Thomas Daschle: “today I offer my deepest gratitude and sincere congratulations to Charles Michael Durishin, Democratic staff director of…”

“today I offer my deepest gratitude and sincere congratulations to Charles Michael Durishin, Democratic staff director of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, on the occasion of his retirement, last Friday. A good friend and a consummate professional, Mike has served in various capacities in Congress since 1973, including most of the last 16 years with the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. I met Mike in 1972 on the Senate campaign of Jim Abourezk. We were hired within days of each other by Pete Stavrianos, one of my close friends and my longtime chief of staff. Mike and I quickly became friends on the campaign and, after the election, came to Washington together to work on Senator Abourezk's staff. I so respected his work that he was one of the first people I hired to join my own staff when I was elected to the House of Representatives in 1978. Mike worked with me, covering veterans issues, until 1986. At that time, I was a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, and Mike matriculated to the committee staff. While I lost one of my great friends and best staffers, the Veterans' Affairs Committee gained a staff member with expert knowledge, exceptional political skill, and great character. I have been so fortunate to continue to work with Mike on veterans issues even as I moved to the Senate. On the committee staff, Mike was instrumental in securing passage of the Montgomery G.I. bill.”