[Senate Document 113-9]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. HERB KOHL
Herb Kohl
U.S. SENATOR FROM WISCONSIN
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. Doc. 113-9
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Herb Kohl
United States Senator
1989-2013
[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......................................
ix
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland...............
16
Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota..................
8
Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
12
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
20
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
7
Johnson, Ron, of Wisconsin.....................
10
Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota...................
19
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
15
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
9, 14
Mikulski, Barbara A., of Maryland..............
3
Murkowski, Lisa, of Alaska.....................
18
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
12
Reid, Harry, of Nevada
...............................................
.............
3, 4, 21
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
21
BIOGRAPHY
Herb Kohl was born in Milwaukee, WI, on February 7,
1935. He attended Milwaukee public schools and graduated
from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a
bachelor's degree in 1956. He received an MBA degree from
Harvard School of Business Administration in 1958. Mr.
Kohl served in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1958 to 1964.
Before joining the Senate, he was a businessman and
helped build his family-owned business, Kohl's grocery and
department stores. He served as president of the Kohl
Corporation from 1970 through the sale of the corporation
in 1979. In 1985 he bought the Milwaukee Bucks to ensure
the basketball team remained in Milwaukee, and he is
recognized as an avid sportsman.
From 1975 to 1977 he served as Wisconsin State
Democratic Party chairman. He was elected to the Senate in
1988 and reelected in 1994, 2000, and 2006. He served on
the Senate Appropriations Committee, Judiciary Committee,
Banking Committee, and the Special Committee on Aging,
which he chaired. He was chairman of the Agriculture
Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over
the budgets of the USDA, the FDA, and other agencies,
which include many programs important to farmers and
consumers. He also served as the chairman of the
Judiciary's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy,
and Consumer Rights, where he looked out for consumers to
make sure that a competitive free market results in the
best products for the best prices.
During his time in office Senator Kohl was recognized as
a strong advocate for children's issues. He was author of
legislation to expand the school breakfast program and a
strong supporter of child nutrition programs. In 2003 he
received the Distinguished Service Award from the Food
Research and Action Center, a leading organization that
works to eradicate domestic hunger. He sponsored
legislation to increase child support enforcement, a bill
based on Wisconsin's system to ensure that more child
support payments go to the families they are designed to
help. Senator Kohl also sponsored the Child Care
Infrastructure Act, a law encouraging private companies
and institutions to build on-site or near-site daycare
centers to meet the rapidly growing demand for child care.
The bill was featured in Working Mother and Parents
magazines. He was awarded the 2010 Best of Congress Award
from Working Mother magazine and Corporate Voices for
Working Families.
He also received acclaim as a strong defender of
Wisconsin's farming tradition. He led the effort to extend
the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program, which has
provided millions of dollars in funding to Wisconsin dairy
farmers struggling with plummeting milk prices. He helped
establish the MILC Program as part of the 2002 farm bill
to end regional fighting over milk pricing policies. The
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation awarded Senator Kohl the
Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award, the highest
individual honor given by the Bureau Federation, for his
continued representation of Wisconsin farmers. The Council
on Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching, a
national organization of agricultural colleges and
extension programs, has recognized him for leadership in
support of U.S. agricultural research programs. He was
also awarded the Congressional Workhorse Award from the
Association of Public and Land Grant Universities for his
support of agricultural research and education as well as
the Golden Triangle Award from the National Farmers Union
for his work on behalf of family farms and rural
communities.
Senator Kohl was recognized as a leader for his work to
help America's manufacturers. He championed the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program, a
public-private partnership that uses Federal, State, and
private dollars to provide technical support and services
to small- and medium-sized manufacturers. He and his
colleagues saved the MEP Program when President Bush
proposed eliminating it, and since then he has helped
secure record funding levels for America's small- and
medium-sized manufacturers. His work earned him the
Legislator of the Year Award from the American Small
Manufacturers Coalition in 2006.
Another focus has been anticrime legislation, especially
crimes related to children. As a member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, he helped fund an array of
juvenile crime prevention and afterschool programs,
including Boys and Girls Clubs and the Families and
Schools Together (FAST) Program. He secured $7.9 million
in funding for the Wisconsin Methamphetamine Law
Enforcement Initiative, a statewide project addressing the
increase of methamphetamine and clandestine laboratories
in Wisconsin, as well as the creation and expansion of the
Wisconsin High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area to
coordinate law enforcement responses to fight the drug
trade and related crimes. He helped reauthorize juvenile
justice programs and pushed for the most effective and
innovative programs to help prevent crime, strengthen
communities, and rehabilitate young people. The Senate
also enacted his bill to require that handguns be sold
with separate child safety locks. The legislation is
designed to protect children from some of the thousands of
shootings each year that involve children and teenagers.
As chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Senator
Kohl led efforts to reduce the cost of prescription drugs
and increase access to affordable generics. He passed a
law to improve the quality of care in America's 16,000
nursing homes and created a nationwide grant program for
the creation of a comprehensive system of background
checks to ensure that people with abusive and criminal
histories are not hired to work closely with elderly
patients in long-term care settings. He also worked to
increase retirement security for older Americans by
improving the Nation's 401(k) and pension systems,
strengthening Social Security, and expanding opportunities
for older Americans to work longer if they so choose.
He made lowering health care costs a top priority.
Noting how prescription drug costs are a drain on seniors,
families, and businesses, he authored two bills to expand
access to affordable generic drugs. His Preserve Access to
Affordable Generics Act stops brand name drug
manufacturers from using payoff agreements to keep cheaper
generic equivalents off pharmacy shelves. His Citizen
Petition Fairness and Accuracy Act prohibits brand name
drug companies from abusing the Food and Drug
Administration's ``Citizen Petition'' review process to
delay generic drugs from reaching the market.
Senator Kohl remains active in Wisconsin charitable
activities. In 1990 he established the Herb Kohl
Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program, which
provides annual grants totaling $400,000 to 200 graduating
high school seniors, 100 Wisconsin teachers, and 100
schools throughout Wisconsin. In 1995 he donated $25
million to the University of Wisconsin for a new sports
arena.
Farewell to the Senate
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise for one final time to
address the Senate. My remarks will be brief. Actually, I
just want to say one thing: Thank you. I wish I could say
it with the eloquence of one of my first friends in the
Senate, Senator Dale Bumpers, who told his stories and
always made his case pacing these aisles like a lion
tethered to a specially made, extra long microphone cord,
or with the breadth of vision of the late Senator Robert
C. Byrd, who sprinkled his classic Mother's Day or Fourth
of July speeches with memorized poetry and his vast
command of history, or with the fire of my dear friend,
the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who would bellow to the
rafters his passion for the America that could be and then
call on the Senate to make it so.
What a privilege it has been to serve with such men and
so many other men and women who have made up this body
over the last 24 years. You have been my friends,
advisers, sometimes adversaries, always worthy, and my
inspiration. I thank you. My colleagues in this body are,
to a man or a woman, thoughtful, hard-working patriots. We
do not always agree, understandably. But every Senator I
have met is pursuing a course he or she believes is best
for the Nation and advocating policies he or she believes
are best for their States.
When I have come to any of you with my ideas about what
is best for the Nation or my State, you have listened
respectfully, counseled wisely, and helped whenever you
could, and so I thank you.
The Senate is often referred to as a family, and that is
certainly how I feel about my staff, many of whom are
gathering today to say our goodbyes. Perhaps what I will
miss the most on leaving the Senate is coming to work
every day in Washington and in Wisconsin with such a
bright, creative, and dedicated group of people constantly
focused on what is best for our Nation and my State,
challenging and pushing me to be the best Senator I could
be. You cannot be a cynic about the future of this country
when you work in an office such as mine and have the
privilege of interacting with generations of intelligent,
civic-minded, and loyal staffers.
I thank them all for making a hard job not just easy but
enjoyable and for serving the people of Wisconsin
tirelessly and exceedingly well.
My final thanks go to the extraordinary people of
Wisconsin. Thank you for letting me pay back, in part, the
great debt my family owes to the State that took in my
immigrant mother and father and allowed our family,
including my brothers, Sidney and Allen, and our sister
Dolores, to grow and thrive. Thank you for taking a chance
on me in that first election 24 years ago and renewing my
contract three more times. Thank you for trusting me with
your problems and concerns, your hopes and dreams.
Please know we have listened to you carefully and fought
for you always. Every Wisconsinite who wanted it, Democrat
or Republican, rich or poor, farmer or city dweller, got
full consideration in my office. Whether it was arranging
a Capitol tour, finding a lost Social Security check,
pushing for legislation to reform the Federal dairy
program, or reviving the shipbuilding industry in
Marinette, WI, every Wisconsinite had an ally and an
advocate in us.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve these
24 years in this hallowed institution, alongside my fellow
Senators and my staff and as the voice for the people of
Wisconsin. For that, I thank you all one last time.
?
TRIBUTES
TO
HERB KOHL
Proceedings in the Senate
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Mr. REID. ... I would now yield to my friend, the senior
Senator from the State of Wisconsin. I will have more of
an opportunity at a later time to say things about Senator
Kohl, but I have had a wonderful experience in getting to
know this quiet, very productive man. I have enjoyed his
innate skills. He is one of the best businesspeople we
have in America today, one of the best Senators we have in
America today.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I rise to comment about
some wonderful men in the Senate who are retiring on both
sides of the aisle. Earlier today I spoke about my deep
affection and sorry-to-see-go friends Olympia Snowe and
Kay Bailey Hutchison, but I want to rise as the dean of
the women in the Senate to say some very special words
about very special men on both sides of the aisle. Because
when I came to the Senate, it was only Nancy Kassebaum and
me, and yet we worked on so many issues together. There
are really wonderful men here who supported me, supported
our issues, but really stood up for those States and their
communities. ...
A comment about Herb Kohl, another brother appropriator,
the very essence of civility. He brought a businessman's
savvy with a deep compassion and commitment to the people
of Wisconsin. Now we all know the Kohl family. They own
basketball teams, they own department stores. I tell you,
that Herb, he understood retail, whether it was in
politics fighting for the people and their day-to-day
needs or the national policy of looking out for working
families as they build their lives. He stood up for
Wisconsin cheese, the Green Bay Packers, his basketball
team. But most of all, he stood up for the people. With
Herb, what a sense of honor. His handshake was always
good. You could count on him. It was a binding contract.
...
I wanted to be sure that the day would not end without
my acknowledging these wonderful people who have given a
big part of their lives to making this country a better
place. I want to, in the most heartfelt way--I am so sorry
we did not have a bipartisan dinner or party to be able to
express this. I would have liked to have been in the same
room, breaking bread with them, in order to be able to
tell them how much we appreciate them, across party lines,
across those lines that ordinarily divide us. They came
from different parts of the country, they arrived in the
Senate with different objectives, they will leave under
different circumstances. But I want to again let them know
that each and every one of them had a positive impact on
me and I think a wonderful impact on the future of this
country. So I wish them well. God bless and Godspeed.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Mr. REID. Mr. President, we on the Democratic side are
going to recognize that seven of our Senators are
retiring, and that is unfortunate, but that is the
decision they have made. As I have indicated on more than
one occasion, parting is sweet sorrow. We had a
celebration last week and talked about those seven
Senators and it was truly a wonderful evening.
I have come to the Senate floor to talk about these
individual Senators, and today I am going to talk about
Senator Herb Kohl. Herb Kohl, as has happened to other
Members of this body, has had to overcome adversity to
become a Senator.
The history of Herb Kohl and his family touches me. He
is a very humble man. He doesn't talk very much, and even
though we have served together for 24 years, I was stunned
last week when we had a guest rabbi, Rabbi Kohl, from
Canada. Hearing the name didn't mean much to me because it
is a fairly common name. But after the rabbi finished,
Herb Kohl, this man of humility, stood on the floor and
gave us all a little bit of his background, which we had
never heard before.
Senator Kohl's cousin, Rabbi Baruch Kohl, served as
guest chaplain and offered the invocation to convene the
Senate. After the benediction, Herb Kohl, the senior
Senator from Wisconsin, shared the family history.
Herb Kohl's father Max and Rabbi Kohl's father Jack were
brothers. During World War I, when Max and Jack were
teenagers, the brothers were captured by the Russian
military, jailed, and forced to march more than 150 miles,
with little food, no proper clothing, and the constant
threat of physical violence. On occasion, they didn't have
shoes, and they were walking basically to Siberia, which
is where they were headed. The boys' parents didn't know
where they were for more than 2 years.
Max and Jack were then convicted by a czarist army as
spies and sent on an epoch 5-month journey by rail across
Siberia. In 1916, the brothers were dumped off in a remote
corner of that wintry waste. Exile was frequently a death
sentence. Fortunately, in this instance, it was not. The
brothers survived relying on the kindness of strangers,
and 2\1/2\ years later Max, Herb's father, made his way
back to his hometown.
During their exile, young Jack looked after the even
younger Max. Max eventually--this would be Herb Kohl's
father--immigrated to the United States. He sent for his
older brother after he had earned a few dollars here in
America. So the Rabbi's dad was brought to America by his
brother--Herb Kohl's dad.
The brothers' bond passed through the generations to
their sons. Senator Kohl and Rabbi Kohl are first cousins,
and it was very dramatic to see the connection they shared
on the Senate floor. The success enjoyed by Max Kohl, a
Polish immigrant, and later by his son, a Senator for 24
years, is a testament to the American dream.
Despite a rough start in life, Max founded a chain of
Wisconsin grocery stores. Herb eventually became president
of the Kohl's chain, with one little store, but he was a
successful businessman before he took over his dad's chain
of stores. He became the CEO of that chain started by his
dad.
Initially, after getting his bachelor's degree at the
University of Wisconsin and his MBA at Harvard, Herb
founded a successful real estate and stock investment
firm. At the time he also served as an Army Reservist. He
took over as president of Kohl's grocery and department
store in 1970. He successfully grew the company for a
decade.
As strong as his passion for business is, Senator Kohl
was an even greater athletic fan. He had a passion for
sports. In 1985, he bought the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks to
keep the team from leaving Wisconsin. He couldn't stand
the thought of an outsider buying the team and moving the
team from Milwaukee, and that was the talk everybody had
heard.
Everyone said Herb Kohl made a bad deal. Why did he pay
so much money for that basketball team? But his decision
to buy the Milwaukee Bucks, which at the time some said
was crazy, proves doing the right thing and doing the
profitable thing are often one and the same. Today, the
Bucks are worth ten times what Herb paid for the team, and
they are an important pillar of that vibrant Milwaukee
community.
Herb was also one of the original investors in the
Milwaukee Brewers, owned by his childhood friend Bud
Selig. Senator Kohl and Major League Baseball commissioner
Bud Selig were roommates at a fraternity at the University
of Wisconsin, but they knew each other when they were
little boys. They lived in the same neighborhood. Herb and
Bud still have lunch at Jake's Deli whenever Herb is back
in Milwaukee, which is almost every week. They do this on
Saturday.
Senator Kohl is also passionate about education. He
founded the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement
Award Program, which awards grants and scholarships to
graduating seniors, teachers, and schools all across
Wisconsin. He donated $25 million to the University of
Wisconsin to build a state-of-the-art, new athletic
facility--the Kohl Center.
Since he was elected in 1988, Herb Kohl has been a
champion of public education, fighting to give students
the tools they need to succeed in a modern workforce. He
has also made fighting crime in Wisconsin and across the
Nation a priority, advancing investments in antidrug and
antigang programs. He has worked to reduce juvenile crime
and ensure proper funding of State and local public safety
agencies, and he has been a strong voice for Wisconsin
dairy farmers.
Herb has also been a valued member of the Appropriations
Committee, the Banking and Judiciary Committees, as well
as a strong chairman of the Special Committee on Aging. He
has done so much for the aging populations we have in
America today.
He has been a leader on many different legislative
initiatives. Herb Kohl is a fine man, a wonderful human
being, and I so admire and appreciate him. He is a
distinguished Senator, a devoted representative of the
people of Wisconsin, and his presence will be missed in
the Senate. I wish him the very best in his retirement.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, with the close of the 112th
Congress, our good friend and colleague Senator Herb Kohl
is retiring after four terms of dedicated service to this
body, the people of Wisconsin and the United States. As a
Senator, Herb Kohl has shown the same dedication and work
ethic that previously allowed him to build his family-
owned business into a nationally known brand name. Indeed,
during his 24 years in this body, he has been a classic
workhorse Senator, as opposed to a show horse Senator. Few
Senators have been more willing to shun the limelight and
share the credit in order to get important things done for
the people of this country.
Senator Kohl is also a proud and principled progressive.
His work in the Senate brings to mind the great words of
the late Senator Hubert Humphrey:
The moral test of government is how its government
treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children;
those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and
those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy,
and the handicapped.
Senator Kohl has been respected as a leading advocate on
children's issues. For instance, he authored legislation
to expand the school breakfast program and has been a
strong supporter of child nutrition programs. He also
authored legislation requiring that handguns be sold with
separate child safety locks.
Of course, as chair of the Special Committee on Aging,
he has led the charge in the Senate on issues affecting
older Americans, something especially important in my
State of Iowa.
In particular, I salute Senator Kohl for authoring the
Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which was included in the
Affordable Care Act. The Sunshine Act, which was the focus
of a series of hearings chaired by Senator Kohl, will
require transparency and disclosure on payments made to
doctors and surgeons by drug and medical device companies.
Senator Kohl has been our leader in improving the safety
and quality of nursing homes, ensuring criminal background
checks for employees in nursing homes, and working with
CMS to institute new and meaningful quality ratings for
nursing homes.
Senator Kohl and I worked together in my capacity as
chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Committee, on legislative reform of the Pension Benefit
Guarantee Corporation and its outside board.
Senator Kohl also deserves enormous credit for his
committee's indepth hearings and reports identifying
financial scams and abuses targeting seniors and the
elderly.
Herb Kohl is a good friend, and he has been an
outstanding Senator. He has accomplished many things
during his four terms in the Senate. I can think of no
greater accolade than to say, simply, that Herb Kohl is a
good, decent, honorable person with a passion for social
and economic justice and a determination to make life
better for ordinary Americans.
I join with the entire Senate family in wishing Herb the
very best in the years ahead.
Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, today I honor my colleague,
Senator Herb Kohl, who will be leaving the Senate at the
end of this term. Senator Kohl has served the people of
Wisconsin for 24 years since first being elected to the
Senate in 1988. Throughout his time in Congress, Senator
Kohl has stayed above political partisanship, while
remaining true to his Midwest roots. He has represented
the people of Wisconsin well and answered to no one but
the citizens of his State. When he announced his
retirement from the Senate, he said ``The office doesn't
belong to me. It belongs to the people of Wisconsin, and
there is something to be said for not staying in office
too long.'' These words describe a humble man who truly
believes that it is his duty to represent the ideals of
his constituents, even in an era of political
polarization.
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Senator Kohl is known
throughout the Senate as a philanthropist. He had a
successful career in business, eventually purchasing the
Milwaukee Bucks. Throughout his time in Congress, Senator
Kohl has proven that he is as openminded as he is honest,
while continually holding on to his core principles. From
expanding the coverage of health care to promoting
education advancements, Senator Kohl's legislative history
is truly impressive.
Wisconsin and North Dakota have a lot in common. We
share a similar culture and geography as well as an
agriculture industry that is a crucial component of both
our States' economies. In 2011 the National Farmers Union
recognized Senator Kohl as a champion of dairy and
competition issues. That is only part of the story
concerning Senator Kohl's support for family farmers.
Senator Kohl has served as chairman of the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture. In that capacity, he has been
instrumental in ensuring that the partnership between the
Federal Government and rural communities contributes to
economic development throughout rural America. He has
enhanced the conservation of our natural resources and
ensured the United States remains at the forefront in
agricultural research and innovation. In addition, Senator
Kohl has been a stalwart supporter of food assistance
programs for those who are the least fortunate among us.
On a personal note, Senator Kohl recommended my wife
Lucy for a position with Major League Baseball. It has
been my wife's dream job, so I am personally indebted to
him for that.
Senator Kohl's commitment to the people of Wisconsin has
been unwavering. The Senate will miss his honesty and hard
work. I thank Senator Kohl for his service in the Senate
and wish him the best in his future endeavors. Wisconsin
should be proud of Senator Kohl, he remained true to his
1988 Senate campaign slogan, serving as ``Nobody's Senator
But Yours.''
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, in his four terms
representing the State of Wisconsin in this body, Senator
Herb Kohl's focus has been precisely where it should be:
the welfare of the people of his State and of our Nation.
Whether in supporting American manufacturers and the jobs
they provide, in fighting for protection from crime and
for adequate nutrition for our children, in protecting
senior citizens from elder abuse, or in preserving the
Great Lakes that our two States share, Senator Kohl has
accomplished much on behalf of American families.
I have been fortunate to work closely with Senator Kohl
on issues of vital importance to our States. He has long
been a strong supporter of the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership, which helps U.S. manufacturers with technical
support and services that make them more efficient and
competitive in the global marketplace. His support for
adequate MEP funding has made a significant difference for
American companies and workers.
Now, we in Michigan bow to no one in our love for the
Great Lakes, but even I would admit that Wisconsin, second
only to Michigan in its length of Great Lakes coastline,
is a close competitor. As a member of the Great Lakes Task
Force, which I cochair, he has supported cleanup of toxic
hot spots, the fight against invasive species, protecting
Great Lakes water quality, and sufficient funding for the
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
We have also shared an interest in consumer protection.
Senator Kohl chairs the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee
on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, and
from that platform, he has battled those who would prey on
American consumers, whether they are abusive credit card
companies or oil-exporting cartel nations.
Where Senator Kohl has left what may be his most lasting
impression is in his hard work on behalf of our Nation's
most vulnerable citizens: children and seniors. He has
long advocated solutions to help make college more
affordable. He has helped expand the availability of
nutritious breakfasts for school-age children and programs
to help parents afford food on the table for their
families. He has worked to strengthen afterschool
programs. In 2007 and again in 2008, he introduced the
Patient Safety and Abuse Protection Act, which allowed
employers to perform background checks on nursing home
employees to help prevent elder abuse. When this
legislation was included in the Affordable Care Act in
2009, it was a major step forward for patient safety.
I will miss working with Herb Kohl on these and many
other issues. I will miss the opportunity to give him a
hard time whenever our Detroit Pistons beat his Milwaukee
Bucks. I hope we can continue the important work he has
helped move forward: protecting good jobs, our Great
Lakes, our students, and our seniors.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Mr. JOHNSON of Wisconsin. Madam President, I rise to pay
tribute to a man who has been generous with his time, his
treasure, and his heart, to his friends, his family, the
State of Wisconsin, and to America, Senator Herb Kohl.
America and Wisconsin have always been defined by
immigrants arriving in this country seeking freedom,
opportunity, and a better life for themselves and their
families. Such was the case for Senator Kohl's father Max,
an immigrant from Poland, and his mother Mary, an
immigrant from Russia. Their family's story was just one
among the many millions of stories of fulfillment of the
American dream.
Max and Mary's son Herb attended Washington High School
in the Sherman Park neighborhood of Milwaukee. He
graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1956
and went on to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School in
1958.
Senator Kohl's service to his country started at a young
age. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve after receiving
his MBA and served in the military for 6 years. After his
military service, he began contributing to our Nation not
in government but in the private sector. During the 1970s,
he managed his family's well-known retail businesses. The
stores built by the Kohl family remain the legacy that all
Wisconsin respects and appreciates.
When Wisconsin's NBA team, the Milwaukee Bucks, was
considering moving out of the State for financial reasons,
Citizen Kohl stepped in and purchased the franchise. He
prevented the team from leaving and preserved professional
basketball as an integral part of Wisconsin's strong
sports tradition. Suffice it to say, Citizen Kohl had
established himself as a very successful member of this
Nation's business community. But he didn't hoard his
financial success; he shared it and he shared it
generously.
Senator Kohl's philanthropy was widespread, but he
particularly seemed to enjoy directing his generosity to
helping Wisconsin students and educators. In 1990, he
established the Herb Kohl Educational Foundation
Achievement Award Program. This program provides a total
of $400,000 to hundreds of students, teachers, and schools
throughout the State of Wisconsin each and every year. In
1995, Senator Kohl continued his generosity to education
and sports in our State by donating $25 million to the
University of Wisconsin Madison for a new sports arena.
The Kohl Center, as it is now known, is the home for the
school's basketball and hockey teams.
Senator Kohl was first elected in 1988 and even though
his duties required him to spend time in Washington, his
heart has always been with the people of Wisconsin. For
the past 24 years, he has maintained a strong passion for
Wisconsin's children, seniors, farmers, and manufacturers.
As a man whose life has been distinguished by
generosity, it is worth noting that his final speech on
the floor of the Senate was not a long list of his many
accomplishments; instead, it was a short heartfelt speech
of gratitude to those who made him the generous man he is
today, those he served with, and those he represented in
the Senate for four consecutive terms. Now it is our turn
to thank Senator Kohl for the honorable 24 years he has
served his State and this Nation.
During his first election, the slogan of Senator Kohl's
campaign was ``Nobody's Senator but Yours.'' There can be
no doubt in anyone's mind that he has lived up to that
promise each and every day.
On behalf of all the citizens of Wisconsin, I wish to
thank Senator Herb Kohl for his generous spirit and his
many years of service to Wisconsin and America.
With that, I yield the floor and note the absence of a
quorum.
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.
Mr. COONS. ... There are so many other Senators I want
to speak about today [besides Daniel Inouye], but let me
turn to a few, if I might, and give some insight for the
folks who only see Members of this Chamber on cable TV
shows or in the give-and-take of election season or who
only know them as the cutout and caricatures that the
public thinks of as Senators. If there is a common thread
between them, it is that they share that loyalty, work
ethic, and humility that so characterized Senator Inouye
in his decades here. ...
I remember in my first few months here that Senator
Kohl, my colleague on the Judiciary Committee, spoke so
rarely that when I first heard him speak at an event on
the manufacturing extension partnership--one of his
passions, and mine--I was struck by the power and reach of
his voice. It is because he uses it so sparingly, but his
example speaks even louder. He never sought the spotlight
here but worked tirelessly to make a difference fighting
for the little guy on antitrust issues in the Judiciary
Committee.
He believes, as do I, if an American entrepreneur has a
great idea, we should help protect that idea by preventing
trade secret theft and other intellectual property
threats. We also share a deep commitment to the idea that
higher education should be more accessible and affordable
to every student who wants to pursue it. I am honored to
have the opportunity to take up from Senator Kohl's work
on these and other important issues.
Outside this Chamber Senator Kohl has just as strong a
voice and broad an impact with his philanthropy, but we
would never hear him speak about it; that is just not his
style. He has earned my abiding respect with his
unassuming grace and his determined leadership. ...
So here we are, 5 days before my family celebrates
Christmas and 12 days before the new year and the
beginning of the so-called fiscal cliff. Our politics have
paralyzed this Chamber and this town. But what the example
of all of these remarkable Senators has shown us, what it
has taught me, is that we can still be better than our
politics.
The humanity of this place, too often shoved aside by
the politics of the moment, shows us that we can do
better. One by one, these Senators, in delivering their
farewell addresses to this Chamber, stood at their desks
and each in turn urged us to find a way to return to the
days when Senators knew each other and worked together.
What will it take to get us to that point again--a
horrific tragedy in an elementary school, a dangerous
economic cliff, some devastating attack, a cyberassault on
America?
Our retiring colleagues are each telling us, each in
turn, that it is not too late to restore the humanity of
this Chamber and make a positive difference in the lives
of all we serve. Will we heed their call? I hope and pray
we will because we can do better. We must do better. In
the spirit of each of these departing colleagues, I will
do my level best. I hope we all can commit to doing the
same.
Thank you, and I yield the floor.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, now that the 112th Congress is
coming to a close, we have an opportunity to acknowledge
and express our appreciation for the service of our fellow
Senators who will be retiring at the end of the year. Herb
Kohl, one of those who will be returning home when the
gavel brings to a close the current session of Congress,
will be missed, for he has been very active and involved
in the day-to-day work of the Senate for many years.
My first contact with Herb came about when I found out
that he had a ranch in Wyoming. I shouldn't have been
surprised. As I have had a chance to come to know him, it
seemed pretty clear that he had a lot of Wyoming in him.
He is a gentleman and a gentle man in every sense of those
words. He says what he means and he means what he says.
For him, those words aren't cliches, they are an
indication of the way he lives his life.
I know I am not the only one who thought that about
Herb. That is why he has a well-earned reputation for
being a calm, thoughtful legislator. He has a knack for
taking on a problem, giving it his full attention, and
then working with Members on both sides of the aisle to
develop a workable solution to solve it. That is why he
has been so successful on a number of issues.
Herb's ability to patiently pursue an agenda, and then
focus on a solution that would receive the support
necessary to pass, has been a hallmark of his service.
Never one to seek out public attention for his efforts, he
has been rewarded with something far more important--the
knowledge that he has done a good job. His commitment to
the future of his home State and our Nation has made it
possible for him to have an impact on several issues of
great importance to people from every corner of the United
States.
Herb has been such a successful legislator in part
because of his small business background. He understands
better than most the important role our businesses play in
our local, State, and national economies. He is a man of
vision who put his great talents into action when he
helped to take the family business to the next level. His
success in that effort helped to put him on a path that
made it possible for him to do some things that a lot of
us only dream about.
One of those great dreams he was able to make come true
was his ownership of a professional sports team, the
Milwaukee Bucks. There had been some speculation that the
team might be bought and moved out of Milwaukee. Herb made
sure that wouldn't happen. He bought the team and kept
them in Milwaukee, and the people of Wisconsin appreciated
his efforts to keep the home team--at home.
None of that would have been possible if not for Herb's
ability to organize his time so that he could make the
best use of that precious commodity. That has been one of
his greatest assets in the Senate, too. Back home, his
constituents know that he is a thoughtful person who is
interested in them and is always on the watch for those
things he can do as their Senator to make their day-to-day
lives better.
His constituents have greatly appreciated his work in
Washington on their behalf, and that is why they returned
him time after time so he could keep doing such a good job
of representing them. Herb has compiled an important
record that he should be proud of because it reflects his
commitment to the future of his home State and our Nation.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the people of Wisconsin have
elected and reelected Senator Herb Kohl to represent them
in the U.S. Senate four times. Since coming to the Senate
in 1989, I have been honored to serve with him on the
Senate Judiciary Committee, where his commitment to
matters involving antitrust, juvenile justice, and
technology has afforded us many opportunities to work
together. We have partnered in other important areas, too,
from our States' shared interest in a vibrant and
supported dairy industry to important housing assistance.
Everyone likes Senator Kohl. He is a consensus builder,
and is always seeking a bipartisan solution. That approach
led to a bipartisan investigation in the Judiciary
Committee over Ruby Ridge. It led to enactment of the
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Reauthorization Act, and economic espionage bills.
Senator Kohl has been a constant champion for the
Nation's dairy farmers from those in Wisconsin to those in
Vermont. His Superb Milk House at the Wisconsin State Fair
is a hit every year. A tradition he began in 1990, it
still sells glasses of milk for just 25 cents. I was
delighted to hear he intends to keep the Milk House
running even after he leaves the Senate. Wisconsin and
Vermont dairy farmers have not always agreed on how best
to support the industry, but Senator Kohl's commitment has
never wavered.
As chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, Senator
Kohl has kept the needs of some of the most vulnerable
around us--the elderly--front and center during his time
in the Senate. His support for the Housing Assistance
Council, which helps improve housing conditions for the
rural poor with an emphasis on the poorest of the poor has
been steadfast, and I was pleased to work with him to
ensure that in an age without earmarks, this important
council was qualified to compete for Federal financial
support. He has been a longtime partner in rural housing
issues--a partnership I will miss.
Senator Kohl has worked tirelessly for the people of
Wisconsin both as a Senator and as a philanthropist. Since
1990, he has provided annual grants totaling $400,000 to
Wisconsin students, teachers, and schools through the Herb
Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award Program.
When Senator Kohl announced his retirement, he stated
that he never believed it was his Senate seat, but that it
belonged to the people of Wisconsin, and that is just who
Herb Kohl is. Even in retirement, I have no doubt he will
remain dedicated to the people of Wisconsin. Serving with
him for more than two decades has been an honor and a
privilege. The Senate will miss him.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute
to the Senators who will not be returning when the 113th
Congress commences next month. I have already spoken about
Senator Kyl and about Senator Inouye, one of the truly
great Americans and giants of this institution. At the
time of his death, Senator Inouye was just a few weeks
short of celebrating 50 years of Senate service. Only
Senator Byrd served in this institution longer.
Turnover is a natural occurrence, but it's important to
acknowledge that the Senators who are departing have
served in the Senate for a combined total of 237 years, or
nearly 20 years per Senator, on average. Add Senator
Inouye, and the total is close to 300 years. That service
represents an enormous amount of expertise on issues
ranging from national defense and foreign affairs to the
Federal budget to energy policy. The departing Senators
will also take with them vast institutional knowledge and
bipartisan friendships and working relationships that will
leave a void we will need to fill. ...
Mr. President, Senator Herb Kohl embodies the American
dream. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and
Russia who started a chain of grocery and department
stores. Senator Kohl earned a bachelor of arts degree from
the University of Wisconsin in 1956 and a master of
business administration, MBA, degree from Harvard Business
School in 1958. Between 1958 and 1964, Senator Kohl was a
member of the U.S. Army Reserve. Senator Kohl had a highly
successful business career before he was elected to the
Senate in 1988 with 52 percent of the vote. In each
successive reelection effort, his share of the popular
vote rose, all the way up to more than 67 percent in 2006.
I have served with Senator Kohl on the Judiciary
Committee and have seen first hand his commitment to
ensuring the fairness of our legal system.
Senator Kohl introduced legislation to create a tax
credit for employer-provided childcare after Congress
passed the welfare reform bill in 1996, to help families
move from welfare to work. The credit was codified in
section 45F of the Internal Revenue Code as part of the
package of tax cuts passed in 2001. Section 45F offers a
tax credit for 25 percent of what it costs a business to
build and maintain an onsite childcare facility and 10
percent of their expenses for childcare resource and
referral services. It is capped at $150,000 a year per
company to target the benefit to small businesses.
Throughout his career, Senator Kohl has championed the
National Institute of Standards and Technology's
Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program, MEP, a
public-private partnership that provides technical support
to small and medium manufacturers. Since MEP arrived in
Wisconsin in 1998, its 2 centers have created or retained
over 13,000 high quality manufacturing jobs with almost $2
billion in economic impact throughout the State. In 2007
and 2010, Senator Kohl introduced bipartisan legislation
to authorize appropriations for MEP and, in both
instances, those bills became public law: the former as
part of the America COMPETES Act of 2007; the latter as
part of the American COMPETES Reauthorization of 2010. For
over a decade, and despite budgetary pressures, MEP has
received the resources it needs to continue to help small
manufacturers in Wisconsin and across the Nation,
prompting the American Small Manufacturers Coalition to
name Senator Kohl a ``champion for small manufacturers.''
Senator Kohl's quiet but effective contributions to our
Nation aren't limited to his service here in the Senate.
He is a committed philanthropist, too. For instance, he
donated $25 million to the University of Wisconsin at
Madison for the construction of its new sports arena. It
was the largest single donation in the University's
history. In 1990, he established the Herb Kohl Educational
Foundation Achievement Award Program, which provides
annual grants totaling $400,000 to 200 graduating seniors,
100 teachers, and 100 schools throughout Wisconsin. And he
is much beloved in his hometown for purchasing the
Milwaukee Bucks basketball team in 1985 to prevent the
team from being moved to another city. ...
Mr. President, these men and women who will be leaving
the Senate soon have made extraordinary sacrifices to
serve our Nation. We are fortunate that they have chosen
to spend significant parts of their lives in public
service. All Americans owe them a debt of gratitude. Those
of us who will be in the Senate next month when the 113th
Congress convenes can best honor the legacy of our
departing colleagues by reaching across the aisle as they
have done so many times to forge bipartisan consensus and
solutions to our Nation's most vexing problems. The men
and women who will be leaving the Senate at the end of
this Congress understand that compromise isn't a dirty
word; it is the genius at the heart of our political
system. We will miss them.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I come to the floor to
recognize Senator Kohl as he prepares to retire after 24
years in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Kohl was born and raised in Wisconsin, the State
he tirelessly represents to this day. He attended public
school in Milwaukee and at the University of Wisconsin-
Madison before obtaining his MBA from Harvard University
in 1958. His business ventures proved incredibly
successful, and he was acting president of Kohl's grocery
and department stores for nearly a decade. In 1988, he
took his business and education experience to the U.S.
Senate.
I have had the pleasure of serving with Senator Kohl on
the Appropriations Committee for the past 4 years. His
bipartisan cooperation is outstanding, and together we
have worked on numerous hearings and bills. He has been an
asset on the committee. We will miss his dedication,
intuition, and eagerness to work with others to find
solutions.
As a mother of two and former PTA member, I also
appreciate Senator Kohl's zeal in advocating children's
issues. He authored legislation to expand the school
breakfast program, strengthened child nutrition programs,
and has worked to meet the growing demand for childcare.
His work on the Appropriations Committee ensured the
continuation of important programs such as the Boys and
Girls Club and the Families and Schools Together Program.
This hard work did not go unrecognized. In 2010, Senator
Kohl received the Best of Congress Award from Working
Mother Magazine and Corporate Voices for Working Families.
I will always admire Senator Kohl for his hard work on
behalf of families and children across the United States.
Senator Kohl's charitable endeavors will also remain an
important part of his legacy. In 1990, he established the
Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Achievement Award
Program. This program provides annual grants to 200
graduating high school seniors, 100 Wisconsin teachers,
and 100 schools in his home State.
I cannot thank Senator Kohl enough for his service over
the past few decades. I am honored to have worked by his
side and wish him the best.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to recognize my
colleague Herb Kohl for his many years of distinguished
service and leadership on behalf of our country and the
people of Wisconsin.
It has been an incredible honor for me to serve with
Herb as neighboring Senators these last 6 years. He is a
statesman in the truest sense of the term, not to mention
one of the most genuinely kind and steadfast public
servants of our time. This is the reason he is so admired
in the Senate, and it is how he came to be known as one of
the most beloved and respected public figures in the State
of Wisconsin.
Like Herb, my mom was born and raised in Milwaukee. I
have many fond memories of visiting Wisconsin and can
personally attest to how loved and respected Herb Kohl is
throughout the State. People know him for the jobs he
created as a businessman. They know him for the
scholarship program created in his name. And of course,
they know him for the way he ``saved basketball'' by
keeping the Bucks in Milwaukee. But above all, people know
Herb for his consistent record of putting Wisconsin first.
From strengthening Wisconsin's manufacturing sector and
keeping jobs in the State to improving the MILC Program
and better supporting our dairy farmers, Herb has touched
and improved the lives of people across Wisconsin and
throughout the Midwest. At the national level, he has
earned a reputation as a masterful policymaker with a
quiet, commonsense approach to legislating that is the
stuff of Senate legend. But don't be fooled by Herb's even
keel.
When it comes to protecting consumers and standing up
for the middle class, few people are as fiercely committed
as Herb Kohl. As chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee, he
has been a truly tireless champion for consumer rights and
competition policy. I've seen this first hand, while
working with him on legislation to crack down on captive
shipping in the rail industry and to restrict the so-
called pay-to-delay deals that keep affordable
prescription drugs off the market.
Senator Kohl, it would be impossible to do full justice
to your legacy in a single statement. So instead I will
simply say this: Wisconsin is better off because of your
leadership, and so is our country. Thank you for all of
the friendship, wisdom, and support you have shown me over
the years. You will be missed, but I know that even in
retirement you will continue to find ways to improve our
great country and work for the people of Wisconsin.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Mr. DURBIN. ... Now, last night I bid farewell to
Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin. I am going to miss him
more than most people can imagine because Herb Kohl spent
the time and understood America's dairy program.
Madam President, I confess, I do not understand this
program. Vaguely, yes; but if it was on the final, I would
flunk. So I used to go, on dairy issues, to Senator Kohl.
Wisconsin dairy farmers and Illinois dairy farmers always
saw eye to eye.
I said, ``Herb, you are my dairy expert. You tell me.
You are my adviser.'' Well, Herb is retiring. I will need
a new adviser. ...
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, as the year ends, we face
the sadness that surrounds the departure of good
colleagues. I want to take a minute to express my pleasure
in having the opportunity to know and work with Herb Kohl.
We have served 16 years together on the Judiciary
Committee and in the Senate. He is one of the most
accomplished and courteous Members of the Senate. His
powerful intellect along with his vast private sector
experience have given him valuable insight into the issues
of our time. We shared a strong belief in the importance
of the Littoral Combat Ship and in the end were both
pleased to see that program move forward. As a senior
participant on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Kohl was a
faithful member who had a remarkable ability to win the
affection and respect of Members. He always sought common
ground rather than confrontation. It's been a real
pleasure for me to get to know and to work with this
remarkable, talented, and good man. He has given much to
the Senate. My best wishes are extended for this next
chapter in his life.
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.