Date: 1982-12-23
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. this last. arduous week of the 97th Congress has brought into particularly sharp focus the valuable contributions of Senate staff. Their work has a direct and Important impact on the quality of legislation that is produced by Congress. and this holiday season of giving provides an appropriate opportunity to express my personal appreciation to those who help Senators discharge their duties. Few staffs in Congress have a broader mandate of responsibility. work under more pressure and for longer hours than does the staff of the Democratic Policy Committee in the Senate. Abby Saffold. Charles Kinney. and Martin Paone are well known to all Senators for their thorough. effective. and courteous work on the Senate floor. Although they serve the Senators on my side of the aisle on scheduling and other floor matters. they are a vital part of the bipartisan mechanism of the Senate. I particularly single out Abby. Charles. and Maity for their tireless efforts on behalf of my colleagues on this side of the aisle. I thank them for their diligent attention to detail. for their unfailing dedication. for their concern for the interests of Democratic Senators. and for their constant. congenial. and courteous presence. I commend them on their close Working relationship with those on the majority side who perform similar dutiesHoward Green. secretary for the majority. John Tuck. assistant secretary for the majority. and Elizabeth Baldwin. floor assistant. I have found Elizabeth Baldwin to be exceptionally capable. courteous. and understanding. Regardless of the pressures of the Senate and the lateness of the hour. she is always extremely cordial and considerate. I take this occasion to express my personal appreciation for those fine qualities. Democratic Senators are grateful for this cooperative relationship between the majority and minority floor staffs. In our role as the minority. the Democratic Policy Committee staff has stepped in to fill this void and consistently has provided extremely useful issuerelated information and coordination to all Democratic Senators. Rob Liberatore. staff director of the Democratic Policy Committee. is intelligent and hard working. He has been instrumental in facilitating the work of the committee. I might add that we intend to continue this work after 1984 as wellshould we be so fortunate as to regain the majority in the Senate. The domestic issues staff has been ably led by Susan Manes. and the in- ternational affairs/defense staff has been effectively directed by Dick McCall. the committees deputy staff director. Most Senators are familiar with the accurate and thorough Democratic legislative bulletins. the weekly legislative updates and economic data reviews. the analyses of Senate voting histories. Individualized voting records. and indexes of Senate votes. All of these invaluable materials are prepared under the direction of the Policy Committee and especially under the direction of Beth Shotwell. the committees chief clerk. These publications are designed to provide Senators with information useful to them in analyzing public policy issues and the history and record of the Senate. I also want to express my appreciation of the Policy Committees communications office. headed by Greg Schneiders. for their ambitious and productive efforts with the press offices of Democratic Senators. I thank Terry Sauvain. the secretary for the minority. for his hard work for Democratic Senators. He. too. has done an outstanding job. and I wish him well in his new position as minority deputy clerk of the Appropriations Committee. Following in his footsteps will be Patrick Griffin. who will be the new secretary for the minority in the 98th Congress. Pat previously has served on the Democratic Policy Committee floor staff and as my executive assistant for floor operations. I look forward to working with Pat in the next Congress. I also commend Patrick Hynes. assistant secretary for the minority. the cloakroom staffThomas Gonzales. Bob Bean. Bill Norton. Joe Hart. and Tom Kellyand all the fine pages for their unending good cheer and helpfulness in the conscientious performance of their responsibilities. Bill Hildenbrand. the Secretary of the Senate. and Howard Liebengood. the Sergeant at Arms. have served the Senate wellboth as individuals and as the leaders of their hardworking staffs who perform numerous tasks. I particularly appreciate the devoted service of Jeanine Drysdale in her position as executive assistant to the Sergeant at Arms. as well as that of the doormen and all the Sergeant at Arms and Secretary of the Senates employees who work around the floor and the lobby. The Senates work is facilitated by many people. but few people are more associated with the daytoday important work of the Senate than are those gentlemen who man the desk below the Presiding Officer. I speak of Bob Dove. Alan Frumin. and Joseph Strickland. the Parliamentarians. Bill Farmer. the legislative clerk. Scott Bates. assistant legislative clerk. Jim Thorndike. the journal clerk: and Vince Del Bazo. the bill clerk. Fred Sparrow. the enrolling clerk. serves as a vital link in the legislative process. and I appreciate the efficient manner in which he discharges his duties. I want to express a special thanks to our Chaplain. the Reverend Mr. Halverson. whose pirayers and spiritual guidance enrich this body enormously. I look forward to his thoughtful prayer which starts each day of our session. Mr. President. there are simply too many people who work long and hard to help this august body function for me to name each and every one of them. The Capitol Police. the employees of the press galleries. the employees of the Senate restaurantsall contribute to the operation of the Senate. I am very proud of all these loyal employees of the public. They should take great personal pride in the part they play In serving the publics Interests. To all those who labor In the Senate. be it in the spotlight or in the shadows. I thank every one of them and wish them a peaceful and blessed holiday season and a new year filled with hope and promise.