[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 28, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H6094-H6095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PAYING TRIBUTE TO ANNE BRADBURY

  (Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I have the bittersweet task 
tonight of paying tribute to a valued member of our team, one of the 
most widely respected people in this institution. That is our director 
of floor operations, Anne Bradbury.
  As many Members now know, this is her last week on the job. When we 
return in November, this House will convene without Anne on the floor 
for the first time in 11 years.
  It was Speaker John Boehner who had the good sense to hire Anne for 
this post, and it is not hard to figure out why he did that. She is 
just absolutely first class, the absolute consummate professional, 
always focused on getting the job done. There may be times when we get 
hung up on small things, trying to figure out what the heck just 
happened on the floor, and she is always out there working on the plan 
for the next steps a mile ahead of everybody else. When everybody else 
is thinking short term, she is out there thinking long term, and not 
only in terms of this vote or that bill, but how to protect this 
institution.
  Anne Bradbury has been here for 11 years, protecting both the 
majority and the minority. She fights for this House as an institution, 
and I am sure that Leader Pelosi and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Hoyer) would agree with that.
  As for me, Anne, I hope you thought through how this is a huge 
inconvenience for me. Who am I going to call when we are in a jam? Who 
do we get to take all the chocolate that is gifted to our office every 
day?
  Anne has been such an indispensable help to us, especially taking the 
job in the middle of a session, not having experience doing something 
like this. I just can't conceive of having gone through this past year 
without this brilliant woman.
  The last point I want to make is this. To do such a big job so well 
for so long, as Anne has, takes certain things. It takes a really thick 
skin, for one, but it takes a very, very deep desire to serve, and you 
have to have the support of the ones that you love.
  Anne has two great boys, John and Clayton, and they are 7 and 8 years 
old--great kids. On so many nights, just like this night tonight, they 
have had to share their mom with us. We owe them a debt of gratitude.
  And I want to say on behalf of every single Member of the House of 
Representatives: Anne Bradbury, thank you for serving this institution. 
Thank you for serving the people's House. You will be sorely missed.

[[Page H6095]]

  


                              {time}  2200

  It is my pleasure to yield to the distinguished leader, Mr. Hoyer.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the Speaker for yielding.
  Anne, apparently my colleagues did not understand the gravity of this 
occasion, the solemnness of this occasion, and they did not dress 
accordingly, apparently.
  Anne, I want you to know that I just left the Crown Prince of Denmark 
and Princess Mary because I told them I had to come see Queen Anne.
  I have risen before and talked about our extraordinary staff, the 
people who really make this institution what it wants to be. They are 
the best of us, whether they are at the desk, whether they are with the 
Sergeant at Arms, whether they are recording our debates; and the best 
of them who has one of the toughest jobs is to help us, as the Speaker 
has said, manage this floor. Sitting next to me is Shuwanza Goff. She 
is the floor director on our side.
  You cannot leave.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. I tried that.
  Mr. HOYER. Anne, as the Speaker so well said, serves us all. Shuwanza 
does as well because their job, as the Speaker has so well stated, is 
to help make this institution work in a democratic nation to make our 
citizens proud. Very frankly, if they knew the work of Anne Bradbury 
and others who work on this floor, the level of their pride would be 
much higher than sometimes it is, because they are people of 
extraordinary ability, great reticence and fairness in dealing with 
Members, all 435 of us.
  Anne, you have been a shining example of the best that is in this 
House. You have always been quick to share your views as to what needed 
to be done. You were always fair when any of us talked to you--I know, 
when I talked to you. There were differences, of course, as one would 
expect, but there was no acrimony. There was no judgment. There was 
simply an attempt to make sure that this institution was working well.
  Anne, we will miss you. The Speaker, as he says, will be 
inconvenienced. We will be sad, and we will be a lesser place for your 
leaving. You also worked with my chief of staff, Alexis Covey-Brandt, 
who was at one point in time the floor director. Both Shuwanza and 
Alexis have unrestrained respect and affection for you. You have made 
us all better.
  Whatever you do in the future, I know you will bring the same 
quality, the same commitment, the same energy, the same judgment, the 
same fairness, and they will be advantaged, as we have been.
  Godspeed.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. I thank the whip.

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