[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 1882-1883]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     HONORING MARY VIRGINIA BURRUS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. LEACH

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 13, 2001

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, today I express my gratitude and appreciation 
for the work of Mary Virginia ``Ginny'' Burrus.
  Ginny joined my staff on January 16, 1985, providing constituent 
service in my Burlington, Iowa, office. She and her late husband David 
owned their own business in Burlington and she had long been active in 
promoting tourism, the arts as well as the economy of southeastern 
Iowa.
  After redistricting, Ginny helped open my Iowa City office in 1992, 
continuing to provide outstanding service to the residents of Iowa's 
First Congressional District.
  All of my colleagues know how essential to the functioning of 
government is the ombudsman role in Congressional offices, and 
particularly caseworkers within them, play. For constituents with 
problems, be it with veterans benefits, Social Security, Medicare or 
student loans, the federal bureaucracy can be a bewildering maze, the 
applicable laws and regulations often seemingly irrational. An 
experienced, knowledgeable and sympathetic caseworker can be 
indispensable in getting the answers needed and problems resolved.
  In the 16 years she worked with me, Ginny epitomized the consummate 
professional and her file is fat with letters from Iowans thanking her 
for the help she provided. In recent years, as immigration casework 
increased, her knowledge of immigration law, regulations, processes and 
paperwork has become legendary. Equally well known has been her 
patience, both with harried staffers at INS and with newcomers to this 
country, unfamiliar with both its language and its ways.
  Ginny has provided me and the citizens of Iowa a model of what public 
service is all about. She will now have more time to enjoy her 
daughters, Alicia, Alexandra and Anita, and her grandson Kerr and 
granddaughter Hannah, as well as the opportunity to play more bridge.
  It is with profound gratitude that I wish Ginny all the best in a 
well-earned retirement.

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