[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3507-S3508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Jean Toal Eisen

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today as the current 
chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, 
Science, and Related Agencies because I want to pay tribute to the 
clerk who has worked with me for the last 6 years but who has been in 
public service here for the Federal Government for 27 years, including 
26 years of service in the U.S. Senate, and that is Jean Toal Eisen, 
who is going to be retiring from the Federal Government.
  And Jean is here along with two other members of the staff of the CJS 
Subcommittee, Blaise Sheridan and Michael Bednarczyk, as well as three 
members of my staff, Ariel Marshall, Janelle DiLuccia, and Chad 
Kreikemeier, my chief of staff.
  We are here because we think it is important, and I especially think 
it is important to recognize the people who make this body run. And it 
is people like Jean, who have dedicated their whole careers to this 
institution, who allow us to--who mean that we can, on occasion, get 
things done that make a huge difference for the people of this country.
  And I know I speak for all the members of the Appropriations 
Committee and its staff when I say that Jean will be sorely missed.
  Just last week, as I looked at the breathtaking images captured from 
NASA's James Webb telescope, I thought about Jean. It is no 
exaggeration to say that those images exist, in no small part, because 
of her work on this subcommittee. And they serve as a fitting capstone 
for her distinguished career.
  And, of course, then I thought about other ways that Jean's influence 
will endure, ensuring millions of people will get access to broadband 
because of her work on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act--and 
there were many late nights that she and other members of my staff and 
Senator Collins' staff worked with the Commerce Department to try and 
ensure we could get those broadband sections done--and then also 
helping survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse 
receive access to critical services because of Jean's successful 
efforts to release more resources from the Crime Victims Fund. In fact, 
every year that I have been chair of Commerce, Justice, and Science, 
because of Jean's efforts, we have maximized funding in the Office of 
Violence Against Women so that each year over year we have done better.
  She has also been there to ensure that the next generation of STEM 
innovators and leaders get record investments in the National Science 
Foundation and NASA. And it is really appropriate that we are 
considering bipartisan chips innovation legislation on the floor this 
week, Jean's last in the Senate, because she played a central role 
drafting and negotiating this critical legislation that will bolster 
American manufacturing and protect our national security interests.
  And though Jean will no longer be in the Senate, her legacy is 
already felt everywhere, and the American people are better for it. 
Jean's journey in the Senate began as a staff assistant for Senator 
Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, her home State Senator.
  Later, she served on the staff of the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation as senior adviser and deputy policy 
director for Chairman Dan Inouye, before serving as deputy policy 
director at the U.S. Department of Commerce.
  And since 2010, she has served on the CJS Subcommittee, and from 2014 
to 2017, she was the deputy staff director of the Senate Committee on 
Appropriations for Chair Barbara Mikulski, who I know if she were here 
would also be on the floor to sing Jean's praises.
  I have had the pleasure of having Jean as my clerk since 2017, when I 
took over the CJS Subcommittee as Vice Chair. And I think that words 
really can't capture Jean's personality, but I would be doing a 
disservice to this body if I didn't try to give a sense of why Jean is 
one of the most effective staffers on Capitol Hill.
  And I think the first thing to know is that Jean always gives you the 
truth--whether you want to hear it or not. The second thing to know 
about her is that she always has a sense of humor, even when the going 
gets tough, and all of us who have been here through tough challenges 
know that maintaining a sense of humor is absolutely critical.
  Her colleagues will remember her as incredibly knowledgeable, kind, 
and pragmatic because, at heart, Jean is a problem-solver. She 
understands that the U.S. Government is one of the most impressive 
institutions the world has ever seen, and she has dedicated her career 
to improving it.
  Jean is also the proud mom of her daughter Pat, who is a rising 
sophomore at Longwood University and is, among other things, a 
saxophonist in the school's ``Stampede'' Athletic Pep Band.

[[Page S3508]]

  Now that she is no longer drafting annual appropriations bills, we 
hope that Jean will have more quality time to spend with Pat, with her 
husband Pete, and with her many family members and friends and maybe 
even a little more time for hockey and gardening. Although if she is 
going to support hockey, she really needs to support the Bruins, so we 
are not sure how much time we want to give her for that.
  But it gives me great joy to publicly thank Jean for her 
extraordinary work for this committee. Congratulations, Jean. Thank you 
for your decades of service to our country and your commitment to the 
U.S. Senate. Neither your expertise nor your good humor will soon be 
replaced, but your work will not be forgotten anytime soon.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. HAGERTY. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.