[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 207 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S8147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JOHN E. HOEHNE, JR.

  Mr. CRAPO. Madam President, today I wish to honor a longtime and 
vital member of my staff, John E. Hoehne, Jr., for serving the people 
of Idaho and our Nation for 25 years, both as my chief of staff during 
my service in the U.S. House of Representatives and as my chief of 
staff during my service in the U.S. Senate.
  John has been with me since before the beginning of my congressional 
service, leading my first congressional campaign. He officially became 
my chief of staff when I was sworn into office in the U.S. House of 
Representatives in January of 1993. His encouragement, wise counsel, 
and friendship have been invaluable in decisionmaking and advancing 
policy and legislative objectives. I cannot thank him enough for his 
dedication and ongoing assistance.
  John has contributed greatly to all aspects of my work, and he has 
helped advance countless legislative and policy efforts of importance 
for Idaho. He is instrumental in his work on first protecting Idaho's 
water sovereignty and economy while trying to find a consensus solution 
to anadromous fish recovery. He works to preserve Idaho's natural 
resources and quality of life. His passion for collaborative problem-
solving in addressing natural resources challenges has helped give 
collaborative efforts every opportunity to succeed. John has been a 
driving force in bringing stakeholders with often diverging viewpoints 
to the table to build common ground and has helped provide room for 
stakeholders to talk and resolve concerns rather than resort to 
litigation. His involvement was essential in the enactment and 
implementation of the Owyhee Initiative and has been of great 
assistance with other collaborative efforts, such as the Clearwater 
Basin Collaborative.
  John has also been at the forefront of helping Idahoans who have had 
challenges with Federal agencies. Earlier in his tenure, he helped get 
reason to prevail to the benefit of an Idaho community in a dispute 
with a Federal agency over how to best address mining cleanup. He was 
also heavily involved in addressing problems a timber company in 
southeast Idaho was having with another Federal agency. John intervened 
on the company's behalf and helped resolve the issues. These are just a 
few of the many achievements John has assisted with for Idahoans.
  Every step of the way, John has been there with reasoned counsel and 
a great sense of the bigger picture. I serve the people of Idaho in 
Washington, DC, and I believe in strong ties to the State. Although it 
seems to be a less common arrangement to have a chief of staff based in 
the State, I have been fortunate to have a principal member of my staff 
based in Boise fulltime and centrally involved in Idaho issues. His 
deep knowledge, understanding of Idaho, and ability to effectively 
represent me have been beneficial. John is well respected in all 
corners of our great State. In an era and political environment where 
turnover is common, John's 25 years of committed service is a testament 
to his deep dedication to Idahoans.
  Thank you, John, for your extraordinary counsel and friendship all 
these years.

                          ____________________