[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 6, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1694-S1696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Tribute to Franz Wuerfmannsdobler

  Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to recognize a 
true public servant, an individual who has been by my side since my 
first year as a Senator, someone who will be dearly missed, not only in 
my office but by this institution as a whole as he moves on to his next 
chapter this week: my deputy chief of staff and senior policy advisor, 
Franz Wuerfmannsdobler.
  Franz has had a great impact on this institution, on the staff 
members who served here over the last two decades, and on me. His sage 
advice, his patience, his incredibly calm demeanor, his willingness to 
mentor and guide others, his respect for this institution, and his 
knowledge borne out of 20 years of experience in the Senate have 
contributed in countless ways to the meaningful work we have been able 
to do here for the people of Delaware and our country.
  Today, I want to recognize and thank Franz for his remarkable and his 
selfless career. I want to thank him for what he has done for me, for 
my office, for the people of Delaware, and pay tribute to the legacy he 
leaves.
  It is a remarkable legacy. He has been on the frontlines of events 
and policy battles that have quite literally shaped the history of our 
country over the last two decades--from 9/11 to the passage of the 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, from energy and appropriations 
efforts to sustained concerns and engagement around bipartisanship.
  Franz's career in the Senate began in 1998 when he served as a 
legislative assistant for the late, great Senator Robert Byrd of West 
Virginia, who was himself a giant of this body. For 8 years, Franz 
handled issues from energy to environment, to climate change and 
natural resources. It was also in Senator Byrd's office that Franz cut 
his teeth on the complex appropriations process, learning from the 
master appropriator himself.
  Franz's career then took him to the office of former Senator Byron 
Dorgan of North Dakota, where he was a trusted senior energy policy 
advisor, and then on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations 
Subcommittee before finally joining my own office in March of 2011.

[[Page S1695]]

  Franz's list of legislative accomplishments is long and impressive 
and reflects his deep grasp of policy and the mechanics of politics. He 
helped to shape elements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the 
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. He was central to 
establishing reformed fuel economy standards for our Nation's 
automobiles and played a key role in the Recovery Act, a massive effort 
that helped pull our Nation out of the depths of a recession.
  Franz is a person of ideas and vision. His vision for our country has 
led to policies that have made our Nation cleaner, more innovative, and 
more secure. Likewise, his vision in my Senate office has made our team 
more efficient, more effective, and more successful. Franz has played a 
key role in shaping my office early on, helping to create a team-based 
structure and the positive culture of our legislative staff.
  He also introduced me to the valuable concept of having an office 
built around and relying on expert legislative fellows, including, in 
particular, fellows from the American Association for the Advancement 
of Science, whose incredible expertise and deep knowledge in scientific 
matters has been invaluable in advancing technology and science policy 
in my last 8 years. In total, Franz has mentored more than 15 fellows 
during his time in the Senate--13 of them are AAAS fellows in my own 
office, and they have attested individually and collectively to the 
reach, scope, and power of his guidance and mentorship to them.
  Franz is also a master of appropriations--an arcane process that even 
the most seasoned legislative veterans should admit that they don't 
completely understand. He brought his wealth of experience to our team, 
taking the reins of the Federal budget and appropriations process and 
building from the ground up the complex and detailed appropriations 
system that we use to this day. There is no question that Franz's 
expertise and the time he dedicated to building this meticulous system 
has made me a more effective member of the Senate Appropriations 
Committee and led to countless wins for the State of Delaware--from 
funding for critical transportation improvements and investments in our 
first responders to support that has helped to establish and enhance 
the NIIMBL manufacturing institute of the University of Delaware and to 
fully fund science and R&D projects around the country and in my home 
State.
  Beyond Franz's technical expertise, nothing better exemplifies his 
character than the patience and dedication with which he has taught 
others about the appropriations process. Each year, Franz hosts 
``Appropriations Bootcamp 101`` to teach new staff members the ins and 
outs of this riveting and complex process. He takes the time to explain 
it, to get into the weeds, and to answer question after question. Franz 
has also taken his show on the road in my home State of Delaware, 
meeting with State, local government, and community stakeholders to 
explain the appropriations process and help to secure more funding for 
our State. He has even developed a legendary method for teaching staff 
about appropriations by using bags of marbles to explain funding 
allocations for each Appropriations subcommittee. For the record, the 
legislative branch gets just one marble.
  Franz's patience extends far beyond the annual appropriations 
process. He always maintains his cool and has a striking and calming 
presence, even in the most trying of circumstances. One of those more 
trying circumstances occurred at a staff outing just a few years ago. 
Franz had driven a couple of other members of our team, and on their 
way home, his car broke down. The group decided to push start the car, 
going down a hill to get momentum, while a junior staffer manned the 
wheel. Unfortunately, the lack of power steering made it impossible to 
turn the wheel. After a good strong push, the car rolled right down the 
hill and into a tree. Franz very calmly said: Don't worry about it. It 
is not a problem; it is all going to be fine--even when the front end 
of his car was unrecognizable. Franz's response to that situation, his 
cool and calm demeanor, is characteristic of the grace he has imparted 
on all of us, even in some of the most tumultuous times here in the 
Senate.
  One of the unique things about Franz is that whenever you meet 
somebody who knows him or has worked with him, they talk about the ways 
in which he has gone out of his own way to help them and mentor them 
over the years. So many people in the Senate view Franz not just as a 
friend or colleague but as someone who they know has helped them in 
their careers and someone who has shown them the ropes and invested 
time in supporting them and helping them succeed. One member of my team 
described it this way:

       Franz has an uncanny ability to take the time necessary to 
     help. He enables us to do our jobs and do them well. We get 
     meaningful things done, and that's because of the wisdom 
     Franz has imparted.''

  In an environment here in the Senate that is at times fast paced, 
Franz takes the time to invest in younger people. He sees potential in 
staff and imparts knowledge and experience, even when there is more 
than enough to keep him busy just meeting his own commitments. For 
example, Franz took it upon himself to create a manual for the new 
fellows who work in my office every year. The manual, which should be 
required reading for every new Senate staffer, describes how to write a 
bill and important things about the process of working in the Senate.
  He also maintains the Capitol Hill Urban Dictionary, which he shares 
with new staff and interns to help them decode internal Senate jargon, 
including oft-used, but rarely explained phrases like ``en bloc'' or 
``move the needle.'' It explains, for example, what to do when asked: 
Do you have language on that.
  Franz embraces the importance of teaching the next generation of 
Capitol Hill staff how to do their job well. I think that is truly his 
greatest legacy--the remarkable diaspora of younger staff members he 
has believed in, invested in, and helped to train who are now working 
everywhere from the Senate to the House, to the Department of Defense, 
to running a nonprofit in Kenya.

  Each year, Franz and his wonderful wife Lisa host an annual gathering 
at their home for a growing community of current and former fellows 
and, literally, dozens of colleagues--folks who have shared 
experiences, who care about policy, who like a good geeky joke, and who 
enjoy helping each other and developing and sustaining each other's 
careers.
  That is just the kind of person Franz is. He has impacted so many 
people--something that was never more evident than at his wedding to 
Lisa a few years ago, which I was deeply honored to have the chance to 
officiate. In addition to their friends and family, guests that day 
included former Senator Dorgan, folks who had mentored Franz early in 
his career, dozens of individuals he mentored himself, and people from 
all walks of life who support Franz and Lisa and care about them. It 
was a testament to the community they have created, both inside and 
outside the Senate.
  Franz cares deeply about this institution. He cares about policies, 
and he cares about people. He is always looking for ways to bridge the 
partisan divide and make this broken place work better. It hasn't 
always been easy. Like many of us, Franz has struggled with the slowing 
pace of legislative progress in the Senate in recent years and its 
increasingly divisive nature. It says so much about him and about his 
faith in us and in this institution that he is leaving his Senate 
career to go work on these very issues, helping to lead the Bipartisan 
Policy Center in advancing bipartisan policy solutions to address the 
challenges facing our Nation and the institution of the Senate.
  He has made such a mark that he is known throughout this institution 
by a single name. Few people are known by just one name--Bono, Noah, 
Cher, Franz. With Franz's leaving the Senate, I promise to continue to 
do my part here to bridge what divides us where we can and to do the 
important work required of us. That includes passage of the Master 
Limited Partnerships Parity Act, important bipartisan legislation that 
will level the tax playing field for clean energy, which Franz has 
worked on for Congress after Congress as long as I have been here--work 
that I intend to finish.
  While I am sad today to see Franz leave my office in the Senate, he 
will be deeply missed by everyone on my staff and everyone who has 
benefited from his wisdom, but I am also excited

[[Page S1696]]

to see the inspiring things he will accomplish in his next chapter.
  I want to thank Franz for his dedication, his leadership, and his 
expertise. I want to thank his family for sharing him with us these 
past 8 years in my office and these 2 decades here in the Senate. He 
inspires me every day to be a better and more thoughtful, more careful, 
and more caring legislator. He leaves a deep and positive impact on all 
of us that we will not soon forget. Thank you, Franz. You will be 
deeply missed.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.