[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages 2064-2065] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ROBERTA CHEFF BROOKS ______ HON. BARBARA LEE of california in the house of representatives Wednesday, February 14, 2001 Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues the contributions of a great public servant, Roberta Cheff Brooks, on the occasion of her retirement from service to the House of Representatives and to the constituents of the 9th District of California. On February 21st, after more than 30 years in the United States Congress, Roberta will retire from her position as my District Director in our Oakland District office. She will be greatly missed. Roberta, a native of Wilmington, Delaware received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1964. She moved to Berkeley, California in 1967 and became very active in local and anti-war politics. She began her tenure with the House of Representatives in 1971 by working for my former boss, colleague and friend Congressman Ron Dellums. Roberta served as a liaison between the Berkeley Coalition and the Dellums for Congress campaign in 1970. Following that successful campaign, she was asked to work for the new Congressman Ron Dellums in his district office on constituent affairs. Roberta was a strong voice in the anti-Vietnam War movement. While she worked hard to serve as an active voice for constituent's of the 9th District, she remained active in local politics through the April Coalition and later through Berkeley Citizens' Action. Roberta's commitment to her community expanded as she became deeply involved with local boards and organizations, as well as, ad hoc groups that included the following: Oakland Perinatal Project (which was the precursor of the East Bay Perinatal Council) and the Coalition to Fight Infant Mortality. With these affiliations, she helped organize ad hoc hearings on infant mortality, which Congressman Dellums chaired as the Chairman of the D.C. Committee. Roberta was a cofounder of the California Health Action Coalition which worked diligently on the bill Congressman Dellums introduced calling for a National Health Service. She was also part of a national coalition for a National Health Service and helped organize national groups working in several cities in the country to garner support for the bill. She helped organize hearings on homelessness which Congressman Dellums chaired in Oakland. She served on the advisory board of Legal Assistance for Seniors for many years. She was also on the Board of the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women and the Perinatal Health Rights Committee. Roberta organized hearings chaired by Congressman Lantos who came at the request of Congressman Dellums to investigate labor and safety issues related to the protracted Summit Hospital strike. The hearings contributed to a resolution of the strike and led to a more responsive board which included additional community members. Roberta's commitment to ``free speech'' and community supported radio led her to serve on the local advisory board of KPFA radio for a number of years and on the national Pacifica Board of Directors for nine years. When the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission slated Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Alameda Naval Station and Naval Rework facility, as well as, the Public Works Center located at Naval Supply Center, Oakland for closure, Roberta joined Sandre Swanson in establishing the East Bay Conversion and Reinvestment Commission. That Commission then proceeded to help establish the Alameda and Oakland Reuse authorities-- public bodies on which Roberta served as an alternate and then later as a principal commissioner. These organizations focused on base conversions and provided oversight on reuse plans to convert the military bases to peacetime operations. Throughout the base conversion process, Roberta's emphasis remained on the human resources component--job creation for workers; working to establish the homeless collaborative which worked with both reuse authorities to create a process which HUD has described as a model for accommodating the homeless in base closure; working hard with the community advisory groups; and working with public benefit conveyances. Roberta cites this as an extremely important part of her work especially since it was so creative, establishing policies and procedures for base closure. She assisted in developing a way to ``sell'' the federal worker to private industry, and other important projects. Roberta has worked closely with all of the community health clinics in the district; Chabot Observatory; the Ed Roberts Campus at Ashby BART station; HIV/AIDS; Cuba; issues related to the elderly; and many others. She served on both Congressman Dellums' and Congresswoman Barbara Lee's political advisory boards throughout her career. Her casework load has focused on Federal Workers compensation; Office of Personnel Management (which was known as the Civil Service Commission), and at other times, Social Security and EEOC. She has served thousands of constituents for Congressman Dellums and Congresswoman Barbara Lee. When Congressman Dellums retired in February of 1998, Roberta continued her Congressional career with me in April of that same year. She became my District Director and was the first female District Director in the history of the 9th Congressional District. Every member will attest that having a staff member with the ability to develop expertise quickly and thoroughly on a wide range of issues is extremely valuable. With Roberta on my team, I knew that I was getting the best political advice in order to make competent legislative and policy decisions. Roberta represented me well on many issues and continued to handle some casework as well as extensive issues related to base closures, health, and homelessness. She helped coordinate a major Housing Summit which was sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in August 2000 which was attended by seventeen members of Congress and more than five hundred people. Roberta is best known for her sound advice. Ron Dellums has said, ``the only reason I did anything was because Roberta Brooks told me [[Page 2065]] to.'' While her political judgement was always thorough and thoughtful, her message to young people was even more profound. To young men and women she says, ``work for someone whose politics you share because the work is very intense and it is very important that you believe in what you are doing.'' She tells them that she has been so blessed in her work life to have been able to go to work every day believing in what she is doing, believing she is making a difference and that her work is consistent with her own political beliefs. She says that is the best work a person can have. Throughout Roberta's career, her professionalism was distinguished with honesty and integrity. I always knew that I could rely on her advice and suggestions because she used her mind, heart and soul in decision making. Because of this, the 9th Congressional District has been served with distinction and with grace. Roberta's forthrightness was appreciated by everyone. I particularly appreciated her tremendous clarity and directness. Roberta is an American of the finest caliber and this institution will miss her greatly. As Roberta transitions onto new experiences and challenges, we all cheer for her future and success. ____________________