Tribute to Mike Johanns

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to a truly outstanding Senator, who will soon retire from this body after more than 30 years of public service.

Of course, I am speaking of Senator Mike Johanns. Mike has had a remarkable career. He is the only current Member of this body--besides Senator Alexander--who has served as Senator, Governor, and Cabinet Secretary.

Yet for all he has accomplished, MIKE isn't the flashiest Senator. He doesn't hold the most press conferences, he doesn't yell the loudest, and you never have to worry about him knocking you over to get to a TV camera, but in his steady and determined style, Mike has proven himself a remarkably successful Member of this body.

That was true in his successful battles to defend Nebraska's rural communities against government overreach, it was true when he worked with the late Senator Byrd to sink a national energy tax that threatened his constituents, and it was true when he led the first successful legislative effort to revisit ObamaCare, working with many Democrats to repeal the so-called 1099 provision.

Mike has never looked for drama. He is always aiming for results. So it didn't take long for people in the Senate to recognize that Mike was more than just another freshman in the minority. He became the guy you would turn to if you wanted to get an amendment up to 60 votes.

That is truly remarkable for a first-term Senator. It is especially remarkable when we consider that Mike came to the Senate at a time when Republicans were in the deep minority. But then again, Mike is a very remarkable guy: county commissioner, city councilman, mayor, Governor, Secretary of Agriculture. You name it, Mike has done it, and that was before he even set foot in the Senate.

Some think Mike must have a secret that allows him to assemble bipartisan coalitions on conservative issues, but I don't think it is much of a secret at all. Mike works across the aisle. He works in good faith, and he works hard. He doesn't care what party you are from and absolutely no one can outwork him.

Mike makes sure of that by getting up earlier than anyone else. It is a habit he learned growing up on a farm in northern Iowa. He would get up at 5 a.m. every day and then from age 4 he would work. He would shovel muck. He would fill the hog tanks. He would even deliver piglets.

The point is, Mike developed an appreciation for hard work and responsibility at an early age. Along with his strong Catholic faith, these are the traits that still define him today, but they don't paint the whole picture, because Mike Johanns may be an accomplished man, he may be one of the smartest and most capable public servants you will ever meet, but he is absolute putty in the hands of his wife Stephanie. She is always by his side. She is his best friend, and they complement each other perfectly.

Their idea--listen to this--of a perfect night out is a night in together. They are both Husker fans and, as Mike put it, ``Steph is almost never in a bad mood.'' He said: ``She jumps out of bed, and she's got a big smile on her face and she thinks this is bound to be the best day of her life.''

It is a personality perfectly suited, as one can imagine, to the campaign trail, which is a good thing because the two of them have logged tens of thousands of miles together campaigning across Nebraska, usually in matching T-shirts, sometimes in a beat-up old Corsica.

They have plenty of stories from the trail, too, but one from Mike 's run for Governor stands out particularly. This is what happened: The Johanns were driving home after a long day of marching in parades in the hot Sun. They passed a barn on the way, assuming it was a cattle sale. They figured they would drop in and press a few palms. Stephanie parked the car, Mike opened the door, and dozens of well-dressed Nebraskan eyes fell on them.

The Johanns, in their sweaty T-shirts, hadn't dropped by a cattle sale; they had crashed a wedding. I will give them this, they made the best of it. Mike ended up dancing with the bride, and of course he went on to win the election as well.

This is the sequel: Months later, at an inaugural ball in Lincoln, two uninvited guests showed up. It was, of course, the bride and her husband.

They had a simple message: ``You crashed our wedding, Governor, and now we're crashing your inaugural.''

So the senior Senator from Arizona may like to brag about his Hollywood cameo with Vince Vaughn, but our colleagues know the truth. Senator Mike Johanns is the original--the original--wedding crasher.

Mike and Stephanie certainly have traveled a long and interesting road from when they first met while serving on the Lancaster County Board in the 1980s, when Mike would draft up walking lists on an old typewriter and they would go out and campaign door to door.

A lot has changed. For one thing, Mike isn't a Democrat anymore. But much is the same too. Mike still cares deeply about mental health issues. It is what brought him into politics in the first place. It is what he considers his crowning achievement as Governor. He still has loyal fans on staff who remember all of his efforts on the issue.

It is a rare thing, the loyalty Mike inspires in people. This is the Senator with staffers who have been with him for many years, some since his days in local politics, and here is what they all say about Mike Johanns: Senator Johanns is a man who cares--cares about his family, he cares about the people who work for him, and he cares about his constituents. That is why he has given his cell phone out to half of Nebraska.

He has made his mistakes, of course. As mayor of Lincoln, he had to cancel Halloween one year. But that is old news. To many Nebraskans he is still Governor, to others he is simply Mike. But whatever Nebraskans call Mike Johanns, they respect him, and I know they are going to miss him. And so are we.

At least retirement will give Mike more time to pursue his hobbies. We hear he is a voracious window washer. He has even been known to pull out the Windex on vacation. Whatever he does, we know this is a retirement that is well earned. He has dealt with bird flu, mad cow disease, the farm bill, deficit reduction, and just about any other issue you can think of over a long and distinguished career in public service.

We all want to thank Senator Johanns for his loyal and dedicated service to the Senate and to the people of Nebraska. We wish Mike and Stephanie the best as they look forward to their next adventure together.

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