving will be missed and they will 
             be remembered for their great service to the Senate, to 
             their States, and to the United States of America.
               I yield the floor.

               Mr. REID. Mr. President, I know the hour is late and we 
             have other speeches to give, but I wanted to comment 
             briefly to my friend from Ohio. Senator DeWine and I came 
             to the House of Representatives together in 1982. We have 
             careers that are similar. He served as Lieutenant Governor 
             for the State of Ohio, I served as Lieutenant Governor of 
             the State of Nevada. He served as a Member of the House of 
             Representatives. I served as a Member of the House of 
             Representatives. He and I served as Senators. Our 
             backgrounds are also the same in that we are trial 
             lawyers. I have heard Senator DeWine speak on a number of 
             occasions about his days of being a prosecutor.
               I also want the record to reflect that I approach my 
             brief remarks here tonight keeping in mind our days as 
             trial lawyers, where you could go into a courtroom 
             representing your client, whether it be the State or an 
             individual, a corporation or an individual, and you would 
             give that client your very best, as would your opponent. 
             But when that trial was over, you shook hands and went on 
             about your business.
               I have also had the same experience as Mike DeWine. I 
             have lost a statewide election, and I know that is not 
             pleasant. But I want Mike to know that I admire and 
             respect the work he has done. His wife has been so 
             thoughtful and kind to my wife. We all witnessed these 
             speeches that he has given. Many more people have died in 
             Iraq and Afghanistan from Ohio than Nevada because it is 
             such a heavily populated State, and Mike's tenacity in 
             directing his attention to each of those families is 
             something that will always be remembered here in the 
             Senate.
               Mike, I want you to know that I want us to have the same 
             relationship as you leave the Senate as if we were trying 
             a case, and one won the case and one lost. We would walk 
             out and shake hands. That is how I feel about you, someone 
             who has been with me and I with you for 25 years, as 
             Members of Congress and doing other things; we certainly 
             have a relationship. I am happy to call Mike DeWine my 
             friend.

               Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, from time to time over the 
             last 12 years, new Senators have come up to me as they 
             have come to the body and asked the question: How do you 
             do this job? And I usually have responded: Well, what do 
             you want to be? Do you want to run for President? Do you 
             want to be on the Sunday shows? Do you want to pass 
             legislation? A surprising number of them have said they 
             came here to pass legislation, important legislation for 
             America that would make a difference. To every single one 
             who said that, I said: Watch Mike DeWine. Go study Mike 
             DeWine. The most prodigious, the most effective, the most 
             extraordinary legislator in my time here in the Senate. 
             Quiet, effective, a consensus builder. You see by those 
             who are on the floor here tonight that he has friends on 
             both sides of the aisle whom he has worked with, 
             cultivated, and built the kind of relationships that make 
             a Senator effective.
               So I would say to my good friend, the senior Senator 
             from Ohio, he is a Senator's Senator, the perfect Senator, 
             the master of the art of making a difference. Farewell.
               Mr. President, I yield the floor.

               Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I join in the chorus of 
             praise and thanks to my friend--and I mean that; the word 
             is thrown around here--Mike DeWine. We came to this job 
             together. My very first memory of Mike and Fran DeWine was 
             when we were both wearing tuxedos and Fran and Loretta 
             were in evening gowns, and we were at our first dinner at 
             the White House with President Ronald Reagan as 
             Congressmen-elect. The year was 1982. My wife brought her 
             little handbag, and Fran brought even more to that White 
             House dinner, that formal dinner that evening. She brought 
             a basket and in that basket was her brand-new baby who 
             came with her to the White House dinner. It was the first 
             time I ever met Mike and Fran. I still have vivid memories 
             of that moment. I think it was a little daughter in the 
             basket, if I am not mistaken, who might be up there. She 
             was on her best behavior then, as she is now.
               Another memory I have is when Mike DeWine asked me to 
             join him on a trip to Haiti. I saw a side of my colleague 
             from the Senate which many of us have not seen. Fran came 
             along on the trip with bags full of sporting equipment and 
             toys and clothes and food, everything they could jam into 
             this small airplane to bring over to give to some of the 
             poorest kids in the world. We went to the Cite du Soleil, 
             the poorest section of Port-au-Prince. If you haven't seen 
             that poverty, you haven't seen poverty. It is as bad as it 
             gets. We worked our way back to a little cinderblock 
             school, the Becky DeWine School, named after Mike and 
             Fran's late daughter. I watched Mike as he walked through 
             that school and sat down with these little kids, and each 
             one of them poured out to him the love and respect and 
             thanks for all that he had done to provide this basic 
             little school for them.
               That wasn't the end of the day, for sure. We were then 
             off to an orphanage where we were trying to help a nun, if 
             I am not mistaken, with a building full of squalling 
             babies, trying to get a little help so she could take care 
             of them. Then he took me on a famous road trip where he 
             wanted to show me one of the rural projects. It knocked 
             out almost all the fillings in my teeth, it was such a 
             wonderful road, and we had one of these glorious CODELs 
             that you read about, bouncing around in a vehicle to go 
             out and visit people who are at the lowest ranks of 
             poverty in the world, with babies with red hair from their 
             anemia and malnutrition and vitamin deficiencies. That is 
             where Mike and Fran DeWine spent their time away from the 
             Senate. They left a lasting impression and a legacy there. 
             I am happy we are going to try to continue that legacy 
             even tonight, I hope, or tomorrow as we bring this session 
             to an adjournment.
               Time and again, when I was up trying to find a vote, 
             desperately trying to find a vote for global AIDS, for 
             many other causes, I would look across the aisle and hope 
             Mike DeWine was sitting right where he is sitting now, 
             because I knew if I could get over there, I had a chance. 
             Every time I would sit down with him, Mike would say: This 
             is going to be tough. He used to always like to say: I am 
             going to have to pray on this, which meant it was going to 
             have to be a pretty tough political sell for him and for 
             his colleagues. He never let me down. More important, he 
             never let down some of the poorest people on Earth. He 
             came through every single time.
               Mike, you have got the heart of gold that we all dream 
             about. I have lost a few elections in my time. It is a sad 
             moment. But as you reflect on your public career and how 
             much good you have done for so many people, your name and 
             your legacy will live on. I am honored to count you as a 
             friend.

               Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, my heart is full as I 
             think of Mike DeWine and his service here in the Senate. I 
             didn't know Mike when I first came here. I didn't know 
             anything about his visits, I think 13 or 14, to Haiti, his 
             concern for the poor. He seems to have always been 
             motivated by a moral compass which never wavered from 
             those who needed him, and who weren't getting help from 
             others. It is ironic in the best sense that he and I have 
             cooperated on so many pieces of legislation that had to do 
             with children and families and adoption and all kinds of 
             things. It is ironic because in a sense he followed the 
             father, Mr. President, of our Presiding Officer, in that 
             role. You go to Mike's office, Mike would come to this 
             Senator's office, legislation would appear, it would 
             pass--and almost invariably get very little attention. 
             That was not the purpose or the interest of the Senator 
             from Ohio. He wanted to do good.
               I think of his interest in children and I think that is 
             a moral compass. If you have that in life and you are not 
             going to let go of that in life, then that fixes you, as 
             the Senator from Illinois indicated, in the legacy of the 
             Senate. I also think that his interest in Haiti says more 
             about him than words can possibly measure. What drives a 
             man and his wife to go to that country where most of us 
             have never been? Most of us have the image of it that the 
             Senator from Illinois described but know not of it 
             directly by experience. Vacations, free times, are 
             valuable to Senators and their families. Yet the Senator 
             from Ohio took his time and went to Haiti, year after 
             year, and fought for their problems and said not a word to 
             anybody. I found out about it not from the Senator from 
             Ohio but from somebody completely different. I found out 
             more about it and then deepened my knowledge and my 
             respect for the Senator from Ohio.
               Finally, I want to say I have the privilege of serving 
             with him on the Intelligence Committee. The Intelligence 
             Committee is serious business. The Senator from Ohio rose 
             to the peaks of discretion and determination, simply 
             trying to find the truth. He wasn't out to get anybody, to 
             punish anybody, to embarrass anybody. He wanted to get the 
             facts and then from that make his decisions through his 
             votes.
               National security on the one hand, children and all of 
             their problems--not just education but children with all 
             of the most complex problems of what happens when you get 
             to be 18 and you have 3 years to get to be 21. The father 
             of the Presiding Officer and I worked on that. Virtually 
             every problem that can afflict children, unattended by 
             most politicians, was taken to heart by the Senator from 
             Ohio who had the advantage of many years of being a 
             prosecutor.
               I look upon the Senator from Ohio as absolutely 
             extraordinary, as the majority leader indicated. He is an 
             extraordinary Senator, an extraordinarily fine person, a 
             friend in whom I could put complete and absolute trust, 
             who only was here to do his work for the people and causes 
             he cared about--most of all Ohio but then special groups 
             probably unknown except to his conscience.
               I wish you well, sir.
               I yield the floor.

               Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I want to say something 
             about my departing colleagues on the other side of the 
             aisle. ...
               And the departing Senator from Ohio, Senator DeWine, 
             said some very kind things about his work with me. I, too, 
             want to comment that working with the Senator when moving 
             important legislation in the Committee on Health, 
             Education, Labor, and Pensions was an outstanding 
             opportunity, again, of bipartisanship. Mike DeWine and 
             Barbara Mikulski passed the Older Americans Act twice when 
             it previously had not passed or been reauthorized in 5 
             years. We did work so constructively with the Committee on 
             Finance in terms of the recent pension bill.
               Again, we worked on many projects related to national 
             security together.
               I thank Senator DeWine not only for his kind words but, 
             again, his ongoing efforts, always with the tone of utmost 
             collegiality when he worked with me, and his staff. ...
               A lot is said about changing the tone, but when we hit 
             the right tone we also hit some pretty high notes. I thank 
             my colleagues and wish them well and Godspeed until we 
             meet again.

               Mr. DODD. ... Mr. President, today I pay tribute to my 
             departing colleagues who have, for a time, lent their 
             talents, their convictions, and their hard work to this 
             distinguished body. I may have had my disagreements with 
             them, but the end of a term is a time for seeing 
             colleagues not simply as politicians, but as partners who 
             have ``toiled, and wrought, and thought with me.'' Each, 
             in his own way, was distinctive; and each, in his own way, 
             will be sorely missed. ...
               I also want to say farewell to Senator Mike DeWine. 
             Senator DeWine, a former prosecutor, has had a 
             distinguished career in Ohio politics. He represented his 
             district for four terms in the House of Representatives, 
             and he served as Ohio's Lieutenant Governor for 4 years, 
             beginning in 1991. Mike DeWine was elected to the Senate 
             as part of the famous Republican class of 1994 and served 
             for a total of 12 years. I have had few more valuable 
             partners on the other side of the aisle.
               Senator DeWine and I have been strong opponents of 
             underage drinking, a social malady that, in the last year 
             for which we have data, led directly to 3,500 deaths, 2 
             million injuries, and 1,200 babies born with fetal alcohol 
             syndrome, not to mention $53 billion in social costs. The 
             STOP Underage Drinking Act, which I cosponsored with 
             Senator DeWine, would fund a comprehensive Federal 
             campaign of research, prevention grants, and media 
             messages aimed to keep children and young adults alcohol-
             free. I am proud to stand with Senator DeWine on such a 
             critically important issue.
               And I am just as proud to have his support on a whole 
             slew of health initiatives, especially for infants and 
             children. Because States' variable screening standards 
             leave many newborns at risk for treatable disorders, we 
             have worked together to standardize screening across the 
             Nation so that all newborns have an equal promise of 
             health, no matter where they are born. Senator DeWine and 
             I have also worked together for safer pediatric medical 
             devices. But above all, Senator DeWine worked with me to 
             secure passage of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children 
             Act. That legislation provides incentives for the drug 
             industry that have dramatically increased the number of 
             drugs tested and labeled for children; as a result, more 
             than 100 drug labels have been changed to incorporate new 
             pediatric information.
               It has been a pleasure to serve and work with Senator 
             DeWine. I have always admired his ability to put principle 
             before party, and I am thankful for all of his help, and 
             most importantly, for his friendship. I wish him and his 
             wife Frances much happiness in the future.

               Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as this session draws to a 
             close, I must take this opportunity to make a few comments 
             on the outstanding record left behind by our colleague 
             from Ohio, Senator Mike DeWine.
               I have worked closely with Senator DeWine ever since he 
             came to the Senate. I sit with him on three committees: 
             the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Judiciary 
             Committee, where he chaired the Antitrust Subcommittee; 
             and on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 
             Committee, where he chairs the Retirement Security and 
             Aging Subcommittee.
               I consider Mike to be a Senator's Senator--he is a man 
             who truly represents his constituents, who studies the 
             issues, works hard, and does his very, very best to do 
             what is right. His departure from the Senate is a great 
             loss to this body and a great loss to Ohio.
               The DeWine legacy is considerable.
               One of the major focuses of his work, which I admire 
             greatly, is the protection of children. Senator DeWine has 
             sponsored numerous pieces of legislation aimed at 
             protecting children and enabling prosecution of those who 
             perpetrate acts against children. These include the 
             Protecting Children Against Crime Act of 2003, which 
             became law as part of the PROTECT Act, the National Child 
             Protection Amendments Act of 2000, the Child Abuse 
             Prevention and Enforcement Act of 1999, and the Protection 
             Against Sexual Predators Act of 1998. It is significant to 
             note that Senator DeWine is a founding member and cochair 
             of the Senate Caucus on Missing, Exploited and Runaway 
             Children.
               The Senator's work to protect children extends beyond 
             legal issues. He is the author and true leader in the 
             Senate of legislation to protect children from the horrors 
             of tobacco abuse by giving the Food and Drug 
             Administration the authority to regulate it. He has also 
             taken a leadership role in efforts to stop underage teen 
             drinking by sponsoring the Sober Truth on Preventing 
             Underage Drinking Act. The STOP Act has a good chance of 
             becoming law this year.
               But the centerpiece of Mike DeWine's prochild agenda is 
             his work to incentivize pharmaceutical company testing of 
             drugs used on children. Mike DeWine showed this whole body 
             the safety risks children face when they take prescription 
             medications never studied in the pediatric population. I 
             can just hear Mike saying now, ``Children are not little 
             adults.'' And he is right.
               He worked across the aisle and across the Capitol to get 
             the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003 enacted. This 
             was no easy task. It took grit and determination. He 
             fought big PhRMA. He did it for the kids. And he won. I am 
             only sorry he will not be here next year as we work to 
             reauthorize it.
               In his years as a member of the Senate Judiciary 
             Committee, Senator DeWine emerged as a leader in the area 
             of antitrust law and competition policy. Both as the 
             chairman and the ranking Republican member of the 
             Antitrust Subcommittee, Mike has played an invaluable role 
             in each significant legislative change to the antitrust 
             laws enacted in the past decade.
               In addition to his legislative achievements in antitrust 
             law, Senator DeWine has become known for the 
             subcommittee's active oversight of the antitrust 
             enforcement activities of the Department of Justice and 
             Federal Trade Commission. During the subcommittee's 
             consideration of numerous individual mergers, his 
             thoughtful analysis and even-handed approach earned him 
             considerable respect in the antitrust community as a 
             tough, but eminently fair, advocate of both consumer 
             interests and strong competition.
               Earlier this year at the American Antitrust Institute's 
             annual conference, where he and Senator Kohl received an 
             achievement award for their many contributions to 
             antitrust law, Senator DeWine commented that:

               It's always difficult to find that fine line between 
             aggressive, healthy competition and destructive or 
             anticompetitive behavior, but it's our job on the 
             Antitrust Subcommittee to keep trying, and to promote the 
             type of competition that helps everyone.

               From my perspective, Senator DeWine not only tried but 
             succeeded admirably in drawing this very difficult line in 
             a careful and appropriately balanced way. His expertise, 
             institutional knowledge, and thoughtful analysis will be 
             sorely missed.
               Also of note in discussing Senator DeWine's work on the 
             Judiciary Committee are his anticrime efforts. Mike has 
             been a real leader on issues such as the 1998 law, the 
             Crime Identification Technology Act, which increased 
             funding for State and local law enforcement by $1.25 
             billion. His work in anticrime technology continued in 
             2004, when the Senate adopted his amendment to the 
             intelligence reform bill that would upgrade the Federal 
             Bureau of Investigation's computer networks. That bill was 
             signed into law on December 17, 2004.
               Mike has either sponsored or cosponsored a number of 
             bills to help law enforcement protect Ohio communities, 
             including the local law enforcement block grant program, 
             the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act, the Rape Kits and 
             DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act of 2003, and the 
             Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004.
               Mike DeWine's work to protect Ohioans extended into the 
             compelling field of mental illness treatment as well. In 
             fact, Senator DeWine is known throughout the country for 
             his work related to the treatment of mental health in the 
             criminal justice system, including bills such as the 
             Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act 
             and America's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project.
               Another DeWine contribution is the Poison Control Center 
             Enhancement and Awareness Act, a significant contribution 
             to public health which established a national toll-free 
             poison control hotline and provided substantial assistance 
             to local poison control centers.
               Finally and more recently, Senator DeWine authored a 
             bill to protect children's eyes by restricting their 
             access to potentially damaging cosmetic contact lenses.
               Our new leader, Senator McConnell, said this of Senator 
             DeWine, and I could not have said it better:

               I have never observed a more skillful legislator than he 
             during my time in the Senate ... You know he is a 
             formidable force who, when he has made up his mind about 
             an issue, never lets go. Many bills that have cleared the 
             Senate in the ten years the Senator from Ohio has been 
             here have the fingerprints of Mike DeWine. He is truly an 
             extraordinary legislator.

               I echo those sentiments.
               Mike DeWine has been an outstanding Member of our body, 
             a good friend to me, and a superb representative for his 
             constituents. He and his staff work hard and their work 
             has yielded incredible benefits for the American people. 
             It is with great pride that I commend his achievements to 
             this body, and I thank Mike for all he has done to make 
             the U.S. Senate a more effective and accomplished body. I 
             will miss him, as a legislator, as a colleague, and as a 
             friend. ...

               Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment 
             to pay tribute to our colleague from Ohio, Senator Mike 
             DeWine. Senator DeWine is a truly decent, thoughtful 
             individual with a deep concern for children and a 
             refreshing willingness to reach across the aisle. He has 
             been a solid partner on several of the issues common to 
             our two States and the region.
               In particular, it has been a pleasure to work with 
             Senator DeWine on issues affecting the Great Lakes, which 
             are critical for our States' economies and for our 
             environment. Since 1999, he and I have served as cochairs 
             of the Great Lakes Task Force and have shared a commitment 
             to protecting and restoring these national treasures. We 
             have fought to protect the lakes from invasive species, to 
             improve water quality, to create a long-term restoration 
             plan, and to expand public access to the lakes.
               Senator DeWine's service here has also been 
             characterized by his commitment to children and children's 
             health, and he has been willing to work in a bipartisan 
             way to make progress. He has worked with Senators Dodd and 
             Jack Reed to prevent teen suicides and with Senator 
             Clinton to ensure that drugs given to children are safe 
             for them. He has sponsored a bill with Senator Kennedy to 
             allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate 
             tobacco. As the chair of the District of Columbia 
             Appropriations Subcommittee, he has also worked to reform 
             the child welfare system in DC.
               In addition to his bipartisan approach, Senator DeWine 
             has also shown a willingness to take politically difficult 
             positions when he believes they are the right thing to do. 
             Last year, for example, he joined a bipartisan group of 14 
             senators who worked to forge a compromise on judicial 
             nominations and to save the Senate from the so-called 
             nuclear option. That step helped to diffuse a tense 
             situation and to protect the Senate as an institution.
               I have great respect for Mike DeWine's integrity, his 
             commitment to his State, and his willingness to seek 
             progress over partisanship. I wish him and his wife Fran 
             well in their future endeavors.

               Mr. ENZI. ... As each congressional session draws to a 
             close, we work as hard as we can to try to tie up all the 
             loose ends and finish as much of the pending legislation 
             as we possibly can. As we do, we also take a moment to say 
             goodbye to some of our colleagues who won't be with us 
             during the next Congress to share with us their insights, 
             wisdom and creativity.
               As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, 
             Education, Labor and Pensions, I know I will miss Mike 
             DeWine when the committee meets to begin its schedule of 
             activities next year. Mike has always been a particularly 
             hard-working member of the committee and I know my 
             colleagues on the committee and I will miss his 
             perspective and his tireless commitment and his dedication 
             to the issues affecting children and families.
               Working with Mike has been a pleasure. We have a great 
             deal in common--beginning with our mutual enjoyment of the 
             old-fashioned ice cream social back home. It is a 
             tradition for both of our families and our political lives 
             because it is a great way to get everyone together to talk 
             about current events while enjoying everyone's favorite 
             dessert.
               No one ever said that politics was an easy career to 
             follow and, true to form, Mike has had a number of hurdles 
             placed before him that took some doing for him to 
             overcome.
               He began his career of public service as a county 
             prosecutor. He took a tough stand against crime and people 
             noticed. Then he was elected to the Ohio Senate. That led 
             to a run for a seat in the Congress. He faced a tough 
             primary fight, but wound up at the top of a field of six 
             candidates. Then, when the general election was held, he 
             was elected to serve the people of his district in the 
             House of Representatives.
               In the years to follow, Mike had some more tough 
             battles. He didn't always win, but he never quit. That 
             spirit of dedication and commitment of his helped him to 
             win a seat in the Senate, representing the people of Ohio 
             he had been fighting for over the years. His election gave 
             Mike a new forum from which to promote his principles, and 
             he soon proved himself to be a champion for children and 
             family values. As bill after bill came to the Senate floor 
             for our consideration, Mike always gave it a close look to 
             see if there was something that needed to be added to 
             increase the protections available to our Nation's 
             children.
               Mike understands well that our children are our most 
             important resource. If we don't help our Nation's families 
             do a good job of raising their children, nothing else we 
             do, no matter how well we do it, will matter much in the 
             long run.
               Some people might be surprised to learn how well Mike 
             has used his time to work with Members on both sides of 
             the aisle. To Mike it was just common sense. You never 
             know how long you will be a Member of the Senate, he would 
             say, so it makes sense to use your time wisely.
               As the chairman of the Senate HELP Committee I can 
             attest to the fact that he has used his time wisely. He 
             has been a great addition to the committee because he is 
             an expert on children's issues and issues affecting older 
             Americans. I have watched him carefully work on a number 
             of bills dealing with a wide variety of topics. He always 
             comes to our meetings well prepared, fully focused, and 
             committed to making a difference for the people of Ohio 
             and the rest of the Nation.
               Mike is very much a people person, and he and his wife 
             Fran have made regular trips to Haiti to work with the 
             poorest of the poor. I have often heard it said that God 
             must love the poor because he made so many of them. 
             Fortunately, God also made people like Mike DeWine to 
             plead their case for them in Washington and work with them 
             around the world in an effort to make their lives better.
               The ice cream social I mentioned earlier has become an 
             annual tradition and Fran and the friends she recruits are 
             now famous for their hospitality as they put on what must 
             be the world's biggest pie and ice cream social.
               That is just part of the full schedule Mike and his 
             family maintain every year here, in Ohio and around the 
             world taking on the causes he and Fran hold dear. If you 
             want to know what kind of a year Mike has had, take a look 
             at his Christmas card. If you do, you will see an amazing 
             collage of pictures of his family and all that has taken 
             place in their lives over the past 12 months. It serves to 
             emphasize his great belief in the importance of family and 
             family activities. It is a value Diana and I and so many 
             of our colleagues share.
               In the years to come, whenever I think of Mike DeWine, I 
             know I will think of those Christmas cards, which I hope 
             to be still receiving, and of the smiles and happiness 
             reflected on each face in the pictures on that card. They 
             tell me that Mike and Fran DeWine have learned one of 
             life's most important lessons. Fame and fortune are all 
             too often fleeting and evasive things in life. In the end, 
             and every day, the most important part of our lives has to 
             do with the strength of our faith, the bonds that tie our 
             families together, and the friendships we develop along 
             the way that help us to fully appreciate and enjoy all 
             that life has to offer.
               Mike DeWine is truly blessed to have a family which has 
             shown themselves to be role models on all three of those 
             special values. I know I will miss him, but, I also know I 
             won't forget him and Fran. ...

               Ms. SNOWE. ... Mr. President, I rise today to express my 
             gratitude to Senator Mike DeWine, whose desire to do good 
             has remained his abiding purpose and life-long 
             contribution to the people of Ohio, the U.S. Senate, and 
             his country. The moniker of ``bodyguard of the poor''--
             which he has been dubbed by many in his State--speaks 
             volumes about Senator DeWine's tireless dedication to 
             enriching and helping others and about his earnest efforts 
             to defend the defenseless and protect those in need.
               With a career in public service spanning more than 30 
             years, Senator Mike DeWine has more than earned his 
             reputation as hard-working, honest, compassionate, and 
             results-oriented. I first got to know Mike when he entered 
             the House of Representatives the same year as my husband 
             Jock. I am proud to say we served together in both the 
             U.S. House and Senate. In the 99th and 101st Congresses, 
             we both served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
             And in the U.S. Senate, we were colleagues on the Select 
             Committee on Intelligence, where issues of national 
             security and safety have been more paramount than ever. 
             America is most fortunate to have had his thoughtful, 
             considered approach on that committee and on so many other 
             issues. Jock and I have treasured our long-standing 
             friendship with Mike and Fran DeWine, and we have enormous 
             respect for Mike's passion and depth of commitment.
               Indeed, he is a serious and deliberative legislative 
             craftsman who sought to effectively represent his State 
             and reach across the aisle in the true spirit of the 
             institution. At no point in time was this more evident 
             than during last year's debate over judicial nominations 
             when Mike--a dedicated member of the Senate Judiciary 
             Committee--joined with me and a dozen of our colleagues to 
             form the Gang of 14. His courage and leadership helped 
             broker a compromise that preserved the principles and 
             traditions of this great institution. His loss diminishes 
             the Senate at a time when we need more like Mike DeWine--
             leaders committed to solutions over sound-bites. I will 
             deeply miss seeing Mike in the Senate--for he was always a 
             reminder of the finest ideals of public service.
               Indeed, Mike DeWine has represented well the principles 
             and pride of America's heartland. As the son of parents 
             who ran a small agricultural business, he learned the 
             value of diligence and perseverance working in the fields 
             and in the mill.
               He has exemplified that unwavering commitment throughout 
             his career in public service, whether as a prosecutor, 
             U.S. Representative, Governor, or U.S. Senator and whether 
             advocating for children, promoting humanitarian relief, 
             aiding law enforcement, protecting our natural resources, 
             spurring job growth, increasing national security through 
             intelligence improvements, or working to secure balanced 
             budgets. And he has led many of these efforts through his 
             active and thorough committee work on Appropriations; 
             Judiciary; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; and 
             Intelligence.
               Above all else, I believe Mike DeWine's essential sense 
             of humanity, and the personal compass that guided him in 
             all he did in the Senate, was exemplified by his final 
             minutes on the Senate floor--which he devoted to speaking 
             of the soldiers of Ohio who had fallen in service to our 
             Nation in Iraq. That Senator DeWine sought assurance he 
             would have this opportunity to honor the troops before the 
             end of the session is a testament to the compassionate 
             heart of an exceptional man.
               For all of his dedicated service to the people of Ohio 
             and to this country, undoubtedly, Mike DeWine's most 
             cherished achievement is his marriage of 39 years to his 
             wife Fran, their 8 children, and 10 grandchildren. I wish 
             them--and Mike DeWine--all the best. ...

               Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute 
             to the Republican Members of the Senate who will not be 
             returning in the 110th Congress. Senators George Allen; 
             Conrad Burns; Lincoln Chafee; Mike DeWine; Dr. Bill Frist; 
             Rick Santorum; and Jim Talent have served their 
             constituents with honor and distinction during their 
             tenure here in the U.S. Senate. All care very deeply for 
             this great Nation and I hope they will have continued 
             success in their future endeavors. ...
               Majority leader Bill Frist has run the Senate through 
             difficult and trying times and he has done it well. 
             Senator Mike DeWine, my neighbor to the north, has 
             represented the Buckeye State with great distinction and 
             has committed over 30 years of his life to public service. 
             Senator George Allen represented the Commonwealth of 
             Virginia in the U.S. Senate for 6 years, and he worked 
             closely with me to make America safer by helping usher 
             through important legislation to arm cargo pilots. Senator 
             Jim Talent has had a great career in Congress and wrote 
             the blueprint to the welfare reform bill of 1996. And 
             Senator Lincoln Chafee has continued the proud legacy set 
             forth by his father and my friend, Senator John Chafee.
               Mr. President, I would like to again commend all of our 
             departing Republican Senators. I am proud of what they 
             accomplished here in the U.S. Senate. They will all be 
             missed, and I wish all of them the very best.

               Mrs. HUTCHISON. ... Mr. President, Mike DeWine has spent 
             more than three decades in service to his State and the 
             Nation.
               Senator DeWine has maintained a reputation of integrity 
             throughout his service as a State senator, Lieutenant 
             Governor, four-term Congressman, and U.S. Senator. He has 
             built a record of service on making our Nation and the 
             world a better place for future generations.
               A father of 8 and grandfather of 10, Senator DeWine is a 
             devoted family man.
               He is a champion of children's causes, always focusing 
             on protecting their welfare and safety.
               Senator DeWine has often reached across party lines to 
             vote with his heart for issues in which he believes.
               His hard work and devotion will be missed by the people 
             of Ohio, whom I know are grateful for his years of 
             service. ...
             UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT--TRIBUTES TO RETIRING SENATORS
               Mr. FRIST. I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to 
             retiring Senators be printed as a Senate document and that 
             Senators be permitted to submit tributes until December 
             27, 2006.

               The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so 
             ordered.
                                           Wednesday, December 27, 2006
               Mr. STEVENS. ... Mr. President, I will always remember 
             Senator Mike DeWine for his commitment to his family. Mike 
             pursued his own conscience until the end of his tenure in 
             this Chamber. That conscience led Mike DeWine to be a 
             staunch defender for the people of Haiti.
               In a time of constant conversation about the importance 
             of family values and community standards, Mike has led by 
             example. As a member of a large family, the father of 8, 
             and grandfather of 10, I admire Mike's ability to balance 
             the needs of his family with the demands of his position 
             in the Senate.
               The senior Senator from Ohio has also devoted much of 
             his time and energy to causes often overlooked. Senator 
             DeWine's tireless work for the people of Haiti 
             demonstrated his commitment. I believe his commitment to 
             those who need a defender and protector should be 
             commended. ...
                                                Monday, January 8, 2007
               Mrs. DOLE. Mr. President, it is an honor indeed to pay 
             tribute to a number of fine individuals who I am fortunate 
             to call not just my colleagues, but also dear friends: 
             Senators Bill Frist, George Allen, Conrad Burns, Lincoln 
             Chafee, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum and Jim Talent. ...
               Among the Senate's most effective legislators, Senator 
             Mike DeWine of Ohio will use his many talents and 
             expertise to tackle new endeavors. Mike's career is truly 
             an American success story. As a boy, he learned the values 
             of hard work and perseverance in the fields and the mill 
             of his family's small agricultural business in Yellow 
             Springs, OH. It is those principles that have guided him 
             throughout a stellar career in public service, in which he 
             has served as prosecutor, an Ohio State senator, a Member 
             of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a Lieutenant 
             Governor.
               As a Senator, Mike made his mark in a number of policy 
             areas. He was a strong proponent of education and 
             children's health care. In particular, he advocated for 
             children's hospitals because he understands that these 
             hospitals are important centers for pediatric research.
               During more than a decade of service on the Senate 
             Intelligence Committee, Mike worked doggedly to 
             investigate intelligence failures and revamp our 
             intelligence community. As the chairman of the Retirement 
             Security and Aging Subcommittee of the HELP Committee, he 
             focused his efforts on modernizing our Nation's pension 
             system. And as the first Ohio Senator in six decades to 
             serve on the Appropriations Committee, Mike was committed 
             to ensuring that our Nation's first responders have the 
             resources they need. On the Judiciary Committee, Mike took 
             the lead on a number of antiterror and anticrime 
             initiatives, such as the PATRIOT Act, as well as proposals 
             to curb drunk driving, to help keep all Americans safe.
               Perhaps what I admire most about Mike is that this 
             terrific father of 8, and grandfather of 10, always puts 
             his family first. As a public servant, Mike has used his 
             positions to contribute to the greater good, and he has 
             brilliantly served the people of Ohio throughout his 
             career. May God bless Mike DeWine, his wife Fran, and 
             their family for many, many years to come. ...
               As these men--Bill Frist, George Allen, Conrad Burns, 
             Lincoln Chafee, Mike DeWine, Rick Santorum and Jim 
             Talent--conclude their service in the U.S. Senate, let me 
             say that I am so proud to have worked with individuals of 
             such character, strength, and intellect. Our Nation is 
             grateful for their many contributions. And as they each 
             will undoubtedly continue to contribute to our country's 
             greatness, their leadership and vision will be missed here 
             in the U.S. Senate.
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