Farewell to the Senate

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, Mike Enzi and I were both sworn in to do our first terms in the U.S. Senate on January 7, 1997. I immediately saw in the gentleman from Wyoming a quiet, effective, and ethical leader who was focused not on partisan advantage but, rather, on results--results that would benefit the people who had sent him to Washington and results that would benefit the American people as a whole.

The nearly 24 years since then have only confirmed my initial impression. For the first 14 of those years, Mike was the sole accountant in the Senate. That discipline, combined with his experience as a small business owner, have served him so well in his role as chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget. He knows how important it is to set a budget, to follow it, and to control spending. His priority has always been the American taxpayer. As chairman of the Committee on the Budget and as a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, he has been a leader on tax issues as well. He helped to shape the 2017 tax reform act, which has helped to boost economic growth and the creation of more jobs.

Mike's leadership style is characterized by his willingness to always search for common ground. He described in great depth today what he calls his 80-20 rule, and anyone who has ever worked with Mike Enzi on any issue quickly learns about the 80-20 rule. Through it, he forges solutions where many others see only impasse. The key to success in moving legislation, as he told us today, is to focus on the 80 percent of issues on which agreement can be found and not waste time on the 20 percent on which the disagreements are insurmountable.

That rule served him well when he, along with the late Senator Ted Kennedy, sat at the helm of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Well, as Mike has described today, it would be difficult to think of two individuals serving in the Senate who had more different political philosophies than he and Ted Kennedy. You could probably say that this is true with his current ranking member of the Budget Committee. Yet, together, he and Senator Kennedy crafted dozens of laws. Neither side got 100 percent of what it wanted. They put aside the areas of disagreement. For them, it was far more important that progress was made for the American people.

In serving with Mike on the HELP Committee, I have seen him employ this rule over and over again to bring about real progress. He has led efforts to help to ensure that everyone can receive a quality education. He has helped to provide Americans with access to affordable, quality healthcare. He has helped to protect workers and foster job training opportunities. As the leader of the committee, he has worked to oversee the biggest revision in pension laws in 30 years--to strengthen funding rules to enhance retirement security for millions of Americans.

Mike comes from a small business background, and as Senator Durbin just described, he was passionate about the Marketplace Fairness Act-- to enable States to collect sales and use taxes from out-of-State online retailers. He recognized that the brick-and-mortar Main Street businesses that provide local jobs should not be penalized. Mike and I also worked together on successful legislation to improve workplace safety for postal employees and to better protect the American people from deceptive mailings that mimic official government documents.

Senator Mike Enzi has compiled a long record of selfless service as a business leader, as a member of the Wyoming Air National Guard, as a mayor, as a State legislator, and as an involved citizen. When he announced his intention early last year to leave the Senate, he said that he had no definite plans other than to find other ways to serve. I am 100 percent certain that the author of the 80-20 rule will continue to contribute to his community, his State, and our Nation. I wish him and his beloved wife Diana all the best in the years to come.

I thank the Presiding Officer.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source