[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 164 (Sunday, December 18, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H12192-H12195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING HELEN SEWELL ON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT FROM THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 633) honoring Helen Sewell on the occasion of her
retirement from the House of Representatives and expressing the
gratitude of the House for her many years of service.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Res. 633
Whereas Helen Sewell, the proprietor of the concession
stand in the Republican Cloak Room of the House of
Representatives, through her long and devoted service to the
House and its Members, has become a House institution in the
minds and hearts of House Members;
Whereas Helen Sewell has worked at the counter in the Cloak
Room since she was a teenager in the 1930's;
Whereas Helen Sewell's service to the House of
Representatives is a continuation of a family tradition, as
her father began working in the Cloak Room 87 years ago;
Whereas Helen Sewell, as a result of her almost seven
decades of service, has been present for some of the defining
events in the Nation's history and the House's history,
including the attack by Puerto Rican nationalists on March 1,
1954;
Whereas Helen Sewell has established personal relationships
with many of the 20th century's most important Americans,
including Presidents Ford, Nixon, and George H.W. Bush;
Whereas Helen Sewell's dedication to her work, and her
careful attention to Members of the House, has provided both
nourishment and friendship to Members of the House since the
days of the Great Depression;
Whereas Helen Sewell has demonstrated extraordinary
strength and endurance by working long and difficult hours
past her 80th year;
Whereas Helen Sewell received the 1983 John W. McCormick
Award of Excellence for her service to the Congress;
Whereas all who have served as Members in the United States
House of Representatives, and who have had occasion to meet
Helen Sewell, believe that her service to the House is a
matter of historical importance and should be commemorated;
and
Whereas Helen Sewell will retire officially from the House
of Representatives on December 31, 2005: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives honors Helen
Sewell on the occasion of her retirement and expresses its
gratitude for her many years of service.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-
McDonald) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am not going to be lengthy in my comments because I know our
ranking member is going to say something, and then I am going to yield
a lot of time to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), who has
asked for this resolution, and rightfully so to ask for it.
When I came to the House around 11 years ago, I guess, one of the
first persons I ever met was Helen Sewell. And I soon found out she is
probably one of the most important people, in fact, in the U.S. House
of Representatives.
Mr. Speaker, a lot of the public would not be aware unless they had
the chance to be here on the floor, but in back of the Chamber on one
side is the Democrat Cloakroom and on the other side is the Republican
Cloakroom. And of course I have been over in the Democrat Cloakroom.
They have got good sandwiches over there, too, which you can buy. And
in our Cloakroom on the Republican side, Helen runs a little counter
and we call it Helen's Cafe. She makes sandwiches and of course the
Members buy those sandwiches or soup, and she has been doing that for
such a long time. She is just a fine woman who always has a pleasant
smile, always has a good word constantly to say when she was here.
And as many people in the country know, if they watch C-SPAN of
course,
[[Page H12193]]
that we will be voting sometimes till 2 and 3, in fact probably this
morning we will be voting until 4 a.m. And if in fact we are here
voting at 4 a.m. and if Helen were here working, she would be back
there still providing people, you know, with pop and water and
sandwiches and different things, because you cannot get out of the
building at that time to go find something to eat and you are sitting
here long hours. So she did that. She provided that nutrition for
everybody.
But, again, she always did it with such a pleasant smile. Helen is a
lovely woman who really gave, frankly, great service to her country by
doing what she did; and for that, Helen, on behalf of the House, we
think the world of you. We wish you the best in your retirement. And we
send all our love to Helen.
{time} 1545
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I thank my chairman for his words for this delightful woman who has
served so admirably in this House.
I am very pleased to first acknowledge Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes
Norton, whom Ms. Sewell is her constituent, and she has sent a note to
say that because of a scheduled event here in the District, she is
trying to arrive here in time to offer remarks honoring Ms. Helen
Sewell, a longtime Washington, D.C. resident.
Mr. Speaker, this long-serving and dedicated staff of the House
deserves recognition of the Members of this House and the public alike.
I would like to express my appreciation to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania, my dear friend Mr. Curt Weldon, for providing the
opportunity today to praise Helen Sewell for her long, loyal, and
dutiful service. She deserves being singled out for recognition, and
the gentleman from Pennsylvania has captured that in this resolution,
and I am sure his words will also be reflective in that as we speak of
her service to the House, not only her but her father. So certainly she
and her father were and are House institutions.
Having served since she was 15 years old, she has served admirably
following those 87 years of her father. We look at the woman when she
was young and is still young in spirit to see that she has served
almost 7 decades, has been here, has been here as it was said by the
reader, during the attack of Puerto Rican nationalists on March 1 of
1957 and has had personal relationships with many persons and including
Presidents Ford, Nixon, and George H. Walker Bush. She has provided
much friendship and nourishment to the Members of this House and has
had an extraordinary endurance and strength in her long-working years.
I would like to say that she deserves this recognition. It is a fitting
tribute, and it speaks volumes of the type of institutional dedication
that is all too hard to find in our world today.
However, she is a representative of others who labor in this House
during the people's business by supporting us policymakers as we carry
out our constitutional roles. So Ms. Sewell will be retiring on
December 31 after many long-serving years. But there are other staffers
who are retiring and who have served admirably as well. While we honor
Ms. Sewell on the occasion of her retirement, let us also take this
opportunity to thank and to honor the other House officers and staff
who will follow her into retirement after serving this House for more
than 30 years. Kudos to all of those great folks.
Mr. Speaker, all Members wish her good health and good fortune, and
we want her to start a new chapter of her life.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon), and I want to
thank him for bringing this resolution to the floor. This was his idea
on behalf of the House to do it, and we certainly appreciate it.
(Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to revise
and extend his remarks.)
Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I, first of all, want to
thank the distinguished chairman and the ranking member for their
outstanding support of this legislation, and this legislation is
extremely important because it sends a signal not just to our
colleagues but to the country that this is an institution where we all
work together in a very compatible way.
Oftentimes people who watch C-SPAN and people who read about the
Congress think that we are filled with adversity, that we do not get
along, and nothing could be further from the truth.
This is a great institution. I have had the pleasure of serving here
now 19 years. I am in my tenth term, and I have met some wonderful
people, people on both sides of the aisle, people who may disagree on
the issues but are strong and close friends when we get together when
we are not in session or when we have events that are important for
this country.
But what makes this institution work are the staff, the people who
work behind the scenes, the people who take down the minutes of what is
said, the clerks, the people who record, the people who run the C-SPAN
camera system, the people who run this institution of the building
itself, the Architect of the Capitol and the employees. And while many
members of the public do not get to see behind the scenes, there are in
fact two Cloakrooms, one for each side of the aisle. Yet we are
certainly welcome to go into either Cloakroom anytime. There is no
prohibition, and I am sure Helen has served perhaps as many meals to
Democrats as she has to Republicans.
And it is appropriate that we honor someone who has been with this
institution for one-third of the history of this institution. Can we
imagine that, Mr. Speaker? This woman served this country and this
institution for a period of time that is equal to one-third of the
history of this Nation and this institution. A woman who started
following in her father's footsteps when she was a teenager, he would
bring here down here to the Republican Cloakroom. Her father ran the
Cloakroom where, during the hours that we were in session, Members can
go back and take telephone calls. They can purchase a sandwich or a cup
of soup. They can sit and chat. And Helen was always there for the past
71 years to provide an atmosphere of friendship, an atmosphere of
positive reinforcement after Members of Congress from time to time
would leave the well after having given lengthy speeches.
And she served during unbelievable times, starting with the Great
Depression and serving in this institution when some of the great
moments in our country's history were declared, when some of the
greatest State of the Union speeches were made.
So she is a part and a legacy of what makes this institution great,
and it is only appropriate that we honor her in this way because, in
fact, Mr. Speaker, she served 71 years. There is no employee in the
history of the Congress, including Members of the House or Senate, who
has served more than Helen Sewell.
Helen could not be with us today, Mr. Speaker, but she is watching
this proceeding from her bed at her retirement home. We have talked to
Helen's family. We talked to her daughter, and they are watching with
her.
And, Helen, we are not allowed to speak to you directly because that
violates the rules of the House, but through the Speaker, I will say to
you, Helen, that we wish you well. We are all thinking about you. Many
of your friends are signing a card for you, and if you look behind me,
these beautiful roses will be delivered to you later on today as a
symbol of the love that all 1,500 Members of Congress that you have
come in contact feel about your service.
Every Member of Congress has had a chance to interact with Helen
Sewell. Think of that. Fifteen hundred Members of Congress that have
come and gone over the past 71 years have interfaced with this lady.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, we keep these photographs in the back of the
Cloakroom that I thought it might be appropriate to let our
constituents see. Here is Helen Sewell, and it shows the love by
Presidents of the United States who also served as former Members of
Congress. We can see by the admiration that these Presidents have for
Helen that they enjoyed her company, and we can see the high degree of
respect that
[[Page H12194]]
they would pay to her when they frequently visited the House Chambers.
Now, because she worked for us I do not have any photographs of
Democrat Presidents, but I know President Clinton was just as fond of
Helen Sewell as were Republican Presidents, but it is just that she
worked for our side.
This is another photograph of Helen with one of our dear Presidents.
So, Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a celebration of this
institution. It is a celebration 1 week before Christmas, where we in
fact are wrapping up the business of the people. But we take the time
to honor those people who allow this institution to work, the people
whom you do not see, the people who do not make the speeches, the
people who do not go out and get their pictures on national TV and in
the media, but the people whom really we rely on to allow us to be
successful.
Helen, we thank you for your great support and the commitment you
have made to America in support of our Congress.
Helen has three children: Jameille Thomas, Anthony Sewell, and Ava
Fuller.
Ava, thank you for talking to me today and telling me about your
mother.
Helen's father brought her to this institution, and we want to also
recognize Helen's father. And, boy, did he have an appropriate name:
Benjamin Franklin Jones. It was Helen's father who brought her to this
institution 71 years ago to allow her to begin to work and love this
institution that was such a critical part of her life.
Helen was also involved with her church. She was active with the
Petworth United Methodist Church here in D.C. She was a trustee. She
was a church historian. She was an active member of the Northwest Civic
Association. Helen has nine grandkids, and I have been told she has too
many great grandkids to number, that it is probably in the dozens and
dozens.
And we also, Helen, have to tell a few secrets about you, because as
these Members of Congress would go into the back Cloakroom to get
sandwiches we would sometimes have to get Helen's attention.
Helen had a small TV set, one of these small 10-inch TV sets. And
Helen's favorite preoccupation, when she was not waiting on Members of
Congress, was watching the soaps. Helen was a national expert and
historian on the soap operas. She could tell us any day of the week who
was dating whom and which person was, in fact, in trouble with which
other person.
Helen, we will preserve those memories of your activities in the
Cloakroom and the fact that your famous word of hollering to us
``next'' will be remembered by all the Members of Congress that miss
you today. But when they enter the Cloakroom and see that sign above it
that says ``Chez Helen,'' the House of Helen, that was in fact provided
by our former colleague Amo Houghton, we want you all to know, Helen,
that we love you, that we miss you, that your retirement is a symbol of
work that you have put forward and it is a symbol of how we in this
institution have to from time to time stop and say ``thank you,''
``thank you'' to those people behind the scenes who make this Congress
and this institution such an important part of America's history and
legacy.
Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congresswoman very
much for yielding me this time, and as usual we pay great respect and
appreciation for her leadership on so many of these legislative
initiatives that bring tribute and honor and respect to Americans
throughout the Nation.
Let me thank the chairman of the House Administration Committee. We
are always noting that this is a committee that serves the House, and
we thank Mr. Ney for his able leadership on providing that outstanding
service.
I thank Mr. Weldon for acknowledging that we may be out front but our
existence is based upon the hardworking men and women that serve
America by serving the United States Congress, both the House and the
Senate.
And that is why I rise, because I had the pleasure in my tenure here
to stick my head into the Republican Cloakroom. As my colleagues well
know, Members meet and talk on many issues in our respective
Cloakrooms, and we travel back and forth between the Cloakrooms. And I
had the opportunity to meet Ms. Sewell and to watch her hold court, if
you will, and preside.
We may be presiding here, Mr. Speaker. The Speaker may be in the
Speaker's chair, but I can tell my colleagues, as I watched Helen
Sewell work she was presiding. She knew all the Members. She knew what
they liked and disliked. And I would say from her actions, she showed
us that she truly loved and respected this institution.
Many of us are here because we love and respect the values of America
and this institution. And Helen, through her family's legacy, Benjamin
Franklin Jones, her father, showed that. Is it not amazing that this
family has owned this institution, this business that has served in the
Cloakroom on the Republican side, for 87 years and to note that she has
been here during such challenging times as thousands of State of the
Union addresses and, of course, the tragedy of the Puerto Rican
nationalists attack on March 1, 1954. She is renown and known to
Presidents Presidents Ford, Nixon, and certainly President George H. W.
Bush.
{time} 1600
Also, I would say that being such a young person and coming to this
institution, she is knowledgeable about American history, certainly by
listening to bits and pieces from Members. She has seen the war in
World War II, the Vietnam War, certainly the Persian Gulf war, and
certainly other incidences of history.
Helen Sewell received the 1983 John W. McCormick Award of Service for
service to the Congress. As I indicated, this legislation indicates she
will retire on December 31, 2005. So I think it is appropriate today
that we stand here, among the other responsibilities we have, and be
able to salute Helen Sewell on the occasion of her retirement and
express our deepest gratitude.
It is important to thank those who serve this institution for their
service and to also acknowledge that they love this institution. This
resolution is an appropriate tribute to Helen Sewell and to her family,
her grandchildren, and her children; and I thank you, Mr. Weldon and
Mr. Ney and Ms. Millender-McDonald for allowing the Members to come to
the floor and pay their tributes. May God bless Helen Sewell, and God
bless America.
Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me again thank Representative Curt Weldon for a
great tribute to this outstanding woman. What a great Representative
you are in bringing this to the floor today and to display all of the
beautiful pictures that you have shown to us today in honor of this
great lady.
Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives honors Ms. Sewell on the
occasion of her retirement and expresses its gratitude for her many
years of service. We thank you, Ms. Sewell.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time, and I want to thank Mr. Weldon from Pennsylvania and all those
who have come down here this afternoon to honor just a great lady, a
wonderful person. For as long as this building stands, Helen's Cafe
will be an intimate part of the U.S. Capitol.
Emerson said heroism is the quiet obedience to the secret impulse of
character; and whenever we walked into Helen's Cafe, we had that sense.
We could look at Helen and our stress would wash away with her smile,
our anxiety about partisan politics or legislation or not getting
something done would somehow become a little bit more eased.
Her remarks at the Members leaning up against that counter talking
about this or talking about that would be, ``Oh, Lord.'' I can still
hear Helen saying ``Oh, Lord.'' Or if you made a comment about her
sandwiches were too expensive, of course they were always a fraction of
the price of what they would be anywhere else, but if you said
something like that, ``Helen, this is a
[[Page H12195]]
little pricey, I only got a sandwich and a glass of water,'' she said
``Oh, Lord.''
Her stories about her family and her father and the perspective has
been given here this afternoon. But can you imagine someone coming here
while President Roosevelt was the President, Richard Nixon and Jack
Kennedy were Members of Congress, and, it has already been spoken,
World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, conflicts around the
world with the Middle East, the Persian Gulf war, right on up to the
present conflict in Iraq.
Her advice to us, and we took it, was, ``You need your rest. Rest
yourself.'' Can you hear Helen saying that? ``Rest yourself.'' Or if
you had a sandwich and you did not want anything to drink she would go
around and get you a glass of water. ``You have to wash that down with
something. It is too dry. You need something to drink. You need your
nourishment.'' How many times did we hear Helen say that? ``You need
your nourishment. You work too hard.''
Mr. Speaker, we still talk about Helen in Helen's Cafe. And Miss
Helen, Pat is doing a great job. She is following your suit. She is set
in Helen's Cafe because of your gentle, serene example.
By the way, I have to say this through the Speaker, if you are
heading across the Bay Bridge on that church bus and you are going to
do what you like to do in Delaware, you have a standing invitation to
stop at my house to play 500 rummy. Now, we might throw out a few
pennies there, but there is a standing invitation from all of us.
Helen, we wish you Merry Christmas, the best of holidays, and your
character, that secret impulse that you left us, will linger here for
all time.
Thank you, Curt.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am just going to conclude by thanking the Members for
being here today, our ranking members. This could not have happened
without Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald being here and taking
her time to give tribute, and, of course, the other Members,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Congressman Gilchrest. Especially,
of course, I want to thank Congressman Weldon of Pennsylvania for doing
this, for giving Helen the honor that she so deserves.
Obviously, from everything that we have heard today, I think the
whole Nation can understand the feeling we have for Helen and how we
miss her being here. Of course, when I conclude, I am going to ask for
the Record to be kept open because Members are going to want to submit
statements for the record to Helen to give her the honor she so
deserves. So we wish Helen the best.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr.
Dreier).
Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend, the chairman of
the House Administration Committee, for yielding me time.
I was just crossing a television between football games, getting
ready to watch the Redskins beat the Cowboys in just a few minutes, and
I caught this flower arrangement here, and then started to see these
photographs of Helen up, and I said, My gosh, what is going on down
here? And it brought back incredible memories for me.
As I know my colleagues on this side of the aisle know, I do not know
if my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know, this is my 25th
year here. I have served exactly half the amount of time that the Dean
of the House, John Dingell, has served. So I have to tell about my
first term.
In my first term, Helen Sewell was in an incredible ceremony that
then Speaker Tip O'Neill presided over. She was honored in the Sam
Rayburn Room right over there, and she was named the Employee of the
Year for the U.S. Capitol. I do not know if it has been stated, but on
one of the plaques we have right here out in the hallway, and we do not
do this terribly often, we have not done it on an annual basis, and, in
fact, after Helen Sewell received that reward, I think we went for a
long period of time without honoring another employee of the year.
But I listened attentively as my friend from Maryland was talking
about Helen making sure that people had enough food and drink in them
to be sustained through these long hours of work. I will tell you as I
listened to that, I was thinking, a number of us have been working very
long hours, and I will tell you I take my hat off especially to the
staff, for there has been literally no sleep for a lot of the staff
members who are trying to get this very important work that we are
proceeding with completed. But Helen would be here ensuring that
everyone was very, very healthy; and she was an inspiration to all of
us. I heard the bit about the soap operas and all that she followed so
attentively.
But I thank my colleagues for recognizing Helen, because she was one
of the first people I met when I came here a quarter century ago, and
she could not have been any nicer to me then, and our thoughts and
prayers are with her.
I look forward to seeing her cross that Bay Bridge and going to play
cards with Wayne Gilchrest. I think that should be an interesting game
when she stops by his house. But I thank my colleagues for recognizing
Helen, who has been a great friend to so many of us.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly pleased to join my
colleagues in honoring Helen Sewell as she retires from the House of
Representatives. Helen Sewell has honored our city as a longtime
resident and the House by devoting extraordinary service under the
particularly difficult hours and circumstances of service in the cloak
room. Ms. Sewell's devotion to the House, to the people of the United
States, and to the District, whom we service, has been so great that
she was still serving at 80 years old. Her loyalty to the House and its
work has given vital support to Members of Congress and to the
important business of the country.
As the House honors Ms. Sewell and wish her well, the residents of
the District of Columbia join me in thanking Helen Sewell for dedicated
service to the House of Representatives.
Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) that the House suspend the
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 633.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas
and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will
be postponed.
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