[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 175 (Tuesday, December 6, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S6718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO DAN COATS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we all remember where we were on 
September 11, 2001. The man we honor today certainly does. He was in 
Berlin. He had only just begun his second day as Ambassador to Germany, 
and then everything changed.
  Planes smashed into the World Trade Center. Terrorists attacked the 
Pentagon, where his son-in-law worked. Thankfully, his family emerged 
unbroken that day. Others were not so fortunate.
  Ambassador Coats found himself thrown into a role he couldn't have 
foreseen a day earlier, a role in which he would excel but one that 
would forever change him. Those who know Dan Coats say that day in 
September affected him profoundly. It shook him as a father, it 
sharpened him as a policymaker, and it clarified the stakes and his 
sense of responsibility.
  He may not have known it then, but he would feel the tug of that 
responsibility many years later and answer the call.
  Senator Coats had enjoyed a successful congressional career when he 
decided to retire in 1998. He earned a reputation for working hard, 
getting things accomplished, becoming an indispensable member of his 
conference. In fact, after Dan announced his decision not to seek 
reelection, then-Majority Leader Trent Lott rang him up and said: ``You 
can't leave,'' Lott recalled saying. ``I can't go forward in the Senate 
without you.''
  Dan's success was no accident. He learned the legislative ropes 
working for an up-and-coming Congressman named Dan Quayle. He applied 
that knowledge as he progressed from Quayle's staffer to Quayle's 
successor, first in the House, then in the Senate.
  This was evident whether Dan was refocused on rebuilding the military 
after the Cold War, bringing opportunity to low-income families and 
children, even dissecting the finer points of American garbage policy--
yes, garbage policy.
  Toward the beginning of Dan's time in the Senate, Hoosier landfills 
were filling with New Jersey trash, and Hoosiers were fed up. So in 
came Dan with a war cry--``Don't dump on us!''--and just the right 
blend of determination, legislative know-how, and humor to capture the 
attention of colleagues and the hearts of constituents.
  Some were unamused in DC or Trenton, but back in Indiana, Hoosiers 
were over the Moon. For many, their first introduction to this plucky 
new Senator came through his famous Senate trash ad, the Coats for 
Senate commercial, which featured a cigar-chomping garbageman from 
Jersey, earned Dan a place in the hallowed halls of campaign legend--
and perhaps a ticket back to the Senate.
  While Senator Lott may not have been able to persuade Dan to run for 
reelection 8 years later, he did offer this prophetic statement as he 
bid him farewell:

       [Dan Coats] is leaving the Senate, but he is not leaving 
     us.
       I have a feeling that he is going to have a real influence 
     in many ways for the rest of his life, and he is going to 
     stay close to all of us.

  How right he was.
  Fast forward to just over a decade later, former Senator Coats looked 
out and saw a country in crisis, adrift on the world stage, stagnant at 
home, and sliding into despair. Dan was deeply unsettled. He shared his 
concerns with his wife Marsha. He realized he had two choices. He could 
sit back and watch or he could do something.
  Dan Coats chose to do something. His election was hardly a sure 
thing. He pulled through anyway. When he returned to the Capitol, he 
put his head down and he got right to work. Dan can be a man of few 
words. He doesn't always feel the need to speak up, but when he does, 
people pay attention. It is a true mark of distinction in a body such 
as this with its big egos and sharp elbows.
  People listen to this former Ambassador when he explains the ins and 
outs of foreign policy. People listen to this veteran of previous 
health care debates when he dissects the problems of ObamaCare.
  When this fiscal expert shares his waste of the week, people pay 
attention. It is how we learned taxpayer dollars were being spent on 
Swedish massages for bunny rabbits. It is how we discovered taxpayer 
money was being wasted to determine whether ``hanger,'' that is 
``hunger'' plus ``anger,'' is a real thing.
  Senator Coats knew he wasn't going to solve all of our Nation's 
problems as one Senator in one term, but he understood the important 
contributions he could make. He also recognized his responsibility to 
make them. In the process, he cemented a legacy that will long outlast 
him in the Senate. It will certainly continue on in my office. My own 
chief of staff, Sharon Soderstrom, is a Coats alum. Speaker Ryan's 
chief of staff, Dave Hoppe, is another Coats alum. The list of Coats 
staffers who have gone on to achieve great things--from former White 
House chief speechwriter Michael Gerson to incoming Indiana Governor 
Eric Holcomb--is as long as it is impressive.
  I know Dan is looking forward to spending more time at Wrigley Field 
after he retires. Here is the tweet Dan sent out last month: ``A 
century in the making, we finally made it. What a great day to be a 
Cubs fan.''
  It is hard to overstate the importance of the moment for him. I mean, 
this is a guy who spent part of his honeymoon--his honeymoon--at 
Wrigley Field. So I wonder if maybe, just maybe, he was able to see a 
little of himself in his favorite team--maybe in a guy like fellow 
Indiana University Hoosier Kyle Schwarber--a standout player who 
stepped away from the game for a season and then came back and picked 
right up where he left off without a hitch, knocking it out of the park 
just when his team needed him most.
  Dan promises he is not coming back a third time. We will see. It is 
obvious Dan never needed the office or the title--not the first time, 
not the second time, not a third time.
  That said, I know Dan isn't going to stop caring. I know he isn't 
going to stop working. So we are going to keep the Dan Coats ``bat 
signal'' plugged in. Should the people call out for a hero yet again, I 
hope our friend will suit up one more time because, if nothing else, we 
are really going to miss him.
  So let us recognize and congratulate Senator Coats for his many years 
of service. Let us wish him well in his latest retirement, and let me 
personally thank him for his wise counsel and trusted friendship.
  I will miss you, my friend.

                          ____________________