[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 133 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S5203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING MICHAEL REMINGTON

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the life and 
service of Michael John Remington. A longtime aide to former Wisconsin 
Representative Bob Kastenmeier, Mike played a pivotal role on Capitol 
Hill in shaping strong intellectual property laws America is known for 
and that our artists, musicians, authors, and others have utilized for 
decades.
  Mike was born in 1945 in Baraboo, WI. A graduate of Central High 
School in Madison, Mike went on to earn his undergraduate and law 
degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mike comes from a 
family with a deep commitment to public service. His father Frank 
Remington was a national leader on criminal law and procedure and whose 
work continues through the University of Wisconsin's Frank J. Remington 
Center.
  Mike's first taste for service came as a Peace Corps volunteer in the 
Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa, where he helped build homes and a 
basketball court. Mike went on to earn a Fulbright scholarship which 
brought him to Paris, France. He was the first American to be a 
Fulbright scholar at the Conseil d'Etat, equivalent to the U.S. Supreme 
Court. Shortly thereafter, Mike moved to Washington, DC, to apply his 
unmatched work ethic and intellect to strengthen the U.S. legal system.
  In 1977, he joined the staff of Representative Bob Kastenmeier, who 
represented Mike's hometown of Madison. During that time, Mike worked 
closely with Representative Kastenmeier to strengthen intellectual 
property laws. Later, Mike served as chief counsel to the Judiciary 
Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives on Intellectual 
Property and Judicial Administration for 9 years, where he played a 
pivotal role in the enactment of over 20 public laws aimed at improving 
the administration of justice. Among his many accomplishments were 
several key amendments to patent law.
  Mike was genuinely committed to bipartisanship, working closely with 
Members on both sides of the aisle to achieve shared goals around 
improving the legal system. Mike served as the director of the National 
Commission on Judicial Discipline and Removal, an entity established by 
Congress to study and report to the President, Chief Justice, and 
Congress on issues relating to judicial misconduct and impeachment. He 
also served as staff to the Presidential Clemency Board in the Ford 
administration and to the National Information Infrastructure Advisory 
Council in the Clinton administration.
  Following his service on Capitol Hill, Mike became partner at Drinker 
Biddle in Washington, DC. Mike was also the founding chair of the 
firm's intellectual property group. Throughout his career, he worked 
with a diverse array of clients, from a performing rights organization 
representing thousands of songwriters and music publishers, to a 
university foundation involved in technology licensing, individual 
authors and creators, and an alliance of inventors and start-ups.
  Beyond his public service, Mike was a beloved husband, father, and 
grandfather. He enjoyed travel, exploring his talents in cooking, 
photography, painting, and writing along the way.
  In 2015, at an event honoring Representative Kastenmeier, former 
Wisconsin State Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson noted 
Mike's ``great influence in Congress and in Wisconsin'' and said 
``there aren't enough Remingtons. Can't get enough Remingtons.''
  Mike's dedicated public service, love of Wisconsin and our Nation, 
are a lasting and indelible legacy. I am grateful for Mike's service 
and leadership.

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