[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 148 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6052-S6053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO ANNE HOUSER

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, as ranking member on the Senate 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,

[[Page S6053]]

Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, I would 
like to recognize a public servant deeply committed to protecting and 
improving the health of the American people, Ms. Anne Houser. Anne will 
retire in January, after a distinguished 48-year career at the National 
Institutes of Health, where she has for many years been the principal 
liaison with the Appropriations Committees.
  Over the course of her career, Anne has worked for eight NIH 
Directors, performing the essential but often overlooked role of 
helping the committees understand the agency's research and funding 
needs. It is the kind of low-key work that takes place behind the 
scenes, but has been essential to building the case in Congress for 
sustained increased investment in medical research. No matter the 
issue, or the time of the day or night that it might arise, Anne has 
always been there, supporting the case for research that will help lead 
to cures. Her honest, thoughtful, and helpful advice has been valuable 
to me and to everyone with whom she worked. In short, Anne has set the 
gold standard for how agencies can most effectively work with the 
committees that oversee them.
  Both within NIH and in Congress, Anne is recognized as a consummate 
professional and an independent thinker who understands the issues, 
gets to the bottom of problems, and communicates those issues clearly 
to Members of Congress, our staff, and to the researchers she works 
with. Thanks to the dedication of Anne, not only is the NIH working 
better, but Americans are better off as well. Her absence will be a 
loss for everyone who depends upon her, but I am glad that she will 
have more time to spend with her friends and family, and especially her 
grandson, Alex, of whom she is so proud.

                          ____________________