Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) spoke on the Senate floor today in remembrance of his dear friend and colleague, former Sen. Mike Enzi.
As Prepared for Delivery:
My heart is heavy today because—like so many of my colleagues—I’m mourning the death of my dearest friend, Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming.
Mike was a quiet leader of the Senate. When he talked, everyone listened. That’s a rare quality in a Senator. He was humble.
We had a lot in common – we were both businessmen before getting into politics. We were both mayors and joined the Senate around the same time…me in 1994, Mike in 1996, so I guess it was only natural that we became friends.
Something people might not know about Mike is that he had a heart for the downtrodden. He helped people that no one else helped.
I spent this morning reminiscing about Mike – and what a remarkable life he lived. Stories poured in from all over the world.
I think over the coming days and weeks, America is going to learn a lot more about Mike Enzi. The only reason they never knew it before was because he was humble, but you’ll see that he had a hidden impact. He deserved enormous credit for his lifetime of service but accepted none.
We both have a heart for Africa, and traveled there often, whether to promote greater partnerships or for Mike to see the implementation of PEPFAR.
You know, Mike was the leading architect of PEPFAR. When AIDS was raging out of control across the globe, and especially underserved places like Africa, it was time for the United States to step up.
President George W. Bush was committing whatever funds it might require. The job of the Senate was to structure the way the money was to be spent—but we needed someone to lead it.
The Majority Leader of the Senate at the time was Dr. Bill Frist of Tennessee. I remember him looking out over the assembled members of our caucus and thinking, ‘Millions of lives are at stake. Who do I entrust with this job?’
His answer was Mike Enzi, the shoe salesman from Gillette. And that bill, PEPFAR, was one of the greatest, most generous and most effective bills passed in my lifetime—and the most significant piece of legislation for Africa.
It was Mike Enzi’s skill, toughness, compassion and determination that got it done and kept it on track for a decade. Millions of lives have been saved.
Mike had a story he’d tell about his approach to tough problems. I’ve probably heard this story 50 times, but I still wish I could hear him tell it one more time. I’ll try to do it justice.
He was with Paul, a local leader in South Africa, on one of his first visits. Mike asked Paul what he could do for him. Paul asked Mike to pray, and Mike said he would pray for solutions.
The way Mike told it, Paul leapt up, slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed NO! He said we pray for the people – then the issues will solve themselves. Pray for the people.
Mike took that to heart and truly lived it. He kept the people as his focus, knowing that by doing so, the solutions would follow.
Throughout our trips he was always there: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Western Sahara, Ghana, Malawi.
There are probably a half dozen other countries in Africa we visited together and a dozen or so outside of the continent.
And no matter how difficult the trip was – whether he was getting left in Kosovo by the CODEL, leading to a new term called “getting Enzied” or in Ghana when the ceiling in his hotel room fell on him when he was sleeping – he was always there.
It was more than the policy for Mike. He also loved the people – all people. We couldn’t go anywhere without him packing hundreds of soccer balls to give away to the kids. And it wasn’t just soccer balls. He brought shoes too.
Proverbs 31:8-9 says: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. That was Mike. He had a hidden impact.
He and Diana also regularly hosted parties for Capitol staff. Not the staff for the members, but the people who keep this place going every day: the cleaning staff, food service staff, electricians and more.
He loved those parties. He also loved talking about how during one of them, he was talking to an electrician about what he did, and then the man turned to him and said, “So Mike, what do you do?” He always got a laugh out of that.
Kay and I were talking today about how much of a team Mike and Diana were – and how well they complemented each other. She was saying how much fun they were to be with because they truly enjoyed everything.
As Kay put it: They both looked for ways to help people. While Mike was steadfast and intentional, Diana was a whirlwind of energy that brought the vision to life.
You know, Kay and Mike were also both members of the “zipper club” because they both had their heart valves replaced. Kay has the cow valve, and Mike had the mechanical one.
Diana would always tell Kay that she could hear Mike’s valve rattle at night…so Kay always told him that he should have gone with cow valve.
Mike also never missed our weekly Senate prayer breakfast, where he was a leader for many years. He even had a card with all 100 senators divided up into groups of five…so he prayed for 20 senators each day.
One time, when he led the prayer breakfast, he invited King Abdullah from Jordan to join us. Mike was nervous about it, but then he said the Lord gave him a verse. It was an excellent example of prayer uniting those of different faiths.
Even after he retired from the Senate, he joined us every week virtually for prayer, discussion and fellowship. Tomorrow’s breakfast will not be the same without him.
But more than everything else – bigger than any other accomplishment—was Mike’s love for his family. Mike was utterly devoted to his wife of more than 50 years, Diana, their three children: Amy, Emily and Brad, and their grandchildren.
Come to think of it, Mike’s four favorite topics were Jesus, family, fishing and Wyoming.
When he retired from the Senate, he was looking forward to many wonderful years with them, fly-fishing (he loved fly fishing, and was actually good at it, unlike many who love to fish),
He and Diana also planned on traveling the world. They wanted to drive Route 66, and they were going to stop in Oklahoma and stay with us and go fishing at Grand Lake.
Kay and I join the entire Enzi family today in their grief and in celebrating the remarkable life of a true servant-leader, Mike Enzi.
Mike, we’ll see you soon