The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO SENATOR DOUG JONES' STAFF” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S7936-S7938 on Dec. 21, 2020.
The Department handles nearly all infrastructure crisscrossing the country. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department should be privatized to save money, reduce congestion and spur innovation.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO SENATOR DOUG JONES' STAFF
Mr. JONES. Mr. President, as I mentioned in my farewell speech last week, I also wanted to spend a few final moments here on the Senate floor honoring my incredible staff. As the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Alabama in two decades, I had no idea how many brilliant young folks would want to come work in my offices, but we were absolutely overwhelmed with the talent my election attracted--and not just from Alabama--we had applicants from all over the country. We of course tried to give priority to folks from Alabama, but we did have a few from other States who brought special expertise and who, after just a short time with us, became honorary Alabamians.
Some of my staff came from other Senate or House offices where they had been biding their time, hoping 1 day to work for an Alabama Democratic Senator. Their experience was critical. Some staff members brought no legislative experience at all, but they were quick and eager learners and got up to speed unbelievably fast. What they all had in common was a deep and sincere commitment to doing the right thing for the right reasons.
There were very few shortcuts and very few easy decisions, but we all worked hard to understand the issues backwards and forwards and to do our best for the people of Alabama and for our country. Although each member of the staff was acutely aware that I would have to stand for reelection in just 3 short years, they were as committed as I was to not let political considerations enter into our deliberations. Instead we focused on the needs of our constituents, big and small, and doing all we could to make sure those needs were met.
Over the past 3 years, we have become a family, and we have had some fun to boot. Equally important, we have gotten things done. We led or coled over 20 bipartisan bills that were signed into law. We mustered enough support to finally repeal the Widow's Tax. We secured permanent Federal funding for HBCUs and minority-serving institutions. We made things easier for folks applying for Federal student loans. We secured authorizations and appropriations for hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for defense-related projects in Alabama. We set up a process to collect and make available to the public the Federal records from unsolved civil rights crimes. We completed 2,094 requests for casework help and responded to hundreds of thousands of calls, letters, and emails from Alabama constituents. We submitted 624 letters in support of Alabamians' grant applications, resulting in $270,973,411 in awards for municipalities, nonprofits, colleges and universities, rural fire departments, health centers, and others. Out of the outstanding high school seniors who I nominated to our military service academies, 44 have received appointments, and that is in just our first 2 years alone; we won't know the results for 2020 until next spring. We did more than 1,000 interviews, speeches, townhalls, and events across the State of Alabama and in DC. None of these things, absolutely none of them, would have been possible without the hard work and unflagging dedication of my staff.
My time in the U.S. Senate was enhanced immeasurably by the tangible and intangible contributions of my staff. As I said earlier, we knew we only had 3 years guaranteed, and we made the most of it. From our amazing record of legislative accomplishments, to our warm and welcoming office culture, to our emphasis on bipartisanship and collegiality, we made a positive difference, and I am immensely proud to have served with each of them.
Although it is impossible to go through the contributions of each I do want to single out a few who really made the office click or were responsible in some way for a major accomplishment.
First is my chief of staff Dana Gresham. Dana came to me by way of the House and then the Department of Transportation. He has always been a leader, and for me, I was so proud to have him as the first African-
American chief of staff for a Democratic Senator. He was instrumental in building the staff and guiding the delicate nature of Beltway and Alabama politics.
My legislative director Mark Libell brought a level of experience and direction to our legislative team that I think is unmatched in the Senate. He brought a level of skill to the legislative process that is largely responsible for the many successes we had.
Katie Campbell doubled as the deputy legislative director and legislative assistant on our healthcare related matters. She brought a tremendous amount of knowledge and was thus a tremendous resource for our healthcare agenda, which was always one of my top priorities.
On the Banking Committee, I was fortunate to have Mike Berman for a couple of years before he moved into the private sector. Mike began the painstaking process of revising the country's money laundering laws which his successor on the staff, Lauren Oppenheimer, picked up. Thanks to their combined efforts and working with colleagues and various stakeholders and regulators, Congress passed as part of the NDAA an update to our money laundering laws for the first time in decades.
My friend of 20 years Cissy Jackson came to Washington after practicing law with me in Birmingham. She had no legislative experience but soon became a rockstar among the Senate staff on both sides of the aisle, first with the Homeland Security Committee and then as my MLA on the Armed Services Committee. So much of what we were able to secure for the people of Alabama in the NDAA is a direct result of Cissy's tireless and persistent efforts.
Rebecca Howard handled education policy for me. Through her efforts, we secured additional and permanent funding for HBCUs, as well as the success in simplifying the FAFSA form, which will allow so many kids in Alabama to receive a college education. She also coordinated the annual HBCU symposiums that we conducted each year.
The director of my State staff was Brantley Fry. Brantley made sure that I stayed incredibly busy when I was at home. We traveled from one end of the State to the other. We visited businesses, military installations, schools, and farms. She coordinated the townhalls and roundtables, all with an eye to the important issues facing the State.
Heather Fluit was my communications director and she did tremendous work keeping the people of Alabama up to speed on all the good work that we were doing in Washington and around the State. This could be a difficult job at times on weedy issues like money laundering, but Heather excelled.
I could not conclude these remarks, however, without once again noting what was one of my proudest moments in the Senate when we successfully eliminated the Military Widow's Tax. It took a tremendous amount of effort and persistence in making that legislation a reality, and so much of the credit goes to Sarah Kate Sullivan in my office. Like me and my colleague Senator Collins, Sarah Kate never gave up, and today, so many military families will benefit from her efforts.
My wife Louise and I thank each of these individuals listed below from the bottom of our hearts. We love them all like family, and we wish them all the very best in their future careers:
Katie Campbell, Deputy Legislative Director.
Olivia Chartier, Deputy Scheduler.
Sam Coleman, Press Secretary.
Jordan Cozby, Staff Assistant.
Gregory Early, Military Fellow.
Elise Fink, Fellow.
Mike Flint, Fellow.
Heather Fluit, Communications Director.
Jasmine Goodman, Staff Assistant.
Dana Gresham, Chief of Staff.
Rebecca Howard, Legislative Assistant.
Cissy Jackson, Counsel and National Security Advisor.
Roger Johnson, Staff Assistant.
Darren Kinnaird, Systems Administrator.
Smriti Krishnan, Heflin Fellow.
Mark Libell, Deputy Chief of Staff / Legislative Director.
Leila Mohaideen, Digital Director / Deputy Press Secretary.
Becca Murdoch, Legislative Correspondent.
Lacy Nelson, Digital Assistant / Deputy Press Secretary.
Kobye Noel, Mailroom Director.
Lauren Oppenheimer, Senior Economic Policy Advisor.
Avery Phillip, Press Assistant.
Judy Rainey, Administrative Director.
Zoe Scott, Staff Assistant.
Abby Selden, Counsel.
Laura Sherrod, Legislative Aide.
Jack Spalding, Research Director.
Jessica Spence, Legislative Correspondent.
Garrett Stephens, Legislative Correspondent.
Caroline Stonecipher, Press Secretary.
Brenda Strickland, Director of Scheduling.
Sarah Kate Sullivan, Projects Director.
Ted Trippi, Legislative Correspondent.
Emma Turner, Scheduling Assistant.
Calvin Wilborn, Special Assistant.
Kern Williams, Legislative Correspondent.
Michael Williams, Legislative Correspondent.
ALABAMA
Anna Bern, Field Representative.
Bonnie Beviacqua, Staff Assistant.
Beau Bowden, Field Representative.
Ricky Chapman, Staff Assistant.
Eden Cockrell, Staff Assistant.
Paula Cox, Staff Assistant.
Donald Dees, Field Representative.
Sam Duff, Staff Assistant.
Jason Fisher, Field Representative.
Brantley Fry, State Director.
April Hodges, Field Representative.
Sandra Jackson, Regional Director.
Shanderla McMillian, Caseworker.
Kate Messervy, Field Representative.
Jim Perdue, Regional Director.
Jose Perry Jr, Regional Director.
June Reeves-Weir, Caseworker.
Liz Rutledge, Field Representative.
Amber Selman-Lynn, Field Representative.
Ron Sparks, Senior Advisor.
Al Stokes, Regional Director.
Rick Tate, Staff Assistant.
Susan Thompson, Caseworker and Grants Coordinator.
Zandra Wilson, Caseworker.
Violeta Yanez, Community Outreach Coordinator.
Thank you.
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