[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 165 (Friday, November 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15068-S15069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMARKS ON THE DEPARTURE OF IVAN SCHLAGER

  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I rise today with both pride and sadness 
as we say goodbye to a long time member of my staff, Ivan Schlager. I 
have known Ivan for nearly 20 years. One cold afternoon at Northwestern 
University in 1983, Ivan approached a woman, he thought to be a staffer 
on the Hollings for President Campaign and offered to volunteer on that 
effort.
  That ``staffer'' turned out to my wife, Peatsy Hollings, and before 
Ivan knew what had happened, he was driving and wading through the snow 
of New Hampshire in support of my effort.
  After finishing at Northwestern and law school at Georgetown, Ivan 
joined the Commerce Committee staff in 1989 and began to assist both 
Senator Rockefeller and myself at the Subcommittee on Tourism and 
Foreign Commerce. In this job, he played an important role on many of 
the international trade agreements concluded over the past decade, 
including most notably the Uruguay Round agreement which created the 
WTO and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
  I truly believe that Ivan is one of the most knowledgeable and 
substantive individuals with regard to international trade. He was 
instrumental in insuring that all voices were heard during these 
important debates.
  More than 3 years ago, Ivan became the Commerce Committee's staff 
director and he has overseen its operations since that time. He has 
provided the committee Democrats with a thoughtful and pragmatic 
approach to a remarkable variety of issues. Moreover, he has developed 
a fine working relationship with Chairman McCain, his

[[Page S15069]]

staff and the remainder of the Republicans on the committee.
  On many occasions, these relationships have assisted in forging a 
bipartisan consensus on a variety of issues that have helped advance 
good public policy in areas such as telecommunications and broadcast 
policy, aviation, trucking and rail issues, technology development and 
environmental and oceans concerns.
  One particular issue stands out, last year's tobacco debate. Under 
difficult personal circumstances, Ivan worked closely with both 
Republicans and Democrats to help craft a compromise that was reported 
out of the committee by a 19-1 vote.
  On other occasions, such as product liability or international trade 
we have been unable to reach bipartisan consensus and have been forced 
to hash out our differences on the Senate floor. In those instances, I 
have been blessed to have Ivan's energy, quick thinking, political 
intuition and wise counsel during the debate.
  As, I mentioned earlier, I first met Ivan when he was in his early 
twenties. Both Peatsy and I have seen him grow from a college student 
to a dedicated and accomplished public servant. We rejoiced when he met 
and married his lovely wife, Martha Verrill. We celebrated when they 
had a baby boy, Ethan, and then a second, William. We grieved with him 
when his father passed away last year. And today we wish him well as he 
moves onto his next step in joining the internationally recognized law 
firm of Skadden, Arps.
  Ivan, thank you for all that you have done for Peatsy and me, the 
Commerce Committee, and for our country. We will miss you.

                          ____________________