[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO KRYSTA JURIS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I want to switch from my friend Tim Mitchell 
to another friend I have. Ten years ago, I was in search of a 
scheduler. I needed someone to help with my scheduling and work here in 
my Capitol office. The office is just a few feet from here and it is 
extremely busy. We have people coming and going all day long, including 
the end of the night, and so I knew I needed someone who was good and 
would get better. Little did I realize that the woman I would hire 
didn't just get better, she has been the best. Her name is Krysta 
Juris.
  I have a few months to go as a Member of Congress. I have been here 
34 years, and I have had some remarkable employees. I have had such 
loyal staff with me now who have stayed until the bitter end, but it is 
hard to find a description for someone who is as capable, as nice, as 
competent, and as smart as Krysta Juris.
  David McCallum, who helps me line up staff, told me he had a 
candidate and thought she was really good. He gave me her background 
and told me she had worked in Senator Clinton's office and on her 
Presidential campaign. He told me--I guess this was the clincher--she 
was a collegiate lacrosse player. Lacrosse is a game I have gotten to 
know quite well because I have grandsons who play that sport. It is a 
really difficult, hard game. A college lacrosse player? I understand 
the difference between a high school lacrosse player and a college 
lacrosse player. Without knowing a lot more, I said she would be 
perfect. If she played lacrosse, she would know how to head a front 
office.
  As I have indicated, serving as a scheduler for my office is not 
easy. She, as I indicated, was a college player. She played for the 
University of Maryland. They have excellent athletics there, generally.
  She has had a demanding schedule for at least 10 years. She incurs 
long, long hours. Of course, it goes without saying that quickly she 
became the scheduler--not the assistant, not the deputy. To put it 
simply, to do this job you have to be really tough and fair. My 
colleagues who come to that office regularly--Durbin, Schumer, Murray, 
and others--know Krysta. They always know that when they call Krysta, 
she tells them the truth: He is here; he is not here; he can see you; 
he can't see you. She is tough. She is strong and unafraid. She is not 
intimidated by some big-shot Senators. She handles them just fine.
  She has been my gatekeeper and my loyal adviser, and she has 
performed phenomenally. She is the best at her job that I have ever 
seen in my many, many years of public service and as an attorney prior 
to my public service. For everything I have done, as far as setting the 
schedule, there is no one who is a close second.
  She has been in the thick of things. She has been through my ups and 
my downs. She has been by my side. There are many, many examples. Some 
of us will never forget the snowstorm of 2009. It became so tense here 
that one of my Republican colleagues said that he hoped Senator Byrd 
would die during the night so we wouldn't have 60 Senators. With his 
being ill and having trouble navigating on his legs and living in 
Virginia and coming through the blizzard, we were worried. But he 
showed up. I told Krysta: Try to do all you can from home, because of 
this Snowmageddon, as we called it. We were in session. We had to 
finish the health care bill, and every day meant so very, very much. 
No, she did not stay home. She trudged through blocks and blocks of 
snow and snowdrifts to be here. She never missed a day. She spent many, 
many long, long nights in my office. I said: We will get someone to 
drive you or walk with you. She said: No, I am OK. I will be fine.
  During the fiscal crisis of 2012, we were in session on New Year's 
Eve. She was at her desk working while the rest of the world rang in 
the new year. Frankly, she was probably glad she was here. She has a 
little dog and those firecrackers and all that noise drives her little 
dog crazy. So she could be away from the firecrackers and keep her dog 
safe. She had reasons for being here during that period of time.
  When the Republicans shut down the government for 17 days in 2013, 
she was here every day overseeing my schedule, making things run 
smoothly, even though no Senate employee was guaranteed that they would 
be paid for the work they were doing. As my colleagues will recall, 
many Senate employees didn't come to work.
  On a more personal note, as happens in everyone's life, there are 
times of difficulty. The Reid family has had a few problems. As some 
will remember, I was engaged in my office trying to work out a deal 
with health care--the Affordable Care Act--and in walked Janice and 
Krysta and said there was a call: Your wife has been in an accident. It 
was very bad. It broke her neck in two places and her back, and her 
face was messed up. That was a hard time for us. Krysta was there. She 
was there. She helped with the scheduling. We got over that. Then 
Landra got an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer that went on 
for months. Krysta balanced my schedule here with my schedule with 
Landra. She made sure I had time with Landra to help. I will always 
remember her. I didn't have to ask her to do it; she did it.
  When I had my unfortunate accident, Krysta knew how I had been hurt, 
and I did the best I could covering how I had been hurt. My three 
leaders--Durbin, Schumer, and Murray --helped me cover my disability 
for a while. She took care of things. My scheduling was done. I missed 
very, very few things because of her.
  My children know her. My grandchildren know her. It is no surprise 
then to say that Krysta is and always will be part of my family.
  Krysta's time is ending this week. It is kind of like my service here 
in the Senate. I wish it would never end. I wish Krysta could be with 
me always. But things change and things happen. But really with Krysta 
it is not time for distress or sadness; it is time for happiness 
because I have nothing but fond memories of this very beautiful woman--
beautiful on the outside and on the inside. Why is it time for 
celebration? Because Krysta, at the ripe old age of 32, is having her 
first baby. She is so excited. I remember with all her babies, Landra 
wore the smocks that were kind of the style at that time. We don't do 
that anymore, and that is terrific. She is so pretty with her 
pregnancy, as she is without her pregnancy. She has never missed work 
because of her pregnancy. She has never complained about morning 
sickness or afternoon sickness or asked to go home early--never. So I 
am happy for her. I am happy for Trevor, her good husband.
  Senator Durbin has helped me on a number of occasions with things 
that he could help with regarding Krysta. He has been so thoughtful 
about making things work out.
  So I am happy for Krysta. I am happy for Trevor. She is going to have 
a little girl. My hope is that that little girl will turn out to be 
just like her mom--a person everybody loves, a person who is dependable 
and trustworthy, and a person whose friendship is so important to those 
she knows.
  My friendship with Krysta is not going to end when I leave the 
Senate. It is forever.
  So thank you, Krysta, for a job well done. I wish you and your family 
the best that life has to offer.
  Now back to some other things. I am sorry to have taken so long, but 
that is sometimes the way things are.

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