[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO SHERRY BARBARA SHAPIRO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 11, 2013

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Sherry Barbara 
Shapiro on her retirement following 40 years of extraordinary federal 
service.
  Ms. Shapiro began her federal service in July, 1973 working for the 
American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, which later became the 
American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA).
  In 1975, she left ARBA to join the Congressional Research Service 
(CRS) of the Library of Congress as a government and law bibliographer. 
In this position, prior to the wide availability of commercial and 
academic electronic databases, Sherry indexed and abstracted thousands 
of articles to serve as authoritative resources for public policy 
makers conducting congressional business
  Working collaboratively with the Government Printing Office each year 
for many years, Sherry coordinated CRS's compilation of materials to 
support the annual high school and college debate manuals.
  Sherry's primary work assignment was to respond directly to Member 
and committee research requests related to foreign affairs, regional 
studies, and national defense. Sherry at the same time served the 
information needs of the analysts and senior specialists in CRS's 
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division. Her research supported 
the production of hundreds of CRS reports and CRS analyst testimony 
during her 40-year career.
  During her tenure at CRS, she supported a number of congressional 
programs, among them democracy-building programs conducted by Members 
of Congress working on the Frost-Solomon Task Force, the House 
Democracy Assistance Commission, and later the House Democracy 
Partnership. Her knowledge of foreign affairs and regional studies made 
her the go-to person for information compiled for Congressional 
delegations to East Timor, Hungary, Mongolia, China, South Korea, and 
Indonesia. Sherry accompanied Commission members and staff on several 
congressional delegation trips to work with members of foreign 
legislatures. Her specialized knowledge and her genuine concern for the 
people of the countries she visited resulted in many lasting 
friendships, and the high regard in which Sherry was held by those she 
met provided enhanced opportunities for congressional delegations to 
learn a great deal from their experience of travel to these countries.
  As Sherry supported and participated in congressional delegations, 
she also trained foreign parliamentary and government agency librarians 
and encouraged literacy in developing countries such as Mongolia and 
Kyrgyzstan. Whenever she traveled abroad, she expanded her efforts to 
reach students in fledgling democracies to share her knowledge of what 
it means to be a librarian in a functioning democracy.
  While at CRS, Sherry also spent considerable time reviewing 
electronic resources and developing innovative ways to increase access 
to these resources by staff serving the information needs of the 
Congress.
  Another important aspect of Sherry's work at CRS was her work as a 
mentor to new librarians. Her knowledge of federal librarianship and 
the work of the legislative branch allowed her to develop a new 
generation of librarians.
  Sherry's dedication to her work at CRS was based on responding to 
each person she encountered with kindness and respect, fairness, and a 
willingness to go the extra mile to make sure each one had the tools 
and skills to locate the information needed to help develop 
legislation, answer constituent requests, or examine the critical 
issues of the day.
  Outside of her many duties and responsibilities at CRS, Sherry not 
only raised five children with her husband John, but was actively 
involved in community activities. Sherry works tirelessly in our 
community of Alexandria. The Girl Scouts, the elderly and memory-
impaired, a soup kitchen, an animal rescue organization, and others, 
all have benefitted from her determination to make our community 
better.
  During my own time at CRS, I knew and worked with Sherry, and I look 
forward to continuing to work with her on projects that will benefit 
our community.
  I congratulate Sherry, her husband John, and their children, Matt, 
Daniel, Emily, Lauren and Nora on this momentous occasion.
  I personally thank her for 40 years of service to the United States 
Congress.

                          ____________________