[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 27, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5090]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Remembering Mike Enzi

  Mr. President, on another topic, I am saddened today to learn of the 
death of our former colleague Mike Enzi.
  Mike Enzi was my friend. We were elected to the Senate the same year. 
Nearly a year and a half of pandemic losses has reminded us all that 
life is fragile and fleeting. Even so, Mike Enzi's sudden passing has 
left many of us stunned.
  It was less than 8 months ago when Mike came up to me on the floor 
and bid me farewell, as he entered his retirement.
  As I said, we were elected to the Senate in the same year. He was a 
staunch conservative Wyoming Republican. I am a proud Democrat. But 
over the years, we found grounds for friendship. We disagreed on a lot 
of issues, but we respected one another, and we trusted one another.
  Trust in another's character and motives sometimes seems to be in a 
dwindling supply in this Chamber, but it is essential for the Senate to 
function. Mike Enzi of Wyoming knew that. He was willing to reach 
across the aisle and look for partners.
  The most unlikely political alliance I could think of was Mike Enzi 
cochairing a committee with Senator Ted Kennedy, of all people, on 
education. Several years ago, he even reached across the aisle to ask 
me to join him in a legislative effort. It was one that I was aware of. 
Byron Dorgan of North Dakota had been one of the early authors of this 
legislation. It was basically designed to help small businesses and 
Main Street America have a fighting chance in the age of Amazon.
  Over the years, we had seen too many mom-and-pop stores and other 
small businesses crushed by competition from online retail giants, in 
part because of an unfair advantage. Unlike brick-and-mortar merchants, 
online-only retailers didn't have to pay State and local sales taxes. 
That is unfair, and it created an advantage for the online marketers 
over the small businesses on Main Street. Communities and States had a 
harder time paying for schools, police protection, and other vital 
services as more sales shifted to online and sales tax revenue fell.
  As a former mayor and retailer, owning a shoestore, Mike Enzi 
understood well how the unfair taxing system hurt brick-and-mortar 
retailers, and it also hurt State and local governments and their 
taxpayers. He had a solution, called the Marketplace Fairness Act, to 
apply the same sales tax rules to all retailers--simple, basic 
fairness. He asked me if I would be his Democratic partner in this 
effort. I agreed.
  Our bill passed the Senate in the year 2013. Later, a Supreme Court 
decision clarifying that State and local governments have the authority 
to collect online sales tax made our bill unnecessary. But during the 
time we worked together, Mike Enzi was a good partner. He practiced 
what he called the 80 percent tool. He spoke about that tool, as he 
called it, in his farewell remarks here on the floor of the Senate. He 
said that we are ``all looking to make our communities and country a 
better place. We might not always agree on what the solutions are, but 
we can respect each other for working to find one.''
  He went on to say:

       The 80 percent tool is where all of our energy, attention, 
     and talents should be focused. If we just worked on the 20 
     percent that we don't agree on, and will never agree on, we 
     will only generate headlines about how hard we are working, 
     and nothing actually getting done--just gridlock.

  Relying on his 80 percent tool enabled Mike Enzi to work with Ted 
Kennedy to reauthorize Head Start Programs for preschoolers and tuition 
assistance programs for college students. He loved his State. He loved 
the Senate. He loved America.
  Mike Enzi and his wife Diana were an amazing partnership, too, for 
over 50 years--three children and many grandchildren.
  Loretta and I send our condolences to Diana. Mike was a wonderful 
friend and colleague in the U.S. Senate, and he will be missed.