[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 101 (Thursday, June 12, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING AMANDA BARLOW ON HER RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2025

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Amanda Barlow, for the 30 years of service she has given to the Federal 
Government at the Department of Health and Human Services' 
Administration for Children and Families.
  Ms. Barlow has been with ACF since 1994, when she joined the agency 
as a presidential management intern, and then as a budget analyst. She 
became the Director of Budget in 2009 and has served as the Director of 
the Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget since 2017. Ms. Barlow has 
also served in an acting capacity for several of ACF's executive 
leadership positions, including the acting ACF Commissioner from 
January to November 2021, and the acting Assistant Secretary for ACF 
from February to May 2017.
  Through her work overseeing a budget of more than $70 billion for 
ACF, Ms. Barlow has played a key role supporting the programs and 
services that provide critical assistance to vulnerable populations, 
including Head Start and Child Care services for millions of children 
and families, and the heating and cooling of millions of households 
through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Over the last 30 
years, these programs have helped millions of children and families 
achieve prosperity and independence.
  In addition to overseeing the 60-plus programs ACF administers, Ms. 
Barlow has also served as ACF's liaison to the Committees on 
Appropriations. She has been an indispensable resource to the 
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Her 
budgetary expertise and round-the-clock responsiveness has helped the 
Subcommittee to draft annual appropriations bills and emergency 
supplementals--for which I am deeply grateful.
  In 2024, Ms. Barlow earned the Presidential Rank Award for 
Meritorious Service, one of the most prestigious awards in the Federal 
career civil service, which recognizes members of the Senior Executive 
Service for a sustained record of exceptional professional achievement. 
It was aptly awarded and richly deserved.
  I thank Ms. Barlow for her tireless public service--which often 
included long days, evenings, and weekends--as she worked to ensure 
that critical economic and social services programs funded through the 
agency had the necessary resources to serve millions of children and 
families in communities across the country. Her talents and 
contributions will be sorely missed.
  I congratulate Ms. Barlow on a distinguished career and wish her the 
best in her upcoming retirement. I hope her retirement gives her more 
time with family, including her husband and two children, and much 
success with her community garden plot.

                          ____________________