[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 157 (Monday, September 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S6453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO EUGENE P. BOYD

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to thank my constituent, 
Congressional Research Service analyst Eugene P. Boyd, on his four 
decades of service to the U.S. Congress. Mr. Boyd retired in January 
2020, but, as with many other milestones, recognition of his retirement 
was disrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Mr. Boyd, a resident of Clinton, MD, began his CRS career in 1979 as 
an analyst focusing on urban policy and federalism. Throughout his 
career, he provided expert advice to the House and Senate on topics 
that included economic development, empowerment zones, gentrification, 
and intergovernmental relations.
  Mr. Boyd began his career as a relocation specialist for the Prince 
George's County Housing Authority. He earned a bachelor's degree in 
urban planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master's 
degree in urban planning from Howard University.
  Mr. Boyd is noted especially for his commitment to and expertise on 
the District of Columbia, including detailed knowledge of the city's 
policies and politics that helped Congress understand the effects of 
its lawmaking on the Nation's Capital. He coordinated a CRS team that 
supported congressional consideration of the 1997 Capital 
Revitalization and Government Reorganization Act. He advised Congress 
throughout its oversight of D.C. revitalization during the 1990s. More 
recently, his work focused on the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and 
Management Board--FOMB--and the Community Development Block Grant--
CDBG--Program's role in disaster recovery. He also aided Congress in 
understanding challenges facing local governments that drew national 
attention, such as the Flint, MI, water system.
  Mr. Boyd's colleagues regard him as a leader, mentor, and friend. In 
addition to guiding his colleagues in their official duties, Mr. Boyd 
served in his personal capacity as an active member of the 
Congressional Research Employees Association--CREA--and as a director 
and vice chairman of the Library of Congress Federal Credit Union. His 
colleagues always appreciated his kindness, humor, impeccable sartorial 
style, and expert culinary contributions. Above all, they treasured him 
as a gentleman and a professional who made CRS a better place to work.
  Some of Mr. Boyd's most important life's work occurred outside of the 
office. He was a member of only the second class to integrate the 
public high schools in Newport News, VA. He knew well the realities of 
segregation, which inspired his lifelong belief in the importance of 
democratic participation. He is a committed mentor, especially to young 
Black men, individually and through the Concerned Black Men 
organization. And in a true act of selflessness, in 1992 Mr. Boyd 
helped save the life of a 13-year-old boy in Oklahoma, whom he had 
never met, by serving as a bone marrow donor. Mr. Boyd is so humble 
that many of his longtime colleagues did not know about his personal 
sacrifice until after he retired.
  The U.S. Congress and our Nation are better informed because of 
Eugene Boyd's service to the legislative branch. I ask my colleagues to 
join me in wishing Mr. Boyd and his beloved wife Sharon Butts, also a 
CRS retiree, and daughter Lauren, all the best as Mr. Boyd begins the 
next chapter of his life of service to his community and his country.



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