[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 77 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S2771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO NANCY IACOMINI

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like to take this opportunity to 
talk about a special member of the Senate family, Nancy Iacomini. 
Nancy, who has served as the Democratic Secretary's administrative 
assistant since 1998, is retiring after 34 years of devoted public 
service. I know I speak on behalf of all of my colleagues when I say I 
am going to miss Nancy, but she has certainly earned a respite, and I 
want to wish her all the best in her retirement.
  Nancy is a proud Pittsburgh native. She earned her bachelor of arts 
degree in art history from the University of Notre Dame. She was an 
excellent student: she was on the dean's honor list, she was a Notre 
Dame scholar, and she graduated cum laude. Then she earned a master of 
arts degree in art history with a concentration in museum practice from 
George Washington University. Armed with her degrees and proven 
academic success, Nancy went to work for the National Gallery of Art, 
NGA. She spent 5 years at the NGA, holding positions of increasing 
responsibility. During this time, she also contributed entries and 
artist biographies to ``La Vie Moderne: Nineteenth Century Paintings 
from the Permanent Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art,'' 
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983.
  In 1988, Nancy decided to shift her focus from art history to the art 
of the possible, and she joined the Democratic Policy Committee as a 
staff assistant. Within a few short months, she was promoted to the 
position of special assistant to the floor staff and then again a short 
time later to the position of executive assistant. The art world pulled 
her back, though, and from 1994 to 1998, she served as deputy 
congressional liaison at the National Endowment for the Arts, NEA. Some 
may recall that this was a critical time in the NEA's history when its 
very existence was at stake. Nancy helped the NEA weather the storm and 
then returned to the Senate to work in the Democratic Secretary's 
office.
  Since Nancy came to work in Washington, she has lived in Virginia. 
Nancy has held leadership roles in the Ballston/Virginia Square Civic 
Association, the Cherrydale Citizens Association, and the Neighborhood 
Conservation Advisory Committee. She is a past member and chairman of 
the county's transportation commission, a past member and chairman of 
the historical affairs and landmark review board, and past chairman of 
the towing advisory board. She also chaired the fire station No. 3 
relocation task force. Nancy has also participated in the East Falls 
Church Working Group, the Clarendon Sector Plan Update, neighborhood 
traffic calming measures ad hoc advisory group, the subdivision 
ordinance working group, and the joint George Mason University/
Arlington County advisory board. She served as Arlington's 
representative to WMATA's Riders' Advisory Council from 2006 to 2009 
and chaired the council in 2008.
  Here in the Senate, Nancy has had so many responsibilities that it 
would be hard to list them all, but I would note a few. Every Tuesday 
when the Senate is in session, there is a conference lunch. Nancy has 
been responsible for organizing the lunch, the topics for discussion, 
and the materials to be distributed. Despite much complaining from 
Senators whom I shall not name, she singlehandedly made the lunches 
more nutritious, with healthier entrees and more salads. That is no 
small accomplishment. My staff and I worked with Nancy and Gary Myrick 
on updating and revising the conference rules. Nancy's institutional 
memory and patience and helpful suggestions were crucially important 
and much appreciated in that endeavor. She helped people find jobs. She 
answered every imaginable inquiry from Senators and staff. I could go 
on, but suffice it to say that Nancy Iacomini has kept the ``Democratic 
trains'' running on time here in the Senate. She has done so with 
diligence and grace and good humor and skill. Will Rogers famously 
said, ``I am not a member of any organized political party; I am a 
Democrat.'' Well, he didn't know Nancy. Of course, if he did, he would 
have liked her--just as we all do.
  We are going to miss Nancy's quiet competence and her sense of humor. 
We are going to miss the pumpkin outfits she would put on for 
Halloween. We are going to miss her wonder dog Flash. I hope Nancy will 
come back to visit us every now and then and even bring Flash with her, 
but I know she is looking forward to spending more time with her 
husband, Dan, and the rest of her family, pursuing her myriad hobbies, 
interests, and community activities and rooting for the Notre Dame 
football team.
  Nancy Iacomini has devoted 34 years of her life to government 
service. We are all better off because of that service. As the 
fictional Inspector Morse reminds us, ``To make an end is to make a 
beginning.'' I would ask all of my colleagues to join me in thanking 
Nancy and wishing her all the best as she begins the next chapter in 
her life.

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