Political Quotes

“I rise along with my colleague, the ranking member of the Budget Committee, Senator Sessions, to pay tribute to Jennifer L. Smith, who is retiring this week after more than 32 years of distinguished service to the Congress. Ms. Smith began her congressional career in 1979, working in the Senate. While working, she attended law school at night and became one of the Senate's Assistant Parliamentarians. She has since served as an Assistant Counsel for the House Budget Committee, the General Counsel for the Senate Budget Committee, and the Deputy General Counsel for CBO. In 2006, she returned to the Senate Parliamentarian's Office as the Senate Precedents Editor and in 2010 returned to CBO as the Associate General Counsel. In each of her roles, Ms. Smith worked tirelessly to ensure that the decisions of each office were carefully researched, well reasoned, and fully documented. As an attorney for CBO, Ms. Smith ensured that CBO's estimates of legislation were based on a solid understanding of the law. Her skills as an attorney have been highlighted in the diverse issues she has worked on while at CBO, ranging from immigration, to Social Security to lease-purchase issues. Her knowledge of appropriations law, copyright law, and the ethics rules of the House of Representatives rivals those of the most acknowledged experts in those fields. Ms. Smith's excellent work has been recognized throughout her career.…”