Farewell to the Senate

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it is hard to follow those heartfelt words from Senator Barrasso about his colleague and friend and our friend Mike Enzi, but I am going to make a try.

Just as our tribute to Lamar Alexander was a tribute to the better angels of nature as they are shown in the lives of Senators, so, too, was Mike Enzi. I join my colleagues in thanking Mike for his service to Wyoming and to America.

One of the most frequent questions many of us are asked is, Why can't you folks get along in Washington? Why can't you just do things together? I say to them that there are times when we do, and the many times are very important. When we do come together, it is because of people like Mike, who worked under his so-called 80-20 rule. We know that well, don't we? He would tell you he believes both sides could agree on 80 percent of the substance, and if negotiators are willing to give up the other 20 percent, we could actually get some things done around here. Wouldn't that be refreshing?

One of those items was the Marketplace Fairness Act. Mike helped to lead the fight for local brick-and-mortar retailers in order to give them a chance to compete on an equal and level playing field with online sellers, email companies, and internet companies and to allow the States and localities to collect much needed sales tax revenue. It is hard to imagine how many years Mike put into that effort, but the Marketplace Fairness Act would have given the States the option to require from out-of-State businesses, such as those selling online, the collection of taxes owed under State law in the same way local businesses are required.

Mike knew a lot about local business. As was mentioned on the floor by Senator Barrasso, his colleague, he was a small business owner in Gillette, WY, running NZ Shoes. Even as he went on to become mayor of Gillette at age 30, a staff sergeant in the Wyoming Air National Guard, a State representative, and then a State senator, he was always still the small business man from Gillette.

In 1996, when he was recovering from open-heart surgery, then-Senator Alan Simpson decided not to run for reelection. Local leaders kept trying to talk Mike into running. He really just wanted to have more time to hunt and fish. In the end, he made an important decision. He ran, and he won. His career has had many legislative successes in having used his 80-20 rule.

I will never forget the days when Ted Kennedy would come to the floor and talk about the compromise and the bargain he had struck with you. I had thought what a political odd couple, but the two of you did some remarkable things.

Poles apart in terms of political philosophy, they treated each other with respect, and they had amazing successes to show for it. Even when he has differing views on the best ways to resolve issues, Mike Enzi shows a willingness to come to the table and discuss the areas in which we can agree.

In 2012, Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan retired. I called Mike after Byron left and asked if I could take up Byron's position in his fight for the Marketplace Fairness Act. He said: Let's do it. We brought in Senator Lamar Alexander--that was a pretty smart move--and then Senator Heidi Heitkamp, who both made great contributions to our work. It was our luck that Heidi Heitkamp was the petitioner of the 1992 Supreme Court case Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, which made the Marketplace Fairness Act necessary.

We were an unexpected group of Senators--two Republicans and two Democrats who were literally from all over the United States. We disagreed on some things, sure, but we agreed that Main Street business needed a break and deserved fair treatment. We kept working on it with Mike Enzi's leadership, and, in 2013, the Marketplace Fairness Act passed the Senate, overwhelmingly, with 69 votes. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives, once again, broke our heart and didn't act on it. We kept introducing the bill.

Main Street businesses were still struggling against the unfair advantage that internet-only retailers had. Visitors to my office might have noticed a little something that was in my office that I have brought to the floor today and wondered what this was all about. This was a gift from Mike Enzi after we were successful in the U.S. Senate. It is a small, wooden, three-note train whistle. It would be a violation of the Senate rules to blow the whistle, but I want to tell you that it was a gift from Mike for our work we did together in helping to get the bill down the tracks of the legislative process.

We were never able to get the House to take up the measure, but, in 2018, the Supreme Court finally did the right thing. In a 5-to-4 ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., the Court closed the loophole we had been struggling to fight and address for years. I am proud to be a part of that bipartisan coalition. In Illinois, it has meant a lot. We estimate that our State has received $460 million in annual revenue by virtue of Mike Enzi's determination and leadership on the marketplace fairness front.

In this pandemic crisis, this revenue is more important than ever. Mike has always been a force for fairness, a friend, and a leader for whom I have great respect. As we fight this pandemic, we should strive to abide by Mike's 80-20 rule and remember that Main Street businesses are really hurting and need our help.

I know Mike will have more time now for fishing and hunting. I wish him and Diana, his wonderful wife--and she is a wonderful person--and their grandchildren happiness. I look forward to reading about the next chapter in Mike Enzi's life of giving and caring.

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