[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12387-12388]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              IN RECOGNITION OF MARY JESSIE GONZALEZ ROQUE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES A. GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 15, 2004

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a very 
special woman, Mary Jessie Gonzalez Roque, known by her friends as 
``Susie.'' Susie is a valued employee of mine who is retiring after 
thirty-three years of dedicated service to the federal government. I 
would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge this important 
milestone in her life, and to also express my appreciation for the 
impact she has made on the lives of the constituents of the 20th 
District of Texas.
  Susie's parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico before 
she was born so that they might have a piece of the American dream. 
They raised Susie, their first born, and her four siblings in San 
Antonio. Susie exhibited her value of education throughout her 
elementary, high school, and college careers. She parlayed this love of 
education and her skill of helping others into a job as a teacher at 
Burbank High School in San Antonio during the 1970-1971 academic year.
  In 1971, Susie obtained a summer job in the District Office of my 
father, former U.S. Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez. She was hired

[[Page 12388]]

full-time to handle casework for the 20th District of Texas and her 
summer job turned into a thirty-three year career.
  Susie has expressed pride in working for my father, a notable figure 
in Texas and U.S. politics. He was celebrated in San Antonio as being a 
man who gave a voice to those who could not speak for themselves. Susie 
was vital to my father's efforts in this endeavor because she worked in 
close contact with people who could not navigate through the often 
convoluted systems of federal bureaucracies by themselves.
  I was blessed to be elected to represent the 20th District of Texas 
in 1998. Like my father before me, I recognize the value of providing 
good constituent services to those whom I represent. Therefore, I hired 
Susie to continue in her casework position so that she could continue 
to provide important services for constituents. Her many 
accomplishments led me to promote her to be my District Office 
Director.
  In the five and one-half years that Susie has worked for me, she has 
proven herself invaluable to me, my staff, and the constituents of the 
20th District of Texas. She assists people with a wide variety of 
problems that they experience with federal government agencies, and 
sometime state and local agencies. These problems include, but are 
certainly not limited to, immigration cases, military matters, housing 
problems, health and social services inquiries, and federal workers 
compensation claims.
  I am sincerely proud to count myself among those who have had the 
opportunity to know and work with Susie. Her steadfast dedication to 
her job has had an impact on many individuals' lives. Also, her 
knowledge and skills have enabled those of us who have worked with her 
to do our jobs better. I wish her many blessings and the very best for 
her retirement. She will be greatly missed.

                          ____________________