[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 123 (Monday, July 22, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





 HONORING MELINDA WALKER ON HER RETIREMENT AS CHIEF REPORTER OF DEBATES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 22, 2019

  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Melinda Walker, the 
Chief Reporter of Debates, on her retirement in August after more than 
20 years of outstanding service to the House of Representatives.
  Ms. Walker has brought great effectiveness and integrity to this 
critical position, which has long been vital to the transparency and 
accessibility of Article I, the Legislative Branch, to the American 
people. She carries on the long, storied tradition of shorthand 
reporters of debates, upon whom the House has relied for nearly two 
centuries to ensure that the People's House can be open and accountable 
to the American people.
  A proud native of Texas, Ms. Walker came to the House in 1999 after 
serving as a court reporter for the UN International Criminal Tribunal 
for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Her career began after graduating from 
the Stenograph Institute of Texas in 1989, and her skills took her 
around the country and the world, with positions in England, the 
Caribbean, and South Africa.
  Ms. Walker has led a career of great distinction in the House. She 
has reported both House committee hearings and Floor proceedings, and 
has taken down committee testimony from two Chief Justices of the 
United States and three Secretaries of State, among many others. On the 
Floor, Ms. Walker has reported the State of the Union messages for 
three Presidents as well as the speeches of numerous foreign 
dignitaries during Joint Meetings of Congress.
  Upon her promotion to Chief Reporter in 2015, she led the team of 
court reporters and staff in charge of the production of the 
Congressional Record. She has distinguished herself by the excellence 
with which she has mastered intricate parliamentary nuances of House 
proceedings and by her passion for and commitment to this institution. 
Among her many contributions to the House is the legacy she leaves 
through the 200-page style and format manual that she fully revised and 
updated for the Office of Official Reporters, which will serve as a 
resource for years to come.
  Ms. Walker is recognized by the National Court Reporters Association 
as a Registered Professional Reporter, a Certified Manager of Reporting 
Services, and is a Certified Shorthand Reporter in Texas. She plans to 
return to her hometown of San Saba, Texas, and spend more time with her 
family and faithful hound dog, Bleu.
  Madam Speaker, Ms. Walker has joined a long and distinguished 
tradition of dedicated, nonpartisan service to the House, and I join 
her staff and many others in wishing her the very best in retirement.

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