[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 11, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E922-E923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF MRS. JOAN HERTZENSON BOTUCK, EDITOR/LEGISLATIVE 
     CALENDAR CLERK, COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 11, 1999

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a very 
special member of the staff of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Joan Hertzenson Botuck, and to express on behalf of the 
Committee, our gratitude to Joan for her hard work, great friendship 
and dedication to preserving an exact historical record of the 
Committee's activities. Joan's attention to detail has been a God-send 
to the Committee for many years.
  A Michigan native, Joan earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech 
and English from Wayne University in Detroit, her Masters in Education 
from the University of Virginia, and a Masters in Library Science from 
Catholic University. Before joining the Committee staff in 1979, she 
worked for a time teaching at Central High School in Detroit, and 
counseling at the Psychological Testing Center in Virginia and at the 
office of Washington Opportunities for Women in D.C. And of utmost 
importance during these years, Joan and her husband, Henry, raised 
three lovely daughters: Ruth, Debra and Linda, and are now proud 
grandparents six times over.
  Joan has served on the committee--and its predecessor, the Committee 
on Public Works and Transportation--for more than 20 years. When the 
Committee consolidated and computerized our editing and legislative 
calendar operations, Joan was appointed to oversee that office and did 
an excellent job. As the committee's editor, she published a daily 
summary of the Congressional Record, periodic legislative status 
reports, and an annual publication of the Committee Legislative 
Calendar. She is also very skilled in retrieving computerized 
legislative information which was an outstanding research aid to me and 
the committee staff in carrying our own legislative responsibilities. 
Joan has always been a respected professional working in a completely 
bipartisan manner--having served under for both Democratic and 
Republican chairmen with unwavering commitment and dedication.
  The entire experience of being a Member of Congress and a part of 
``the Hill'' community, has been enhanced for me in large part due to 
the quality of staff such as Joan Botuck.
  Many of you in the Rayburn Building may recognize Joan as an exercise 
enthusiast. Each lunch hour she dons her sweats and tennis shoes and 
walks the Rayburn corridors--at a very fast pace, I have observed--and 
weather permitting, occasionally ventures

[[Page E923]]

onto the Mall: the committee's own power walker, ``Flash Botuck''.
  To Joan, our heartfelt congratulations on a job well done and a 
career truly superbly undertaken! I join with her many friends in 
extending our thanks for the energy, diligence, and good humor you 
brought to your work. We will miss you greatly.

                          ____________________