[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16151]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DENZEL McGUIRE

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I would like to say a few words about a 
staffer I will be very sad to lose tomorrow. Denzel McGuire is one of 
the most genuine people you will ever meet. She always has a smile on 
her face and a ready joke, and she is the only Senate staffer I know of 
who can plan on--listen to this--a personal birthday song from Speaker 
Boehner every year. She also has a determination that is as strong as 
steel. She is a master at negotiating. And all Members--even the 
Speaker--have learned it is wise to stay in her good graces.
  Denzel has worked for some of the most respected Members of this 
body, including Jon Kyl and Judd Gregg. She has taken on some of the 
thorniest issues over her more than 20 years here in Congress.
  In this job you get accustomed to hearing bad news, but what I tell 
people is that if I have to hear bad news from someone, I would rather 
have it come from Denzel. She always has a plan moving forward, and 
there is usually a joke slipped in there as well.
  Denzel is too modest to say so herself, but she has been in the 
middle of a lot of big legislative battles around here. She has been in 
the mix on pretty much everything you could imagine that has to do with 
budgets and government funding issues--in other words, pretty much 
everything. She has also worked a lot of late nights. She has plenty of 
war stories, but she has never lost her optimism or her good humor. 
Now, that is no mean feat.
  I am really going to miss Denzel, but she has more than earned a 
break, and I wish her nothing but the best as she moves on to the next 
chapter in her life. I am sure she will be a great success.

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