[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 134 (Saturday, August 2, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5493-S5494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Remembering Bill Neukom

  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise today to acknowledge the passing 
of a friend, a great Washingtonian, Bill Neukom--one of the most 
thoughtful and caring human beings I have had the pleasure of working 
with and knowing.
  Bill was a legendary leader in technology who made incredible 
contributions and helped pave the way for the innovation economy. As a 
philanthropist later in his life, he cared deeply about making the 
world a better place. His efforts will have longstanding impacts on his 
adopted home in the Pacific Northwest and also on his beloved native 
Bay Area and the world at large.
  As Microsoft's first general counsel, Bill played a pivotal role in 
the story of the company's unparalleled business success. Those in the 
industry know the extraordinary engineering challenges the company 
overcame through genius and tenacity, providing the operating system 
for the world's first mass-marketed desktop computer and beating all 
the competitors to the Holy Grail and making that operating system 
multitask--a milestone that laid the technological foundation that 
would serve the world's needs for decades to come and so many more yet 
to come. Bill was part of that.
  People who are inside the company know the important legal roles that 
he played and know that the challenges they face would not have been 
able to be overcome without Bill's contributions. Consider the 
accomplishments that came on his watch in the early days, being a small 
tech startup, and then he served as the chief counsel to one of the 
world's most valuable and important companies.
  In 1980, Microsoft signed perhaps the most advantageous business 
agreement ever. And at a time when few even knew what software was or 
could fathom how it would have monetary value, Bill Neukom argued and 
successfully defended the once-controversial notion that software was 
copyrightable. Now, of course, that is a bedrock principle that 
continues to provide the foundation for innovation in our economy. 
There are certain levels of productivity that we have all achieved 
because of it.
  In confronting these incredible challenges, Bill always came through 
for his company, for his friends, and through incredible work in his 
community. He also was instrumental in embedding philanthropy and 
public service into the company's culture, launching programs such as 
the Microsoft Giving Campaign and Libraries Online. And I remember that 
at one point in time, Bill once considered running for public office.
  I am so glad that we all got the benefit of his contributions in the 
private sector and from his philanthropy. He continued to make those 
public contributions after leaving Microsoft, and he cofounded the 
World Justice Project, an international civil society organization that 
works to advance the rule of law around the world--such an unbelievable 
impact. As a result of his generosity and his intellect and resources, 
many organizations benefited.
  He took on leadership roles in the American Bar Association, serving 
as president and earning the ABA Medal in 2020 in recognition of his 
career contributions.
  Bill gave back to educational institutions that meant so much to him. 
He served as trustee at both Dartmouth and at the University of Puget 
Sound, and he made significant--significant--contributions to the 
University of Washington and to Stanford and to numerous other 
community causes.
  Bill and his family founded the Neukom Family Foundation, supporting 
education, the environment, justice, and public health. One of his 
lasting legacies is his family foundation, which helped establish and 
grow the Wild Salmon Center.
  Many of my conversations with Bill over the last several years have 
been about that very Northwest icon, the Pacific Northwest salmon.
  This organization focuses on long-term, science-driven, and 
collaborative

[[Page S5494]]

solutions to protect and restore iconic salmon runs. And I know that 
Bill, as a fisherman himself, was always very interested in how we 
could use this science to better improve our outcomes.
  When I first met Bill--everybody would remember him because he wore 
his unique bow tie. It was part of his personality. But when you met 
him, he was also a person of unbelievable kindness, and that always, 
always stayed with him.
  I remember many times, in my role in the Commerce Committee, calling 
him up and asking him for advice about critical issues, and he was 
always there to tell me that these are the three people I should call 
and consult. I always found that so interesting, given his great 
intellect and his great ideas--he always wanted me to reach out to more 
people.
  He was an avid golfer, a fly fisherman, and I often saw him at 
airports on his way to one of those great, beautiful places in the 
Pacific Northwest.
  But many Americans might know him for his other passion, and that is 
baseball. I personally prefer the Seattle Mariners, but Bill, growing 
up in the Bay Area, had a childhood love that brought him into 
ownership and participation as a leader of the San Francisco Giants. 
Under this leadership, the team improved on the field, going from 72 
wins in 2008 to 92 wins and a Major League championship just 2 years 
later. I happened to go to a game with him in the Bay Area, and, again, 
his love and passion for the success of that team was undeniable.
  We are going to miss Bill Neukom. We are going to miss his warmth, 
his laughter, his kindness, his contributions, his intellect, and just 
an unbelievable chapter of Northwest history that he participated in. 
And I know all of his friends and colleagues at Microsoft will also 
miss him.
  I want to say a special outreach to his family, particularly his wife 
Sally--I know this is a very hard time--and his 4 children, 14 
grandchildren, and 2 brothers Davidson and Daniel.
  We all were so privileged to know Bill. We are all so grateful for 
his contributions to all of us in the Nation and certainly for what he 
did in the Pacific Northwest.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. SCHUMER. I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk continued with the call of the 
roll.
  Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.