[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19813-19814]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    FAREWELL AND GODSPEED TO EVE BUTLER-GEE ON THE OCCASION OF HER 
              RETIREMENT FROM THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say good-bye 
to Eve Butler-Gee, the Chief Journal Clerk in the House, who will 
retire at the end of August after 20 years of service to the House of 
Representatives.
  Eve began her professional career in the House. After an interlude 
working for a charitable foundation, she returned to the House in 1987 
as the Minority Enrolling Clerk of the House. She served in that 
capacity for 8 years before her appointment as Chief Journal Clerk in 
1995. With this appointment, Eve became the first woman in the history 
of the House of Representatives to serve as Chief Journal Clerk.
  Eve and three assistant journal clerks are responsible for keeping 
the journal of the House proceedings in that big journal minute book 
which we see her with here every day at the rostrum and which we vote 
on half the time. According to House rules, the first order of business 
each day is the vote on the Chair's approval of the Journal of the last 
day's proceedings. The Journal Clerk's office also publishes the 
journal of each session of Congress for use as a reference by the House 
Parliamentarians, Members of Congress, regional libraries and State 
governments. Under Eve's direction the publication of the House Journal 
has been brought up to date and publication procedures modernized and 
refined.
  Much has transpired during her service on the House rostrum staff. 
The House has voted on the Gulf War resolution, grieved a gunman's 
killing of two U.S. Capitol policemen, evacuated the House during the 
attacks of September 11, enacted counterterrorism measures, dealt with 
anthrax attacks and voted to authorize the use of force in Iraq. Eve 
has often said that she has been privileged to witness history every 
day in this Chamber.
  Those who know Eve Butler-Gee know her faith life and her service in 
the Episcopal Church is also an important part of who she is. She 
serves as head verger at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna, 
Virginia, where her husband, Tom Gee, also serves as director of lay 
liturgists. After her retirement, she plans to serve as a volunteer 
verger at the Washington National Cathedral. She and Tom plan to spend 
their time traveling and enjoying the comfort of friends and family, 
including Eve's daughter and son-in-law, Lora and John Williams, her 
grandson Evan, and Tom's son Sean Gee. Tom and Eve also eagerly await 
the birth of a new grandchild in December. Following a trip to Ireland 
in September, Eve hopes finally to have the free time to resume her 
lifelong interest in writing and community theater.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank her for her faithful service 
to this body and wish her health and happiness in the years to come.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from California.

[[Page 19814]]


  Mr. DREIER. I thank my friend for yielding. I just would like to say 
that it was exactly 15 hours and 47 minutes ago that I was standing at 
this exact spot, that means 3 a.m. this morning.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. That is midnight California time.
  Mr. DREIER. Exactly, I would say to my friend; it was exactly 
midnight in Los Angeles. At that point, we began our tribute to Eve and 
we are continuing it, 15 hours and 45 minutes later. I thank my friend 
for actually getting into greater detail than I did, but I want to join 
again. I am sandwiched between two Virginians and a Marylander here, so 
I am bringing some bicoastal balance to this effort to say how much we 
appreciate again your wonderful service to this institution.
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. I thank my friend for being part of this 
15-hour celebration.
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.
  Mr. WOLF. I certainly share the sentiments of my colleagues.
  Mr. Speaker, if I can just read a brief thing. The gentleman from 
West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan) wanted me to submit this and read this to 
you briefly. He had to run and catch a plane. I will not read the whole 
thing, but I want to read the beginning and the end.
  ``This House will suffer a true loss next month. Eve Butler-Gee, our 
Chief Journal Clerk, will be retiring at the end of August after 20 
dedicated years. I want to join my colleagues today in recognizing her 
contributions to this Chamber.
  ``As we thank Eve for her dedication, we also wish her the very best 
for a happy retirement, with much time spent with her husband Tom; her 
daughter Lora and Lora's husband John Williams and their son Evan; and 
Tom's son Sean.
  ``I am proud to also note that Eve has a number of family connections 
to West Virginia, Mr. Chairman, and it is my hope that her travels will 
bring her to our State often.''
  God bless. We wish you the best.
  Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Speaker, This House will suffer a true loss next 
month. Eve Butler-Gee, our Chief Journal Clerk, will be retiring at the 
end of August after 20 years of dedicated service. I want to join my 
colleagues today in recognizing her contributions to this chamber.
  Eve began her career here in the House. She then went to work in the 
private sector. Fortunately for us she returned, and in 1987 was named 
as minority enrolling clerk of the House.
  Eve served as an Assistant Enrolling Clerk for 8 years. Then, in 
1995, she was appointed as Chief Journal Clerk. This institution has 
benefitted greatly from her knowledge, her talent and her commitment to 
the people's business.
  Eve and her hard-working staff are responsible for memorializing the 
proceedings of this House; ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of the 
official record of each legislative day. It is a serious 
responsibility, and it is carried out with true professionalism by Eve 
and her team. We will miss her, and we will miss her outstanding work.
  Mr. Speaker, as we thank Eve for her dedication, we also wish her the 
very best for a happy retirement--with much time spent with her 
husband, Tom; her daughter Lora and Lora's husband John Williams and 
their son Evan; and Tom's son Sean.
  I am proud to also note that Eve has a number of family connections 
to West Virginia, Mr. Speaker and it is my hope that her travels will 
bring her to our state often.
  It is a pleasure to help recognize the career of one who has served 
this House so very well. Thank you, Eve, and all the best in the days 
to come.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Eve, I want to rise with my colleagues. I was here at 3 o'clock when 
David Dreier gave that short, but very heartfelt thanks to you. I did 
not join him at that point in time; I thought that at 3 a.m. you might 
want to go home. But I do want to rise at this point in time.
  Mr. Speaker, the Members of the House, the House as an institution, 
and this country are all blessed by having some extraordinarily 
dedicated, extraordinarily able people serving this body. Other than 
our terrific reading clerks, few of them get on camera, at least in 
terms of being identified. But without them, this House would not run 
nearly as well as it does. And to the extent that it does not run well, 
it is not for any lack of ability or dedication on their part but 
because the Members sometimes get out of hand.
  But the staff that serves this House of Representatives, the people's 
House, is an extraordinary one. Each time we lose one of them by 
retirement or for any other reason, we are a lesser place. We will be a 
lesser place for some period of time because one cannot replace the 20 
years of experience that Eve takes with her. But she takes with her the 
thanks and gratitude of all of us who are Members of this body. Whether 
brought in by the majority or the minority, Democrats or Republicans, 
matters not to any of our desk personnel or our Parliamentarian or our 
timekeepers or whatever their particular designation. They serve us 
well and they serve this country well.
  Eve, I wish you and Tom the very best. You are still a very young 
person and you will have many years to enjoy service to church, service 
to God, but I know that you will continue in many ways to serve your 
country. I know you will take with you the deep affection and respect 
for this institution that you have served so well. Godspeed.

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