[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 168 (Friday, December 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10505-S10506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTES TO RETIRING SENATORS


                              Byron Dorgan

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, at the end of each session of Congress it 
has long been a tradition in the Senate to take a moment to express our 
appreciation and say goodbye to those who will not be returning in 
January for the beginning of the next Congress. One of those I know I 
will miss who will be heading home to North Dakota to begin the next 
chapter of his life is Byron Dorgan.
  Byron was raised in the ranching and wheat growing region of North 
Dakota in the town of Regent. Looking back, he has often said that he 
graduated in the top 10 of his high school class. ``There were nine of 
us,'' he then adds with a smile.
  Growing up in a community that was so heavily involved in agriculture 
gave him an early taste of what rural life is all about. He experienced 
firsthand the importance of farming to his home State and the hard work 
associated with taking good care of the land and the resources it 
provides. He saw the way people who live on farms schedule their days--
working from sunrise to sunset, going from task to task knowing there 
was always more work to be done than there were hours in the day. It 
was a lesson about the true meaning of hard work that would stay with 
him throughout his life and help direct his efforts and his service in 
the Senate.
  One issue we shared an interest in and worked together on for years 
has been sales tax fairness. Byron took his experience as a former tax 
administrator and I used my background as an accountant to focus our 
work on the issue. Byron's understanding of our tax system and how it 
must work efficiently to provide the government with the resources that 
are needed to fund its operations was very impressive. That should come 
as no surprise to anyone since he had been appointed the tax 
commissioner of North Dakota at the age of 26, which made him the 
youngest constitutional officer in the State's history.
  We also worked together on the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act. We hope 
to change our current policies there because for 40 years they have 
failed to bring about the results we hope to achieve. It was clear to 
us both that if we wanted to bring our democratic ideas to Cuba to 
effect the changes we wanted to achieve, we had to find another way to 
do it. Fortunately, Byron's leadership style and his speaking ability 
were again a great addition to the effort and helped to win us the 
support we needed to get things rolling.
  Looking back on these and other issues, it is clear that Byron's 
career has been guided by the lessons he learned as he was growing up 
about the importance of hard work and always giving your best to the 
task at hand every day. That is why you will always find him fighting 
for the needs of rural America and promoting a sense of fairness and 
equity in our tax system. There can be little doubt that he has 
accomplished a great deal during his service in the Senate. He has been 
a champion for rural America, and farmers and ranchers not only in 
North Dakota but all across the country have been grateful for his 
efforts and the results he has been able to achieve.
  I don't know what Byron has planned as he begins the next chapter of 
his life, but I am certain we have not heard the last from him and his 
wife Kim. They have been a team over the years as they have worked 
together for the people of North Dakota. They have made a difference, 
and they have a great deal to show for their efforts.
  In the coming session, I know we will all miss Byron's effective way 
of speaking and addressing the concerns of the people of his State. He 
has a great sense of humor, and his ability to present the case for 
``his side'' has won many an argument--some of them before they had 
even begun.
  Good luck, Byron. Keep in touch. We will always be pleased to hear 
from you.


                            George Voinovich

  Mr. President, at the end of each session of Congress, as is our 
tradition, we take a moment to say goodbye and express our appreciation 
to those Members who will be returning home at the end of the year. I 
know we will miss them and the contributions they have made over the 
years to the debates and deliberations they have participated in on the 
Senate floor and in committee. One retiring Member I know I will 
especially miss is George Voinovich.
  If ever it could be said of someone that they have never lost touch 
with their roots, it would be said of George. George was raised on 
Cleveland's east side, and he still lives there. His dad was an 
architect, and his mother was a schoolteacher. For his own part, until 
he was in his teens, George was determined to be a doctor. As he grew 
up, he found that he didn't get along very well with science, so right 
about then his direction and his focus changed. Fortunately for 
Cleveland and all of Ohio, George then decided that someday he would 
run for mayor and for Governor, which put him on the path that brought 
him years later to the U.S. Senate.
  Those were big dreams for someone who up until then had only his 
success as high school class president to show on his political resume. 
That was also the time when his fellow classmates voted him most likely 
to succeed. It must have served as his inspiration because he proved 
them right. Over the years George proved to be a success at just about 
everything he set his mind to. That helped him to accomplish just about 
all that he had predicted and much, much more.
  As any observer knows, one of the constant themes that runs through 
George's political career has been his determination to be a good 
steward of the resources we have been blessed to receive. It unsettles 
him to see waste of any kind, especially when it comes to our budget 
and the funds taxpayers all across the country send to Washington to 
run our government.
  At each post he has served--mayor, Governor, and now, in the Senate--
people have looked to him for his leadership and his willingness to 
make the tough choices that must be made if we are to provide our 
children with a fair chance to live their own version of the American 
dream. George has warned us more than once. If we continue to spend so 
much of our children's future resources, we will leave them with a huge 
debt and an economy so weak and sluggish as to offer them little hope 
of ever freeing themselves from it. We ought to listen to him and take 
his advice--for our sake and theirs.

[[Page S10506]]

  George has been a remarkable public servant, and he has served at 
many different levels of government throughout his career. I know he 
would be the first to say he wouldn't have been able to do all that 
without the person he calls the greatest blessing he has received in 
life by his side. That person is his wife Janet, who has been his 
greatest source of support and guidance for 48 years. Together they 
have made a difference wherever they have been.
  In the years to come, I will always remember and admire all you did 
as Governor of Ohio with such a perfect First Lady by your side. I have 
a hunch you were such a great vote-getter because you had an 
advantage--a lot of people voted for you because they were also voting 
for her.
  Looking back, we both served as mayors in our home States. When we 
did we had to find a way to pay for everything. That is why I always 
had an appreciation for the way you examined every detail of each issue 
through the lens of your background and how the people back home would 
feel about it.
  Diana joins in sending our best wishes to you both and our thanks and 
appreciation for all you have done for Ohio and the Nation during your 
many years of public service. Good luck in all your future endeavors. 
Keep in touch. You'll be missed. It just won't be the same around here 
without you.

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