Singing the Praises of Jennifer Wickre

Floor Speech

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity from leadership to be able to spend a little time this evening on what I define as a very, very important subject.

Mr. Speaker, in the rancorous world we live in these days there is a tendency for people who observe the United States Congress from afar to think that we have become a shrill, loud, unfocused rabble of people. Perhaps we have lost our sense of humanity, and even worse.

Tonight, I would like to talk about an individual, a person, a set of circumstances that refute that falsehood and the popular perception.

What do I mean by that?

Mr. Speaker, not many months ago, we, on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, both Republicans and Democrats alike, majority and minority, received some--what can only be described as devastating news--that a member of our family--and when I say family, I mean, our congressional family, the people who serve in this building, and in these buildings, and serve in the personal offices, and serve in the committee offices, and serve in the leadership offices.

These are people who are the individuals that you have known for months, years, or maybe sometimes decades that you have jousted with on issues and that you have crossed-referenced notes and you have debated with for extended periods in the various roles. Those are the people I define as our congressional family, and they could be Democrats, they could be Republicans, they could be senior staff, senior Members, or the most junior of all.

That devastating news that I mentioned, and not all that many months ago, was that the deputy staff director for the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, the majority deputy staff director, Jennifer Wickre, had been diagnosed with cancer.

Now, that is always the most intimidating and shocking news that anyone could receive. Tonight I don't just want to talk about that--and we will because it is important to the struggles she is facing--but I want to talk about the person that this member of our congressional family has been and is. No matter what the struggles of the next few weeks or months turn out to be, she will always be a member of our family in our hearts and in our minds.

Jennifer Wickre--Jenn, as we call her--is originally from Medford, Oregon, a town in the southern part of the State. Her parents ran a local law practice. They are the kind of salt of the earth sort of people whom you would want to live next door to you, Mr. Speaker.

Jenn earned a bachelor's degree in government from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, and a master's degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

In her tenure, she has served in a variety of roles. I think the role that I speak of this evening is her role in Congress. She started her career on Capitol Hill as a scheduler for Congressman Jerry Lewis in 2003.

Now, for those of us who remember that wonderful individual, Jerry Lewis was a senior member of Appropriations and would be chairman of the committee. Jerry served in numerous senior leaderships in positions within the Republican Conference. He was a great Member to work for and to learn from.

Jennifer worked as a scheduler. Mr. Speaker, as any of you who have any interaction with Members of Congress or their offices know, one of the most difficult staff positions is to be a scheduler because you have got to balance the Member's limited time with the needs of the spouse, with the needs of the district staff, with the needs of the office staff, the committee staff, and all the important constituents back home.

She performed well--as all of us who know her would have expected nothing less--and she became a senior legislative assistant.

Now, she worked off the Hill for a little while, but then she came back to the Hill to be the professional staffer on the Research and Technology Subcommittee in 2015. She worked there diligently for 7 years and became the staff director of the Research and Technology Subcommittee and ultimately a senior policy adviser to Chairman Lamar Smith.

After I had the opportunity, she became the deputy staff director for the overall group.

Jennifer's personality--Jenn, again, as we all call her--was the kind of person who no matter who you were, the most senior member of the committee, the most junior member of the committee, the most well- informed member of the staff, or the newest member, she treated everyone with the same kind of respect and decency and would take the time to reason through and discuss with people the merits of their logic and also sometimes the challenges that that presented. She was ever the diplomat--ever the diplomat.

Now this evening, I think we have a few of the folks whom she has touched in this Congress, and they would like to offer a thought or two. I will yield shortly to several of my colleagues.

Before I do that, let me, again, return to the point. We are a congressional family. Jenn is one of our own, and she faces challenges that hopefully none of us will ever face. She has done it with the most amazing grace, strength, and determination. She has decided her own course of action, and that is always to be respected.

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for those very thoughtful and very wise words.

Lofgren) who has had many opportunities over the years to work with our mutual dear friend.

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for her very thoughtful and extremely accurate comments.

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, my colleague is exactly right. Sometimes even in the institution and amongst the family, we forget how important the critical role that the staff plays is, their understanding of the issues, their vast experience and ability to focus. Jenn is one of those individuals, one of the catalysts, I will say, of the legislative process.

Bonamici) to discuss a fellow Oregonian.

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Oregon for her comments.

Many people may notice that several of us are wearing an Oregon Ducks pin that has ``CANCER'' on it. It shows the Oregon Duck's foot smashing it. That is a symbol to us of Jenn's enthusiasm for Ducks football, but it also shows our common spirit about smashing cancer and how appropriate that the Science Committee worked so diligently in those areas.

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Mr. LUCAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his thoughts and observations.

We arrive at a moment in this Special Order when we begin to focus on a conclusion. You have heard this evening from Democrats and Republicans alike. You have heard from the most senior Members about the wonderful nature of our friend Jennifer Wickre. You can tell from those of us who have worked with her day to day, in many instances for years, some for decades, what a wonderful, productive, bright, articulate, and focused young woman she is. She has made the committee more productive. She has made the lives of her many friends richer.

I simply suggest this in my closing: We may not get to work together with Jenn again in the near future on the Science Committee, but I have confidence in her and her faith. I am confident that, somewhere down the road, we will work together with Jenn again in a wonderful place.

Mr. Speaker, God bless the congressional family, and in particular, God bless Jennifer Wickre, one of our very own.

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