[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 10, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H5162-H5167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A TRIBUTE TO AL DAVIS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
General Leave
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks
on the subject of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, we are here tonight to honor Al Davis, a
dear friend, who died in the prime of life in a tragic, wholly
unnecessary accident. But in his 56 years, he made a huge, if
unheralded, contribution to the government of this country. We have
lost a close associate, a valuable colleague. The House has lost part
of its institutional memory and its analytical ability, particularly in
the bramble bush we call tax policy; and the country, the country has
lost a genuine, if sometimes critical, patriot.
Before Al became the chief economist for the Committee on Ways and
Means, he was the chief economist for the Committee on the Budget; and
it was on the Committee on the Budget that I came to know him best.
Mr. Speaker, if I might digress a minute, I would say that from 1969
to 1970 I served as a young officer, Army officer in the Pentagon and
interacted with Congress and its staff; and when I came here in 1983 as
a Member of Congress, the most striking change I found in the
institution was in the staff, Members' staff and committee staff both.
The number of staff had increased several fold, and the professional
quality has increased even more. And more than I had ever appreciated,
I soon found out how the House literally could not function without our
staff. Their roles are often off stage. They make, however, those of us
on stage look good. They keep the debate moving forward, and they see
to it that the House churns out its enormous work product of bills and
reports and conference agreements and correspondence and countless
other documents.
Even among the excellent staff that is throughout the House on both
sides of the aisle, Al Davis stood out. He was noted for two areas of
expertise: the Tax Code and Social Security. And in those fields, he
had few peers. He was good because he knew what he was doing, believed
in what he was doing, and never tired of what he was doing until he got
it right.
{time} 2030
I often asked Al a question and got a tentative answer. Then, a week
later, long after I had forgotten the question I put to him, I got from
Al a memo, a fax sheet, a graph, a table, whatever. He then came up and
explained it to me meticulously in a way that anybody, me included, can
understand; because Al was not just our analyst or our economist, he
was our tutor. Not only did Al produce memos that answered the
questions we put to him, but he also came forth with memos containing
answers to questions we should have raised but did not.
I can remember myself more than once in the well of this House
struggling, coping to defend our position, only to have Al appear from
the benches back here with a memo he just happened to have written in
anticipation of this issue.
He was a Democrat, make no mistake about it, but he did not pull
punches for partisan purposes. If one wanted a sophist to help
rationalize a poor policy proposal, you did not want Al Davis. On the
other hand, if we had the right position, if we were principled, if we
faced entrenched opposition, special interests, and found our policy
hard to defend, we wanted Al Davis on our side, because he would cut to
the core of an issue and bend every effort to help us.
His encyclopedic knowledge, his keen mind, his corporate memory, his
sense of principle, his passion for the truth, and his patience in
explaining it made Al Davis a joy to work with, a colleague that we
cherished, a friend we will never forget.
The House will go on without him, of course, but the debate about
taxes will be a little less incisive, the explanations of Social
Security will be a little less clear, the arguments against the deficit
not quite so compelling without the work of Al Davis behind them.
He served his Congress, this Congress, and his country well, and
those of us who worked with him will be inspired for a long time by his
example, moved by what he taught us, consoled by his humor, for as long
as we serve in the Congress of the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Sabo), former chairman of the Committee on the Budget
who also worked with Al Davis on the Committee on the Budget.
Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, in this institution of democracy there is always a small
group of smart, talented, hardworking, honest people who labor
anonymously behind the scenes. They are absolutely essential to the
success of our form of government. Al Davis was at the top of that
group. His brilliance was exceeded only by his work effort and his
integrity.
Al worked hard to help those of us who are Members of Congress
fulfill our responsibilities in developing, debating, and voting on tax
and budget laws. He also helped other staffers, policy thinkers,
academics, reporters, and the general public understand the issues. I
am told that whenever tax policy experts around town ran into a
particularly thorny problem, they looked at each other and would say,
this is an Al question.
Al was also brutal in his honesty. If he thought something was a bad
idea, it did not matter where it came from, he would tell the truth. Al
made himself learn budget rules even when they
[[Page H5163]]
seemed silly, so that he could bring his understanding of economics and
tax law into the budget process. He spent endless hours late into the
night doing calculations and grinding out memos on every possible point
of argument or challenge that might come up from a floor debate.
Al patiently answered the same questions over and over, so Members
who had not been in the committee debates could understand what they
were voting on. He spent endless hours helping our staffs learn what
they needed to know.
Having said all that, I have to admit there are other staffers here
who share these same traits. So what about Al made him so special and
so sad to lose him? Much has been said of Al's love of irony and quick
humor, but I do not remember him that way. To me, the best single word
to describe Al is ``twinkly.'' He was always smiling and winking about
something, usually involving numbers. His eyes would sparkle as he saw
wonderful number games and possibilities in his mind long before the
rest of us caught up with him. There was a little bounce in those long,
lanky strides as he walked down the hall, and when he had his special
numbers game going in his head, he literally danced.
Like many of the people in the world I come from, Al was a man of few
words, but he also was a man of many numbers. He used his profound
understanding of numerical relationships and the flow of money to make
life better for all Americans, but particularly for people in need. At
heart, he was a deeply kind man and a true populist. The House of
Representatives, indeed all the people of this country, have lost a
great resource, and I have lost a dear friend. I will miss him very
much.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr.
Lewis), who serves on the Committee on Ways and Means and knew Al in
that capacity.
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), for bringing this Special
Order tonight to honor Al Davis.
Mr. Speaker, it is true, Al Davis was a brilliant economist. But to
all of my Democratic colleagues on the Committee on Ways and Means, he
was so much more. He was our conscience on the committee. Somehow, the
words ``dedication'' and ``tireless'' do not seem adequate to describe
the strength of Al's commitment to his work. He spent countless hours
on weekends and at night responding to all sorts of Members' inquiries
and issues; even some that, to put it kindly, might be considered
harebrained.
Still, he took every request seriously and would leave no question
unanswered. His efforts were never halfhearted. Unsatisfied with one
analysis or two or even ten, Al would often put together hundreds of
analyses. Al would leave no stone unturned to provide all the facts, no
matter how obscure.
Despite his unparalleled knowledge and command of some of the most
complicated issues dealt with by Congress, Al had an amazing and rare
ability to distill and explain information so that it was
understandable to the least knowledgeable person. Yet he never, but
never, condescended to anyone.
There was something about Al's absentminded-professor persona that
was both disarming and reassuring. He could always be counted on to
calm passionate temperaments and remind us all of the facts. He would
not let us get caught up in hyperbole, and he kept us focused on why we
are here: to serve as a voice for the underprivileged and the
disenfranchised.
Though he might not have enjoyed the name recognition that my
colleagues and I do, there is no doubt that his work was critical to
our efforts. Without capable and dedicated staff like Al, this place,
Mr. Speaker, would not run. I tell the Members tonight, we will forever
be grateful for his service, commitment, and dedication.
Mr. Speaker, Al Davis fought the good fight. He kept the faith. He
worked hard to make things better for those who needed it most. I truly
believe we are blessed to have known him. Al, we will miss you. My
friend, a job well done.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Dakota
(Mr. Pomeroy), also a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Spratt), for organizing tonight's Special Order in honor
of the memory of Al Davis.
Mr. Speaker, when I arrived in Washington as a freshman Member of
Congress in January, 1993, I received an assignment to the Committee on
the Budget. That was when I met Al Davis. At the time, Al was the
committee's senior economist. For someone like me, brand new to the
Federal budget policy, Al was nothing less than the Rosetta Stone.
Even before I knew his name, I knew him by my first impression. It
was an impression that I held for the next 10 years working with him,
our giant brain. The Washington Post said that Al could translate the
most arcane economic data into real-world language. That is absolutely
true.
But I must also admit that sometimes even Al's translations were hard
to grasp. Why? Because, although he was a master of honing sharp
political arguments out of obtuse provisions in the Internal Revenue
Code, he would never sacrifice content or accuracy. If a Member came to
Al with a winning political argument that did not quite square with the
facts, Al would patiently explain how the argument could be changed
politically and substantively to be sound and accurate. He loved
politics, for sure, but Al cared deeply about the enterprise of
government, and believed that we all have an obligation to carry on our
public debate with integrity.
Al was a senior economist and then chief economist for the Committee
on the Budget for all my 6 years on the Committee on the Budget. Most
know that until recently, Democrat staff of the Committee on the Budget
were housed in the old O'Neill Building, which was also the dormitory
for House and Senate pages.
It was quite appropriate that the Committee on the Budget staff
worked out of a dormitory, because when we went to see Al Davis,
working along with his colleagues, Richard Kogan and the others who
served with such talent the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) and
then the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), we truly felt like
we were in the gifted and talented dorm at college. Here would be Al in
his office, piled high with every budget and economic resource we could
imagine, statutes, studies, charts, you name it. Of course, we would
always find Al perched in the middle of it with an open collar, or in
the summer a short-sleeved shirt, jacket and tie hanging on the wall,
just in case of emergencies.
Al would field questions about budget and tax policy with the
excitement and enthusiasm of a kid. He not only would answer the
question, but also point out the humor, the irony, the inconsistency,
or the sheer lunacy of the provision under discussion. When we went to
see Al, we were truly talking to the smartest kid in the class.
Al was a very influential staffer, although he had no use for the
trappings of authority. Al loved his work for its own sake and not
because it made him powerful or sought after, which probably explains
why Al treated people like he did. There would be no one in the world
more surprised than Al to have an editorial written about him in the
Washington Post. He was just as happy to explain the finer points of
tax policy to a junior staffer as he was a senior Member. If one was
interested in learning the substance, then Al Davis was interested in
teaching it to you.
Because of his knowledge and intelligence, we made great demands on
Al. We asked him not only to undertake economic analyses to support our
policies, but also to develop the arguments and market them. On many
occasions, I would decide the night before markup that our charts did
not quite capture the perfect argument for the next day. I would ask my
staff to call Al to find the data to create the perfect chart. Armed
with such an 11th hour request, you can imagine how anyone would be
exasperated, and occasionally Al was. But even those times, a few hours
later, sometimes well after midnight, Al would send over the chart,
just as we had asked.
I served, along with my legislative director for 10 years, Mike
Smart, with Al and developed the greatest respect and admiration for
him. As he loved
[[Page H5164]]
ideas, so he also loved life. I remember my surprise once at
disembarking at the Bangor, Maine airport to find Al Davis and his
loving partner Mary, Al having one of these goofy camping caps on. He
was off for a canoe trip, an incongruous notion for me, thinking of our
giant brain paddling that canoe in the wilds of Maine; but that is the
kind of diverse and loving-life guy Al Davis was.
I have found my years in Congress to be enriched significantly by
knowing Al and having the benefit of his counsel. I will miss him very
much.
Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the following items: The
Washington Post editorial on Al Davis; the June 9 Tax Notes write-up by
Warren Rojas on Al Davis and his contribution to the profession; a
tribute in the June 9 Tax Notes from Gene Steurele entitled ``Economic
Perspective''; and last but not least, a beautiful eulogy that was
presented at the St. Charles Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia, on
Monday, June 9, by Dan Maffei, also a staff member of the Committee on
Ways and Means.
The documents referred to are as follows.
[From The Washington Post, June 7, 2003]
(By Albert J. Davis)
Unless you're a tax and budget wonk, you probably didn't
know Al Davis. Mr. Davis, the Democrats' chief economist on
the House Ways and Means Committee, was one of those classic
Capitol Hill staffers whose effectiveness can't be measured
by the number of times they are mentioned in the newspaper.
But from his cluttered office in the Longworth House Office
Building, Mr. Davis helped mold and inform the public debate
about what he saw as the troubling direction of the nation's
economic policy, churning out fact sheets that were as
accurate as they were partisan. He could get as worked up--
maybe even more--about Democrats using distorted numbers as
about Republicans who did so.
Mr. Davis had the gift of being able to translate the most
arcane economic data into real-world language that Democratic
lawmakers--the people he called his ``customers''--could use
to make their case. For reporters scrambling to make sense of
a study or to dredge up an obscure detail, he was the
ultimate resource, with a seemingly encyclopedic
understanding of the tax code. If you wrote or advocated
about such matters, you'd quickly find your way to Al--or he
to you. He patiently educated the uninitiated, from green
legislative aides to reporters new to the economics beat.
When a bill was on the floor, Mr. Davis was always there with
his bulging accordion file, colleague Janice Mays recalled,
offering when the most obscure of points came up, ``I just
happen to have a memo here.''
Mr. Davis died last week at 56 after being struck by a cab
on his way home from work. The accident occurred as congress
was finishing work on a tax bill that Mr. Davis detested,
and, as he lingered in a coma for 11 days after the accident,
we can only imagine how frustrated he would have been not to
be immersed in the debate. Len Burman, co-director of the Tax
Policy Center, recalled visiting Mr. Davis at George
Washington University Hospital and delivering updates on the
latest outrages in the tax measure, ``I kept on thinking,
he's definitely going to wake up for this,'' Mr. Burman said,
Mr. Davis's boss, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), said that
Mr. Davis ``promoted truth in an institution too used to
skirting around politically inconvenient facts.''
____
[From Tax Notes, June 9, 2003]
Economists, Lawmakers Laud Departed Democratic Colleague
(By Warren Rojas)
Fiscal watchdogs on both sides of aisle last week grieved
the recent death of House Ways and Means Committee Chief
Democratic Economist Albert J. Davis--a public servant many
revered for his sharp mind, quick wit, and commitment to
economic transparency.
Davis, whom colleagues remembered as a fixture of the
Washington economics community since arriving here in the
early 1980s, died May 30 after being struck by a taxicab in
Arlington, Va., on May 19. Although at press time memorial
arrangements for Davis remained were uncertain, Democratic
leaders plan to sponsor a special order on June 10 allowing
lawmakers one hour of debate time on the chamber floor to
share their memories of Davis.
``Our members are all sort of devastated because Al was our
crutch,'' Ways and Means Democratic staff director and
Davis's most recent boss Janice Mays said about Davis, that
he was the unofficial ``go-to'' policy guru for most House
Democrats.
``From my standpoint, he was the perfect staffer. I am
really desolate,'' Mays said.
Davis's chief foil, Ways and Means senior economist for the
majority Alex Brill, voiced genuine admiration for Davis's
``strong commitment and belief in economics and his issues.''
``We rarely agreed, but he was someone I respected,'' Brill
told Tax Analyists. ``He was someone who worked hard and made
his issues vibrant and real.'' While they quite often
digested the same economic data only to come to diametrically
opposed policy positions, Brill said Davis usually emerged
with a ``fair read'' of alternative views.
``He certainly had that strong grasp of the science,'' he
said, adding, ``And I know by reputation that he dissected
[the information] very quickly.''
Similarly, Ways, and Means Committee ranking minority
member Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., said that Congress as an
institution would suffer from Davis's sudden departure.
``Though he appeared soft-spoken and cerebral, Al Davis was
passionate about defending the interests of the working men
and women of this country,'' Rangel said. ``Using his spread
sheets, his charts, and his memos, Al was a powerful fighter
for economic justice. He promoted truth in an institution too
used to skirting around politically inconvenient facts. Al's
death is a loss for the entire nation.''
A National Treasure
Born in Dallas in 1947, Davis laid the foundation for his
economic ascension by securing Bachelor of Arts in economics
(with Honors) from Swarthmore College in 1968. He followed
that up by earning a Master of Arts in economics (with
concentrations in international economics and public finance)
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974.
With tools in hand, Davis then began his professional
career as a research director and fiscal policy expert for
the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (1976-1980) before moving
to Washington and leapfrogging from governmental agency to
governmental agency, servicing as: senior analyst at the U.S.
Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (1980-
1983); senior economist for the Democratic staff of the House
Budget Committee (1984-1994); chief economist of the
Democratic staff of the House Budget Committee (1995-1998);
and chief economist for the Ways and Means Democrats (1999 to
2003).
While his resume reads like a road map followed by the
prototypical federal number cruncher, economists and friends
claim his fiscal vision and translation skills made Davis an
unparalleled ally.
According to Mays, Democrats treasured Davis's counsel
because the combination of computer savvy and homemade
economic models enabled him to provide lawmakers in the
minority with in-depth analysis on par with what Treasury and
the Office of Management and Budget deliver to the White
House.
``He could kind of give you the facts of who would benefit
and who wouldn't from various tax changes,'' Mays said of his
understanding of how taxes, budget, and long-term fiscal
policy changes here all interrelated. ``He had a great
overview of how all those things would work together.''
Rather than hoard that knowledge, Mays said Davis enjoyed
the intellectual exercise of sifting through the tax code and
bringing all its hidden flaws to light.
``He enjoyed explaining how the machine worked. Members
would talk to him and go away understanding something a
little bit better,'' she said of the impromptu tutorials and
explanations Davis could provide at a moment's notice. She
added that often, Davis would make time to talk to any
legislative assistant who reached out to him--happily logging
20-hour workdays to explain the underlying economic
consequences of any legislative proposal.
Explaining how Davis was more than a mere policy work,
Urban Institute economist and Tax Policy Institute codirector
Leonard E. Burman painted Davis as a ``legislative
detective'' adept at sifting through the fine print of most
tax bills and spelling out the particulars to Hill watchers
and members alike.
``If you talked to Al every day, you would routinely learn
things that others might not read about in the mainstream
papers till two or three weeks later,'' he stated, hailing
Davis as ``an ordinary guy who was pivotal to how tax policy
works.''
Burman praised Davis for working ``tirelessly to keep both
the Democrats and the Republicans on the Ways and Means
committee honest and informed about their tax policy options
and the implications of their choices,'' and thanked him for
keeping everyone else in Washington up to speed on the day-
to-day tax grind.
``He knew how to read the tax law and could figure out how
these goofy provisions concocted in the dead of night would
[effect] other issues down the road. And he knew how to write
so that anyone could understand it,'' Burman said of Davis's
copious policy memos.
On a personal level, Burman said he would most miss
scanning the tax dailies in search of a (supposedly)
clandestine comment from Davis. ``I am going to miss reading
articles in Tax Notes and other places where a House staffer
or some other well-placed aide was quoted and picking out his
voice--because I always knew it was Al,'' he said.
Congressional Research Service economist and close friend
Jane G. Gravelle called Davis's death ``a great, great
tragedy'' for those who were close to him and to the
economics profession as a whole.
Although he prided himself on staying behind the scenes,
Gravelle said Davis clearly had a ``great effect on the
transmission of economic knowledge'' both in and around
Washington.
``To me, he was the epitome of the staff adviser to
Congress,'' she said--although Gravelle quickly added that
Davis was somehow able to avoid getting mired down in the
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political frustration and procedural malaise that often
overtakes people who stay on Capitol Hill too long.
``Whereas there are those on the Hill to whom politics is
the predominant issue, Al had principles. He always wanted to
communicate the truth--even if his members didn't want to
hear it,'' she stated.
``He was very quick in seeing through to the essence of
things--particularly sneaky ways that people could turn and
twist the tax code to benefit from policy changes,'' Gravelle
said of Davis's economic intuition. She added that Davis's
economic know-how and command of public policy would be hard
to replace.
``To replace that set, to explain things and understand
them--quite often these two do not go together. Particularly
in economics,'' she quipped. ``I can't help but believe that
Democrats will suffer from the loss of those skills.''
Brookings Institution senior fellow and Tax Policy
Institute codirector William G. Gale said Davis's passing
would leave a void that will not easily be filled.
``He was deeply committed to what he was doing--but he was
also willing to take a step back and laugh about the policy
silliness,'' Gale recounted. ``He will be sorely missed both
personally and professionally.''
While noting that he believes there is a sea of unsung
policy experts and congressional staffers keeping most
lawmakers afloat, Gale hinted that the stereotypical
Washington bureaucrats do their jobs ``maybe not quite as
well as Al did.''
``He wouldn't have bothered writing such clear, compelling
stuff if he didn't think it mattered,'' he said of Davis's
economic convictions.
Moreover, Gale suggested that Davis's long commitment to
combating complexity and other long-term fiscal concerns had
renewed his sense of purpose in recent years.
``One of the things he really railed against was the
disingenuity of how tax cuts were advanced over the last few
years,'' Gale said. ``It was a constant thorn in his side
that tax cut advocates were using any argument to justify
their tax cuts. So he spent a lot of time trying to be a
reality check on those people.''
Mays noted, however, that even though they had been
overtaken by the immediate sense of mourning, she and her
staff would ultimately honor Davis's memory by continuing to
shine a light on potential abuses of the tax code.
``Al would want us to keep fighting. He would not want us
to stop just because he is not one of the troops anymore,''
she stated.
Contributions in memory of Albert J. Davis may be made to
memorial funds established in his name at Swarthmore College
and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
____
[From Tax Notes, June 9, 2003]
A Tribute to Al Davis
(By Gene Steuerle)
Al Davis. Al Davis. Where are you, Al, now that we need you
more than ever? Many tributes are going to be made about Al,
who died on Friday, May 30, as a result of injuries from
being struck by a taxi. Still, I feel compelled to add my own
accolade, not just in gratitude for what he did for me over
the years, but to challenge all of us who engage in tax
analysis and policy to try to live up to his standards.
Anyone who worked with Al knows that he was a master at
putting together information and disseminating it in easily
digestible nuggets. He loved data and would reconfigure and
recompile it until the stories hidden in the numbers came out
and hit you over the head as if they were apparent all along.
He fed all of us information about actions we had missed--
especially if they involved some sleight of hand, some
manipulation of the numbers, or simply some little noticed
special interest provision snuck into a bill late at night.
In this endeavor he was ceaselessly bipartisan. Those for
whom he worked, Democrats on the Ways and Means and House
Budget Committees, may be well aware of his biting edge when
he thought Republicans were running amok, but I can assure
you that he was equally informative, honest, and skeptical
when Democrats were dodging or ignoring principles of tax or
budget policy.
Al was a national treasure. He knew more quirks of the tax
and budget process than most of us will ever hope to guess
at, much less understand. He could translate confusing rules,
jumbled numbers, and incomplete actions, with a keen
awareness of just how they were going to affect the policy
process. He would spend whatever time was necessary to
educate his bosses and his colleagues in the tax and budget
community, even if it meant that he had to work 18 hours
instead of 12 to get other parts of his job done.
Al and I go back to graduate school days at the University
of Wisconsin long ago. We both had returned to school after a
military tour of duty, and we both had a keen interest in
issues of public policy. Al was quickly disaffected by some
of the arcane aspects of economics--those that might be great
for tenure but had no applicability to the real world. Al
wanted to solve problems and his interest from the start was
in public policy. How could it be made to work best for the
public? From beginning to end, I don't think there was ever
any other motivation that so drove him. He was an exemplary
public servant, the embodiment of the concept of service.
At the same time, he was fun. Sometimes when action was
fierce, battle lines drawn, and staff abuse the order of the
day, Al would smile brightly and plunge harder than ever into
the morass to try to come out with information that was
straightforward, sensible, and influential. And always
timely. He had a special smirk for much of the silliness that
always prevails in the legislative process, and when you saw
it come over his face, you got ready for a good story--the
same way you anticipated a Bob Hope punch line. I think Al's
energy cells were fueled by the action going on around him.
Integrity largely defines Al's approach to work and
policymaking. There's something about our system of
government that makes it dependent on people like Al, the
ones who tell it like it is and are willing to bear the
consequences. There's a story that circulates in government
about the many staff persons in Congress and the Executive
Branch who either stare at their shoes or simply tell their
bosses what they want to hear. The shoe staring arises when a
elected official says something outlandish or wrong, but no
one has the nerve to correct him or even put better
information into the conversation. Al's failure to play these
games may have foreclosed certain career options, but he was
usually in his element in the jobs he took, always just below
the surface visible to the public but right at the heart of
policy.
It's hard to convey fully the loss to the policy community,
much less to Al's friends and loved ones. I do know this.
Al's death warns us once again that those who would serve
must do it now, not later after some power has been obtained
or some career ambition achieved. Thanks, Al. And every time
I see still more silliness in the tax or budget process, I'll
sense your outrage that it couldn't have been done better and
your humor at how it all happened. I'll try to maintain hope
that, with people like you to grace our lives, maybe, just
maybe, we can muddle through once again.
____
Reflections at the Mass of Christian Burial for Albert J. Davis, St.
Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Arlington, Virginia, Monday, June 9,
2003
My name is Dan Maffei. I am the spokesperson on the
Democratic Staff of the Committee on Ways and Means where Al
worked.
I first got to know Al though his memos. Al's memos were
sort of like his Star of Bethlehem. They did not reveal all
the truths but they led you to him and you were seldom
disappointed.
Al's title was ``Chief Economist'' but Al knew more tax law
than most tax counsels and virtually anything about the
federal budget. He knew American history. When I had a
question about physics or Latin, it was a pretty good bet Al
would know that too.
And Al didn't just know the answers, he knew where the
answers came from. He could explain how to understand them to
any journalist or staff member--his ``clients'' or
``customers'' as he called them.
Al was a greater communicator.
Too often, the simple soundbite answer can lead to unfair
and unjust policy.
But, as a wise member of the Ways and Means Committee once
said, ``If you have to `splain it' you've already lost.''
Al Davis was the antidote to that axiom.
Al could, by explaining something so well and so clearly,
reveal the simple truth within a complex issue.
Al produced both quality and quantity. Memos, e-mails,
distribution analyses, spreadsheets, one-pagers and charts--
charts, charts, charts.
With such preparation, it is easy to understand why Al was
such a good sailor and outdoorsman. Compared to Al, the best
boy scout would look impromptu.
Al even could predict the future.
On the House floor, he was a walking library. A member
would ask some obscure question and Al would say, ``I happen
to have something on that right here.''
Though he had served with distinction in the United States
Army, Al was not particularly good at taking orders, and not
good at delegating. But that did not matter. He was a staff
unto himself.
Al had many bosses throughout his career but his big secret
was that he really worked for himself. All of his bosses
would quickly realize that, if allowed to do it his way, Al
could cause a great deal of trouble for some and do a great
deal of good for the working Americans.
``Business is good,'' Al would say.
He would reveal the gimmicks, debunk myths, and correct bad
numbers.
A couple of weeks ago, the Senate Republicans' tax bill was
derailed by ``an estimating error.'' A memo Al had written
two days earlier revealed a flawed estimate. Even as Al lay
in the hospital, he had thrown a wrench in the works of those
trying to get away with too many short-cuts.
Al was angry at the current Administration and the
Republicans, not for their views but for their dishonesty.
Al did not sit well for lies.
Honest opinions, honest numbers, honest budgeting--these
meant a great deal to Al.
He had a particular dislike of logically inconsistent
statements that were designed to con the public. He saw only
one rational reaction--ridicule.
As he wrote, ``Most recently, the President has equated tax
cuts with `jobs.' He has warned against a first-round of tax
cuts as `small' as $350 billion. If economics is that simple,
why not eliminate all taxes? If economics were that simple,
families could get
[[Page H5166]]
ahead by spending twice their income every year.''
Al's sarcasm had a lighter side too, frequently accompanied
by that trademark grin.
Back in the army, Al would quip that he was given a rifle
to guard a paint shed, a night stick to guard a depot, and
nothing at all to guard the Pentagon.
Many years later when the Bush White House sent up a budget
wrapped in an American flag cover, Al's memo ripping the
budget's tax provisions apart had a bold stars and stripes
watermark.
As the war in Iraq got under way, Al sent the following e-
mail: ``The newspapers today say that the stock market
`soared' upon news of the war. Forget the dividend tax cut
plan, the stock market is taken care of.''
Recently, I sent Al an e-mail about a new Democratic
Leadership Council idea to set up a ``prosperity reserve
fund'' so the Federal government could put away money to pay
down debt later on. Al's response was five words: ``Ringling
Brothers Barnum and Bailey''
That was not the only Democratic dumb idea that came Al's
way. As each new young staffer came along, feeling that he or
she really had the solution, and came to Al with their flawed
idea, Al would sign. Or, it was something he had heard a
dozen times before, it would ge the head shake.
Al was well practiced at rolling his eyes.
Yet, Al had near endless patience. Frequently, a young
legislative aide would assure Al had lost patience with him
when, lo and behold, they would get an e-mail from Al with
all the answers they needed.
Al disdained it when other staffers or members of Congress
would take themselves too seriously. That was a trait he did
not have.
In fact, the most frequent victim of Al's acerbic wit was
Al himself. He would apologize for ``torturing'' people with
his depth explanations. Or say that some foolish person
decided to do a detailed analysis of this bill and then
attach a memo that he himself had done.
Just about 6 weeks ago, I asked Al whether he had ever
taught college. Al could have made a great college professor.
Al said that had he finished his Ph.D., he might have
considered it.
But that would have taken Al out of the front lines. In the
fight for better government and for a better life for the
working people of this country, Al was in the best place he
could be.
For even though Al could seem cloistered among his books
and files and spreadsheets, and even though he would shun
meetings and had to be dragged to the House door, Al loved
being an agent in the process--and a potent one at that. He
had found work worthy of himself.
And besides, it didn't whether he had the title, Al was the
best professor I ever had.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Sandlin), also a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. SANDLIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina
for yielding to me.
Mr. Speaker, unlike many of my colleagues on the Committee on Ways
and Means, I only knew Al Davis well for a brief period of time,
although now I am in my fourth term. I had previously met Al, but I
recently became a member of the committee. It did not take me long to
learn that Al was an invaluable resource to all of us.
Al's mastery of economics, his vast institutional knowledge and
patient demeanor, combined with the rare ability to simplify and
explain complex data, helped ease my transition and the transition of
many others to the committee.
{time} 2045
It served committee Democrats well during crucial tax debates.
As several poignant columns have pointed out this past week,
including these that have been referred to in The Washington Post and
in Tax Notes, Al worked tirelessly to shed light on the ways in which
data and statistics can be and often are manipulated and misrepresented
to serve narrow purposes. At the same time, Al was proudly partisan and
used his extensive knowledge to influence public debate on economic and
fiscal policy.
Whether one agreed or disagreed with Al, everyone who was familiar
with him acknowledged the accuracy of his data and the sincerity of his
motives. He never stopped fighting for economic justice, and he was
especially passionate in his criticisms of the increasing inequities in
the Tax Code. He clearly stood for the working men and the working
women of this country.
His charts, graphs, spreadsheets and memos were highly regarded on
the Hill and among fiscal and budget policy experts, and his research
and presence will be greatly missed.
As many speakers here today are aware, Al's office space was a study
in controlled chaos. I met with Al in his office shortly after I joined
the committee in January, and I was impressed with both the volume of
material in his office and the fact that he was able to quickly locate
seemingly obscure information with very little effort. As committee
members and staff know, Al typically carried much of this material with
him at all times, carried it with him to the floor; and he always had
relevant information handy. During our heated debates, he was a
constantly reassuring sight to all of us on this side of the aisle and
could always be counted on to clearly and concisely refute arguments on
fiscal and budget policy made by our colleagues on the other side of
the aisle.
Simply put, Al is irreplaceable, a reality check for both Republicans
and Democrats; and his friends and colleagues will feel his loss for
years to come.
Al's friend and a friend to the committee, Janice Mays, is the
Democratic staff director and Al's most recent boss. On the issue of
going forward from this point, she recently said, ``Al would want us to
keep fighting. He would not want us to stop just because he is not one
of the troops anymore.''
There could be no better memorial than that; and Mr. Speaker, there
could be no better compliment.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett), also a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, as I am sure is the case with each of those
who have spoken tonight, I come to these remarks with a heavy heart,
one of the more difficult remarks that I make here I guess for two
reasons, both because of my affection for Al and because he is not here
to help me with the speech.
As I look back over the floor, I see the spots where I would see Al
sitting with John Buckley and Janice Mays and Dan Maffei, with Beth
Vance and other members of the staff of our committee, knowing the loss
that each of us speaks of tonight as a Member is a loss that has been
suffered by his colleagues who worked with him, the closest as staff
members on the Committee on Ways and Means.
But I think of the many times that I have been here when I was over
there vigorously scribbling the final notes of what I might say in
rebuttal to some argument I heard when Al would come over and note
something that had been omitted from the debate and totally change my
speech; or when having concluded that the strongest argument for our
side was a particular bit of data, I would turn to Al and have him
indicate that it really was not quite as solid as perhaps the sheet
that had come out from one of the various groups particularly
interested in the matter might have indicated and that a stronger
argument was to be found somewhere else.
Al did all this with that sense of gentleness, of cooperation that
has been spoken of by others here tonight. He was a remarkable
individual.
Also, I still have a collection of e-mails from Al because, as others
have also pointed out, Al would see some bit of contradiction. One of
them I came across was one that in a simple message said I was struck
by the following sentence in the President's speech last night,
preceded by an analysis by Al of the contradictions between what the
President said and what the President and his administration had done.
Al has provided the kind of careful insight to public policy, the
kind of careful analysis of the numbers but also with an understanding
of the human condition, an understanding in a life varied in
experience, filled with love from his family and from his colleagues,
and he brought that special insight to us so that it was not just a
matter of regurgitating the numbers but of putting flesh and bone on
those numbers and translating them into what they meant to ordinary
American citizens in a way that few people I met here, either elected
or unelected, have a capacity to do.
As I think about the tragic loss of Al, something that came so
unexpectedly to all of us, to his family, his friends, his colleagues,
I think that while I will add a few more specifics in my extended
remarks here tonight, that I would want to reflect on Al's commitment
to words like dedication, industry, loyalty and integrity and would
[[Page H5167]]
say that when it came to issues like retirement security, like assuring
that people could get health care, like guaranteeing that there was at
least a little sanity in the budget process, and I initially met Al
working with the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) and with
his predecessor, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo), as a young
member of the Committee on the Budget, on issues like tax fairness that
have been so important to me personally, that Al was committed to those
issues.
His tragic passing reminds us that we never know how long our tenure
and our ability to serve what we view the public interest is going to
be, and I think we are called upon in remembering Al to remember the
causes that were most important to him and to redouble our efforts in
his spirit and on his behalf to fight for fairness, to oppose
hypocrisy, to stand up for what is right for the American people in
much the way Al would do if he could be here offering us suggestions
tonight.
Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues gathered here
today to honor and memorialize Ways and Means Democratic Staff
Economist Al Davis who life was tragically cut short.
Al dedicated many years of his life to helping Democrats in the House
of Representatives promote policies to improve the lives of America's
working families. He did this first when working for the House Budget
Committee Democratic staff and more recently with the Ways and Means
Committee Democrats as our chief economist.
Those of us lucky enough to serve in Congress know how important the
role of staff really is. A good staffer is not someone who will just
agree with you--though it takes many of us a very long time to discover
that reality. The best staffer is someone who understands the facts and
helps you use those facts to promote policy that you support or oppose,
but will tell you when the facts aren't on your side.
Al excelled in this role. He knew the tax code and budgetary impact
of any change in law better--and more quickly--than almost anyone. If
you needed the facts to support your argument, he was there with a memo
to assist you. But, only if your argument was correct and could be
substantiated! And, that was why Al will be missed so greatly. He'd
tell you if the facts didn't support you--and you couldn't convince him
to do otherwise.
There are two words that I think best describe Al Davis. The first is
``integrity''. As I've said above, he always held true to the facts and
helped us do so as well. The second word is ``commitment''. Al was
truly committed to the work he was doing here on Capitol Hill. He was
here helping us whenever the Ways and Means Committee was meeting or
the full House was considering Ways and Means bills--no matter how late
at night it was. When the House wasn't in session late, he was usually
still here long after we'd gone home analyzing bills, making charts and
getting his memos out to us to make sure that we had the facts
necessary to promote or combat various policies.
Al Davis will be sorely missed. He was the consummate Congressional
staffer. We need more Al Davis' on both sides of the aisle. It is very
sad that, instead, we have one less in our presence today.
Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleagues
tonight in celebrating the life, and mourning the loss, of an exemplary
public servant, Al Davis.
Al was the embodiment of the concept of public service. He possessed
an encyclopedic understanding of the tax code and was committed to the
promotion of truth and honesty in American tax and budget policy. In
fact, if there was one word synonymous with Al, it would be
``honesty''. Members and staff on both sides of the aisle expected
nothing but the raw truth from Al, and they were never disappointed. It
was the core of his being.
Armed with a keen sense of American history, a quick mind and sharp
wit, and the passion of his convictions, Al would cut through the
political rhetoric to translate complex technical data into readily
understandable facts. While the Congress may be diminished by his
physical absence, his commitment inspires us to continue the fight for
better government.
Al, you will be missed both personally and professionally. But as you
look down on us from a better place, we will be inspired by your
example and the sense of purpose you set in the fight for a better life
for the working people of our country.
Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this
opportunity to join my colleagues from the Ways and Means Committee
honoring Mr. Al Davis.
As one of the two newest members on the committee in the 108th
Congress, I was privileged to become acquainted with Al and appreciate
his round the clock efforts to make sure the Democratic members of the
committee and their staffs were kept abreast of the upcoming events and
legislation we would be dealing with. And I do mean round the clock.
Messages would come on my Blackberry pager at 11 o'clock at night,
sometimes later. When major bills were getting ready to be discussed in
a hearing or markup before the committee, the first memo that reached
my hands in the morning would be the most recent information that Al
had spent the previous night researching and compiling.
To say that Al provided sage-like advice to the committee is an
understatement. While my colleagues on the committee are extremely
knowledgeable of the economic issues related to the Ways and Means'
jurisdiction, rarely would they not yield to Al as he would offer
greater insights into the complex issues we faced. I think I can speak
for other members when I say that a common first response to questions
we had for our staffs was ``Let me check with Al and see what he
thinks.''
Al's tireless work ethic, attention to detail, and cunning sense of
humor will be remembered by all his friends and colleagues, here on
Capitol Hill and elsewhere. As I take these moments to remember Al, I
also want to thank him for his steadfast commitment to the ideals of
the committee.
____________________