[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5077]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Mike Enzi

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate is stunned and grieving this 
morning. Our dear friend and former colleague Senator Mike Enzi passed 
away last night following a serious bike accident this past weekend.
  Mike was 77 years old and only about 7 months into retirement. Our 
friend was blessed with a great American life, and he lived it well. 
Mike was hugely accomplished but at the same time humble. He was 
powerful; he was influential but earnest and deeply kind. He was 
ambitious, but on behalf of the people of Wyoming, not personal gain or 
glory.
  Mike's quarter-century career in the U.S. Senate capped a storied 
career in public service. He was elected mayor of Gillette, WY, at just 
30 years old. He was a young husband, running a family business, but he 
saw an opportunity to put his shoulder to help his neighbors.
  Well, to be more precise, our former colleague and Mike's 
predecessor, Al Simpson, gave him a not-so-subtle nudge. It was more 
like conscription. Gillette needed help, and this up-and-comer was 
exactly what the booming town needed at that time.
  Diana agreed to let Mike throw his hat in the ring, and the rest is 
history. The mayor's office eventually gave way to the Wyoming House, 
then the State senate, and then this Senate.
  Here, Mike built a two-part reputation that might have struck people 
as contradictory. On the one hand, Mike was a principled, hard-nosed 
conservative. He chaired the HELP Committee and the Budget Committee 
with a small businessman's painstaking financial eye. In fact, when he 
first unpacked his office, Mike was the Senate's only trained 
accountant. He was central to getting generational tax reform off the 
starting blocks. He was a policy leader in our conference. But at the 
same time, this principled westerner was also universally known as one 
of the kindest, most thoughtful, most respectful Senators on either 
side of the aisle.
  Mike's famous 80-20 rule helped him find bipartisan common ground on 
a long list of significant issues. I know he was particularly proud of 
his focus on the global fight against AIDS.
  On the HELP Committee, Mike cut important deals with his counterpart 
and ideological opposite, Ted Kennedy. Neither Senator walked away from 
his principles; they just wanted to find where those principles 
actually fit together.
  Mike's policy wins were many. But at the end of the day, Mike knew 
what everyone else around here knew: His greatest accomplishment was 
winning Diana's hand and building their family together.
  Their marriage, their partnership, was a Senate institution unto 
itself. The Enzis' kindness overflowed into legendary parties and 
generous gifts for the entire Senate community, especially the behind-
the scenes all-stars who do not get thanked nearly enough.
  So Mike Enzi departed the Senate having changed policy and law for 
the better because of his mind. And now he has departed this life 
having changed his friends and his colleagues for the better because of 
his heart.
  Today, the entire Senate stands in solidarity with Diana at this 
tragic time, which has come entirely too soon. Our prayers are with 
her, their three children, and their grandchildren and the entire 
family.