[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H326-H328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING VICTORIA SANDS DIXON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Torres of New York). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Rodney Davis) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the 
opportunity to be here tonight. It is actually bittersweet because we 
are here to honor a friend, a long-time friend to many, even to some 
sitting here in this institution because Vicki Dixon was an institution 
here in Washington, D.C.; not in a bad way, but in a way where she 
touched so many lives in such a positive manner.
  I am going to go ahead and save my comments about Vicki until later 
because we have got some friends that got to know Vicki over the years 
like I did, and got to not only become friends but just to see the 
wholesome, genuine, kind individual that Victoria Sands Dixon was.
  Her career was encapsulated by helping so many people here in 
Congress get things done, and her passing is bittersweet to all of us.
  One good friend of Vicki and a very good friend of mine is the 
ranking member on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Mr. Speaker, I 
yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Rodney Davis for 
yielding time to me and for organizing this Special Order.
  Tonight you are going to hear several words from our colleagues that 
will echo the same resounding words, and, that is, Vicki Dixon should 
be recognized for all that she did in her life. But most of all, she 
was kind. She was a friend.
  When the delegation got together, she was always there to welcome 
newcomers to D.C. that she may have known from a time in Illinois.
  She dedicated her life to serving our country, which she loved 
deeply. In her 30-plus years here in Washington, D.C., she worked for 
several Members of Congress as well as seven Cabinet Secretaries.
  Vicki will be deeply missed by those of us who knew her, whether in 
Illinois, Washington, or Florida, where she just retired to in the 
fall. She left our Capitol community and our Nation better off than it 
was before. She was loved. She will be missed tremendously.
  When the Illinois delegation got together over at the club, it was 
always amazing how quick she would come up to greet everyone, show 
friendship and kindness, give you some advice now and again on how to 
deal with this place, as crazy as it is at times.
  Both Tracy and I send our prayers to her mother, Peggy; her sister, 
Kristi; and all of her many nieces and nephews; and we want to say a 
special thank you for how she has touched each one of our lives.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend Mr. 
Bost for those heartfelt words.
  I now yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), another good 
friend of Vicki.
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I echo the comments of both Congressman Bost 
and Congressman Davis. It is bittersweet to be here tonight to honor 
the life of Vicki Dixon, who was a friend to many in Illinois and here 
in Washington, D.C.
  Vicki passed away too early, but I am glad we have the opportunity 
tonight to pay tribute to her wonderful career, her generosity, and her 
support of so many.
  I thank you, Congressman Davis, for organizing this Special Order.
  When you think about Vicki Dixon and her career, you can't help but 
think about Illinois. She was a native of Shelbyville, Illinois. Vicki 
felt a call to service at a very young age. From 1979 to 1989, Vicki 
worked for former Illinois Congressman Dan Crane and then went on to 
work for Mr. Derwinski at the Department of Veterans Affairs before 
serving at the Interior Department until she retired in 2016. She 
served many different Secretaries at the Department of the Interior.
  Vicki was a proud Illinois Republican, and she always supported the 
party back there and many of our candidates and elected officials. 
Vicki was integral in the development of something called the Lincoln 
Series. The Lincoln Series was a leadership program for young 
Republican women in Illinois dedicated to increasing the number of 
young Republican women serving in government and political positions. 
That Lincoln Series would not have happened without Vicki Dixon.
  There are many people that graduated from the Lincoln Series, so we 
owe a debt of gratitude to so many people that Vicki helped touch by 
that program. It was just one of many things that Vicki did that was 
impactful on so many different folks.
  Vicki was known to many of us here in the Halls of Congress for her 
work specifically at the Department of the Interior and the Capitol 
Hill Club.
  Many of us got to know Vicki. Vicki was very involved with the 
Capitol Hill Club and many of our activities over there. Vicki was 
always kind and generous, had a smile on her face, and was willing to 
help.
  Vicki will be sorely missed by everyone who knew her here in D.C. 
and, of course, back home in Illinois. My prayers remain with Vicki's 
family. May she rest in peace.

[[Page H327]]

  

  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman LaHood 
for those great words. I didn't know she was one of the folks who 
started the Lincoln Series. That is great.
  That is a great program, and it makes me see the influence of Vicki 
Dixon even more. A lot of great people have gone through that program, 
and now I know why it is a great program--because of people like Vicki.
  Another good friend of Vicki Dixon--well, there is Vicki talking. I 
just knocked it down. She is like: Shush, stop saying so many nice 
thing about me.
  Another good friend of Vicki is her colleague from the State of 
Washington. You and your wife were very close to Vicki. I know, after 
her passing, we exchanged phone calls to try to find out what happened.
  Mr. Newhouse, what is your wife's name again?
  Mr. NEWHOUSE. You always have trouble with that.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. I do. Tell Joan I said hi. And it is 
now in the Congressional Record that I acted like I didn't know her 
name.
  In all seriousness, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. 
Newhouse) to tell the American people about our friend Vicki.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. NEWHOUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Davis for yielding, and I 
thank him very much for organizing this Special Order honoring Vicki 
here on the House floor. It truly is something that she deserves 
because this institution of Congress, she held it in high regard, as 
you know. So it is an honor for me to be able to stand here and honor 
her and honor her life. I call her a friend, Victoria Lynn ``Vicki'' 
Sands Dixon.
  I only had the pleasure of knowing her, I think, for about the last 5 
years, but I have to tell you, it soon became clear after meeting Vicki 
that she is one of those people that you could really call an angel on 
Earth. She treated her friends just like family, and honestly, she 
would do anything for her friends.
  As you mentioned, Vicki was a really close friend of my wife, Joan--
she is going to kill me for saying this--for over 42 years. In fact, 
Vicki was even the maid of honor at our wedding. That is how close she 
was to us.
  Vicki was considerate and thoughtful, gracious and funny, generous to 
a fault, and always the first to lend a helping hand. I can't tell you 
how many times Vicki, not even being asked, came to the rescue.
  One time, Joan and I had just moved into a new house in the middle of 
winter, and the gas hadn't been turned on yet. We couldn't get the gas 
company to respond. Vicki, before the end of the night, when the house 
temperature got down into the 40s, we had no less than six little 
heaters trying to keep that house warm. That is the kind of person she 
was. Vicki was always there to help.
  I know you have heard from some of our friends tonight, and there are 
so many people that would agree with them that Vicki truly was a 
friend, but she was more than that, too. Vicki was a dedicated 
American. Vicki was faithful to her country, certainly proud of her 
party, proud of her home State of Illinois, and, as you heard, a 
devoted public servant.
  It truly is a loss as we lose Vicki, but if there is anyone that I 
can think of, anyone worthy of moving on to a better place, it is her. 
Vicki was an example of the engaged and selfless citizen that we really 
all should try to emulate.
  I know Vicki's family and her community continue to be blessed by her 
memory. May Vicki rest in peace with her beloved Bob Michel.
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I encourage the gentleman 
to feel free to stick around if any other thoughts on Vicki's life come 
to mind to make sure we let the world know.
  Mr. Speaker, I do want to share a note I got from people who were 
very close to Vicki, and this epitomizes the influence Vicki had on so 
many here. I think this note speaks for so many people. It says: ``I am 
still devastated, just like everyone who knew her. Wow.''

  You can look around this city, you can look around this Capitol, and 
you can see what Vicki Dixon meant. It didn't matter if you were a 
Republican or a Democrat. She worked for both administrations. This is 
the person who was able to help navigate people in the right direction 
to get things done.
  Vicki is the perfect example of a career public servant who did not 
work for the public attention but for the sake of our country. Vicki 
loved the United States of America.
  Through Vicki's kindness and professionalism, she won the hearts of 
many, from the highest positions here in Washington to the humblest 
positions here in Washington. I hope that when we all leave, we can say 
the same thing, that our best friends just weren't those who walked 
into the best offices in this complex, but that our best friends were 
those who made sure the lights worked in these offices, that our 
friends were those who make Washington work for all of us just like 
Vicki Dixon did.
  One of my favorite memories of Vicki is actually getting to meet her. 
It was with my great friend, my former boss, former chief of staff 
Craig Roberts. He introduced me to her. Then I got reintroduced to 
Vicki by my former colleague, my mentor, and my friend and former boss, 
Congressman Shimkus.
  That brings up a great memory that I have of Vicki and Leader Michel, 
sitting right behind home plate. I could tell that the game was going 
well because Vicki was very much smiles when I would chase a passed 
ball back to the backstop. If the game wasn't going well, she probably 
wouldn't look at me while I was going back, making another error maybe, 
possibly, and, yes, historically.
  But I can remember Vicki sitting there with Leader Michel in a Cubs 
jersey. I am from Illinois. I am not a Cubs fan, and neither was John 
Shimkus. He was a much more rabid fan of the Cardinals than many. Vicki 
Dixon was the only one that could wear a Cubs jersey around Congressman 
John Shimkus because she was Vicki Dixon.
  From 1989 until her retirement in 2016, Vicki served Secretaries of 
the Interior, as I mentioned earlier, under both Republicans and 
Democrats. That is where I got a chance to see what she meant to 
people.
  The constituents I used to work for when I worked for Congressman 
John Shimkus got VIP tours of the monuments because Vicki Dixon 
realized that when constituents come to Washington, they want to see 
their Nation's Capital. She did everything she could to make that 
happen, so much so that when I became a Member of Congress, she 
continued to help us allow our constituents to see the monuments under 
her direction at the Department of the Interior.
  I remember a good friend of hers that used to work with her at the 
Department of the Interior under President Bush. I have exchanged texts 
with Lori Yates, my good friend, over the last few weeks upon Vicki's 
passing.
  Lori, Vicki knew you were a great friend, too. She knew that that 
friendship mattered. And understand that Vicki is in a better place. 
Vicki is with her friends and those she loved the most in a place where 
there is no pain. But in a place like Washington, D.C., she will be 
missed.
  Vicki worked for the Office of the Secretary and the Bureau of Land 
Management as an expert in external affairs. Before Interior, she 
worked for Congressman Dan Crane. She also worked for Veterans Affairs 
Secretary Ed Derwinski.
  As my colleagues mentioned, Vicki is a native of Shelbyville, 
Illinois. Vicki attended Lake Land College in Mattoon.
  I can remember one day my wife and I were driving around our hometown 
of Taylorville, and we just so happened to drive by Vicki's mom's house 
because Vicki's mom, Peggy, lived in my hometown for some time. And who 
do I see standing out in the driveway of her mom's house in 
Taylorville, Illinois, but Vicki Dixon? Of course, Vicki flagged us 
down, and we stopped.
  I got to know her mom even after that meeting. I know her mother, 
Peggy, is devastated by her loss.
  Vicki moved from D.C. to Naples, where she again quickly made new 
friends. But on January 8, it is one of those days where you exchange 
phone calls with colleagues and friends, and you hate to have that 
discussion, but just so everybody knows, Vicki passed peacefully in her 
sleep unexpectedly in Naples.

[[Page H328]]

  I can't tell you how devastated we all are to know that Vicki is not 
going to be able to enjoy that house, that time that she wanted to 
enjoy in Naples. But Vicki lived one of the fullest lives I think we 
could ever wish for.
  Vicki's mom, Peggy, and her family are devastated, and we know that. 
I hope you know that our prayers are with them all. I would urge anyone 
watching tonight to say a quick prayer for Vicki's mom and Vicki's 
family.
  But Vicki is resting in peace. Vicki is again in a place experiencing 
no pain, and I believe there is a God that allows her to be able to 
experience that peace with those she loved the most.
  Vicki, we know you are resting in peace, but D.C. is not resting with 
you right now. D.C. is honoring you tonight.
  There is not a person that I think deserves more than Victoria Sands 
Dixon to be honored by an institution that she loved so much.
  God bless Vicki and her memory and those who knew her, and let's all 
use Vicki as an example.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________