[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16131]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO CHRIS DOBY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the famous poet Oliver Wendell Holmes said: 
``Put not your trust in money, but put your money in trust.'' That is 
what he said. Since 2005 the Senate has put its money--precious 
taxpayer dollars--into the trusted hands of a man by the name of Chris 
Doby. He is the financial clerk of the Senate. He has proven himself to 
be equal to the task. That is an understatement. Through budget cuts, 
sequestration, and even a government shutdown, Senators and staff knew 
that Chris Doby and his team would make it work, no matter what took 
place.
  There is just one story I will share with the Senate. In the midst of 
the government shutdown, Senate employees had no assurance of when 
their next paycheck would come. Staffers with families, mortgages, and 
student loan payments all hoped the shutdown would not be their 
personal financial disaster. Missing a check or two can be very 
difficult for most everyone.
  After 16 days, Congress passed legislation funding the government, 
and the shutdown came to an end. That was October 16, 2013, just 2 days 
before payday for Senate staffers. It is important to understand that 
processing payroll for almost 7,000 employees normally takes about a 
week. But anticipating what a missed paycheck would mean for his fellow 
Senate employees, Chris Doby calmly pushed them to make it work.
  So in less than 48 hours, with a very depleted staff, Chris and the 
Senate Disbursing Office ensured that every Senate staffer received 
their paycheck on time. Because of their efforts, mortgage payments 
were made, groceries were purchased, and working families breathed a 
sigh of relief.
  I was trying to think what I could say today to indicate to this good 
man and his family and his friends and Senate staffers what a good 
person he is and what a good professional he is. The comparison I 
thought I would make is this. When I was a boy, I used to love to 
listen to the game of the day on radio, Mutual Radio Network in the 
town I lived in, a little town in Nevada. We, of course, had no TV. But 
radio reception came in pretty good during the day. I do not remember 
the station, but we could listen to the radio.
  On the game of the day, I focused on some people who were so good and 
who later became even better than I had imagined. One of those people 
who is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame was a man by the name of Larry 
Doby. He was a center fielder for the Cleveland Indians. He was good. 
He could run fast, jump high. He hit with power. He stole bases. He was 
very good.
  This Doby we have in the Senate, in my opinion, is somebody who, just 
like Larry Doby, would make the All-Star team and should be in the 
Senate Hall of Fame for the good work he has done over these many 
years.

                          ____________________