[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7510]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING SUMNER SLICHTER

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I was saddened to learn that Sumner 
Slichter, who for three decades was the chief policy adviser to former 
Wisconsin and U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, died May 16 in his home in 
Alexandria, VA, after a battle with brain cancer. He was 62 years old.
  Sumner Pence Slichter was born August 31, 1953, in Urbana, IL, to 
Nini Almy and Charles Slichter. He was the oldest of four children and 
is remembered as being a kind and loving older brother to his younger 
siblings.
  As a student attending Dr. Howard Elementary, Edison Junior High 
School, and Champaign Central High School, Sumner played viola in the 
school orchestra. He left for the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 
1970, where he majored in mathematics. Sumner continued to play viola 
in student ensembles and the UW orchestra, where he sat first chair.
  At the age of 19, Sumner began what would ultimately be a long and 
rich career in politics. His first job was on Ed Muskie's 1972 
Presidential campaign. Later that year, he worked as an assistant at 
the Democratic National Committee convention in Miami Beach. From 
there, Sumner worked for campaigns and offices of State representatives 
in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
  In 1981, an encounter would forever change Sumner's life. That year 
he met a Milwaukee lawyer named Russ Feingold. At that time, Russ 
Feingold was working as a Democratic Party counsel on a close recall 
election. Sumner helped convince his new friend to challenge an 
incumbent for the 27th district State Senate seat. Feingold won the 
election in 1982, and Sumner followed him to the State capital. Sumner 
and Russ would spend the next three decades working side-by-side in 
Madison and Washington, DC.
  Working in the Wisconsin State Senate, Sumner helped design 
Feingold's trademark progressive initiatives that focused on the aging, 
consumer-focused banking policies, budget discipline, and tax policy.
  It was during his time in the State capitol that Sumner met Pam 
Russell, who was working as a legislative attorney. They were married 
in 1990.
  While they lived in Madison, Sumner had a thriving social life. He 
was a member of a city intramural league softball team, the Soft Balls, 
and he and his friends and teammates often took advantage of 
Wisconsin's beautiful State parks, going on annual camping trips to 
Governor Dodge and Rock Island, among others. Sumner enjoyed hosting 
friends at the summer cottage on Lake Mendota built by his grandfather, 
and in fact, it was there that Sumner held Russ Feingold's first 
fundraiser for the 1982 State senate campaign.
  In 1992, after 10 years in the Wisconsin Legislature, Russ ran for 
the U.S. Senate. Sumner was there with his boss, playing an important 
strategic role on the campaign. Many Wisconsinites still remember the 
funny, light-hearted campaign ads that Feingold ran in that campaign. 
Sumner was one of the campaign staffers who crafted those unforgettable 
ads.
  When Russ was elected to the U.S. Senate, Sumner and Pam relocated to 
northern Virginia where, on the day after they arrived, their daughter 
Sarah was born.
  Sumner worked for Russ in the U.S. Capitol for 18 years. He was 
Russ's policy director and helped shaped Senator Feingold's progressive 
legacy. Think about some of the courageous acts that defined Senator 
Feingold's work in the Senate: the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign 
Reform Act, his votes against the Defense of Marriage Act, the Iraq 
war, and the sole nay vote against U.S.A. Patriot Act. For each of 
those votes and bills, Sumner was right there alongside Russ, 
counseling and helping in any way he could. He also helped Feingold 
author a resolution to censure President George W. Bush. It is no 
wonder that Russ said of his friend, ``Sumner was at my side for every 
vote I took in 28 years as a legislator, and I didn't vote until I 
sought his wise counsel.''
  It is one thing to do good work for your boss, but it is another 
thing to treat your peers and colleagues with dignity, respect, and 
affection. Sumner was a great mentor and friend to his fellow staffers. 
Former Feingold chief of staff Mary Irvine remembers, ``It was quite a 
thing really how many issues Sumner worked on . . . A great solo player 
and an awesome team player. He must have spent hours and hours on the 
Senate floor on any number of issues but was always on duty for the 
entire lengthy budget resolution votes. Sumner was an amazing expert on 
the Senate budget process and on parliamentary procedure. He was a 
great political mind--there was no issue that Sumner couldn't figure 
out and explain to the rest of us.''
  Outside of the Capitol, Sumner loved to cook for his friends and 
family. He was a movie buff who had a penchant for remembering lines, 
music, actors, and directors. He never lost his love of music and was 
always quick to respond to a danceable song.
  From his Madison days, Sumner brought annual Nixon Resignation and 
Derby Day parties and camping traditions to his family and friends in 
the D.C. Area. He had a deep love of dogs and was very attached to his 
pets.
  Sumner Slichter's passing is a loss for all of us here in the Senate. 
We grew accustomed to seeing his smiling face right at this boss's 
side.
  I, along with the entire U.S. Senate, send our condolences to his 
family. Sumner is survived by his wife, Pam Russell, of Alexandria, VA; 
daughter Sarah of Poughkeepsie, NY; mother Nini Almy of Mitchellville, 
MD; father Charles Slichter and stepmother Anne Slichter of Champaign, 
IL; brother Bill of Minneapolis and his wife Helen; brother Jacob of 
Brooklyn, NY, and his wife Suzanne; sister Ann of Los Angeles; half-
brother Daniel of Boulder, CO, and his wife Yolanda; and half-brother 
David of Binghamton, NY.
  I say to his family: Thank you for sharing Sumner with us over the 
years. Thank you for allowing his bright and radiant personality to 
shine on us. He will be greatly missed.

                          ____________________