[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 29, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H5597-H5598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING CONNIE JEAN HUMPHREY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise to recognize my 
longtime chief of staff, Connie Jean Humphrey, who is retiring after a 
long and distinguished career on Capitol Hill.
  It is an honor and a privilege to recognize Connie's many years of 
service and achievements. She has proven herself as a talented and 
dedicated public servant, who has made innumerable contributions in the 
service of my constituents residing in Texas' 15th Congressional 
District along the Rio Grande Valley.
  Connie has compiled a long list of accomplishments throughout her 
career and as a senior member of my staff, and she has earned an 
impeccable reputation on Capitol Hill among her peers and my colleagues 
in the Texas congressional delegation with whom she has worked very 
closely in support of our mutual objectives for our great State of 
Texas.
  Connie brought an array of talents and experience as my chief of 
staff. She has a thorough understanding of Federal policy, particularly 
in the areas of health care, education, transportation, the 
environment, and on women's issues.
  She is fluent in many other policy areas important to my constituents 
in the valley, and she has been an invaluable source of guidance and 
counsel during my appointments on the House Education and the Workforce 
Committee, as well as on the Financial Services Committee.
  Connie approaches her position as the leader of my office with the 
training and detail-oriented scrutiny of an attorney, who graduated 
from the University of Maryland, and with the policy expertise of a 
congressional aide who served in staff leadership positions for nearly 
three decades.
  She was instrumental in helping me lead the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act of 2010, which is aiding organizations like Workforce 
Solutions, based in McAllen, Texas, and is committed to the success of 
the employers and workforce of the Rio Grande Valley by matching them 
with skilled, productive employees and upgrading the skills of their 
current workforce.
  Connie has been particularly effective in helping me address urgent 
needs in deep south Texas. Latino students aspiring to attain the dream 
of a college education are that much closer to realizing their hopes, 
thanks to Connie's involvement, resulting in passage of the Higher 
Education Opportunity Act and the student loan and healthcare 
reconciliation bill of 2010, among the largest investments in higher 
education since the GI bill, particularly for Latino- and minority-
serving higher education institutions in our country.

[[Page H5598]]

  This crucial legislation also created an unprecedented healthcare 
system that complements the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 
of 2010 that Connie also played a major role in helping shepherd 
through the Education and the Workforce Committee, and that is now 
providing millions of Americans with affordable health care who 
previously had no coverage.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with much more than coincidence that the high 
school graduation rate in my congressional district has accelerated--
from 55 percent to 85 percent--during Connie's tenure as my chief of 
staff.
  This sharp increase has lifted up a generation of young Latinos, who 
are making significant contributions to our communities and regional 
economy; and it is a direct result of Connie's advocacy and leadership 
contributing to the passage of each of these four aforementioned bills.
  These public laws constitute my collection of framed legislation in 
my congressional office that I was very proud to pass as either 
chairman or ranking member of the Higher Education and Workforce 
Training Subcommittee with Connie at the helm of my office.
  I am also indebted to Connie for her tireless efforts in helping me 
facilitate two new international land bridges designed to stimulate 
commercial activity, economic growth, and stability to the Rio Grande 
Valley.
  Her intimate knowledge of transportation policy was a key element in 
the process culminating in the approval of Presidential permits that 
paved the way to open the Donna-Rio Bravo and the Anzalduas 
International Bridges.
  Similarly, Connie was influential in securing $300 million in Federal 
investments for floodway levee improvements along the Hidalgo County, 
Texas, and Mexican borders.
  We still remember the impact of Hurricane Dolly in 2008 that brought 
between a foot and 15 inches of rain to the Valley. Hurricane Ike 
followed shortly thereafter, with storm surges as high as 20 feet and 
caused almost $20 billion in damages.
  My district would have been more highly susceptible to damage and our 
residents even more imperiled if the levees were breached by a 
hurricane or heavy rains without this assistance. As a result, hundreds 
of millions of dollars' worth of property were spared during the 
landfall of Hurricane Alex in 2010, when the Rio Grande River crested 
to a record of 59 feet.
  In the wake of economic crisis, Connie led my team in preparing our 
communities to apply for assistance that ultimately received over half 
a billion dollars for Hidalgo County alone under the ARRA.
  Mr. Speaker, I am saddened to lose Connie as a trusted and beloved 
member of my staff, but I am happy for her as she embarks upon a new 
endeavor as the senior vice president of public and community relations 
and special counsel of the Doctors Hospital at Renaissance, where she 
will continue to serve my constituents and be uniquely positioned to 
help the hospital deliver and expand the reach of health care to 
underserved communities and economically disadvantaged families.
  I wish to, again, thank Connie Humphrey for all of her hard work, 
steadfast commitment to the people of south Texas, and for her skillful 
management of my staff and congressional offices.
  On behalf of the 15th Congressional District of Texas, I congratulate 
Connie for her excellent service and for a job very well done.

                          ____________________