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“ATTORNEY GENERAL AWARD TO STEPHANIE BOUCHER” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2410 on Dec. 15, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ATTORNEY GENERAL AWARD TO STEPHANIE BOUCHER
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HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN
of new york
in the house of representatives
Thursday, November 13, 1997
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer recognition to an individual who recently received an extraordinary honor for her contributions at the workplace. Stephanie Boucher, the wife of one of my legislative assistants, received an Appreciation Award from the Attorney General on September 26, 1997.
What is unusual about this event was the fact that Stephanie is not a Federal employee. She is a contract worker employed at the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys [EOUSA] in the Department of Justice. I have been informed that it is highly unusual for contract employees to receive any type of official recognition from the Government for their work. Yet, over the past 15 months, Stephanie has shown that she is not the typical contract employee.
Stephanie received this award for ``motivating and stimulating EOUSA's Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act [FOIA] staff with her team spirit, productive work ethics, and willingness to go the extra mile to reach the Attorney General's goal of reducing the FOIA backlog.'' This backlog, which resulted from Congress' reform and expansion of the FOIA legislation, at one point reached nearly 1,000 requests pending. It was through the hard work, willingness to work extra hours, and dedication to detail shown by Stephanie and three other contract employees, under the direction of Acting Director Bonnie Gay, that the backlog was reduced to zero by the end of fiscal year 1997. I would further note that despite the extraordinary circumstances of receiving recognition for their accomplishments from the Attorney General, none of them received any acknowledgement or congratulations from the contract employer.
What sets Stephanie apart in my mind from her colleagues is the fact that she accomplished all this while attending law school full time in the evenings at the University of Baltimore. I know from personal experience how difficult and demanding law school is, and believe that this underscores this young woman's strong work ethic.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would note that the administration requested funding in the fiscal year 1998 budget for eight additional positions in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys to handle FOIA requests. Furthermore, it is my understanding that two of Stephanie's colleagues have been brought on full time with the Government since the issuance of this award. It is my opinion that Stephanie has already shown, through her past performance, that she would make a fine addition to the expanded EOUSA FOIA staff.
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