[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5510-H5511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PAYING TRIBUTE TO ELIZABETH JEAN BECK VUNA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Schiff) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a true 
public servant. We use that term frequently and often too casually, but 
the individual I am speaking about unquestionably defines the term and 
sets an example we should all strive to achieve.
  Elizabeth Jean Beck Vuna has served as my district office casework 
manager for 20 years. She has served the Congress and the American 
people for over 33 years. Prior to serving my constituents, she worked 
for Congressman Glenn Anderson and Congressman Stephen Horn from Long 
Beach, California.
  It is worth noting that the bitter partisan politics of today have 
never touched Elizabeth's commitment to service. She has worked for 
Democrats and Republicans without concern for political philosophy. It 
is that dedication, that determination to help people, and that 
diligence that truly makes her irreplaceable.
  Elizabeth will be retiring on September 30. When she does, we will be 
losing one of the most effective and compassionate caseworkers in the 
history of the Congress. Yes, I know that sounds boastful, but it is 
quite simply the truth.
  Little did I know when I hired Elizabeth in 2002 what a profound 
impact she would have on the lives of so many of my constituents and on 
me.
  Elizabeth began her career in public service because, when her 
brother returned home from the Vietnam war, he could find no assistance 
for his PTSD and Agent Orange-related illnesses. She decided it would 
be her mission to ensure that other veterans would not face a similar 
fate and often focused her efforts in helping veterans obtain the 
benefits they so richly deserved.
  She also felt an affinity for immigrants since she and her husband 
adopted five orphaned children from Tonga. That experience led her to 
become a local expert in international adoption.
  Her compassion for all immigrants also led her to become a recognized 
expert in the field, and she diligently advocated for all immigrants to 
be afforded all the benefits legally available to them.
  The number of constituents Elizabeth has helped in a substantive 
manner are in the tens of thousands, and I am probably undercounting.
  She has mentored other congressional staff and given guidance and 
direction to everyone who was lucky enough to ask her to do so.
  Not a week goes by that I do not hear from some of my constituents 
about this miracle or feat that she accomplished on their behalf, 
whether it is large or small.
  As her retirement became known, my office received dozens of emails 
thanking her for her service and asking if she couldn't stay just a 
little longer.

                              {time}  1015

  She has assisted the many studios in my district as well as the Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology, but 
perhaps

[[Page H5511]]

more importantly, she has helped individual constituents, who needed a 
fierce champion for their cause, help navigate a bureaucracy that can 
seem arcane and senseless at times.
  Elizabeth is a native Californian, the daughter of Wilbert and Ellen 
Beck.
  Her large family is comprised of her husband, Steve; sons, Jesse and 
Sean, who tragically prematurely passed away; adopted Tongan children, 
Malia, Angela, Michelle, Joshua, and Jacob; and over a dozen 
grandchildren.
  She will be missed in our office and by our constituents beyond 
measure, and I cannot thank her enough for her service.
  I ask all Members to join me in thanking Elizabeth Jean Beck Vuna for 
her unwavering dedication to public service and wish her good health 
and prosperity in retirement.

                          ____________________