[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Tribute to John Straayer

  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, in Denver today, the Colorado General 
Assembly will gather to pay tribute to Colorado State University 
professor John Straayer, whose 50-year teaching career included 37 
years of managing a legislative intern program during the spring 
semester. Every Tuesday and Thursday, rain or snow, Dr. Straayer, a van 
or two, and an over caffeinated, sleep-deprived, ambitious crew of 
college juniors and seniors would travel to Denver from Fort Collins 
under the tutelage of Dr. Straayer to learn the ``art of legislation.''
  After publishing several seminal books on Colorado politics, 
accumulating roughly 140,000 miles back and forth to the State capitol, 
and supervising over 1,000 interns over the years, he is retiring from 
his service as Colorado's legislative professor emeritus.
  Dr. Straayer has a true love of politics--the process, the policy, 
the people, and the place. He has a passion for every ounce of it, the 
kind of healthy obsession with a place that means so much to the lives 
of its citizens. He has seen it all--the good and the bad, the fights 
and the endearing moments. He watched the impacts of constitutional 
battles, term limits, and reforms, and 50 years later, he has never 
lost his passion.
  To be a part of his intern program, students were required to take 
his class on the legislative process. As a young CSU Ram myself, I 
remember his class vividly, absorbing his drive and drawn into the 
intrigue of policy. We talked about the cowboy coalition and the 
Sagebrush Rebellion; about Speaker Bev Bledsoe and Roy Romer; about 
Anne Burford, who served in the legislature as one of the self-
identified ``House Crazies,'' who in the 1980s became known as Ronald 
Reagan's EPA Administrator but who this past month became known as Neil 
Gorsuch's mom. We talked about the high-water mark of rural power and 
the rise of the suburban legislator.
  Dr. Straayer introduced new generations of students to oatmeal with 
vanilla ice cream and topped with maple syrup.
  Dr. Straayer introduced people to public service, including 
congressional and legislative staffers and many members of my own 
staff. According to a recent article in the Denver Post, those staffers 
and interns included former Democratic Governor Bill Ritter, Democratic 
State Senator Matt Jones, and Republican State Representative Dan 
Nordberg. They were all proteges of Dr. Straayer's. The article goes on 
to state that Straayer had arranged these internships, monitored them, 
and graded the reports of their experiences. Dozens of Straayer interns 
have risen to high electoral office or become key legislative 
lobbyists--and not just in Colorado; one of his former students is a 
city alderman in Chicago.
  I remember visiting Dr. Straayer when I first joined the program and 
was getting ready to be assigned to a legislator. When I received the 
assignment, I was disappointed to learn that I hadn't been appointed to 
the legislator I was hoping to be assigned to. Instead, I was assigned 
to a legislator from the Western Slope of Colorado. I am from the 
Eastern Plains, and I wasn't used to the Western Slope issues. Soon I 
would discover that Dr. Straayer had placed me with an incredible 
legislator named Russell George, who went on to become Colorado's 
speaker of the house--an individual who Dr. Straayer knew would be an 
incredible tutor and an inspiration to me. Dr. Straayer was right. 
Speaker George taught me about issues I work on each and every day here 
in the U.S. Senate--about public lands, water, and the West. He was and 
is an inspiration to me, and it is because Dr. Straayer had the 
discernment to go above and beyond for his students.
  After graduation, Dr. Straayer invited me to speak to his class and 
later would tease me in the State legislature that perhaps I talked too 
much from the well. He provided me interns from the very same program I 
was a part of 10 years before. Most of all, he reminded me of the good 
that comes from our teachers and mentors, those who look out for us 
because, from a special place in their heart, they know that through 
the gift of their teaching, they will have a lasting impact for 
generations to come.
  Congratulations, Dr. Straayer. Thank you for your service to Colorado 
State University and to the State of Colorado, and thank you for 
impacting the lives of so many people. From this U.S. Senator, thanks 
for being that life-changing spark.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
up to 15 minutes as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.