[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 134 (Thursday, September 18, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5851-S5852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JERRY LINNELL

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, on more than once occasion, I have talked 
about the hardworking men and women who toil mostly in anonymity here 
in the Senate. We have people who work on our staffs and on the 
committees. We have floor and cloakroom staff. We have parliamentarians 
and legislative counsel and enrolling clerks. We have carpenters and 
plumbers and electricians. To me, all of these people are part of the 
Senate family. And I am always grateful for the dedication, skill, and 
pride each brings to his or her job. Many of these individuals live in 
Maryland and I am proud to have them as constituents. While we Senators 
may have our partisan differences, the Senate functions well at an 
institutional level because of the professionalism and devotion to 
public service of its staff people who typically log long hours; endure 
government shutdowns, security threats, and other perturbations; and 
work in facilities we try to make as accessible as possible to the 
American people and anyone else who wishes to visit.
  Today, I thank one such individual, Jerry Linnell, for 32 years of 
exemplary service to the Senate and the American people. Jerry is 
retiring at the end of the month. Jerry joined the staff of the U.S. 
Senate's Official Reporters of Debates in 1982 and became the Chief 
Reporter of Debates in 1999. For those people who may be unfamiliar 
with the Reporters' office, it is charged with producing a verbatim 
account of everything that happens here on the floor of the Senate. 
Even with modern technology employed, that is a daunting task requiring 
a team of eight skilled reporters who take turns transcribing every 
word that we Senators utter on the floor. They have to be able to 
decipher our accents and occasional creative use of the English 
language, and they have to withstand filibusters. It is a mentally and 
physically challenging job. The Reporters the Senate employs are highly 
experienced professionals who take pride in their work. The Office has 
15 people overall and a designee from the Government Printing Office, 
GPO; collectively, they are responsible for producing the Senate's 
portion of the Congressional Record. The Congressional Record is one of 
the crucial documents of our government.
  Jerry is a Minnesota native, born in Duluth and raised in Grand 
Marais. He played on the high school football team and was captain of 
the basketball team. He attended the Minnesota School of Business in 
Minneapolis and graduated from its court reporting program. Jerry's 
first court reporting job was with Ward & Paul in Washington, DC, 
before moving to New Carrollton, MD and joining the Baltimore court 
reporting firm of Salomon Brothers. After several years in Baltimore 
and at one point passing in one test session 8 of the 9 highest testing 
requirements set by the National Court Reporters Association, Jerry 
joined the staff of the U.S. Senate's Official Reporters of Debates.
  Jerry and his wife Jane first met on a dance floor; they were members 
of the DC Swing dance team and danced competitively. They enjoy 
traveling back to Grand Marais, where Jerry claims to have shoveled 
more snow than anyone else in the Linnell family, for various music 
events where he can play his accordion with local musicians and family 
members. He's also a country music fan.
  Jerry is the proud father of Laurie, Jerry Jr., Heather and Katie, 
and the very proud grandfather of Colleen, Rachel, Leanne, Monica, and 
Jerry III. He currently serves as the President of the Linnell Family 
Association, a group composed of the thousands of descendants of Robert 
Linnell, who first came to the United States in the early 1600s to 
Scituate, Massachusetts. Jerry has spent many an hour refurbishing his 
Capitol Hill home, and plans on retiring between that home and a newly 
purchased and renovated home in North Carolina where he can play golf 
all year round.
  Even though Jerry is a former Maryland resident, he is a diehard 
Washington Nationals fan. He and his wife Jane love to attend games 
together. In light of his more than three decades of public service, I 
won't hold that against him. But with the real prospect

[[Page S5852]]

this fall of a Beltway World Series between the Nats and the Baltimore 
Orioles, he should prepare himself to be disappointed!
  Mr. President, in all seriousness, we are fortunate to have men and 
women of Jerry's caliber devote their time and talent to the U.S. 
Senate. Jerry is an outstanding public servant. While we will miss 
him--and his trademark suspenders--he certainly has earned a well-
deserved retirement and on behalf of the Senate, I thank him for his 
service and wish him and his family all the best for the future.

                          ____________________