[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6225-6227]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         TRIBUTE TO JIM ENGLISH

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I rise today with a heavy heart. And I do 
not say that without justification. I measure my words in saying that I 
rise today with a heavy heart, for it will shortly be time for me to 
say goodbye, for now at least, to one of the most extraordinary men I 
have ever had the pleasure of knowing in my 83 years on God's 
footstool, this Earth.
  The minority staff director of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
Mr. Jim English, has decided to retire this year. Jim English has been 
my right arm, figuratively speaking, since 1989, when I assumed the 
chairmanship of the Appropriations Committee of the Senate. We have 
been through so many battles together, that sometimes it seems as if 
Jim English has always

[[Page 6226]]

been with me. I could almost say, I can never remember a time in my 
life when Jim was not beside me.
  In fact, I met Jim English in 1973, when he worked on the 
Transportation Subcommittee, but he did not actually work directly for 
me until 1989.
  Jim English was born on a farm near Homer, LA. That simple fact 
explains a great deal. Jim English has a head full of brains. And he 
knows how to use them. They do not go to waste. They are not dormant. 
They are always working. But while he has a head full of brains, he 
does not have a thimble full of arrogance or supercilious attitude.
  He is rock solid. He is honest. And he is full of good humor. He is 
the type of person whose values and character reflect the very best of 
America, and indeed the very best of human nature, and the preeminently 
best of nobility. Few persons have I seen in life that I would think of 
as being noble. Jim English is one. I do not recall ever having said 
this about anybody else. It does not mean that I have not seen other 
very noble people. The man who raised me, Titus Dalton Byrd, a man of 
little education, but with a big heart and a great soul, was a noble 
man.
  James English has had a working career which includes being an 
accounting clerk for the D.C. Government, revenue officer for the IRS, 
clerk of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, vice president 
for government affairs at Amtrak, Assistant Secretary of the Senate, 
staff director of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and minority 
staff director of the Appropriations Committee. I daresay that he has 
worn all of those many hats, those many badges with distinction. There 
is probably no position that Jim would not improve just by occupying 
it.
  He is without doubt--and I have had some extraordinarily fine staff 
people--he is without a doubt, overall, the finest staff member I have 
ever employed in my 48 years on Capitol Hill.
  I have employed some top-notch, very fine staff people. I say this 
about Jim English because of his versatility, for one. He is 
multitalented, he is supremely capable, and he is completely undaunted 
by any challenge. Jim English is also unrelentingly curious. He will 
dig and dig and dig until he gets an answer to a question.
  It has been said by someone that curiosity is one of the certain 
characteristics of a vigorous mind. When you stop and think about it, 
that is a very apt saying. Never was there a better example of the 
truth of that observation than we have seen in Jim English. Moreover, I 
have never met anyone so consistently good humored, even in the most 
stressful of situations. As my dear friend, Senator Ted Stevens, 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, knows, there are certainly 
times when being on the Appropriations Committee staff can be 
dreadfully stressful and demanding.
  I cannot recall ever seeing Jim English angry in all of the years I 
have known him. I have rarely ever even seen him become impatient.
  Emerson once observed:

       It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; 
     it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great 
     man is he who in the midst of a crowd keeps with perfect 
     sweetness the independence of solitude.

  That is Jim English. He is the epitome of Emerson's thoughts in that 
regard: Gentle with everyone, yet the toughest of adversaries when he 
must be tough. Jim English seems always to maintain perfect control and 
equanimity. In all the years I have worked with Jim English, I have 
never heard him tell an off-color joke. I have never heard him use 
profanity. If he had, he wouldn't stay on my staff. I don't use it in 
front of my staff. Not that I have never used it in my life, but I 
don't use it anymore. And Jim English doesn't use it. My staff people 
don't use it. He is just a good man.
  The Bible says no man is good, but Jim English comes as near to it as 
anyone I have ever met. Losing him will be like losing an arm. Jim has 
given over 30 years to Federal service, with 23 of those years spent 
with the Senate Appropriations Committee. Almost 13 of those 23 years 
he has spent working closely with me.
  I shall miss him professionally, and I shall miss him personally, but 
I know he wants to spend more time with his lovely and good wife 
Phyllis, with his daughters Kathleen Pfost and Elizabeth Arensdorf, and 
with his four grandchildren, Ashley, Alex, Evan, and Jimmy. As much as 
I regret losing Jim English--and I couldn't keep him if I wanted to--no 
one could begrudge him these desires.
  I wish for him all the best that life has to offer, and I want him to 
know I am grateful for the loyalty, the service, and the friendship he 
has offered to me for so many good years.
  My dear colleague--and I say ``dear colleague'' meaning it--Ted 
Stevens is on the floor. He wants to share his thoughts on this 
subject.
  I ask unanimous consent that I may yield to Senator Stevens, after 
which I be recognized again for just a few lines, and that the time be 
extended to whatever is necessary, which will not be very long but not 
more than 10 additional minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I am grateful to my great friend from 
West Virginia. I am chairing a hearing at the present time of the 
Defense Subcommittee of Appropriations. But I am saddened to come to 
the Chamber for this occasion to recognize and comment upon the 
retirement of Jim English from the staff of our Appropriations 
Committee.
  I say to Jim, very frankly, all of the members of our staff, 
minority, majority, Members and staff, extend to him our heartfelt 
congratulations and thanks for all he has done and our desire that he 
and his wife Phyllis and their daughters and grandchildren will have a 
grand time.
  I can't fathom a young man such as that deciding to retire, but I 
hope there are some fishing holes along the line that he will explore, 
and other activities to do. My first father-in-law told me that English 
is the only language in which ``retire'' means other than go to bed. I 
hope it is a misuse of the term ``retire'' in terms of referring to Jim 
English because he has much yet to contribute to our country and to his 
family.
  Senator Byrd and I have worked together with Jim English since 1973. 
Although he left the committee and worked for Amtrak, as my colleague 
mentioned, and he worked under the leadership of the Senator from West 
Virginia on his staff and with the leadership staff, he has been back 
again with our committee since 1989, according to our figures, and has 
served as Senator Byrd's majority staff director and now as the 
Democratic staff director in this equalness we are now celebrating.
  In the time I have been chairman, Jim English has not just been an 
adviser to Senator Byrd, he has been our adviser, the committee's 
adviser, and he has worked with us in a way that has been deserving of 
the trust we have imposed and conferred upon him. He is a man who 
believes in close bipartisan relationships. On a committee such as 
ours, he has fostered that by his actions and by his work. Much of the 
credit for the close bipartisan relationship we have now comes from the 
work he did before when Senator Byrd was chairman of the committee. 
That period has extended through the time I have been chairman.
  We have a different relationship on our committee. It is a committee 
that recognizes the work has to be done. There is only one committee 
that actually has to pass 13 bills every year. No matter what happens, 
those bills have to pass the Congress. They have to be approved by our 
committee. As my colleague mentioned, there are many issues that arise, 
many specific battles where animosities develop within our ranks. I 
have never seen Jim English take part in that. He has been a man of 
calm temper--unlike me, I might add--and he is one who has worked to 
ensure that the processes we follow are fair and honorable.
  I can say without any question that my staff and I have trusted Jim 
completely. If he tells us anything, it is accepted on its face. There 
is no reason to go behind Jim English's word. He is

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a man who has played a central role in the appropriations process for 
many years.
  I come to the Chamber to say I will miss him. I really don't like the 
idea of seeing a young man such as him leave. It raises a question in 
my mind: Who is the smarter of the two?
  Anyone who recognizes the caliber of Jim English and his 
professionalism will understand how much we are going to miss him.
  I am sure you will find someone to replace him, and it is my hope 
that we will have the same relationship with whomever that is. But it 
is a difficult time to have a person such as Jim decide to leave, and I 
want to say to Jim English that the doors of my offices will always be 
open to you, no matter the issue and I will continue to rely upon your 
advice, no matter where you go. I think you have earned the reputation 
to be accepted in this body as a man of integrity and honor and one who 
has always kept his word. There is nothing better you can say about a 
man, in my opinion.
  I wish I had the capability the Senator from West Virginia has to 
remember quotes from distinguished authors. I have never tried to 
develop that capability. But I do want Jim to know we have benefited 
greatly from his service, whether Republican or Democrat. The country 
is better off for you having spent time with us. We hope you will enjoy 
your life from now on and come back to see us from time to time. 
Whatever your new endeavors may be, you have our best wishes, and you 
have my assurance that I would be ready to help you in any regard.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank Senator Stevens for those remarks. 
In my judgment, having served on the Appropriations Committee longer 
than any other Senator serving, going on 43 years--and I have seen some 
good chairmen of the Appropriations Committee--I have no hesitancy in 
saying Senator Stevens is the best chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee--and that includes myself as chairman--he is the best 
chairman the Senate Appropriations Committee has had during my long 
tenure in this body. I know that what he says brings pride to the heart 
of this man--Jim English--who is about to leave the employ of the 
Senate.
  Let me close with a few lines which I think are most fitting when we 
think of Jim English.

                       It Will Show In Your Face

     You don't have to tell how you live each day
     You don't have to say if you work or play;
     For a tried and true barometer--right in its place,
     However you live, my friend, it will show in your face.

     The false, the deceit that you bear in your heart
     Won't stay down inside where it first got its start;
     For sinew and blood are a thin veil of lace
     What you carry in your heart will show in your face.

     If you have gambled and won in the great game of life
     If you feel you have conquered sorrow and strife;
     If you played the game square and you stand on first base,
     You won't have to tell it, it will show in your face.

     Then if you dissipate nights till the day is most nigh,
     There is only one teller, and one that won't lie;
     Since your facial barometer is right in its place,
     However you live, my friend, it will show in your face.

     Well, if your life is unselfish and for others you live,
     Not for what you can get but for what you can give,
     And if you live close to God in his infinite grace,
     You won't have to tell it, it will show in your face.

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