[Senate Document 113-31]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. MIKE JOHANNS
Mike Johanns
U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2015
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Mike Johanns
United States Senator
2009-2015
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
vii
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Ayotte, Kelly, of New Hampshire................
23
Bennet, Michael F., of Colorado................
26
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
30
Carper, Thomas R., of Delaware.................
19
Chambliss, Saxby, of Georgia...................
10
Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
17
Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
22
Cornyn, John, of Texas.........................
6
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
22
Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
24
Fischer, Deb, of Nebraska......................
11
Graham, Lindsey, of South Carolina.............
27
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
27, 29
Heitkamp, Heidi, of North Dakota...............
25
Hoeven, John, of North Dakota..................
18, 23
Isakson, Johnny, of Georgia....................
10
Johanns, Mike, of Nebraska.....................
6
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
28
McCain, John, of Arizona.......................
8
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
3, 11
Portman, Rob, of Ohio..........................
13
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
20, 21
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
6
Roberts, Pat, of Kansas........................
15
Shaheen, Jeanne, of New Hampshire..............
29
Wyden, Ron, of Oregon..........................
20
BIOGRAPHY
On January 6, 2009, Mike Johanns was sworn in as U.S.
Senator for Nebraska. He won the support of an
overwhelming majority of Nebraskans by demonstrating
principled leadership throughout more than 30 years of
public service.
Senator Johanns served on four committees in the 113th
Congress: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry;
Appropriations; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and
Veterans Affairs. In previous Congresses he served on the
Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee
on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Committee
on Indian Affairs.
Senator Johanns established himself as a legislative
leader on issues that are not only important to Nebraska
but also the Nation. He introduced and championed
commonsense legislation dealing with issues ranging from
agriculture to veterans to small businesses.
After hearing from businesses in Nebraska about a
provision in President Obama's health law that would have
created a paperwork nightmare for job creators, Senator
Johanns began an effort that gained bipartisan momentum
and the 1099 reporting mandate was repealed. On
agriculture, he led the fight against harmful government
regulations and continued his work on a long-term, reform-
minded farm bill that focused on risk management tools.
One of the first pieces of legislation to be signed into
law for 2013 was the National Defense Authorization Act,
which contained Senator Johanns' legislation to help
returning veterans find civilian employment and supplied
funding to continue work on the new command facility for
the Strategic Command (STRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base.
Before being elected to the Senate, Mike Johanns was
appointed the 28th Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture in January 2005. For nearly 3 years he worked
to expand foreign market access for U.S. producers,
promoted the growth of the renewable fuels industry, and
advanced cooperative conservation. Additionally, Mike
Johanns developed an indepth farm bill proposal, which
became the foundation for improvements and reforms adopted
in the final 2008 farm bill.
Mike Johanns also served as Nebraska's 38th Governor
from 1999 to 2005. As Governor, he promoted an agenda of
tax relief, less government, building the economy,
protecting families, and ensuring the health, safety, and
success of Nebraska's children.
Mike Johanns served on the Lancaster County Board from
1983 to 1987, and on the Lincoln City Council from 1989 to
1991. He was elected mayor of Lincoln in 1991 and was
reelected in 1995 without opposition. He successfully ran
for Governor in 1998 and was reelected in 2002.
He grew up on a farm where he learned a work ethic that
has been put to use serving the people of Nebraska and
this country. The values he developed while growing up
serve as the foundation for his commitment to public
service. Mike Johanns is a graduate of St. Mary's
University of Minnesota. He earned a law degree from
Creighton University in Omaha and practiced law in O'Neill
and Lincoln.
Senator Johanns is married to Stephanie Johanns, former
Lancaster County Commissioner and Nebraska State Senator.
The couple has two children and five grandchildren.
Farewell to the Senate
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mr. JOHANNS. I wish to start by saying I so appreciate
the kind words by Senators McCain, Chambliss, and Isakson.
I see there are others in the Chamber who may weigh in and
offer a thought or two. I can't express how much I
appreciate it.
I would like to offer a few thoughts--my farewell
thoughts--today.
I rise, first, to convey a very deep and sincere
appreciation to the people of a really great State, the
State of Nebraska. They have entrusted me with the high
privilege and the solemn responsibility of representing
them in this body.
I am honored to have served as a Senator from Nebraska,
and I hope and pray that I have done so in a manner that
upholds the high standards that Nebraskans have rightly
established for their elected office holders.
If I could turn back the clock 32 years I would do it
again--from my first day as the county commissioner,
throughout my service as a Lincoln City Council member, as
mayor of our capital city, Lincoln, as the Governor of
Nebraska, in President Bush's Cabinet, and now as a
Senator. No doubt about it, if I could turn back the
clock, I would just do it again.
I am so grateful for the trust placed in me and the
support of so many people who have made this service
possible.
Let me start with the top of the list, and that would be
my family. My wife, Stephanie, has been an incredible
pillar of support.
One of my best friends refers to her as ``spirited.''
That would be an understatement. She is a true partner.
She has given her whole heart to public service--both her
own service as a State senator and as a county
commissioner when we first met--and to mine.
I thank my children, Justin and Michaela, who are now
grown up. They have their own families. We have five
beautiful grandchildren. They have been a source of true
joy and pride. They too have cheerfully supported me
despite the sometimes long hours and the missed
birthdays--I could go on and on. It cut into that dad and
grandpa time.
I offer a special word of thanks to the hundreds or
thousands of volunteers whom I could never thank
individually. They went out there, pounded the yard signs,
walked the precincts, worked the phone banks, and they
probably wrote checks when the bank account was pretty
low. Their belief in me is what has been inspiring in
those campaigns.
Another group of people near and dear to my heart are my
current and former staff, campaign or government related.
We have always called ourselves Team Johanns. It is an
extended family and for good reason. Their hard work,
their commitment, and their professionalism enabled me to
represent and serve our great State and our country.
I have not only been truly blessed by the privilege to
serve, but I have been blessed by the privilege of meeting
some very extraordinary people.
In my various roles I have been with world leaders,
spiritual heads, cultural icons, Presidents, Vice
Presidents, Prime Ministers, Queens, and Kings--all
memorable experiences to be sure. But I will say they are
not the extraordinary people I speak about today. My real
inspiration comes from ordinary people whom I have
observed and watched do remarkable, extraordinary things.
Each year for the past 6 years, I have had the privilege
of selecting a Nebraska family to be honored as ``Angels
in Adoption.'' Each year their stories of unconditional
love show the limitless capacity of the human heart.
One family, the Welchels of Harrisburg, NE, went from
two children to seven. They adopted five children, all
with special needs, but their selflessness did not stop
there. They created a camp where these very special kids
could share life's journeys. How powerful is that?
I have learned that heroes walk among us daily whose
courage is revealed in split-second decisions, and in that
split second they put the lives of others in front of
their own.
Two Nebraskans did exactly that in 2012. A schoolbus had
collided with a semitrailer on a rural road near a
community called Blue Hill, NE. These individuals, Ron
Meyer and Phil Petr, arrived on this horrific scene. They
bravely ran onto that burning bus and pulled five children
to safety. A witness who was there at the scene expressed
absolutely no doubt those five children would have
perished, as others sadly did, if not for the remarkable
courage of Ron and Phil.
I have been so moved beyond words by my conversations
with the parents of our fallen men and women in uniform. I
would call them to offer them my condolences, and I have
found their strength to be so astounding. To a person,
they speak with such passion about love of country and
pride in their loved one's service, despite sorrow. They
honor their children with their patriotism. They honor
their children with their fortitude. Their grace through
incomprehensible grief inspires immeasurable gratitude.
May God bless them and all of the families of the fallen.
Walking the streets of a tornado-ravaged community--and
I have done that too many times as Governor and as a
Senator--I saw ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
One stands out especially in my mind. I watched in
amazement as Kim Neiman, the Pilger, NE, city clerk,
attempted to take care of every conceivable need of every
single resident following a devastating tornado that
literally leveled this Nebraska community.
Her tireless advocacy, her raw determination was focused
entirely on the community she loved. She had virtually no
regard for her personal loss. You see, her home was
destroyed, and her life was turned upside down by this
tornado as well. But for Kim, community came first.
These are good people, and there are so many more like
them. They inspired me, and they have motivated me to
search for solutions to break through partisan rancor that
too often dominates this government.
But they also fuel my optimism for the future. You see,
I believe that America's strength is in the fabric of
which we are woven. The threads of this fabric include
both the character of our people and the wisdom recorded
in our Constitution.
It is a very strong and very durable fabric that
withstands the overreach of any one President and the
misguided policies of any one administration.
That is why I look back, not with any regret--I would do
it all over again--but with gratitude. There were
victories won during my time here, and I am pleased to
have lead some of those charges. But I have to admit many
battles remain.
I would be dishonest if I denied some feelings of
frustration about the absence of the will to address
issues of paramount importance to our country, but I know
that no issue is powerful enough to shred the fabric of
this great Nation. Rather, these challenges are
overpowered by the ordinary people who do extraordinary
things, by the character of our people, and by the wisdom
of our Founders. So I reject the prophecy of hopelessness.
As the challenges we face grow more urgent--and they
will--so grows the collective fortitude to address them,
and I believe that is about to intensify.
On January 3, I will officially pass the baton to
Senator-elect Ben Sasse, and I wish him the best. With the
114th Congress, there will be a new day in this Chamber, a
new majority, and a lot of new faces. I hope they embrace
the new opportunities to exemplify true statesmanship.
Although confidence in our Nation's ability to solve
problems may be shaken, I still believe ordinary people
can do extraordinary things--even here in Washington, DC.
May God guide those efforts and may God bless this great
country, the United States of America.
I yield the floor.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
MIKE JOHANNS
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to a
truly outstanding Senator, who will soon retire from this
body after more than 30 years of public service.
Of course, I am speaking of Senator Mike Johanns. Mike
has had a remarkable career. He is the only current Member
of this body--besides Senator Alexander--who has served as
Senator, Governor, and Cabinet secretary.
Yet for all he has accomplished, Mike isn't the
flashiest Senator. He doesn't hold the most press
conferences, he doesn't yell the loudest, and you never
have to worry about him knocking you over to get to a TV
camera, but in his steady and determined style, Mike has
proven himself a remarkably successful Member of this
body.
That was true in his successful battles to defend
Nebraska's rural communities against government overreach,
it was true when he worked with the late Senator Byrd to
sink a national energy tax that threatened his
constituents, and it was true when he led the first
successful legislative effort to revisit Obamacare,
working with many Democrats to repeal the so-called 1099
provision.
Mike has never looked for drama. He is always aiming for
results. So it didn't take long for people in the Senate
to recognize that Mike was more than just another freshman
in the minority. He became the guy you would turn to if
you wanted to get an amendment up to 60 votes.
That is truly remarkable for a first-term Senator. It is
especially remarkable when we consider that Mike came to
the Senate at a time when Republicans were in the deep
minority. But then again, Mike is a very remarkable guy:
county commissioner, city councilman, mayor, Governor,
Secretary of Agriculture. You name it, Mike has done it,
and that was before he even set foot in the Senate.
Some think Mike must have a secret that allows him to
assemble bipartisan coalitions on conservative issues, but
I don't think it is much of a secret at all. Mike works
across the aisle. He works in good faith, and he works
hard. He doesn't care what party you are from and
absolutely no one can outwork him.
Mike makes sure of that by getting up earlier than
anyone else. It is a habit he learned growing up on a farm
in northern Iowa. He would get up at 5 a.m. every day and
then from age 4 he would work. He would shovel muck. He
would fill the hog tanks. He would even deliver piglets.
The point is, Mike developed an appreciation for hard
work and responsibility at an early age. Along with his
strong Catholic faith, these are the traits that still
define him today, but they don't paint the whole picture,
because Mike Johanns may be an accomplished man, he may be
one of the smartest and most capable public servants you
will ever meet, but he is absolute putty in the hands of
his wife Stephanie. She is always by his side. She is his
best friend, and they complement each other perfectly.
Their idea--listen to this--of a perfect night out is a
night in together. They are both Husker fans and, as Mike
put it, ``Steph is almost never in a bad mood.'' He said,
``She jumps out of bed, and she's got a big smile on her
face and she thinks this is bound to be the best day of
her life.''
It is a personality perfectly suited, as one can
imagine, to the campaign trail, which is a good thing
because the two of them have logged tens of thousands of
miles together campaigning across Nebraska, usually in
matching T-shirts, sometimes in a beat-up old Corsica.
They have plenty of stories from the trail, too, but one
from Mike's run for Governor stands out particularly. This
is what happened: The Johanns were driving home after a
long day of marching in parades in the hot Sun. They
passed a barn on the way, assuming it was a cattle sale.
They figured they would drop in and press a few palms.
Stephanie parked the car, Mike opened the door, and dozens
of well-dressed Nebraskan eyes fell on them.
The Johanns, in their sweaty T-shirts, hadn't dropped by
a cattle sale; they had crashed a wedding. I will give
them this, they made the best of it. Mike ended up dancing
with the bride, and of course he went on to win the
election as well.
This is the sequel: Months later, at an inaugural ball
in Lincoln, two uninvited guests showed up. It was, of
course, the bride and her husband.
They had a simple message: ``You crashed our wedding,
Governor, and now we're crashing your inaugural.''
So the senior Senator from Arizona [Mr. McCain] may like
to brag about his Hollywood cameo with Vince Vaughn, but
our colleagues know the truth. Senator Mike Johanns is the
original--the original--wedding crasher.
Mike and Stephanie certainly have traveled a long and
interesting road from when they first met while serving on
the Lancaster County Board in the 1980s, when Mike would
draft up walking lists on an old typewriter and they would
go out and campaign door to door.
A lot has changed. For one thing, Mike isn't a Democrat
anymore. But much is the same too. Mike still cares deeply
about mental health issues. It is what brought him into
politics in the first place. It is what he considers his
crowning achievement as Governor. He still has loyal fans
on staff who remember all of his efforts on the issue.
It is a rare thing, the loyalty Mike inspires in people.
This is the Senator with staffers who have been with him
for many years, some since his days in local politics, and
here is what they all say about Mike Johanns: Senator
Johanns is a man who cares--cares about his family, he
cares about the people who work for him, and he cares
about his constituents. That is why he has given his cell
phone number out to half of Nebraska.
He has made his mistakes, of course. As mayor of
Lincoln, he had to cancel Halloween one year. But that is
old news. To many Nebraskans he is still Governor, to
others he is simply Mike. But whatever Nebraskans call
Mike Johanns, they respect him, and I know they are going
to miss him. And so are we.
At least retirement will give Mike more time to pursue
his hobbies. We hear he is a voracious window washer. He
has even been known to pull out the Windex on vacation.
Whatever he does, we know this is a retirement that is
well earned. He has dealt with bird flu, mad cow disease,
the farm bill, deficit reduction, and just about any other
issue you can think of over a long and distinguished
career in public service.
We all want to thank Senator Johanns for his loyal and
dedicated service to the Senate and to the people of
Nebraska. We wish Mike and Stephanie the best as they look
forward to their next adventure together.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to join in the remarks
of the distinguished Republican leader, but add to that
that Stephanie is one of the funniest people Landra and I
have ever known. She has a great sense of humor. What the
Republican leader laid out is perfect, except this woman
has a sense of humor that is really quite remarkable.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator
withhold his request?
Mr. REID. Yes, Mr. President.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from
Nebraska.
Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, just a word or two to both
leaders. Thank you so much for your kind words. I also
want to say thank you for mentioning my wife Stephanie.
This has been a remarkable partnership for a lot of years,
and I could not have done what I did without her. So thank
you to Senator McConnell. Mr. Leader, thank you. It has
been an honor to serve in this body. I will have more to
say next week in my farewell speech, but I did not want
this day to go by without expressing my appreciation.
Thank you.
I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, in the waning days of the
113th Congress it is a bittersweet moment as many of us
are saying goodbye--although not on a permanent basis but
at least in terms of our official relationships working
together as Senators--to so many of our good friends and
valued colleagues. Every other December we find ourselves
bidding farewell to some of the most admired and respected
Members of this Chamber. Today I want to say a few words
about three of these esteemed Members, starting with my
good friend, the senior Senator from Georgia [Mr.
Chambliss]. ...
Next, I would like to turn to my colleague from
Nebraska, the senior Senator Mike Johanns. Even if Mike
Johanns had never been a Senator, he would have compiled
an extraordinary career of public service. It started with
a stint on the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners and
continued with 2 years on the Lincoln City Council,
followed by 8 years as mayor of Lincoln, NE.
In 1999 Mike left the mayor's office and moved over to
the Nebraska State Capitol, where he served for 6 years as
Governor. He said one of his proudest gubernatorial
accomplishments was enacting a mental health reform law
that helped improve the lives of some of Nebraska's
neediest and most vulnerable residents. That to me tells a
lot about his character and sense of compassion.
Born and raised as a farmboy, Mike was named America's
28th Secretary of Agriculture in 2005. Over the next 3
years, he held more than 50 separate forums on the farm
bill--more than 50. Not surprisingly, he continued to work
on agriculture-related issues when he joined the Senate.
Indeed, he has been a true leader, fighting passionately
to defend the rights and livelihood of farmers and
ranchers everywhere--especially in Nebraska.
These are issues that are vitally important to millions
of Americans, including Mike's constituents, but they are
not the kind of issues that help land you prime time
appearances on cable news. Luckily for us, Mike doesn't
care about media attention, but what he does care about is
doing the right thing for his State and for our country.
He understands something that many of us too quickly
forget--that taxes and regulations should be forced to
pass a simple cost-benefit test. That is why Mike worked
so hard to block the national energy tax known as cap and
trade, and that is why he has consistently demanded that
the Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal
agencies demonstrate how their proposed rules would affect
American jobs and American workers.
It is also why he has so aggressively pushed to abolish
the IRS 1099 reporting requirement in Obamacare, which
would have placed a costly new burden on America's small
business owners and indirectly on the jobs that they
create. Mike did more than anyone else to help highlight
the problems with this requirement and to demand its
repeal. Thanks in large part to his efforts, 81 Members of
this Chamber voted to abolish it back in 2011.
There is an old cliche in politics that there are two
types of politicians--show horses and workhorses. Mike has
never sought the limelight, and has certainly done more
than his fair share of the work. But he has done so in a
very quiet and thoughtful manner. He is someone who has
kept a low profile while working behind the scenes,
building bipartisan consensus and being infallibly polite
and gentlemanly in the process.
He is the type of Senator who is universally admired and
respected by all of our colleagues. His accomplishments
here in the Senate--I have just mentioned a few--have been
manifold. Yet I am quite certain his proudest
accomplishments are his family--his wife Stephanie, their
two children, and five grandchildren. They have been
generous enough to share Mike with us for the past 6
years, and now it is time for Mike to be with the people
he cares about the most. We will miss him a whole lot, but
he is moving on to perhaps the most rewarding chapter of
his life.
Mike, thanks for all you have done. Thanks for your
service, your guidance, and most of all for your
friendship.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I come to the floor to
praise the public service of and bid farewell to my friend
and valued colleague from Nebraska, Senator Mike Johanns.
With my remarks, I celebrate not just Mike's last 6
years in the Senate but also his 30-plus years in public
service that will culminate with the end of this term.
At the highest levels of government in both the
legislative and executive branches, Mike's life of public
service has been punctuated by great accomplishment. From
the Lancaster County Board in Nebraska to the Lincoln City
Council, from his service as mayor of Lincoln to his
service as the 38th Governor of Nebraska, from his service
as the 28th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and throughout
his tenure in the Senate, Mike has demonstrated a
commitment to those with muted voices in our political
system, including small business owners, veterans, those
impaired by mental illness and most certainly America's
farmers and ranchers.
In the Senate, Mike's leadership and bipartisan efforts
to repeal purposeless tax reporting requirements in
Obamacare, his championing new trade agreements, and his
contribution to the development and final passage of a new
farm bill this year all describe a strong conservative
legislator committed to stimulating economic growth
through reduced government spending, lower tax rates, and
reduced regulatory burdens on American business.
I have appreciated Mike's partnership on key
legislation, including his joining me to cosponsor the
bipartisan Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto
Act of 2009. During the 112th Congress, we were both
cosponsors of the Foreign Earnings Reinvestment Act, a
bipartisan effort to let corporations reinvest earnings
kept overseas by our high corporate tax rates back into
the American economy.
I was also proud to join Mike as an original cosponsor
of his bill, the Two-Year Regulatory Freeze Act of 2011,
which sought to give the American economy a much needed
reprieve to burdensome and confusing Federal regulations
that frequently hinder economic growth. Mike was also an
original cosponsor of the Jobs Through Growth Act, and
many others.
I am also grateful that he joined in helping replenish
the Forest Service's aging air tanker fleet. A decade ago
the Forest Service had roughly 40 large air tankers to
fight wildfires that burned millions of acres of land
across Western States, including Nebraska and Arizona.
Today they own eight large air tankers. Senator Johanns
and I saw an opportunity to transfer several excess
Department of Defense aircraft to the Forest Service to
temporarily address this shortage, and that has happened.
While Mike and I have had disagreements along the way, I
have always respected his knowledge and experience as a
farmer, foreign trade expert, and the Nation's former
Agriculture Secretary.
I am proud of the areas where we agree: reining in
certain farm subsidy programs, advocating for free trade
agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea, and
even working together to kill the proposed USDA catfish
office--a little known $15 million program inside the last
farm bill that we both highlighted as wasting taxpayer
money and that, from a trade perspective, was negatively
impacting our cattlemen and soy farmers.
We also agree on the need to help returning veterans
seeking to reenter the workforce as beginning farmers, an
effort he championed in our last farm bill. I have long
applauded Senator Johanns for calling on Congress to pass
laws to stop farm subsidies from going to millionaires
while he was a sitting Secretary of Agriculture.
As much as I respect the substance of Mike's
accomplishments in public service, I have valued how he
has achieved them with a quiet, purposeful dignity and,
indeed, a vibrant sense of humor. He has never been
opposed to bipartisan cooperation whenever it is needed to
further the interests of his constituents or the greater
Nation.
For these reasons, his approach to governance in
legislating has earned him the respect of colleagues and
constituents across the political continuum. It should
also serve as an example to all of us in this body who
remain behind.
In an email Mike wrote to his friends last February
announcing his decision not to seek reelection in 2014,
Mike wrote: ``With everything in life, there is a time and
a season.''
Well, to my friend and valued colleague, Mike Johanns, I
bid fair winds and following seas in all that he and his
lovely wife Stephanie do, and I thank him for his service
and his friendship.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
Mr. CHAMBLISS. Madam President, I rise and second what
my friend and colleague from Arizona said.
It has been a privilege of mine to serve in this body
for 12 years--and I will be making some comments about
that tomorrow--but during my early years in the Senate the
Secretary of Agriculture was Secretary Mike Johanns.
Being a very active member of the Agriculture Committee
and being chairman for 2 years during then-Secretary
Johann's tenure, I had the opportunity to work with Mike
on a day-to-day basis and, boy, what a pleasure it is to
work with one of the finest gentlemen and public servants
I have ever known. He is smart, and he is political when
he needs to be political, but he has as much or more
common sense as, again, any public servant I have ever
known.
For the past 6 years, he has been my next door neighbor
in the Russell Building, so we see a lot of each other
coming and going and have the opportunity to visit on a
regular basis.
As I leave at the end of this term, one of the real
Members of the Senate I am going to miss is Mike Johanns.
I publicly thank him for his service and thank him for his
commitment. I wish him and Stephanie the best, but what I
really thank him for is the great friendship he and I
developed over the years.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
Mr. ISAKSON. Madam President, I join the Senator from
Arizona and the Senator from Georgia--my senior Senator,
Mr. Chambliss--to rise for a minute and talk about Mike
Johanns.
I want to amend that. I don't want to just talk about
Mike Johanns, I want to talk about him and Stephanie
Johanns.
In the South what we have is what we call a two-for.
Mike and Stephanie are a two-for. They are a great pair
for America, and they are a great pair for the State of
Nebraska.
As a Senator from an agricultural State, I know the
value that Mike brought to the Cabinet of the United
States when he was Secretary of Agriculture.
I know from his serving the State of Nebraska when he
was Governor what a great job they did. I know the past 6
years, working side by side with Mike Johanns has been a
real treat. He is a gentleman, and he is a scholar. He
doesn't do anything if he doesn't know what he is doing,
and if he is not always right, he is almost always right
because he always has Stephanie there to guide him in the
right direction.
I pay tribute to a great Senator, and a great personal
friend, Mike Johanns, and his lovely wife Stephanie.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I had an opportunity to
address the extraordinary career of the Senator from
Nebraska the other day, and he was on the floor, which was
welcomed, and his staff was in the gallery. I wanted to
say again, in a much shorter version, how much we all
appreciate his remarkable contributions to our country, to
his State, and to the Senate and wish him well in the
future.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
Mrs. FISCHER. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate
the legacy of my dear friend, my colleague, and my fellow
Nebraskan, Senator Mike Johanns.
Senator Johanns has dedicated more than three decades of
his life to serving the people of Nebraska and also this
Nation. His career in public service began at the local
level, where he was elected to the Lancaster County Board
of Commissioners. He later joined the Lincoln City
Council, and eventually became mayor of Nebraska's capital
city where he served for two terms.
Perhaps the most infamous decision Senator Johanns ever
made throughout his career in public service was in his
days as mayor of Lincoln. After an early season winter
storm dropped more than a foot of heavy wet snow on
Lincoln in late October, Mayor Johanns decided to cancel
Halloween. He cited power outages and hazardous downed
powerlines.
As you can imagine, this news was not received well
among some of those Lincolnites. To this day, constituents
haven't forgotten and they still occasionally remind him
of how he deprived an entire city of trick or treats on
that fateful October evening. He made up for it, though,
when he and his wife Stephanie treated children who came
to trick or treat at the mansion.
Fortunately, this incident didn't deal a death blow to
Senator Johanns' political career. He went on to serve as
Governor of Nebraska and was reelected to a second term.
As Governor, he focused on fiscal discipline and the
responsible use of limited State tax dollars, principles
he upheld here in the Senate as well. At one point, as
Governor, he even vetoed an entire 2-year budget proposal
because it raised taxes to expand government power.
He also championed ambitious mental health reforms that
allowed patients to receive care in the stability and in
the security of their own communities where they could be
near their loved ones. A decade later, these reforms in
Nebraska are still regarded as a major milestone in
improving mental health care.
Before he was a Senator or a Governor or a mayor or a
city councilman, he worked on his family's dairy farm.
That is not easy work. As Mike puts it, it is a job that
builds character and humility. Growing up on a dairy farm,
he would milk cows every day before school, sometimes even
taking the tractor halfway to town in the winter months
when the roads were so bad that the schoolbus couldn't get
out to his farm.
This upbringing gave Senator Johanns a great
appreciation and a deep understanding for the needs of our
Nation's agriculture producers, so it was no surprise when
President George W. Bush selected him to lead the
Department of Agriculture as its Secretary. Mike dutifully
served in this role, overseeing a new reform-oriented farm
bill and opening doors to new global markets for our
Nation's ag producers.
As Secretary of Agriculture, he saw first hand the
challenges facing hungry nations. It was in this role that
he fell in love with the people of Africa, and he has
worked here in the Senate to develop food aid programs
that not only feed but also empower hungry populations
around the world.
Senator Johanns has tirelessly worked for our State and
our Nation. He brought to the Senate a unique perspective,
having served virtually every level of government. His
well-rounded approach to his work here reflects that rare
wisdom. Many of us here have had the pleasure of working
closely with him because he always makes a point to work
with his colleagues regardless of party affiliation,
whether it be on complex legislation or that annual Senate
secret Santa tradition.
We are all familiar with the confident, peaceful
demeanor he brings to the Senate, and his plain-spoken
clarity will truly be missed once he leaves Congress. This
is who Mike Johanns is. It is who he has always been: a
quiet workhorse with a soft spot for the world's most
disadvantaged, and a burning desire to help wherever he
can. Friends back home who have known him since before he
began his career in public service will tell you that he
is the same man today he was back then--never losing sight
of his goal of helping people, never getting a big head,
and always putting Nebraska first.
The Senator's wife Stephanie has been by his side
throughout every step of this tremendous journey, always
supportive and steadfast. Anyone who knows Mike knows he
and Steph are inseparable. I am sure they are both looking
forward to having more time to spend with family next
year.
Mike, you are a statesman and a model citizen. I am
thankful for all the work you have done for Nebraska and
for the entire Nation. You have set such a great example
for your fellow Senators, and we all appreciate your
dedication over these past 32 years. You have served
Nebraska with dignity and integrity. Good luck. I wish you
and Stephanie all the best. God bless you both.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. PORTMAN. Madam President, this is a bittersweet time
for all of us. As you have heard, as we close the book on
one term of Congress and look forward to the next, we are
here to say goodbye to one of our esteemed colleagues who
is finishing his service in the Senate. It is always
tough, but it is especially hard for me with regard to
Senator Mike Johanns--a guy I consider a fine Senator,
also a good friend, and sort of the perfect example of the
statesman. Through his impressive career as mayor,
Governor, Cabinet member, and Senator, as his colleague
has just said, he has displayed that.
I first met Senator Johanns when he was Secretary
Johanns. He was Secretary of Agriculture in the George W.
Bush Cabinet, and that meant we got to spend a lot of time
together. I was the U.S. Trade Representative, and I truly
believe I have traveled around the world more with Mike
than I have with my family. We went all over, from Asia to
Europe to South America and Africa. We fought for farmers
and ranchers. Our ideal was that we could expand exports,
and we were able to do that and make some progress with
his hard work.
We went to farflung corners of the world, such as
Burkina Faso, to deal with cotton issues important to U.S.
farmers. We spent countless--and I mean countless--hours
on something called the green room negotiating sessions,
trying to reach a deal in the Doha round of talks with the
World Trade Organization.
I remember one time Mike and I had the opportunity to
brief reporters as we were going across Africa. We were
racing across the Sahara Desert to make our way to an
airport. Because the airport had no lights, the pilots
insisted we get there while there was still light so they
could see where they were landing.
He taught me a lot, not just about arcane agricultural
issues, such as what is a green box or an amber box
subsidy in agriculture--fun issues such as that--but he
also taught me a lot about negotiating and about how, as
we said earlier, to be a statesman.
We had some tough negotiating sessions, but Mike was
always a proud and relentless representative and champion
for the interests of our great country and the interests
of the farmers and ranchers he knew so well. He always did
his job on the global stage with honor and with dignity.
If there has ever been a more forceful advocate for
American farmers, whether it was there or here in the
Senate, I don't know who it is.
In 2007, he told me he was going to leave the
administration and go home to Nebraska, and that he was
considering running for the Senate. I never thought I
would be able to serve with him, because I didn't know I
was going to follow him, but I knew when he told me that,
he would be in the Senate and that he would put in the
same level of dedication to this body as he had as
Secretary of Agriculture, and that has been true.
He is not flashy. His colleague from Nebraska has just
called him a workhorse. I hope he takes that as a
compliment. I would. He has never sought out the cameras
or, for that matter, sought out recognition for his good
work. He just does the right thing. A true statesman.
So, Mike Johanns, we are going to miss you. We are going
to miss Stephanie. And we wish you Godspeed.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. ROBERTS. Madam President, the first time I met Mike
Johanns was in Hutchison, KS. Hutchison, KS, is where we
have the State fair every year. I was somebody then. I was
the chairman of the sometimes powerful House Committee on
Agriculture, and I had made a pitch to get the Secretary
of Agriculture to actually come to the fair, thinking that
Mike Johanns would be a far better speaker than myself and
maybe I could avoid some trouble. So I had the Secretary
come and I made the promise that every farmer who wanted
to ask the Secretary of Agriculture a question would have
that opportunity. I hadn't bothered to tell Mike about it,
but when he arrived on the scene, he nodded his head and
said, ``Fine.'' He had this yellow tablet under his arm,
and with ample staff, some who used to work for me, but
that is beside the point.
So cutting things short, all the activities in the State
fair he attended, and he dutifully went around to every
exhibit, and we finally ended up in the amphitheater and
there must have been 150 to 175 farmers all lined up
waiting to speak to or to question the Secretary of
Agriculture. I thought to myself: Oh, my gosh, what have I
done? The Secretary is coming in--I didn't know Mike that
well at that particular time--and what have I gotten him
into?
But Mike didn't seem to be bothered at all. He was
absolutely comfortable, unflappable. He had the microphone
and he sat down at a table, put down the yellow tablet and
said, ``Yes, sir, and what is your first question and what
is your name?'' The individual would give his name and the
question, and Mike would write down the question. He said,
``Thank you very much for that. It will receive all of our
attention. Next.''
He went through the whole 125 or 150 and never answered
a question, but he wrote it down. Every farmer who came up
later to me said, ``You know, the Secretary wrote down my
question.'' They were tremendously impressed, as opposed
to me. Silly me, I would have tried to answer their
questions, and we would have been there 2 or 3 hours, Lord
knows how long. So I asked Mike, ``How do you get by with
that?'' He said, ``Well, it saves a lot of time and you
never get in trouble by what you don't say,'' which always
sort of stuck with me and what a class act he was.
County commissioner, mayor of Lincoln, Governor,
Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Senator. I suppose if I
floated a balloon for you to be President that you might--
no, Stephanie wouldn't buy it and you wouldn't either. But
that would be the logical next step, Mike, and I think we
certainly could and probably will do a lot worse. But at
any rate, since I brought up Stephanie, Franki and I
extend our very best wishes and love.
I do have somewhat of a minor discomfort, it isn't a
quarrel--I would never quarrel with Stephanie--but some
degree of discomfort.
We have to have meetings around here a lot, and some of
us stay for the whole thing. We would always look around
for Mike. He would be around for the fireworks and then he
would leave and he would always go home--because he had a
home very close on Capitol Hill--to be with Stephanie.
She is absolutely wonderful. She has the best smile
ever. You cannot be unhappy or in a bad mood ever when you
see Stephanie.
So I would come to work in the Hart Building or here in
the Capitol and I would happen to run into Stephanie and
she would always come up with that big smile on her face
and say, ``Hi, Pat. How are things going?''
What are you going to do? I mean, I am trying to be the
curmudgeon of the Senate, but Grassley keeps edging me
out. So here I would be in sort of a bad or a grumpy mood
and she would flash that smile, and I would say, ``Just
fine.'' Then I would be feeling pretty good and I would go
into the office. They would say, ``What is wrong? You have
a smile on your face.'' I would say, ``I've been
Stephanized.'' I am truly going to miss that.
I remember the time we were sitting probably right about
here in the back. We had just concluded the farm bill for
the first time, and then it took us 400 days to get the
rest of it. Mike is an expert on agriculture program
policy. Ask anybody else if they would like to talk about
agriculture program policy and you would get a high glaze
after about 8 seconds--but not Michael. Mike knows
agriculture farm program policy. We call it farm program
policy in Nebraska and Kansas, but he knows an awful lot
about it.
I asked him, ``How many people do you think in this
body, in this Senate, absolutely understand farm program
policy?'' He retorted, ``How many people want to
understand agriculture program policy?'' We decided there
were about 5 in the Senate and maybe about 10 in the
House--which shows you why we have a tough time getting
the farm bill done.
I relied on his advice and counsel when I was the
ranking member. I am so sorry--I regret--should I have the
privilege of becoming chairman of the Senate Agriculture
Committee, I would look forward to a dynamic duo with
regard to what we could accomplish. But Senator Johanns is
like Shane: Come back, Shane. Come back, Mike. But Shane
rode away, and the Senator is going to ride back to
Nebraska. I give him that, and I give him all of the
success he can possibly have.
Six years is all this man has served. Some people have
been here a lot longer. I have. You can accomplish a lot
in 6 years. People say: What can you do in 6 years?
No. 1, you can work on legislation and you can know what
you are talking about and you can earn people's respect
and you can be smart about it. I don't mean smart smart. I
mean just smart, so that what you say and when you say it,
people pay attention. That is precisely the kind of person
Mike is. You can have all the integrity in the world and
you can do exactly what he says when he talks about the
people of Nebraska.
The people of Kansas are very similar to the people of
Nebraska. My only complaint with the people of Nebraska is
they chose to go play in the Big Ten and are finding it a
little more difficult than running the track meets they
used to run against Kansas State and KU. But if you want
to go to the Big Ten and do that, why that is your
business--but we have the same kind of roots.
I have always said there are no self-made men or women
in public office. It is our friends and the people we
represent who make us what we are, and Senator Johanns has
spoken so eloquently to that.
Michael, I was trying to think of a tag I could label
you with that might be noteworthy of everything you stand
for. Others will do better than I and others have already
said that. I simply come up by saying that you are an
uncommon man with a very common touch, and I am going to
miss you--and everybody in the conference is going to miss
you and I suspect everybody in the Senate is going to miss
you for the way you have conducted yourself and the job
you have done for Nebraska.
We wish you all the best and we love you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). The Senator from
Maine.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, when Senator Mike Johanns
stated in February of last year that he had decided not to
seek a second term in the Senate, he did so in a way that
revealed so much about his character. There was no
dramatic press conference, there were no weeks of rumors,
there were no guessing games. Instead, there was just a
simple and brief press release.
Then, the very next day it was back to work for Senator
Johanns, traveling throughout the State of Nebraska for a
series of townhall meetings with the people he is honored
to serve.
Nine months later, in October 2013, his character again
shone through. The Federal Government was shut down due to
a massive failure to govern responsibly. It was stifling
our economy and causing great harm to the trust the
American people deserve to have in their government.
As a key member of our Common Sense Coalition, Senator
Johanns worked effectively and quietly to restore
government operations and to restore citizen trust in
government. Again, no dramatics, no search for the
limelight, just solid results, just effective leadership.
Quiet, effective leadership guided by common sense has
been the hallmark throughout the Senator's 32 years in
public service. From Lancaster County commissioner and
mayor of Lincoln to Governor of Nebraska and U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture, he has been well informed,
thoughtful, and untiring.
The old farm country saying that sowing is easy, reaping
is hard, perfectly describes his record of accomplishment
and his determination to see any task to its completion.
Most of all, the Senator from Nebraska always does what he
thinks is in the best interests of our country and of the
people he so proudly represents.
In an interview shortly before he announced that he
would be leaving the Senate, Senator Johanns said he hoped
he would be remembered as ``a guy who was good to work
with.''
Working with Senator Mike Johanns has been more than
just good. It has been an honor and a privilege and I wish
him and Stephanie all the best.
Thank you for your service.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, I rise to also express my
appreciation for Senator Mike Johanns and for his wife
Stephanie.
I first met Mike shortly after I was elected Governor of
my State. At that time Mike was serving as Governor of
Nebraska. Right away when I went and visited with Mike I
could tell this was somebody who was not only somebody we
could count on but who had the right motivation in public
service, had great ideas, and was somebody I could look to
as a mentor, and I have ever since.
From his experience at the local level as commissioner,
then as mayor, then as Governor, then as Secretary of
Agriculture, and then as a Senator, Mike has been somebody
all of us have counted on and somebody whose advice we
have sought when we wrestled with tough decisions.
So I just want to add my voice as well to the others who
have expressed our appreciation for Senator Mike Johanns
and for Stephanie and to say how much we are going to miss
him. We are going to miss him not only on a personal
level--because he is a great guy and a great friend and
somebody we can count on--but we are going to miss his
advice, his counsel, his participation in this process on
behalf of the American people.
I think Mike epitomizes the kind of approach we need to
have in this body to get work done--to listen, to think
carefully, and to remember always that we work for the
American people, and he has a long and distinguished
career doing that.
He is somebody who will be truly missed, and I think he
is somebody who exemplifies the very best of this body and
of public service on behalf of our great Nation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, our colleagues know the
Presiding Officer is a recovering Governor, I am a
recovering Governor, Mike Johanns is a recovering
Governor. So we are sort of a support group for one
another, men and women who used to be somebody special. I
am kidding because I think we still are.
The Senator was talking about Michael, and I had the
privilege of knowing him and his wife for a number of
years. We were Governors together, and my wife Martha and
his wife Stephanie were First Ladies together and define
what the standards should be for First Lady or First Man,
if you will, if you have a female Governor.
I will never forget when I first met him. I was talking
about Stephanie and how we know each other and so forth,
and he told me this great story about--I think they were
county commissioners together. It was Lancaster County.
I might be mistaken, I think he used to be in those days
maybe a Democrat, and a long time ago I was a young
Republican for Barry Goldwater, when I was a 17-year-old
Republican freshman student at Ohio State, and later found
out Hillary Clinton was a Goldwater ``Golden Girl'' at the
Republican Convention in 1964.
In any event, I just want to say one of the reasons he
is so thoughtful, and I hope maybe the reason I am fairly
thoughtful, is because we have the ability to work across
the aisle and to see and appreciate the views of other
people.
The story about how he and Stephanie, when they were on
county council together, they met, started liking each
other, started dating, fell in love and later got
married--they even had lunch together every day they were
on county council, and every day he was Governor they
continued to have lunch together and here, too, for many
days. That is a love, the kind you just don't see. You
just don't see that very much.
I just want to say: You are such an inspiration to the
rest of us, you and your wife, the way you cherish each
other and hold together and support each other and stand
by each other. It is just a real source of inspiration.
There is an old saying: It doesn't matter who gets
credit for something when you get a lot more done. You
define that, a guy who doesn't need headlines, a lot of
attention. I hope the rest of us are that way, but you
define that for us.
We love working with you. We are going to miss you. We
wish you the best and wish you Godspeed. As we say in the
Navy, fair winds. God bless you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I am here to talk about the
Intelligence Committee report, but before the Senator
leaves the floor, I just want to tell my colleague from
Nebraska how much I appreciate his service. I note for the
body that in the effort to build a bipartisan coalition
for major tax reform, Mike Johanns was the Senator whose
counsel we all thought we needed, and I thank him.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take a few
minutes to salute my colleagues who are departing the
Senate at the end of this year with the conclusion of the
113th Congress: Mark Begich of Alaska, Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Kay Hagan of North
Carolina, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mike Johanns of Nebraska,
Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Carl Levin of Michigan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jay
Rockefeller of West Virginia, Mark Udall of Colorado, and
John Walsh of Montana.
They have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their
energy and considerable time and service to their
constituents, to their home States and to our country. I
want to thank them for their service and for their
kindness to me over many years in so many cases. In
particular, I want to say a few words about these
colleagues. ...
I have been proud to work with Mike Johanns, an
extraordinary Senator and an extraordinary gentleman, on a
number of issues. We were particularly happy--both of us--
when the HAVEN Act was incorporated into the pending
version of the National Defense Authorization Act. This
legislation will allow disabled and low-income veterans
the ability to finance improvements to their homes so they
are safer and more accessible. We also worked together on
healthy housing efforts and to reduce lead hazards. This
is consistent with so many things he has done,
particularly with respect to veterans. Again, I wish him
the best as he goes forward. ...
Along with all of my other colleagues who are leaving us
at the conclusion of the 113th Congress, let me thank them
for their service, their dedication to improving the lives
of Americans, and on a very personal level for their
friendship. I wish them all well.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Mr. REED. ... Before I conclude with my remarks
regarding the traditional defense programs, I want to
touch on two other aspects of the legislation, one in
particular with respect to the defense act. I am pleased
that it includes the HAVEN Act. This is bipartisan
legislation that I introduced with Senator Johanns to help
more veterans with critical repairs and modifications for
their homes so they are safer and more accessible.
This program is directed at our disabled and low-income
veterans. They find themselves out of the service, they
have benefits, but they have needs to fix their homes and
this program will help them do that. It establishes a
competitive pilot program allowing nonprofit organizations
throughout the country to apply for grants administrated
by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to help
make key improvements to the houses of veterans with
disabilities, or low-income veterans.
It is fitting we take this step to give back to those
who have made a personal sacrifice for our Nation, and I
am particularly delighted I was able to work with Senator
Johanns. As I noted in my remarks yesterday, he is
retiring, but his decency, integrity, intelligence, and
commitment to his constituents and also to the men and
women of the Armed Forces will be missed here. ...
Mr. DURBIN. I have some tributes here for my colleagues
who are retiring, leaving the Senate. It is a lengthy list
of tributes. ...
I want to say a word about three others on the other
side of the aisle who are retiring: Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, and Mike Johanns of
Nebraska. I got to know them when I gathered with one of
these gangs, as they call them around here, to talk about
deficit reduction. We spent more time together trying to
explore the Federal budget in ways to reduce our deficit
in a thoughtful manner so that we really got to know one
another and respect one another.
There is a world of difference in our political values
and philosophies, but each of them in their own way made a
positive contribution toward making this a stronger
nation. ...
Finally, here is a suggestion for when you have watched
all of the ``shouting head'' political TV talk shows you
can take: Listen to Senator Mike Johanns. Mike's quiet,
reasonable approach was a real asset not only to the Gang
of Eight negotiations, but to the entire Senate. We will
miss his calm demeanor and his good-faith efforts to find
smart, fair solutions to tough challenges.
None of them is running for reelection so I can't hurt
them politically by saying that I regard each of these
Senators as friends. They showed political courage when
partisanship would have been easier.
I wish them the best in all their future endeavors.
Mr. COONS. ... As I close, I would also like to thank
those of our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate
after the New Year.
It is an incredible privilege to work in this Chamber
and to represent the people. Every day I am awed by the
dedication and talent of many of my colleagues, public
servants who come to work to fight for their States and
their government.
To those who are ending their service in the Senate,
know that I value your friendship and partnership. It has
been an honor to work with you, and I thank you for all
you have done for our Nation.
Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I rise to thank my friend
Saxby Chambliss. Senator Coburn spoke about leadership. We
are very much going to miss Senator Coburn, Senator
Johanns, and Senator Chambliss in this body. ...
Mr. HOEVEN. Mr. President, in the new Congress we will
welcome 12 new Republican Senators, and that is wonderful.
They are great people. They are excited. They are
enthusiastic. I think they are going to do wonderful
things. We are going to lose 3 of our Republican
colleagues. I am thinking, maybe that is about the right
ratio; it is about 4 to 1.
But these are three individuals who are unbelievable in
what they have been able to do in the relationships they
built, the friendships, and the work they have done on
behalf of the American people. So I am looking at that
statistic and I am thinking: Wow, these are three great
people who have done the work of many, and I think they
have laid the foundation in many ways for us to get to a
majority: Senator Johanns, Senator Coburn, and Senator
Chambliss. I think they have done a lot of that work
required for us to get to majority.
We have heard about the great Senator from Georgia. But
I think the things I am going to talk about for a minute
in regard to Saxby Chambliss apply to the two individuals
sitting here with him. They are cut from the same cloth:
Senator Coburn, Senator Johanns, true public servants.
People who ran for the right reason; people who serve for
the right reason. I think we could ask anybody in this
body on either side of the aisle, and they would tell us
that these three individuals served for the right reasons,
and served the American people to the very best of their
ability--not just the people of their State, but the
American people. They will be remembered long after they
are gone. They will be remembered because of the great,
wonderful people they are, for the relationships they have
built, and for that service. So I echo Senator Ayotte's
comments.
Senator Coburn touched on it, too. One of the first
people I looked to as a mentor when I came here 4 years
ago was Saxby Chambliss. Now, that doesn't seem
intuitively like something I would do--I am from North
Dakota, he is from Georgia. Mike Johanns has been a mentor
of mine since Governor days, so for more than a decade.
But one of the first people I looked to as a mentor was
Saxby Chambliss, and I don't even know why. It was one of
those things that immediately you like the guy. But as you
listened to him a little bit, you respected the guy. You
thought: This guy has something to say. He knows what he
is doing. But then, it is that relationship thing--that
thing where he goes out of his way to work with you, to
help you, to understand what you are trying to do in a
friendly way, with great humor, and he does it naturally.
It is just who he is. It is automatic. I think Senator
Isakson really put his finger on it: It is just the way he
is. You are naturally drawn to him. ...
When we talk about Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, Mike
Johanns, it doesn't get any better than that. We will miss
them a lot.
I wish all three of them Godspeed, and may God bless you
in your next career.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, as the current session of
Congress comes to a close it is our tradition to take a
moment to express our appreciation for the faithful
service of those of our colleagues who will be returning
home at the end of the year. We appreciate their hard work
and great service on behalf of their home States and our
Nation. We will miss them and the thoughtful suggestions
and good ideas they have brought to our deliberations on
the issues before us.
The word ``service'' brings to mind one of our retiring
colleagues, Mike Johanns. Mike has followed a path that
has brought him from his service as the mayor of Lincoln,
to his post as the Governor of Nebraska, on to serve in
the President's Cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture and
then on to the floor of the U.S. Senate. He has made
important contributions at each post and now, as he has
decided with the support and guidance of his family, ``it
is time to close this chapter in his life.''
As a former mayor myself I have a great deal of regard
for Mike and his commitment to the people that he has
served for many years. He has a great understanding of his
home State of Nebraska and the workings of its State and
local government. He understands the challenges that face
his home State in the present, and the hopes and dreams of
the people of Nebraska for the future.
It did not take long to discover that Mike is a
workhorse, not a show horse. He is not someone to land on
a weekend talk show every week talking about what needs to
be done--he would rather be in committee or on the floor
every day doing it. In everything he did Mike always
brought along an abundance of Nebraska common sense. He
used that special gift of his and his varied background as
a starting point for finding common ground and a workable
solution on a number of issues that would be acceptable to
all.
During his service in the Senate it has been good to
have a neighbor to work with who understands agriculture
and our rural way of life. He has been a great help in
making the case clear to the Congress about the difference
between living on a farm and living in a big city or town.
That is why I will not be the only one who will miss
him. Our rural communities in the West will miss his
ability to understand the problems of rural America and
what should be done to address them.
Mike has also been one to focus on the money side of
each issue that came to the Senate. He knows how important
it is for us to get a handle on our Nation's finances to
ensure that our children and grandchildren will not have
to clean up the financial mess we are going to leave them
if we are not careful. Mike has said that our failure to
act will cause our financial problems to appear sooner
than we might think.
I am sorry to see Mike go when there is so much to be
done that could use his understanding of the issues and
his experience, as can be seen by the impact he has had on
the local, State, and national level.
Still we know where to find him whenever we could use
some of his Nebraska-rooted common sense. Thanks, Mike,
for your service to the State of Nebraska and to our
Nation. You can be proud of what you helped to accomplish
and the seeds you planted that will lead to more
accomplishments in the years to come.
Thanks for your leadership and thanks for your
friendship, too. Diana joins in sending our best wishes to
you and our appreciation for all you have done. Please
keep in touch with us. We will always be pleased to hear
from you.
Ms. HEITKAMP. Mr. President, I wish to honor my
colleague from Nebraska, Senator Mike Johanns, who is
retiring from the Senate at the end of this year. Senator
Johanns has been a friend since I started in the Senate,
and I appreciate his willingness to work with me toward
our shared goals. He is one of only two current Senators
to have served as a Governor and Cabinet secretary,
providing him with a tremendous amount of wisdom on how to
get things done. It is his incredible knowledge and strong
Midwestern work ethic that I admire most about him.
For more than 30 years, Senator Johanns has been a
strong voice for the people of Nebraska. His first act in
public service was in 1983 as a county board member in
Lancaster County. He later went on to serve as both
councilman and mayor of Lincoln. He would eventually
become Governor of Nebraska and Secretary of Agriculture
under President George W. Bush. Senator Johanns set no
limits to his potential; readily serving in any capacity
he could to make our great Nation a better place.
Senator Johanns and I serve together on the Agriculture
Committee and I greatly admired the thoughtfulness and
expertise he brought to the negotiations on the farm bill.
His knowledge as a former Agriculture Secretary was
unmatched and ensured many improvements were made
throughout the debate. Senator Johanns never forgot about
our farmers and always kept his eye on providing them with
the best possible outcome he could.
We also had the privilege of working together on the
Banking and Housing Committee. He and I worked together
with a bipartisan group of committee members to draft and
advance legislation reforming the housing finance system
to protect the American taxpayer from another bailout and
to guarantee that another housing crisis does not happen
again. Once again, his voice on behalf of rural America
during these talks was critical and something that I
greatly appreciated.
Senator Johanns has never been about taking credit or
seeking the spotlight. He maintained a strong, hard work
ethic throughout his time in the Senate and was one who
was willing to cross the aisle to get things done. The
American people expect that of their representatives, and
Senator Johanns met those expectations on behalf of
Nebraska.
I will miss having him as my colleague in the Senate,
but I also know that his wife and family will enjoy the
free time they will have with him. I wish him happiness
and success in the next chapter of his life.
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
Mr. BENNET. 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
23, 2014.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I will now speak very briefly
about my retiring colleagues and then turn it over to the
Senator from Florida. I promise I will be brief.
Everybody will face retirement, voluntarily or
involuntarily. There will be a last vote to cast and a
last speech to make. Only God knows when that day comes
because we are all just one car wreck away from ending our
careers.
To the retiring Members, I have had the pleasure of
serving with you, and I know you all. You did what you
thought was best for our country and your State, and what
more could anyone ask? My good friend Mark Pryor, who
tried to find common ground at a time when it is hard to
find. Mary Landrieu, who would drill under the Capitol if
she thought it would help American energy independence. We
have good friends on the other side, and I will miss you,
and I wish you well. But I would like very briefly to
speak about four. ...
Mike Johanns--he introduced me to Bono. I said, ``Who is
Bono?'' I don't follow that music that much, but I
actually did know Bono.
Mike introduced me to Africa. He was the Secretary of
Agriculture for the Bush administration, and he had a
passion for the developing world, particularly Africa.
Through Mike I got to know The One Foundation and the
Gates Foundation. Through Mike and Stephanie I have been
to Africa many times, and you represent the best in our
country. You are absolutely wonderful people. You will be
missed. My way to repay you is to stay involved in the
developing world. ...
To all of you, Godspeed. I wish you nothing but the
best.
I am fortunate enough to go into my third term. To my
colleagues, as we go into the next Congress, let's try to
do better. I know we can. If we do, all boats will rise.
Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I honor my colleague and
friend Mike Johanns. For many years, Senator Johanns has
worked tirelessly for the people of Nebraska, first at the
local level, then at the State level as Governor, and most
recently as senior Senator from Nebraska. Mike is a kind
and thoughtful man, and I have been grateful to serve with
him these past 6 years.
Senator Johanns was born and raised in Osage, IA, where
he grew up working on his family's farm. After high
school, he attended Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
and Creighton University School of Law. Following law
school Mike clerked on the Nebraska Supreme Court and then
practiced law in Lincoln, NE, where he was a founding
partner at Nelson, Johanns, Morris, Holdeman, and Titus.
In 1983, Senator Johanns was elected to the Lancaster
County Board. Five years later he won election to the
Lincoln City Council, and then, 3 years after that, became
mayor of Lincoln. Mike followed his success in local
politics with success in State politics. In 1998, he won
his first term as Governor of Nebraska, and was reelected
by a landslide 4 years later.
Senator Johanns entered national politics in 2004 when
President George W. Bush asked him to serve as Secretary
of Agriculture. Four years later he won election to the
U.S. Senate from Nebraska, where he has served with
distinction ever since.
When he retires later this month, Senator Johanns will
have spent more than 25 years as a public servant. I
commend him for his service to the State of Nebraska and
to the people of this Nation.
Although his tenure in the Senate was brief, Senator
Johanns wasted no time. His previous experience as
Secretary of Agriculture proved indispensable as a member
of the Senate Committee on Agriculture. To this committee,
he brought expertise on farming issues unrivaled by other
freshman Senators. He also served actively on the Banking
Committee and was a member of the Senate's Gang of Eight
during budget negotiations in 2011. Throughout his
service, Senator Johanns always had the best interests of
the Nation at heart.
Madam President, Senator Johanns is a good man who has
served his country well. His retirement is well deserved.
I wish him, his wife Stephanie, and their children the
best going forward.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, it is not uncommon for
Senators to leave this Chamber to serve in Cabinet
positions. Senator Mike Johanns, however, brought that
executive branch experience with him when he was elected
by the people of Nebraska to represent them in the Senate.
A former mayor, Governor, and U.S. Secretary of
Agriculture, Senator Johanns has served at every level of
government.
While we have often supported competing proposals, we
have found important and meaningful places to work
together. Senator Johanns joined me in coauthoring
legislation to improve the Food for Peace Program, helping
to feed an additional 200,000 people in dire need. Serving
on the Agriculture Committee together, we are both
committed to farming, family farming, and supporting our
Nation's agriculture sectors and the people and
communities that are part and parcel of farming and food
production in America. Senator Johanns has also been an
important advocate for veterans, working on programs to
help returning soldiers find civilian employment.
I wish Senator Johanns, his wife Stephanie, and their
family the very best in this next chapter of their lives.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we wind down the final days
of the 113th Congress, it is a good time both to reflect
on the past and to look toward the future. I have been
very moved as I listened to the farewell speeches of our
departing Senators, and I wish I had time to pay tribute
to each one of them. They have all been wonderful
colleagues, and I enjoyed working with and getting to know
every one of them. I wish them all the very best in all
their future endeavors. They will most certainly be
missed. ...
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, over three decades as a
public servant, my friend and colleague Senator Mike
Johanns of Nebraska has proven time and time again that
politicians can be deeply principled while still
recognizing the need to find common ground on the complex
and difficult choices we must make as a nation. I believe
this is a lesson that all former Governors carry with them
after holding executive office, and Senator Johanns and I
were often able to reach an understanding on that basis.
Before coming to the Senate in 2009, Mike Johanns had
already built a distinguished record of public service as
a county board member, city council member, mayor, and
two-term Governor of Nebraska. Senator Johanns also served
for 3 years in the White House Cabinet as Secretary of
Agriculture to President George W. Bush. While leading the
Department of Agriculture, Senator Johanns helped U.S.
agriculture producers find new markets overseas, promoted
expanded use of renewable fuels, and encouraged
conservation of agricultural lands. Having played a key
role in developing the farm bill passed by Congress in
2008, then-Secretary Johanns decided to return to
legislating full time and successfully ran to represent
Nebraska in the Senate.
Senator Johanns' time in Congress is best characterized
by his low-key approach to the most high-profile and
consequential issues of the day. He was one of the
bipartisan Gang of Eight Senators who tackled the
challenge of crafting a comprehensive Federal deficit
reduction plan in 2011, and in 2013 we worked together on
a bipartisan deal to reopen the Federal Government and
avoid a default on our national debt. I was also very
proud to work with Senator Johanns on legislation to
address the unacceptable trends in military sexual
assault. Senator Johanns always brought the work ethic he
developed growing up on a Nebraska farm to our business in
the Senate, and for that and many other reasons I very
much enjoyed working with him.
Senator Johanns has given many years to public service,
earning him the right to seek a bit of a break from the
spotlight, and I wish him all the best in his retirement.
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate and thank
the 13 outgoing Senators who have worked tirelessly to
represent their home States in the Senate: Senator Mark
Begich, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Tom Coburn,
Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Mike
Johanns, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator Mary Landrieu,
Senator Carl Levin, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Jay
Rockefeller, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator John Walsh.
I have worked side by side with these men and women for
years--some for decades--and witnessed first hand their
extraordinary commitment to public service and to the
people they so proudly represent.
Even when we didn't see eye to eye on every issue, I
always deeply respected and admired their service to our
Nation and their dedication to fight for what they believe
in.
It has been a privilege to serve alongside each and
every one of these extraordinary colleagues. I will miss
their leadership and their friendship, and I wish them all
the best as they embark on the next chapter.
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