[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8176-S8177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO STEVE JOHNSON

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, Cesar Chavez, the great champion of 
justice and human dignity, once offered this advice about friendship: 
He said; ``If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house 
and eat with him. . . . The people who give you their food give you 
their heart.''
  The Senate Dining Room isn't Steve Johnson's house, but for the 22 
years that he has worked there, Steve has poured his heart into his 
job, and he has become a friend--or at least a friendly face--to 
Senators, our families, staff members, and visitors.
  As general manager of the Senate Dining Rooms and two other eateries 
in the Capitol, Steve works hard to create places where people who 
might not normally talk to each other can sit down at adjoining tables, 
eat a meal, and maybe swap stories or jokes.
  In the Senate Dining Room, with its white linen table cloths and 
crystal chandeliers, you might see Republican and Democratic Senators 
and staff members asking after each other's families. In the refectory 
on the first floor, reporters and visitors to the Capitol stand in line 
together to grab a

[[Page S8177]]

quick bite. Downstairs, in the carryout, you can find the whole Capitol 
family, as Steve calls them; ``the white collars, the blue collars, the 
green collars, and the Capitol Police,'' all eating together.
  It is a little like stepping back into a better, less partisan time.
  On Friday, December 22, Steve Johnson is leaving the Senate. He is 
retiring. Before he does, I want to take a moment to thank Steve for 
his many years of good and loyal service to the Senate.
  Until 1995, when Steve began working as a maitre d' in the Senate 
Dining Room, he had never seen the inside of the U.S. Capitol, but he 
had seen the outside of this magnificent building many times.
  You see, Steve grew up in Freehold, NJ, home of ``The Boss,'' Bruce 
Springsteen. He was one of six kids. His mom trained as a nurse, and 
his dad was a director of a YMCA.
  In 1963, Steve's Dad, Herbert, attended the March on Washington, 
where Martin Luther King gave his ``I Have a Dream'' speech. The 
experience made a profound impression.
  During Steve's childhood and teen years, whenever there was a big 
march or rally in Washington, the whole Johnson family--mom, dad, and 
six kids--would pile into the family station wagon, drive to 
Washington, DC, for the day, and drive back to Freehold that night.
  During those childhood trips, Steve developed a reverence for this 
building. After 22 years of working here, he still has it. He is still 
awed when he sees the Capitol dome gleaming in the sun as he arrives at 
work, or sees the Capitol Christmas tree lit up at night.
  It is a feeling that many of us share.
  Steve started his career in food service nearly 40 years ago, shortly 
after he graduated from Glassboro State College in New Jersey with a 
bachelor's degree in business administration. He went to work at a 
restaurant in his hometown.
  A few years later, he and a business partner took over running a more 
than 200-year-old inn, the Liberty Tavern, in New Jersey's capitol city 
of Trenton. They gave it their best try, with clever marketing and a 
hard-working staff, but couldn't make good of it.
  Fortunately for us, Steve's wife, Joanne, took a job with the Federal 
Government in Washington, and Steve made the move with her.
  Before the Senate, he worked at the Mayflower Hotel, another 
Washington legend. As I mentioned, he started in the Senate Dining Room 
as maitre d' and worked his way up to assistant general manager and 
finally general manager.
  He works incredibly hard, from early in the morning until evening or 
later. With his calm demeanor, he makes a tough job look almost easy.
  That calm may have something to do with the fact that Steve is a 
dedicated marathon runner. He has run 18 marathons, including seven 
Boston Marathons.
  He is a modest man in a sea of big egos, a scrupulously nonpartisan 
man in era of sharp partisan lines. He and his dedicated staff are 
important members of the Senate family.
  There is a line in a Bruce Springsteen song where Bruce says, ``I'm 
ready to grow young again.''
  Sadly, none of us can actually do that.
  But Steve has decided that he is ready to be a rookie again and try 
something completely new and different. In this next chapter of his 
life, he will work as a volunteer literacy tutor for adults who speak 
English as a Second Language.
  It is another way, I think, of making people feel at home and cared 
for, something that Steve Johnson is so good at.
  In closing, I want to thank Steve again for his many years of service 
to the Senate, and I want to wish Steve and Joanne the very best of 
luck as they start this new chapter in their lives.

                          ____________________