[Senate Document 113-34]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Carl Levin
U.S. SENATOR FROM MICHIGAN
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2015
S. Doc. 113-34
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Carl Levin
United States Senator
1979-2015
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
xi
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
28
Ayotte, Kelly, of New Hampshire................
35
Bennet, Michael F., of Colorado................
17
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
42
Brown, Sherrod, of Ohio........................
27
Cardin, Benjamin L., of Maryland...............
26
Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania.........
37
Collins, Susan M., of Maine....................
18
Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
15
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
12
Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
16
Franken, Al, of Minnesota......................
30
Graham, Lindsey, of South Carolina.............
36
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
29
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah
...............................................
..........
7, 34, 40
Hirono, Mazie K., of Hawaii....................
41
Inhofe, James M., of Oklahoma
............................................
11, 29, 36
King, Angus S., Jr., of Maine..................
31, 33
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
17, 38
Levin, Carl, of Michigan
...............................................
.........
12, 33, 35
Manchin, Joe, III, of West Virginia............
25
McCain, John, of Arizona.......................
8
McCaskill, Claire, of Missouri.................
22
Merkley, Jeff, of Oregon.......................
28
Nelson, Bill, of Florida.......................
24
Portman, Rob, of Ohio..........................
33
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
7, 12
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
3
Sanders, Bernard, of Vermont...................
30
Schumer, Charles E., of New York...............
33
Sessions, Jeff, of Alabama.....................
23
Shaheen, Jeanne, of New Hampshire..............
40
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
19
Wyden, Ron, of Oregon..........................
36
BIOGRAPHY
In an editorial about Carl Levin, the Detroit News
wrote, ``He has been above reproach personally and has
stuck to his principles, even when they were unpopular.
Principled leadership, no matter what political ideology
it comes from, is sorely needed in Washington.''
Time magazine named Carl Levin one of ``America's 10
Best Senators,'' noting that ``the Michigan Democrat has
gained respect from both parties for his attention to
detail and deep knowledge of policy.''
Carl Levin worked to strengthen Michigan's industrial
economy. Senator Levin proposed the American Manufacturing
Initiative to ensure that our government aggressively
fought for manufacturing in America so our manufacturers
and workers could compete globally on a level playing
field.
As a cochair of the Senate Auto Caucus and the Senate
Auto Parts Task Force, Senator Levin was one of the most
insistent voices in Washington calling for strong action
to open the world's markets to American goods. Senator
Levin was a longtime advocate of programs that provide for
joint government-industry partnerships in development of
advanced vehicle technologies. These efforts led to the
growth of the Army's National Automotive Center in Warren,
MI, which has played an important role in developing
advanced technologies for military use, often in
conjunction with the private sector.
As cochair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Carl
Levin fought to protect the environmental treasures of
``the Great Lakes State,'' an irreplaceable natural
resource for Michigan and the country. In 1990, Senator
Levin authored the Great Lakes Critical Programs Act to
create new standards of environmental protection for Great
Lakes waters. Senator Levin also helped win passage of the
Great Lakes Legacy Program in 2002 to clean up
contaminated sediments, and he worked to secure funding to
deal with foreign aquatic invasive species including zebra
mussels, milfoil and Asian carp. A strong advocate for the
creation of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary,
Carl Levin obtained significant funding for it and
introduced legislation in 2009 to expand the boundaries of
the sanctuary to more than eight times its current size.
The expansion would help preserve ``Shipwreck Alley'' for
divers and historians, where dozens of ships sank in the
waters of Lake Huron.
Carl Levin was the chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, where he earned a reputation as a strong
supporter of our national defense, a tireless advocate on
behalf of our service men and women, and an effective
fighter against wasteful government spending.
Senator Levin championed efforts to reduce the threats
to our Nation and the world from the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction and the threats posed by
terrorism. He supported the efforts of the military
services to transform their forces, technology, and
tactics to meet these threats. He was an active supporter
of improving U.S. security by cooperative threat
reduction, including arms control agreements that reduce
weapons of mass destruction, and fought for efforts
designed to reduce the threat of proliferation of nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons.
Senator Levin opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003
and authored several bipartisan proposals aimed at
changing U.S. policy in Iraq. While Americans have
differing opinions about our policy in Iraq, there is
broad support of our brave men and women in uniform.
Senator Levin spearheaded the successful effort to pass
the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, a
historic reform to improve the way we provide medical care
and ongoing support for our troops and our veterans,
enacted in early 2008.
In 2007, Senator Levin pushed to secure passage of the
Acquisition Improvement and Accountability Act, the most
far-reaching acquisition reform measure approved by
Congress in more than a decade. The act requires, for the
first time, that private security contractors working in a
war zone must comply with Defense Department regulations
and directives issued by our military commanders. The act
also establishes a new acquisition workforce fund to hire
the employees needed to manage defense contracts properly.
These provisions will go a long way toward addressing
contracting waste, fraud, and abuse.
In 2009, Senator Levin secured passage of the Levin-
McCain Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act, to fix major
problems with the way the Department of Defense buys major
weapons systems. The act establishes a new, independent
director of cost assessment to ensure that senior Pentagon
managers have unbiased data to analyze project costs and
cost projections. It also includes strengthening
assessments of technologies that are under development and
requiring the Department of Defense to conduct preliminary
design reviews in advance of approving new acquisition
programs.
The Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute awarded
Senator Carl Levin its 2007 Four Freedoms Medal for his
bipartisan efforts to reassert the role of the U.S. Senate
in critical issues of foreign and military policy and for
his longtime service to the country. The award recognizes
Carl Levin as:
a leader dedicated to making government more effective,
who holds himself and his colleagues to high ethical
standards and insists that these same standards must apply
to all facets of our society, both public and private; a
leader whose efforts to strengthen America's armed forces
have helped make the United States Military the finest
fighting force in the world.
The National Guard Association of the United States
presented Senator Levin with its 2004 ``Harry S. Truman
Award'' for distinguished service in support of national
defense. The award cited Levin's ``long-standing, diligent
and impassioned commitment on the readiness, morale and
welfare of our military forces, their families and the
modernization of our armed forces'' that has had an
``unparalleled and direct positive impact to the defense
capabilities of the National Guard.'' In January 2003, the
Secretary of the Navy cited Levin's ``exceptional service
to the Navy and Marine Corps'' in presenting him its
``Distinguished Public Service Award,'' the highest award
given to a civilian.
In July 2007, the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski,
presented Senator Levin with the Commander's Cross with
the Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Instituted by Parliament in 1974, the award is conferred
on foreigners and Polish residents abroad for service
rendered to Poland.
As chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, the premier investigating subcommittee in
the Senate, Senator Levin focused on issues that impact
the wallets of most Americans, including Wall Street and
the financial crisis, unfair credit card practices, and
sky-high oil and natural gas prices.
In April 2010, Senator Levin chaired four hearings
looking at the causes and consequences of the financial
crisis. The final hearing examined the role investment
banks, specifically Goldman Sachs, played in causing the
financial crisis. The hearings informed the debate on
financial reform legislation passed by Congress and signed
into law by the President.
Carl Levin chaired numerous hearings delving into
abusive credit card industry practices that help keep
families mired in debt. The effort culminated in the 2009
enactment of the Credit Card Accountability,
Responsibility and Disclosure Act or Credit CARD Act,
which bans unfair practices by credit card companies
including preventing credit card companies from
retroactively raising interest rates on people who play by
the rules, forcing banks to restore a lower interest rate
for late payers who make 6 months of ontime payments, and
prohibiting the charging of interest on debt that is paid
on time.
Another recent investigation found that excessive
speculation in oil and natural gas markets resulted in
higher prices for consumers. Senator Levin introduced the
``Close the Enron Loophole Act'' to put a cop on the beat
to police prices in U.S. energy markets that, due to Enron
and others, are now largely unregulated. Senator Levin's
leadership enabled Senate passage of an amendment in late
2007 to close the Enron loophole and its enactment into
law in May 2008.
In 2002, Carl Levin led Congress' most indepth
examination into the collapse of Enron. His investigation
exposed how Enron used deceptive accounting and tax
transactions to report better financial results than the
company actually experienced. The subcommittee's
investigative work contributed to the accounting and
corporate reforms enacted in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in
July 2002. In 2002, Levin began a 3-year investigation
into the mass marketing of abusive tax shelters by KPMG
and other professional firms, which was cited by the
Washington Post as ``a path-breaking inquiry ... that
served as a road map for prosecutors.'' Carl Levin's
bipartisan bill to end the use of tax havens will end some
of the worst abuses of our tax laws by companies and
individuals who avoid paying their U.S. taxes by using
places such as the Cayman Islands to create sham
transactions and shell corporations.
Under Carl Levin's leadership, the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations conducted a comprehensive
money laundering investigation, which led to the enactment
of legislation to detect and stop money laundering and
terrorist financing.
Senator Levin was also a member of the Small Business
and Entrepreneurship Committee and an ex officio member of
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Carl Levin worked to expand educational opportunities
for all Americans so our Nation could remain strong and
productive. He fought for increased funding for the Head
Start Preschool Program, Title I for educationally
disadvantaged students, and Pell grants and loans for
college and vocational school students. Senator Levin was
a strong advocate for the effective use of technology in
K-12 schools and helped create the Consortium for
Outstanding Achievement in Teaching with Technology, a
groundbreaking Michigan partnership helping teachers
master technology skills. He was an enthusiastic supporter
of school to work programs, which have created a public-
private partnership to prepare students for the demands of
the modern workplace. He won critical Federal support for
the Focus: HOPE Center for Advanced Technology, a world-
class manufacturing training facility in Detroit.
Addiction to illegal drugs continues to plague our
society. Senator Levin authored a provision in the Drug
Abuse and Treatment Act of 2000 to enable qualified
physicians to prescribe and dispense from their private
offices--rather than centralized clinics--revolutionary,
new antiaddiction medications such as buprenorphine that
suppress the craving for heroin.
Carl Levin was born in 1934 in Detroit, where he
graduated from Central High School. In 1956, he graduated
with honors from Swarthmore College and graduated from
Harvard University Law School in 1959. He practiced and
taught law in Michigan until 1964 when he was appointed an
assistant attorney general of Michigan and the first
general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
He then helped establish the Detroit Public Defender's
Office and led the appellate division of that office,
which has become the State Appellate Defender's Office.
He won election to the Detroit City Council in 1969,
becoming its president in 1973 by winning the most votes
citywide. In 1978, he won an upset victory over the number
two Republican in the U.S. Senate. He was reelected in
1984, 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008.
Carl Levin married Barbara Halpern in 1961. They have
three daughters: Kate, Laura, and Erica, and six
grandchildren. His brother Sander has served in the U.S.
House of Representatives since 1983.
Farewell to the Senate
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, after 36 years as a Member of
the U.S. Senate, this is likely my last opportunity to
address its Members as colleagues, and to address the
people of my State as constituents, and to thank them for
placing their trust in me.
The highest honor any citizen of a democracy can receive
is to be elected to represent his or her fellow Americans
to be their fiduciary.
To the Senate staff, including the floor staff, the
Capitol Police, and those throughout the Capitol complex
who work so hard to keep things here moving, thank you for
your service and support for us through the long days and
nights.
To my staff, thank you for your strong loyalty to the
people of Michigan, to our Nation, and to me. Thank you
for believing in public service. I am immensely proud of
what the men and women who have worked on my staff for the
last 36 years have helped to accomplish.
My staff back in Michigan has helped make communities
across our State safer and more prosperous. Countless
times they have helped individual constituents resolve an
issue, making a real difference in thousands of lives.
The Armed Services Committee and Permanent Subcommittee
on Investigations--PSI--staffs have worked tirelessly
through long hours and complex issues, sacrificing nights
and weekends and vacations to help address the pressing
issues of our Nation.
My personal office staff has been instrumental in
addressing a breathtaking range of issues--from preserving
our American auto industry, to making our tax system
fairer, to protecting our irreplaceable Great Lakes, to
making medicine available to fight addiction, and much
more.
As to my mentor, my big brother Sandy, Congress is
keeping the better half of ``Team Levin,'' as I retire to
Michigan while Sandy remains in Congress.
To Barbara, my wife of 53 years, to our three daughters
Kate, Laura, and Erica; to their husbands Howard, Daniel,
and Rick; and to our six grandchildren, Bess and Samantha,
Mark, Noa, and Ben Levin, and Beatrice and Olivia
Fernandez--thank you for your love and support, which has
meant so much to me.
I have been asked many times if I am leaving the Senate
out of frustration with gridlock. The answer is: No. My
family and friends, and those of you with whom I serve,
know how much I love the Senate and that I will love my
work until the last day here, and that I will leave here
with unabashed confidence in the Senate's ability to
weather storms and to meet the Nation's needs.
I know first hand the challenges before this Senate. I
believe one of the greatest is the need to meet the
fundamental economic challenge of this era: the growing
gap in our society between a fortunate few and the vast
majority of Americans whose fortunes have stagnated or
fallen.
While I believe that the economists who tell us this
inequality is holding back economic growth are right, this
isn't just about economic data. It is about our Nation's
heart and soul. This growing gulf between a fortunate few
and a struggling many is a threat to the dream that has
animated this Nation since its founding, the dream that
hard work leads to a better life for us and for our
children.
To restore the connection between hard work and greater
opportunity, I hope the next Congress will act on many
fronts, strengthening education and worker training
programs, making greater investments in infrastructure and
research that foster growth. As I have said here many
times, it should pay for these needed investments by
closing egregious tax loopholes that serve no economic
purpose, but enrich some of the wealthiest among us and
our most profitable corporations.
Many foresee a continuation of polarization and
partisanship in the Senate and say it is naive to suggest
that the next Congress might come together, break out of
gridlock, and accomplish great things. But I know the
Senate can do better because I have seen it happen with my
own eyes.
The Senate has indeed demonstrated, even in our own era,
that bipartisanship is not extinct. The Senate Armed
Services Committee has upheld a more than 50-year
tradition of bipartisan cooperation to produce an annual
Defense Authorization Act that advances the security of
our Nation. I am grateful to the members of the U.S.
military and their families for their selfless sense of
duty. I am also grateful for the way they have inspired
us, year after year, to come together across lines of
party and ideology to support them. They not only protect
us, they unite us. Congress has come together over the
years to make improvements in pay, benefits, and health
care for the men and women of the military; to reform the
way in which we buy the weapons they use to carry out
their missions; to adopt policies to protect them from
sexual assault; and to provide improved education benefits
through a modern GI bill and reform the way in which we
care for our wounded warriors. We are training and
equipping the militaries of nations under assault by
extremists and religious fanatics so that those nations
can depend more on themselves for their own security and
less on America's sons and daughters.
We have passed a defense authorization bill to
accomplish these things each year for more than half a
century by laying aside partisan differences for the
common good. We have never allowed disagreements over
policy to interfere with our duty to our troops and their
families, and I am deeply grateful to the many ranking
Republican partners I have been fortunate to work with in
that endeavor: people such as John McCain and John Warner
and Jim Inhofe.
John McCain, my great friend, who has demonstrated
extraordinary courage in war and in this Senate, will take
the gavel of the Armed Services Committee, and my trusted
wingman and friend Jack Reed will become ranking member.
At a pivotal moment for the Senate and for this Nation,
the Armed Services Committee will be in strong hands.
I have seen first hand additional powerful evidence that
the Senate can work together to meet the Nation's needs,
and that is in the work of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations--PSI--which I have been privileged to chair
for 10 years, working with Republican partners--and I use
the word partners advisedly--such as Tom Coburn, John
McCain, and Susan Collins. Our subcommittee has exposed
the tax avoidance schemes of some of the most powerful
corporations and wealthiest individuals. We have shined a
light on abusive credit card practices. We have
investigated wasteful and ineffective government programs.
We have confronted market manipulators and exposed
conflicts of interest, mortgage fraud, and reckless
schemes by some of the most powerful banks, schemes aided
by some of the largest accounting and law firms. We have
demonstrated how those activities helped bring our economy
to its knees, destroying jobs, reducing the value of our
homes, and damaging our neighborhoods. The work of PSI has
helped lead to reforms that have strengthened our
financial system and reduced credit card abuses.
The power of PSI lies in the indepth work of our staffs,
and in the willingness to confront powerful and entrenched
interests. Like the Senate Armed Services Committee, PSI
is strengthened by a dedication to bipartisanship and a
respect for the rights of the Senate minority. We have
recognized the danger of using investigative power for
partisan or political purposes, and we have ensured that
our great staffs, majority and minority, participate
together in every investigation.
Indeed it is protection of the minority that is the
singular hallmark of the Senate. The majority cannot
always have its way. The Senate is more than just a place
where the hot tea is cooled in the deliberative saucer
that President Washington famously spoke of. Protections
for the minority make the Senate more than just a place to
slow things down; those protections make it a place where
we work things out. It is those protections that force
compromise that is essential to unifying and governing our
country. Making progress in the Senate requires solutions
that while they may not provide everyone with everything
they want, are broadly accepted as in the common interest.
When compromise is thwarted by ideological rigidity or by
abuse of the rights that our rules afford us, the Senate
can become paralyzed, unable to achieve the lofty task
that the Founders set forth before us.
Polarization is exacerbated by forces outside this
Chamber. For instance, we seem to make news more often
these days by our responses in the corridors outside this
Chamber to reporters questioning us about the latest
breaking story or rumor than we do by debating or
legislating inside this Chamber. The viral nature of
information and disinformation and the expectation that
public officials will be immediately responsive to every
news flash with but a few seconds to think through the
implications or consequences or pros and cons has led too
often to less thoughtful discourse, and that has helped
drive rhetorical wedges between us.
The incoming Senate has an opportunity to restore a
greater measure of bipartisan compromise by revisiting one
of the most contentious issues we face, one that we
struggled with at the beginning of this Congress; that is,
the Senate rules.
I believe the excessive use of the filibuster to
obstruct confirmation of President Obama's nominees was
damaging to the Senate and to the Nation. Any President--
Democratic or Republican--should have the ability to
choose his or her team. But the Senate majority eliminated
obstructions to Presidential nominations through the use
of the nuclear option, effectively accomplishing a rules
change outside the rules, a method I could not support. In
doing so, a precedent was established that the majority
could effectively change the rules as it wished by
overruling the Chair and the Parliamentarian. That
precedent will not serve the country well in the future
because it leaves the minority with no protection,
diminishing the unique role of the Senate.
I hope the Senate next year considers reversing that
precedent while simultaneously--and I emphasize
simultaneously--amending the rules so as to assure the
President's ability to fulfill his or her constitutional
duties. Put simply, I believe the Senate should do the
right thing in the right way. It should amend the Senate
rules, as provided for in the rules, to adopt the
substance of the changes we made last year. I know my good
friend Senator Lamar Alexander, who was part of the
bipartisan Group of Eight who worked closely and
successfully together on this issue in 2012, has proposed
something similar. Such action by the Senate next year
would be a welcome victory for comity and for compromise,
and it would I hope represent a step back from a precedent
that leads to effective rules changes by simple majority.
It would be a step toward a better functioning Senate.
No leader alone, no single Senator, neither party by
itself, can determine the Senate's course, but together
the Members of this body can move the Senate forward and
in doing so help move forward the Nation we all love. I
will enjoy reading about the Senate's progress in the
years ahead as Barbara and I are sitting on a Lake
Michigan beach or showing the world to our grandchildren.
I thank the Chair, I thank my dear friends, the leaders
of this body, and I see my brother sitting here, and I am
not allowed to refer to my family in the gallery, so I
will not do that.
(Applause, Senators rising.)
TRIBUTES
TO
CARL LEVIN
Proceedings in the Senate
Monday, December 8, 2014
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am very happy to be here
today to talk about a couple of my friends--I should say
the Senate's friends. I have received a lot of gifts while
I have been here. My colleagues, over the years, have
given me things here in the Senate, but one gift stands
out really strongly in my mind. On my desk, not far from
here, I have this big painting--it is a very famous
painting from the National Portrait Gallery of Mark Twain.
Mark Twain, I tell people, was born in Nevada, which is
really true. Samuel Clemens wasn't, but Mark Twain was.
Orion Clemens was chosen as the Territorial Secretary of
Nevada, and he told his younger brother Samuel: Come West
and I will find you a job. Samuel had been fighting, which
he didn't like, in the Civil War, so he came West to join
his brother. But his brother couldn't find him a job, so
Samuel Clemens bummed around for quite a while.
Without belaboring the story too long, the fact is, Mark
Twain finally went up to Virginia City, which was booming
at the time, and he went to the Territorial Enterprise
newspaper and got a job as a reporter. This was a
stunningly good and important start for his first writing
that he had done. That is where he started his fame.
He would have stayed in Nevada longer, but someone
challenged him to a duel for some of the things he wrote.
So being the smart man he was, he didn't want to duel so
he left town, went to California, where he wrote two best-
selling books, ``The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County'' and ``Roughing It,'' which was about his
experience in bumming around Nevada until he found a job.
These were bestsellers. These were great books.
The point of the story, though, is he went to Virginia
City as Samuel Clemens and took the name Mark Twain. That
is where the name came from.
This means a lot. It is a story I tell many times to
people who come to my office. So Carl Levin, the
wonderful, kind, thoughtful man that he is, said, ``Can I
come and see you?'' I said, ``Sure.'' He brought to me, I
guess it is, one of the rare double signatures of Samuel
Clemens. There may be others, I just have never heard of
one. This was done at a club in Hannibal, MO. The club's
name was Labinnah--Hannibal spelled backward--and Mark
Twain, in 1902, because of how famous he was, signed
Samuel Clemens, Mark Twain, and wrote through the whole--
he didn't want anybody else's name there. He wanted just
his. So that is the gift he gave me.
That was so fitting. It fits my office perfectly, and it
means a lot to me. Carl Levin brought with him this
handwritten note: ``I got this at an auction 10 yrs. ago
not knowing why. It just dawned on me! Best in the New
Year, Carl.''
That was so nice of him to do that, and it is so hard to
explain my appreciation, although I am trying to do that
here by outlining what a wonderful human being Carl Levin
is. What he did for me is an example of who Carl Levin is
and how he thinks of people. He remembered the story I
told him about Mark Twain, and he said, I am sure, to
himself: I have this thing I got 10 years ago; I will give
it to the Senator, my friend. So he gave me that plaque
just because that is who he is.
He has always been attentive to the interests of the
people of Michigan and our country. He is the longest
serving Senator in the history of the State of Michigan--
36 years. His legislative accomplishments are significant.
I would say they are unmatched by almost anyone.
Carl Levin has stood his ground on controversial issues,
and that is an understatement. He has fought to give
average Americans a fair shot at what is going on in the
world. He has always spoken with a clear voice, speaking
for justice, equality, and fairness.
(Mr. MURPHY assumed the Chair.)
The Presiding Officer is a lawyer, I am a lawyer, but I
am not sure I would be the best person, if you gave me a
document, to look it over and make sure there was
everything in that document you wanted in it, but Carl
Levin is the person you want. I call him my nitpicker. He
is so good at making sure everything is right; that every
i is dotted, every t is crossed. Bring in Carl Levin if
you have something and you really need someone to look at
it and think it through.
Carl was a prominent lawyer, as was his dad, in
Michigan. His dad served as a member of the Michigan
Corrections Commission. After graduating from high school,
his father worked as an assemblyline worker. Carl Levin
also knew how to work with his hands, but he followed in
his father's footsteps by being an extremely hard worker.
He attended college at Swarthmore and received a bachelor
of arts degree there. Then he attended Harvard Law School
and received his juris doctorate from Harvard.
He practiced in the private sector for awhile. He began
his public career as the first general counsel for the
Michigan Civil Rights Commission. He was elected in 1968
to the Detroit City Council, and he served there until
1977. He was elected to the Senate in 1978. Carl has
functioned in this body as a levelheaded mediator who is
guided by the protection of people in Michigan and our
country.
In the past 36 years, Carl has cast over 12,000 votes.
Some of those votes were hard, and not always popular, but
they were Carl Levin votes. He did what he thought was
right. When General Motors and Chrysler, in the last few
years, faced a potential collapse, he recognized their
bankruptcy would devastate the people of Michigan and have
a detrimental effect--and that is a gross understatement--
on this country. He pressed the incoming Obama
administration to support the companies with loans. There
was a hue and cry from people who opposed that, saying
that is the wrong thing to do, Levin is wrong, Obama is
wrong. But they were right. Look what it has done to
energize, revitalize the State of Michigan, the whole
Detroit metropolitan area and our country, with tens of
thousands of new jobs as a result of his advocacy. As I
said, it wasn't a popular position at the time, but Carl
knew what was good for Michigan and good for our country,
and he has been vindicated a hundred times over.
Carl has been chairman of the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations for 10 years. During that
period of time, he has done some unusually important
things for our country through this committee. Corporate
money laundering--1999. He delved into that very deeply.
Carl Levin is not a headline hunter. Carl Levin is a
substantive legislator. He could have held a lot more
hearings, but he held them about every 6 months because he
wanted his hearings to be Carl Levin hearings where, I
repeat, every i was dotted, every t was crossed, and they
were very powerful hearings.
Gasoline price manipulation, the Enron scandal--he
delved into that very deeply.
Misconduct in the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program, tax haven
banks, and offshore corporate tax evasion--he has talked
about that and talked about that. Very notable legislation
as a result of the work he has done: Wall Street reform,
the Consumer Protection Act, the Credit Card Act, the
PATRIOT Act.
Carl Levin is a very fine legislator. He fought for Wall
Street reform when others were afraid to do so, and he
helped restore the broken financial system that held
powerful institutions accountable for their actions.
Carl's persistence earned him a slot in Time magazine's
list of ``America's 10 Best Senators.'' They called him
the ``Bird-Dogger.''
Well, that is what he is. Put him on an issue and he
will come back with the prey. He is very good. He never
stops. He is a sharp-eyed overseer of U.S. defense policy.
He has spent his entire career promoting defense policy
that protects America's interests at home and abroad while
safeguarding the men and women who serve.
Carl is the chair of the Senate Defense Committee.
During the Nation's most trying of diplomatic times he has
done a remarkable job to make sure the military is
protected.
Even though he was chair of this big powerful
committee--the Defense Committee--he felt so strongly and
he foresaw what a lot of us didn't see. He saw the
disaster that would accompany an invasion of Iraq.
Accordingly, he talked about how bad it would be and voted
against it. Carl Levin was right and a lot of us were
wrong. I have said before on the Senate floor, of all the
votes I have cast during the time I have been in
government, the worst was voting for the Iraq war. But I
did. Carl Levin did not.
But for all of his accomplishments in Congress, his
greatest achievements reside in his home. Carl and his
wife of over 50 years, Barbara, have three beautiful
daughters: Kate, Laura, and Erica. Landra and Barbara are
good friends. They are part of a book club. They have had
a wonderful relationship over these many years. So as Carl
retires from the Senate, I know he is going to cherish the
time he is going to spend with his family.
But also Carl and I have had a long ongoing
conversation. He and his brother Sander own about 100
acres. They have had it for a long time. Carl Levin is not
a man of wealth, but he and his brother bought this 100
acres that has nothing on it but trees. He calls it his
tree farm. He has shown me pictures of it. I have not seen
it lately, but I have had for 15 or 20 years a hat he gave
me--a green baseball-type cap--that says ``tree farm'' on
it. I used to tell him I still have that cap. I still have
that cap, Carl.
He will be missed here in Washington. He will be missed
in the Senate by all of us. But he will be missed more by
his older brother Sandy, who is the ranking member on the
Ways and Means Committee in the House. They have served
together in Congress for 32 years.
I have said this on the floor before, and I will say it
again. I will remember Carl Levin for a lot of things, but
when I was in the House, I came over to visit with him. I
was thinking about running for the Senate. I said, ``Carl,
I came to the House with your brother Sandy.'' He looked
up at me and said, ``Sandy is not only my brother, he is
my best friend.'' That speaks well of the person who Carl
Levin is.
It has really been a privilege and an honor to serve
with Carl. I will miss him so very much. I will miss
having somebody to take the difficult issues to, to get
his view as to what we should do, how we should handle it.
His voice will be missed here in the Senate. I
congratulate him on his incomparable career in the Senate,
and I wish him the very best.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have only heard two of the
comments of the majority leader--one for the distinguished
Senator from Michigan [Mr. Levin] and one for the
distinguished Senator from West Virginia [Mr.
Rockefeller]. I have to say that both of those Senators
deserve a lot of commendation for the service they have
given to the Senate. They are both friends of mine.
Senator Levin has been a terrific, solid performer for
the Democrats in the U.S. Senate, and he is an honest--
totally honest--decent, honorable man. ...
I will miss both of these brethren and wish them the
very best in their lives as they go through the remaining
years of their lives, and hopefully they and their
families will have a wonderful time together.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take a few
minutes to salute my colleagues who are departing the
Senate at the end of this year with the conclusion of the
113th Congress: Mark Begich of Alaska, Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Kay Hagan of North
Carolina, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mike Johanns of Nebraska,
Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Carl Levin of Michigan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jay
Rockefeller of West Virginia, Mark Udall of Colorado, and
John Walsh of Montana.
They have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their
energy and considerable time and service to their
constituents, to their home States and to our country. I
want to thank them for their service and for their
kindness to me over many years in so many cases. In
particular, I want to say a few words about these
colleagues. ...
But let me say, especially, a few words about my dear
friend Carl Levin. For 18 years, Carl Levin has either
been chairman or ranking member of the Armed Services
Committee. The U.S. military, the most powerful and
professional force in the world, has in countless ways
been shaped because Carl Levin repeatedly helped form a
new common ground to move us forward as a nation for the
benefit of our men and women in uniform and for the
benefit of us all.
Carl and I have traveled many times together--Bosnia,
Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, Syria,
Colombia. We were there to visit with commanders and local
leaders, but especially to see our troops and to thank
them. In the faces of those troops I saw the trust and
respect they felt--some to their own surprise--when they
met the chairman--the powerful chairman of the Armed
Services Committee. He was there. He had traveled across
the globe to listen to them, to work for them, and to
thank them.
It was profoundly moving to me to see this--inspiring
indeed. As the chairman of one of the other major
committees, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations,
he has pursued the powerful on behalf of the powerless, on
behalf of the people. He has not only uncovered abuse, but
he has sent a powerful message to an increasingly
discouraged America that there is someone who will fight
for them, who understands that everyone deserves a fair
chance at a better future.
Carl Levin has been a friend, a role model. I will miss
working with him.
Along with all of my other colleagues who are leaving us
at the conclusion of the 113th Congress, let me thank them
for their service, their dedication to improving the lives
of Americans, and on a very personal level for their
friendship. I wish them all well.
Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I wish to offer a few words
of tribute to my departing colleague, Senator Carl Levin--
a model of serious purpose, firm principle, and personal
decency, and whose example ought to inspire the service of
new and returning Senators. We could not aspire to better
service than what he has given our country.
Carl and I have served together on the Senate Armed
Services Committee for the better part of three decades.
He is my senior in this body by 8 years and has been my
chairman for more than 10 years in total. It has been a
privilege to serve under his very able, honorable, and
fair leadership.
Carl and I sit on opposite sides of the aisle. The
difference is quite obvious on any number of issues, but I
hope it is also obvious how much I admire and respect my
friend from Michigan.
We have had our moments on the committee. Debate there
can get a little passionate from time to time, perhaps a
little more passionate on my part than Carl's, but that,
as all my colleagues would surely attest, is my problem,
not Carl's. We are, however, both proud of the committee's
tradition of bipartisan cooperation which Carl has worked
diligently to preserve and strengthen. We both know how
important that tradition is to faithfully discharging our
responsibilities to help maintain the defense of this
country and do right by the men and women of the U.S.
Armed Forces. We both feel their example of selfless
sacrifice would shame us if we let the committee descend
into the partisan posturing that often makes it hard to
get important work done in Congress.
When Members disagree in committee--often heatedly--it
is because we feel passionately about whatever issue is in
dispute. Even then we try to behave civilly and
respectfully to each other, and we do not let our
disagreements prevent us from completing the committee's
business. Carl won't let us. That we have managed to keep
that reputation in these contentious times is a tribute to
Carl Levin. He has kept the committee focused on its
duties and not on the next election or the latest rush-to-
the-barricades partisan quarrel. He does so in a calm,
measured, patient, and thoughtful manner. He seems, in
fact, to be calmer and more patient the more heated our
disagreements are. As members' emotions and temperatures
rise, Carl's unperturbed composure and focus bring our
attention back to the business at hand. You could safely
say he and I have slightly different leadership styles. I
am gentler and less confrontational. But Carl's style
seems to work for him. It works well for the committee
too, for the armed services, and for the country.
The committee has a heavy workload every year, and Carl
manages to keep us all in harness and working together at
a good pace and with a constructive, results-oriented
approach that is the envy of the dozen or so lesser
committees of the Senate. Our principal responsibility is
to produce the defense authorization bill--one of the most
important and comprehensive pieces of legislation the
Senate considers on an annual basis. The committee has
never failed to report the bill, and the Senate has never
failed to pass it. That is not an accomplishment that some
of the lesser committees I just referred to can claim
every year, and no one deserves more of the credit than
Carl Levin.
When Carl Levin first joined the committee, he explained
his reason for seeking the assignment this way:
I had never served, and I thought there was a big gap in
terms of my background and, frankly, felt it was a way of
providing service.
He might never have served in the military, but he has
surely served the military well, and he has served the
national interests our Armed Forces protect in an
exemplary manner that the rest of us would be wise to
emulate.
More recently, I have had the honor and privilege of
serving alongside Carl on the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations. His tireless efforts and steadfast
dedication to exposing misconduct and abuse by financial
institutions and government regulators have set a new
standard for thoughtful and thorough congressional
investigations.
Whether the topic was the 2008 financial crisis, Swiss
banking secrecy, or JPMorgan's ``London Whale'' debacle,
professionals in the industry and the public at large knew
they could count on Carl Levin to get to the bottom of it
with authoritative reports and hearings. Carl's tenacity
in uncovering wrongdoing sparked significant changes in
the financial sector.
I also commend Carl Levin on zealously and effectively
pursuing his investigations in a way that has furthered
the subcommittee's long-standing tradition of
bipartisanship. While Carl Levin and I may have had our
disagreements, we never let them get in the way of finding
common ground where we could.
While Carl's retirement may come as a relief to some of
those on Wall Street, his patience, thoughtfulness, and
commitment to bipartisanship will be deeply missed on the
subcommittee and in the Senate.
Indeed, from Carl Levin's long and distinguished service
in the Senate, he has obtained the respect of his
colleagues on both sides of the aisle. We all listen to
him, and we listen closest to him on the occasions when we
disagree with him. That, in my view, is a great compliment
from one Senator to another. It is a tribute paid to only
the most respected Members.
Of course, the greatest compliment one Senator can pay
another is to credit him or her as a person who keeps his
or her word. That has become too rare in Washington but
not so in my experiences with Carl Levin. He has never
broken his word to me. He has never backed out of a deal,
even when doing so would have been personally and
politically advantageous. When we are in agreement on an
issue, Carl usually argues more effectively than I can,
and when we disagree, we usually find a way to settle our
dispute without abandoning our responsibilities. Carl
Levin deserves most of the credit for that too.
One of the great satisfactions in life is to fight for a
common cause with someone you haven't always agreed with,
someone whose background, views, and personality are
different from yours. Yet you discover that despite your
differences, you have always been on the same side on the
big things.
Thank you, Carl, for the privilege and for your
friendship and example. The committee is going to miss
you, the Senate is going to miss you, the men and women of
the U.S. Armed Forces are going to miss you, and I will
miss you a lot.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, first, I have to say what a
joy it is to work with Senator Levin. I know the public
thinks that no Republicans like any Democrats and vice
versa--at least those are the flames they try to fan--and
that is not true.
I can only think of two issues on which Senator Levin
and I disagreed with each other. He has been through 16 of
the NDAAs as either chairman or ranking member. I am sure
that is some kind of a record. But to work with someone
who you know will be totally honest with you even when you
have a difference of opinion is really a joy. I hope we
can be an example for some of the other committees that
don't have that much joy when they are working on an
issue.
The long history he has had here and the integrity he
has expressed will be sorely missed, I have to say to my
good friend Senator Levin. ...
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from
Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, first let me thank Senator
Inhofe for his friendship, most importantly, but also for
the great partnership we have enjoyed. It has been a real
pleasure working with the Senator from Oklahoma. I should
perhaps also say we are confident our successors will
carry on this tradition as well. Senator McCain will be
the new chairman, and Senator Jack Reed the new ranking
member. They will be carrying on this tradition that we
have done everything we know how to do to maintain.
Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise today in support of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2015. I commend the work of my colleagues on the Armed
Services Committee--especially the chairman, Senator Carl
Levin of Michigan--on reaching an agreement with the House
to complete this important legislation.
It is also appropriate that this legislation be named in
honor of both Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Buck
McKeon, the chairmen of their respective committees who
this year are retiring after extraordinary service and
dedication to the Nation and particularly to the men and
women of the armed services. It is another reason why this
bill is particularly special--because it represents the
culmination of the work of these two extraordinary
gentlemen. ...
Mr. DURBIN. I have some tributes here for my colleagues
who are retiring, leaving the Senate. It is a lengthy list
of tributes. ...
Last night it was my honor to salute Carl Levin of
Michigan for his 36 years of service in the U.S. Senate.
He has done so many things so well. As chairman of the
Armed Services Committee, he has produced this contentious
and challenging bill year after year, both as ranking
member and as chairman. As chairman of the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations, he really raised that
subcommittee to a new level. He tackled some of the most
complex issues of our day, particularly when it came to
corporate abuse. He spent the time to get the facts right.
When he had a hearing, he made an extraordinary
contribution to the public dialog about reforming our law
and making this a better nation.
When I was first elected to the Senate, people back home
said to me, ``Well, now that you have been in the Senate a
year or two, which Senators do you respect the most?''
I said then, and I will repeat it today, if I had a
tough, important decision, one I was wrestling over, an
issue or a vote, and I could only reach out to a couple of
Senators at the time, one would be Paul Sarbanes of
Maryland, now retired, and the other is Carl Levin. That
is still a fact.
Long before Carl Levin was elected to the U.S. Senate it
was clear that he had a gift for politics. Picture this--
true story: At Central High School in Detroit, Carl Levin
was elected class president. He won that race after, as he
tells it, ``running around with a piece of matzoh telling
other students: `This is what happens to bread without
Levin.''' How's that for a slogan?
As much as I hate to think about it, soon we will have a
U.S. Senate without Levin--for the first time in 36 years.
Our only consolation is that Carl Levin leaves a legacy of
good and important laws. He also leaves a powerful example
of what can be achieved when we choose integrity over
ideology, and our common good over confrontation.
A Jewish publication in Detroit wrote awhile back that
Carl Levin and his brother, Congressman Sandy Levin, both
deserve ``Honorable Menschen Awards''--with the accent on
``mensch''--for their historic service to our Nation. I
agree wholeheartedly. Senator Levin's keen intellect,
honesty, and fair-mindedness--his decency and unfailing
civility--have earned him the respect of Senators on both
sides of the aisle.
Many years ago I was an intern for a great Senator,
Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois. Every year now, the
University of Illinois presents a ``Paul Douglas Ethics in
Government Award'' to an elected leader who shares Senator
Douglas' deep commitment to social and economic justice
and efficient government. The recipient of the ``Paul
Douglas Ethics in Government Award'' in 2006 was Senator
Carl Levin. Paul Douglas would have approved that choice
heartily.
As was Paul Douglas, Carl Levin has been a foot soldier
for justice. Paul Douglas was a leader in the effort to
pass a strong Federal Civil Rights Act. In 1964, the year
that law finally passed, Carl Levin was appointed the
first general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights
Commission.
Paul Douglas believed in government and he hated
government waste. He used to say: ``You don't have to be a
wastrel to be a liberal.'' Carl Levin reminds us that:
``There are some things that only government can do, so we
need government. But we don't need an inefficient,
wasteful, arrogant government.''
Carl Levin was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978.
Before that, he was active for 15 years in Detroit and
Michigan State politics. He taught law before he entered
politics. He also held some other interesting jobs--
including driving a cab in Detroit and working on a DeSoto
assemblyline.
He showed up in Washington in 1979 driving a 1974 Dodge
Dart with a hole in the floorboard. He was still driving
that same car to the Capitol 10 years later. That tells us
something about Carl Levin's devotion to the U.S. auto
industry, its workers, and unions.
When General Motors and Chrysler faced potential
collapse in 2008, he pressed Congress and a new President
to support the companies with billions of dollars in
loans.
Those loans have since been repaid and Chrysler and GM
are not only solvent, they are making a profit. The U.S.
auto industry is in the midst of its fastest expansion
since 1950.
Carl Levin is a champion as well of America's military,
military families, and veterans. He has served on the
Armed Services Committee since coming to the Senate 36
years ago. He is one of Congress' most respected voices on
national security and military issues.
Some years back he used his power on the Armed Services
Committee to question the procurement practices of the
military. He asked: Why was the Pentagon spending
thousands of dollars apiece for things like toilet seats
and hammers? He said: We need more money for soldiers and
less wasteful spending for contractors. With the world
growing more volatile and complex and increasing pressure
to reduce defense budgets, those are questions we must all
be willing to ask.
As a ranking member and then chair of the Senate's
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Senator Levin's
piercing intellect and his patient mastery of complex
issues helped, over and over, to expose and correct
serious wrongdoing.
As PSI chairman in 2002, he led a probe of the
activities of Enron Corporation; the investigation
resulted in legislation to improve the accuracy and
reliability of corporate disclosures.
From white collar crime, to money laundering, abusive
tax shelters, and gasoline and crude oil price gouging, he
has pursued the subjects of every investigation with
nonpartisan vigor, seeking results, not spotlights.
The list of laws bearing his imprint is long and
historic: The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984;
Social Security Disability Benefits Reform, 1984; the
Anti-Kickback Enforcement Act, 1986; the Whistleblower
Protection Act, 1989; the Ethics Reform Act in 1989; the
Lobbying Disclosure Act in 1995--the first major lobbying
reform in 50 years.
The list goes on. Senator Levin voted: To repeal ``don't
ask, don't tell''; to protect voting rights; and to limit
the influence of private-interest money in elections.
He has voted to support American manufacturing--and stop
giving tax breaks to corporations to ship American jobs
overseas.
He supported my efforts to change bankruptcy laws to
allow deserving homeowners to save their homes in
foreclosures.
He voted to regulate tobacco as a drug--another issue
that is personal for me.
I will always remember Senator Levin's vote on the Iraq
war resolution. For years before 9/11, he warned anyone
who would listen that America was threatened by terrorism.
When the horrific attacks came, he supported pursuing the
attackers in Afghanistan.
A year later, he and I were among just 23 Senators to
vote against the Iraq war. He voted no, even though he was
then chair of the Armed Services Committee. That took
extraordinary moral and political courage, and history has
shown he was right.
Carl Levin is the longest serving Senator in Michigan
history, surpassing another Senate legend, Arthur
Vandenberg. As he proved long ago when he was elected
president of his high school council, he is a natural-born
politician. But like Senator Vandenberg, he is more than a
politician; he is a statesman.
I will miss his presence in this Senate and I wish him,
and his wife Barbara, all the best in the future.
Mr. COONS. ... As I close, I would also like to thank
those of our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate
after the New Year.
It is an incredible privilege to work in this Chamber
and to represent the people. Every day I am awed by the
dedication and talent of many of my colleagues, public
servants who come to work to fight for their States and
their government.
To those who are ending their service in the Senate,
know that I value your friendship and partnership. It has
been an honor to work with you, and I thank you for all
you have done for our Nation.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, once again, as is our tradition
here in the Senate, we take a moment to express our
appreciation for the service of those Members who will be
retiring at the end of the year. We will miss them, their
good ideas and thoughtful suggestions, and their concern
and active involvement in the challenges facing our Nation
in a number of areas.
It is hard to mention the word ``service'' and not have
Carl Levin come to mind. As a former local official
myself, I have a great deal of respect and regard for all
those who have worked their way up from the local level to
the Senate.
For Carl the great adventure of his political life began
with his service on the Detroit City Council. During his 8
years on the council Carl probably had enough run-ins with
the Federal bureaucracy that he decided he had to do
something about it. For him that meant a run for the
Senate.
Carl's election and his subsequent service in the Senate
have shown him to be quite an effective legislator and a
force for the positions he has taken on a long list of
issues. He has been a Member of the Senate since 1979 and
he has hit a number of milestones since then that reflect
the length and production of his service.
It is important to emphasize that Carl's service in the
Senate has never been about longevity, it has been about
results. That is why he has been a part of so many issues
that needed someone with his talents, skills, and
abilities to help move them through. Such an issue has
been his great support for our Nation's military and our
veterans.
Carl has been working for the benefit of those who have
served in our Armed Forces since he first walked in the
door of the Senate. Determined that they reap the benefits
they have earned with their service, Carl joined the Armed
Services Committee to ensure our military and our veterans
were getting what they deserved and required both during
and after their service.
That is one of the main reasons why he is currently
serving as the chairman of our Armed Services Committee.
He wanted to make a difference for those who were
sacrificing so much to serve in our Nation's military. I
don't think our service men and women--and our Nation's
veterans--have ever had a better friend than Carl Levin.
Now he is closing the chapter of this great adventure of
his life. With his service he has made a difference in
more ways than I could ever hope to mention in my brief
remarks. In the process Carl has touched more lives for
the better than we will ever know with his commitment to
the day-to-day issues that affect us all--like education,
the environment, and health care. He has had an impact on
his home State and our Nation that will be felt for a long
time to come.
Thank you, Carl, for your service in the Senate. I know
I join with the people of Michigan in expressing our
appreciation to you for dedicating so much of your life to
making our Nation a better place for us all to live. That
is why your constituents have always been there to express
their appreciation of your work here in the Senate with
their votes. That is also why no other Senator has ever
represented Michigan as long as you have.
Diana joins in sending our best wishes to you for all
you have accomplished and for your close and personal
attention to the needs of our Armed Forces and the
concerns of our veterans. Thanks, too, for your
friendship. We will miss you, but I am certain we will be
in touch.
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
Mr. BENNET. I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to
retiring Senators be printed as a Senate document and that
Senators be permitted to submit tributes until December
23, 2014.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, once again, the Senate has
an opportunity to consider the National Defense
Authorization Act. This bill is named for the two retiring
chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services
Committees, Senator Carl Levin and Congressman Buck
McKeon. Carl Levin has been a fierce defender of Michigan,
strong advocate for the men and women of our armed
services, and a friend. When the Senate passes this bill,
and the President signs it into law, it will be a fitting
tribute to Senator Levin's storied legacy of public
service. ...
Friday, December 12, 2014
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, during his 36 years
representing Michigan in the Senate, Senator Carl Levin's
character and expertise have been described in many ways.
He has been named by Time magazine as one of ``America's
10 Best Senators.'' He has been hailed by our military as
a leader on national security. He is recognized by
families in Michigan and throughout our country as a
dedicated champion for economic opportunity and fairness.
But perhaps the best description of Senator Levin's
philosophy of public service is a word he himself used in
an interview for the George Mitchell Oral History Project
at Bowdoin College in Maine. That word is ``fiduciary.''
It is the word that embraces the concepts of trust and
confidence, of ethics and responsibility. In that
interview Senator Levin elaborated on what the word means
to him as a public servant. He said it meant to be
accessible and open, to listen to other points of view,
and to be well informed. Then when it is time to decide,
to use his best judgment and vote for what is best for his
State and his country, even though it may not be the
popular choice at the time.
``Fiduciary'' may indeed be the best word to describe
our colleague Senator Levin; but to me, based upon decades
of firsthand experience, there is another phrase that also
comes to mind. He is truly a Senator's Senator. My
colleagues may be surprised to learn that I have known
Senator Levin far longer than most of the Members of this
Chamber. You see, when he was first elected to the Senate
in 1978, the same year as Maine Senator Bill Cohen, for
whom I was working at the time, both of them served on
what was then known as a Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee and also on the same subcommittee, Oversight of
Government Management, for which I was first the minority
staff director and then the majority staff director. So I
have known and worked with Senator Levin for the entire
time he has been a Member of this Chamber. From the very
start, Senator Levin's diligence as a watchdog for the
American people impressed me.
Ten years after I left the committee, I returned as
Senator Cohen's successor and sought a seat on the
Governmental Affairs Committee precisely because, thanks
to the example of Senator Levin and Senator Cohen, I saw
the importance of accountability in government and
business practices. As the chairman of the Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations, it was my honor to begin
my Senate service with Senator Levin as our ranking
member, who was a far more experienced Senator than I was
at the time.
So I have seen first hand how deeply Senator Levin cares
about the Senate as an institution and its unique place in
our Constitution and in its role in our system of
government. He is a person of extraordinary integrity and
has a sense of purpose that sets a high standard for all
of us in public service.
He works well with Senators across the aisle because he
works hard. From the very first time I saw Senator Levin
in action back in 1978, I saw the importance that he
placed on extensive, exhaustive preparation for our
committee investigations and hearings. As many evasive or
ill-prepared witnesses learned to their chagrin, the eyes
behind those trademark reading glasses focused like a
laser because he has always done his homework.
If Senator Levin were to be remembered for his
contributions to just one area of policy, it would be our
Nation's defense. He has been a member of the Armed
Services Committee throughout his time in the Senate,
including 10 years as both the chairman and the ranking
member. During our work together on that committee, I saw
his mastery of such complex matters as emerging global
threats and advanced weapons systems. Above all, his focus
has always been on the men and women in uniform and their
families, from improving their standard of living to
better caring for our wounded warriors.
As a fiduciary of the principles that are our Nation's
foundation, Carl Levin has been a faithful trustee and
truly a Senator's Senator. I cannot imagine this body
without him, without his wisdom, his integrity, his
insight. So I thank him for his years of extraordinary
service, and I wish him all the best in the years to come.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, Senator Carl Levin has been
my Senator for 36 years, and it has been one of the great
honors of my life to serve for the last 14 years as his
partner, as well as his friend, representing Michigan.
The year he was elected, ``Grease'' was the year's
highest grossing movie and ``Staying Alive'' was music's
biggest hit, and you should see Senator Levin dance. So
Senator Levin has outlasted disco, the Soviet Union, and
all six of the people who challenged him in elections,
including an astronaut. That is because integrity never
goes out of style.
Senator Levin has never wavered in his devotion to
Michigan and to his country. As we heard today and as we
each know, he has brought that patriotism to the Armed
Services Committee. No one has done more to ensure that
our men and women in uniform are battle-ready, with the
supplies and technology they need to be the best military
in the world, than Senator Carl Levin, or to make sure
they receive fair pay and full health benefits. Carl Levin
puts his coalition together year after year to make that
happen.
He has never lost faith in government's capacity to be a
force for good, and we heard that again in his comments
today. This was passed down to him from his parents, who
saw how the New Deal rescued families from desperate
poverty.
A young Carl Levin admired President Harry Truman--
especially Truman, the Senator who drove cross country,
stopping in cities where defense contractors were
committing fraud and waste at the expense of America's
wartime economy.
Truman himself would be very proud to see Senator Levin
leading the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. As a
former civil rights attorney, Senator Levin relished the
chance to cross-examine those he suspected of dishonesty
toward taxpayers and the American people. It is not
literally a trial by fire, but that committee room has
definitely become a sweat lodge for unscrupulous
executives or anyone who has tried to get rich by getting
one over on average Americans. They sweat because they
know Senator Levin has done his homework--boy, has he done
his homework. He digs so deep, he knows more about what
they are going to say than they do.
David used a slingshot to bring down Goliath, but Carl
Levin can topple a tycoon with nothing but a binder full
of subpoenaed documents, and we have all seen him do it.
In 2007 he shined a light on abusive practices of credit
card companies, leading to laws that have brought about
more transparency. Thanks to Senator Carl Levin, your
credit card statement contains more disclosures so you
know what is going on.
Those of us in Michigan also see a softer, gentler side.
His heart is in Detroit, where he was born and raised and
now lives with his wife Barbara. His soul is nourished by
the tranquility he finds in northern Michigan in the Upper
Peninsula--Isle Royale, a place to which he has made many
trips.
If you have been to Detroit recently, you know the city
is in the midst of a spectacular comeback. I believe it is
the most spectacular comeback in modern history.
Everywhere you look, you see evidence of Senator Carl
Levin's hard work. He led the way on getting Federal
funding for Detroit's International Riverfront, which is
spectacular. He worked with me and others in leading the
effort to secure critical funding for the M-1 Rail
Project, championing that every step of the way--a
streetcar that will inject even more vibrancy to the
historic Woodward Avenue, which is already attracting
scores of entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Five years ago I was proud to stand with Senator Levin
as we passionately worked to rescue our American
automobile industry and give them a chance to grow and
move forward, and I saw his commitment and fiery passion
for making sure we did not let them down, the men and
women who worked so hard in Michigan and across the
country. That revival has done so much to lift the economy
of greater Detroit and all of Michigan.
Senator Levin knows that manufacturing is the backbone
of our State's economy, but he also knows that the
landscapes, the soil, and the water are all part of who we
are, including our Great Lakes. It is in our DNA, and I
know it is in his. That is why he has pushed for years to
help Sleeping Bear Dunes be recognized as a national
lakeshore, and we are seeing the outcome of his work as we
look at this beautiful national resource. He fought for
the Federal sanctuary at Thunder Bay and for the creation
of the Keweenaw National Historic Park. It has been an
honor for me to stand with him as he chaired our Great
Lakes Task Force, our bipartisan task force, and fight for
funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which
has had a miraculous effect on the quality of freshwater
that is vital for Michigan and the Nation.
I could stand here for hours talking about his
accomplishments, the footprints and handprints and marks
he has made on Michigan and, most importantly, the people
and communities of Michigan. But, as we heard this morning
from colleagues and will continue to hear, they are small
in comparison to the testament of his character, his
compassion, his humor, and the unassailable strength of
his convictions.
Senator Levin, you will be missed in Michigan and
certainly by me and the Senate. I know you and Barbara and
your daughters and grandchildren, including your one
grandson--who is kind of outnumbered--will be grateful to
have you so you can show them the world from your
perspective and show them the continued beauty of
Michigan. You have given so much, and we are grateful.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri.
Mrs. McCASKILL. Mr. President, I wish to talk about
Senator Levin from a different perspective than my
colleagues have. There is a seduction that goes on around
here. You can get lulled into a false sense of security by
excellent staff. Carl Levin is fortunate that he has
excellent staff, but what many of us are tempted to do at
times is to allow staff to do the arcane and tedious work
of checking statutory language.
I have been blessed to have a front row seat to watch
Carl Levin work. From my seat on the Armed Services
Committee and on the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, I have not only watched his excellent
staff, I have watched Carl Levin. This is a man who
understands every nook and cranny of statutory
construction. He would never be lulled into a false sense
of security that he understood the bill just because of
what he was told.
I will think of Carl Levin fondly in one way: his
shoulders slightly stooped, his hand grasping a piece of
paper, not an electronic device, him walking quickly
toward me with his head down, peering over those
ubiquitous glasses, saying, ``Claire, have you read the
language? Claire, have you read the language? Read the
language. Read the language.''
He understands the hazards of a misplaced comma. He
understands the danger of using an ``and'' instead of an
``or.'' He understands that the essence of our work is to
make sure we craft language that lives up to our purpose
and ideals.
Carl Levin is a Senator's Senator. There are no sharp
elbows, no heated rhetoric, and, frankly, there is no star
power on cable television. No one is dying to get Carl in
front of a camera because he will say something incendiary
or pick a fight, which all of our friends are anxious for
us to do--if we would only pick a fight.
Carl is methodically doing the grind-it-out work of
legislating. He has the tools of a great Senator:
intellect, integrity, good manners, and an unsurpassed
work ethic. I will always call him my most important
mentor in the Senate. He has taught me more than I can
ever say. I will try desperately to live up to the ideal
he has set for all of us.
I thank the Presiding Officer.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
Mr. SESSIONS. I thank Senator McCaskill for her
comments. We are talking about a Senator's Senator, a man
who reads the language of the legislation and knows how to
legislate.
I came here 18 years ago and have served on the Armed
Services Committee that entire time, and my admiration and
respect for Carl Levin has grown every year. It has grown
because it is deserved. He is a remarkable leader. He
never showboats and always wants to do the right thing. He
serves his country first, and he runs a committee that is,
in my mind, the best run committee--according to the
ideals of the Republic of which we are a part--that exists
in either Chamber today. It just works the way it is
supposed to.
His subcommittees work. We have amendments in
subcommittees that are disputed. If you don't like the
result, you bring it to the full committee, and the full
committee meets, and if it takes 2 full days, it takes 2
full days; everybody gets to bring up their amendments.
Senator Levin is always brilliantly able to solve
differences through proper wording of the committee's
legislation. As Claire suggested, he has an extraordinary
lawyer's ability to get the right words and make the bill
say what the committee wants it to say. I think that is
special, and I am pleased to have been a part of it.
The Armed Services Committee authorizes one-half of the
discretionary budget of the United States. It impacts the
lives of men and women in harm's way right now. We need to
get it right. It involves a lot of money and a lot of
responsibility. It is a well run committee that sets an
example for what we ought to see more of in the Senate.
There is a fairness about his work. Somehow we have
always passed an authorization bill, and somehow it is
almost always unanimous or very close to unanimous. There
may be one or two issues that maybe should not have been
tacked on to the bill that causes someone not to vote for
it, but when it is over, normally every Member--Republican
and Democrat--is satisfied with the ability to have their
voice heard and their ideas put into the bill, if
possible. But if you lose in subcommittee and you lose on
the floor and you have had your say in both places, it
kind of makes you feel like, what more can I do? If the
rest of the bill is OK, I will try to support it. These
markups take time because we are dealing with a large
portion of Federal funding.
Finally, I would like to say how much I appreciated the
wisdom he shared with us as we dealt with the nuclear
option--the so-called nuclear option that changed the
rules of the Senate. Senator Levin, who is a lawyer's
lawyer, said something that was very profound, and it was
reflected again in his remarks today, and that is, if a
majority can change the rules, there are no rules. If a
majority can change the rules of the Senate at a given
moment to overcome objections from the minority, then
there are virtually no minority rights--you have a pure
majoritarian body. I think that is what Carl was sharing
with us in his brilliant speech that all of us ought to
read.
I thank our chairman for the leadership he has given and
for the courtesy he has shown to me and all our Members. I
wish him great success in his future endeavors, and I hope
he will continue to contribute his wisdom to the body
politic.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, it has been summed up here,
and I want the Senator from Michigan to hear what has been
summarized so meaningfully by all of our colleagues,
because this is the best of this institution in terms of
how it performs. It has been embodied here in the public
service of Carl Levin for 36 years. What we have heard
from testimonies on both sides of the aisle is that
because of how he has conducted himself as an individual
and how he has conducted himself as a public servant and
how he has conducted himself as a leader in this Senate is
an example of exactly how this institution is supposed to
function.
Isn't it rather symbolic that on the last couple of days
of the session, the bill that will be passed is the bill
Senator Levin has ushered through the Senate? He never
broke tradition. He made sure the defense authorization
bill was going to be passed by hammering out the
differences with the House and shepherding it through the
parliamentary process. It has happened every year because
of his extraordinary leadership.
I will close simply by saying that because he is all of
the things we have heard--the consummate gentleman, the
humble public servant, his razor-sharp mind, and the best
lawyer, by the way, in the entire Senate--because he is
all of those things, he also is the embodiment of a
Senator because when he gives someone his word, that is
it. A person does not have to worry anymore.
The future Senate should take a lesson from the life and
the leadership of Carl Levin from Michigan.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise with honor and
pleasure to be able to say thank you to my dear friend. I
am the most junior Member, besides the Presiding Officer,
in this body today. When I first came to the Senate, I
asked to be on the Armed Services Committee. West Virginia
has a proud heritage of an awful lot of people--
percentagewise probably more than most States--having
served in all of the branches of the military. So that is
very near and dear to me, and our National Guard is very
near and dear to our State. So there were many reasons why
I wanted to be on the Armed Services Committee.
When I got here, it was one of the most toxic times of
the political arena, if you will. It was not what I
expected, to say the least. Seeing the toxic atmosphere
that I came into, people would say it didn't used to be
this way; it used to work. The process worked. The whole
aura of the Senate was there, and we are losing that. That
was their excuse for telling me that is why it is not
working today, but it used to work.
Then I became part of this committee called the Armed
Services Committee with this unbelievable chairman whose
name is Carl Levin. I watched and observed. I didn't say a
whole lot at first because freshmen aren't supposed to,
but I watched and I learned and I saw the system the way I
imagined it probably was 20, 30, 40 years ago when it did
work. I saw the Senate, and I was thinking, Why can't the
rest of the Senate work the way the Armed Services
Committee works? There is one reason. We don't have enough
Carl Levins. We just don't have enough Carl Levins.
Carl Levin is practical, reasonable, and sensible. It
made sense to me what he would say.
Just recently I have had difficulties on a piece of
legislation that is very important. Carl spoke to me in
terms that my father would have spoken to me, and I
understood very well: State your opposition, record your
opposition, and look at the whole situation as the
betterment and the good of the bill, which is better than
basically this piece that you oppose. He said I could
explain my opposition.
Carl Levin would say this, too. He would say: ``Listen,
I can't tell you what to do. Really, you have to do what
you think is right, but let me give you some points to
think about.'' He has been an unbelievable mentor who will
give us the ability to kind of process this whole system
we are in.
Let me say this, Carl. I am sorry that I didn't have the
honor and the opportunity and the pleasure to serve with
you for many more years. I really am. Or I am sorry I
didn't get here soon enough, whatever the case may be. But
the Senator from Michigan has left an impression on me as
to how this place should work.
Robert C. Byrd, my predecessor, felt as passionately as
you do. There is a process here and there is a reason for
the process, which is to make us talk to each other, to
make this place work. There should never be a situation we
would get into that is important to the American citizen
or this country where we can't work it out and can't get
at least 60 votes. There should never be a time that we
cannot get 60 votes. If we do that, then basically just
changing a rule is not going to change the attitude and
the atmosphere we create. I believe very strongly in that.
I appreciate the Senator's fight.
In the hills of West Virginia, we have a saying: ``They
are good people.'' You meet somebody and someone says,
``They are good people.''
Carl, you are good people. Thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, one of the great honors of
serving in the U.S. Senate--and it is a great honor to
serve in this body--is the fact that I have had the
opportunity to serve with Carl Levin. I think Senator
Levin represents the very best of our political system,
the very best of the U.S. Senate, and why I am so proud to
be a part of this institution.
I must tell my colleagues I came from the House of
Representatives and I had the great pleasure to have as
one of my closest friends in the House of Representatives
Carl's brother, Sandy. Sandy is an incredibly talented
person who believes in public service, as does his brother
Carl. The two of them have devoted their family reputation
to public service, and they have given so much back.
Carl, what you have done for our national security, for
our national defense, the type of attention you have paid
to make sure this country is as well prepared as it needs
to be, you have done that in an exemplary way. I can tell
you what you have done for the people in Michigan, the
type of Senator you have been. You have been a great U.S.
Senator for your State, as well as a great U.S. Senator
for the United States. That is not always an easy balance,
but you have been able to do it.
As so many colleagues have said, when we seek advice,
when we need a Senator to help us understand something, we
go to Carl Levin. Some of my constituents have a hard time
believing that we read the bills around here. Carl Levin
reads the bills around here. He has found typographical
errors in some of my legislation. He has found ways to
correct us when we didn't express ourselves the way we
should have. He writes me notes all the time. I thank him
for that dedication.
As several of our colleagues have pointed out, there is
no one here who has a greater love for the traditions--the
best traditions--of the U.S. Senate, a Senate that debates
and respects each other. One of the great opportunities I
had was to sit in a room with Lamar Alexander and Carl
Levin and others and talk about that, and how we could
restore the best traditions of the U.S. Senate.
So, Senator Levin, I want you to know, I will always be
indebted to serving in this body with you, learning from
you, and recognizing just what one person can do to carry
out the honor and dignity of public service. You really
define public service. For that, I am very grateful, the
people of Michigan are grateful, and the people of America
are grateful. Congratulations on your great service.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, it is no surprise to any of us
that the first thing Carl Levin did when he spoke today
was thank his staff. He thanked them, and then he thanked
the police force and the groundskeepers and the food
service people and the people who too many in this world
ignore. That was the first thing he did.
The second thing Carl did in his address was to talk
about the gulf between the fortunate few and the
struggling many. That has been what I most admire about
Carl Levin--that he is always aware of that and always
fighting the fight for people who have a lot less
privilege than those of us do who dress like this and get
really great titles. No one, frankly--no one in this
body--has stood up against special interests for the most
powerful interests in this town more effectively and more
energetically than Carl Levin. For that, I am grateful,
and I know so many in this country are grateful as well.
Thank you, Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, when I came here in 2009, we
were in the middle of an enormous meltdown due to high-
risk trading inside our major banks. I wondered whether we
as an institution were capable of undertaking this
challenge of changing the circumstances around that in
order to not have another 2007, 2008 meltdown that would
do so much damage to families across this country. So I
put out an email to everyone that said, Is anyone
interested in taking on this issue for the future
stability of our financial system? The next day I came to
the floor and Senator Levin said, ``the email you sent
out, I want to talk to you about that. I want to partner
in taking this on.'' Immediately, he basically said: ``We
will work together. I am not the senior Senator who wants
to take over this effort,'' although I would have been
glad for that to happen. There was not the ego in it;
there was the intellect and the passion and the
determination to fix a problem. To me, the Senate should
be about people coming together to fix problems to make
this Nation work better.
That event is deeply burned into my mind. The result,
because of Senator Levin's efforts, was the Volcker rule
that said high-risk trading should not be done on the
banks' books, proprietary trading, and high-risk
instruments. It will make a significant difference in the
years to come.
But what I want to thank my colleague for is the
attitude of coming together to solve the important
problems for America, even if that means taking on very
powerful special interests. I hope we will see a lot more
of that from this Senate in the years to come, but it will
be a much bigger challenge without the Senator here. We
will miss him greatly.
Thank you so much, Senator, for your service to our
Nation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, the Senate at its best has
been said to be the one authentic piece of genius in the
American political system. Carl Levin is the Senate at its
best. I thank him for his courtesy, his decency, his
scholarship, and his sense of public service. I thank him
for his reminder that if we are going to have the trust of
the American people to write rules for them, we should
follow our own rules.
It has been a privilege to serve with Senator Levin.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I too want to spend a couple
of moments reflecting upon my long friendship and
association with Senator Carl Levin from Michigan.
Much has been said this morning about Carl the person
and the Senator. Let me say this: I don't know of anyone
in this body who has exhibited more of an intellectual
honesty, a calm demeanor, and a sense of fierce loyalty
and perseverance. I don't know who exhibits those
qualities more than Carl Levin.
Carl embodies the best of what I think it means to be
both a citizen and a U.S. Senator. Barbara and Carl, Ruth
and I have enjoyed many meals together over the years,
having great conversations about everything. I want to say
to my friend Carl, I hope that Michigan and Iowa are not
so far apart, and that we can continue to get together in
the future.
I will say, Carl, right now I hope you don't hold it
against me for all of the times the Hawkeyes will beat the
Wolverines in the future. Don't let that be a stumbling
block.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Brown). The Senator from
Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I will be very brief because
I know we have some other things coming up before going on
to the NDAA, and I will be standing here with my good
friend and brother Carl at that time. I recall when I was
first elected to the House of Representatives--it is hard
for me to believe that was 28 years ago--and I became good
friends with a guy named Levin. It was not Carl. It was
his brother. There was a real sincere, lovable attitude
about him. I can remember sitting by him during some of
the debate on very partisan things. I thought this guy is
really neat. It is the kind of thing where you can't
dislike him. Then I came over here 20 years ago. I have
two major committees, Environment and Public Works and the
Senate Armed Services Committee. I thought this is
remarkable because while on occasion we will differ--I am
talking about the chairman and me--and I am the ranking
member of that committee--occasionally we will come up on
an issue where we don't agree. On two occasions, last year
and this year, we had to go into this process of the ``big
four.'' That is where it gets contentious because at that
point you have to come up with a bill. There was never a
time that, yes, we have to give in. I don't know whether
he gave in more than I gave in. But whatever it was, it
all had to happen and it did happen and it happened
because of Carl more than me.
Chairman Levin and I can both say the same thing, and
people will hate me and they love him. I always wonder how
you get by with doing that, but you do. He is a lovable
guy whom I will sincerely miss as well as our
relationship, and I hope you will be back often so you can
be here to remind other people what a real statesman is.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. SANDERS. I want to take a moment to thank Carl Levin
for his friendship. It has been previously noted that Carl
is recognized as having perhaps the greatest intellect in
the Senate. Carl has been, for so many years, a forceful
fighter against waste in the military, and in recent years
he has led the Senate in telling us it is absurd that
large multinational corporations are able to avoid
hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes by storing their
money in offshore tax savings.
He has been a leader on that and for those of us who are
concerned about the needs of our kids and elderly and
infrastructure, all of the terrible problems facing this
country, these are issues we have to focus on.
I think Senator Carl Levin has been a Senator's Senator.
He has been a model of what a good Senator should be, and
it is not surprising that people from all political
persuasions will come to the floor to thank him for his
service.
Senator Levin, thank you very much for your time.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
Mr. FRANKEN. I want to echo what everyone has said. I
had the honor of traveling on a codel with Chairman Levin
to Pakistan, Afghanistan, when I had been here just a few
weeks. So I was traveling with the chairman of the Armed
Services Committee. The respect he got from everyone--from
the generals down to the privates, especially in
Afghanistan--was remarkable. Carl fought to increase the
ratio of our troops to contractors. When we took the
majority back in 2006, Carl started doing the kind of
oversight of the contracting that had led to a lot of
waste, fraud, and abuse in Iraq. He has used PSI in the
way it was intended by Harry Truman. I thank him
especially for the work he did on the credit rating
agencies, Wall Street credit rating agencies. Right now
Standard & Poor's is being prosecuted by--or sued by the
DOJ for about $5 billion. Part of what they are using are
emails the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
obtained, in which basically the credit rating agencies
internally were saying we better give this a AAA rating;
otherwise, we are going to lose our business. That in no
small way led to the meltdown we had because all this junk
was getting AAAs and those were bets on bets on bets on
bets and that is what led to the meltdown.
Carl always seems to go to where that kind of top-down
fraud or malfeasance is going. When Sherrod talked about
the disparities and how this is rigged very often from the
top down, he was talking about the offshoring and the work
the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations did--that is,
on tax havens on inversions--and I hope to take that up as
Carl leaves.
Carl leaves a lot of unfinished business. Everything
that has been said is who Carl is. Everyone should know
that. One thing that has not been said is hamisha. Carl,
you are one of the most hamish men I have ever known.
Thank you.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine is
recognized.
Mr. KING. I wanted to speak very briefly, because as
Senator Manchin pointed out, I am the most junior person
in the place.
I want to say a couple of things about Carl Levin. As
has been said here repeatedly, Carl is a man of immense
intellect and character, and I wanted to explain how that
came to be. I thought that would be important to lay on
the Record.
It came to be because Carl Levin and his brother spent
their boyhood summers in the State of Maine. That imparts
character to anyone who is lucky enough to have that
experience.
Also, I want to mention--because it has been mentioned
several times--about the travel. I had the great good
fortune to travel after having been here about 6 months.
Carl and I--as members of the Armed Services Committee--
went to Turkey and Jordan to try to get some insight into
the situation in Syria. My only advice to anyone in this
body is if you are ever invited to travel with Carl Levin,
spend the prior 2 or 3 months in the gym. I have never
been so exhausted in my life, and we would be at 10 p.m.,
after all-day meetings and touring of refugee sites, and
Carl would say, ``Can't we have another meeting? Isn't
there someone else we can talk to?'' His absolute passion
for information and data upon which to make decisions is I
think exemplary.
The final thing I want to note is--and it has been
talked about how he is a Senator's Senator, which is
certainly true. My observation and in fact my experience
this year in the markup of the National Defense
Authorization Act is the highlight of my experience in
this body. The reason it is, is because it worked like it
is supposed to work. We had 2 days of markup. They were
about 10-hour days, as I recall. There were over 200
amendments. Through Carl's leadership, most of those
amendments were compromised and worked out between the
parties and between the individuals who were moving the
amendments, but we ended up with about 20 we couldn't
resolve in that way. I was so struck by this. I went back
and looked at the record of that markup. Of the 20
amendments that were voted on in the committee, not a
single one of those amendments was decided on a party-line
vote. There were votes of 13 to 12 or 16 to 4 or whatever
the vote was but not a single party-line vote. I think
that in itself is an extraordinary achievement in a body
that is often driven by partisan divisions. I think it is
attributable in large measure to Carl Levin's leadership.
Everybody had their say. Everybody had their opportunity
to put their thoughts forward. Everybody had an
opportunity to get a vote if they felt that was necessary.
Of course, in the end, the bill came out of the
committee--I think it was 25 to 1--and that is what
legislating is supposed to be all about. That is a lesson
for us because people felt they got their amendments, they
got their discussion, they got their ideas out. Even if
they weren't successful, at the end, they voted for the
bill because they were invested in the process. That is
what I learned from this man who I think has been an
inspiration for those of us who are coming along behind.
Again, I am so honored. One of the great joys of my life
has been to serve with you for 2 years. One of the great
sadnesses of my life is it is only 2 years, but I deeply
appreciate what you have done for this body and for the
United States of America.
Mr. LEVIN. Thank you.
Mr. KING. Bless you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. My good friend from Iowa is waiting
patiently, so I will curtail my remarks. I would like to
say to my dear friend Carl--whom we will all miss--if we
had to put a headline on what is happening today, it is:
``Mr. Integrity Retires from the Senate.''
There is no one in this body on either side of the aisle
whose integrity is more respected than yours. At these
times in America, where people have such distrust of
government and elected officials, to have somebody who is
so widely trusted by his constituency and by the Members
of this body who have worked with him closely over the
years on both sides of the aisle is a real tribute. You
are Mr. Integrity. That is one of many reasons we will
miss you.
Again, I have more to say, but in deference to my dear
friend from Iowa, who I see is ready to roll, I will yield
the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. PORTMAN. I will be brief as well and say that I am
going to miss my colleague, and I told him that
personally. I want to share a couple of reasons. One, as a
new Member on the other side of the aisle, when I first
got here, Carl--whom I had gotten to know a little bit
through his brother, whom I see is on the floor today,
whom has fought many fights with him on the squash court,
but they remain dear friends. He came to me and said,
``You ought to join the Auto Caucus.'' I am not a big
caucus guy. Most caucuses don't do much in this place, and
then I saw what he was doing with the Auto Caucus and he
agreed to allow me come on as cochair. We had an
opportunity to help fight for the autoworkers in Michigan
and Ohio and around the country and make sure that the
renaissance of the auto industry is sustained. As I am
sure has been said by many here today, he went out of his
way to make it not just bipartisan but nonpartisan. He
does his homework.
We share some committee assignments. We don't always
agree. Sometimes we disagree on fundamental issues. He is
always prepared and does his homework and has the best of
intentions. That says a lot for him and the reason he is
viewed as such a leader of the Senate. When I got here, I
was honored to serve on the Armed Services Committee.
There we were able to work together on a number of
projects, including ones that frankly he may not have
normally thought were priorities but because I was a new
Member and interested in helping my State and on specific
projects, he stood up for me. I will not forget that. We
have done legislation together and had the opportunity to
work together on important projects that have to do with
the Great Lakes, including Great Lakes restoration, where
he has been a nonpartisan partner. I join my colleagues on
both sides of the aisle and say this is one of those
giants of the Senate who will be missed.
Although I have only been here for 4 of his many years
of service, I was privileged to serve with him.
I yield the floor.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to the
senior Senator from Michigan, Carl Levin. I have known
Carl for many years and am grateful for his friendship.
Throughout his career, Carl has always put the needs of
Michigan and this Nation above his own.
Senator Levin was born in Detroit in 1934 and has called
Michigan his home nearly his entire life. As a young man,
he left only briefly to attend Swarthmore College and
later Harvard Law School. After passing the Michigan Bar,
Carl worked for 5 years in private practice in Detroit
before beginning his career in public service. He first
served as general counsel for the Michigan Civil Rights
Commission from 1964 to 1967. Carl then entered elected
office, serving on the Detroit City Council from 1969 to
1977.
In 1978, Senator Levin successfully ran for a U.S.
Senate seat and has never looked back. He has since won
five more elections to become the longest serving Senator
in Michigan history. Carl chaired the Armed Services
Committee from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2007 to the
present. Whether it was pushing for higher pay or ensuring
that our veterans received proper medical treatment, Carl
has always made sure that our soldiers and their families
were well taken care of.
Senator Levin has also served as chairman of the Senate
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He has never had
any patience for corruption or abuse, and so has been
perfectly suited for this job. As chairman, Carl launched
numerous investigations into high-profile issues,
including the Enron scandal and abusive credit card
practices. The findings of these investigations were
crucial in helping us draft legislation to prevent future
abuses.
Mr. President, Senator Levin has dedicated his life to
public service, and his retirement is well deserved. He is
an honest man who has served his country well. I wish him,
his wife Barbara, and their family the very best.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). The Senator from
Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. I know that Senator Harkin is waiting to
speak. Senator Harkin is truly one of the greatest
Senators I have ever served with and Senator Harkin is one
of the greatest people I have ever known. He, Ruth, Barb,
and I have spent quality time, which is not always true
for many of us in the Senate to have that opportunity.
I thank everyone. The words have meant so much to me and
my family today.
I am going to join my family now. I know Tom will
forgive me for not listening, but I will be reading what
you say. You, Ruth, Barb, and I will have some more
quality time together--perhaps not as much fun as being in
the Senate, but we will make the best of it.
I yield the floor.
Ms. AYOTTE. ... I also want to take the opportunity to
thank Senator Levin, who is retiring this year, for being
an incredible chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee. I have to say this has been one of the best
experiences I have had since I have gotten to the Senate.
I have been here for 4 years, and Senator Levin has
conducted this committee and treated everyone with
respect. He has gotten us all to work together, where
almost every year we passed out the defense authorization
almost unanimously--how often does that happen--and most
times unanimously in a divided Congress.
I wish Senator Levin the best, because he has been so
knowledgeable and so committed to ensuring that our Nation
is safe and committed to our men and women in uniform.
On a personal note, he has been so respectful to me and
has been someone who has run the committee so very well
and has served our country with such dignity and such
dedication. I wish he and his wife Barbara the best in the
future.
He is someone whom this body will miss. Certainly as the
chairman of the Armed Services Committee, he has treated
everyone on both sides of the aisle with incredible
respect and given us opportunities to raise issues that
are important to us. I think he is a model of how we
should conduct ourselves. We can disagree with each other
but still find common ground where we can work together to
get things done for the American people. ...
Mr. WYDEN. Madam President, I want to take a few minutes
today to speak on the National Defense Authorization Act,
the annual policy bill for the Department of Defense. Let
me start by noting that Senator Carl Levin, who is
chairman of the committee that puts this agreement
together, will be retiring after this year. This bill
carries Senator Levin's name on it in what I think will be
a fitting tribute to his legacy here. I have appreciated
his wisdom on so many issues over the years, and I know I
am in good company when I say to Senator Levin that his
leadership will be missed in the U.S. Senate. ...
Mr. INHOFE. Madam President, it is just about time for
the vote. I want to mention something which hasn't been
mentioned.
We have two really great Americans, one serving in the
House and one serving in the Senate. We have been talking
about Chairman Levin and how fair and open he has been. I
think there is not a person of the 100 Members of the
Senate who doesn't agree with that.
At the same time, we have Buck McKeon over in the House
of Representatives. He is the chairman of the House
committee that is equivalent to the committee Carl Levin
chairs here. He also is retiring, and he has served for
quite some time--not as long as Senator Levin.
Against their objections, we have named this bill the
Carl Levin-Buck McKeon bill, so I want to make sure
everyone recognizes that proper tribute has been made to
the long hours and years and the hard work they have
contributed.
This guy over here to my left has been through 16 of
these. He has been working about 36 years, and I want to
say he is deserving of that recognition. ...
Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I will now speak very briefly
about my retiring colleagues and then turn it over to the
Senator from Florida [Mr. Nelson]. I promise I will be
brief.
Everybody will face retirement, voluntarily or
involuntarily. There will be a last vote to cast and a
last speech to make. Only God knows when that day comes
because we are all just one car wreck away from ending our
careers.
To the retiring Members, I have had the pleasure of
serving with you, and I know you all. You did what you
thought was best for our country and your State, and what
more could anyone ask? My good friend Mark Pryor, who
tried to find common ground at a time when it is hard to
find. Mary Landrieu, who would drill under the Capitol if
she thought it would help American energy independence. We
have good friends on the other side, and I will miss you,
and I wish you well. But I would like very briefly to
speak about four. ...
The last person is Carl Levin. If I had to describe to
somebody from a foreign country what a good Senator was
like, I would pick Carl. Carl understands the details of
the government--very studious. He was the chairman of the
Armed Services Committee and ran it very evenhandedly. He
had a disposition that I don't know how he held on to in
these fractious times, but he was a gentleman.
I can promise you, working with Carl Levin, we both
resisted the temptation to go down some very dangerous
roads on this detainee contentious issue. All I can tell
the men and women in uniform and the people of Michigan is
that you never had a better friend.
To all of you, Godspeed. I wish you nothing but the
best.
I am fortunate enough to go into my third term. To my
colleagues, as we go into the next Congress, let's try to
do better. I know we can. If we do, all boats will rise.
I yield the floor.
Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I wanted to speak today
about Senator Carl Levin and his years of service to the
Senate and the people of Michigan. Senator Levin has
served 36 years and is Michigan's longest serving Senator.
John F. Kennedy once said that ``leadership and learning
are indispensable to each other.'' Senator Levin's time
here has been an illustration of that statement, and I
have experienced this first hand ever since I arrived in
the Senate in 2007 and sought his guidance on difficult
issues like the war in Iraq. He is one of the best
informed and knowledgeable Members of the Senate.
Carl Levin has been a leader for years on the Senate
Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations. Senator Levin has served as the Democratic
leader of the Armed Services Committee since 1997, a term
that overlapped with several defining events for U.S.
national security, including the terrorist attacks on
September 11, 2001, the beginnings of the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq, the operation against Osama bin
Laden and the current conflict against the terrorist group
ISIS. Chairman Levin has guided our caucus through the
National Defense Authorization Act process every year,
working to ensure Members have an opportunity to include
their priority issues in the bill. I am grateful for
Senator Levin's support of my efforts to ensure Afghan
women and girls remain at the forefront of our Afghanistan
policy through this transition period. One of Senator
Levin's most important legacies will be his thoughtful and
principled opposition to shifting attention away from the
fight against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan to Iraq. Our caucus
will miss Carl Levin's steady hand guiding us through
these important matters.
At the helm of the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, Senator Levin has led the charge against
some of the worst abuse and corruption occurring in our
country. Under Senator Levin's leadership the subcommittee
conducted an 18-month investigation into the causes of the
financial crisis that culminated in four hearings in April
2010. The hearings brought forth information that helped
craft the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
of 2010. He also led an investigation into abusive and
unfair practices of the credit card industry, which would
lead to the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and
Disclosure Act, along with investigations into tax
shelters, offshore tax havens and Federal contractor tax
delinquency, among other issues. In 2012, the National
Journal wrote that ``the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations is one of the few institutions in Congress
that's still working. Carl Levin is a big reason why.''
Carl Levin's legacy can be summed up in one word:
integrity. His commitment to our security and our
servicemembers is incomparable. We wish him well as he
returns to Michigan and moves on to new challenges and I
thank him for his service.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, on first glance, one might
not think that Michigan and Vermont share much in common.
But to delve deeper is to see that both States have deep
roots in their rural populations, strong agricultural
bases, and stunning natural landscapes. Senator Carl Levin
has represented the people of Michigan in the U.S. Senate
since 1979. He is one of this Chamber's most senior
Members and one of the longest serving Senators in
history. He has cast more than 12,500 votes on behalf of
his constituents.
Senator Levin has worked to ensure that the lakes of
Michigan will be clean and safe for generations of
Michigan residents to come. He has sponsored legislation
to protect and restore the Great Lakes and their abundant
wildlife habitats, secured millions to bring Michigan's
lakes back to their natural pristine glory, and backed the
Great Lakes Fishery Commission, which has supported the
Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, and international waterways.
As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee,
Senator Levin has been a powerful force in crafting our
Nation's defense policy, particularly in the post-9/11
era. The battlefield has been vast, and his support of our
troops has never wavered. He has consistently worked to
ensure that the brave men and women serving in uniform
have the support they need to keep our Nation and our
allies safe. He and I shared reservations about launching
a war in Iraq, reservations that have proven sound.
I was particularly moved by Senator Levin's strong
support--and steadfast leadership--in advancing the
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention
Act. That measure ultimately became law in 2009, in large
part to Senator Levin's commitment to ensuring its
inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act. This
Federal hate crimes law took years to achieve. At a time
when it may have been easier to push a final vote down the
road, Senator Levin worked with me to ensure that it was
considered by the Senate and then upheld through a
conference committee. This alone would be a remarkable
achievement, but Senator Levin's Senate career boasts many
achievements.
I have also been honored to work with Senator Levin to
reaffirm our Nation's commitments to those citizens of the
world who, persecuted, oppressed, and stateless, look to
our country for protection. He has been a voice on behalf
of displaced Iraqis and Syrians, and a dependable
cosponsor of my Refugee Protection Act.
From protecting America's waters to crafting America's
actions abroad, Senator Levin has been a powerful and
invaluable presence in the Senate. He heads now into
retirement, where I know he and Barbara will enjoy
spending time with their three wonderful daughters and
beautiful grandchildren. Marcelle and I wish him and
Barbara the very best in this new chapter. I will miss
him.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we wind down the final days
of the 113th Congress, it is a good time both to reflect
on the past and to look toward the future. I have been
very moved as I listened to the farewell speeches of our
departing Senators, and I wish I had time to pay tribute
to each one of them. They have all been wonderful
colleagues, and I enjoyed working with and getting to know
every one of them. I wish them all the very best in all
their future endeavors. They will most certainly be
missed. ...
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to honor Senator
Carl Levin as he prepares to retire after 36 years of
dedicated service in the Senate.
As the longest serving Senator in Michigan's history,
Senator Levin has been a stalwart advocate for the people
of his State. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial
crisis, Senator Levin played a critical role in drafting
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to ensure it
would bolster the Midwestern manufacturers that would
prove integral to our national economic recovery. As
cochair of the Great Lakes Task Force, Senator Levin has
worked throughout his career to protect the vast waterways
that are critical to Michigan's economy and those of the
other Great Lakes States.
I have had the honor of serving on the Senate Armed
Services Committee under the leadership of Chairman Levin,
and his concern for the people of Michigan is perhaps only
matched by his concern for the soldiers, sailors, marines,
and airmen who defend our Nation, as well as the families
who support them. Under his steady leadership the Senate
has kept faith with our military by passing the annual
National Defense Authorization Act, and this year's
defense bill bears Senator Levin's name as tribute to his
lengthy service on the committee. As chair of the Armed
Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support,
I have always appreciated Senator Levin's commitment to a
strong bipartisan spirit in the work of the committee, and
I know it will endure thanks to his example.
A sharp legal mind, Senator Levin also worked in a
bipartisan fashion as chairman of the Senate Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations to hold powerful public and
private institutions accountable. Born from the highly
successful Truman committee formed in the lead up to World
War II, Senator Levin's subcommittee investigated critical
issues such as the 2008 financial crisis, systemic credit
card fraud, as well as corporate abuse of offshore tax
havens--bringing light to complex and obscure issues to
the benefit of the American people.
Senator Levin has been a source of reasoned counsel for
many in the Senate, and I know his presence will be
missed. However, I also know he is looking forward to
spending some well-earned time back in Michigan with his
children, grandchildren, and wife Barbara.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to
pay tribute to Senator Levin as his distinguished Senate
career comes to a close at the end of the 113th Congress.
Senator Levin has proudly represented the people of
Michigan in the Senate for 36 years.
The desire to help others has been in Senator Levin's
makeup long before coming to Washington. In fact, one
might say it is in his DNA. He comes from a family with a
distinguished record of public service. I served with his
brother Sander in the House of Representatives, another
truly distinguished Member of Congress. Their father
served on the Michigan Corrections Commission. His uncle
served as a chief judge on the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of Michigan, and his cousin was a
Michigan Supreme Court judge.
Given this public service pedigree, it is no surprise
that he got started in politics at an early age. He was
elected class president at Detroit's Central High School.
After Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, he served
as an assistant attorney general and general counsel of
the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. In 1969 he was
elected to the Detroit City Council and in 1979 joined the
Senate.
Senator Levin has served on the Armed Services Committee
for as long as he has been in the Senate. His Armed
Services Committee tenure has provided him the opportunity
to work with 11 Secretaries of Defense, helping to ensure
that our Armed Forces were ready and able to meet the
national security challenges facing our Nation. He has
long been a champion of the men and women of our military
and their families. From visiting deployed troops far from
home, to ensuring much needed training, equipment, and pay
increases, and improving the delivery of benefits and
services they have earned, Carl Levin has been there for
our troops.
Senator Levin is also a problem-solver. In order to
improve the way the Pentagon buys its weapons and to get
the most out of the taxpayer dollars the government is
entrusted to spend, he has worked hard to improve
acquisition practices throughout his career. In this
arena, he led the way in passing the Competition in
Contracting Act and the Weapons System Acquisition Reform
Act.
I was fortunate to serve on the Armed Services Committee
during my first 2 years in the Senate. I have been able to
observe Chairman Levin first hand as he led the committee
with a steady hand in a very bipartisan manner. I have
been proud to be part of two National Defense
Authorization Acts--including the one this body passed
last week, which bears his name--which preserve our
readiness and provides for the well-being of our men and
women of the armed services and their families.
Senator Levin also chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on
Investigations, where he has led investigations in many
critical areas, including the 2008 financial crisis,
energy and food market speculation, abusive offshore tax
havens, and unfair practices within the credit card
industry. His investigations have led to many reforms and
laws to fix these problems. In 2012, the National Journal
wrote that ``the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
is one of the few institutions in Congress that's still
working. Carl Levin is a big reason why.''
The Senate is losing one of its giants--a voice of
reason, integrity, and fairness. Michigan's working
families are losing a lifelong advocate for their best
interests who has really made a difference. Carl, thank
you for your service to our country. I wish you, Barbara,
and your entire family all the best as you move to the
next chapter of your journey.
Aloha Carl, a hui hou, ``until we meet again.''
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate and thank
the 13 outgoing Senators who have worked tirelessly to
represent their home States in the Senate: Senator Mark
Begich, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Tom Coburn,
Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Mike
Johanns, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator Mary Landrieu,
Senator Carl Levin, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Jay
Rockefeller, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator John Walsh.
I have worked side by side with these men and women for
years--some for decades--and witnessed first hand their
extraordinary commitment to public service and to the
people they so proudly represent.
Even when we didn't see eye to eye on every issue, I
always deeply respected and admired their service to our
Nation and their dedication to fight for what they believe
in.
It has been a privilege to serve alongside each and
every one of these extraordinary colleagues. I will miss
their leadership and their friendship, and I wish them all
the best as they embark on the next chapter.