[Pages S7229-S7230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SARAH BENZING

  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor my longtime chief of 
staff, my campaign manager in 2012, and a proud daughter of the 
Midwest, Sarah Benzing.
  Sarah grew up in Neola, IA, a town of about 800 people. There were 
just 36 people in her rural high school in the Tri-Center Community 
School District.
  Sarah was raised by her parents Nick and Diana Benzing, in a family 
of farmers, truck drivers, and union members: AFSCME, IAM, NEA, UAW.
  And Sarah has brought those working-class values to everything she 
has done throughout an accomplished career serving the public.
  It is become a bit of a cliche to say that someone never forgot where 
they came from. Not only has Sarah never forgotten her roots, they are 
woven into every decision she makes and every job she has done.
  She has worked all over the country, from Iowa to Massachusetts to 
Virginia to, of course, Ohio, which she adopted as her second home. 
Sarah has put working people at the center of all she does.
  So many of the people who have worked with her in this office have 
shared stories about what makes her such an effective and admired 
leader and mentor.
  She has a unique ability to quickly grasp and cut to the heart of any 
problem and to pull the right people together and empower them to solve 
it. She is not just a boss; she is truly a manager. She sees people's 
strengths and elevates them into the right roles to accomplish things 
as a team.
  As a manager, she has always been there to help, but she also knows 
when the best way to help is to push you to meet your own potential.
  It is easy to get caught up in the day to day stress of running an 
office or a campaign, and to lose track of actually managing staff. 
Sarah never does. She takes the time to invest in people, and the 
office serves Ohioans better for it.
  A testament to that is how many of the people she has worked with who 
remain close personal friends.
  Sarah brings a warmth and approachability to the office that could 
probably only come from both a Midwesterner and from someone who began 
her career as an organizer. Around the office, staff call her the 
People's Chief. You are just as likely to find her chatting in the 
front office with the staff

[[Page S7230]]

assistants as you are behind a closed door with the legislative 
director.
  Swapping recipes, chatting about pets, remembering details about 
people's lives and their families, Sarah makes time for everyone and 
gets to know everyone who comes through this office.
  And she brings the joy. She never takes anything, including herself, 
too seriously, and she makes this job fun whenever and however she can. 
Cookie competitions, book club, potlucks, even a mock Iowa caucus, work 
is never boring when Sarah is in charge. And her enthusiasm is 
infectious.
  Over a decade as chief, Sarah has also become a master of this 
institution. She knows how to get things done.
  And all of that stems from her judgement and her internal compass, 
always seeing this job through the eyes of workers.
  When we first began working on the multiemployer pension crisis more 
than 7 years ago, most people in this town didn't want to touch it. No 
one thought it was solvable, and they thought it was too politically 
risky. A lot of staffers in this building probably would have advised 
me against getting involved. But Sarah dove in.
  And one reason is that she didn't just sit in Washington discussing 
the policy. She actually met the people. She spent time in Ohio talking 
with Rita Lewis and Mike Walden and so many of the Ohio workers and 
retirees whose retirement security--pensions they earned and paid 
into--was about to be ripped away.
  And in no small part because of Sarah's skill and commitment, we got 
it done.
  For the rest of their lives, 100,000 Ohioans will get checks in the 
mail every month from the pensions they earned because of the work of 
this office, led by Sarah Benzing.
  That was emblematic of how Sarah approached this job. She didn't stay 
in Washington. She came to Ohio as often as possible, traveling all 
over the State meeting with workers and small businesses owners and 
local leaders all over the State.
  She is an excellent listener, and so often, the result of those 
conversations was legislation or other actions that made a real 
difference in people's lives. She paid just as much attention to our 
staff in Ohio as those in DC.
  Sarah also understood that to get things done for Ohio, we had to 
work with our colleagues, regardless of party. Sarah forged bonds with 
and is respected by chiefs on both sides of the aisle.
  She knew how important it was for Ohioans that their Senators work 
together for our State. For the majority of my time in the Senate, our 
counterpart was Senator Portman. Sarah and Senator Portman's chief 
forged a genuine and productive partnership, working together on 
everything from strengthening trade enforcement to protecting Lake Erie 
to securing resources for Ohio.
  Sarah's time as chief has spanned multiple Presidents, two 
impeachments, a global pandemic. And through it all, Sarah has had an 
uncommon steadiness about her leadership.
  Sarah has been a steady and visionary leader for this office--and for 
Connie and me, an invaluable confidant and friend.
  We first met Sarah not in Washington, but in Ohio. We sat around our 
kitchen table with Connie and John Ryan and our dog Gracie, who took to 
Sarah immediately. Sitting there over homemade chili, with Gracie 
sitting next to Sarah as she scratched Gracie's ears, talking about 
Ohio and the campaign ahead--and about our families and about Sarah's 
hometown and about our pets, as the conversation wandered--it was so 
clear that Sarah belonged.
  She would move to Ohio a few weeks later. And over the years, Sarah 
gotten to know that kitchen table well. She has become part of--at 
times, it feels like the heart of--a big extended family. And we have 
gotten to know her family; she is so devoted to her husband Erik and 
her stepchildren Jay, Daona, and Noa.
  Sarah, thank you for a life of service to our country and the people 
who make it work and for nearly 15 years of friendship.

                          ____________________