[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12934-12935]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO DAVID LYLES

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, if you come to my office in the Russell 
Building, you will usually be greeted by one of the young and eager 
staffers who welcome visitors and answer the phones at the front desk. 
Every once in a while, you will find, instead, someone with a little 
more experience--my chief of staff, who has now about 30 years of 
Senate service in fact.
  David Lyles often takes time to sit at the front desk and to answer 
phone calls--not during the slower, easier days of a summer recess, but 
always, instead, when the constituent calls are the hottest and the 
heaviest. It is his way of staying connected to the flow of feedback 
coming into the office and of letting the staff know that everybody, 
from the most experienced staffer to the most recent college graduate, 
is responsible for responding to the people we all serve. But it is 
also his way of providing some relief to the pressure these young new 
staffers are under--particularly when answering the phone calls at 
various times when issues are very contentious. That hands-on approach 
is emblematic of David's leadership--leadership that has meant so much 
to my work in the Senate and to me personally.
  At the end of this week, when David Lyles retires from the Senate, we 
are going to miss his passion, his dedication, his South Carolina 
maxims, his encyclopedic knowledge of the Senate, Civil War history, 
and also his vast knowledge of the best bicycling routes in Northern 
Virginia.
  Nearly all of David's professional life has been in public service, 
and nearly all of that service has been spent with the aim of 
strengthening our Nation's security and honoring our commitments to the 
men and women of our military. Of more than 30 years of Senate service, 
most has been spent with the Armed Services Committee, first as a 
professional staff member, then as deputy staff director, and from 1997 
to 2003 as director of the Democratic staff, before agreeing to serve 
as my chief of staff in my personal office.
  He also served earlier with the Senate Appropriations Committee, as a 
civilian member of the Pentagon staff. and as staff director of the 
1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission--a difficult and at times 
thankless job that was nonetheless of major importance to our Nation.
  His Armed Services Committee career even encompassed some of the most 
significant national security challenges of our time: the end of the 
Cold War, the Persian Gulf war, the 2001 terrorist attacks, the wars in 
Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the immense technological changes and 
major budget challenges we have faced during his years here.
  I have asked David twice to change jobs: first in 1997 when I asked 
him to leave a brief stint in the private sector to serve as Democratic 
staff director on the Armed Services Committee and, second, when I 
asked him to give up that position to join my personal office as the 
chief of staff.
  I made these requests because I value his judgment, his knowledge, 
and his integrity, because I know of his love and his respect for this 
institution. When new staffers join our office, David will usually walk 
them down to the Senate floor, bring them to the staff benches behind 
me along the walls, give them a chance to see in person what most have 
only seen on C-SPAN and to share some of the mix of excitement and 
responsibility that David still feels when he comes to this floor.
  David once told a reporter for the Washington Post, ``I've always 
felt that anonymity was the key to job security.'' Well, I am sorry to 
blow his cover, but David's outstanding career is worthy of public 
praise. He has served the American people and the Senate with great 
distinction. He has helped protect the men and women in uniform and 
their families. He has led the men and women in his charge with 
patience and loyalty and modesty at times of great challenge for the 
Senate and the Nation.
  I am and I always will be deeply grateful to David Lyles for his wise 
counsel, for his loyalty, for his friendship, and above all for his 
integrity. I wish David and his wife Annie a long and happy retirement 
full of visits with laughing grandchildren, untroubled waters to 
paddle, and smooth roads to ride.

[[Page 12935]]

  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. I ask unanimous consent to be allowed to speak as in 
morning business for up to 10 minutes.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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