[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 61 (Friday, April 7, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Thanking Staff

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, there are some people who need to have a 
thank-you for what we just completed here--people who hardly ever get 
any attention. So I will take a couple of minutes to express my 
appreciation to some of the staff who worked on this Supreme Court 
nomination.
  The staff for both the majority and minority put in a lot of hours 
and reviewed a lot of material. Their work ensured that the hearing we 
held for Judge Gorsuch went smoothly and was fair to all of the 
Members. Our staff reviewed all of the 2,700 cases Judge Gorsuch 
participated in as well as 180,000 pages of documents that were 
produced by the Department of Justice and the George W. Bush 
Presidential Library and Museum that were related to that nomination.
  First, on my staff, I would like to recognize my Judiciary Committee 
staff director, Kolan Davis. Mr. Davis has been with me for 31 years, 
and I always value his wise counsel.
  I thank, as well, my personal office chief of staff, Jill Kozeny, who 
has been with me for 27 years.
  My deputy staff director is Rita Lari, and my chief nominations 
counsel is right here at my side, Ted Lehman.
  I would also like to thank counsels Megan Lacy, Lauren Mehler, Kasey 
O'Connor, and Katharine Willey. Each of them worked incredibly hard.
  Also on the team were several special counsels who joined the staff 
to work on this important nomination. They are Dan Guarnera, Bill Lane, 
Katie Roholt, and Carol Szurkowski.
  Every one of these talented lawyers played a very important role, and 
I think every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee benefited from 
their wise counsel throughout this confirmation process.
  I would also like to acknowledge and thank Ranking Member Feinstein, 
the Senator from California. The ranking member and her staff 
approached this process seriously from the very beginning. So I want to 
thank her staff for all the work they have put into preparing for the 
hearing and the debate, both in committee and here on the floor.
  Thank you to her staff director, Jennifer Duck, and several of the 
other lawyers on her staff who, I know, put a lot of time into ensuring 
that the hearing was a success. They include Paige Herwig, Nazneen 
Mehta, and Chan Park.
  I am also thankful for my very talented press team, Beth Levine and 
Taylor Foy, and for Jen Heins for keeping me on schedule, as well as 
for my personal office staff and the rest of the Judiciary Committee 
staff who took care of things while I was on the floor and during the 
long hours in the hearing.
  I also deeply appreciate the work of Senator McConnell's staff who 
was constantly in contact with my staff--most importantly John Abegg.
  The people I mentioned bore the bulk of the workload and labored 
tirelessly night after night, day after day, and nonstop through the 
weekends. They deserve our recognition as a tribute to their hard work, 
professionalism, and dedication to public service.
  Finally, my thanks to the Judiciary Committee's chief clerk, Roslyne 
Turner, and her team, Michelle Heller and Jason Covey.
  All of these staff members contributed to this process, and we would 
not have been able to conduct such a fair and thorough hearing without 
their hard work and their professionalism. To each of them, I extend a 
heartfelt thanks, and if I left anybody out, I will buy them a Dairy 
Queen.
  Mr. President, finally, my wife Barbara is in the Capitol today. As 
always, I thank her for her support and partnership for more than 62 
years.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.