[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MARGARET MOLNAR

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise to honor the career of Margaret 
Molnar, a dedicated public servant who has made a difference in the 
lives of thousands of Ohioans and who is retiring soon after 12 years 
with my office.
  She joined my Ohio staff the very first year I came to the Senate 
after a long career at Legal Aid. Her entire life has been dedicated to 
helping those people in need. In the past 12 years, Margaret has worked 
on more than 10,000 cases. Those are 10,000 Ohioans whose lives she has 
touched. Many of these were seniors trying to navigate bureaucracy and 
get the Social Security and Medicare benefits they have earned. 
Margaret went above and beyond the call of duty for them.
  She worked on one case for 5 years. It was a complicated one, helping 
an Ohioan who was taken as a baby from Lithuania, brought to a 
displaced persons camp in Germany after World War II, and then finally 
brought to America.
  They were having trouble finding the documents he needed to prove his 
eligibility for Social Security and Medicare, two Federal programs for 
which he had paid in. The case at times seemed hopeless, but Margaret 
never gave up. This year she was finally able to track down the 
documents this Ohioan needed to secure the benefits he earned. That was 
par for the course.
  She worked on another case for a constituent who had been trying to 
get someone to intervene regarding her mother's Medicare coverage. The 
woman's daughter wrote that Margaret's ``caring, expertise, and 
knowledge of the medical system and Federal programs cut through all 
the gobbledygook I was facing, and pointed us in the direction of help 
when not one other agency or politician would.''
  Our office has received so many letters of praise and thanks like 
that for Margaret.
  One Ohioan wrote to Margaret:

       You and Senator Brown have accomplished what I was 
     beginning to believe was impossible--the Social Security 
     backpay was indeed transferred to my account yesterday. I 
     cannot thank your office enough. I cannot even begin to 
     explain what a Christmas gift this is. I truly was beginning 
     to wonder and worry about how I was going to make ends meet 
     for the next several months.

  Again, it is par for the course for Margaret Molnar.
  Another woman wrote after her brother passed away, who Margaret 
helped in the last years of his life:

       I will never forget how much you have helped enrich 
     Robert's life while he was with us. Forever, we will be 
     grateful. You immediately responded to my email and got the 
     ball rolling and never gave up on Robert. You are like 
     family.

  Another woman wrote:

       I did not know how to fight this type of issue, it seemed 
     bigger than life to me. You truly have done a wonderful job. 
     I appreciate you stepping in for me . . . your office truly 
     cares about people.

  In a last note, another couple wrote: ``I hope Senator Brown knows 
how fortunate he is to have you on his staff.''
  I know that, and Ohio knows that.

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