[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 35 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        FAREWELL, KATHY DeCOSTER

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to recognize the 
departure of a valuable member of my staff, Kathy DeCoster, who is 
leaving the Hill after many years of outstanding service.
  Kathy first joined my staff in 1983 and has, over the years, handled 
a multitude of legislative issues, ranging from housing and energy 
policy to welfare reform and aging issues. A special area of her 
expertise has been environmental issues, where she was actively 
involved in the Senate consideration of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water 
Act, Superfund legislation, the Caribou Speckled Wilderness bill, and 
many other environmental initiatives. She has also helped bring the 
environmental issues to a more personal level to the people of Maine, 
through coordinating activities as an Earth Day Contest, where school-
aged children from all over Maine submitted art work, poems--and even a 
hand-made quilt, on what helping the environment means to them. To each 
of these tasks, she has brought knowledge, good judgment, humor, and a 
very strong dash of common sense.
  In addition to a keen grasp of the legislative process, Kathy has 
provided the valuable service of recognizing and understanding the 
needs of Maine and its people. For example, she has been persistent in 
her efforts to seek adequate funding for the Low Income Home Energy 
Assistance Program [LIHEAP], which is so vital to individuals, 
especially the elderly, who often have to choose between heating their 
homes or buying their medicines during the bitterly cold winters in 
Maine. In recent years, she has been deeply involved in the Maine 
delegation's efforts to assist the Loring Air Force Base community as 
it deals with the devastating prospect of base closure.
  Kathy will truly be missed by both my staff and many others in the 
Senate. She has been very active in the Senate community, by lending 
her talent to our softball team, being an active parent and board 
member of the Senate Employees Child Care Center, and always being 
willing to pitch in to help a colleague in need.
  Happiness, according to Aristotle, resides in activity, both physical 
and mental, and in doing things that one can take pride in doing well. 
By this measure, Kathy DeCoster has brought happiness to both herself, 
her family, and to those who have worked closely with her for years. On 
behalf of the people of Maine, I thank her for her outstanding service, 
and we wish her the very best of luck in all her future endeavors.

                          ____________________