[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8067-8068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO LAURA PECHAITIS

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the career of Laura 
Pechaitis, a dedicated public servant who has made a profound 
difference in the lives of thousands of Ohioans. For 13 years, I have 
been honored to have Laura on my staff, where she has helped veterans 
dealing with problems large and small. Laura retires on May 8, 2015, 
after more than 30 years of service to her community.
  From the moment Laura contacted my then-congressional office about a 
job, I should have recognized that I was encountering a woman of 
uncharacteristic zeal and dedication. Laura wrote to me after she--
along with her husband, Theodore, and two sons, Marc and Scott--had 
moved back home to Ohio from New York. She had worked for 18 years in 
the New York Assembly for State Representative Michael Bragman as his 
director of constituent services. During her time in the New York 
Assembly she helped develop a program used by all assembly offices to 
track and manage casework. Hiring her should have been an obvious 
decision, but it was only after she had written to me three times that 
I finally recognized the dedication and passion of the person I was 
dealing with. Hiring Laura has made a difference in the lives of 
thousands of Ohioans.
  On my staff, Laura primarily focused her efforts on assisting Ohio's 
veterans. Our veterans and servicemembers dedicate their lives to our 
Nation, and Laura worked to make sure that they received the respect, 
gratitude, and assistance befitting their service. Inspired by her 
father--a World War II naval veteran--Laura has been committed all of 
her adult life to serving those who served us. As a student at Miami 
University, she helped form an auxiliary for the Navy ROTC program, 
serving as its commander.
  She helped all generations of veterans. She helped men who stormed 
the beach on D-day secure long-overdue medals they had earned, and she 
helped recent Iraq war veterans access VA benefits to attend college 
and transition to civilian life. Her ability to resolve seemingly 
intractable cases was legendary. For veterans who had been waiting 
months, she was able to expedite their cases and get them the attention 
they deserved, many within 24 hours. One constituent had been told by 
the VA that his claim would take 20 days to process. Frustrated and 
distraught, he called Laura while driving to the VA clinic. By the time 
he pulled into the VA clinic, Laura had resolved the issue. Another 
veteran in Columbus had lived in her house for 27 months, but she was 
too afraid to unpack out of fear of being evicted. Laura helped ensure 
that this veteran had the VA benefits that would enable her to stay in 
her home.
  Going above and beyond the call of duty was the norm for Laura. One 
veteran even had a term for her dedication, dubbing such exemplary 
service the ``typical Pechaitis fashion.'' Another constituent from 
Warren was having his TRICARE bills denied by the VA. Not only did 
Laura have the issue resolved within 24 hours, but she worked to help 
him reenroll in college and went so far as to put him in touch with a 
mentor at a local university to make sure he went back to school.
  Her drive for public service, however, went beyond veterans. In fact, 
long before he became the star of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a young 
LeBron James used to come into my Akron office to spend time with a 
friend whose mother worked for me. During one those visits, Laura 
helped LeBron James register for the draft--the Selective Service draft 
that is, not the NBA draft.
  Since 2006, Laura helped coordinate more than 10,000 cases for 
veterans and Active-Duty members of the armed services. She brought the 
same energy and empathy to each one. Laura has been a champion of 
veterans in Ohio, and the breadth of her impact is remarkable. She has 
been a model public servant, and I am proud to have worked with her.
  Our actions in Congress are closely watched, but what too often goes 
unnoticed is the work of dedicated staff members whose only goal is to 
serve those we are elected to represent. I ask

[[Page 8068]]

that my colleagues join me in thanking Laura Pechaitis for her service 
to our Nation.

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