January 31, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S177 Georgetown Law School, I was offered both in the House and the Senate. I am closure of those transactions that a job by the Lieutenant Governor of Il- glad he is going to continue at least on Members of Congress—in this case Sen- linois, Paul Simon. He asked if I would the research side to establish a body ators—engage in that might or could join his staff in Springfield, IL, in the precedent that will guide the Senate have some relationship to information State capital and if I would serve as his and the Congress in the years to come. they learned in their official capacity. senate parliamentarian. I jumped at Alan, thank you so much for all the I quickly add that this is a challenge the chance. I was in desperate need of service you have given to the Senate, because, honestly, in our work in the a job with a wife, a baby, and another to the Congress, and to the United Senate we are exposed to a spectrum of one on the way. States. information on virtually every topic. Deep in debt, I skipped my com- To Elizabeth MacDonough, congratu- People sit and talk to us, those in an mencement exercise to get out and on lations. It is great you will be coming official capacity and also unofficially, the payroll in Springfield of the Illi- into this new role. It is precedent-set- about the future of the European Com- nois State Senate. The first day I ting in and of itself that you will be munity, what will happen there, and if walked in on the job at the Lieutenant the first woman to serve as the U.S. the European economy goes down or Governor’s office they handed me the Senate Parliamentarian. We all respect up, what impact will it have on the senate rule book. It was the first time very much your professionalism and United States. We learn these things in I had ever seen it. They parked me in look forward to working with you— meetings; we think about them as we a chair next to the presiding officer of even when you give us disappointing vote on measures on the floor. Obvi- the Illinois Senate, the Lieutenant rulings. ously, they are being discussed widely Governor, and said: Now you are here f in the public realm as well. So drawing to give advice. THE ECONOMY those lines in a careful, responsible I spent every waking moment read- way is going to be a challenge for us. Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I lis- ing that rule book and trying to under- But disclosure is still the best anti- tened to the comments made by the stand what it meant. There wasn’t a dote to the misuse of this public infor- Republican leader about how he be- course like that in law school or any- mation. I don’t think it is wrong for lieved President Obama is trying to thing that gave me guidance as to what the President to challenge us or for the change the topic and not talk about I was to do. I made a lot of stupid mis- Republican leader to challenge the ex- the economy and, rather, talk about takes, and I learned along the way ecutive branch at the same level. That ethical standards in the U.S. Congress. what it meant to be a senate parlia- is fair. You know I am friendly to the I have to say this is an issue that reso- mentarian. President. I am a member of his party It was a humbling experience, in nates with me personally because, as I and was a personal friend to him before many respects, to learn this new body mentioned earlier, I have been honored he was elected, and I still am today. He of law, how it applied to the everyday to have been brought up in public serv- should accept the challenge from the business of the Illinois State Senate. It ice by two outstanding individuals, Senator from Kentucky to look at the was equally humbling to be in a posi- former U.S. Senators Paul Simon and, standards within the executive branch tion where your voice was never heard before him, Paul Douglas. Both of to see if they meet at least the min- but your rulings were repeated by so these men had integrity as a hallmark. imum standards set by this legislation. many. Even as people in Illinois disagreed We should look at it, as well, in terms I recall that many years later—14 from time to time with their positions of our responsibilities as Senators. years later—I was elected to the U.S. on issues, they never questioned their House of Representatives. After serving honesty. That is my background, my I take exception to the comments 12 of those 14 years in the office of the training, and I have tried to continue made by the Republican leader when it Illinois State Senate Parliamentarian, in that tradition. comes to the state of the economy and I cannot describe to you the heady feel- I accepted the standard, which was the role of the executive. The Senator ing I had when I went on the floor of first initiated by Senator Paul Douglas from Kentucky said there has been the U.S. House of Representatives, and carried on by Senator Paul Simon, change in the national debt, since the they handed me the gavel, and I actu- of making a complete income and asset President was elected, by an increase ally presided over the U.S. House. After disclosure every single year. I think if of 4 percent. I am sure that is close to 14 years of silence as the Illinois State I look back now, I can trace it back to true if not true in detail. But look at Senate Parliamentarian, I was speak- my earliest campaign, certainly back the circumstances. When President ing before one of the greatest legisla- to my time in the office of the Lieuten- Clinton left office and turned the keys tive bodies in the world. So I have ant Governor. Almost every year I over to President George W. Bush, the some appreciation for the role of a par- made that disclosure. There was some national debt was $5 trillion, and the liamentarian, and particularly for the embarrassment in the early years, be- next year’s budget would have been the contribution of people such as Alan cause my wife and I were broke and we third in a row in surplus by $120 bil- Frumin. In some respects, it is a showed a negative net worth because of lion—not a bad welcome gift from the thankless job, because you are bound student loans. We suffered some chid- outgoing President, William Jefferson to make some people upset. As the ma- ing and embarrassment over that. Over Clinton. jority leader mentioned, we respect the years, even my wife got to where Now fast forward 8 years as President Alan’s impartiality as Parliamen- she didn’t pay much attention on April Bush left office and handed the keys to tarian, but many times we go back to 15 when I released all this information. President Obama—quite a different our office and are critical of it at the What we are considering on the floor world. Instead of a national debt of $5 same time. We hope he will rule in our is a tough issue. It is this: When you trillion, 8 years later, it was $11 tril- favor instead of the other way. earn something as a Congressman or lion, more than double under President Alan has been faithful to precedent, Senator, what should you do to take George W. Bush, a fiscal conservative to the rules of the Senate, and that is care that you don’t capitalize on that, by his own self-description. Look at all we can ask of a person who serves in that you don’t turn that into part of a what he left for President Obama in his his position. He has to tolerate the ti- personal decision that might enrich first budget, in the first year: a $1.2 tanic egos that occupy this Chamber. I you? It is a legitimate issue, and I sup- trillion deficit. Not a surplus, but a used to say that the majority leader is port the legislation that is on the floor, deficit 10 times as large as the surplus the captain of a small boat full of ti- though I think it will be challenging to left by President Clinton. That is what tanic egos. That is the nature of this implement. President Obama inherited. institution. Alan has been called on We should never capitalize on insider He said in the State of the Union Ad- more often than most to deal with the information, private information given dress that we had lost 3 million jobs in peculiarities of even my colleagues and to us in our public capacity, to enrich the 6 months preceding his being sworn myself. ourselves, period, no questions asked. in and another 3 million before his I wish him the best after more than What we have before us now is an op- stimulus bill was passed and imple- 35 years of service to the Congress, portunity to call for more timely dis- mented. Six million jobs were gone; VerDate Mar 15 2010 02:49 Dec 28, 2012 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\RECORD12\RECFILES\JAN 2012\S31JA2.REC S31JA2 bjneal on DSK2TWX8P1PROD with S178 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 31, 2012 750,000 people lost their jobs the month in that commission for the economy to ica were political forces even as the President Obama was sworn into office.