[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 82 (Monday, June 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S5781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LUCY CALAUTTI

  Mr. DORGAN. Madam President, here in Washington, DC, administrations 
come and go, Members of Congress and their staff pass through at an 
increasing pace. It often seems that many of the people that we know 
are on their way to someplace else.
  With all this change, we cherish the points of stability in our 
lives, and among these are the professional staff members who have been 
with us for the long haul. These are the people who could have gone 
elsewhere and earned more money, but they chose to stay and work in 
public service. They are the silent heroes here in Congress. They keep 
the process moving; their invisible stamp is upon all our work in 
public policy. We depend upon them more than we like to say.
  Lucy Calautti is one of those key staff members who makes things 
happen here in the United States Senate.
  Lucy has worked with me for over 25 years, first in my role as an 
elected State official in our State Capitol in North Dakota, then in 
the U.S. House of Representatives and now the U.S. Senate. During much 
of that time she has been my Chief of Staff.
  Lucy goes about her work with an energy, focus, and high-spirited 
competence that people who deal with her have come to know well. For 
me, Lucy has been a treasure. I have had the great luxury of knowing 
that when I leave the office to travel to North Dakota, the work here 
will continue to be directed by a real leader.
  Lucy is a true original. She is practical and idealistic, a patriot 
and an ardent advocate of women's rights. When she graduated from high 
school in Queens, New York in the 1960s, she went right into the Navy 
to serve her country. That was not exactly the most popular thing to do 
back then. When she left the service she came to North Dakota and 
enrolled in North Dakota State University to get her Masters degree.
  I hired Lucy in 1974, and during all of those years she has brought 
passion and conviction to her work. No problem has been too small or 
too big. If it concerned the people of North Dakota and our country, 
then Lucy would tackle it until it got resolved.
  One of Lucy's passions has been Major League Baseball. For years she 
and her husband, Kent, have taken a weekend or two in February to catch 
a part of Spring training in Florida. It's true she has suffered over 
the years as an ardent New York Mets fan. But for years I have watched 
the autographed baseballs on her desk form a rising pyramid in their 
plastic cases. I had a sense where this stack was heading.
  And now, not surprisingly, Lucy is going to leave my office this week 
to become the head of Government Relations for Major League Baseball. I 
am sad, but I am happy, too. America's national pastime is gaining a 
tireless advocate here in Washington. No one deserves this opportunity 
more than Lucy, and no one could do a better job.
  Such passages are common here in Washington, but that does not make 
them any easier. I just wanted to take a few moments to express my 
appreciation to Lucy Calautti, on behalf of all the people of my state, 
for a job well done. We wish her well.

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