[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25995]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   TRIBUTE TO JIM AND BETTY McCANN ON THEIR RETIREMENTS FROM THE NEW 
BRUNSWICK DISTRICT OFFICE OF THE HONORABLE FRANK J. PALLONE, MEMBER OF 
                                CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute today to two of 
my longest serving and most loyal staffers, Jim and Betty McCann, who 
retired this year from my New Brunswick district office.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not unusual to have an outstanding individual on 
your staff for a long time, but to have two outstanding individuals who 
also happen to be married to each other is most unusual and most 
fortunate for me.
  Jim and Betty McCann worked for my predecessor, the late Congressman 
James Howard, in the 1980s. Jim Howard recognized early on that Jim and 
Betty had the talent and the personalities to handle the varied and 
difficult job of running a congressional district office.
  Just as we know that not everyone has the special skills needed to be 
a successful politician, so, too, not everyone has the versatility and 
interpersonal and organizational skills to survive and excel on a 
congressional staff.
  After Jim Howard passed away and I was elected in 1988, I urged Betty 
and Jim to stay on and work for me. When redistricting reshaped the 
districts in New Jersey and I ran and won in the Sixth Congressional 
District, I set up a new office in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the 
Middlesex County portion of my district.
  Jim and Betty's experience on congressional and case work matters 
were very important to the success of my new office, which handled a 
tremendous amount of constituent casework and important projects in the 
most populous and ethnically diverse area of my district.
  In all those years, I did not think I ever heard a word of complaint 
about the operation of the New Brunswick District Office. I knew it was 
being well administered, so I could divert my attention to other 
important issues in Middlesex County, secure in the knowledge that the 
equally important constituent matters were being carefully attended to.
  I was often complimented in person and in letters about Jim and 
Betty's service to the Sixth District, and I would like to quote from 
some of the hundreds of letters that I have received thanking me, or 
thanking me for their efforts, over the years.
  The first, Mr. Speaker, is from a physician in my district. He 
writes:
  ``Dear Congressman Pallone:
  I am writing this letter to thank you and your outstanding office 
staff for the great effort in dealing with my difficult case. Mrs. 
McCann has been very helpful, sincere, and had the leading role in 
solving my complicated case.
  Over the past few months, I have been dealing with Mrs. McCann, and 
she has always been very cooperative and always walks the extra mile to 
get things done properly. I was very impressed by her knowledge of the 
immigration laws and rules and her superior ability to approach a 
difficult case like mine. . . . She is a superb caseworker.''
  I have another letter from a retired lieutenant colonel regarding Jim 
McCann. It says, ``Dear Congressman Pallone, I am writing to thank you 
and a member of your staff, Jim McCann, for responding so quickly and 
effectively to my family in time of need.
  My wife's brother recently died after a long illness. He was a 
retired Navy Chief Petty Officer and wished to be buried at sea. 
Because of Jim McCann, who made the arrangements with the Coast Guard 
in New Jersey and who personally appeared at dockside on the day of the 
burial, the occasion proceeded smoothly.
  I was struck by how quietly and efficiently Mr. McCann coordinated 
the details without intruding on the grief of the immediate family. He 
is a very considerate individual who gave up a good portion of his 
Saturday to represent your office. I am personally very grateful.''
  Mr. Speaker, Jim and Betty epitomize the best in congressional 
service. Working long and hard and not seeking the limelight, they 
loyally served the residents of the Sixth Congressional District by 
walking that extra mile to get things done properly.
  I want to thank them deeply, and wish them a happy and productive 
retirement.

                          ____________________