[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H5099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO AL DAVIS

  (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge 
the passing of Committee on Ways and Means' staff member Al Davis who 
died on May 30. Like so many of his staffers that I hope are watching 
today, the regard that we as Members of this House hold for you is 
unparalleled. You are the ones who genuinely make the trains run on 
time.
  In the case of Al Davis, the information he provided to members of 
the Committee on Ways and Means as our economist were not only quality 
statistics but they were always reliable, a fact that the media and our 
critics often missed. It is people like this who day in and day out 
provide us with legendary support, and I particularly will miss the 
volumes of data he provided to me on the issue of alternative minimum 
tax.
  He was a political warrior, like so many who staff this Congress; but 
he was also an individual who held great regard for this institution 
and was never disdainful of any of its Members. Even those who opposed 
his ideas respected him.
  If we were offering a sitcom on the life of Al Davis, we would have 
called it ``Humble Al.'' I never heard anybody who did not find a 
compliment for Al Davis, and those of us who would acknowledge what he 
did when he whispered in our ear vital statistics are forever grateful 
for the service he rendered. We all will miss Al Davis.

                          ____________________