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“RETIREMENTS OF ARTHUR CURRAN, DONN LARSON, AND RICHARD GIBBONS” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Senate section on pages S907-S908 on Jan. 30, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
RETIREMENTS OF ARTHUR CURRAN, DONN LARSON, AND RICHARD GIBBONS
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 36 presented earlier today by myself and Senator Daschle.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 36) relative to the retirements of Arthur Curran, Donn Larson, and Richard Gibbons.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate consideration of the resolution?
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, when the First Congress convened in 1789, one of the more pressing problems for the Senate was its inability to keep a majority of Members in the Capitol long enough to establish a quorum, organize, and begin the business of Government. In response, the Senate established the Office of Doorkeeper. As the first officer of the Senate, the Doorkeeper's primary responsibilities were to keep Senators in and, as proceedings were held in closed session for the first 6 years, keep everyone else out.
In 1795, the Senate began holding open sessions which required the opening of public galleries. And, once again, it fell to the Doorkeepers to maintain decorum and enforce the rules of the Senate.
Mr. President, as I speak here today, and every day that the Senate is in session, there are more than a score of Doorkeepers, both on the floor of the Senate and dutifully standing post in the galleries. The Senate is grateful for the dedication and service of the ranks of the members of the Office of the Doorkeeper. In particular, I want to commend the service of three individuals who have given a cumulative service of nearly 70 years to the U.S. Senate.
On behalf of the Senate I want to thank Messrs. Richard Gibbons, Arthur Curran, and Donn Larson. Regrettably, I am informed that each will retire at the end of this month.
Arthur Patrick Curran has faithfully served the U.S. Senate as a Doorkeeper for the past 21 years. Initially appointed by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in 1975, 6 years later he was promoted to Superintendent of Doorkeepers and has served in that capacity until his retirement in January 1997. In addition to his normal post at the Senate Chamber, Mr. Curran has performed his duties in numerous high profile Senate hearings, joint sessions, and Presidential inaugurations.
Mr. Curran, a native of Washington, DC, has strong links to New England and a keen interest in politics. In fact with his tall stature, bow tie, and stately appearance, he is often confused for being a Senator. On several occasions, as visitors have left the gallery, they have congratulated him for his fine speech.
Donn Larson, Deputy Superintendent of Doorkeepers, is also retiring after many years of dedicated service to the U.S. Senate. Donn started his career with the Senate under an appointment from Senator Milton Young (R-ND) in 1959. From 1961 to 1968, he worked in the Republican Cloakroom, assisting the Secretary to the Minority.
From 1969 to 1977, Donn worked in the Federal Government. He served with the State Department Inspector General for Foreign Assistance, as well as with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1977, Donn returned to the U.S. Senate, and in 1981 assumed the position of Deputy Superintendent of Doorkeepers.
Richard Gibbons began service with the office of Doorkeeper in the 94th Congress--1977. For a number of years, he served as the press liaison for the Doorkeeper's Office. During the 103d Congress, Richard was assigned to work solely on the Senate floor, assisting Members of the Senate.
Each of us have known these men over the years for their tireless efforts in maintaining decorum of the Chamber and galleries and assisting Members on the floor of the Senate. Countless letters of appreciation have been written by our constituents thanking these men for there kindness and courtesies.
On the occasion of their retirement from Federal service, I want to extend the very best wishes of the U.S. Senate and a grateful Nation.
Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, this resolution commends the service of three very important Senate staff members, members who have served this institution exceedingly well, in some cases for many years, even decades. I want to add my own commendation and congratulations to these three very distinguished members of our Senate family.
Arthur Curran has been the Superintendent of Senate Doorkeepers for a long time. He was appointed by the Vice President in 1975, at that time Vice President Rockefeller, and has served as our Superintendent of Doorkeepers since 1981.
Those duties involving his particular position are extraordinarily consequential and far-reaching. He is responsible for joint sessions of Congress. He is also responsible for high-profile Senate hearings, and all of the inaugurations, including the one just completed last week.
He is a native of Washington, DC, and spent many summers in Maine as he was growing up. But over the time that I have had the good fortune to know him, Arthur has also proved to me to be a real connoisseur of good restaurants and has given me a lot of good tips over the years as to restaurants that I should try.
But far more important than his knowledge of good restaurants in the area, Arthur Curran has an institutional knowledge and respect that will be impossible to replace.
Arthur Curran leaves tomorrow with our good wishes, with our thanks, with our profuse respect. We thank him for a job well done. We encourage him to enjoy all of his new endeavors. And we thank those members of his family who have sacrificed, along with Arthur, that he might do the kind of job that he has now for more than 20 years.
Donn Larson is the Deputy Supervisor of Doorkeepers. He, too, was appointed decades ago. He was first appointed by Senator Milton Young in 1959. He worked in the Republican Cloakroom from 1961 to 1968; and from 1969 to 1977 worked for the State Department and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
He returned to the U.S. Senate in 1977, and has been the Deputy Supervisor of the Doorkeepers, also, since 1981.
Donn Larson, like Arthur Curran, knows this institution. He has watched Senators come and go. He has watched the progress of democracy and heard all of the noise of democracy each day with all of its volume. His civility, his cooperation, his extraordinary demeanor is something that we will miss, beginning on Monday.
We again congratulate and commend Donn Larson for an extraordinary contribution to his country and for a remarkable career here in the U.S. Senate.
Richard Gibbons--somebody we all know because he is right here on the floor--is a floor attendant. He began working for the Senate doorkeepers in 1977. For many years he worked as press liaison outside the President's room just off the Senate floor. And during the 103d Congress, Richard was moved out to the floor where he has helped Senators and staff and everybody else who has come through with whatever needs they might have. He has helped to keep order in the Chamber, and he has done an extraordinarily effective job.
Richard Gibbons, too, deserves our thanks and deserves the respect that he has now earned on both sides of the aisle. We commend him. We thank him. We wish him well in all of his future endeavors as well.
As I mentioned a moment ago, men and women who come to work with us in the Senate Chamber make an immense sacrifice, oftentimes in terms of the income they could acquire at jobs outside of Capitol Hill, in time spent here when they could be spending it with their families. We thank their families for the support that they have given them. We thank them for their understanding. We thank them for allowing us the opportunity and good fortune to work with them with the frequency and with the success that we have.
So on this day it is with some sadness that we note the departure of Arthur Curran, Donn Larson, and Richard Gibbons. But with great enthusiasm, we wish them well as they take on new roles and new responsibilities and certainly many more opportunities in their lives ahead.
I know this resolution will pass overwhelmingly, as it should, because Republicans and Democrats owe these three individuals a very deep sense of gratitude.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution appear at this point in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution (S. Res. 36), with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 36
Relative to the retirements of Arthur Curran, Donn Larson and Richard Gibbons;
Whereas Arthur Curran, Donn Larson and Richard Gibbons will retire from the Senate on January 31, 1997;
Whereas Arthur Curran was appointed as a Senate doorkeeper in 1975 by Vice President Rockefeller;
Whereas Arthur Curran rose to the post of superintendent of doorkeepers and has dutifully served in that post for the last 15 years;
Whereas Donn Larson first began his Senate career under an appointment from Senator Milton Young in 1959;
Whereas Donn Larson served in the Republican cloakroom from 1961 to 1968, leaving to work in the Federal Government until his return to the Senate in 1977, where he has served as Deputy Supervisor of the doorkeepers since 1981;
Whereas Richard Gibbons has served as a Senate doorkeeper since 1977, acting as press liaison outside the President's room just off the Senate floor;
Whereas since the 103rd Congress Richard Gibbons has served in the Senate Chamber and has diligently assisted both Senators and staff alike in a myriad of tasks in addition to his role of helping to maintain order in the Chamber;
Whereas each of these three gentlemen has faithfully served the Senate and they have carried out their duties with efficiency and good nature;
Now therefore be it resolved that the Senate extends its thanks to Arthur Curran, Donn Larson, and Richard Gibbons for their many years of dedicated service and wishes them well in their future aspirations.
The secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this resolution to Arthur Curran, Donn Larson, and Richard Gibbons.
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