[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 15, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO ROSELEE NICHOLS ROBERTS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN CALVERT

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 2021

  Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to 
my good friend and former House staff member Roselee Roberts, who 
passed away on April 22, 2020 in McDaniel, MD, on Maryland's Eastern 
shore. Roselee was a tireless advocate for America's space program and 
she will be deeply missed by many.
  Roselee was born on April 24, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. After high 
school, she attended the University of Miami in 1960 and graduated with 
honors and a degree in math and economics in 1964. While in college, 
Roselee ran the campus speaker's bureau, where she met her future 
husband, William ``Art'' Roberts. After graduating, she was recruited 
and hired into a management position with AT&T's Southern Bell Co. at 
their Jacksonville, Florida office. About a year later, she and Art wed 
and moved to Reston, Virginia. A few years later, Roselee was selected 
to serve as a Junior Economist on President Lyndon Johnson's Council of 
Economic Advisers.
  Following positions with the Office of Management and Budget and as 
Rep. Bill Nelson's (D-Florida) chief aide on the House Budget 
Committee, Roselee launched her space career by serving as a staff 
member on the House Science and Technology Committee's Space and 
Aeronautics Subcommittee. In 1985, she left Capitol Hill for a position 
in the McDonnell Douglas legislative affairs office, which later merged 
with the Boeing Corporation. In that era, the space and aeronautics 
industry was predominantly comprised of men with military backgrounds. 
To support and encourage women in the industry, Roselee helped 
establish Women in Aerospace. The group now includes more than 2,000 
individual and corporate members.
  In 2005, I was truly blessed to have Roselee head back to the House 
and serve as the staff director for the House Space and Aeronautics 
Subcommittee while I held the gavel as Chairman. With the space shuttle 
program and International Space Station facing significant challenges, 
the space industry was at an inflection point at that time. Thanks in 
large part to Roselee's determination and leadership, we were able to 
successfully pass and have a NASA authorization bill signed into law 
for the first time in five years. After serving in the House again, 
Roselee moved over to NASA headquarters for her final government post 
as the Special Assistant to the agency's Deputy Administrator.
  Roselee is survived by her husband, Art, of 54 years; their children, 
Elizabeth (Libby) Roberts Holah and husband, Greg; and granddaughters 
Olivia Holah and Violet Holah, and Leigh Roberts Melton and husband, 
John; granddaughter Harper Melton and grandson Hunter Melton. I extend 
my heartfelt condolences to the Roberts family, her friends, and 
everyone fortunate enough to have known Roselee. Although she may be 
gone, the many contributions Roselee made to our country will have a 
lasting impact.

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