[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 132 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11163-S11165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO SENATOR MIKE DeWINE

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise to speak about our senior 
Senator from Ohio, Mike DeWine. Let me begin by saying this is a speech 
I hoped I would never have to give. For many in this Chamber, winter 
came a little early this year. A blizzard of political change swept 
through the country and, unfortunately, many were unable to weather the 
storm; in my particular case, in our State, through no fault of their 
own.
  Mike DeWine was one of the most effective legislators we have in the 
U.S. Senate. He was a victim of this storm. I am deeply saddened that 
our respective colleagues will not be joining us when we congregate 
again for the 110th Congress. Mike's tireless commitment to 
legislating, his willingness and ability to work with both parties, and 
his ingenuity will be sorely missed by everyone in the Senate and the 
State of Ohio.
  Mike has served the people of Ohio for more than 30 years, beginning 
as an assistant county prosecutor in 1992. He served as Green County 
prosecutor for 4 years, State senator for 2 years, Congressman for 8 
years, and he was my Lieutenant Governor for 4 years when I was 
Governor of Ohio. And, of course, he has served us for 12 years as our 
U.S. Senator. He is one of the most effective and least partisan 
Members in this body.
  During campaign season, some of our colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle kept asking me: How is Mike doing, how is he doing? Frankly, 
I think they were secretly hoping his poll numbers would be strong 
enough that he would not become a target. Unfortunately,

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those numbers never got up to that place, and he ended up being a 
target.
  Far too many Members see differences between Republicans and 
Democrats as an unsurpassable deep divide. Not Mike DeWine. Over and 
over again, Mike built bridges between our parties, and he got things 
done for America and for Ohio. Janet and I feel like Mike and his 
wonderful wife Fran are part of our family. After working with Mike for 
the past 16 years, I can tell you that there is something special about 
him. In fact, right from the start, I knew there was something 
refreshingly different about Mike DeWine.
  The inception of our friendship came in 1990, when Mike and I were 
both running in the Republican primary for Governor of Ohio. It was a 
crowded field with Mike, Bob Taft, and I vying for the Governor's slot. 
It was then we really got to know each other. We talked about what 
would be the best for Ohio and for the Republican Party and, quite 
frankly, for our respective political futures. We decided to combine 
our efforts as running mates, and Mike agreed to run as my Lieutenant 
Governor.
  I knew this was a very tough decision for Mike because he wanted to 
be Governor and was giving up a very safe congressional seat to run for 
State office. At that moment, I knew I had a first-rate partner, a man 
with great character and humility as well as unique political poise and 
promise. Both of us knew we had a long, tough race ahead of us with no 
guarantees. This was not a layup shot. There was a real question of 
whether we were going to be successful. He had given up a safe seat in 
the U.S. Congress, with a big family. But we had a great time running 
for State office. Mike had an opportunity to connect with the State as 
a whole. I remember when he and Fran packed the kids in the van and 
traveled every inch of Ohio, becoming intimate with the Appalachian 
east, its manufacturing north, and its interior farmland.
  We went on to win the general election and, as I like to say, 
together we did it. Together we won the election, and together we 
charted a new course for Ohio.
  As Lieutenant Governor, Mike took over the State's criminal justice 
agencies, where he led the fight against crime and illegal drugs. It 
was a relief to have Mike as my partner when we had the Lucasville 
riots which broke out on Easter Sunday in 1993. It was the largest 
prison disturbance in the history of the United States, generating a 
great deal of national tension. Mike's background in criminal justice 
and his close relationship with law enforcement helped us respond 
quickly and effectively. It could have been a tragedy, but fortunately, 
together, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we made it through.
  In 1992, when the Ohio Republican Party needed a challenger to run 
against the famous astronaut and giant in Ohio politics, John Glenn, 
Mike was the obvious choice. He and Fran worked tirelessly to win that 
seat. Unfortunately, victory was not in the cards that year but triumph 
was imminent. Two years later, Mike became a U.S. Senator and our party 
swept the State, just as the Democrats did this year in Ohio. Mike 
returned to Washington as a U.S. Senator with more perspective, more 
experience, and more insight into the challenges facing Ohio than when 
he left the Congress as a Member of the House of Representatives. 
Without a lot of fanfare, he quietly went to work.
  Of course, Mike has been shaped by many things. It is impossible to 
talk about his achievements in public service without mentioning the 
terrible misfortune he and Fran experienced back in 1994. I will never 
forget the day Mike and Fran lost their daughter Becky. I am familiar 
with the tremendous pain they suffered. The day that changed their 
lives sticks in my memory, much like the day Janet and I lost our 
daughter Molly. Mike translated the love he and Fran had for Becky into 
his work in the Senate. He became a champion for our youth and for 
those who cannot represent themselves. That is why today I am hard 
pressed to think of anyone who has not been helped by Mike DeWine.
  His legislative achievements, which span both domestic and foreign 
policy, reflect his effectual and compassionate nature. Mike has shown 
tremendous dedication toward improving the safety of our highway 
system. He not only amended the 2005 highway bill to make preferences 
for highways noted as being unsafe, but he also allocated more than $56 
million of SAFETEA-LU, intended for improving highway safety.
  He succeeded in getting further testing and approval of medications 
for children. He helped establish a national toll-free poison control 
hotline. He acted on behalf of the children of U.S. servicemembers to 
make sure they had access to affordable health care. And he has stood 
up for foster children to make sure they are protected and to help them 
find adoptive parents.
  Time after time, Senator DeWine has protected Ohio. He was a critical 
voice in passing the Senate pension bill which helped ensure that 
workers' futures in Ohio are on better footing. He is a cosponsor of 
the Health Partnership Act because he understands how important health 
care reform is to Ohioans and to this country. He helped ensure that 
our fire departments are better equipped to fulfill their missions as 
first responders.
  During the BRAC process, he worked to keep Federal facilities, such 
as Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton and the Defense Finance 
and Accounting Center in Cleveland and Columbus, open and operating. 
And he led a new mission for Ohio's NASA-Glenn in Cleveland. Today 
these facilities are thriving and contributing to Ohio's aerospace 
industry and national defense. I don't think there was a State in the 
country that benefited more from the BRAC process than Ohio, and it is 
attributable to the outstanding leadership Mike DeWine gave all of us 
in terms of that BRAC process.
  Mike has also been a friend of the Jewish community and has made it a 
priority to help stamp out antisemitism and intolerance in America. He 
played a pivotal role in helping disclose previously classified 
documents about Nazi aggression, legislation that made those records 
available to the public through the National Archives and Records 
Administration. Today, thanks to Mike, doctors, nurses, and aid workers 
are more prepared to confront the global AIDS epidemic.
  Mike has carried a heavy burden while he has been in the Senate. He 
sits on the Judiciary Committee, the HELP Committee, and the 
Intelligence Committee. He also sits on one the most prestigious 
committees in the Senate, Appropriations. In fact, Mike was the first 
Ohioan in 50 years to sit on Appropriations. His position of 
leadership--and the resources he has been able to bring back to Ohio--
has made a tremendous difference for our State and a tremendous 
difference in the lives of the people of our State. I used to joke with 
Mike that my job as the debt hawk was to make sure we didn't spend the 
money. But once we decided we were going to spend it, his job was to 
make sure Ohio got its fair share. And boy, did he do a good job.
  These are just a handful of examples where my close friend and 
colleague Mike DeWine has made a difference. His legislative 
accomplishments and his legacy of principled public service have had a 
deep impact on all of our lives. The Senate will suffer a loss without 
Mike. But he will not slip out of the Senate. He will walk out these 
doors with his head held high because he can feel good about all he has 
given to the people of Ohio and to the United States of America. He has 
truly made a difference in their lives.
  Married for more than 39 years, Mike and Fran are parents to 8 
children and grandparents to 10. They have been blessed with much 
happiness and success, and they have carved out many meaningful paths 
during their life together.
  While Mike will be missed, I am confident that he and Fran will begin 
something new in this next chapter of their lives. We have both been 
given so much. I believe that God does have a plan. Sometimes we are 
not sure about what it is, but God does have a plan.
  I am reminded of one of my favorite verses from the Bible, Proverbs 
chapter 3, verses 5 and 6:

       Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and learn not unto 
     your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him, 
     and He will direct your path.

  Mike will be missed. But I know the Holy Spirit will continue to 
inspire

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Mike and Fran as they embark on a new journey together.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thune). The Senator from Ohio, Mr. DeWine, 
is recognized.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I thank my dear friend--the now junior 
Senator from Ohio, who in January will become the senior Senator from 
Ohio--for those very generous and kind comments.
  George Voinovich and I first got to know each other in 1989. I will 
not repeat the story the Senator recounted, but we got together and 
formed a partnership that has lasted until today. I gave up my run for 
Governor and joined with George as his Lieutenant Governor candidate. 
We won and, as they say, the rest is history. George was a great 
Governor for 8 years. I was his Lieutenant Governor for the first 4 of 
those years. We worked very closely during that period of time, of 
course, and after I went to the Senate, when he was still Governor. We 
have worked even closer since he has been a Senator from Ohio. So I 
thank him. George Voinovich and Janet are dear friends. They are people 
whom we care very much about. George is a great public servant, and I 
appreciate him very much and am touched, frankly, by his very kind 
comments.

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