[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 152 (Friday, December 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S6701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO NANCY ERICKSON

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning I would like to wish a 
fond farewell to a woman we are all going to miss: Nancy Erickson, the 
Secretary of the Senate.
  It is her birthday today. Nancy is the kind of person you would 
expect to get cards from Democrats and Republicans on a day like this. 
And it is no secret why. She is fair, she is honest, she has always had 
a warm smile on her face. And that is no small matter, because Nancy 
has a really tough job. The title doesn't do it justice. Nancy admits 
she had to Google ``Secretary of the Senate'' when the position was 
offered to her.
  Let me tell you a little more about what Nancy does. On the one hand, 
there is an administrative element to her position. That is true. We 
would run out of printer paper without her. But she is also the keeper 
of this institution.
  Nancy respects the Senate. In fact, she loves the Senate. Her 
greatest joy is overseeing preservation of the Senate's storied art and 
history.
  I am particularly grateful to her efforts to secure and repair an 
important painting of my personal hero, Henry Clay. I understand it was 
a painstaking process, but it was a credit to the Senate and to our 
common history as America.
  Here is the point: Nancy may be a ``Secretary,'' but only in the way 
you would think of John Kerry or Condoleezza Rice being a 
``Secretary.'' In other words, Nancy is pretty important.
  She presides over the Chamber. She signs the bills we pass. And, 
importantly to the Senate staff, she signs the checks they receive. So, 
you see, Nancy is actually a minor celebrity around here on payday.
  But she is something else entirely on game day. Nancy is one of the 
biggest Packers fans you will ever meet. There is no interrupting her 
when the green and gold take the field. Fortunately for Nancy, her 
home-State Senator John Thune feels the same way. So you often see the 
two South Dakotans--one a Democrat, the other a Republican--debating 
the finer points of last night's game.
  There is a reason I say this. Nancy goes out of her way to build 
trust across the aisle, even in unconventional ways. The folks in my 
office who work closest with Nancy have nothing but kind words to say 
about her. Some call her a personal friend. In fact, the remarkable 
woman I nominated to replace Nancy, Julie Adams, is just such a person. 
I know Nancy couldn't be happier for Julie, and neither could I.
  And while Nancy is going to miss the Senate, I know she is also 
looking forward to seeing more of her family. I know how important 
Nancy's parents are to her in particular. We are glad Nancy will be 
able to see more of them, even though we are going to miss her.


                        Tribute to Sheila Dwyer

  The Senate is also going to miss Nancy's deputy. Sheila Dwyer is 
another Democrat my staff can't speak highly enough of. Sheila has had 
a long run here in the Senate. She has seen it from a lot of different 
angles. She has been a page, a scheduler, and now Assistant Secretary 
of the Senate. Along the way, she has worked for members such as 
Moynihan, Hollings, and Robb. It is an impressive career. It makes you 
understand why, as Leader Reid mentioned earlier, Sheila is known 
around here as the ``Mayor of Capitol Hill.''


                Tribute to Robert Paxton and Mark Tratos

  We also can't forget to wish a fond farewell to Robert Paxton and 
Mark Tratos.
  Robert, Nancy's chief of staff, is a fellow Kentuckian who has worked 
in the Senate for more than a quarter century. And we understand that 
Mark, Robert's No. 2, is expecting his first child soon.
  So we wish both Robert and Mark all the best, just as we offer Sheila 
well-deserved recognition for a job well done, just as we bid the 
fondest of farewells to Nancy--and a very happy birthday as well.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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