[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 130 (Friday, August 7, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S4558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVID STACY

  Ms. BALDWIN. Madam President, I rise today to recognize the work of 
David Stacy, former government affairs director at the Human Rights 
Campaign, HRC. For more than 30 years, Mr. Stacy has been a tireless 
advocate for the LGBTQ community in Wisconsin and across the United 
States. His vital work has helped to ensure that LGBTQ people across 
the country and the world are treated as full and equal citizens and 
human beings.
  Mr. Stacy earned his bachelor of arts from the University of 
Wisconsin-Madison in 1990 and served two terms as president of the 
United Council of University of Wisconsin Students, the statewide 
student association for the UW system. He later received his master of 
arts in history, U.S. foreign relations, and civil rights history from 
New York University in 1991.
  In 1994, Mr. Stacy was instrumental in helping me to found Fair 
Wisconsin. Fair Wisconsin is a statewide advocacy organization with the 
mission of protecting and advancing the civil rights of LGBTQ 
individuals through legislative advocacy and electoral involvement. He 
worked on the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign and various other State and 
local races throughout Wisconsin, as well as on nearly all of my own 
campaigns for public office during this time.
  He began his work in the legislative branch as an intern and then a 
legislative staffer for representatives in the Wisconsin State 
Assembly. In 1999, he joined my staff in Washington, DC, as a 
legislative assistant after I was elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives. For the 6 years he spent on my staff, he worked on a 
variety of issues including telecommunications, defense, LGBTQ issues, 
foreign policy, education, veterans, intellectual property, and 
homeland security. I valued David's thoughtful counsel and his 
dedication to his work and passion for the issues he covered.
  In November of 2005, Mr. Stacy joined HRC as their senior public 
policy advocate during a time in which our Nation was hotly debating a 
proposed amendment to our Constitution that would have defined marriage 
as a union between one man and one woman. Through more than 20 years of 
hard, dedicated work, Mr. Stacy has steadily built support and 
coalitions to advance the cause of equality. Discriminatory bans such 
as ``Don't Ask Don't Tell'' have been repealed, ensuring that gay, 
lesbian, and bisexual Americans who want to serve their country can do 
so openly and proudly. Later, when Federal marriage equality was 
established by the courts, he worked alongside me and my staff to pass 
and codify into law the Respect for Marriage Act, ensuring a critical 
backstop against an activist court.
  He built a model for how sustained work and partnership can bring 
about meaningful change to the lives of our fellow citizens. He was and 
is a vital partner in the continued fight for a more, not less, equal 
country. I am proud to call him a friend and a trusted partner in the 
fight for equality. I wish him all the best in this next chapter.

                          ____________________