[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM DAUSTER

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, the Senate is an institution that 
remembers its giants, its lions--the Senators who have served with 
distinction, who negotiated critical legislative deals, who fought for 
their States and their constituents, and who have participated in 
historic debates on this Senate floor. They have statues and libraries 
to remember them and portraits in these halls.
  The Senate has been home to many extraordinary individuals but less 
frequently acknowledged is the truth that no Senator operates alone. We 
rely on the counsel and good service of dedicated staff in both our 
committees and personal offices. Among those staff, there is perhaps no 
greater giant of the Senate than Bill Dauster, who retires this week 
after more than three decades of service.
  With a clear-eyed understanding of the Senate, with all its features 
and its flaws, a dedication to progressive values and collegiality that 
has endeared him to Senator and staffer alike, Bill has been an asset 
to this institution and to all who have served with him. I am very 
pleased he is with us on the floor today.
  Senator Harry Reid called Bill his ``utility player'' for his ability 
to step into any issue or complicated matter and find a solution.
  I am privileged that Bill Dauster joined my staff early this year to 
help me set up my office and get it off to a good start in the U.S. 
Senate. I could not have asked for a better and more knowledgeable guy 
as I began my service here.
  There are few major legislative battles that Bill Dauster has not 
joined in the past 30 years, including the Children's Health Insurance 
Program, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and the Affordable Care 
Act. He worked for Senator Feingold when he stood against the so-called 
PATRIOT Act because of its invasion of privacy, and he helped shepherd 
Democratic priorities, ranging from the minimum wage to important 
infrastructure investments.
  He has written a book on Senate procedure--and I mean literally--and 
he has been as much a scholar of the Senate as a participant in its 
daily life. Bill is a leader of what the Washington Post once called 
``the whisper brigade,'' the people, the staff who stand with their 
Senators, from committee hearings to floor speeches, to answer 
questions and offer suggestions and help make us better and more 
prepared.
  In that capacity, Bill Dauster has mentored countless staff and 
always stayed accessible to answer the most basic questions. With a 
quote or a quip, he has brought levity to serious policy discussions. 
He has built a reputation as an honest broker, a brilliant dealmaker, 
and an incredibly generous soul.
  Bill's character is shaped by his Jewish faith, which he has studied 
and sought to illuminate to others. He has devoted free time to 
analysis of the Torah on Wikipedia and many other places, crafting 
interpretations that are as detailed, carefully explained, and 
straightforward as the analysis he has provided on countless Senate 
bills.
  Bill Dauster is a devoted family man with his equally accomplished 
and brilliant wife Ellen and his three children who are his pride and 
joy. I am very pleased that his wife Ellen and daughter Emma are with 
us today.
  He is a science fiction fan, particularly of Star Trek, perhaps 
seeking stories that are more believable than modern politics.
  I wish Bill a restful retirement, but given his active mind, I 
suspect he would sympathize with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes' maxim 
that leisure is ``a chance to do other jobs that demand attention.''
  Instead, I will thank him for his service to the Senate and his 
country and wish him a joyful and fulfilling next frontier. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in saying: Farewell, but don't wander far.

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