[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 161 (Monday, December 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ATTORNEY GENERAL AWARD TO STEPHANIE BOUCHER

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                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 13, 1997

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer recognition to an 
individual who recently received an extraordinary honor for her 
contributions at the workplace. Stephanie Boucher, the wife of one of 
my legislative assistants, received an Appreciation Award from the 
Attorney General on September 26, 1997.
  What is unusual about this event was the fact that Stephanie is not a 
Federal employee. She is a contract worker employed at the Executive 
Office for U.S. Attorneys [EOUSA] in the Department of Justice. I have 
been informed that it is highly unusual for contract employees to 
receive any type of official recognition from the Government for their 
work. Yet, over the past 15 months, Stephanie has shown that she is not 
the typical contract employee.
  Stephanie received this award for ``motivating and stimulating 
EOUSA's Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act [FOIA] staff with her 
team spirit, productive work ethics, and willingness to go the extra 
mile to reach the Attorney General's goal of reducing the FOIA 
backlog.'' This backlog, which resulted from Congress' reform and 
expansion of the FOIA legislation, at one point reached nearly 1,000 
requests pending. It was through the hard work, willingness to work 
extra hours, and dedication to detail shown by Stephanie and three 
other contract employees, under the direction of Acting Director Bonnie 
Gay, that the backlog was reduced to zero by the end of fiscal year 
1997. I would further note that despite the extraordinary circumstances 
of receiving recognition for their accomplishments from the Attorney 
General, none of them received any acknowledgement or congratulations 
from the contract employer.
  What sets Stephanie apart in my mind from her colleagues is the fact 
that she accomplished all this while attending law school full time in 
the evenings at the University of Baltimore. I know from personal 
experience how difficult and demanding law school is, and believe that 
this underscores this young woman's strong work ethic.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would note that the administration requested 
funding in the fiscal year 1998 budget for eight additional positions 
in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys to handle FOIA requests. 
Furthermore, it is my understanding that two of Stephanie's colleagues 
have been brought on full time with the Government since the issuance 
of this award. It is my opinion that Stephanie has already shown, 
through her past performance, that she would make a fine addition to 
the expanded EOUSA FOIA staff.

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