[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S426-S427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Tribute to Christopher Austen Joyner

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, occasionally, Members are given the 
opportunity for a point of personal privilege. This is mine today. 
Today, I rise to speak in tribute to Christopher Austen Joyner, my most 
trusted adviser for the last 24 years.
  This week, Chris will retire from a 22-year career working in public 
service, most of them supporting me in some capacity.
  Twenty-two years is a long time. In Hill terminology, that translates 
to three terms in the House, followed by almost three terms in the U.S. 
Senate. And in Chris's case, it includes participation in almost every 
one of my campaigns since 1998. To say that I will miss our partnership 
is an understatement.
  Joyner's love of country, his dedication to serve, his ability to 
bring out the best in staff and in me have been a true gift for the 
last two decades.
  Chris, I hope you will enjoy a well-earned retirement; that you can 
head out to the coast; that you can have a few laughs with your wife, 
Amanda, your kids, Liz and Andrew; that you can enjoy some more 
baseball games, whether that is coaching Andrew's Little League team or 
sitting at Nats Park; and that you can properly reflect on your poor 
decision to get a pandemic puppy. From now on, I hope that there will 
only be one Monday per week, and, in addition to lunch, you 
occasionally get dinner. I expect to see you here, though, for the 
occasional breakfast burrito.
  Like so many young staffers, Chris started his Hill career as an 
intern at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1996. In the spring 
of 1998, Alicia Clark, my then-chief of staff, brought Chris to my 
House office as a legislative assistant. Chris worked in my House 
office from 1998 to 2005, involved in almost every issue that came 
through our doors: foreign policy, defense, oversight, trade, tax, ag. 
In my House office, I could always count on Chris to be committed, 
prepared, and willing to work within the conference and across the 
aisle to get things done for the American people.
  One of Chris's proudest accomplishments during those years was his 
work with a bipartisan group of House staffers to draft legislation 
that ultimately became the tobacco quota buyout. Of course, I think his 
most noticeable accomplishment there in those years was to meet and 
marry the love of his life, Amanda, who has been patient over the years 
with long nights, nonexistent weekends, and staffdels that produced 
laundry smelling like jet fuel and explosives.
  Chris rose through the office ranks to become policy director, and he 
joined my Senate office in 2005. In the spring of 2006, after 8 years 
on Team Burr, Chris went looking for new challenges and briefly worked 
as a Washington rep for the American Petroleum Institute.
  Thankfully, he wasn't gone too long, and, in 2008, Chris agreed to 
come back to my Senate office as chief of staff. As my chief, Chris 
hired and mentored my staff both here and in North Carolina and 
provided me invaluable counsel on a host of issues facing the American 
people. Whatever the problem, Chris always brought the best options to 
the table, occasionally with some good bourbon, and provided the best 
advice, even if I didn't always agree.
  When I took over as chairman of the Senate Select Committee on 
Intelligence in January 2015, I knew that

[[Page S427]]

Chris would bring his keen intellect, good judgment, and steady 
leadership to the staff director role. Although Chris had never worked 
in the intelligence community, I knew that he had the right balance of 
respect for the intelligence community's mission and commitment to the 
Senate's important oversight role.
  Chris dove into this role head first, learning everything he could 
about the intelligence community, becoming a champion of its missions 
and of its workforce. He traveled the world in pursuit of ground truth, 
joining me on trips to war zones, crisis hotspots, and training 
locations to show the intelligence community our support; traveling via 
trains, planes, armored cars, helicopters, and, occasionally, souped-up 
golf carts. Chris knew the value of an in-person thank-you to our 
people in harm's way and the importance of a surprise stop to ensure 
that the reality on the ground was described back in Washington in the 
same way.
  Chris's bipartisanship and his supportive leadership style served him 
well during his time on the Intel Committee. Thankfully, he also kept 
his sense of humor and his penchant for movie quotes and exactly the 
right GIF.
  As staff director during the SSCI's Russia investigation, Chris led a 
bipartisan team of staffers on an almost 4-year-long effort to uncover 
foreign interference in the 2016 election. Although we had some heated 
moments and a lot of drama, Chris never wavered from the mission that 
Senator Warner and I had given the staff: to follow the facts wherever 
they led.
  Chris's leadership style is not flashy, and his quiet support for the 
SSCI staff and his devotion to the IC mission kept the committee 
focused on its essential oversight mission throughout a high-profile 
investigation in the beginning of the pandemic.
  Clearly, Chris could not get enough of this important mission, and 
for the last 2 years, Chris has served as the senior adviser on the 
committee, continuing the committee's efforts to focus the intelligence 
community on critical work exposing malign foreign influence. His work 
is clearly rated AAA.
  Chris, I am proud of you. I am so thankful to you, and I hope you 
know how much your service has meant to all of us and especially to me. 
You have been a voice of common sense in a divisive time, a steady hand 
through good times and bad times, and a champion of the legislative 
branch. Our Nation is safer, our intelligence community is sharper, and 
this institution is stronger because of you. Thank you for dedicating 
your life and service to your Nation and thank you for your dedication 
to me. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to have you by my 
side on this journey. We wish you well.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all postcloture 
cloture time has expired.
  The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 2 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.