[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5091-S5093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JONNA LYNNE CULLEN

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this has been an extremely busy week for the 
Senate and a historic week, capped off by our work on the landmark 
budget resolution.
  Before we finish today, and before Members return home to observe 
Memorial Day, I want to join my colleague, Senator Cochran, from 
Mississippi, and others who are interested in paying special tribute to 
a special lady. I thank my colleagues that do have time reserved to 
speak for giving us these few minutes to say to our good friend, and, 
in my case, a former colleague when I was a staff member, Jonna Lynne 
Cullen, and thank her for a lot of great memories and for a lot of 
great work and for all that she has done for our country.
  I think it is appropriate that we do this at the end of this week 
when we have done something good for this country by passing a budget 
resolution that will, at last, ensure a balanced budget for the 
American people. It is appropriate because most of Jonna Lynne Cullen's 
life has been devoted to good things for her country.
  She first came to Capitol Hill as a young woman. I got to know her in 
1959 as a college freshman at the University of Mississippi. We were 
friends then. A few years later, then, in 1967, when she came to 
Capitol Hill, she went to work for the Rules Committee with the 
legendary chairman, William Colmer of Mississippi.
  One year later, I joined the Congressman's staff as his 
administrative assistant, beginning a close working relationship with 
Jonna Lynne--or J.L., as we all affectionately call her--and that 
relationship grew as we worked on bills before the Rules Committee and 
we spent time in the presence of Chairman Colmer and as she worked in 
the Reagan administration. Through the years, our relationship and 
friendship has continued to grow.
  Over the course of 30 years in the Nation's Capitol, J.L. has 
remained much as she was when we first met. Without dealing in 
stereotypes, it's true that she is very much a southern woman:

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  Gracious even in the face of rudeness, generous to a fault, ready to 
make others feel at ease and at home, tolerant of other's opinions but 
quite sure of her own, soft of heart and tough of spirit.
  Last week, many Members of the House of Representatives took to the 
floor of the House to recount their own memories of J.L. And the 
recurrent theme of their recollections was how much she has helped 
them, in one way or another.
  I remember when she worked on the Rules Committee staff. She would 
come back to the rail, and they would have a rule up, and she would not 
only watch the rule, but she worked with many of us who had various and 
sundry problems to try to help us get through a legislative problem or 
to deal with a family problem. She was sort of the mother hen in the 
House back in those days in the early 1970's. Senator Cochran and I 
enjoyed her friendship so much.
  I can't think of a better tribute to any person than to be known by 
how much she helped others. And certainly that is true with J.L.
  The reason she could help so many is because she really was so able. 
She is a master of the House rules. She not only knows every in and out 
of the legislative process, but she knows the people involved as well 
to help you get the results you are looking for. She has always had 
their trust, and her word was good. She has never been a part of the 
deplorable side of Washington that thrives on leaks or negative 
information or self-promotion. It is just not her style. Indeed, she 
represents an older tradition--maybe one she learned from Chairman 
Colmer in the behind-the-scenes service in which the good of the 
Congress and the good of the country that it leads to by its actions 
must come before any personal considerations, which helps to explain 
why she has friendships across the partisan aisle, too. She worked both 
sides of the aisle. She can fight someone on policy and yet respect 
them on principle. She has always been a winner who understands how to 
win the right way.
  It was little wonder, then, that in January 1981 when President 
Ronald Reagan came into office, Jonna Lynne was asked to take charge of 
the Congressional Affairs Office at the Office of Management and Budget 
to work with then head of OMB, David Stockman, a Congressman from 
Michigan at that time.
  That has always been an important job. But it was at a particularly 
critical juncture at that time, which was an extraordinary period of 
active legislative involvement by the President--changes in a number of 
laws, major tax cuts, some restraint on the budget--that really made a 
difference.
  The President-elect and his inner circle knew they were facing a 
national crisis. At that time we had a sinking economy with worse 
ahead, raging inflation, regulatory strangulation, the Iranian hostage 
situation, a hollow military force, Soviet proxy aggression on three 
continents, and on Capitol Hill, deeply entrenched majorities from the 
other party with a minority in the House and the Senate--or in the 
House at least--of the President's party.
  Today, we tend to forget just how bad things really were then or just 
how gloomy the future might have appeared to us at that time. The 
President-elect and most of his key aides were strangers to Capitol 
Hill. But OMB was to be the vanguard, the spearhead actually, of what 
we needed to accomplish. We had Jonna Lynne Cullen working at OMB, 
working with the House and with the Congress that she knew so well.
  So to OMB she went working around the clock to help forge a governing 
coalition in the House.
  In those days we couldn't get a majority on any vote if we didn't get 
around 50 Democrats. We had 180 or so Republicans--I think there were 
about 186--and in some instances every one of the Republicans and we 
had to get something over 50 Democrats to be able to win any votes. 
Time after time after time we won by one vote, two votes, six votes. It 
was scary. It was tedious. But Jonna Lynne was there helping us work 
both sides of the aisle to get the victories for the American people.

  Much later, when the fruits of her labors came to harvest in the 
historic economic package that set the stage for the longest sustained 
economic recovery in our Nation's history, there were plenty of people 
around to take credit.
  But Jonna Lynne is not that type. She continued to be the ultimate 
insider, shy of the news media but bold in her commitment to what will 
forever more be known as the Reagan revolution.
  Even after she left the administration, she was always on call for a 
good cause. She handled congressional relations for Reagan's bipartisan 
commission on Central America-- an interesting commission. Henry 
Kissinger was involved in that, Jack Kemp, and I think even Alan 
Greenspan--quite a group--Jonna Lynne, and Democrats and Republicans. 
They went to Central America and did a great job.
  She helped develop a policy consensus that turned the tide against 
the Soviet and Cuban meddling in this hemisphere.
  Devoted as she has always been in public service, J.L. has still a 
remarkable private life. Professionally, she has not only been a 
lobbyist but, as businesswoman, very successful with culinary skills 
that have led to the Pesto Plus line of food products.
  Somehow she found time to paint along with her Pesto Plus products. 
Her botanical water colors outshine their real life subjects. With 
flowers, as with people, J.L. is able to look beneath the surface to 
bring out the hidden beauty.
  It must be said that J.L. came up through the ranks of the 
congressional staff from the lowest entry level at a time when it was 
very difficult for women. Not all doors were open to them. But she 
opened them, not by confrontation or argument but by excellence and by 
hard work.
  I doubt if she ever considered herself a pioneer, but, in fact, she 
has led the way for others, getting ahead the old-fashioned way--with 
strength of conviction and hard work.
  Characteristically, she has translated her commitment in that area to 
the advancement of women in Government, and especially within the 
Republican Party, into positive action. She has pulled together women 
Members of Congress, of the media, and others to better understand and 
assist one another.
  Of course, bringing people together like that and finding common 
ground on which to make progress has always been J.L.'s trademark.
  A few years ago, when many of us joined together to help celebrate a 
milestone birthday for J.L., the walls were decorated with large 
blowups of photos from her childhood days and her days in college. I 
remembered some of them, actually. Needless to say, there had been 
certain changes along the way. But you could see the same openness, 
frankness, and sparkle, and the same zest for life in Jonna Lynne every 
day as in those childhood days and those pictures, too.
  When illness struck J.L. several years ago, she turned even that into 
an opportunity for service. She gave her time and energy to fighting 
against cancer while waging her own individual battle in that regard. 
According to Senate procedure, we are not supposed to address 
individuals here on the Senate floor but, Mr. President, if Jonna Lynne 
were here with us, I would tell her what all of her many friends are 
trying to tell her in many different ways, and that is simply this: 
Thank you, J.L., for all that you have done for us and for our country. 
And though you are not with us in the Capitol, you will always be in 
our hearts.
  God bless you and thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I congratulate and commend my friend and 
colleague from Mississippi for his wonderfully eloquent statement, and 
for taking time, today, to pay tribute to a very special friend. 
Twenty-five years ago, Jonna Lynne Cullen came to my office in Jackson, 
MS, to congratulate me on my election to the Congress. She and my wife, 
Rose, along with my distinguished colleague the majority leader, were 
classmates at the University of Mississippi just 13 years before that. 
She told me, when she came to the office, all about the process of 
organizing the House of Representatives and offered to assist me and my 
staff as I began my job as the new U.S. Congressman from the Fourth 
Congressional District of Mississippi. Her advice and counsel to me 
were very helpful, and I

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gained more respect for her, for her insight and her knowledge, as time 
went on.
  As a member of the staff of the House Rules Committee, she was where 
the action was. She was where you knew what legislation was coming up 
and what the process was. And she was a great source of information and 
encouragement for me, as someone who had never worked as a member of 
the staff or had been closely involved in the workings of the Congress 
before my election in 1972.
  Her appreciation of the Congress was contagious, and so was her 
enthusiasm. Everyone I knew liked her. In time, her capabilities and 
dedication were rewarded with an offer to work at the White House. At 
the Office of Management and Budget, she helped guide to passage some 
of the most important budget reforms ever adopted. During her career as 
a member of the staff of the House, and in the Executive Office of the 
President, she was one of the most dependable, conscientious, and 
effective employees who has ever worked at either place.
  Since then, she has been involved in a wide range of activities, most 
of which have been related to business or Government. She began her own 
business, J.L. Gourmand, Inc., to manufacture and market her Pesto Plus 
products. She organized women's groups to support other entrepreneurs 
and professional women here and around the world. She traveled to other 
countries to help explain to those with new democracies how best to 
guarantee the blessings of self-government. And she developed her 
considerable talent with water colors as a painter of flowers, which 
are collected and appreciated throughout the National Capital area and 
in the houses of her friends and admirers all across the country. And 
that is a lot of houses, because she has many friends and admirers.
  All of her friends, and I am so pleased and privileged to have been 
one of her close friends for the past 25 years, wish we could see a 
modern miracle make her well because nobody could be a better or more 
unselfish friend than Jonna Lynne Cullen.
  With our good wishes we also send to her our thanks for all she has 
done and all she has given to make the Congress and the country so much 
better off, because of her good work and her well-lived life.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise to join with the majority leader in 
paying tribute to an extraordinary woman, J.L. Cullen.
  It would be accurate to say that J.L. worked for the House Rules 
Committee, but that wouldn't begin to capture the spirit of this 
wonderful person. Yes, she was an outstanding and dedicated staffer, 
but for those of us who have served in the House--especially women--she 
was so much more. She was our friend.
  From my first days in the House I was privileged to know J.L. and our 
relationship grew from there. Her wonderful sense of humor, her warmth 
and her intellect made an impression on all of us, as our distinguished 
majority leader can attest from his days in the House.
  As an unofficial morale officer, J.L. brought together women of the 
House of Representatives, on a number of occasions hosting my female 
colleagues and me for dinner at her home. I will always fondly remember 
dinners with J.L., Nancy Johnson, and Lynn Martin--for both the company 
and the cooking! J.L. knew her way around a kitchen as well as she knew 
her way around House procedure, and in fact ultimately opened up her 
own business selling pesto.
  No matter what she did, J.L. was always gracious, always hospitable. 
And in the House, she quietly but effectively fostered unity and 
camaraderie among Members. She was there through dark days as well as 
the bright ones, and she was a tremendous resource for us.
  When I last had the pleasure of seeing J.L. at a reception recently, 
despite her illness, she greeted me with her usual good cheer and 
humor. She is truly a remarkable person and the way in which she has 
handled her illness with strength and dignity is inspirational to me. 
J.L. is one of those rare people who lends perspective to what we do 
here in Washington and brings into sharp focus the things that are 
truly important in life.
  I hope J.L. is watching us today, to see and hear our comments, Mr. 
President. Because I want her to know how deeply she has touched the 
lives of those with whom she worked. J.L. may not be a Member of 
Congress, but she is as much a credit to this institution as any of its 
finest elected officials. And she is as much a part of this Congress as 
any one of us who are Members.
  So often, one hears of the unelected staff. For so many, they are the 
nameless faceless people who work in the shadow of the dome--out of the 
glare of public attention usually reserved for those elected to the 
House or Senate. J.L. Cullen is among the finest of those people. 
Uninterested in the spotlight, she measures her contributions solely by 
the lives she touches or the results she achieves.
  But today, I want the public to know her name. I want them to know 
that she is a person without whom the people's business--the work of 
this institution, indeed the work of this Nation--would not have been 
done. And I want America to know that she has been a public servant in 
the very finest sense of the word.
  J.L., if you're watching, please know that you are in my heart and in 
my prayers. You helped make this native-born Mainer feel at home in 
Washington, you helped me to do my job better, and you helped me to 
laugh along the way, too. I will forever cherish your caring and 
friendship, and remember your exemplary service to Congress and the 
Nation.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I am recognized for 20 minutes, is that 
correct?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, that's correct.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I listened to my colleagues describe Jonna 
Lynne Cullen, and while I did not and do not know her, the description 
given by my two colleagues makes me, and I am sure other colleagues 
here in the Congress, wish we knew her. She is undoubtedly like friends 
that all of us have around this country, who represent the very small 
part of our population that gets involved and makes things happen, and 
truly demonstrate what good citizenship is all about.
  So, while I don't know Jonna Lynne Cullen, I commend my two 
colleagues from Mississippi. I also wish her well because she 
represents what is best of America.

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