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$Cover of TRIBUTES TO HON. GEORGE S. LeMIEUX George S. LeMieux U.S. SENATOR FROM FLORIDA TRIBUTES IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TONGRESS.#15 ? George S. LeMieux ? Tributes Delivered in Congress George S. LeMieux United States Senator 2009-2011 a ? Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing CONTENTS Biography............................................. v Farewell to the Senate................................ vii Proceedings in the Senate: Tributes by Senators: Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee................. 3 Bunning, Jim, of Kentucky...................... 12 Conrad, Kent, of North Dakota.................. 5 Dodd, Christopher J., of Connecticut........... 8 Durbin, Richard, of Illinois................... 8 Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming................... 6 Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah....................... 11 McConnell, Mitch, of Kentucky.................. 9 Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island.................... 5 Reid, Harry, of Nevada......................... 4 Warner, Mark R., of Virginia................... 5 BIOGRAPHY Senator George Stephen LeMieux was born in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on May 21, 1969, the only child of George and Karen LeMieux, a building contractor and secretary to the company. He grew up in Coral Springs, FL, and graduated in 1987 from Coral Springs High School. George LeMieux graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1991 from Emory University, where he majored in political science. He was selected by his peers to address the graduating class as senior class orator. While earning his college degree, he interned for Congressman E. Clay Shaw, Jr. and U.S. Senator Connie Mack III. After college, George LeMieux went on to earn his J.D. cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994. At Georgetown he received the Vincent G. Panati Award as the graduate with the highest GPA in criminal law courses. After law school, he joined Gunster, a prominent Florida law firm, resident in the firm's Ft. Lauderdale office. George LeMieux and his wife, the former Meike Sigrid Detassis, are the parents of four children: George Maximilian, Taylor Franz, Chase Karlyle, and Madeleine Meike. Max, Taylor, and Chase were born in Tallahassee, FL. Madeleine was born in Washington, DC, while George LeMieux served in the Senate. Inspired by President Ronald Reagan, George LeMieux became active in Republican Party politics at a young age, culminating in his election as chairman of the Broward County Republican Party in 2000. In 2002 George LeMieux resigned his position with the Republican Party to serve as deputy attorney general for the State of Florida. During his time in the attorney general's office, George LeMieux helped lead an agency of more than 400 attorneys. In 2004, on behalf of the people of Florida, he successfully argued a death penalty case, Florida v. Nixon, before the U.S. Supreme Court, where he obtained a unanimous reversal of the decision by the Supreme Court of Florida. In 2006 George LeMieux managed a successful gubernatorial campaign and in 2007 became chief of staff to Governor Charlie Crist. In his year serving as chief of staff, he oversaw the executive office of the Governor including the Governor's legislative agenda, policy initiatives, and the management of the agencies that reported to the Governor. In 2008 George returned to the Gunster law firm and was selected by his colleagues to serve as chairman of the firm. In summer 2009, he was called back into public service when Senator Mel Martinez retired before the end of his term. On September 10, 2010 George LeMieux was sworn in as Florida's 34th U.S. Senator, and at the age of 41, was the youngest U.S. Senator then serving. During his time in the Senate, George LeMieux was an active member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Commerce Committee, and the Special Committee on Aging. In the Senate, he made the debt and deficit his primary focus. He introduced a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and opposed wasteful earmark spending, helping to lead the effort to ban all earmarks in the 111th Congress. While in the Senate, George LeMieux proposed the ''2007 Solution,'' a plan to eliminate the deficit by 2013 and cut the national debt nearly in half by 2020. He also saw several of his legislative priorities signed into law, including Medicare antifraud legislation, an export promotion act, tax relief and lending assistance for small businesses, and elimination of the monopoly given to rating agencies to determine the creditworthiness of securities. George LeMieux also successfully offered an amendment to the resolution of ratification to the New START Treaty with Russia, requiring the President to seek negotiations with Russia to secure and reduce tactical nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner. For his efforts, George LeMieux received several recognitions including the Spirit of Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Tax Fighter Award by the National Tax Limitation Committee, the Friend of the Family Award by the Christian Family Coalition, the Guardian of Small Business Award by the National Federation of Independent Business, and twice received the Taxpayer Hero Award by Citizens Against Government Waste. In his farewell speech to the U.S. Senate, George LeMieux described his service in the Senate as the ''honor of his life,'' and quoting President Theodore Roosevelt, said serving in the Senate allowed him to enjoy one of the greatest gifts life has to offer, the opportunity to ''work hard at work worth doing.'' Farewell to the Senate Tuesday, December 7, 2010 Mr. LeMIEUX. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to the body with which I have had the privilege of serving for the past 15 months. Being a U.S. Senator, representing 18\1/2\ million Floridians, has been the privilege of my lifetime, and now that privilege is coming to an end. As I stand on the floor of the Senate to address my colleagues this one last time, I am both humbled and grateful, humbled by this tremendous institution, by its work, and by the statesmen I have had the opportunity to serve with, who I knew only from afar but now am grateful that I can call those same men and women my colleagues. No endeavor worth doing is done alone. And my time here is no exception. In the past 16 months, I have asked the folks who worked with me to try to get 6 years of service out of that time, and they have worked tirelessly to achieve that goal. My chief of staff Kerry Feehery, my deputy chief of staff Vivian Myrtetus, my State director Carlos Curbelo, Ben Moncrief, Michael Zehy, Ken Lundberg, Melissa Hernandez, Maureen Jaeger, Danielle Joos, Brian Walsh, Frank Walker, Spencer Wayne, Vennia Francois, Victor Cervino, Taylor Booth, and many others have made our time here worthwhile, and I thank all of them. I especially thank Vivian and Maureen who left their families and gave up precious time with their children to come to Washington to support me in these efforts. I am also thankful to the people who work in our State office. Time and time again when I travel around Florida I am greeted by people who have received such a warm reception from the men and women who serve us in Florida and help people deal with problems with the Federal Government. I am grateful for their work. Senator McConnell has provided me with opportunities beyond my expectations. He is a great leader, and I am grateful to him. Senators Alexander, Burr, Cornyn, Kyl, McCain, Corker, and many others have taken me under their wings and mentored me, and I am appreciative of them. Chairmen Rockefeller and Levin, we have had the opportunity to do great work together in your committees. I thank you for that. Senators Cantwell, Klobuchar, Landrieu, Whitehouse, and Baucus, we have worked together in a commonsense way to pass legislation that is good for the American people, and I am appreciative of your efforts. Senator Mel Martinez, who ably held the seat before me, has been generous in his advice and counsel. Senator Nelson and his wife Grace have been warm and welcomed Meike and me to Washington. I am thankful for your courtesy. I thank Governor Crist. He has afforded me tremendous opportunities for public service, and I am grateful. I want to say a special thank you to my parents. My grandfather, in 1951, drove his 1949 Pontiac from Waterbury, CT, to Fort Lauderdale, FL, with his wife and five kids piled in the back. He didn't know anybody. He didn't have a job. But he went there to make a better life for his family. He worked in the trades, in construction. He built houses and he taught my father the same thing. And as my father worked in the hot Florida sun, his ambition for his son was that he would one day get to work in air-conditioning. I have achieved that goal and so much more because of their sacrifice. Mom and Dad didn't go to college but they sent me to college and law school, and I will be forever grateful for what they have done for me. My most heartfelt appreciation goes to my wife Meike. When I learned of this appointment, I met her at the door of our home in Tallahassee and she was crying. She was not just crying because she was happy; she was crying because she was worried. At the time we had three small sons$