[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15545-15546]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO JANINE JOHNSON

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we make many different kinds of speeches on 
the Senate floor. Some of those speeches seek to advance legislation 
and amendments and some aim to commemorate historic events. None are as 
sad as those we make in the memory of a member of the Senate family who 
has left us. On May 29, 2003, Janine Johnson, Assistant Counsel in the 
Senate's Office of Legislative Counsel, passed away. Janine was 37 
years old.
  Many of us and our staffs knew Janine personally. Some of us only 
knew her only by her initials that appeared on the legislation and 
amendments we introduce here on the floor. She served the Senate for 
nearly 13 years, doing much of her work for the Senate Committee on 
Environment and Public Works, the Agriculture Committee and the Energy 
Committee.
  Over the years, Janine prepared thousands of bills for me and for the 
other members of the Environment Committee. Her expertise in those 
matters made my job easier and the jobs of the staff easier on 
countless bills. Janine was an expert drafter on matters of critical 
concern to the committee. She drafted several generations of Water 
Resources Development Acts. She drafted our last transportation bill, 
the mammoth Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and was in 
the process of drafting a new transportation bill when she fell ill. 
She drafted many parts of the last Farm bill, including the nutrition 
title of that bill. I mention that because I am told that no one has 
found a single drafting error in the hundreds of pages of that title.
  That is very rare, but I am told by her colleagues that Janine's way 
was the way of a perfectionist.
  And to her about Janine's history is to hear that it was a way of 
life. Janine was a native of Winchester, MA. She graduated first in her 
class from Winchester High School and ultimately graduated with high 
honors from Harvard Law School in 1986. She went on to clerk for the 
Honorable Cecil Poole on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit. Following her clerkship, she came to the Senate Office of 
Legislative Counsel. In addition to serving as Assistant Counsel, she 
was active in shaping the office itself. She interviewed new attorneys 
for the office, and she had an unparalleled ability to recognize those 
who would maintain the high standards of the Senate. That legacy will 
live on in the colleagues and friends she helped to bring into the 
Senate family.
  According to Janine's friends here in the Senate, she loved life 
outside the Senate as much as her work within it. Janine loved theater, 
music and swing dancing. I am told that she loved living here in 
Washington, DC, where one of her favorite times of year was the spring 
because of her love of our cherry trees and the Cherry Blossom 
Festival.
  The cherry blossom Janine admired is the most beautiful flower in 
Japanese culture. It symbolizes the Japanese values of simplicity, 
purity and fleeting beauty. Many poets have described the pink and 
white blossoms as a metaphor for life, beautiful and simple, yet at the 
same time sadly ephemeral and fleeting.
  Janine's friends in the Senate would say that she was like the 
flowers she loved to see, but that her memory will not be ephemeral to 
the Senate, to her work here, or to the many friends and family she 
leaves behind.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I come to the floor this morning to pay 
tribute to a very talented, kind and generous member of our Senate 
family, Janine Johnson. Sadly, at the far too young age of 37, Janine 
passed away. For the past 13 years, Janine served as Assistant Counsel 
in the Senate's Office of Legislative Counsel. Some of us were 
privileged to work with her directly and benefit from her skill and 
keen intellect.
  While many of us over the years have recognized the well-deserved 
contributions of our staff in our personal offices or on committees, we 
all know that we depend highly on the exceptional professional judgment 
and tireless efforts of the staff in the Senate Legislative Counsel's 
office. While Janine did not work for an individual Senator or 
Committee, it is without question that Janine was devoted to the 
institution of the Senate, skilled in the intricacies of the law, and 
served the Senate with distinction.
  Janine was the primary Legislative Counsel for many issues under the 
jurisdiction of the Committee on Environment and Public Works. It was 
during my tenure as Chairman of the Transportation Subcommittee that my 
staff and I were privileged to work with Janine. She was our counsel 
for the development of the National Highway System Act of 1995, and 
later on the landmark Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, 
commonly referred to as TEA-21. Also, during my chairmanship, Janine 
guided us on the development of several Water Resource Development 
Acts, that were enacted on a biennial cycle.
  It was during those long days and weeks in working in committee, on 
the Senate floor and later in conference on TEA-21 that we witnessed 
the exceptional skill, thoroughness and professionalism that Janine 
brought to every issue. The surface transportation bill expired in the 
fall of 1997. The Congress passed a 6-month extension bill and we came 
back in early 1998 to renew our efforts on a full 6-year 
reauthorization bill. Janine was there with the committee every step of 
the way.
  The staff recollections of Janine's contributions to the development 
of TEA-21 are unmistakable. I hear of her deep commitment to the law, 
to turning vague concepts into statute, and faithfully executing the 
views of the committee and Senator's agreements on complex policy 
issues. Most importantly, I hear staff use heartfelt words to describe 
Janine's grace, her delicate nature, her respect for her colleagues, 
her genuine kindness, and her commitment to the work at hand. I'm told 
that on many occasions when staff completed work for the night, usually 
past midnight, and left sections for Janine to draft that often her 
work was on their desks by 9:00 the next morning. She was always 
willing to stay long past when the Metro closed, as long as she had a 
ride home.

[[Page 15546]]

  We, in the committee, relied heavily on Janine's legal abilities, her 
legislative drafting precision and we were fortunate to have her as a 
star on our team--although for far too short a time.
  Janine's academic achievements are superior, graduating with high 
honors from Harvard Law School in 1986 and then clerking for the 
Honorable Cecil Poole on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit. With her exceptional qualifications, I'm confident that she 
would have been successful in any career path she chose. Fortunately, 
for us, she came to the Senate and for 13 years we have all been more 
successful because of her.
  The poet Albert Pike has said:

       What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we 
     have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.

  Janine has certainly touched many of us in lasting ways. The Senate 
is grateful for her service and we share our condolences with her 
friends and family.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, as Senators, we are accustomed to the 
glare of the public spotlight and there are even some members of 
Congress who crave such attention. In general though, we are here 
because we share a deep desire to serve our country and to help ensure 
that our government and its laws are true to the spirit of America.
  We sometimes forget that we are also part of a Senate community 
filled with people who believe in that same kind of public service. 
Though they do not share the spotlight with us, we could not do our 
jobs without them and the nation would suffer.
  So, I want to recognize the contributions made by all staff, and in 
particular the experts in the Office of Senate Legislative Counsel that 
help keep us true to the law, its structure and its functioning. They 
help put our ideas into real form and maintain the integrity of the 
code.
  That is why it is very very difficult today to note the passing of 
Janine Johnson, Assistant Counsel in Office of Legislative Counsel. She 
was an integral and crucial part of that office.
  Her professionalism, her deft grasp of complicated statutes, her work 
ethic, and above all, her pleasant manner and bearing, will be sorely 
missed by that office, but also by me, my office and in particular, my 
Environment and Public Works Committee staff.
  Many of my staff have worked with Janine for a decade or more and 
have been uniformly impressed by her unparalleled skill and commitment 
to her job.
  Janine had a knack for taking even the most complicated concepts and 
proposals and breaking them down into manageable parts. Then, she found 
ways to integrate them into existing statutes. To many staff, she was a 
legislative magician.
  One did not need to know Janine for very long to see that she shone 
with a pure and intense inner light that made the way clearer and 
easier for others. But, the memory of her kindness and delicate humor 
will live on and inspire those who follow her.
  Janine was a talented woman and a lawyer's lawyer. She had a green 
thumb and many days brought one of her prized amaryllis plants in to 
brighten the front office. She also spoke many languages, including 
beginning Russian which I believe she started in Middlebury, VT.
  The Senate has suffered a great loss with the passing of Janine 
Louise Johnson. I wish her family and friends all the best in coping 
with the pain. However, I want to note that her significant 
contributions to the Senate and to the nation will not be forgotten and 
that she should serve as a model for us all.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is with sadness that I join my 
colleagues to mourn the premature passing of a dedicated member of the 
Senate staff.
  Ms. Janine Johnson was an Assistant Counsel in the Office of the 
Legislative Counsel. She was a 1986 graduate of Harvard College and a 
1989 graduate of Harvard Law School.
  Her responsibilities included drafting legislation in areas that are 
within the Agriculture Committee's jurisdiction. Her thoughtful work 
and dedicated service to members of the Senate are reflected in 
legislation such as the 1996 and 2002 farm bills and the 1998 child 
nutrition reauthorization.
  The work of the Office of the Legislative Counsel often goes 
unnoticed and under appreciated, but it is talented attorneys like Ms. 
Janine Johnson who provide such a valuable service to the Senate. I 
extend my sympathies to Ms. Johnson's family and friends.

                          ____________________