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“THE PASSING OF MEG DONOVAN” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1887-E1888 on Oct. 2, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE PASSING OF MEG DONOVAN
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HON. LEE H. HAMILTON
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 2, 1998
Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues the tragic death yesterday of Meg Donovan, a former member of the staff of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, now the Committee on International Relations, and most recently a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.
Meg worked for our committee for eight years. During that time, and in her previous work for the National Conference on Soviet Jewry and the Commission on Cooperation and Security in Europe, she was a tireless advocate of human rights. At a time when it was not always fashionable, she worked to ensure that every piece of legislation which this committee considered took into account the human rights record of the governments involved. Many staffers, and Members, learned--
sometimes the hard way--that whatever their own agenda might be, their legislation would be ``scrubbed'' by Meg for its human rights implications before it left this committee. In short, Meg put the human rights issue on the Congressional map.
Some Members would be more familiar with Meg in her more recent work, as an indispensable aide to first Secretary of State Christopher and then Secretary of State Albright. Both Secretaries relied heavily on Meg in their relations with Capitol Hill, and to help run the State Department.
While her professional accomplishments were extraordinary, I think what most of us will remember about Meg is her always cheerful smile, her infectious laughter, her enthusiasm for life, and her endless energy. Meg was one of those rare people who brought warmth, laughter and joy to so many lives.
I know all of our hearts go out to Meg's husband, her three children, and to all her family.
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