[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 189 (Wednesday, October 27, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1154-E1155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF ROBERT E. JULIANO

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 27, 2021

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, Robert E. Juliano passed 
from this earth on October 18, 2021, at age 80. His passing is a great 
loss to our country and to the Union members he represented so loyally 
for so many years. It is a particular loss to the United States 
Congress, because he believed so passionately in our institution. It is 
no less a loss to so many of us in Congress who treasured Bob Juliano 
both professionally and personally.
  Bob was born May 20, 1941, to Emil and Mary Salvaria Juliano in his 
beloved hometown of Chicago. Bob was a true product of Taylor Street 
and the West Side of Chicago, and he never lost his roots there.
  As a young man Bob Juliano became a personnel manager at the Palmer 
House Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago. There he met the late Edward T. 
Hanley, then the leader in Chicago of the Hotel Employees and 
Restaurant Employees Union (HERE), the Union now known as UNITE HERE, 
which represents the workers at the iconic Palmer House.
  One of President Hanley's first acts when he became International 
President of HERE in 1973 was to hire Bob Juliano as the Union's first 
full-time Legislative Representative. It was unorthodox to hire a 
management person to represent the Union's members, and equally 
unorthodox to send to Washington someone with no lobbying experience at 
all.
  President Hanley's unorthodox appointment was a response to Bob 
Juliana's passionate belief, founded in his Catholic faith and Jesuit 
education, in bringing people together. Over the years, he put that 
belief into practice by bringing together management and labor as well 
as people of all colors and faiths.
  In Congress, Bob brought together Republicans and Democrats, liberals 
and conservatives, Members from smaller states and big cities. His 
faith in all of us is so sorely missed today. He had no interest in 
labels like conservative, moderate, or progressive. His interest was 
always in finding the best in each of us and giving each of us the 
opportunity to do something good for everyday Americans.
  Bob had literally countless friends in Congress. They included, among 
many others, Senators as diverse as Senator Robert J. Dole, Senator 
Edward M. Kennedy, Senator Orrin Hatch, Senator Samuel Brownback, and 
Senators of both parties from his home state of Illinois, such as 
Everett Dirksen and Richard J. Durbin. He lived long enough to relish 
the ascension of his friend Joe Biden to the Presidency of the United 
States.
  In the House of Representatives, he likewise had strong relationships 
with Members across the spectrum, such as former Representatives Chris 
Cannon and Frank LoBiondo and his long-time close friend, House 
Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro, among many others. He regarded the 
late Speaker Tip O'Neill as an important mentor.
  Bob was particularly close to leaders of the Black Caucus, including 
the late Rep. John Lewis. He regarded the struggle for equality as the 
single most important issue of his lifetime. His belief in equality led 
him to work actively for civil rights and immigration reform, issues so 
important to the hospitality industry and to our nation.
  One key to Bob's success on Capitol Hill was his many relationships 
with the staff who serve us as Members. Bob knew most of our Chiefs of 
Staff. He cared about everyone, whether the shoe-shine person, the 
Capitol Police Officer, the receptionist in our offices, the staff in 
the Doorkeepers' offices, the custodian, the food service worker--he 
knew and genuinely cared about them all. They responded to Bob because 
they sensed that his interest in them was genuine, and not simply a 
means to an end. Because of that sincere interest in everyone, Bob had 
a network anyone else would envy.
  Bob Juliano was a product of the hospitality industry, and never was 
there a person more hospitable. He knew wine and food better than 
almost anyone, and he relished hosting so many people from so many 
walks of life.
  Bob never left behind his roots in Chicago and his roots in the 
hospitality industry. Rank and file hotel and restaurant workers in 
Chicago and nationwide knew him. Representing their best interests was 
his lodestone.
  He was a vigorous representative of UNITE HERE and its members. At 
the same time, he represented important employers such as American 
Express and NASCAR. Bob never saw that as a conflict, because he was so 
adept at finding common ground. The successive Presidents of the Union 
that he served never saw it as a conflict either, because he was so 
good at bringing people together. One important example was his long 
service on the US Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, where he advocated 
for workers and for the industry as a whole.
  The late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago called Bob Juliano his 
lobbyist. Bob was very proud to have served as a pall bearer for 
Cardinal Bernardin and for Speaker O'Neill. Among his many honors, he 
was especially proud to have been an Honoree of the Sons of Italy 
Foundation.
  Robert E. Juliano is survived by his son, Robert E. Juliano, Jr., of 
Chicago. He was

[[Page E1155]]

predeceased by his parents and his beloved sisters, Rosemary, Maryann, 
and Jeanette.

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