[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8480-8481]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SUSAN SULLAM

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I rise today for a moment of bittersweet 
reflection and the celebration of a dedicated public servant who has 
contributed greatly to the State of Maryland

[[Page 8481]]

and our entire Nation. June 21st marks the final day that Susan Sullam 
will be working in my office as my communications director. We've 
traversed a 27-year journey together that started when I was first 
running for the House of Representatives. Over the years, with a 
combination of her quick writing and single-minded determination, she 
has helped me find my voice and articulate my positions during the very 
best and the very worst of times for me and our country. She has been a 
friend, trusted counselor, and a part of my extended family.
  As a former editor at Knight-Ridder with an interest in politics, 
Susan became one of my first and few campaign workers. She was 
instrumental in helping me win my first election to the U.S. House of 
Representatives. And when I took office, she became my first press 
secretary. Somehow, Susan managed to give 110 percent of herself to her 
family and to her job.
  Throughout our time working together, I have had the privilege of 
watching Susan's daughters, Jennifer and Karen, grow into remarkable, 
professionally accomplished young women. She instilled in her girls the 
understanding that you really could raise a family and have a career 
without shortchanging either one. I am forever grateful to them and 
Susan's husband Brian for sharing her time with me and the people of 
Maryland. I know Susan's family is looking forward to their first 
dinner without her Blackberry.
  I have always thought that Susan was born to be a journalist. Her 
mother, Mary Jane Fisher, was an admired and respected journalist and 
publicist who worked for 25 years as the Washington correspondent for 
the National Underwriter, a publisher of insurance and financial 
services trade publications. She was a well-known figure on Capitol 
Hill, and she frequented hearings of the Ways and Means Committee, 
where I served.
  During one particularly memorable Medicare hearing, I watched from 
the dais as three generations of this wonderful family all worked the 
room. Mary Jane was reporting for her publication; Susan was covering 
the hearing as my press secretary; and Susan's daughter Jennifer was 
serving as an intern in the Ways and Means press office that summer, 
reporting to her boss, now-Representative Dan Maffei of New York.
  Susan has been witness to the good and bad of politics over the 
course of nearly three decades. We started together at a time of great 
optimism that Congress could make decisions and enact meaningful 
legislation. Susan worked tirelessly during the many iterations of 
health care reform; she was constantly and meticulous pulling together 
materials that would help explain how real families would benefit from 
the passage of the legislation. This was as true in the 1990s with 
Hillary Clinton, as it was just a few years ago when we finally passed 
the Affordable Care Act. Her congressional career also encompassed my 
time as a member of the House Ethics Committee. During this period, 
Susan was witness to the various undertakings of the committee as it 
carried out its authorization to investigate violations of the House of 
Code of Official Conduct by Members and staff, investigations that 
included the ``House Bank'' and the Speaker of the House.
  But Susan's career was so much more. As I pushed to reshape our 
retirement system, Susan was there every step of the way with an 
article, interview, or a cable show designed specifically to get out 
the word to people who could benefit from the proposed legislative 
changes.
  Some moments we have shared together tested our Nation, as well as 
our professional relationship. We came together as a family during 9/
11, watching our Nation as it was grievously wounded. I voted against 
giving President George W. Bush the power to send our troops into Iraq. 
While I knew it was the right decision, it was certainly not an easy 
one at the time. She pushed hard and urged me to take the strongest 
possible position against the war. She was my voice and my megaphone.
  What makes all of Susan's accomplishments so much greater is the fact 
that she did much of this split between Washington and Baltimore. She 
was born and raised a Washingtonian but made Baltimore her home and the 
place she raised her family. She was as comfortable talking about 
restaurants on Federal Hill as Adams Morgan. When I was elected to the 
U.S. Senate, Susan was with me as I traveled throughout the State. She 
welcomed the opportunity to expand our representation to all of 
Maryland. Together we held press conferences on the Eastern Shore, 
visited editorial boards in western Maryland, and attended ribbon 
cuttings from Aberdeen to Fort Meade. Susan made herself familiar with 
nearly every Maryland smalltown newspaper and most of their publishers 
and could tell you about their editors without missing a beat.
  After 27 years, I take as much pride as Susan in the fact that she 
really has had more opportunities than anyone else to share my voice 
and my positions on issues of importance with the people of Maryland 
and the Nation. I have enjoyed working side-by-side with her and having 
her as an anchor of Team Cardin. I have learned from her, and I thank 
her for her time. Her quick words, honesty, and dedication to public 
service will be missed by me, Myrna, and my entire staff. It is with 
heartfelt gratitude that I wish her well in this next stage of her 
life.

                          ____________________