[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 147 (Thursday, December 4, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6316-S6317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO MIKE JOHANNS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to a truly 
outstanding Senator, who will soon retire from this body after more 
than 30 years of public service.
  Of course, I am speaking of Senator Mike Johanns. Mike has had a 
remarkable career. He is the only current Member of this body--besides 
Senator Alexander--who has served as Senator, Governor, and Cabinet 
Secretary.
  Yet for all he has accomplished, Mike isn't the flashiest Senator. He 
doesn't hold the most press conferences, he doesn't yell the loudest, 
and you never have to worry about him knocking you over to get to a TV 
camera, but in his steady and determined style, Mike has proven himself 
a remarkably successful Member of this body.
  That was true in his successful battles to defend Nebraska's rural 
communities against government overreach, it was true when he worked 
with the late Senator Byrd to sink a national energy tax that 
threatened his constituents, and it was true when he led the first 
successful legislative effort to revisit ObamaCare, working with many 
Democrats to repeal the so-called 1099 provision.
  Mike has never looked for drama. He is always aiming for results. So 
it didn't take long for people in the Senate to recognize that Mike was 
more than just another freshman in the minority. He became the guy you 
would turn to if you wanted to get an amendment up to 60 votes.
  That is truly remarkable for a first-term Senator. It is especially 
remarkable when we consider that Mike  came to the Senate at a time 
when Republicans were in the deep minority. But then again, Mike  is a 
very remarkable guy: county commissioner, city councilman, mayor, 
Governor, Secretary of Agriculture. You name it, Mike  has done it, and 
that was before he even set foot in the Senate.
  Some think Mike  must have a secret that allows him to assemble 
bipartisan coalitions on conservative issues, but I don't think it is 
much of a secret at all. Mike  works across the aisle. He works in good 
faith, and he works hard. He doesn't care what party you are from and 
absolutely no one can outwork him.
  Mike  makes sure of that by getting up earlier than anyone else. It 
is a habit he learned growing up on a farm in northern Iowa. He would 
get up at 5 a.m. every day and then from age 4 he would work. He would 
shovel muck. He would fill the hog tanks. He would even deliver 
piglets.
  The point is, Mike  developed an appreciation for hard work and 
responsibility at an early age. Along with his strong Catholic faith, 
these are the traits that still define him today, but they don't paint 
the whole picture, because Mike Johanns may be an accomplished man, he 
may be one of the smartest and most capable public servants you will 
ever meet, but he is absolute putty in the hands of his wife Stephanie. 
She is always by his side. She is his best friend, and they complement 
each other perfectly.
  Their idea--listen to this--of a perfect night out is a night in 
together. They are both Husker fans and, as Mike  put it, ``Steph is 
almost never in a bad mood.'' He said: ``She jumps out of bed, and 
she's got a big smile on her face and she thinks this is bound to be 
the best day of her life.''
  It is a personality perfectly suited, as one can imagine, to the 
campaign trail, which is a good thing because the two of them have 
logged tens of thousands of miles together campaigning across Nebraska, 
usually in matching T-shirts, sometimes in a beat-up old Corsica.
  They have plenty of stories from the trail, too, but one from Mike  
's run for Governor stands out particularly. This is what happened: The 
Johanns were driving home after a long day of marching in parades in 
the hot Sun. They passed a barn on the way, assuming it was a cattle 
sale. They figured they would drop in and press a few palms. Stephanie 
parked the car, Mike  opened the door, and dozens of well-dressed 
Nebraskan eyes fell on them.
  The Johanns, in their sweaty T-shirts, hadn't dropped by a cattle 
sale; they had crashed a wedding. I will give them this, they made the 
best of it. Mike  ended up dancing with the bride, and of course he 
went on to win the election as well.
  This is the sequel: Months later, at an inaugural ball in Lincoln, 
two uninvited guests showed up. It was, of course, the bride and her 
husband.
  They had a simple message: ``You crashed our wedding, Governor, and 
now we're crashing your inaugural.''
  So the senior Senator from Arizona may like to brag about his 
Hollywood cameo with Vince Vaughn, but our colleagues know the truth. 
Senator Mike Johanns is the original--the original--wedding crasher.
  Mike and Stephanie certainly have traveled a long and interesting 
road from when they first met while serving on the Lancaster County 
Board in the 1980s, when Mike would draft up walking lists on an old 
typewriter and they would go out and campaign door to door.
  A lot has changed. For one thing, Mike isn't a Democrat anymore. But 
much is the same too. Mike still cares deeply about mental health 
issues. It is what brought him into politics in the first place. It is 
what he considers his crowning achievement as Governor. He still has 
loyal fans on staff who remember all of his efforts on the issue.
  It is a rare thing, the loyalty Mike inspires in people. This is the 
Senator with staffers who have been with him for many years, some since 
his days in local politics, and here is what they all say about Mike 
Johanns: Senator Johanns is a man who cares--cares about his family, he 
cares about the people who work for him, and he cares about his 
constituents. That is why he has given his cell phone out to half of 
Nebraska.
  He has made his mistakes, of course. As mayor of Lincoln, he had to 
cancel Halloween one year. But that is old news. To many Nebraskans he 
is still Governor, to others he is simply Mike. But whatever Nebraskans 
call Mike Johanns, they respect him, and I know they are going to miss 
him. And so are we.
  At least retirement will give Mike more time to pursue his hobbies. 
We hear he is a voracious window washer. He has even been known to pull 
out the Windex on vacation. Whatever he does, we know this is a 
retirement that is well earned. He has dealt with bird flu, mad cow 
disease, the farm bill, deficit

[[Page S6317]]

reduction, and just about any other issue you can think of over a long 
and distinguished career in public service.
  We all want to thank Senator Johanns for his loyal and dedicated 
service to the Senate and to the people of Nebraska. We wish Mike and 
Stephanie the best as they look forward to their next adventure 
together.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority leader.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to join in the remarks of the 
distinguished Republican leader, but add to that that Stephanie is one 
of the funniest people Landra and I have ever known. She has a great 
sense of humor. What the Republican leader laid out is perfect, except 
this woman has a sense of humor that is really quite remarkable.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Will the Senator withhold his 
request?
  Mr. REID. Yes, Mr. President.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. JOHANNS. Mr. President, just a word or two to both leaders. Thank 
you so much for your kind words. I also want to say thank you for 
mentioning my wife Stephanie. This has been a remarkable partnership 
for a lot of years, and I could not have done what I did without her. 
So thank you to Senator McConnell. Mr. Leader, thank you. It has been 
an honor to serve in this body. I will have more to say next week in my 
farewell speech, but I did not want this day to go by without 
expressing my appreciation. Thank you.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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