[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3278-S3279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RUBY PAONE

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I may be dating myself when I say this, but 
I remember when Ruby Paone started work here as a fresh graduate from 
St. Andrews University. That was April of 1975, just a few months after 
I began my own tenure here in the Senate, and for more than 41 years, 
she has served in the U.S. Senate as a public servant of the highest 
caliber. Ruby is a remarkable woman. Throughout her Senate experience, 
she has befriended future Presidents and legendary legislators. The 
Senate permeates her family. She and her husband, longtime Senate aide 
and now adviser to President Obama, Marty Paone, have raised three 
wonderful children.
  Ruby is from the small town of Bladenboro, NC, and she brings the 
very best of small towns to this often

[[Page S3279]]

chaotic city. In true smalltown fashion, she knows everyone, never 
forgets a name or a face, and has a smile and a kind remark for 
everyone she sees. I have often said that Senators are merely 
constitutional impediments to their staff, and the same can surely be 
said for Ruby. Her steadfast service and collegiality are part of what 
makes the Senate work. Ruby, thank you for all that you have done for 
the Senate, and we wish you the best in retirement.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as I have said previously, there are many 
people who work behind the scenes to help the Senate function. We tend 
to take them for granted, but we shouldn't. I would like to take this 
opportunity to acknowledge one such Senate staffer, Deputy Director of 
Doorkeepers Ruby Paone, who is retiring after more than 41 of steadfast 
service to the U.S. Senate and to our Nation. Everyone knows and loves 
Ruby, who has been here longer than any U.S. Senator currently serving, 
except for our esteemed colleague, the senior Senator from Vermont.
  Ruby Paone, one of Lena and Wilbur Smith's five children, grew up on 
a farm in Bladenboro, NC, where she spent her summers pulling peanuts 
and harvesting tobacco. She graduated from St. Andrew's University and 
then came to Washington, DC. On March 17, 1975, she started working in 
the Senate as a card desk attendant. Then she became a reception room 
attendant and steadily worked her way up to her present position. Along 
the way, she met another Senate staffer, Marty Paone. The two of them 
starting dating, and then they were married in 1983. The Washington 
Post reported at the time:

       Senator Robert Byrd paused in the debate to inform his 
     colleagues that Ruby Grey Smith, who has worked in the Senate 
     Reception Room for the last eight years, had married Marty 
     Patrick Paone, a member of the floor staff of the Democratic 
     Policy Committee. Byrd observed that with all the burdens of 
     the Senate, the marriage shows that `every cloud does have a 
     silver lining.' Quick to agree with the minority leader, 
     Majority Leader Howard Baker rose to add his congratulations, 
     remembering that on the wedding day the press of Senate 
     business almost interfered with the wedding hour. Sen. Howard 
     Metzenbaum rushed out to get Mrs. Paone to hear the words of 
     congratulation and she was there to see the chamber burst 
     into applause. It may have been the best thing done in that 
     Chamber all year.

  As Senator Reid noted yesterday, Ruby has been here for seven 
different Presidential administrations, 10 consecutive inaugurations, 
16 different Sergeants-at-Arms, and 383 different Senators. Ruby's 
husband, Marty, who currently serves as deputy assistant to the 
President for legislative affairs, served as the Democratic secretary 
longer than anyone else in the history of the Senate. He worked in the 
Senate for 32 years overall, so he and Ruby have devoted nearly three-
quarters of a century to this institution. Is there any other family so 
committed to service in the U.S. Senate? I doubt it. But the family's 
service is not ending with Ruby's retirement, fortunately. Ruby and 
Marty's daughter, Stephanie, works in the Democratic cloakroom and 
their son, Tommy, works at the Senate appointments desk. They proudly 
and ably carry on the Paone family tradition of outstanding Senate 
service.
  I believe the U.S. Senate--Senators and staff--is a big family. Like 
any family, we certainly have our disagreements. But I am sure we can 
all agree that Ruby Paone has been a cherished member of the Senate 
family for over four decades, and we will miss her here. But we take 
solace in knowing that she is leaving so she can spend more time with 
her most important family--her husband, Marty, and their children 
Alexander, Stephanie, and Tommie. We have been so fortunate to have 
Ruby in the Senate family for the past 41-plus years. The American 
people are so fortunate to have talented and dedicated public servants 
like Ruby and Marty and Stephanie and Tommy Paone. I know the entire 
Senate joins me in thanking Ruby for her service and wishing her and 
her family the very best.

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