[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E23-E24]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN TRIBUTE TO SHARON SCHULTZE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 13, 2010

  Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the dedication 
and contributions of my Senior Legislative Assistant, Sharon Schultze.
  On Monday, January 11, 2010, Sharon retired after seventeen years of 
service in my Washington Congressional office. In and of themselves, 
these years are enough to qualify her for special recognition, but she 
also served as my Assistant for four years when I was a member of the 
San Diego Board of Education, as my Council Representative for five 
years when I was a member of the San Diego City Council, and in 
numerous roles in many of my campaigns, including Finance Director for 
two of my Congressional Campaigns. When one of my early campaigns 
showed practically a zero in donations for an entire summer month of 
fundraising, I called on her, and the contributors returned. Throughout 
the years, she has been my go-to person when I need something done and 
done right.
  Upon reflection, I believe that her most important contribution has 
been to provide a consistent and friendly voice to the people we are 
serving, knowing many by name. She gives them what they are asking 
for--either the answers they need or information about who can help if 
we are not the right office to call. A visitor or caller never goes 
away without assistance.
  Sharon's work over the years has included legislation that addresses 
people's needs: education, gay and lesbian, health, labor, Native 
American, senior citizen and Social Security, religion, art, welfare, 
women, and veterans issues. She was my sole staff person for the House 
of Representatives Veterans' Affairs Committee (VA) for fourteen years. 
She has met with constituents and lobbyists, answered mail, prepared my 
statements for the VA and the House and talking points for speaking 
engagements, prepared bills for introduction in the House, and written 
press releases. In fact, she has done almost everything in my office, 
from the duties of staff assistant to executive assistant to 
administrative assistant, as needed--just not systems administration.
  She has taken a keen interest in how microcredit and microenterprise 
can help many people in our country, travelling to Bangladesh to learn 
about the Grameen Bank in Dhaka, founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 
Professor Muhammad Yunus.
  She has helped me prepare for many of the awards and recognitions I 
have received, for example, the 2009 Gusi Peace Prize I was recently 
awarded in the Philippines and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award I 
received from the National Education Association in 2003. Her 
supporting role in my work on the issues important to my Filipino 
constituents was critical to my selection as a recipient of the Legion 
of Honor, the highest civilian award given by the Philippines, 
presented by then-President Fidel Ramos.
  Sharon has also prepared the nominations I have made throughout the 
years for winning entries, for example in the Victory Against Hunger 
Award sponsored by the Congressional Hunger Center, the Private Sector 
Small Business Award from the Asian American Business Roundtable, the 
Congressional Angels in Adoption Awards from the Congressional 
Coalition on Adoption Institute, the Ethics Award from the San Diego 
Human Dignity Foundation, and my nominations for the White House 
Conference on Aging. For each of the seventeen years we have been in 
Washington, she has been the DC staff person in charge of trip 
arrangements to Washington for the winning students in the annual 
Congressional Arts Competition. She has greeted our Congressional Pages 
and has handled the ticket requests for Presidential inaugurations.
  She has joined with me in many of our accomplishments. She was with 
me when we

[[Page E24]]

talked with VA Secretary Jesse Brown about the need for a Veterans' 
Home in Chula Vista, California. She was at the table when we spoke to 
VA Secretary Principi about providing medical equipment and supplies to 
the Veterans Hospital in Manila. She helped to bring a Community Based 
Outpatient Clinic to Imperial County, California and the Miramar 
National Cemetery to San Diego, California, with a groundbreaking 
scheduled for January 30, 2010.
  Her important legislative achievements include passage of several 
bills for veterans, including a bill to provide a posthumous Purple 
Heart to the families of every prisoner of war who died while in a 
prison camp, a bill to provide compensation to World War II Merchant 
Mariners who were excluded from the original GI Bill benefits, and 
legislation to restore equity and promised benefits to the Filipino 
World War II veterans who were deprived of both by an act of Congress 
in 1946.
  I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to Sharon for 26 
years of working together, learning together, and achieving together. 
As a former history professor, I believe that we have changed a small 
piece of history.

                          ____________________