December 19, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S8199 agency eliminates an important mov- education benefits, and other impor- grams. And in 2007 and again in 2008, he ing option for do-it-yourself con- tant programs has made a significant introduced the Patient Safety and sumers. This would economically hurt and lasting impact on the lives of vet- Abuse Protection Act, which allowed the principal users of portable storage erans and their families. employers to perform background companies, namely the middle class, When people describe DANIEL AKAKA, checks on nursing home employees to military, students and other price con- one of the first words used to describe help prevent elder abuse. When this scious consumers. For these reasons him is ‘‘humble.’’ He is indeed that. He legislation was included in the Afford- and the others mentioned by my col- has been a dedicated and principled able Care Act in 2009, it was a major league, it is my sincere hope that the servant of the people of Hawaii and our step forward for patient safety. FMCSA preserves the rights of con- Nation, an unfailing ally of our vet- I will miss working with HERB KOHL sumers, as intended by Congress, to erans and their families, and a valued on these and many other issues. I will ready and unfettered access to lower colleague and friend. I will miss him, miss the opportunity to give him a cost options with respect to moving and I will always remember how he hard time whenever our Detroit Pis- their household goods. taught us that gentleness and effec- tons beat his Milwaukee Bucks. I hope f tiveness are not mutually exclusive we can continue the important work he characteristics. has helped move forward: protecting TRIBUTES TO DEPARTING HERB KOHL good jobs, our Great Lakes, our stu- SENATORS Mr. President, in his four terms rep- dents, and our seniors. DAN AKAKA resenting the State of Wisconsin in f Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, for the this body, Senator HERB KOHL’s focus DANIEL K. INOUYE last 22 years, DANIEL AKAKA has rep- has been precisely where it should be: resented the people of Hawaii in this the welfare of the people of his State Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, body. They have been the better for his and of our Nation. Whether in sup- today the State of Hawai‘i, the Senate, service, and I have greatly appreciated porting American manufacturers and and the United States mourn the loss the wisdom, humility, and passion with the jobs they provide, in fighting for of Senator Daniel Inouye. which he has served here. protection from crime and for adequate Observers of the Senate today know One issue on which we have been able nutrition for our children, in pro- Chairman Inouye as a poised, soft-spo- to work closely as fellow members of tecting senior citizens from elder ken statesman: courteous and colle- the Homeland Security and Govern- abuse, or in preserving the Great Lakes giate; shunning of the spotlight; above mental Affairs Committee is oversight that our two States share, Senator the petty churn of the partisan fray. of the Federal workforce, a key issue KOHL has accomplished much on behalf But historians will remember him as a for his State and for taxpayers every- of American families. great patriot, a fierce warrior, a brave where. Senator AKAKA’s passion for I have been fortunate to work closely pioneer, and a great leader. Federal workforce issues comes from with Senator KOHL on issues of vital Chairman Inouye’s unflinching com- his passion for public service and for ef- importance to our States. He has long mitment to his country withstood both fective government. Just in this Con- been a strong supporter of the Manu- the moral threat of having his family gress, I was an original cosponsor of his facturing Extension Partnership, which deemed ‘‘enemy aliens’’ and the direct Federal Whistleblower Protection Act, helps U.S. manufacturers with tech- physical threat of Nazi firepower. His to strengthen the law protecting Fed- nical support and services that make famed ‘‘Go For Broke’’ 442nd Regi- eral employees who bring to light them more efficient and competitive in mental Combat Team was made up of fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal pro- the global marketplace. His support for Japanese-American volunteers, but grams. That Akaka bill is expected to adequate MEP funding has made a sig- even among this exceptionally deco- be signed into law before the end of the nificant difference for American com- rated group of men, Second Lieutenant year. Also this Congress, I was proud to panies and workers. Inouye exemplified exceptional bravery cosponsor his Hatch Act Modernization Now, we in Michigan bow to no one and sacrifice in what Winston Church- Act to allow hard-working employees in our love for the Great Lakes, but ill described as the war ‘‘to confront of State and local governments, who even I would admit that Wisconsin, not only military but moral aggres- are covered by the Hatch Act, to serve second only to Michigan in its length sion.’’ as elected officials in their commu- of Great Lakes coastline, is a close The fight to see the American values nities. competitor. As a member of the Great of freedom, justice, and equality ful- In addition to his focus on Federal Lakes Task Force, which I cochair, he filled would continue beyond the war workforce issues, Senator AKAKA has has supported cleanup of toxic hot years and throughout Chairman long been a valued member of the spots, the fight against invasive spe- Inouye’s lifetime of service to his home Armed Services Committee. We have cies, protecting Great Lakes water state and his country. The new State of worked together on legislation to re- quality, and sufficient funding for the Hawai‘i sent him to Washington as form Defense Department business and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. part of its very first delegation. The financial management systems; We have also shared an interest in first Japanese American elected to strengthen oversight and account- consumer protection. Senator KOHL Congress, he has been a champion of ability of wartime contracting; and chairs the Judiciary Committee’s Sub- civil rights for women, Asian Ameri- strengthen the Defense Department’s committee on Antitrust, Competition cans, Native Hawaiians, and African management of the substantial funds it Policy and Consumer Rights, and from Americans. Indeed, Chairman Inouye spends to acquire property and serv- that platform, he has battled those was the last surviving member of the ices. who would prey on American con- Senate to have voted for the Civil Senator AKAKA joined in 2002 with sumers, whether they are abusive cred- Rights Act of 1964. He also ferreted out Senator INHOFE to form the Senate it card companies or oil-exporting car- corruption at the highest level of gov- Army Caucus, and through this bipar- tel nations. ernment, serving on the Senate’s select tisan group they have focused welcome But where Senator KOHL has left committee on the Watergate scandal, attention on the programs and needs of what may be his most lasting impres- and chairing the investigation of the our Army. Senator AKAKA, himself an sion is in his hard work on behalf of Iran-Contra arms affair. Army veteran, has been an important our Nation’s most vulnerable citizens: But Dan Inouye was first and fore- source of insight into the challenges children and seniors. He has long advo- most a servant of the people of Hawai‘i. facing our soldiers and their families. cated solutions to help make college Ever grateful for the faith they en- Of course, as the former chairman of more affordable. He has helped expand trusted in him year after year, he the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Sen- the availability of nutritious break- worked to make sure they had every ator AKAKA has long demonstrated an fasts for school-age children and pro- opportunity to achieve the full poten- intense dedication to those who have grams to help parents afford food on tial of the American Dream. I was hon- helped defend our Nation. His steadfast the table for their families. He has ored that he joined me as an original advocacy for veterans health programs, worked to strengthen afterschool pro- member of the Senate Oceans Caucus, VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:00 Dec 20, 2012 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19DE6.049 S19DEPT1 jbell on DSK7SPTVN1PROD with S8200 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE December 19, 2012 and as a cosponsor of my bill to estab- Mike knows the ecological impor- Mike’s knowledge of the environ- lish a National Endowment for the tance of the Chesapeake Bay and the mental issues of the day does not just Oceans to protect the environment and impediments harming the bay’s ecol- stem from his professional experience, economies that are so vital to both his ogy because he has seen it all and expe- but also from his personal interest as home State and my own. rienced it firsthand. From Poplar Neck an avid naturalist, bird watcher, As his colleague and compatriot Sen- to Elk Neck, from Catoctin Mountain kayaker, and overall lover of the out- ator DANIEL AKAKA said on the Senate to Calvert Cliffs, from the Nanticoke doors. Mike is most at home among the floor in those first hours after we re- to the Pocomoke, from Rocky Gorge to natural spaces he treasures, either on ceived the terrible news of Chairman Sandy Point, Mike has experienced the the water in a sea kayak or walking Inouye’s passing, ‘‘He fulfilled his natural wonder of our great State.