[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 23877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                        ELIZABETH HANAHAN OLIVER

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, Elizabeth Hanahan Oliver was born in Rocky 
Mount, NC and grew up in Washington, DC where she graduated from George 
Washington University.
  ``Beth'' Shotwell, as she was known during much of the time that she 
worked on Capitol Hill, began her employment in the office of 
Representative Horace R. Kornegay of North Carolina in the early 
1960's. She then joined the staff of Senator Mike Mansfield, later 
becoming Chief Clerk of the Democratic Policy Committee. She served in 
that post through the terms of three Democratic Majority Leaders, 
Senator Mansfield, myself, and Senator George Mitchell. After her 
marriage to G. Scott Shotwell ended in divorce, she married former 
Secretary of the Senate, Francis R. ``Frank'' Valeo, in 1985.
  In 1989, after 27 years of service to the Congress, Beth Shotwell 
retired. This year on September 22, she passed away at her home in 
Chevy Chase, Maryland. She had been battling cancer for several years.
  ``Beth'' Shotwell Valeo was an excellent employee of the Senate. She 
was a dependable, reliable asset to the members of this body. Her staff 
loved her and worked hard under her direction. ``Beth'' relished her 
work and she revered the Senate.
  She was probably proudest of her contribution to the Commission on 
the Operation of the Senate, and the efficiency that the 
recommendations of that Commission brought to this institution. Beth 
also had a large hand in computerizing the compilation of members' 
voting records, an innovation which has helped Members and staff 
immeasurably.
  On the personal side, Beth was a lover of life with varied interests 
and a curious intellect. She appreciated music. She liked to 
needlepoint. She often rescued homeless animals. What a noble person. 
She enjoyed boating. She liked scuba diving, and she delighted in 
travel.
  I shall always remember her as a tall, attractive woman, who seemed 
disciplined, polite, and very dedicated to her work in the Senate. In 
her life and in her work she was the best of the best. I was shocked 
and saddened to hear of her passing at far too young an age. My wife 
and I extend our deepest condolences to her daughters Rebecca and 
Abigail, her two sisters Abbie Smith and Ann Duskin, her brother Skip 
Oliver, Jr. of Fairfax Station, and her husband Frank.
  In this autumn time of falling leaves, some words from Robert Frost 
come to mind:

       Nature's first green is gold,
       Her hardest hue to hold.
       Her early leaf's a flower;
       But only so an hour.
       Then leaf subsides to leaf.
       So Eden sank to grief,
       So dawn goes down to day.
       Nothing gold can stay.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.


  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, is the Senate in morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes. The Senate is in morning business.

                          ____________________