[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 12 (Thursday, January 23, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1466-S1467]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               MIKE EVANS

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to one of the 
most dedicated public servants and loyal staff members I have had the 
privilege to work with. Mike Evans has served me with deliberation, 
dedication, and distinction for 18 years and I, the people of Montana, 
the United States Senate, and our Nation are the better for it.
  Mike began his career as my legislative assistant for tax policy in 
1983. As many in this Chamber will recall, that was a time of great 
debate in the Finance Committee. We had passed a major tax cut in 1981. 
The following year, a soaring budget deficit was demanding attention. 
By the time Mike came on board, not only was the Finance Committee 
dealing with ``revenue raisers,'' to use the language of the day, but 
tax simplification was the hottest topic on the Finance Committee's 
agenda. Mike guided me through the controversies with his usual 
enthusiasm and attention to detail. In fact, he was so impressive that 
he soon became my legislative director, and expanded his 
responsibilities to include overseeing my work on the Agriculture and 
Environment and Public Works Committees.
  Perhaps his most significant accomplishment during his time with the 
EPW Committee was seeing the Clean Air Act of 1990 through the 
legislative process and into law. I was chairman of the Environmental 
Pollution Subcommittee then and Mike was my right arm--and sometimes my 
eyes and ears, too!
  Getting that bill through the EPW Committee, the Senate floor, and 
then conference with the House was an arduous task. But Mike was there 
all the way. Through the seemingly endless markups, through the 
backroom negotiations off the Senate floor, and through the midnight 
conferences with the House, Mike was always ready with the right 
arguments, the necessary supporting materials, and, most important, his 
sage advice. That bill was a significant advance in the protection of 
public health and the cleanup of our environment. Mike's contributions 
to the bill will be long remembered.
  In 1991, the lure of the Preston Gates law firm proved too much and 
he returned to the firm from whence he came. But when I became chairman 
of the Environment and Public Works Committee in 1993, I succeeded in 
luring him back into public service. Mike became my general counsel on 
the EPW Committee, integrally involved with the reauthorization of the 
Clean Water Act, the Superfund law, and the Endangered Species Act. We 
weren't always successful, but Mike provided the legal underpinnings of 
our efforts.
  It is as a lawyer that Mike's true talents show through. He not only 
masters the statutory construction and case law on any point with 
ease--or at least so it seems to me--but he is renowned among the staff 
for his ability to footnote material. I recall on several occasions 
getting memos from him where there was not a word of the memo on a 
page. Rather, the page was filled with footnotes. I told him that I 
appreciated a good footnote or two as much as the next lawyer, but next 
time he should save them for our opponents.
  Mike is respected and admired by his colleagues. He was always 
willing to spend time with other staff to review legal arguments, 
provide advice and direction, and sometimes just be a sounding board. I 
was told that Mike's stature among his peers increased beyond measure 
when he revealed to the other staff that when reading bill language, 
subclause two is pronounced ``subclause two'' and not, as was the 
apparent custom, ``two little eye.''
  Mike's attention to detail was perhaps most apparent when it came to 
the rules. First, he updated the EPW Committee rules and religiously 
filed

[[Page S1467]]

away each application so that the Committee would have a file of 
precedents on which to refer.
  It was in the defense of those EPW Committee rules that Mike became a 
small legend. In particular, he staunchly defended the Committee rule 
that prohibited the naming of public buildings for any living 
individual under the age of 70. But, lest you think Mike is perfect, 
even his best oratorical skills and most reasoned argument in defense 
of the rule were never a match for the political imperative involved in 
a naming bill. Mike lost every single one of those arguments.
  When I took over as the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in 
2001, Mike moved over as the Deputy Chief of Staff and General Counsel. 
Once again, Mike took responsibility for updating the Committee rules 
and establishing a record of precedents.
  Mike not only mastered committee rules, he mastered the Senate rules. 
On his last day in the Senate, the Senate Parliamentarian noted that 
Mike was always prepared when he made a parliamentary inquiry. And, for 
the record, I have to warn the Senate Parliamentarian that Mike 
prepared comprehensive, annotated references for the Finance Committee 
staff and provided what is now affectionately known as ``The Mike 
Evans' Procedure Seminar.''
  Ironically, despite his respect of the rules, last year he was thrown 
off the Senate floor with a bipartisan gaggle of Finance Committee 
staff for being too noisy. I believe Senator Dayton presided over the 
ouster.
  I have always respected a person who can manage both the demanding 
responsibilities of Senate staff while also caring for a growing 
family. And Mike has certainly done both. We were fortunate to be part 
of Mike's life as his family expanded from two--he and his wife 
Maureen--to six, with the addition of their four beautiful children: 
Sean, Christopher, Aselefech and Adanech. We have watched their 
children grow up and every step has been a reflection of their 
incredible parents.
  Mike also found time to be one of the best read staffers I have ever 
known. I have no doubt that his counsel has been greatly strengthened 
by his acquaintanceship with thoughts and history beyond the reach of a 
single individual. And his literary interests are not limited to 
reading. He is a most prolific author. As with most staff, he has done 
more than his share of floor statements. And as a lawyer, he has 
drafted the occasional law review article. But his talents also extend 
to poetry, including the occasional rhyming remembrance of triumphs and 
things best left unsaid when a staff member departs.
  Suffice it to say, Mike fancies himself a music impresario. He feels 
it is his duty to bring music to ``the people.'' Some of that music is 
even good. Mike has been known to wear Bob Marley T-shirts in the 
office over the weekend and sing Bruce Springstein lyrics at the drop 
of a hat. In fact, when he discovered that one of the Finance Committee 
interns house-sat for Bob Dylan, the intern was suddenly spending more 
time in intense discussions with Mike.
  Mike truly believes in the dignity and responsibilities of public 
service. He understands that when it comes to working in the Senate, as 
Bruce Springstein would say, ``the door's open but the ride ain't 
free.'' So, while he leaves the Senate staff to return to private 
practice at Preston Gates, I know that he will retain his commitment to 
service, to his family, to his colleagues, and to his country.
  Every President, every member of Congress, every staff person in the 
United States Congress must first swear to support and defend the 
Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and 
domestic, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to 
faithfully discharge the duties of the office. Mike Evans lived by this 
oath every day of his public service in the Senate.
  Mike follows the rules: The Senate rules. The Committee rules. And 
the rules by which he lives his life--loyalty, diversity, fairness, 
honesty, and compassion, coupled with an unexpected, yet sharp sense of 
humor.
  I thank Mike for his dedication and the nearly two decades for which 
I have been fortunate enough to benefit his counsel and friendship. May 
we all follow his example, to have the wit to discover what is true and 
the fortitude to practice what is good.

                          ____________________