[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S89-S90]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Chris Campbell

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a trio of 
excellent staffers, all of whom served with distinction on the Senate 
Finance Committee for a number of years and who recently left the 
committee to pursue other ventures.
  First, Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about Chris 
Campbell, a longtime friend and trusted adviser, who until recently 
served as the Republican staff director on the committee. Last summer, 
he was nominated and confirmed to serve as Assistant Secretary of the 
Treasury for Financial Institutions.
  I have known Chris for more than 17 years, and I cannot overstate his 
importance and contributions to my years of work here in the Senate. 
Chris joined my campaign for President back in 2000, where I 
immediately recognized his talent and leadership abilities and 
appointed him to be my national field director, although he was 
relatively young and inexperienced at the time. Needless to say, I 
don't blame Chris for how that particular campaign turned out. In fact, 
that same year, I asked him to serve as director for my Senate 
reelection campaign, which thankfully met with much better results. 
After that, he came to Washington to serve on my staff on the Senate 
Judiciary Committee.

[[Page S90]]

  I have long urged my staffers to get as much education as possible to 
enhance their understanding and gain new perspectives. I nagged Chris 
about this during my Presidential campaign. Eventually, after working 
on my staff for a few years, he wanted to upgrade his bachelor's degree 
in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara 
with an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
  A short time after receiving his MBA and a brief stint in the private 
sector, Chris desired to return to public service, and when he returned 
to Washington, I hired him back without hesitation and asked him to 
serve as my legislative director, a post he held until 2011 when I took 
over as the lead Republican on the Finance Committee and appointed him 
to be the staff director.
  During his time on the committee staff, Chris quarterbacked every 
major effort we undertook. This includes successes like the approval of 
free-trade agreements, the bipartisan renewal of trade promotion 
authority and the modernization of U.S. trade laws, the repeal and 
replacement of the Medicare sustainable growth rate, and the long-term 
funding of the Federal highway trust fund, just to name a few.
  Of course, his work on the long-term tax reform effort was 
invaluable. We began our work on tax reform right out of the gate in 
2011 and worked with Chairman Baucus and others to drive it forward. 
Chris was a key part of all of the work we did over the years to 
advance tax reform. While his move to Treasury came just before the 
final stages of that effort, I was fortunately able to benefit from his 
continued advice and counsel as we moved closer to and eventually 
crossed the finish line.
  Chris is a shrewd but effective negotiator and a brilliant 
legislative strategist. Congressional Quarterly named him one of the 
seven most influential non-elected people working in Congress, and Roll 
Call put him on its list of the 50 most influential staffers on Capitol 
Hill for 7 straight years. Clearly, I am not the only one who 
recognizes his abilities. I know the other members of the Finance 
Committee--on both sides of the aisle--have also acknowledged and 
benefited from his years of work.
  Still, even with all of his accomplishments, what stands out most to 
me about Chris Campbell is his life story. He is a great example of how 
hard work and education can help a person become much more than what 
some statistician might predict. Chris grew up in Hemet, CA, as one of 
six children who struggled--and that is putting it lightly--to make 
ends meet. He didn't grow up with family connections or powerful 
benefactors, but thanks to his diligence and determination and no 
shortage of natural ability, he became one of the most effective and 
influential staffers on Capitol Hill, and he now serves in a key 
leadership role in the administration.
  While it pained me to see him head off to Treasury, I have been 
comforted to know that the President knows how to pick the best people 
and that the Department of the Treasury is being well served.
  I personally want to thank Chris for his years in working with me, 
for his candid and thoughtful advice, and for his commitment to public 
service. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors, which I am 
quite sure will be just as successful as his time here.