[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15955-S15958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PATRICIA KNIGHT

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I may need a little more than 10 minutes 
because this is an important speech for me.
  I am grateful for the opportunity today to pay tribute to a wonderful 
woman, dedicated public servant, health policy expert and my chief of 
staff, Patricia Knight, or as many know her in the Senate--Trisha.
  We were all sad to learn last week that, after over 34 years of 
public service, Trisha has decided to leave the Senate family at the 
end of the year, which in the arcane ways of the Senate could be any 
number of days between now and December 31. In fact, had I been able to 
convince her to stay until January 7, we would have been able to 
celebrate with her the 34th anniversary of her first job on Capitol 
Hill.
  Trisha was born here in the District and grew up in Arlington. She 
progressed through Jamestown Elementary School, Williamsburg Junior 
High School and Yorktown High School. We like to kid her about the fact 
that this is the pathway that launched CBS newswoman Katie Couric.
  When I first approached Trish about being my chief of staff, she 
quickly pointed out that she was not from Utah. However, always 
thinking on her feet, she rapidly concluded that graduating from 
Syracuse University, or Syracuse U, was close enough to 4 years in 
Syracuse Utah! And that became her story.
  I might add that she graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse 
University, where she majored in anthropology and photojournalism, 
which makes her in my mind uniquely qualified to work in this body.
  Trisha never intended to work on Capitol Hill. She is the daughter of 
a pair of Washington journalists, both deceased. But, I know they are 
watching over her and are very proud of what she has accomplished.
  She always reminds the young people who come to work in my office 
that she got her first Federal job by walking up and down Constitution 
Avenue passing out resumes and the old Civil Service form SF-171.
  She was initially hired as a temporary typist at the U.S. Department 
of Commerce, which it turned out was a lucky career start, because she 
found out later she had flunked the typing test but they hired her 
anyway.
  That became her launching pad for work in the office of our former 
colleague, and then House member, Senator Jim Broyhill of North 
Carolina, the ranking Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  He trained her well. She moved from caseworker, to legislative 
correspondent, to legislative assistant. I would like to say it was a 
meteoric rise--but in those days the average Hill staffer stayed more 
than 2 years. Trisha was there for almost 8 years--day, night, and many 
weekends.
  I knew she would be a real asset to my staff because of her 
considerable government experience.
  Before coming to the U.S. Senate, Trisha served in the executive 
branch for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. It is 
interesting that she worked at two cabinet agencies twice--the Commerce 
Department and Health and Human Services. The Cabinet secretaries she 
served include Richard Schweiker, Margaret Heckler, Otis Bowen, M.D., 
Lou Sullivan, M.D., and Bob Mosbacher.

  Trisha is perhaps best known for her work at HHS--she served twice as 
a deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human 
Services and is considered by many as one of the top health policy 
experts in Washington, D.C. In that job, she was a line officer in the 
Public Health Service, as well as a staffer for the Secretary, and she 
worked for some of my favorite people--Dr. Ron Docksai, Dr. Bob Windom, 
and Dr. James O. Mason.
  In addition to her work for Senator Broyhill when he served in the 
House, she has also served on the staff of the House Appropriations 
Committee, where she was minority clerk for the legendary Silvio Conte 
of Massachusetts on three appropriations bills: Commerce-State-Justice; 
Legislative Branch; and Foreign Operations.
  I felt very fortunate when Trisha agreed to work in my office as a 
volunteer after the defeat of President George H.W. Bush. In fact, I 
tried to hire her the first week, but she flippantly informed me I 
didn't have the budget to do it.
  A few months later, I found that money, and she joined my health 
staff, rising quickly to become my health policy director.
  She is one of the shrewdest, smartest, most effective legislative 
minds in the Senate. She deeply understands the legislative process and 
has cultivated relationships with health policy experts throughout this 
country and

[[Page S15956]]

around the world. She truly knows everyone and the proper way to get 
things done, on health care, and a whole range of issues. She has a 
rare combination of policy expertise and legislative know-how. In other 
words, she not only knows what to do, she knows how to make it happen. 
Those are rare qualities anywhere; certainly around here.

  She is very proud of her work in Senate infrastructure development, 
including her active membership in the Senate Chief of Staff 
organization and its executive committee. She has been a real leader in 
that organization. She has worked hard to be a capable administrator 
and manager and to help develop our staff and our institutional 
knowledge.
  She also takes pride in the young people whose careers she has helped 
launch on Capitol Hill. I often hear her tell young legislative staff--
in the words of her good friend and mentor, Don Hirsch: ``Read the 
bill,'' as only she can say. I am a poor substitute.
  The legislation she has worked on is really among the most important 
in my service on Capitol Hill. Trisha was by my side when we finally 
persuaded Congressman Waxman, Congressman Dingell, and Senator Kennedy 
to allow the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to go through. 
The Governor of New Mexico, now running for President on the Democratic 
side, was my prime cosponsor on that bill.
  It was a journey of several years. It was a legislative campaign that 
has served as the model for many pieces of legislation since. And, I 
might add, it was the only major health bill to be enacted in 1994, the 
year of President Clinton's Health Security Act.
  She was by my side in 1997, when Senator Kennedy and I worked with 
Senators Chafee and Rockefeller to enact the CHIP legislation in a 
record 144 days. People know how important that bill is. Virtually 
everybody in our society today recognizes the importance of the CHIP 
legislation. I know she had hoped to stay on and see the 
reauthorization finished this year, but we will do all we can to get it 
done next year. She has played a pivotal and extremely important role 
in that remarkable landmark legislation.

  She has had an influential role in development of so many other 
pieces of law--reforming the Food and Drug export laws, allowing 
medical volunteers at Community Health Centers to be covered under the 
Federal Tort Claims Act, so many of the budget reconciliation bills, 
including the landmark Medicare Modernization Act, all of the major FDA 
bills we have considered in the past 2 decades, including the 
Prescription Drug User Fee Acts and the Medical Device User Fee Acts. 
That is only mentioning a few of the bills and mainly in the health 
care area--not counting all of the other areas where she has played a 
pivotal and very important role. She also served on the Judiciary 
Committee, where she worked on nominations, patents and controlled 
substances issues, among many, many others.
  This week, as she is delighted to note, she assisted in seeing the 
first bill she drafted pass unamended--legislation to rename the 
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development as the Eunice 
Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human 
Development. I think most people who really know, knew how close I am 
to Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver and how much I love Eunice 
Kennedy Shriver. This woman has given so much to our country. Frankly, 
she is one terrific human being, as was her husband when he worked in 
so many positions in the Federal Government.
  This was a bill that Trish drafted, helped to push through, along 
with myself, and I am really pleased that Eunice Kennedy Shriver will 
be memorialized. It is something she always took credit in--the 
National Institue of Child Health and Human Development. She has worked 
with children all over the world and deserves that distinguished honor.
  The list on and on. There are some that have not become law yet--and 
I know she regrets that--but I think we may still see the Knight agenda 
enacted. Two of these are allowing vitamins to be purchased with food 
stamps--a commonsense measure for good nutrition, and even more 
importantly, allowing FDA approval of biosimilars, my high priority.
  Trish spearheaded for me the Kennedy-Hatch Biologics Price 
Competition and Innovation Act of 2007, reported earlier this year by 
the HELP Committee.
  Trisha also is a walking rolodex. She knows everyone--including just 
about every health policy expert in the country. When she made her 
announcement on Friday, a flurry of e-mails came into the office. I 
would like to share just a few of them which I think you will enjoy, 
and which show her true character.
  One of my former staff directors for the Senate Labor Committee noted 
in response to her announcement:

       I can't believe you plan to hang up your whip. Ringmasters 
     occasionally take breaks, but that doesn't mean they quit the 
     circus. Senator Hatch thinks the world of you, as do we all. 
     Whatever your final decision, I hope it keeps you in public 
     affairs.

  One of Senator Kennedy's former staff directors said,

       The planets are realigning. The tectonic plates of the 
     earth are shifting. The sea is parting. The world will never 
     be the same again.

  Those Kennedy staffers always do go in for the hyperbole, don't they? 
That is why they are so successful.
  A leadership staffer noted:

       It truly will be a loss to the whole Senate.

  A Utah mayor and CEO told Patricia:

       I cannot tell you how much we have appreciated your help. 
     You will be sorely missed. Your ability to make a difference 
     on Capitol Hill is evident. You have been a great friend and 
     ally. Your work ethic is unmatched by anyone I have seen on 
     the Hill. When you combine that with your knowledge of key 
     areas like HHS issues, you have been a very effective 
     government operative.

  A Utah political leader noted:

       Trisha is the brightest political strategist I have known 
     in all my years in politics. She has the ability to put 
     together a long-term strategy to deal with a crisis before 
     the crisis occurs. Her perspective and insight into issues is 
     unsurpassed.

  And one last example, a former Robert Wood Johnson fellow in my 
office noted:
       You know, you were singlehandedly responsible for my whole 
     perspective change on the reality of government and its 
     operation . . . The amount of information you have in your 
     mind, from your experiences, and all that you have done for 
     others, is staggering.
       You will always be a close and dear friend and my life/
     career has been better for knowing you in that role. No 
     matter where you find yourself, my admiration and respect 
     will only grow. While I was there (and since), you made sure 
     that I had a life changing experience and got to see and hear 
     it all.

  People on the ``outside'' who deal with many, many congressional 
staff, hold Trisha in the highest regard--for her expertise, her 
masterful strategic thinking, and for her straightforwardness, 
scrupulous honesty and sense of fair play. But more importantly, they 
genuinely like her because she is, above all, a wonderful, generous 
person.

  Over the years, Trisha has spent weeks traveling through Utah, 
meeting with county and city officials and getting a good feel for the 
issues and challenges Utahns are facing throughout our State. She has 
made it a point to get to know our great State and know it well. She 
brought to that task all she had learned in her government career, an 
experience that undoubtedly helped our State in innumerable ways. In 
fact, when he heard she was leaving, our House colleague, 
Representative Chris Cannon, said:

       It is the State's great loss.

  Trisha has the love and respect of everyone in the Senate, in Utah 
and those whose lives she has touched.
  I will always appreciate her wise counsel and deep commitment to me, 
to my staff and to the citizens of Utah. Her sense of humor has defused 
many a tense time.
  Trisha has been my right hand for many, many years--indeed, she is my 
longest-serving chief of staff and I will miss her greatly. In fact, 
one wag blogged upon hearing this news in the Salt Lake Tribune--I hope 
when she leaves she'll take Hatch with her. I thought that was a little 
coarse myself.
  I ask unanimous consent that these articles be printed in the Record 
at this point.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S15957]]

              [From the Salt Lake Tribune, Dec. 15, 2007]

             Hatch's ``Right Hand'' To Leave by Year's End

                           (By Robert Gehrke)

       Sen. Orrin Hatch's longtime chief of staff and policy 
     adviser on health issues, Patricia Knight, will leave the 
     senator's office before the end of the year, she said Friday.
       Knight said she is leaving before a new law kicks in on 
     Jan. 1, 2008, restricting congressional staffers from 
     lobbying the chamber where they worked for two years. There 
     is a one-year restriction in place now.
       ``It was extremely tough for me, but in the end I felt like 
     I owed it to myself for my future development to not be 
     limited,'' she said. ``That's the only reason I'm doing it 
     now. I love the job and Senator Hatch and working for the 
     people of Utah.''
       Knight told the senator of her decision Thursday evening, 
     she said, and Hatch announced her imminent departure during a 
     staff meeting Friday morning.
       ``Trish has a reputation as one of the best senior 
     legislative staff members of Capitol Hill. But those who know 
     her well realize that she is the best on the Hill,'' Hatch 
     said in a statement. ``She's been my right arm for years and 
     done more for the people of Utah and for this country than I 
     think anyone will ever realize.''
       Hatch promoted Jace Johnson, his legislative director, to 
     take over as chief of staff. Johnson, a graduate of Brigham 
     Young University, has been with the senator for several 
     years, working on issues including transportation, trade, 
     welfare and telecommunications.
       Knight was something of a character among the Senate chiefs 
     of staff. She would do needlepoint during meetings, enjoys 
     Neil Young concerts and has a dry, barbed sense of humor. She 
     likes to garden, spend time at the beach and take care of her 
     dogs, Frank and Maxie.
       Knight came to work for Hatch the day after President 
     Clinton took office in January 1993, volunteering her 
     services temporarily after being forced out of her post as a 
     deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Health and 
     Human Services with the change in administrations.
       She was hired full-time and worked on Hatch's key health 
     care legislation, including helping to write the 1994 dietary 
     supplement legislation and the first State Children's Health 
     Insurance Program in 1997.
       She has been Hatch's chief of staff since 1999, but 
     remained active in health policy, recently helping to 
     negotiate legislation regarding the Food and Drug 
     Administration's regulation of biologic treatments--things 
     like gene therapies, blood and tissue treatments and 
     vaccines.
                                  ____


             [From the Desert Morning News, Dec. 15, 2007]

                  Hatch's Chief of Staff Stepping Down

                        (By Suzanne Struglinski)

       Washington.--Patricia Knight, chief of staff for Sen. Orrin 
     Hatch, R-Utah, will leave government service at the end of 
     the year, she told the senator Thursday. Knight started as a 
     volunteer in Hatch's office in 1993, a status that lasted 
     only a few months before she started working on health-care 
     policy. She has been his chief of staff since 1999 but has 
     worked for the federal government since 1973.
       ``We will miss Trish terribly,'' Hatch said in a statement. 
     ``I know that this is the right time for her, after 34 years 
     serving our country, and I know she will be successful as she 
     moves her career to the private sector.''
       Hatch said she has been his ``right arm for many years'' 
     and that the Virginia native ``has done more for the people 
     of Utah and for this country than I think anyone will ever 
     realize.''
       Knight disagreed with the phrase that she is retiring as 
     she wants to do government consulting or some related work.
       She based her decision to leave on the pending enactment of 
     a new law that would bar her as a former Senate staffer from 
     lobbying other Senate offices for a full year. Under current 
     law, she would only be banned from lobbying Hatch's office 
     for a year.
       Knight feels the new law, designed to stop the so-called 
     revolving door between congressional offices and lobbying 
     shops, is a little unfair. She said it would limit her from 
     talking to senators and their staff members whom she does not 
     now know.
       ``It's not like I have a big influence with people I 
     haven't met,'' Knight said.
       Knight said she will miss Hatch's office and working with 
     the people of the state.
       ``It's going to be different,'' she said. ``I'll be coming 
     at things from a different perspective.''
       Jace Johnson, Hatch's current legislative director, will 
     become chief of staff, Hatch said.
       Johnson and Knight have worked together on issues for 
     several years and ``he is well prepared to serve the people 
     of Utah and the country,'' Hatch said.
       ``Trish has a reputation as one of the best senior 
     legislative staff members on Capitol Hill. But those who know 
     her well realize that she is the best on the Hill,'' Hatch 
     said.

  Mr. HATCH. I will always be extremely grateful for the service she 
has rendered. But more than that, she is a dear friend who could always 
be counted on to tell me the truth. That was really important to me and 
has always been.
  Mr. President, I have been blessed to have superb staff in my 31 
years here in the Senate. The devotion staff have to the institution of 
the Senate is understandable--we are all privileged to serve an 
institution that embodies the liberty and deliberation among free 
people that the Senate represents.
  But the devotion of staff to a Member is, for me, quite humbling. For 
15 years, Trisha Knight has given me and the Senate her expertise, her 
knowledge, and her advice.
  I have been able to rely on her, literally, 24 hours a day during 
these 15 years. I have depended on her to help me pass landmark 
legislation, and surmount difficult challenges. I have relied on her 
advice--even when she felt obliged to tell me what I didn't want to 
hear.
  I have relied, without exception, on her integrity, and I am grateful 
for every day I have had the pleasure of her good character.
  We will all miss Trisha, but I suspect we will be seeing a lot of her 
in the future. We do have a saying: ``Once a Hatch staffer, always a 
Hatch staffer,'' and we will expect her to adhere to that rule. And all 
the other applicable rules and laws, I hasten to add.
  So, as the first session of the 110th Congress draws to a close, I 
hope my colleagues will join me in expressing appreciation for Patricia 
Knight for her loyalty, her service, her counsel, her sacrifice, and 
her commitment to good policy.
  Let me say I have worked with some wonderful people in my days. I 
have had some terrific people help me. I have had people who have been 
loyal, decent, honorable, kind, honest people who have set examples 
around here and, frankly, every one of them has become a very good 
friend.
  In particular, I love Trisha Knight. I believe she has more than 
given her best to the Senate, the Congress, and to the Government of 
the United States of America. I care for her, and I hope she will 
continue to stay in touch with me and with others in our office because 
we are going to need her help. We are going to need her advice from 
time to time. I hope she will always be there for us. I wish Trisha the 
very best in whatever she chooses to do next. I pray for her continued 
good health, success, happiness, love, and joy. She is a great one. I 
have been very privileged to have her with me.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize Patricia Knight 
who is retiring next week after 10 years as Senator Hatch's Chief of 
Staff and 15 years playing a central role in health policy here in the 
Senate.
  Although, I am sure Senator Hatch will describe her role in his 
office, and her work on Judiciary Committee and Finance Committee 
issues, I wanted to rise and acknowledge her contribution to health 
care policy. For the last 15 years, Ms. Knight has been a constant 
advocate for improving the health care system. She has played an 
important role in every piece of device, drug, and supplement 
legislation that has been enacted. She has not just overseen this 
development, but participated. My staff and I have enjoyed working with 
her, as she has made it very clear that she enjoys getting bills 
enacted.
  In the last 3 years as chairman and now ranking member of the HELP 
Committee, Ms. Knight has worked with my staff on all of the 
bioterrorism legislation, the biosimilar legislation, and the recently 
enacted FDA Reform Act. While being Senator Hatch's Chief of Staff, 
Trish worked tirelessly as she felt that this was important legislation 
that needed to be done correctly. She helped organize Republican and 
bipartisan briefings, helped draft and revise language, and encouraged 
everyone late into the night.
  Throughout her interactions she has been a pleasure to work with kind 
words and funny nicknames for all. I thank her for her service and wish 
her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Surely, the Senate will 
miss her.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, the end of this year brings the loss of 
one of this body's most talented, dedicated, and accomplished staff 
members. Patricia Knight, Senator Hatch's longtime chief of staff, is 
retiring after three decades of distinguished public service to the 
Senate, House of Representatives, and the Department of Health and 
Human Services.
  I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing Ms. Knight for at

[[Page S15958]]

least 13 years. My work with her began when Orrin Hatch and I teamed up 
in 1994 to pass the landmark Dietary Supplement Health and Education 
Act, DSHEA. That legislation, which assured continued consumer access 
to and better research into dietary supplements, is a testament to 
Trisha's mastery of health care issues, her commitment to legislating 
across party lines, and her sharp attention to detail. Truly, without 
her, there would be no DSHEA today.
  For the past nearly 30 years, Trisha Knight has been in the middle of 
almost every major piece of health legislation enacted into law. From 
DSHEA to the Children's Health Insurance Program, from the Medicare 
prescription drug legislation to the FDA Modernization Act, her stamp 
is on a host of major laws that will endure for many years to come.
  Mr. President, the American people owe a debt of gratitude to 
Patricia Knight. While most may not know her, they know and appreciate 
the public policies she has helped create. She has worked day and night 
for many years of public service. And all the while she carried with 
her a passion for public policy, an unflagging dedication to her bosses 
and great, sharp wit.
  I wish Trisha all the best as she moves on and tip my hat to her for 
a job well done. She will be missed.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New Hampshire is 
recognized.

                          ____________________