[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO DR. CASSIE STATUTO BEVAN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ERIC CANTOR

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 21, 2007

  Mr. CANTOR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Cassie 
Statuto Bevan, a woman who has served this House and the welfare of 
America's children for more than 20 years.
  To Dr. Bevan, there was no such thing as liberal or conservative when 
it came to protecting the rights and safety of children. In her more 
than 20 years on the Hill, she worked with members on both sides of the 
aisle to write and pass meaningful, effective legislation that would 
keep kids off the streets and in safe, permanent homes. Widely 
considered the ``in-House'' expert on child welfare issues, there was 
rarely, if ever a piece of legislation dealing with the care of 
children that passed without the benefit of Cassie's expertise and 
passion.
  And Dr. Bevan's service began before many of us were elected to serve 
in this chamber. She started her work in the House of Representatives 
in 1984 as a staff member for the newly established Select Committee on 
Children, Youth, and Families, and after several years, she became the 
Republican Staff Director. In 1993, Dr. Bevan joined the National 
Council for Adoption to become the Principal Investigator of the Child 
Protection Project and to head the Council's Office of Public Policy. 
In 1994, the Speaker of the House appointed Dr. Bevan to serve as a 
Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare. The 
following year, Dr. Bevan returned to the House of Representatives as a 
Professional Staff Member to the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the 
Committee on Ways and Means and was promoted to Staff Director at the 
beginning of the 107th Congress.
  In 2001, Dr. Bevan joined then House Majority Whip, Tom DeLay, to 
serve as his Senior Policy Advisor handling child welfare, welfare 
reform, and other domestic issues. She continued to serve as the 
principal staff member to House Majority Leader DeLay on a wide range 
of issues, including his successful efforts to develop the D.C. Family 
Court in the wake of the Brianna Blackmond tragedy. Dr. Bevan was the 
principal staff member on many key pieces of child welfare legislation, 
including the Inter-Ethnic Placement Act of 1996; the Adoption Tax 
Credit of 1996; the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997; the Foster 
Care Independence Act of 1999; the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, 
the D.C. Family Court Act of 2001 and the House passed welfare reform 
reauthorization--the Personal Responsibility, Work and Family Promotion 
Act of 2002.

  Dr. Bevan's work has also been noted outside Capitol Hill and by many 
national organizations. The National Council for Adoption, the National 
Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children, the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Committee to 
Prevent Child Abuse have all rightly honored Dr. Bevan for her 
leadership in child advocacy.
  The House of Representatives may be losing one of our brightest, but 
her fight is not over. In her much-deserved retirement, Dr. Bevan will 
continue her commitment to helping abused and neglected children, and 
will raise awareness as a university professor, teaching future 
generations the battles she has fought, and won, on behalf of the kids 
who need it most.
  We are very sorry to lose such a valuable member of our team, but I 
know our work together is not done. On behalf of all the members who 
have had the opportunity to work with and learn from Dr. Bevan, we wish 
her the best as she continues her fight outside these halls.

                          ____________________