[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1669-E1670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING KAREN NELSON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 1, 2014

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, it doesn't take long for anyone to recognize 
that the Congress depends on staff people to get most of its work done. 
Members speak and Members vote, but much of what we say is researched 
for us by staff and many of our votes are based on advice and counsel 
we get from our staff.
  I have been in Congress for 40 years now. For 36 of those years, I 
have had the great good fortune to be advised and counseled by Karen 
Nelson, my chief health staff person. Much of what we have accomplished 
in health during that time has been because of her.
  First, she knows the field. For three decades, she has been directly 
involved in every public health and health finance law that has passed 
this House. She's a living reference work for details about everything 
from Medicaid rates to pharmaceutical trials to tobacco advertising to 
health exchanges. She also provides the institutional memory on the 
origins of these laws as well as the alternatives and amendments that 
were considered in their passage.
  She is, however, much more than an encyclopedia of health policy. She 
is also intuitive about issues. I have seen her be briefed on an issue 
that was altogether new to her and immediately hone in on the central 
problem. She can hear disparate facts and figures and then pick out the 
common thread. She has often learned of a policy roadblock and quickly 
found a way over, under, around or through it.
  And, fundamentally, she is wise. When politics and politicians come 
to a stalemate, she can find a fair compromise. When egos and pride get 
in the way, she can find a way for everyone to save face. And when a 
policy is unfair, inequitable, or just wrong, she has the courage of 
her convictions to say so.
  This is not to say that Karen spends all her life at the office. I've 
seen her walk out of members' meetings to go to a basketball game of 
her beloved Wizards. I know that if I have a weekend night free that 
Karen will have seen every movie in town and will have a review for me. 
As hard as she works, she also manages to enjoy her free time, too.

[[Page E1670]]

  I have been the beneficiary of Karen Nelson's life and work for 
decades. So has the Commerce Committee. So has this House. And so have 
millions of children, poor people, elderly people, and all Americans. 
Most of them don't know--and will never know--what she's done for them, 
but I wanted to take this moment to tell my colleagues and to thank 
her.

                          ____________________