[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6995-S6996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN BOYD

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, I want to honor a great public 
servant and Alabamian, my first chief of staff, Stephen Boyd. After 
nearly two decades of public service, we recently said goodbye to this 
integral part of our team. When you run for Congress, you learn that 
people are quick to give you advice--especially when you have had a 
lifelong career outside of politics. One tip I heard over and over was 
``hire a good chief of staff.''
  I assembled a lot of teams as a coach. I could easily tell you what 
makes a ``good'' offensive coordinator or a ``good'' defensive 
coordinator. But when I thought about what would make a ``good'' chief 
of staff, I decided I needed someone with three main qualifications: 
one, someone who knew the Federal Government; two, someone who knew 
Alabama; and three, someone who would lead with integrity. There were a 
lot of people who fit the first two qualifications, but the third 
qualification, integrity, was the most important to me. I was looking 
for someone who didn't just have the knowledge or skills required to 
oversee a Senate office and advise a Senator who was new to politics. I 
was looking for someone who wanted to do the right thing for the people 
we represent, someone who puts the service of others first. And that 
someone was Stephen Boyd.
  To simply say Stephen was born to serve and born to lead would be 
accurate. Stephen's grandfathers and father served in the military, and 
his family is dedicated to their community--but it would not tell the 
full picture. Stephen has purposefully led a life dedicated to constant 
learning so that he could be a better servant of others. A native of 
Birmingham, Stephen received his undergraduate degree from the 
University of Alabama. He used his God-given talents throughout his 
time in college to lead in many roles, including as president of 
university programs. Just last year, Stephen was awarded the 
University's Bert Bank Distinguished Service and Achievement Award, one 
of school's highest alumni honors. He went on to earn a law degree at 
Alabama, and upon graduation, Stephen felt a calling to serve--and 
headed to Washington, DC, to work for then-Senator Jeff Sessions from 
Alabama. During his time in Senator Sessions' office, Stephen held 
positions of increasing responsibility and served at times in policy 
and communications roles.
  He quickly earned a reputation for being able to digest complex 
policy details and tell the story of the office's work in a way that 
resonated with Alabamians back home. This is where Stephen began to 
fully understand the responsibility that all of our offices have to 
keep our constituents informed. While Senator Sessions served on the 
Judiciary Committee, Stephen led the Senator's communications through 
some of the most crucial moments in the Senate: Supreme Court 
nominations and confirmations. It was also during this time that 
Stephen met Martha Roby. At the time, Martha was an attorney in 
Montgomery running for the U.S. House is an extremely competitive 
district. Senator Sessions asked Stephen to serve his State by going 
home and making sure Martha became Congresswoman Roby. Stephen, of 
course, agreed. He ran a campaign in what turned out to be the most 
expensive election in the district's history, and Martha Roby would go 
on to serve in the House for a decade. After helping her earn her place 
in Congress, Congresswoman Roby naturally asked Stephen to help build 
her office in DC as her chief of staff.
  Again, he stepped up. It was a new challenge to start an office from 
scratch, but Stephen is always willing to put in the effort to find 
solutions. That is one of the things that stands out most about 
Stephen: his devotion to learning. He learns the details of 
institutions he works for, the Members he works for, and the 
constituents he works for, all in order to ensure he is consistently 
meeting their needs. He learned quickly how important the role of 
oversight is for Congress. And through all of his roles so far, he has 
maintained a great respect for the power of congressional oversight and 
what it means for the American people. In Martha Roby's office, Stephen 
led his team to investigate the care provided by Department of Veterans 
Affairs to Alabama's veterans. Under his

[[Page S6996]]

leadership, Stephen and led his colleagues conducted a months-long 
effort to expose mismanaged care of our veterans and a scheme at some 
VA facilities to falsely report wait times, covering up the fact that 
veterans were waiting months for delayed care. The investigation 
resulted in top leadership changes and disciplinary action against 
multiple VA administrators and an audit to weed out those who were 
lying about the treatment of our country's veterans. That commitment to 
finding and exposing the truth was an invaluable quality when Stephen 
was asked to combine his experience on the Hill with his law degree and 
serve at the U.S. Department of Justice.
  When President Trump tapped Senator Sessions to be his Attorney 
General, Stephen was appointed and confirmed by the Senate as the 
Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affairs. This 
achievement, which very few people can claim, was the culmination of 
over a decade of thoughtful service and leadership--built on a deep 
understanding of how Congress works. In this role, Stephen expertly 
managed the Department of Justice's relationship with Congress through 
often-contentious periods. He oversaw the Department's response to 
countless oversight investigations, congressional and confirmation 
hearings, and even several congressional subpoenas.
  Every Senator relies on their staffs, and I had to build one from the 
ground up. This was a difficult task, but I knew with Stephen Boyd at 
the helm, he would ensure we got the right people in the right places. 
A devoted Washington Nationals Fan, Stephen describes a Senate office 
like a baseball team. It takes everyone collectively executing their 
individual jobs to win the game. And Stephen made sure each member of 
our staff had what they need to execute their role on our team. 
Deliberate, decisive, and always fair, that is how our staff describes 
Stephen. He kept the team calm, but motivated. He never notched today's 
win at the expense of tomorrow's victory. There was always a new 
solution to consider to a problem, and tough situations tended to look 
better in the next morning's light.
  From the very first day, Stephen instilled a culture of integrity, 
inspiring our team to maintain a focus on doing what is right on behalf 
of the people of Alabama. The only ``thanks'' he worried about getting 
was a thank you from a constituent whose life we made a little better 
by helping them. For these first 2 years of my term--arguably the most 
formative years--Stephen was at the center of every decision and every 
action we have taken on behalf of the State of Alabama. And one 
singular question was his guiding light: ``Is it good for the people of 
Alabama?''
  This was especially true when it comes to our office's work on the 
Senate Armed Services Committee. Stephen traveled around the State, the 
country, and the world to see our military in action. He focused on how 
we can use our position on the Armed Services Committee to support the 
military footprint in Alabama and our men and women in uniform. Stephen 
pushed us to take a listen-first approach--to ask our military leaders 
what they need and to actually listen to those requests. Thanks to his 
leadership, we secured authorization of funding for a number of 
projects important for the future of our national defense capabilities. 
Some of these include: new barracks at Ft. Rucker, missile defense 
projects, the construction of more ships in Mobile, a new physics lab 
at Redstone Arsenal, and a new commercial vehicle inspection area at 
Maxwell Air Force Base. And we even secured the No. 1 request from our 
No. 1 commander in the Indo-Pacific region that had gone ignored for 
years: a missile defense system for Guam.
  Stephen was also a great support as Huntsville readies to become 
Space Command's home in the next few years. He led the staffs of the 
Alabama congressional delegation to have a united front in supporting 
this transition and ensured our office maintains near-constant 
communication with the Huntsville community and defense industry to 
ensure a smooth transition. Once again, Stephen's approach to work--ask 
first, work diligently behind the scenes, and do what is right for the 
people--was an effective way to get things done. These are just a few 
examples of how Stephen's leadership had external success.
  But what people won't see are the daily moments of impact he had on 
our office. Stephen was a trusted and reliable adviser. You ask a 
question, and he will shoot you straight, even if you don't like the 
answer. And for me, his trustworthiness and transparency were 
invaluable these past 2 years. He worked to ensure I had all the 
information, from all sides of the argument, in order to make a final 
decision. And at the end of the day, Stephen always had the people of 
Alabama in mind.
  Stephen didn't spend the last two decades of his career trying to 
gain acclaim. He quietly worked in the background to help improve the 
lives of Alabamians. And I have no doubt he will continue with that 
sense of service in his next endeavors.
  Our office will greatly miss his steady hand and calm leadership. But 
we know public service is not just a burden of time and effort borne by 
the servant. I also want to thank Stephen's wife, Brecke, for her 
constant support.
  So, Stephen, thank you for your service to our office, the State of 
Alabama, and to our country.

                          ____________________