[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 16 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S538]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARTY PAONE

  Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a few words of 
appreciation and to say ``Farewell'' to one of the Senate's finest 
public servants, Marty Paone.
  For our visitors in the gallery, and for our viewers on C-SPAN, it 
may look like Senators are running this place. Mr. President, we know 
better. We trust dedicated, professional staff like Marty Paone to make 
sure things get done.
  As all of my colleagues know, Marty is the secretary for the 
majority, and when we were fewer Democrats around here, he was our 
secretary for the minority. He has held this position for the past 13 
years. Before that, he served as the assistant secretary, worked as 
floor staff and in the cloakroom, going back nearly three decades. In 
short, Marty has spent close to his entire adult life here on the 
Senate floor, getting Senators where they need to be, when they are 
supposed to be there.
  To do his job, Marty has to be a combination of traffic cop, 
diplomat, and parliamentarian--and he has to have the trust of the 
Senators who follow his direction. Marty has that trust, because he has 
earned that trust, and because he has all those other skills, too.
  I have been here 35 years; it is hard for me to remember a time when 
Marty wasn't here. And I don't just mean year in and year out. I mean 
any hour of the day and night. Whenever this place is open for 
business, Marty has been here, helping to maintain order and to get 
things done. We are indebted to his many personal sacrifices, when he 
was here instead of home with his family.
  Indeed, it has been hard to get much done around here without relying 
on Marty's expertise on Senate process. I don't know how he has managed 
to juggle all the demands on him. He is the ``go to guy'' for help on 
moving amendments, overcoming objections, getting a place in line for 
debate, complying with Senate rules, strategizing passing or defeating 
a measure. If you want to know what is happening ``behind the scenes,'' 
Marty is the person to look to. There isn't a vote that happens, there 
isn't a negotiation that takes place, there isn't a unanimous consent 
agreement--which is what makes this place function--that Marty hasn't 
helped to piece together or made sure it's done correctly.
  And Marty works for each of us. While, technically, he works for the 
Democrats, I know that many of my Republican colleagues have turned to 
Marty for guidance. He is known for always being candid and 
straightforward. He has served us all with his honest counsel--you 
could always count on him for a straight answer. And, remarkably, he 
has never lost patience with any of us--no matter what we ask or how 
often we call.
  It is hard to describe to those who haven't spent much time in the 
Senate how very important Marty Paone has been to the Senate, day-to-
day life and historic moments. Mr. President, this is the end of an 
era. We all hope it will be the beginning of a new one for Marty, away 
from the heavy responsibilities he has met so well for so long. We wish 
him well. He will be missed very much.

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