[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12342-12343]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING CHARLES MICHAEL DURISHIN

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I offer my deepest gratitude and 
sincere congratulations to Charles Michael Durishin, Democratic staff 
director of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, on the occasion of 
his retirement, last Friday. A good friend and a consummate 
professional, Mike has served in various capacities in Congress since 
1973, including most of the last 16 years with the House Veterans' 
Affairs Committee.
  I met Mike in 1972 on the Senate campaign of Jim Abourezk. We were 
hired within days of each other by Pete Stavrianos, one of my close 
friends and

[[Page 12343]]

my longtime chief of staff. Mike and I quickly became friends on the 
campaign and, after the election, came to Washington together to work 
on Senator Abourezk's staff. I so respected his work that he was one of 
the first people I hired to join my own staff when I was elected to the 
House of Representatives in 1978. Mike worked with me, covering 
veterans issues, until 1986. At that time, I was a member of the House 
Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Mike matriculated to the committee 
staff. While I lost one of my great friends and best staffers, the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee gained a staff member with expert 
knowledge, exceptional political skill, and great character.
  I have been so fortunate to continue to work with Mike on veterans 
issues even as I moved to the Senate. On the committee staff, Mike was 
instrumental in securing passage of the Montgomery G.I. bill. Later, he 
continued his work to improve education benefits, expand veterans' 
employment opportunities, and end homelessness among veterans while 
working for one of my close friends in the House, Representative Lane 
Evans.
  I am truly grateful to have been able to work with such a great 
friend for so long. Mike's wonderful smile, his dry sense of humor, and 
his amazing wealth of knowledge have meant so much to me over the 
years. I have had the pleasure of working with his wife Joey as well, 
and I know she and their son, Michael, will be happy to have him around 
the house a little more often during his retirement. While those of us 
who know his work are not yet ready to see him go, I wish him the best 
in this next stage of his life.
  The veterans of this Nation will greatly miss the day-to-day service 
of this advocate who has dedicated his career to ensuring that our 
Nation meets its obligations to the men and women who serve it so 
bravely. I will miss greatly working beside my longtime friend. Mike, 
your record of service will be long remembered and appreciated in the 
Halls of the Congress and beyond. Good luck with your well-earned 
retirement.

                          ____________________