[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S28]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMMENDING J. KEITH KENNEDY

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I send a resolution to the desk 
commending J. Keith Kennedy for his service as Republican staff 
director of the Appropriations Committee and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 208) commending J. Keith Kennedy.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, this resolution commends J. Keith Kennedy, 
who has served as the Republican staff director for the Appropriations 
Committee for 15 years, having assumed that position 15 years ago 
today.
  Keith is a very valuable member of the Senate staff, upon whom we 
have all relied at one time or another.
  I know my colleagues join Senator Hatfield and Byrd in wishing Keith 
continued success in his position--we will continue to rely on his 
sound counsel.
  Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate and to convey my 
appreciation to a member of my staff, J. Keith Kennedy. Today marks the 
15-year anniversary of Keith's service as the Republican staff director 
of the Senate Appropriations Committee, serving either in the majority 
or in the minority as fortune permitted. Mr. Kennedy has steered the 
staff with a firm, but gentle hand at the helm, through the often 
choppy waters of legislative process. Such continuity has provided the 
Senate with the type of institutional memory that keeps us from 
remaking some of the mistakes of the past. In this capacity, Mr. 
Kennedy has worked to uphold the position of the Senate in negotiations 
with three administrations--those of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George 
Bush, and Bill Clinton, five OMB directors--David Stockman, James 
Miller, Richard Darman, Leon Panetta, and Alice Rivlin, and a House of 
Representatives under both Democratic and Republican majorities. During 
that time, he helped implement the Reagan revolution of the early 
1980's when many of us were still trying to get our sea legs in a 
Senate with a new Republican majority. In the 1990's, he has played a 
key role in charting a course out of fiscal excesses of earlier years.
  Keith has served the Senate with distinction and honor for over 23 
years. I have come to rely on him as a trusted adviser, policy expert, 
and friend.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the resolution.
  The resolution (S. Res. 208) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 208

       Whereas J. Keith Kennedy has served as majority or minority 
     Chief Clerk and Staff Director of the Committee on 
     Appropriations since January 3, 1981;
       Whereas he has ably served the Senate in various other 
     roles since September of 1972;
       Whereas he has served as clerk of the Legislative Branch 
     Appropriations Subcommittee, in which capacity he has 
     endeavored to provide for the welfare and benefit of the 
     entire U.S. Senate and its employees;
       Whereas he has overseen the modernization and streamlining 
     of the day-to-day operations of the Senate Appropriations 
     Committee;
       Whereas he has ably represented the interests of the 
     Appropriations Committee and the Senate in all budget 
     negotiations since 1981;
       Whereas he has upheld the high standards and traditions of 
     the Senate with abiding devotion; and
       Whereas he has earned the respect, affection and esteem of 
     the United States Senate: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That on this fifteenth anniversary of his tenure, 
     the Senate express its commendation, appreciation and 
     gratitude to J. Keith Kennedy for his continuing service and 
     for jobs well done.

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