[Senate Document 113-7]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Jim DeMint
U.S. SENATOR FROM SOUTH CAROLINA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. Doc. 113-7
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Jim DeMint
United States Congressman
1999-2005
United States Senator
2005-2013
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2014
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
vii
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Graham, Lindsey, of South Carolina.............
3
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
8
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
10
McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky..................
5
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
9
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
12
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
5
BIOGRAPHY
Jim DeMint was born in Greenville County, SC, on
September 2, 1951. He graduated from Wade Hampton High
School in Greenville in 1969 and became an active
volunteer and community leader. He earned a BS from the
University of Tennessee in 1973 and an MBA from Clemson
University in 1981.
As the owner of a Greenville-based market research firm,
he became an expert in positioning products in a crowded
marketplace, a skill that made him an effective legislator
and representative. When he was first elected to the House
of Representatives in 1998 his colleagues recognized his
unique attributes and elected him president of the
Republican freshman class. He served in the 106th and two
succeeding Congresses, January 3, 1999, to January 3,
2005. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, reelected
in 2010, and served until his resignation on January 1,
2013.
Senator DeMint quickly established himself as one of the
most effective conservative leaders in Washington, DC,
seeking to enact innovative solutions to improve America
for future generations. He has been a tireless advocate
for smaller government, individual liberty, a strong
national defense, and traditional values.
Jim DeMint has earned national acclaim for his work to
end the system of earmarks, also referred to as the
``congressional favor factory.'' Following the November
elections in 2006, the Senator stood up against big
spenders in Congress and stopped over 10,000 wasteful pork
projects. Famed Washington journalist Robert Novak called
him a ``hero.'' Wall Street Journal editor Steve Moore
said the Senator's actions saved Americans about $17
billion and called him the ``taxpayers' greatest ally.''
In early 2007 Jim DeMint also fought for commonsense
immigration reform by leading the effort to defeat the
amnesty bill and calling on government to first secure our
borders, enforce the laws already passed, and streamline
the legal immigration system.
In late 2006, he was elected as chairman of the Senate
Steering Committee, which is comprised of the majority of
Republican Senators and works to advance conservative
legislation. Last year, just as Ronald Reagan had done
over 20 years earlier, Jim DeMint delivered the keynote
address to the Nation's largest gathering of conservative
activists at the annual Conservative Political Action
Conference (CPAC). He was recently ranked as the Senate's
most conservative Member by National Journal and as the
No. 1 Senator voting for responsible tax and spending
policies by the National Taxpayers Union. Jim DeMint
understands the greatness of a country is found in its
people and values, not in its government.
The Senator and his wife, Debbie, reside in Greenville,
SC, and are the proud parents of four married children.
They are also greatly enjoying their new role as
grandparents.
Farewell to the Senate
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mr. DeMINT. Mr. President, I would like to give my
farewell address. We spent a lot of time in my office
writing out a long speech. However, once I read it, I
realized it is more emotional than I thought, and we set
that speech aside. Last night I made a lot of notes of
what I wanted to say, and then I realized this morning
that I was just trying to get the last word on a lot of
the politics we have been discussing, so I set that aside
and decided to speak from my heart.
Certainly, this is much more emotional than I thought,
and as I look around this room, the realization that I am
standing on the Senate floor speaking for the last time is
a lot to digest. It makes me very appreciative of the
privilege we have all been given by the American people,
and particularly those who have come before us and who
have given their lives for us to have the opportunity to
settle our differences in a civil and democratic way. This
is a great opportunity and privilege to share a few
thoughts before I go on to the next phase of my life.
First, I have to give particular thanks to my wife
Debbie, who, for the last 15 years, has spent many days
and nights alone as I have tried to change things in
Washington. She has often reminded and questioned me how I
thought I could change the world when I could not even mow
the grass. But she has been a supporter and certainly so
important as I left my children, who were still in school
when I began serving in the House, keeping them on the
right track. I particularly wanted to thank them as well.
All of those who serve here know that when we sign up
for public life, we also sign our families up for public
life. In a lot of ways it makes their lives much more
difficult. So I want to thank my children, my wife Debbie,
and my family for putting up with this and being so
supportive of me.
I also have to thank the people of South Carolina who
have entrusted me with this job in the Senate for the last
8 years, and in the House 6 years before that. All of us
who serve our States know that as we travel around and
meet people and tour businesses and speak to groups, it
creates a deep love and appreciation for everyone back
home.
I look at what we are making in South Carolina in these
small businesses. When we drive by we don't know anything
is even there, and then we go and find that they are
making things and shipping them all over the world. It
makes me very proud of what we are doing in South
Carolina, and I know everyone here feels the same way
about their States.
I am very appreciative that the people of South Carolina
have given me this opportunity. I am very grateful to my
colleagues whom I have often scrapped with on a lot of
issues. I appreciate their patience. I think I can leave
claiming to have good friends who are Democrats and
Republicans.
I am particularly grateful for a lot of the new
Senators. Some are sitting here today. I have had the
opportunity to work with the folks in their States around
the country. Their respective States have elected some new
people to the Senate who are bringing the right ideas and
some new voices to those principles that we know have made
our country successful. So I feel as I leave the Senate,
it is better than I found it, and that our focus now,
despite the difficult challenges, is on America and how we
turn America around.
I also want to spend some time thanking my staff. I have
to say my greatest inspirations have come from the staff
who I have had the opportunity to serve with in the House
and in the Senate. As all of my colleagues know who are
serving here in the Senate, this country is being run by
people in their twenties and thirties who get us so busy
they have to follow us to meetings to tell us where we are
going and what we will be talking about. It is incredible
to see that these young people, particularly those whom I
have served with, have such a passion for our country and
freedom and they are willing to put it all on the line to
make a difference here. They feel a lot like my family,
and I am certainly going to miss them, but it is
encouraging to watch them moving to other offices, taking
their ideas and that courage to other places on the Hill.
I want to add my thanks to all the Hill staff, the folks
sitting in the front here and those who have worked with
us. I know sometimes we have pushed the envelope a little
bit on things we were trying to get done, and I have seen
a lot of very intelligent, active, and engaged staff all
across the Hill, both Democrat and Republican, and I am
very thankful for what they do.
About 15 years ago I started campaigning for the House.
I had never run for public office. At that time, I
believed--and I think it still holds true today--that
there were normal people such as myself and then there
were politicians. I was a businessman. I had a small
business for about 15 years. I had four children. I was
active in my church and in the community. I had begun to
see that well-motivated, well-intended government policies
were making it harder for us to do the things at the
community level we know actually worked. That is what I
have always been about here. It really was not about
politics. I had no strong political affiliation before I
decided to run for office, but I saw ideas from the time I
was a young person. Ideas that worked.
I actually saw this statement the other day which I wish
to read because it reflects what I think a lot of us know
works in our country. This is one thing I will try to read
today:
I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be
uncommon. If I can seek opportunity, not security, I want
to take the calculated risk to dream and to build, to fail
and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for dole. I
prefer the challenges of life to guaranteed security, the
thrill of fulfillment to the state of calm utopia. I will
not trade freedom for beneficence, nor my dignity for a
handout. I will never cower before any master, save my
God. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and
unafraid, to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit
of my creations, to face the whole world boldly and say,
``I am a free American.''
I saw this on a plaque called ``The American Creed.'' In
South Carolina, at least, we have adopted this as what we
call ``The Republican Creed.'' It is really not a
Republican idea or a political idea, it is an American
idea. The ideas in this statement are ideas we all know
work, and ideas we would hope for our children and
everyone around us. We know there are people all around us
who are having difficulty, but this idea of helping them
to become independent, self-sufficient, and responsible
creates the dignity and fulfillment in their life that we
know we want for all Americans. This is not for a small
few. This is an American idea, and it is an idea I know
has worked in my life, and I have seen it work all around
me.
That is what I wish to talk about for a second today;
not political ideas but ideas where we can look back
through history and all around us today and point to them
and say, ``That is working.'' I think if we did that more
here in the political sphere, we might find a lot more
consensus.
As we look around the country today, we can see a lot of
things that are working. Sometimes we couch them in our
political rhetoric, but I can guarantee my colleagues they
are not being done for political reasons at the State
level; they are being done because they work and they have
to get things to work at the State level.
We saw last week the State of Michigan adopted a new law
that gave workers the freedom not to join a union. They
didn't do it because it was politically expedient or
because they thought it was a good idea. Actually, it
probably will get a lot of the politicians in hot water in
Michigan. What they did is look at 23 other States that
had adopted the same idea and see they were attracting
businesses and creating jobs, and these States, without
raising taxes, had more revenue to build schools and roads
and hospitals. It is just an idea that worked. It is not a
political idea to give people the freedom not to join a
union; it is an American idea and it is an idea that
works.
We can look around the country today--and, again, we
make these things political and give them labels that are
good or bad, depending on I guess which party one belongs
to--and see that a number of States have been very
innovative and creative with what they are doing with
education. We see what they have done in Florida, creating
more choices, and in Louisiana particularly, forced by
Hurricane Katrina to start a new system, in effect. They
see that more choices and opportunities for parents to
choose are helping low-income, at-risk kids, minority
kids. We can see it working. It is not political. It is an
American idea to give parents more choices to put their
children in an environment where they can succeed. It is
an idea that works.
We can look around the country at States that try to
create a more business-friendly environment not because
they are for businesses or for any political reason, or
they are for special interests, but because they know the
only way to get jobs and prosperity and create opportunity
is to create an environment where businesses can thrive.
We make it political here and we ask our constituents to
make choices between employers and employees, but States
such as Texas have created a business-friendly environment
with lower taxes and less regulation. They have passed
some laws that reduce the risk of frivolous lawsuits. What
they have seen is businesses moving to their State. They
have seen jobs and opportunity created not for the top 2
percent but expanding a middle class, creating more
opportunities and more tax revenues to do the things at
the State government level that we all want for everyone
who lives there. This is not for a few; this is for 100
percent.
We see specials now on television comparing California
and Texas, businesses moving out and delegations from
California going to Texas to try to figure out why
businesses are moving and families are moving there. It is
not political at all. We make it political and we talk
about it in political terms, but creating an environment
where businesses can thrive is an American idea and it is
an idea that is working. We see it all over the country,
where some States are going down one road, with higher
taxes, bigger government, and more spending, and they are
losing to States such as Texas, and I hope more and more
like South Carolina. They are moving to where they can
thrive. This benefits every American.
We look at energy development and we talk about that at
the national level of how it can create prosperity for our
country if we open it up. We don't have to guess at
whether it works. We can look at North Dakota, we can look
at Pennsylvania--States that have gone around the Federal
rules and figured out how to develop their own energy and
are creating jobs and tax revenue for their governments.
They are able to lower their taxes and use the revenue to
improve everything about their States. Here we make it
political and partisan, whether our country can develop
more energy, but at the State level it is about what
works. All we have to do is look at what works.
This is not rocket science. I came to Washington as a
novice in politics, believing in the power of ideas,
seeing how ideas could revolutionize different industries,
can create new products and services, meeting the needs of
customers everywhere. That is what I hoped we could do
here in Washington. Maybe naively, I went to work in the
House, often working with the Heritage Foundation, to
create a better product here in Washington. I saw Social
Security--and not too many people look below the surface--
but we knew it was going broke. We knew people were paying
for this Social Security retirement benefit, but we were
spending it all. I thought, what an opportunity it would
be for future generations--for my children--if we actually
saved what people were putting into Social Security for
their retirement, and we didn't have to do too much math
to see that even for middle-class workers, Americans could
be millionaires when they retired if we kept even half of
what was put into Social Security for them. It seemed like
a good idea to create wealth and independence for
individuals in retirement, but we made it a political idea
and somehow convinced Americans it was riskier to save
their Social Security contribution than it was to spend
it.
I am leaving the Senate to work on ideas I know work. I
have seen them work all over our country. We can look all
over our country and showcase these ideas that are
working. I know there is power in ideas. However, I have
learned one thing about the political environment: Unless
there is power behind the ideas, they will not emerge here
in the Congress. There is too much pressure from the
outside to maintain the status quo. No matter how much we
show it is working, it won't be adopted here unless we are
able to win the argument with the American people.
I spent most of my life in research and advertising and
marketing and strategic planning. What I hope I can do
from this point is to take these ideas and policies I know
work--and the Heritage Foundation for 40 years has been
creating the research and analyses that show these
policies work--and what I hope I can do is to help connect
those ideas with real people, real faces, and to show
these people that these ideas are not theory, they are not
political policies, but they are ideas that are working
right in their State or the State right next to them. If
we can win the arguments, if we can win the hearts and the
minds of the American people with these ideas, I know we
can engage them and enlist them to convince all of my
colleagues here to set the politics aside, the parties
aside, and to adopt those ideas that work. My hope is to
make conservative ideas so pervasive, so persuasive across
the country that politicians of all parties have to
embrace those ideas to be elected.
I am not leaving to be an advocate for the Republican
Party. I hope we can create more common ground between the
political parties by showing everyone that ideas that work
for their constituents and our constituents are right in
front of our faces if we are willing to set aside the
pressure groups, the special interests, and just focus on
what is working.
Over the next few years, we are going to see more and
more States doing the right things, becoming more
prosperous, creating a better environment for people to
live and work. We are going to see some States that will
continue to raise taxes, to create more regulations, and
make it harder to start businesses and be profitable in
those States. They will continue to lose businesses and
people. Many of those States will come to Washington and
ask us to help them out from their bad decisions.
I hope at that point we can show, by pointing at these
States and their right ideas, that we know the solutions
at the State level and we also know we can change how we
think at the Federal level and make our country work a lot
better.
I leave with a lot of respect for my colleagues. I know
my Democratic colleagues believe their ideas with
conviction, and I know my Republican colleagues do too. I
hope we can look at the facts. I hope we can look at the
real world. I hope we can look at what is working and set
aside the politics and realize what makes the country
great and strong is when we move dollars and decisions out
of Washington back to people and communities and States.
It works not for 2 percent but for 100 percent of
Americans.
I feel our customers in the Senate, at the Heritage
Foundation or wherever we go are 100 percent of Americans
for whom these ideas can work to build a better future and
a stronger America. I am not leaving the fight. I hope to
raise my game in my next phase, and I hope I can work more
closely with all of you, as well as Governors and State
legislators, to take these ideas and to convince
Americans, as well as their legislators, their Senators,
and their Congressmen, that we have the solutions all
around us if we have the courage to adopt them.
I thank you for this opportunity to serve. Certainly I
will miss my relationships. I hope we will have the
opportunity to continue to work together for what is the
greatest country in the world, in what I believe is a
generation that could be the greatest and most prosperous
generation of all if we just look to the ideas that work.
Thank you, Madam President. I thank my colleagues.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
JIM DeMINT
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Mr. GRAHAM. Madam President, I wanted to be recognized
for 10 minutes to talk about the decision by Senator
DeMint to leave the Senate next year.
I met with Jim DeMint this morning. To say I was stunned
is an understatement. Jim indicated to me that he will be
retiring from the Senate next year and taking over the
presidency of the Heritage Foundation, one of the great
conservative think tanks here in Washington.
My reaction for the people of South Carolina is: You
have lost a great, strong conservative voice, someone who
has championed the conservative cause and represented our
State with distinction, sincerity, and a great deal of
passion. On a personal level, I have lost my colleague and
friend. Jim and I have known each other for almost 20
years. I think we have done a pretty darn good job for
South Carolina, at times playing good cop bad cop, but
always trying to work together. What differences we have
had have been sincere.
That is the word I would use about Senator DeMint. He
sincerely believes in his causes. He is a conservative
voice that people in our party look to for leadership and
guidance. What he has done over the last 4 to 6 years to
build a conservative movement to get people involved in
politics, such as Marco Rubio, whom Jim helped early on in
his primary, I think is going to be a great legacy. From a
State point of view, we have lost one of our great
champions. Jim and Debbie have raised four wonderful
children. They have great grandkids. I know Jim is looking
forward to staying involved and pushing the conservative
outside the body. He was an effective voice in the Senate,
whether you agreed with Jim or not. He really did strongly
and passionately advocate for his positions and did it
very effectively.
Jim made the Republican Party, quite frankly, look
inward and do some self-evaluation. Conservatism is an
asset, not a liability, as we try to govern this country
in the 21st century. I look forward to staying in touch
with Jim and to working with him at the Heritage
Foundation to see what we can do to improve the fate of
our country so we will not become Greece.
No one is more worried about this Nation's unsustainable
debt situation than Senator DeMint. I have seen him evolve
over time as someone who could not sit quietly anymore,
who had to take up the cause.
In the 2010 election cycle he was one of the strongest
voices we had telling us that we had lost our way in
Washington. I know Jim to be a very kind, sincere man. He
is an individual who is a joy to be around.
When it comes to what is going on in America, I think
Jim understands that if we don't make some changes and
make them quickly, we are going to lose our way of life.
That is what has driven him above all else. He is trying
to keep this country the land of the free and the home of
the brave, where people's hard work is rewarded--not
punished--where we have a chance to come from nowhere to
be anything, including President of the United States. Jim
is right to say our debt is unsustainable, that Washington
does too much, and there is a better way.
I will look forward to working with Jim in the private
sector. From a personal point of view, we have had a great
ride together. It has been fun, it has been challenging,
and I think we put South Carolina on the map in different
ways at different times. To people back in South Carolina,
I hope if they get to see Jim any time soon, say thank
you. Because whether they agree with Senator DeMint, he
was doing what he thought was best for South Carolina and
the United States.
At the end of the day, that is as good as it gets.
Because if someone is doing what they truly believe in and
not worried about being the most popular or people getting
mad at them, then one can do a good job in Washington. To
the people back in South Carolina, everything Jim has
tried to do has been motivated by changing the country,
making South Carolina the best we could be at home.
So if you get a chance, run into Jim any time soon or in
the coming days, please say thank you because he did his
job as he saw fit. He did what he thought was best, and he
didn't worry about being the most popular or taking on
people when he thought he was right.
I can tell you this. When it comes to me, he has always
been a friend, somebody I could count on personally. We
enjoyed our time together. I was stunned this morning. Jim
has an unlimited bright future in the private sector. I
will say more next year when his time comes to an end.
On behalf of all of us in South Carolina, I wish to say
to Jim and Debbie, thank you very much for taking time
away from your family, fighting the good fight, and
pressing issues you passionately believe in. I wish to
thank Jim and Debbie both for being my friends. You both
mean a great deal to me, and I am confident the best is
yet to come for both of you.
On behalf of the people of South Carolina, great job,
well done.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SESSIONS. I will associate my remarks with Senator
Graham and say how much I have appreciated working with
Jim DeMint. He is courageous, determined, and principled.
He has a vision for America, and he has advocated for it
every single day. He stood, sometimes alone, to advocate
for those views. He is smart, he is intelligent, and he is
good. It has been my pleasure to work with him and
actually to support him.
I have consistently felt his values and views were
beneficial to America, and we can all disagree sometimes
about how to accomplish them, but we can't just go along
all the time. Sometimes we have to rock the boat, and he
was willing to do that. I so much have enjoyed working
with him.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mr. McConnell. Madame President, I would like to speak
this morning in tribute to an unexpected addition to the
list of retirees on the Republican side of the Senate,
Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina.
They say success has many fathers, but it is hard to
think of anyone who has done more than Jim DeMint to raise
the public's awareness on spending and debt, and the
threat that big government poses to our liberties.
Jim has been a powerful voice for conservatism during
his time in the House and the Senate. I have no doubt he
will be extremely effective in his new post over at the
Heritage Foundation. I wish him every success. Because the
truth is, the Nation simply cannot continue on its current
path, and if Jim can help more people understand that from
his new perch on Massachusetts Avenue, then it will
clearly have been worth it.
So while Jim's voice will be missed here in the Senate,
we are glad to see he will be putting his considerable
talents to good use by helping to arm his former
colleagues and many others with the arguments they will
need to make the case for constitutional conservatism in
the years ahead.
As a young boy, Jim developed a knack for sales by
necessity. His mom ran a ballroom dancing school out of
their home as a way to keep food on the table for her four
children, and part of Jim's job was to recruit the
students. He says he still runs into people who attended
the DeMint Academy of Dance and Decorum. ``Our home
sometimes seemed like boot camp,'' Jim once said, because
to survive as a single parent his mom enlisted all four
kids for daily duties starting at 6 a.m. It was ``the
closest I would come to basic training.'' Interestingly,
part of Jim's responsibilities involved filling in for
folks who did not have a dance partner.
When Jim wasn't busy in the ballroom, he was working his
two paper routes or bagging groceries at the grocery
store. On weekends, he fed his love of music as the
drummer for a band called ``Salt and Pepper.'' He was best
known for his vocals on the song ``Wipe-out'' and the
song's distinctive opening cackle. Jim says he could have
been a rock star, if it weren't for the fact that he had
no voice or musical talent. So as an adult, he stuck with
sales, and it was from there that he launched his
political career.
It has not been easy. Jim has always worked hard to
ensure that Debbie and the kids remained at the center of
his life. I know how much he admires Debbie for keeping
her focus on their kids over the years. Theirs has been a
true partnership almost since the day they first met all
the way back in the seventh grade.
Jim was not always all that political. In fact, those
who know him best say that one of the most surprising
things about his career is how such a shy and gentle
spirit could be viewed by so many as a take-no-prisoners
firebrand. As a young marketing executive, he recalls
thinking that he had a wife, kids, and a business--and
that was basically his universe. He did not even know who
his Congressman was. To this day, one of the things Jim
enjoys doing most is working on his lawn back in
Greenville. While he has gotten his share of awards in
Washington over the years, I don't think any of them
compare with the one his neighborhood association gave him
a few years back for ``Best Lawn.'' He is really proud of
that one.
Jim's interest in politics came about when the
government started to intrude more and more into his
business, and when he started to notice how it unwittingly
harmed others. ``The more I learned about how things
operated,'' he once said, ``the more I understood how
problems in our society such as broken homes, crime, and
school dropouts were a direct result of well-intended but
misdirected government policies.''
So he got involved.
In 1992, Bob Inglis walked into his office and asked for
his help in running a race in South Carolina's Fourth
District. Jim took the job and for the first time began to
think about running for political office himself. When
Inglis retired, Jim decided to run as his replacement. He
was 47 years old, he had never run for anything in his
life, and Debbie thought he was crazy. But the voters
liked what he was selling, and so did his colleagues in
the House. They voted him president of their freshman
class in 1999.
Six years later, Jim was elected to the Senate. He has
been a leader here as well, working to cut Federal
spending and reform how we spend taxpayer dollars. A
conservative stalwart, Jim leaves with a stellar 98.77
lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.
Crucially, he has made a difference. One member of the
press corps once referred to Jim as the patron saint of
lost causes in the Senate. Frankly, I don't think we will
be abolishing the Tax Code anytime soon, as Jim has
suggested, but that's to miss the point. Great causes
almost always start out with a constituency of one, and
Jim has never been afraid to take up important and
unpopular causes early, and let the polls and punditry
take care of themselves.
After becoming what he called a ``recovering
earmarker,'' he succeeded in convincing others to give up
the practice. As a member of the Foreign Relations
Committee, he was also instrumental in resolving a serious
problem in Honduras a few years ago after the Obama
administration misconstrued the legal ouster of a
president with a political coup. Jim enlisted Miguel
Estrada to figure out what was really going on down there,
and I was happy to help him travel to Honduras to
investigate in person. Jim soon reported back that it was
instantly obvious it was not a coup. The story eventually
had a happy ending: the Honduran people held a new
election and inaugurated a new president and the Obama
administration grudgingly backed down. None of this would
have happened without the leadership of Senator DeMint.
``The Senator kept the administration honest,'' Estrada
later said. ``He was invaluable.''
Senator DeMint and I share a profound commitment to free
speech, and he has written eloquently on its importance
for our Nation. ``Good government,'' he has written, ``is
a result of freedom debated.'' He has called the right to
free speech the ``most treasured benefit of living in a
free and democratic nation.'' He has certainly exercised
that right to the fullest both here in the Senate and
across the country.
Throughout his political career, Jim has always been
guided by an unwavering commitment to freedom, and I know
it is that same commitment to defend and enlarge our
freedom that led him into this next chapter in his life.
It is this passion to defend freedom, both for Americans
here at home and for our allies around the world, that has
struck a chord with so many Americans and helped make Jim
a national figure--not to mention a best-selling author.
In addition to the fact that he and his staff have
helped address more than 30,000 constituent inquiries
during his time here in the Senate, it is also why Jim has
remained so popular with his constituents back home, and
it is why his colleagues here in the Senate are so sad to
see him go.
Jim leaves with a legacy. He has been a real champion
for limited government and constitutional conservatism on
the national stage. What has always guided him most over
the years is the conviction that most decisions are best
made at the local level. Whether it is his work with
veterans, in promoting adoption, or in reforming
education, that is what he has always stressed.
So I want to thank the Senator from South Carolina for
his sterling service to the Palmetto State and to our
country. I wish him and Debbie and the entire DeMint
family all the very best in the years ahead. Godspeed,
Senator DeMint.
I yield the floor.
Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I wish to say a few words
about my colleague Jim DeMint. We have had a lot of really
good people during my service here on both sides of the
aisle. I have friends who have passed on and who made such
a difference around here. I have to say that Jim DeMint
has been a rock-ribbed conservative who I think has made a
great difference in this body and for whom I have a lot of
respect. I have profound gratitude that he has fought as
hard as he has for the principles he believes in, most of
which I believe in.
I wish him Godspeed as he works over at the Heritage
Foundation. I can't imagine a better place for somebody
who loves the issues, wants to play a role, has played a
role, understands this body, understands the political
nature of this country, and has been very active in trying
to change this country for the better. Jim has those kinds
of abilities. I wish him well, and I sure hope he will
have a great time while he is over at the Heritage
Foundation. I have great respect for him. I think most
people who really know him have great respect for him. I
always respect people who really do what they believe, and
Jim DeMint has exemplified that as well as anybody I know.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mr. REED. Madam President, at this time, I wish to take
a few minutes to salute my colleagues who are retiring at
the end of this year with the conclusion of the 112th
Congress: Daniel Akaka of Hawaii, Jeff Bingaman of New
Mexico, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Kent Conrad of North
Dakota, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Kay Bailey Hutchison
of Texas, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Jon Kyl of Arizona,
Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, Richard Lugar of Indiana,
Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Olympia Snowe of Maine, and Jim
Webb of Virginia. They have all worked ceaselessly to give
their constituents the best representation and give the
country the benefit of their views, their wisdom, and
their experience. They are men and women who are committed
to the Nation, and they have every day in different ways
contributed to this Senate and to our great country.
I wish to thank them personally for their service, and,
in so many cases, their personal kindness to me; for
listening to my points and for, together, hopefully,
serving this Senate and this Nation in a more positive and
progressive way. ...
I could go on with all of my colleagues, just thanking
them for their friendship, for their camaraderie, and for
their commitment to the Nation and the Senate. As they
depart, they have left an extraordinary legacy. Now it is
our responsibility to carry on in so many different ways,
and I hope we measure up to what they have done. If we do,
then we can go forward confidently.
With that, I yield the floor.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, one of our traditions here in
the Senate is to take a moment as the current session of
Congress draws to a close to acknowledge and express our
appreciation for the service of all those Members who will
be leaving when the gavel brings to a close the 112th
Session of Congress. I know we will miss them all--
especially those like Jim DeMint who have played such an
important role in the work we do every day in committee
and on the floor.
I know I wasn't the only one who was surprised to learn
that Jim DeMint was leaving the Senate to become the
president of the Heritage Foundation. It is a great
opportunity for him, and I know he will make the most of
it in the years to come. We will miss him, though, because
in a short time he had become an important voice in the
Senate for the issues that meant a great deal to him.
Looking back, I have no doubt that Jim learned at an
early age that the law is a great teacher and by coming to
Washington to help draft our laws he could help to teach
people all across the Nation what it means to be a
citizen. He could also help to ensure that our government
responds more fully and substantively to the needs of the
people of our Nation. I think that is what most interests
him about the Heritage Foundation--the knowledge that it
will be another opportunity and provide him with a
different platform from which he can continue to have an
impact on those issues that mean so very much to him.
Over the years I have come to know Jim as he has taken
his place as one of a very few who have been known as the
conscience of the Senate. He is an individual of strong
principles and core values and he brings his sense of
direction to the work of the Senate every day.
As I have watched him in action, I have seen his ability
to bring our attention both carefully and forcefully to
the flaws in the legislative matters we had taken up for
deliberations. In everything we did, Jim would take a
close look at the wording of each clause and every
proposed amendment and make it clear to us the reasons why
he believed something needed to be changed. Then as we
began our debate, he would then present his points with
greater clarity and substance as he made clear his strong
opposition to or support for the issue that was before us.
His views on how the Senate functions and how we could
make it more effective and more efficient are clearly
presented and strongly espoused in his books. I have no
doubt that Jim's books could change the Senate if we could
get every one of our colleagues to read them, consider
them and then put some of his ideas into practice.
Thank you, Jim, for your willingness to serve and for
all you have helped us to accomplish during your time in
the Senate. You have presented us with some strong, bold
ideas about our future as a nation and I have no doubt
they will continue to have an impact on the Senate for a
long time to come. Thanks for sharing them with us.
The new adventure you will now begin with the Heritage
Foundation sounds like a challenge you will fully enjoy. I
know we will continue to hear from you in your new post
and we are looking forward to it. You have an important
viewpoint to bring to our deliberations, and it would be
missed if you didn't continue to make your thoughts and
concerns known. We will be watching and listening for your
comments and suggestions in the days to come. Good luck
and keep in touch.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
LETTER OF RESIGNATION
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair lays before the Senate
the letter of resignation of Senator Jim DeMint of South
Carolina, which shall be printed in the Record.
The letter follows:
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, December 20, 2012.
Hon. Nikki Haley,
Governor, State of South Carolina.
Dear Madam Governor: I hereby give notice of my
retirement from the Office of United States Senator from
the State of South Carolina. Therefore, I tender my
resignation effective at 11:59 p.m., January 1, 2013.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jim DeMint,
U.S. Senate.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF TRIBUTES
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
there be printed as a Senate document a compilation of
materials from the Congressional Record in tribute to the
retiring Members of the 112th Congress.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.