[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 41 (Tuesday, April 4, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING VIVIAN TESSIERI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 4, 2006

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise, belatedly, to recognize the work 
of our long-time legislative clerk, Vivian Tessieri, who retired from 
Government service in February. While Vivian officially left her 
position a couple of months ago, in one sense this is not belated 
recognition because Vivian continues to be a resource to her successor 
as clerk and to everyone on our staff. Indeed, given how central Vivian 
was to all of our activities for so long, it could not be otherwise.
  Vivian joined the Science Committee 29 years ago, in 1977, and served 
under 7 chairmen in a variety of capacities, becoming legislative clerk 
in 1991. Now to those who do not understand the inner workings of the 
Congress, the term ``legislative clerk'' cannot begin to capture the 
significance of that position. The legislative clerk is responsible for 
a whole range of activities that must be accomplished with timeliness 
and precision to enable legislation to move forward. The clerk is also 
the committee recordkeeper, the historical memory of the institution. 
And finally, the clerk is a public face of the committee, undertaking 
such tasks as calling the roll at markups and ensuring that votes are 
recorded properly.
  In all her roles--ranging from the invisible to the highly visible--
Vivian was a model public servant. She undertook her responsibilities 
with care and enthusiasm; one could always assume that anything Vivian 
had to do would be done with the utmost attention to detail. In fact, 
Vivian was so proficient that it was only when she was getting ready to 
depart that we fully appreciated everything she had been doing. So many 
things just appeared to happen ``automatically'' as we moved 
legislation. But what ``automatically'' turned out to mean was that 
Vivian had taken care of matters before anyone else had even thought 
about them. The list of tasks she prepared for her successor, which she 
compiled with her usual attention to detail, was a lengthy and 
mindboggling assortment of activities.
  But Vivian was valued for more than her extraordinary competence and 
professionalism. Everyone on the committee enjoyed working with Vivian 
because she is a delightful person. She is unfailingly pleasant and 
thoughtful and warm and considerate--a colleague that anyone would be 
lucky to have, especially during moments of stress.
  The committee members and staff had several opportunities to express 
these sentiments collectively and individually to Vivian before her 
departure. But I believe it is important that we enshrine these 
thoughts in the Record and that we make sure that the public is aware 
that it is served by dedicated professionals like Vivian Tessieri.
  The committee misses Vivian, but we know she is enjoying her new 
life. And we continue to benefit from her services, not only because we 
still call on her for help, but because we rely daily on all the 
documents she prepared and on all the records she oversaw throughout 
her many years on the committee. And we all continue to strive to match 
her dedication and disposition as we carry on without her.

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