[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 189 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7231-S7232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE STAFF OF THE BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS 
                               COMMITTEE

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, today I ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring the Banking and Housing Committee staff. Their hard work and 
dedication took a committee that once fought only for Wall Street and 
transformed it into a body focused on the issues that matter most to 
the people we serve.
  All the important work we have done on the Banking and Housing 
Committee over the last decade would not have been possible without the 
leadership of our staff director Laura Swanson.
  Laura is a lifelong public servant, a brilliant strategic mind, and 
one of my most trusted advisers. She puts workers at the center of 
everything she does and she has since the very beginning of her career.
  Laura joined the committee in 2011, working for her home State 
Senator, Chairman Tim Johnson of South Dakota.
  When I became the lead Democrat on the Banking and Housing Committee 
in 2015, I brought Laura onto my staff, and she rose to staff director 
in 2019. Laura is the first woman to ever hold the top job on this 
committee for a Democrat, and she has done this job for 6 years, longer 
than any of the six most recent Democratic staff directors. She has 
strategized with me through every crisis, every markup, every hearing.
  As a manager, Laura cares about the whole person. Her door is always 
open to staff. As often as people ask her for work advice, they ask for 
a book recommendation or talk about music together or tell her about a 
recent trip.
  Laura is kind, decent, and humble. And she is a good listener, a 
quality that is all too rare in this town. In meetings, she invites 
everyone to weigh in so that the best decision can be made with all the 
information we have. When we are faced with the toughest problems, 
Laura always finds a way through.
  When I became chair, Laura and I took the opportunity to finally 
bring the focus of this committee back where it belongs: the people who 
make this country work.
  We brought the CEOs of the country's largest Wall Street banks to 
testify every year for the first time in history. Same with the CEOs of 
the credit reporting firms, which hold tremendous power over people's 
abilities to buy a house or get a job and are almost never held 
accountable.
  We confirmed a diverse slate of nominees to important positions, 
including the first Black woman and first Latina woman to serve as 
Federal Reserve Governor; the first woman of color to lead the Federal 
Housing Finance Agency; the first Black woman to lead EXIM; and more.
  It is easy in this town to become angry or jaded or hopeless. Laura 
has resisted that and retained a refreshing eternal optimism. We owe it 
to those we serve to keep going. I will, and I know Laura will, too.
  Thank you, Laura, for your 20 years of service in the Senate, 14 of 
those years on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. I am 
grateful to have spent 10 of those years working together and learning 
from you.
  Elisha Tuku is a brilliant attorney and a thoughtful colleague. He 
has worked for the Banking and Housing Committee for more than a 
decade.
  Elisha's colleagues describe him as ``the real deal.'' He has an 
unmatched, encyclopedic depth of firsthand knowledge about securities 
and the financial system. You can try to roll him with complicated 
lingo, but it won't work. It helps that he genuinely can't get enough 
of this stuff; he comes into work with Bloomberg radio in his 
headphones and leaves in the evening listening to financial news 
podcasts.
  During negotiations of amendments or bill text, any time we needed to 
break through the legalese more quickly than should be possible, Elisha 
was there and got it done. When we would otherwise be stuck, he moves 
us forward.
  Elisha works hard and thinks nothing of it. He is a dedicated husband 
and a wonderful father, while still making himself available to staff 
who need his help, day or night.
  Elisha can get along with anyone, regardless of their political or 
policy views. He can make a friend in any setting. He genuinely cares 
about people and maintains connections over years and years.
  In the Banking and Housing Committee offices, Elisha peeks his head

[[Page S7232]]

into colleagues' offices, greeting them after a weekend away, asking 
about knick-knacks on their desks, and sharing stories about his son. 
He is quietly generous; he sends his coworkers gifts when they become 
new parents, and then he sends holiday gifts for their children, never 
expecting anything in return.
  Elisha's door is always open if people need a sounding board. The 
walls of his office are decorated with photographs he has taken while 
traveling. He has a quick wit and is always ready to go back and forth 
on a round of baseball trivia with me. Despite his love for the 
Yankees, I have to admit, he knows baseball.
  We have been lucky to have him on staff for as long as we have. Thank 
you, Elisha, for your many years of public service and for helping to 
lead the committee staff.
  Min Cheng came to the committee shortly after I became chairman in 
2021 as the press assistant. In that role, and then as press secretary, 
she propelled the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee's 
digital presence into the future, designing a new logo, growing our 
social media following dramatically, and producing videos of our 
committee members' work to protect workers and their families' money. 
This summer she became the committee's communications director.
  Min has always performed at the highest level in any role. She is 
thoughtful, creative, always calm, and a true talent in finding ways to 
explain the complicated topics this committee often grapples with. She 
has a gift for turning complex jargon into plain language, and she 
built strong relationships with journalists.
  She is a quick learner and helpful sounding board who brings out the 
best in her colleagues. Min is also a good mentor to others on the 
communications team. And Min always brings an amazing, dry sense of 
humor to her work, a quick wit that cuts through some of the craziness 
of politics and lightens up the office whenever we all need it.
  She also has a full life off the Hill that allows her to put her 
creativity to use. She is a talented musician--singing in a choir, 
playing in bands, and with her own solo music projects. Min married her 
husband Jack this fall. Min has a bright future, and I am excited to 
see where her talents and interests take her.
  As oversight counsel, Mohammad Aslami helped lead our efforts to get 
talented, diverse nominees on the job in roles throughout our 
government that are crucial to protecting the public.
  Shannon Bacon came on as an intern with the committee and was quickly 
brought on as a full member of the housing and transit teams. She has a 
real commitment to public service and a bright future.
  Emily Blaydes came to us from a legal aid organization in 
Massachusetts, where she helped renters stay in safe, affordable 
housing. She has continued that good work on housing issues, including 
introducing the YIGBY Act during her several years with the committee.
  Erika Calderon has spent her career in public service and leads the 
committee's work on consumer protection. A few years ago, while working 
in a previous office, she wrote and got passed into law a measure 
requiring carbon monoxide detectors in public housing, no doubt saving 
lives.
  Homer Carlisle has worked for the committee for more than a decade, 
and was instrumental in negotiating and passing the bipartisan 
infrastructure law and ensuring it contained the strongest ever Buy 
America rules. If you are seeing the bridge in your town get repaired, 
new buses on the roads, or expanded terminals at your local airport, 
chances are, you can thank Homer. Homer has also taken on additional 
work in our personal office, taking the lead on holding Norfolk 
Southern accountable and working to make our railways safer.
  From an intern in the Columbus office, to leading the committee's 
work on mortgages and single-family housing, Megan Cheney has been 
working with me to improve Ohioans' lives and lower the cost of housing 
for more than 13 years.
  Over a decade ago, my office appointed Will Clayton to be a Senate 
page. Five years later, he interned in the Columbus office. He has 
pretty much been with us since, mentoring interns, assisting 
constituents, and helping everything run smoothly, both in our 
Washington, DC, office and on the committee staff.
  Beth Cooper has worked on the committee staff for more than 15 years. 
It is not an exaggeration to say that her work on renters' issues, 
vouchers, and public housing has touched lives in every corner of Ohio 
and across the country.
  I have seen firsthand that Ben Finfrock's work ethic is like no 
other, as an intern and staff assistant in our DC office, and as my 
driver and press assistant on the committee. Whenever we need him, Ben 
is up before the sun rises and here past dinner with no complaints.
  Sunny Glottmann has handled issues related to the Federal Reserve at 
a crucial time and led our work on bringing down prices and creating an 
economy that puts workers first.
  Ann Peterson worked in the Obama administration, became an 
accomplished lawyer, and returned to government service to make our 
markets work better for families that are saving for and investing in 
their future.
  As climate change disrupts communities and industries, John Richards 
brought decades of experience on Capitol Hill and at the Department of 
Energy to lead our work on climate risk.
  Phil Rudd has worked for the committee for over a decade. Phil has 
worked nonstop through weekends, evenings, and holidays to negotiate 
bipartisan agreement on the CHIPS and Science Act, every annual defense 
bill, and more.
  We first brought Jeff Schroeder on as an intern, then again as a 
fellow--finally, we were lucky enough to hire him full-time last year. 
He managed a wide portfolio with a steady hand and deep policy 
knowledge.
  Jonathan Tsentas is a sharp strategist and keeps a cool head during 
times of crisis. His decade of experience in the Senate served our 
office well this year.
  Shanna Winters has worked on some big, historic bills in her time in 
Congress, including the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, legislation to curb the 
flow of fentanyl into our communities. She helped bring country music 
star Jason ``Jelly Roll'' DeFord to testify in support, helped secure a 
unanimous vote out of committee, and got the bill passed and signed 
into law within 1 year of introduction.
  As a detailee from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 
Sean Young has been a core part of our team, writing hearing 
statements, conducting oversight, and managing a portfolio of important 
banking issues.
  Serena Booth has used technical expertise and a consumer-first focus 
to lead the committee's work on artificial intelligence and other 
emerging technologies in financial services. Her future students at 
Brown University will be lucky to know her and to learn from her, just 
as we have been.

                          ____________________