Martin Sabo: “Mr. Speaker, in this institution of democracy there is always a small group of smart, talented, hardworking, honest…”

“Mr. Speaker, in this institution of democracy there is always a small group of smart, talented, hardworking, honest people who labor anonymously behind the scenes. They are absolutely essential to the success of our form of government. Al Davis was at the top of that group. His brilliance was exceeded only by his work effort and his integrity. Al worked hard to help those of us who are Members of Congress fulfill our responsibilities in developing, debating, and voting on tax and budget laws. He also helped other staffers, policy thinkers, academics, reporters, and the general public understand the issues. I am told that whenever tax policy experts around town ran into a particularly thorny problem, they looked at each other and would say, this is an Al question. Al was also brutal in his honesty. If he thought something was a bad idea, it did not matter where it came from, he would tell the truth. Al made himself learn budget rules even when they seemed silly, so that he could bring his understanding of economics and tax law into the budget process.”