[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 1024-1025]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO CONGRESSIONAL STAFF

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, this is the second week of the 112th 
Congress. I welcome back the Presiding Officer. I have spent many a 
Monday afternoon presiding over this Chamber as a new Member in my 
first 2 years. While they are not here, I welcome my new colleagues in 
the Senate and, obviously, our new colleagues in the House.
  We still have an enormous number of challenges facing us as a 
country, and I look forward to working with Members in both bodies to 
make sure we meet these challenges in a bipartisan way.

[[Page 1025]]

  Last year, I took up the banner that had actually been started by the 
Presiding Officer's colleague who preceded him in this Chamber, and 
that was the effort of honoring, on a regular basis, exemplary Federal 
employees right here on the Senate floor. It is a tradition that was 
begun by Senator Ted Kaufman.
  I want to start this new 112th Congress with what will be a weekly 
occurrence where I will come forward and recognize Federal employees 
who play an extraordinarily important role in our country. I have been 
blessed to have had a great number of those employees in the 
Commonwealth of Virginia, as the occupant of the Chair has been in 
Delaware.
  Today, I thought I would actually rise on no specific employee but to 
honor congressional staff on Capitol Hill and in the many congressional 
districts across the country. There are nearly 6,000 Federal employees 
in the Senate, and nearly 10,000 serve in the House of Representatives. 
I am referring to the individuals who sort the mail, the clerks who sit 
before you in the presiding chair, the folks who manage the Chamber day 
in and day out, and the Capitol Police, who do an incredibly important 
job of making sure we are able to work in a safe environment. I am also 
referring to those folks who work directly for us as Members of 
Congress. They work their hearts out for us. Beatriz is here with me 
today. They work long hours and get little attention. Clearly, they 
impact the lives of millions of Americans every day.
  I know a little about this firsthand because I started my career in 
politics as a staff member for then-Congressman Chris Dodd. I did 
manage to get him lost a number of times when I drove him around his 
district in eastern Connecticut. That experience taught me how 
dedicated the congressional staff is and that they are truly public 
servants and are instrumental to the democratic process that takes 
place on the floor of the Senate and on the floor of the House.
  Congressional staff help Members of Congress draft and analyze 
legislation. They respond to literally thousands of letters, phone 
calls, and e-mails on a regular basis. More often than not, they are 
out in the district or back at home when we are in Washington.
  I know my State staff has helped Virginians with securing adoptions, 
reuniting families through our immigration casework, and simply helping 
countless Virginia families navigate the complex bureaucracy that we 
know as the Federal Government.
  Congressional staff also help us plan events that bring us closer to 
those we represent so we can continue to hear their views or complaints 
as we try to communicate our agenda.
  I want to take a special moment--and we did this as a body last 
week--to pay tribute to those who were lost in the horrible shooting in 
Tucson. It is important to remember as we pray for the recovery of 
Congresswoman Giffords that we recall as well a member of her staff, 
Gabe Zimmerman, who was Congresswoman Giffords' director of community 
outreach. Gabe was one of the victims of that mass shooting. He was 
simply doing his job organizing ``Congress On Your Corner'' for the 
Congresswoman to make sure the folks who hired her, the people of 
Arizona, had a chance to see her firsthand and express their views.
  I want to make sure we also recognize and continue to keep in our 
prayers Pamela Simon and Ronald Barber who were injured on that day and 
are in the process of making their recovery.
  As we keep in mind that tragedy, I think it is important that we 
recall not only are those of us who are directly hired sometimes put in 
harm's way by this job, but there are literally thousands of 
particularly young people who work for us day in and day out without a 
lot of recognition who are public servants as well. As we saw with the 
tragedy a month or so ago in Tucson, they sometimes give the greatest 
devotion of service as well.
  I hope my colleagues will join me over the coming week or two and say 
a special thanks to all of those who work long and hard for us on our 
staffs, including the pages who keep the order; the reporters who make 
sure, even when we are a little bit too long-winded, that they take 
down virtually every word; and those special folks on the dais who have 
been known at times to keep new Members awake during particularly long-
winded speeches by Members.
  I thank our congressional staff. We will be back on a regular basis 
to celebrate the very good work of Federal employees in various walks 
of life. I can't think of a better way to restart this tradition than 
this week honoring those great staff members who serve us in the Senate 
and in the House.
  With that, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Manchin). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are in morning business; is that right?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.

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