[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 106 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          ON THE RETIREMENT OF KATHLEEN DENSON AND ANN MUELLER

                                 ______


                          HON. GERRY E. STUDDS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 4, 1994

  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, few disagree with Woodrow Wilson's 
assessment that ``Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, 
whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.''
  And when Congress works in its committee rooms, we depend on able and 
professional staff like Kathleen Denson and Ann Mueller to help us get 
the job done. Combined, these two women have spent nearly 60 years 
serving their country.
  Kay began working for our former colleague, John Murphy, in his 
Staten Island, NY, office in 1969. She and her husband, Joe, and their 
three children, Michelle, Allison, and Joseph, moved to Washington in 
1976 and Kay continued as a case worker in Representative Murphy's 
District of Columbia office. She has been on the staff of the Merchant 
Marine and Fisheries Committee since 1981.
  As our legislative clerk, Kay has not only maintained the committee's 
permanent legislative records but fought the often thankless and always 
uphill battle of attempting to make sure that Members at full committee 
markups know what's going on. She is the one who takes all the bits and 
pieces of information that cascade through the doorway in the 24 hours 
before a markup, puts it in some kind of order, and then presents each 
Member with a complete and accurate folder of amendments, bills, and 
everything else we need to make a decision.
  After 25 years of Government service, Kay's last day was Friday, July 
29. She and Joe--who is also retiring from the Department of Justice--
expect to spend a good deal of time relaxing and enjoying their new 
grandson.
  Kay may have 25 years of service, but Ann Mueller has files that are 
25 years old. Ann started out in 1960 with the Defense Department at 
Scott Air Force Base in her home State of Illinois. She served at 
Yokata Air Base in Japan, and at the Pentagon before coming to the 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee in 1977.
  Until 1992, Ann worked for New York Congressman Mario Biaggi on our 
Coast Guard and Navigation Subcommittee and then as clerk of the 
Merchant Marine Subcommittee. To this day, she continues to keep our 
full committee maritime staff in line and informed.
  From our committee's first work on a comprehensive oil spill bill in 
the 1970's, to the Shipping Act of 1984, to our current maritime reform 
legislation, Ann has been the constant. She knows what we did, why we 
did it, how it worked, and, if it didn't work, she often knew why.
  Ann is famous for her ability to remember everything. Need that 
letter we sent to Admiral Shear at MARAD in 1983? No problem. Ann not 
only has it, she can tell you what prompted it, and fax you a copy of 
the response.
  In her retirement, Ann plans to move to the mountains, play golf, and 
come back to town for long lunches with her many friends.
  Kay Denson and Ann Mueller. Two of the unsung, but never 
unappreciated staff who allow Congress to work in committee.
  We couldn't do it without you--but now we'll have to.
  On behalf of every Member whose life you two have made easier, I wish 
you fair winds and following seas as you begin this next voyage.

                          ____________________