[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 191 (Thursday, December 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7065-S7066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DUNCAN WYSE

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I often speak on the Senate floor about 
what I call the ``Oregon Way.'' It is about Oregonians of all 
backgrounds setting aside partisan politics and coming together to 
build on what makes our State such a wonderful place to live, work, 
raise a family, and run a business.
  I don't know of anybody who exemplifies and believes in the Oregon 
Way more than my friend Duncan Wyse. Duncan is the head of the Oregon 
Business Council and the man behind the Oregon Economic Leadership 
Summit, which is meeting for the 20th year in just a few days. So on 
this 20th anniversary, it is my great pleasure to share a few thoughts 
about my friend Duncan and all the good he has done over the years for 
the State we both love.
  Duncan has always been a humble guy. He has never been the kind to 
seek out the spotlight. He will put in all the hard work behind the 
scenes if it pays off for Oregon and creates new opportunities for 
people to get ahead. He has been incredibly successful in that.
  A little bit about the origin of the Leadership Summit. It was back 
in the recession of the early 2000s. Oregon's economy, like a lot of 
the country, was down in the dumps. The tech bubble had popped. 
Unemployment was up. The September 11, 2001, attacks had shaken the 
country to its core. Between State and local officials, Members of 
Congress, business and community leaders, a lot of us were looking at 
every opportunity to get Oregon's economy growing again.
  Duncan had the idea that what we needed to do was bring all those 
people together at one big event. Get focused. Zero in on the solutions 
that would be the most impactful and longest lasting for businesses and 
workers all across the State. He and I got in touch, and I told him, 
Count me in. I will be your co-founder, I will bring then-Senator 
Gordon Smith along, and I will do whatever I need to do to make this a 
success.
  Nobody had tried this before. I would be blowing smoke if I said we 
were confident about it the entire time. At a few points early on, we 
probably doubted whether we would get enough people to field a 
competitive football game. The idea was, we were hoping for a decent 
crowd with at least one representative from each of Oregon's 36 
counties. But in the end, that first summit brought together upward of 
1,000 people from all over the State.

[[Page S7066]]

  It was a huge success, and the summit is now in year 20 because of 
Duncan's commitment to the Oregon Way. It remains the premier venue for 
bringing Oregonians together to tackle the big economic challenges.
  The summit brings together business leaders, local, State, and 
Federal elected officials; urban Oregon and rural Oregon; leaders in 
the nonprofit sector and community groups; leaders from some of the 
biggest and most established companies in the world, like Nike and 
Intel, as well as the newest startups and most treasured small 
businesses; people who vote Republican and people who vote Democrat.
  I don't know of any other event like this one happening anywhere else 
in the country. Political disagreements stay at home, and the focus is 
on finding practical ways to tackle big challenges.
  One of the top priorities at this upcoming summit is bringing more 
cutting-edge manufacturing to Oregon, particularly after the passage of 
the CHIPS Act.
  About a year ago, it was Duncan's idea to create a Semiconductor 
Competitiveness Task Force made up of industry leaders and elected 
officials. The task force, which I cochaired, worked for several months 
to figure out how to cement Oregon's leadership on chips and take 
advantage of the Federal chips legislation. We released a report in 
August looking at all the key issues and proposing several policy 
updates. It is a huge opportunity in terms of creating good-paying jobs 
and building on one of Oregon's major economic strengths. It is 
something we have got to get right.
  The Leadership Summit has tackled equally important issues in years 
past. Everything from housing to energy to transportation to education 
to rural economic growth. The discussions that happen when we gather 
every December help to bring a host of good ideas forward and give 
leaders from across the State a sense of common purpose. It sets the 
table ahead of the new legislative session.
  In a few days people from across Oregon are going to gather in 
Portland at the 20th Economic Leadership Summit. Duncan is certainly 
not somebody who will seek out a whole lot of applause on that special 
anniversary, but he deserves enormous credit for his many years of 
service to Oregon. He represents the best of the Oregon Way, and many, 
many people in our State are better off as a result of his hard work. 
It is my great pleasure to call him a friend, and I look forward to 
continuing our work together in the years ahead.
  Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I join my colleague and fellow Oregonian, 
Senator Wyden, in recognizing all of the great work that Duncan Wyse 
has done throughout his 20 years organizing the annual Oregon Business 
Plan Summit.
  Every year, even virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic, the summit 
brings together business, government, and nonprofit leaders to engage 
in a robust dialogue focused on how we can all work together to grow 
Oregon's economy and improve the lives of those who call our State 
home. Its mission can be easily summed up by two words, which happen to 
be the same two words of the Oregon Business Plan's strategic vision: 
``Shared Prosperity.''
  The idea for the summit was born from Duncan's work with other 
business associations to craft an economic recovery plan that would 
help bring Oregon out of the 2002 recession. Senator Wyden found out 
about the plan, called Duncan, and together, they came up with the idea 
of having an event to share it publicly. Two decades later, the summit 
is still going strong--attracting thousands of leaders from every 
corner of our State. And Duncan has been at the head of it every step 
of the way, making sure that it continues to grow and evolve along with 
the challenges and opportunities facing Oregonians whether issues of 
sustainability and transportation, education and tax policy, or, more 
recently, how to get our State moving again coming out of the pandemic.
  Oregon has come a very long way since the first Business Plan Summit 
in 2002. We have seen tremendous growth in industries like mass timber 
and continue to lead the country in manufacturing semiconductors. And 
so much of that success is due to Duncan Wyse and his leadership of the 
Oregon Business Plan Summit. So on behalf of Oregonians everywhere, I 
just want to join Senator Wyden in thanking Duncan for all of his great 
work these past 20 years.

                          ____________________