[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 22 (Thursday, February 2, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S225-S226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DAVID W. CARLE

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, the January 26, 2023, issue of ``Roll 
Call'' included an interview with David Carle, who is retiring from the 
Senate after 45 years as a congressional press secretary, the last 26 
years as Senator Leahy's communications director. I want to pay tribute 
to David, who long remained out of the limelight but who played an 
indispensable role, day in and day out, translating the often arcane 
business of the Congress into concise, coherent prose for Vermonters 
and countless others in this country and around the world.
  As the interview notes, David arrived at Senator Leahy's office after 
serving for 12 years in a similar capacity for Senator Paul Simon of 
Illinois, whom David admired greatly. In fact, when Senator Leahy 
retired on January 3, David was the longest serving press secretary in 
U.S. Senate history. That is an extraordinary accomplishment and a 
testament to his devotion to his work, to the Congress, and to the 
country.
  An outstanding writer and editor, David was always attuned to the 
interests of Vermonters and the political sensitivities of 
controversial issues and votes. He not only brought an inherent talent 
for communicating in plain-spoken and compelling language, but 
underlying everything he wrote was a deep commitment to defending the 
principles this country stands for, particularly the First Amendment.
  David was also a mentor to aspiring communications staff, who under 
his tutelage learned the nuts and bolts of interfacing with traditional 
and social media outlets. Several of them have gone on to become 
communications directors for other Members of Congress.
  The people of Vermont owe David their thanks, as do all of us in the 
Congress who have benefited from his unflinching example of 
professionalism, dedication, and integrity.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Roll Call interview with David Carle 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                    [From Roll Call, Jan. 26, 2023]

        After 45 Years on the Hill, David Carle Has Seen It All

                             (By Jim Saksa)

       When David Carle started out as a press secretary on the 
     Hill, the mimeo machine was still in the attic of Longworth 
     and Democrats still dominated in places like Utah.
       When the longtime aide retired this month, only three 
     lawmakers could beat his 45 years of service: his (also 
     retiring) boss Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., plus Sens. Chuck 
     Grassley, R-Iowa, and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.
       In between, fax machines came and went, along with 
     thousands of his fellow staffers, but Carle stuck with 
     Congress.
       Carle spent the last 26 years at Leahy's side as his 
     communications director, where he witnessed firsthand how 
     both the Senate and the media that covers it have changed, 
     for good and ill.
       Carle took a few moments to reflect on his lifetime in the 
     Capitol with CQ Roll Call late last year. He shared what 
     first drew him to Congress and what kept him there for so 
     long.
       Q: What drew you to Congress?
       A: I've been on the Hill since 1977. I was born in Utah, 
     but moved away to Ohio when I was 5. My dad initially was the 
     press secretary for Akron Public Schools, and so journalism 
     was always in my blood.
       I took advantage of a lot of internships in college and 
     graduate school. I was a governor's intern in Utah, and I won 
     an internship with the Deseret News. Later I worked at the 
     big powerhouse Clear Channel station in Salt Lake City.
       So I've always had an interest in both politics and 
     journalism. Back then it was less common to cross over 
     between the two, and I was concerned about that.
       Q: How did you end up making the leap?
       A: Over the summer of '77, I had a fellowship at the 
     Interior Department. I thought I would only be in Washington 
     for a little while, so I literally went to every single 
     Smithsonian museum and took in as much as I could.
       The fellowship was running out, and I was due to go back to 
     graduate school that fall. I thought, well, let me just sound 
     out somebody I've admired in the Utah delegation, Gunn McKay.
       Back then, if you can believe it, Utah had a three-to-one 
     Democratic majority in Congress, and now it's become one of 
     the most Republican states. I was hired as a press assistant. 
     I still belong to Sigma Delta Chi, the journalism fraternity, 
     but I've stayed in politics ever since.
       Q: What made you stay? You could have cashed out.
       A: That's a common pattern with communications directors: 
     work here for a while and then move downtown to a public 
     affairs firm. But I've always been more interested in working 
     in government. For those firms, you have several bosses, 
     several clients. I liked finding somebody I really respected.
       Q: You've been here longer than most actual senators. 
     What's it been like seeing this institution evolve and 
     change?
       A: When I first started with [Illinois Democratic Rep.] 
     Paul Simon, he had a weekly column. He was a publisher of a 
     small newspaper in Illinois. And my job as press secretary 
     was to take the column up in the dark, hot attic of the 
     Longworth Building where we had a mimeo machine and also an 
     addressograph, where you put cards in and the envelopes are 
     addressed.
       There was a lot of manual labor involved with being a press 
     secretary back then. You were dealing with newspapers and TV 
     stations by mail, and sometimes by fax--you know, those 
     stinky round machines that you clip a page in, turn it on and 
     it spins, and then it's got coated paper that stinks. We also 
     used alligator clips on a regular phone to send radio 
     actualities to radio stations.
       When Paul moved over to the Senate in 1985, we had a dozen 
     major media markets in Illinois, and all of them had a 
     presence in Washington. The Sun-Times alone had 17 people at 
     one point in their bureau. And now it's down to one person, 
     Lynn Sweet. But there has also been an explosion of other 
     news organizations, given what's happened

[[Page S226]]

     with the internet. I think there are more reporters covering 
     the Hill in one way or another now than there were back then.
       Q: Your next job was with Leahy, and you worked for him for 
     26 years. What moments stand out?
       A: After the plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, we [evacuated 
     the Capitol] and walked to my house a few blocks away. It was 
     the senator and a few other senior aides, and all we could do 
     was watch television to try to find out what was happening. 
     This was before everyone had BlackBerries.
       He tended to have people stay longer on staff than other 
     senators do. And he also had a reputation for attracting good 
     people, like John Podesta, who went on to be Bill Clinton's 
     chief of staff, and George Tenet, who went on to be CIA 
     director.
       It was very rewarding to work with him on what I call the 
     white hat projects, like the Innocence Protection Act and the 
     landmine crusade.
       I've been on very few CODELs, but the first one I went on 
     was to Ottawa, where Lloyd Axworthy, the foreign minister of 
     Canada, picked up on Leahy's legislation--the first in the 
     world to ban the export of landmines. And Leahy still pesters 
     every president to sign the Mine Ban Treaty. Some recent 
     Democratic presidents have inched toward that, but there's 
     always a big carveout for South Korea.
       Q: How do you feel about the direction things are going on 
     the Hill?
       A: I feel, as Sen. Leahy does, as he said in his farewell 
     speech, that the Senate in some ways is broken. It was never 
     perfect--he entered at a time when segregationists were 
     running committees, and he was part of the reform effort that 
     Walter Mondale led to bring the filibuster threshold down 
     from 67 to 60.
       But now we have the rancor and the bumper sticker politics, 
     with people playing for a soundbite. Senators don't spend as 
     much time with each other and each other's families as they 
     used to, and the filibuster is abused.
       Q: You're still playing press secretary, after all these 
     years. What are your own thoughts on where Congress is 
     headed?
       A: When I was in ninth grade, our English class learned 
     what propaganda is and how to look at sources. So I'm kind of 
     shocked at how little media literacy there is these days. I 
     think people need to be more discriminating consumers of 
     news. I'm concerned about anti-science bias and media 
     literacy.
       Q: What's next for you?
       A: My dad is 92 years old, so I'll spend more time with 
     him. And I'll do some writing.
       I've enjoyed the work. I'm a generalist by nature, and 
     being a press secretary, you have the opportunity to learn 
     something new every day. I feel so grateful for this 
     experience that I had. This has been a dream job with a dream 
     boss, working on issues that really made a difference. And 
     I'll never tire of seeing the Capitol lit up at night.

                          ____________________