[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 46 (Thursday, March 11, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1493-S1494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Remembering Howard Baldwin

  Madam President, I have had the privilege of working alongside some 
truly incredible public servants throughout my career. Without a doubt, 
one of the finest was Howard Baldwin.
  Howard was brilliant, effective, humorous, and exceedingly humble--a 
rare combination made even more striking because of his kindness. He 
was an extraordinary person.
  Over the weekend, I received the sad news that Howard had passed 
away, and I want to share just a few words about the incredible life 
and legacy of my late friend.
  Howard and I crossed paths as young lawyers in San Antonio, TX, where 
we used to play a little pickup basketball together.
  He graduated from St. Mary's School of Law a few years before I did, 
and much to the benefit of families across our State, he quickly found 
his calling working on child support and family issues.
  Howard spent time as a private lawyer, as a State-appointed judge, 
and as a regional director for child support enforcement. He bounced 
back and forth between the Texas Attorney General's Office and the 
Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, and his 
colleagues would joke: Howard, how can we miss you if you won't stay 
gone?
  But a man as talented and devoted and as effective as Howard is 
always in high demand. And when I was elected as attorney general of 
Texas in 1998, he was one of the first people I called.
  At the time, the child support division of the attorney general's 
office was a disaster. Staff were completely overwhelmed by the sky-
high number of cases. The office ran a computer system that was so 
dysfunctional it actually managed to decrease productivity, and a lack 
of support from previous leadership made even minor improvements 
impossible.
  I knew turning things around wouldn't be easy, but it was absolutely 
essential that we do so, and I knew that Howard was the only man that I 
knew for that job.
  A news article at the time summed up the monumental task of fixing 
the broken child support enforcement system by saying, ``Howard Baldwin 
will look either like a fool or a hero; there won't be much middle 
ground.''
  Today, with the benefit of hindsight, I can assure you that Howard 
came out looking like a hero.
  Unlike previous leaders of the child support division, Howard didn't 
view it as purely an enforcement or collection agency. He truly cared 
about the children and family welfare, and he wanted to help families 
get to a place where both parents could be involved in their children's 
lives.
  To better serve these families, he shifted our focus to customer 
service. He hired more staff. He brought the division into the 
technology age, and he empowered the incredible attorneys and staff we 
worked with to implement changes at every level to affect not only the 
quality of service but also the quality of outcomes. And the results 
speak for themselves.
  During my time as attorney general, the child support division 
collected more than $3 billion in child support for more than 1 million 
Texas children. We broke records annually for the most child support 
ever collected in a year and the biggest year-to-year increases in 
collection.
  The Texas Child Support Division at the Attorney General's Office 
went from an unproductive mess to the premier organization of its type 
in the country. We became a model for other States, and Howard was the 
guy with all the answers.
  I had so much trust in Howard and his ability to steer the ship that 
I later asked him to serve as my first assistant attorney general. This 
is the person who oversees the day-to-day operations of the AG's office 
which, at the time, employed more than 3,800 Texans.
  Howard used his deep-seated knowledge of Texas State government to 
improve the attorney general's office across the board. He built strong 
relationships with folks on both sides of the aisle, and when something 
needed to be done, all he had to do was to pick up the phone and call a 
friend and a colleague. He knew who to call, what to ask for, and how 
to convince the biggest skeptic in the room to see things his way 
without ever breaking the smile on his face.
  I say this in all candor with the greatest admiration: Howard was the 
most effective bureaucrat I have ever met.
  As big an impact as Howard had on my State--our State--his influence 
has reached beyond the borders of the Lone Star State.
  Howard was an active member of the National Child Support Enforcement 
Association, where he spent more than a decade as a board member and 
nearly 2 years as president. He earned the respect and admiration of 
folks across the country who shared his passion for helping children 
and helping families.
  When a friend and former colleague of Howard's shared the news of his 
passing with his national network, the response was immediate and 
overwhelming. Friends and colleagues from Washington State, Kentucky, 
and New York said that Howard, the Texas bureaucrat, was their mentor.
  For those who had the privilege of knowing Howard, this wasn't a 
surprise. After all, Howard had a wonderful way of advancing the 
careers of others around him. He wanted them to succeed as well. When 
their joint efforts were successful, he then made sure that they, not 
he, got the credit.
  He was generous with his time and his knowledge, whether helping 
someone with an entry-level job or a division leader in another State.
  Howard was consistently driven by his passion for helping children. 
More than two decades ago, he said: ``It gets into your blood because 
it makes such a difference in people's lives.''
  And I can tell you that I have seen the difference firsthand time and 
time and time again. During my first term in the Senate, I was 
traveling to El Paso, TX, and I was about to get on my flight when a 
guy named Joe--I could see it on his uniform--who was part of the 
ground crew there, came up to me and said: Are you John Cornyn?
  I said: Yes, I am.
  And he asked: I bet you don't remember me. Do you?
  Well, as you can imagine, it caught me a little off guard, so I 
smiled and said: I am sorry. Can you remind me?
  He said: I am Joe. You sued me and threatened to put me in jail for 
not paying my child support.

[[Page S1494]]

  Well, that is not the response I expected, but he said: You took me 
to court because I wasn't paying my child support, but I didn't want to 
pay it because my ex-wife wouldn't allow me to see my children.
  He was holding up the chocks that go under the wheels of the airplane 
to keep it from rolling, and at this point I was thinking: This guy is 
going to take a swing at me, or worse.
  He then surprised me again. He said: But you know what? After I 
started paying it after you sued me, the judge ordered my ex-wife to 
let me spend time with our daughter, and I realized what kind of father 
I needed to be, what kind of man I needed to be, and I made things 
right.
  He raised his left hand and pointed at his wedding ring. He said: My 
wife and I got back together.
  Well, I was in awe, not only of Joe, but the power of people like 
Howard Baldwin and everyone at the child support division trying to 
protect children and trying to restore families. I don't think any one 
of us could have expected to help reunite a divorced couple, but Howard 
did everything in his power to help parents support their children, 
both financially and emotionally, to encourage positive outcomes.
  There is no way to quantify the amount of good Howard did throughout 
his career and throughout his life, but I can say without a doubt he 
changed lives--many, many lives.
  Howard's advocacy for children was his calling, but there were no 
children he loved more than his two boys, James and Eric. Howard's 
family was his entire world. His wife Rita was at its center. 
Throughout their 46-year marriage, Rita wholeheartedly supported and 
encouraged Howard. I know she was proud of him.
  So on behalf of the State of Texas, I want to thank the Baldwin 
family for sharing their beloved patriarch with us for so many decades. 
I personally am grateful, profoundly grateful, for Howard's friendship 
and his impact on my life and the great example of service that he set.
  Sandy and I send our deepest condolences to Rita, James, Eric, and 
the long list of friends across Texas and the country who are mourning 
the loss of this incredible public servant and friend.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.