Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it is sometimes said that the work of the staff is little noticed until something goes wrong. Today, I wish to make comments about a member of the staff of the Appropriations Committee for a different reason: the outstanding record of service to the Senate and the Nation by Alycia Farrell. Alycia came to Washington, DC, to study at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. She joined the Senate Committee on Appropriations under the late chairman, Ted Stevens, in 2001. A year later, she was promoted to a professional staff member for the Subcommittee on Military Construction and in 2003 moved to the Subcommittee on Defense. Alycia's responsibilities on the Subcommittee on Defense for the last 12 years have been varied and complex. Her areas of expertise have included oversight of military health programs, where she has been instrumental in pushing for reforms to better serve the men and women in uniform and their families. She has tackled the most important issues in military health care over the last decade, including increasing funding for traumatic brain injury, suicide prevention, and implementing electronic health record systems for our veterans. She has also excelled in oversight of missile defense programs, where Alycia has been a key voice in promoting the defense of our country while also calling for accountability in these technologically complex and expensive programs.…”