[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 20056]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         TRIBUTE TO JAN GORDON

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, as the Senate nears adjournment I 
want to pay a special tribute to a special member of the Armed Services 
Committee's Minority staff. After a long and successful career in both 
the Executive and Legislative Branch, but mostly here in the United 
States Senate, Jan Gordon will be leaving our staff on November 30. 
Speaking not only for myself, but on behalf of the entire Committee and 
our staff, I can tell you that Jan will be sorely missed.
  A native North Carolinian, in 1972 Jan Gordon was recruited by the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation to come to Washington, D.C. to work as 
an executive secretary in their Intelligence Division. While her heart 
always remained in North Carolina, her feet became firmly planted in 
Washington.
  After four years at the FBI, Jan began her Senate career, working 
first on the staff of the Joint Atomic Energy Committee, and then nine 
and a half years for the Secretary of the Senate in the Office of 
National Security Information, which later became what is now the 
Office of Senate Security. Countless numbers of my colleagues and staff 
who attended classified briefings or conferences up in S-407 of the 
Capitol during that period have first hand knowledge of Jan Gordon's 
superior administrative abilities and organizational skills.
  In 1987, Chairman Sam Nunn of the Armed Service Committee appointed 
Jan Gordon as a staff assistant, and she was charged with the very 
demanding task supporting the staff and work of the Strategic 
Subcommittee. Not surprisingly, Jan rose to the occasion. She met all 
of the needs of the Subcommittee, while at the same time she had sole 
responsibility for the processing and printing of typically 20-25 
hearing transcripts per year, many of which were classified. Because 
her work was so excellent, Jan Gordon was the person Committee's Chief 
Clerk turned to when new staff assistants needed to be taught ``how to 
do things the right way.''
  When I became Ranking Minority Member of the Committee in 1997 
following Senator San Nunn's retirement from the Senate, one of the 
quickest and easiest decisions I made was to ask Jan to continue 
working for me and the rest of the Committee's Minority Members and 
staff. I was delighted that she accepted my offer, because Jan is a 
valuable and key member of the Minority Staff of the Armed Services 
Committee.
  Jan Gordon's service on the staff of the Armed Services Committee has 
been remarkable. She has an uncompromising work ethic and a strong 
dedication to duty. Of the over 5,000 days she will have worked for the 
Armed Services Committee when she retires, she has only had seven sick 
days. Being late to work, cutting any corner for the sake of moving a 
project forward, or not being totally cooperative and responsive are 
foreign and unacceptable concepts to Jan. Her steadfast attention to 
detail is legendary around the Committee, as is her commitment to 
meeting the highest standards in everything she does.
  Jan Gordon has always given completely of herself each and every day 
of the nearly fourteen years she has served on the staff of the Senate 
Armed Services Committee. When she departs the Committee staff, all of 
us will remember her for her professionalism, her enthusiasm, and the 
consistently high standard she set for herself. We are grateful for her 
service to the Senate and the Nation, and we wish her many years of 
health and happiness in the future.

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