[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1338-E1339]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING THE RETIREMENT OF ELLEN BALIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN A. YARMUTH

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2021

  Mr. YARMUTH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Ellen 
Balis, staff director of the House Budget Committee, who recently 
retired after 37 years of exceptional service to the Congress and the 
Executive branch.
  Ellen began her career in Federal service at the White House Office 
of Management and Budget in 1984. She spent more than 20 years at 0MB 
participating in the annual development of the President's Budget and 
advising senior administration officials on budget policy. In 2007, 
Ellen joined the Democratic staff of the House Budget Committee to 
serve as the senior budget analyst in charge of all the ``numbers.'' In 
that role, she led development of the estimates for Democratic budget 
resolutions and advised Members and staff on budget policy, concepts, 
and scoring. She quickly demonstrated her invaluable expertise and 
became a go-to person for analysis and advice. In 2017, when I became 
the Ranking Member of the Budget Committee, I asked her to serve

[[Page E1339]]

as our Staff Director. Her knowledge, temperament, strategic acumen, 
and drive for thorough and accurate analysis made her the obvious 
choice.
  Ellen is one of the most respected budget experts in Washington. And 
during her tenure as staff director, she was instrumental in the 
development and passage of several key pieces of legislation, including 
the 2021 concurrent budget resolution and the American Rescue Plan Act 
of 2021. In fact, she delayed her planned retirement for several months 
to help shepherd these two critically important bills through final 
passage. She knew we had the chance to implement transformative change 
for our country, and she stayed so we could benefit from her expertise 
and experience. This selfless dedication to the work of the Congress 
and service to the American people are emblematic of Ellen's character 
and entire career. It is impossible to overstate what an asset Ellen 
was to the Budget Committee and House Leadership overall. To make 
public policy that does what it is intended to do, that truly delivers 
for the American people, everything must, quite literally, add up. And 
when it comes to budget tables and congressional calculations, there 
were numbers, and then there were Ellen's numbers. Hers were the gold 
standard. Always reliable, always dependable--like Ellen herself.
  Over the years, Ellen impacted scores of Capitol Hill staffers who 
worked for and with her. From interns to senior analysts, her kind and 
steady leadership has left an indelible mark on all of those who 
learned from her and the example she set as an effective and dedicated 
public servant. I want to thank Ellen for her candid advice, thoughtful 
analysis and most importantly, her friendship. I wish her nothing but 
the best in her hard-earned and well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________