[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 92 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4018-S4019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JANET BURRELL

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I wish to honor and thank Janet Burrell 
for her 37 years of talented and dedicated public service upon her 
retirement from the Senate. Her career in the Senate spans an 
impressive array of issues and responsibilities--all of which she met 
with grace, skill, and good cheer. For the last 16 years, Janet has 
served as the office administrator for the Democratic staff of the 
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Janet started her career in the Senate on the Committee on Finance in 
1985 as a staff assistant. She and her colleagues worked around the 
clock--taking shifts, day and night--to help enact the mammoth and 
historic Tax Reform Act of 1986. From the Committee on Finance, she 
moved to the Committee on Environment and Public Works and, finally, to 
the Committee on Governmental Affairs, which is now the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Over her 30 years of service in the Senate, Janet worked on teams 
tackling a wide range of legislation, moving from the Tax Reform Act of 
1986 to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 to the creation of the 
Department of Homeland Security in 2003. She has worked for six 
Senators over the years, including both Republicans and Democrats, in 
both the majority and the minority, and even in a Senate evenly split 
between Democrats and Republicans.
  Along the way in her Senate career, Janet learned and mastered a 
broad array of new skills from managing human resources to operating 
computers to learning the intricacies of how to make a committee run 
smoothly. She was the office administrator of the now-Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 9/11 terrorist 
attacks, when anthrax was discovered in the Senate, and even during an 
earthquake. The challenges were difficult and diverse but Janet rose to 
every task. Among other things, at the time of the anthrax incident, 
Janet supervised the young staff who opened the mail. In that capacity, 
it was among her responsibilities to calm the fears of the staff and 
their worried parents. She was also responsible for figuring out 
evacuation drills for scenarios like a biological attack, terrorist 
attack, or active shooter--risks that few could have envisioned when 
she started with the committee 16 years ago. Janet also helped shape 
Senate history. Beginning in 2004, she played an instrumental role in 
orchestrating the committee's transition from the Governmental Affairs 
Committee to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
  Prior to serving in the Senate, Janet worked in the House of 
Representatives for my former colleague, Ralph H. Regula of Ohio, and 
she served 7 years in the executive branch at the U.S. Office of 
Government Ethics and at the U.S. General Services Administration.
  In every office that she was a part of, Janet acted as a force of 
calm and generosity at the center of chaotic day-to-day, week-to-week 
schedules. Her colleagues are quick to share stories of times when 
Janet went above and beyond the call of duty to make someone's day 
smoother. In fact, they tell me that her selflessness and kindness was 
reflected in every task she took on. One of Janet's former staff 
directors said that Janet, ``always did whatever had to be done to make 
sure that

[[Page S4019]]

others felt and understood how much they were appreciated.'' I couldn't 
agree more. She truly embodies the Golden Rule by always treating 
others as she would want to be treated. As she gracefully exits her 
lifelong career in public service, Janet leaves behind a family of 
colleagues that will miss her and long remember her.
  As we speak of Janet's most significant accomplishments, I would be 
remiss if I did not mention Janet's daughter Ashley, the apple of her 
eye. Ashley got an early start in the Senate--as an infant in the 
Senate day care center. She went on to be one of the few students at 
her high school to earn a full international baccalaureate diploma. 
From there, Ashley earned an advanced degree in counseling and is now 
fully licensed, helping numerous young adults and families as they cope 
with life's challenges. Clearly, the apple did not fall far from the 
tree.
  Upon her retirement, I thank Janet for the many invaluable 
contributions she has made to our committee, the Senate, the Federal 
Government, and our Nation. I congratulate her on a truly remarkable 
career. On behalf of all of us in the Senate, I want to wish her and 
her family the very best in all that lies ahead for each of them. 
Godspeed.

                          ____________________