Tribute to Mike Di Silvestro

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I would like to echo the kind words said by the majority leader about Mike DiSilvestro as he prepares to head into retirement on Friday after 37 years of service to the U.S. Senate.

Mike serves as director of the Office of Senate Security and is in charge of the secure facility here in the Capitol where Senators can receive classified briefings and review sensitive documents. There are very few individuals who have given as much time and attention to this institution as Mike with so little recognition or fanfare--such is the nature of the job--but on the cusp of his retirement, I hope he will allow us to pay him a few compliments.

Mike's counsel is wise. His word can be trusted implicitly. His focus is always on serving the institution, never on politics or party. His judgment and guidance have always been excellent, and he did not rely on subtlety. When you walk into the Senate's secure facility, you pass a World War II-era poster reminding you that ``loose lips sink ships.'' His job has had many difficult responsibilities, and Mike was never more valuable or trusted than in difficult times.

He tracked down absent Senators on 9/11. He comforted terrified staff waiting to be decontaminated after ricin was discovered in Senator Frist's mailroom. During the anthrax incident, he donned a biohazard suit and entered the contaminated Hart building to retrieve vital documents from Senator Daschle's office. Even now, in the middle of a public health crisis, Mike has faithfully reported to duty to make sure this institution is able to complete its constitutional work.

I know he is finding this attention on the floor today uncomfortable. I don't know if he is still here. Yes, sorry for all the flattery, but it is well deserved. He is accustomed to working entirely outside the limelight. He will never be quoted in the paper, and I suspect he will never write a tell-all book about his time in the Senate, but for those of us here, Senators and staffers alike, we will long remember his sense of humor, his devotion to family, his work ethic, and his strong, principled leadership.

There are only a very few staffers who are both known and respected by every single Senator. Mike is one of the few. His absence will be felt by all of us.

Mike, I wish you well. I hope you finally get to play all the golf you want, complete the Appalachian Trail, and that you enjoy every day of your well-earned retirement. Congratulations.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source