[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 64 (Monday, May 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SUSAN EDGERTON PRAISED FOR SERVICE TO VETERANS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. LANE EVANS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 16, 2005

  Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to publicly recognize and 
express the gratitude of many in Congress and the veterans' community 
to Susan Edgerton, Democratic Staff Director for the Subcommittee on 
Health of the Committee on Veterans Affairs in the U.S. House of 
Representatives.
  Susan is leaving the Committee staff after more than 8 years of 
service, and what she has accomplished in that relatively brief time 
has literally touched every comer of the body of law covering veterans' 
health care services. Her achievements have had profound impact on both 
the VA health care system and the lives of those who enter the doors of 
its facilities. Prominent among her accomplishments are a heightened 
focus on mental health, long-term care and specialized services for 
veterans, access to emergency care and chiropractic care for veterans, 
comprehensive services for homeless veterans, and improved pay for VA 
physicians, nurses and dentists. She has been a principal player in 
assisting Members of Congress in the struggle to acquire adequate VA 
health care funding.
  Before joining the Committee staff, Susan was the Program Director of 
Health Policy for Paralyzed Veterans of America here in Washington. She 
is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received a Masters of 
Science in Public Health in Health Policy and Administration from the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  She has used that education well. Like the majority of successful 
public servants, Susan has quietly and diligently toiled behind the 
scenes to improve the lot of those she serves. With great compassion 
and impressive political and legislative acumen, Susan has made her 
mark in and on this body, garnering tremendous respect and trust on 
both sides of the aisle, and also from her colleagues in the Senate and 
throughout the veterans' affairs community. She has been an 
extraordinary asset to me, to my staff, and most important, to the 
noble mission of caring for veterans and their families. I will miss 
her, and so will a great number of others in this chamber and beyond.
  I know my colleagues will join with me in wishing Susan Edgerton well 
in her next and all future endeavors, and in thanking her for a job 
exceptionally well done.

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