[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

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                                      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.
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