[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 1183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       RETIREMENT OF MARTIN PAONE

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, Marty began in the House Post Office to 
help pay his way through graduate school at Georgetown. He then worked 
to the Senate parking office. Then, in 1979, 29 years ago, Marty began 
working in the Senate Democratic Cloakroom. Marty worked his way up the 
ranks until being appointed Secretary for the Minority in 1995.
  It is impossible to overstate Marty's importance to everything that 
we have done on the floor of the U.S. Senate: What comes to the floor, 
what gets off the floor, what gets amended or not.
  But Marty has not just been indispensable on procedure and tactics. 
Marty has also been an invaluable strategic adviser to me, to the 
Democratic leadership and, I say with confidence, to every Democratic 
Senator and to more than a few Republican Senators
  There just aren't many people I could say that about.
  We have relied on him and will miss him because of his tireless work 
ethic, his excellent judgment and his ability to be the calm in the 
middle of the storm. And for anyone who has been in the middle of a 
storm around here, staying calm is no easy task.
  Marty has also put in the hours. Early days and late nights were the 
norm. But, he is always been here. For that, we will always be 
grateful.
  And I would be remiss if I didn't mention his family and our 
gratitude to them for all the time he was here helping us rather than 
at home with them.
  His wife Ruby is part of our Senate family and has endured Marty's 
very tough job, as have his children: Alexander, Stephanie, and Tommy.
  To each of them, I want to say thank you for putting up with him and 
our demands on him.
  I also want to mention Marty's mother, Evelyn, who is 95 years young. 
His mother is very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. And I 
want her to know that we are all very proud of him as well.
  Lastly, I want to acknowledge Marty's successors. We are all so 
pleased that Lula Davis is our new secretary. Having more than 25 years 
of Senate service and many years of working with Marty, we all know she 
will fill these very big shoes and serve us all well.
  Tim Mitchell is replacing Lula as Assistant Democratic Secretary. He 
has 16 years of Senate service and a wealth of experience and we look 
forward to working with him as well in his new capacity.
  And Jacques Purvis will move from the cloakroom and join Trish Engle 
as one of our floor assistants and I congratulate him on that move as 
well.

                          ____________________