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“THANKS AND FAREWELL TO LIZ BIRNBAUM” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H8069 on July 14, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THANKS AND FAREWELL TO LIZ BIRNBAUM
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) is recognized for 5 minutes.
(Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.)
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, in the frenetic pace we maintain in Washington, we too seldom acknowledge the invaluable role played by our staffs. As chairman of the Committee on House Administration, on this occasion I wish to note the recent departure of my invaluable committee staff director, S. Elizabeth Birnbaum.
Since her arrival in 2007, Liz has served the committee, the House and the country with distinction, providing me and my colleagues with wise counsel honed during her years of service with the Department of the Interior; with the House Interior and Natural Resources Committee, as it was then known; as a tireless advocate for the health of our nation's waterways at the environmental organization American Rivers, and elsewhere. In addition to her policy advice, Liz also proved a strong, effective, compassionate leader for the committee staff from whom her colleagues could and should have learned much during her tenure.
Madam Speaker, the House Administration Committee may be the most important committee that many Americans have never heard of. We don't write tax or spending bills, we simply run this place. I can assure the House that the committee could not have run this place for the past two years without Liz Birnbaum. We grapple with dozens of administrative matters every day, large and small, each crucial to someone. Although I cannot be certain, because she has so many from which to choose, I suspect Liz might consider her greatest accomplishment to be her legislative and oversight roles in the December 2008 opening of the Capitol Visitor Center, already toured by nearly 1.5 million people.
Liz will be greatly missed, but we can all take comfort that she will not be far away. The President lured Liz back downtown to the Interior Department, where she will direct the Minerals Management Service implementing the Administration's policies concerning resources on federal lands. While the committee's loss is definitely the President's gain, as Liz herself knows, Capitol Hill never lets go of alumni completely. So, on behalf of my committee, the House, and the country, I thank Liz Birnbaum for her dedicated service, wish her well in her next assignment, and fondly look forward to seeing her again soon.
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