[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 164 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1972-E1973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING JOE McNULTY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2012

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to remember a former 
member of my staff who lost his battle with cancer two weeks ago today.
  Joe McNulty was my deputy press secretary and director of online 
communications. He worked for me from the summer of 2009 until this 
July, when he left to go to law school at the University of South 
Carolina. Joe was an important member of my staff and will be missed 
dearly.
  Joe was an amazing individual and certainly left his mark on this 
world, as evidenced by the number of people who attended his memorial 
service at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Virginia on December 
10. Aside from family, friends and co-workers, classmates from high 
school and college were in attendance as were friends and neighbors of 
his parents, Paul and Brenda, and three sisters, Katy, Anni and Corrie.
  People came from as far away as Spain for the service. There were 
friends from the church he attended and members of his college club 
soccer team. His principal from Robinson high school came, as did the 
school's choral director. The current U.S. Attorney for the Eastern 
District of Virginia was at the service (Joe's father was the U.S. 
Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2001-2006) as were 
several other assistant U.S. attorneys from the office and a number of 
U.S. Marshals.
  Joe's passing also made Politico's Playbook, something everyone on 
Capitol Hill reads every day and Joe devoured every morning.
  The service for Joe was deeply moving. The pastor of his church in 
Fairfax spoke at the service, as did the pastor of the church he 
started attending in South Carolina, where he was attending law school. 
Both talked about Joe's strong faith in the Lord.
  Joe's best friend, Steve Brewer, talked about how they met as 
freshmen in high school and said Joe was the best friend anyone could 
ask for. He told a story about how on a recent birthday the Washington 
area was paralyzed by a massive snowstorm, yet Joe managed to dig out 
his car and drive across town so his best friend wouldn't be alone on 
his birthday. That spoke volumes of Joe's loyalty and the value he 
placed on friendship.
  Joe's older sister, Katy, spoke on behalf of the ``McNulty Women.'' 
She reminisced about how she and ``Joey'' would play for hours on end 
as toddlers and that Joe was always a good sport about playing the 
things that his older sister always wanted. She also talked about how 
``Joey'' cared about his sisters and always looked out for them.
  His father, whom I have known since his days when he served on the 
House Judiciary Committee, described how Joe always put others first, 
even in his darkest hours. He emphasized how much Joe would want to 
thank everyone for all they have done for him through the years and for 
coming to his memorial service. He told a story about how as Joe was 
once being wheeled into an operating room he asked the nurses to stop 
so he could thank them and the doctors for all they were doing for him. 
One of the nurses said no one had ever done that before. That was Joe. 
Always putting others first.
  Paul also stressed Joe's unwavering in his courage, especially as he 
received one piece of bad news after another yet always helped his 
family and friends get through all it. Paul said Joe referred to his 
courageous reaction to news about spreading cancer as ``a leadership 
moment.''
  His family has carried on Joe's spirit, sending out this message a 
few days after the service: ``On behalf of all the McNulty's, I [his 
mother, Brenda] just wanted to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for all of 
your selflessness over the weekend as you prepared, and on Monday for 
Joe's service. It was above and beyond anything we could ever hope for 
or imagine and we are so very grateful. . . . Every word spoken and 
every song sung ministered to us and to everyone there. So many people 
have been telling us that they appreciated the scriptures, were moved 
by the whole tone of the service, and gained a new appreciation for Joe 
and all he was about. We truly appreciate all you did to participate in 
the service and wish we could give you all a huge collective hug but 
mere words will have to do.''
  I was honored to speak at Joe's service on December 10. Below are my 
remarks:

       I am speaking today on behalf of my entire staff, who 
     worked with Joe and loved Joe. We extend our condolences to 
     Brenda and Paul and the rest of Joe's family.
       Joe started in the Wolf office as an intern but left as a 
     vital part of our staff. He always wanted to be a prosecutor 
     like his father. That drove him.
       I know my staff would have liked him to have abandoned 
     those plans for our own selfish reasons because of the 
     talents he brought to the office. He always pushed us to find 
     new and more creative ways to reach constituents. He was a 
     trend setter on Capitol Hill for communicating online. Other 
     offices would regularly reach out to him asking for advice. 
     He also was active in the Republican Communications 
     Association, serving as its treasurer and reinvigorating the 
     organization with great speakers and social events.
       Joe brought an incredible work ethic to the office. No job 
     was too menial; no task insurmountable. He also had an 
     unbelievable reservoir of energy. There were nights that he 
     would play sports until the wee hours of the morning but be 
     at his desk first thing in the morning ready to conquer the 
     world.
       He never really stopped working. My staff got an e-mail 
     from him just the other day making sure we had seen an 
     article on an

[[Page E1973]]

     issue the office has put a lot of time and effort into.
       Everyone who knew Joe well knew that he could be stubborn 
     at times--stubborn in a way you don't often find in his 
     generation; the kind of stubbornness that stems from deep 
     integrity and a willingness to fight for what he believed was 
     right.
       It was this same quality that drove him to keep working 
     even during the toughest hours of his fight against cancer. 
     Even on the most challenging days, Joe would come in to the 
     office ready to work, and work hard. We practically had to 
     order him home to rest up. Joe had an uncommon drive and 
     commitment to public service.
       Joe had an infectious smile and a great personality. 
     Everyone loved being with him and he was always setting up 
     office outings for the staff. In small Hill offices, where 
     everyone attended different schools, there are friendly 
     rivalries, particularly among Virginia schools.
       Joe was part of the JMU mafia in the office, which at one 
     point outnumbered all the staff from other Virginia schools 
     and they never let anyone forget that, especially that JMU 
     once beat Virginia Tech in football. Joe was proud to be a 
     JMU Duke and volunteered with the JMU Alumni Association and 
     the JMU Politicos, the school's Capitol Hill networking 
     group.
       Joe loved to eat, and for a little guy he could eat. He 
     holds the office record for eating six giant glazed donuts in 
     one day. One of his going away presents was donuts.
       Joe also valued public service, which led him to take the 
     next step in his career: law school. Although we missed him 
     after he left our office this summer, we were so proud of him 
     for getting into University of South Carolina. He pursued his 
     dream of law school, daring to envision a future even when so 
     much was uncertain about the present.
       I want to read from parts of an email Joe sent to the staff 
     on his last day in the office this summer:
       ``I just wanted to say thank you to all of you one more 
     time. It has truly been an honor and privilege to work with 
     all of you. I have learned so much working with all of you 
     over the past three years and each of you have encouraged me 
     and taught me lessons that I will never forget. I think it is 
     important for all of us to remember how blessed we are to 
     have the opportunity to serve our country. I know it's hard 
     to remember that on a daily basis but that is truly what you 
     are doing when you work for a member of Congress. You are 
     serving the people of your community and you ARE making a 
     huge difference.
       ``. . . My time on Capitol Hill has also taught me that 
     many people are really cynical and believe that all 
     politicians are corrupt. ``It's easy to reach a point where 
     you think that it's too hard to enact real change or get the 
     big things done. But this is a mentality I think we should 
     try to suppress. If you believe in something and you want to 
     enact change, then get in there and fight for what you 
     believe in. That's what public service is all about. If you 
     think you have good ideas that can help people, don't be 
     afraid to fight for them. Don't let the weekly scandal or 
     negative news story discourage you from trying to help people 
     or make a difference in your country.''
       Joe wanted to make a difference. And he did. But it was a 
     life cut painfully short. Joe was a man of faith and 
     scripture tells us
       In Ecclesiates 7:2
       ``For death is the destiny of every man the living should 
     take this to heart.''
       We here today should take it to heart.
       In Psalm 103:15, King David said:
       ``As for man, his days are like grass. He flourishes like a 
     flower of the field, the wind blows over and it is gone and 
     its place remembers no more.''
       It's apparent even as the cancer attacked his body, that 
     Joe's soul was strengthened by his faith in Jesus, a faith 
     which only grew in the face of circumstance that would 
     dictate otherwise. In an e-mail to a staff member before 
     leaving last summer he wrote:
       ``There is no way I could have gotten through my bout with 
     cancer had I not had a foundation in Christ. Reading my Bible 
     was the one thing that gave me hope and encouragement when I 
     was in pain and sick.''
       We grieve Joe's passing but we celebrate his life and know 
     he has entered eternal life with his savior and Lord. Our 
     goal should be to live a life of faith so that we can one day 
     join Joe in the House of our Heavenly Father.

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