[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10907]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MS. PAIGE E. McMANUS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 1, 2007

  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Ms. Paige 
E. McManus, former staff director for the Subcommittee on Disability 
Assistance and Memorial Affairs of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, who 
recently concluded 13 years of honorable service in this body.
  During my tenure as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on 
Benefits in the 107th Congress, my colleagues and I were direct 
beneficiaries of Ms. McManus's counsel on legislative, policy, 
budgetary, and oversight matters.
  Ms. McManus's considerable expertise served the subcommittee in many 
thematic areas. She oversaw the $24 billion per year Department of 
Veterans Affairs disability compensation and pension entitlement 
program, including herbicide-related disabilities, cold weather-related 
disabilities, Persian Gulf undiagnosed illnesses, disabilities common 
to ex-POWs, adapted housing and automobile benefits for seriously 
disabled veterans, Medal of Honor special pension benefits, and 
Merchant Mariner benefits; the surviving spouse programs, including 
dependency and indemnity compensation, Survivor Benefit Plan, and 
CHAMPVA; burial benefits and services under VA's National Cemetery 
Administration and the State Cemetery Grants Program, as well as policy 
matters associated with Arlington National Cemetery and the American 
Battle Monuments Commission; and national insurance programs, such as 
Veterans' Group life Insurance and Servicemembers' Group life 
Insurance.
  Ms. McManus's longstanding work at the direction of Veterans' Affairs 
Committee leadership on the creation of the World War II Memorial and 
VA's National Shrines initiative, enactment of special combat pay, or 
concurrent receipt, and dependency and indemnity compensation for 
remarried spouses proved especially meritorious. The legislative road 
traveled by each of these measures was long and exceptionally arduous. 
Ms. McManus's advice and perseverance added great value. The depth and 
breadth of her policy expertise and advice indeed proved hard to match.
  Madam Speaker, Paige McManus has exemplified the highest ideals of 
public service serving the Committee with honor, integrity, and energy. 
Thank you, Paige, for your many years of dedicated service to the 
United States Congress and to our Nation.

                          ____________________