[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2133-S2134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Tribute to Dan Swanson

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, over the past 17 years, a lot has 
changed in the Senate. Back in 2006, we counted two future Presidents 
in our ranks: Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee in the Senate was the late Arlen Specter, back when he was a 
Republican, and I was the most junior member of that Judiciary 
Committee.
  Well, today, I want to tell you about one thing that has not changed 
since those days, and that is the dedicated, diligent public service of 
a man who stood by my side every step of the way as I have gone from 
the Judiciary Committee's most junior member to serving as chair of the 
committee. That man's name is Dan Swanson.
  Dan is the embodiment of wisdom, patience, kindness, dedication, and 
selfless public service. Sadly, this is his last week as general 
counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  While Dan would never say it himself--he is just too humble--the 
truth is, he has made an indelible mark on the history of this Nation.
  For nearly two decades, Dan has been my go-to man in addressing our 
Nation's most complicated and urgent challenges. In every one of those 
challenges, he has been guided by a love for the law and a belief that 
our government can and should help people.
  When you consider his background, you can understand. Dan is the son 
of two teachers, and you can see their influence in the way he engages 
with others. No matter the time of day, he always finds time to talk 
through the details of statutes and case precedent, often from memory, 
and never--never--loses his temper or patience.
  And just about any other staffer on the Judiciary Committee will tell 
you: Dan is the best teacher and mentor you could ever hope for. 
Moreover, his integrity and intellect are respected by Senators and 
staffers of both parties.
  He is remarkably consistent. Growing up, he was always calm and kind. 
He always knew what he wanted to do. In fact, Dan's parents say he was 
just about 10 years old when he first told them he wanted to write laws 
when he grew up. While other kids were dreaming of being astronauts or 
athletes, Dan knew that his future was in the law.
  Years later, he pursued that dream by going to Harvard Law School 
because he thought it would help him land a job in the Senate Judiciary 
Committee. He then had the courage and determination to leave a well-
paying job at a prestigious law firm and accept a job as a legislative 
correspondent in my office. Within weeks of joining, we realized Dan 
Swanson was indispensable. And soon enough, we were directing the 
hardest assignments of all to his desk. No matter how complicated the 
topic, Dan always mastered it quickly. Frankly, Dan's legislative 
legacy is too long to list in a single speech, but let me tell you 
about a few notable accomplishments.
  Dan is the mastermind behind what is known in banking circles as the 
dreaded ``Durbin amendment,'' a financial reform that has saved 
consumers and retailers billions of dollars by setting limits on the 
so-called interchange fees which banks charge merchants every time you 
swipe a debit card.
  I had never heard of a swipe fee or an interchange fee. And I 
stumbled into a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee presided over 
by then-Chairman Arlen Specter, where he described the process where 
retailers across America were forced into signing agreements with the 
major banks and credit card companies, Visa and Mastercard--agreements, 
which many times they never even had a chance to read. It was a take-
it-or-leave-it proposition. And in many ways, it still is.
  The notion is, if you are a restaurant or shop or a chain of stores 
and you want to use Visa and Mastercard for your customers, you have to 
pay what they demand, the so-called interchange or swipe fee.
  It turns out, for most of these retailers, it is the third most 
expensive item of business. The labor costs, of course, and, of course, 
the basics of food in the restaurant or the supplies that are needed in 
stores, but the third most expensive thing, which retailers face day in 
and day out, are these interchange fees or swipe fees charged by the 
big banks and the big credit card companies.
  Can you imagine taking on that industry, trying to force through 
reform? I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it without him. Dan Swanson 
understood. He reached the point where he mastered that particular area 
of the law to the point where we offered a change in the way we do 
business in America when it comes to debit cards.
  It was a long process. We had to offer an amendment on the floor in 
the banking reform bill. And Dan, every step of the way, was my guide 
as to what we could achieve.
  We changed the law, and we reduced the costs to the retailers and to 
merchants and restauranteurs of using those debit cards for that 
purpose. I don't have many friends in the big banking industry as a 
result of it, but I can tell you, we made the big banks pay $8 billion 
a year that they otherwise would have collected in these swipe fees. 
And by not collecting them, consumers and retailers were the winners. 
My lead advocate in that area, my expert in that area, was Dan Swanson. 
He understood it, and he did it so well.
  He also helped save countless lives from gun violence, a topic on 
which he has been my top adviser. Just last year, he joined the group 
that wrote the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most important gun 
safety reform to pass Congress in nearly 30 years.
  And Dan Swanson has also been my point person on the Federal judicial 
nominees for my State of Illinois. He even helped create the bipartisan 
process we use in our State to select candidates to recommend for 
Presidential judicial nominations.
  Dan has overseen the confirmation process for all but two of the 
Federal judges currently serving in the entire State of Illinois. And 
the judges he has helped reach the Federal bench bring not only strong 
credentials and experience, they have brought vital new perspectives.
  With Dan's help, this Senate has confirmed the first women to serve 
as judges in the Central and Southern Districts of Illinois, the first 
Black and Asian American judges to serve in those districts as well as 
the Seventh Circuit. And he was instrumental in the confirmation of the 
first African-American woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji 
Brown Jackson.
  Throughout his more than 17 years of service in my office, Dan has 
not only changed America for the better, he has also experienced some 
changes of his own.
  Dan does not like to be in the spotlight. But 10 years ago--I love 
this story--he and his wife Priva made a splash in the Washington Post. 
They were on their way to the hospital for the birth of their second 
child, but they didn't make it in time. Little Arya was born in her 
parents' car. She arrived a few years after her big sister Maya, who 
was born in more traditional circumstances.
  So while our team regrets losing Dan, I know there are two little 
girls, along with their mom, who are going to enjoy a summer of quality 
with dad, which is just up around the corner. I hope the four of them 
have a chance to head up to Vermont soon with Dan's parents Alan and 
Donna, as well as his brother Allie, to take long walks in nature, 
watch the Bronx Bombers play, and enjoy countless helpings of Dan's 
favorite: Jell-O and pie.
  A writer I admire once observed:

       With the lives that we live and the choices we make . . . 
     let our goal be to give the world more than we take.


[[Page S2134]]


  Dan, you have given everything you can possibly give to public 
service, and I have been a beneficiary. I am grateful. America is 
grateful. Thanks, Dan Swanson.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Welch). The Senator from Vermont.