[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 218 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7902-S7904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THANKING STAFF

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, so much of the Senate's work happens 
behind the scenes and out of the spotlight. Over the past few weeks, 
there are scores of Senate staffers--probably more than scores; 
hundreds, I would say--who have spent many late nights and some 
sleepless ones putting this emergency relief and omnibus bill together, 
so I wanted to come back to the floor today and acknowledge all of the 
hard-working Senate Democratic staff.
  To create a law, there are staffs from committees and Senators' 
offices who are truly experts. They make sure what we Senators want to 
achieve is written properly. They have years--some, decades--of 
experience in their

[[Page S7903]]

subject area. They are libraries of information of how programs work. 
They are also creative thinkers and masters of accomplishing what 
Senators might think is easy--turning a few lines of our direction into 
legislative text--under tremendous time pressure and, lately, during 
the pandemic.
  These are the names of some of the Senate's unsung heroes to whom we 
all owe an amazing debt of gratitude:
  From the Committee on Appropriations: Charles ``Chuck'' Kieffer, 
Chanda Betourney, Hannah Chauvin, Dianne Nellor, Jean Toal Eisen, Erik 
Raven, Doug Clapp, Ellen Murray, Scott Nance, Rachael Taylor, Alex 
Keenan, Jessica Berry, Michelle Dominguez, Tim Rieser, and Dabney Hegg.
  From the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Beth 
Cooper, Megan Cheney, Homer Carlisle, Elisha Tuku, Corey Frayer, Jan 
Singelmann, Jeremy Hekhuis, Colin McGinnis, Phil Rudd, and Laura 
Swanson.
  From the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: David 
Strickland, Melissa Porter, Ronce Almond, David Marten, Doug Anderson, 
Laurence Wildgoose, Kara Fischer, Michael Davisson, John Branscome, 
Shawn Bone, Alicia Brown, Mary Guenther, Jared Bomberg, Narda Jones, 
John Beezer, Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, Nikky Teutschel, and Chris Day.
  From the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: 
Lena Chang, Annika Christensen, Alexa Noruk, Yelena Tsilker, and David 
Weinberg.
  From the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Evan 
Schatz, John Righter, Nick Bath, Andi Fristedt, Kara Marchione, Amanda 
Beaumont, Nikki McKinney, Joe Shantz, Kendra Isaacson, Colin Goldfinch, 
Manuel Contreras, Bryce McKibben, Mary Barry, Garrett Devenney, Leila 
Schochet, and Katlin Backfield.
  From the Select Committee on Intelligence: Brett Freedman, Jon 
Rosenwasser, and Mike Casey.
  From the Committee on Foreign Relations: Andrew Keller, Ruchi Gill, 
Heather Flynn, Sarah Arkin, and Shelby Boxenbaum.
  From the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Joe 
Shultz, Jacqlyn Schneider, Mary Beth Schultz, Susan Keith, Kyle Varner, 
Katie Naessens, Claire Borzner, Sean Babington, and Adam Tarr.
  From the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Renae Black, Sam 
Fowler, Brie Van Cleve, Rory Stanley, Luke Bassett, Elliot Howard, 
Zahava Urecki, Nicole Buell, Armando Avila, Adam Berry, Bryan Petit, 
Melanie Thornton, and Rod Beresford.
  From the Committee on Environment and Public Works: John Kane, Annie 
D'Amato, Mark Mendenhall, Andrew Rogers, Mary Frances Repko, Laura 
Gillam, Michal Freedhoff, and Lucy Xiao.
  From the Committee on Finance: Bobby Andres, Chris Arneson, Adam 
Carasso, Drew Crouch, Elizabeth Dervan, Anne Dwyer, Mike Evans, 
Jonathan Goldman, Taylor Harvey, Elizabeth Jurinka, Rachael Kauss, Tom 
Klouda, Sally Laing, Virginia Lenahan, Kristen Lunde, Greta Peisch, 
Sarah Schaefer, Ashley Schapitl, Joshua Sheinkman, Tiffany Smith, Kelly 
Szafara, Beth Vrabel, Jayme White, Arielle Woronoff, and Marisa Morin.
  From the Special Committee on Aging: Stacy Sanders, Michael Gamel-
McCormick, Samantha Koehler, Rashage Green, Keith Miller, and Josh 
Kramer.
  From the Committee on Indian Affairs: Kim Moxley, Josh Mahan, Anthony 
Sedillo, and Jennifer Romero.
  I am sure this is very hard on our stenographers, but thank you very 
much.
  From the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Sean 
Moore, Ron Storhaug, Kevin Wheeler, Jacob Press, and Therese Meers.
  From the Committee on Rules and Administration: Dusty Brandenburg and 
Lindsey Kerr.
  So to all of those great people and many more--and I apologize if 
there are some we have left out--thank you, thank you, thank you, to 
everyone on the committees.
  I also want, for a moment, to thank my staff. Everyone believes they 
have the best staff on the Hill. I am certainly no exception. I would 
never ever, ever be able to do what I do without them. I know over the 
past several days many of them have tested the limits of exhaustion, 
hardly sleeping at all, but I want them to know that all their energy, 
ingenuity, and brilliance will have made the lives of their fellow 
citizens better in New York and across the country.
  I have told them that they can look back at any age and know they 
have kept businesses going, kept people employed, kept people fed, kept 
people from getting sick, and even kept people from dying, kept people 
alive. That is the great work my staff and the other staffs have done.
  So to my staff, whom I am so deeply, deeply grateful to, thank you, 
thank you. Thank you to my chief, Mike Lynch; my deputy chief, Erin 
Sager Vaughn; my policy director, Gerry Petrella, and my legislative 
director and his wife, Meghan Taira; my State director, Martin Brennan; 
deputy State director, Steve Mann; Steve Barton; Mike Ianelli; and all 
the regional directors from across the State.
  The executive team in my office is a tremendous asset to me and to 
the Democratic caucus: Michelle Mittler, Megan Murphy Vlasto, Emily 
Sweda, Raisa Shah, and Sophia Coutavas.
  The press team supports both me and the entire Democratic caucus day 
in and day out: Justin Goodman, Alex Nguyen, Monica Lee, Ken Meyer, 
Angelo Roefaro, Allison Biasotti, Paige Tepke, Alice Nam, and everyone 
at the Senate Democratic Media Center.
  Jasmine Harris, Oriana Pina, and Dan Yoken and his amazing team of 
researchers: Andrew Ogden, Leela Najafi, and Hanna Talley.
  The whole team is supported by the great budding talent of our press 
assistants: Alexandra Robinson, Alexa Sledge, and Cyre Velez.
  Cietta Kiandoli, Sol Ortega, and Julietta Lopez do fantastic 
engagement with many groups of people affected by the legislation we 
pass.
  Josh Molofsky and Tony Rivera are my speechwriters and every day 
bring poetry and organization to my thoughts.
  A special, special thanks to the Schumer ``Legislative Team.'' These 
staffers are so incredibly hard-working and are always striving to find 
the best solution for our country and New York: Anna Taylor and Marisa 
Hawley; Jon Cardinal, Leeann Sinpatanasakul, and Rob Hickman; Mike 
Kuiken, Reza Zomorrodian, and Yazeed Abdelhaq; Matt Fuentes, Dili 
Sundaramoorthy, and Juan Negrete; Christina Henderson, who just won for 
city council in Washington, DC, and is leaving us; Ramon Carranza; 
Catalina Tam; Lane Bodian and Rodney Kazibwe; Veronica Watters; Zack 
Rosenblum, Ryan Eagan and Jasmin Aleman; Adrian Deveny, Tim Ryder; Sean 
Byrne, Annie Daly and Vandan Patel; Reggie Babin, Lucy Panza, Mark 
Patterson, Didier Barjon; Helena Contes; Charlie Ellsworth, Kai Vogel; 
Jim Secreto, Patricio Gonzalez, and Josh Gutmaker.
  And, of course, I have to thank the brilliant floor staff led by Gary 
Myrick. What a blessing.
  A special thank-you from me and the caucus and the entire staff to 
Tricia Engle, Dan Tinsley, Brad Watt, Stephanie Paone, Liza Patterson, 
Nate Oursler, and Rachel Jackson.
  Thank you and also farewell to Reema Dodin, Senator Durbin's 
tremendous floor staffer who for years has looked after the caucus and 
the floor. She is heading to the White House to help the President-
elect, and we couldn't be happier and prouder to have a Senate denizen 
at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
  There are so many more incredible staffers who deserve recognition 
and thanks for making this institution come to life. My entire staff 
helped with the efforts this year, and as I conclude today, they are 
still helping. I would like to include all of their names in the 
Record.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record the following names
  There being no objection; the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Yazeed Abdelhaq; Kathleen Achibair; Jasmin Aleman; Garrett 
     Armwood; Reggie Babin; Robert Banez; Didier Barjon; Steve 
     Barton; Sharon Battle; Jackie Benavides; Allison Biasotti; 
     Tinae Bluitt; Lane Bodian; Quinn Bowman; Martin Brennan; 
     Caroline Burns; Sean Byrne; Jon Cardinal; Ramon Carranza; 
     Joyce.Chang Prepis.
       Kristen Charlery; Emily Cole; Helena Contes; Andrew Cook; 
     Dave Cooke; Sophie Coutavas; Annie Daly; Tushar Dayal; Adrian

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     Deveny; Jeff Dickson; Lindsay Dirienzo; Ryan Eagan; Charlie 
     Ellsworth; Marissa Emanuel; Tricia Engle; Kelly Fado; Sam 
     Flood; Matt Fuentes; Joel Geertsma; Megan Glander; Patricio 
     Gonzalez; Justin Goodman; Hayley Gray-Hoehn; Joshua Gutmaker.
       Gunnar Haberl; Jasmine Harris; Marisa Hawley; Christina 
     Henderson; Rob Hickman; Jon Housley; Amber Huus; Mike 
     Iannelli; Steven Heka; Rachel Jackson; Jessica Jamaica; 
     Rodney Kazibwe; Cietta Kiandoli; Mike Kuiken; Monica Lee; 
     Julietta Lopez; Mike Lynch; Grace Magaletta; Steve Mann; Amy 
     Mannering; Anneliese Marcojohn; Jordan Marshall; Ryan Martin; 
     Hemen Mehta.
       Ken Meyer; Michelle Mittler; Josh Molofsky; Catey Moore; 
     Michelle Moreno-Silva; Rachel Morgan; Megan Murphy Vlasto; 
     Gary Myrick; Leela Najafi; Alice Nam; Juan Negrete; Joe 
     Nehme; Alex Nguyen; Jordan Nicholson; Diana Nunez; Andrew 
     Odgren; Lorenzo Olvera; Suzan Orlove; Sol Ortega; Rebecca 
     Osmolski; Nate Oursler; Lucy Panza; Stephanie Paone.
       Vandan Patel; Liza Patterson; Mark Patterson; Gerry 
     Petrella; Oriana Pina; William Reese; Tony Rivera; Alexandra 
     Robinson; Scott Rodman; Angelo Roefaro; Zack Rosenblum; Tim 
     Ryder; Jim Secreto; Nelson Seijas; Raisa Shah; Tyson 
     Sharbaugh; Leeann Sinpatanasakul; Amanda Skapnit; Alexa 
     Sledge; Hannah Smith; Bre Sonnier-Thompson; Amanda Spellicy; 
     Dili Sundararnoorthy.
       Emily Sweda; Hanna Talley; Meghan Taira; Catalina Tarn; 
     Anna Taylor; Taylor Terri; Paige Tepke; Kirnarah Timothy; Dan 
     Tinsley; Erin Sager Vaughn; Cyre Velez; Nicole Vorgona; Kai 
     Vogel; Karine Vorperian-Grillo; Brad Watt; Veronica Watters; 
     Emma Weir; Dan Yoken; Maxwell Young; Nora Younkin; Chris 
     Zeltrnann; Reza Zommorrodian.

  Mr. SCHUMER. It is a lot of names.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.

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