[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S1991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to Erik Raven

  Mr. President, I want to take a moment to thank a former member of my 
staff who is an extraordinary man. He is smart, he gives wise counsel, 
and is truly devoted to this Nation. He worked for me for years.
  I have worked with Erik Raven since 2014, when I became ranking 
member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Erik 
was the chief clerk of the subcommittee. The title ``clerk'' is 
misleading. He was the brains and the operational force behind that 
subcommittee.
  As my right hand, Erik led the massive and critically important 
effort to appropriate an average of $700 billion a year for our 
national defense budget. Incidentally, that is about half of our 
Government's annual discretionary spending--a big assignment--and Erik 
was the right person for that assignment.
  As I mentioned before, my first introduction to the Senate was many 
years ago, as an intern to a former Illinois Senator, Paul Douglas. 
Douglas was a respected economist who joined the Marines at age 50--
50--to defend democracy in World War II. He was badly wounded, became a 
war hero, and then was elected to the Senate.
  Douglas famously said that you don't have to be a wastrel to be a 
liberal. Douglas fought against waste in government because he 
understood that every misspent dollar weakens our national defense, 
every wasted dollar undermines our ability to build a better future. I 
think Paul Douglas would have liked Erik Raven.

  Erik has been a stalwart ally in my efforts to advance our national 
defense capabilities while also protecting taxpayers' dollars and 
investing in things like defense medical research and domestic sourcing 
of the components critical to our defense industrial base.
  I traveled with Erik to more places than I can remember. There was 
one particularly eye-opening visit to a classified facility in a desert 
outside Las Vegas. You might say it was out of this world. I will also 
remember a trip we made to Poland and the Baltics in 2018, wherein we 
discussed the danger of the overreliance on Russian gas and other 
issues. Today, we see that playing out, tragically, in Ukraine.
  It was also a relief to have Erik at my side. His deep institutional 
knowledge, his sense of humor, and his black bag full of secrets have 
served me and the committee and America well.
  I know that Senator Jon Tester of Montana, the new chair of that same 
subcommittee, and other Senators with whom Erik worked share my high 
regard for him.
  In his 20 years in the Senate, Erik has worked for Senator Dianne 
Feinstein, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, Robert Byrd, Senator Inouye, 
our former colleague Senator Mikulski, and our current chairman, 
Senator Leahy. To countless Senate staffers along the way, Erik has 
been a mentor, a cheerleader, and always a friend.
  In addition to his public service, he is a pilot and a black belt in 
karate. He enjoys golfing and running. He is a devoted husband to Ann, 
his wife, and father to Edward, his 7-year-old son.
  Very soon, pending Senate approval, he will be our Nation's next 
Under Secretary of the Navy.
  The Senate's loss is the Navy's and America's gain. I am confident 
that Erik will excel in his new challenge just as he has in the Senate. 
I wish him the very best of luck and thank him for his outstanding 
service.