[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5801-5802]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             THANKING STAFF

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, earlier today the Senate passed S. 2739, 
the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. As I said during the 
debate, S. 2739 is a collection of over 60 bills reported from the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources over the past 15 months.
  This achievement would not have been possible without the hard work 
of our outstanding staff. Both the ranking member, Senator Domenici, 
and I are very fortunate to have a very dedicated and experienced 
professional staff. They service the committee and the Senate well. 
They deserve our thanks.
  On the Democratic staff of the committee, senior counsel David Brooks 
had the lead role in assembling the bill. He deserves special 
acknowledgment. In addition, though, I want to particularly thank the 
committee's staff director, Bob Simon, for his wonderful work on this 
legislation, as on all the legislation that comes through our 
committee; our chief counsel, Sam Fowler, for his superb work, as 
always; counsels Mike Connor, Kira Finkler, and Scott Miller, and 
professional staff members Angela Becker-Dimmpann, Jonathan Epstein, 
and Al Stayman.
  I would also like to thank the committee's chief clerk, Mia Bennett; 
executive assistant Amanda Kelly; communications director Bill Wicker; 
press secretary David Marks; staff assistants Rosemarie Calabro, Rachel 
Pasternack, and Gina Weinstock; and our Bevinetto fellow who works on 
our staff, Karl Cordova.
  On the Republican side, let me acknowledge Senator Domenici's staff 
director, Frank Macchiarola, who did an

[[Page 5802]]

excellent job here; his chief counsel, Judy Pensabene; professional 
staff members Kathryn Clay, Frank Gladics, Josh Johnson, and Tom Lilly; 
and executive assistant Kara Weishaar.
  In addition, I am very grateful to the committee's nondesignated 
staff: AnnaKristina Fox, Dawson Foard, Nancy Hall, Amber Passmore, 
Monica Chestnut, and Wanda Green.
  Finally, let me acknowledge the great help in bringing the bill to 
the floor we received from the majority leader and his staff: Neil 
Kornze, Chris Miller, Randy DeValk, Gary Myrick, and, as always, the 
secretary for the majority, Lula Davis.
  All of these fine staff members had a hand in putting S. 2739 
together and moving it through the legislative process. We would not 
have been able to pass the bill without their hard work and their 
professionalism. I wish to thank each and every one of them for the 
good work.
  Mr. President, I know the Senator from Colorado is here to speak.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Colorado.

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