[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 96 (Thursday, July 20, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8043-S8044]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO KATHY A. RUFFING

 Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I take a moment to recognize someone 
who has provided invaluable assistance to the Budget Committee for many 
years. After 25 years of service at the Congressional Budget Office, or 
CBO, as we call it, Kathy A. Ruffing will be retiring at the end of 
this month.
  During her tenure at CBO, Ms. Ruffing earned a well-deserved 
reputation for tirelessly producing high-quality analyses on a wide 
range of topics including interest costs and the Federal debt, Federal 
pay, immigration,

[[Page S8044]]

and Social Security. In particular, Members and their staffs came to 
depend on Kathy's thorough knowledge of the Social Security Program as 
they developed proposals for addressing the program's financial status 
and benefit structure. She also made major contributions to CBO's 
reports on the economic and budget outlook and the reestimates of the 
President's budget. Her analyses always displayed those characteristics 
of CBO's reports that we in the Congress most value--impartiality, 
clarity, and comprehensiveness. In fact, Kathy was a principal 
architect of the formats of many tables on which the Budget Committee 
has come to rely so heavily.
  The Congress will feel the loss of a dedicated public servant who 
selflessly worked extraordinary hours in helping us advance the 
legislative process. We will miss Kathy's expertise and counsel.
  I know that I speak for all of the Members who have served on the 
Budget Committees of the House and Senate during the past 25 years and 
all of our staff when I express our gratitude to Kathy for all of her 
contributions to the legislative process.

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