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[Page S679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO CHAD SCHULKEN
Mr. SCHATZ. Mr. President, today, we say farewell to a member of our
Senate family: Chad Schulken. For more than 16 years, Chad has served
the U.S. Senate as a professional staff member and, most recently,
clerk on the Appropriations Committee.
He started his career on the committee working for Senator Byrd in
2003 as staff of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, and
Judiciary. He specialized in budgetary and policy matters affecting the
Department of Justice and the Federal judiciary, including the FBI,
DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Marshall Service. Two years later, when the
Appropriation Committee reorganized, he joined a newly formed
subcommittee responsible for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
matters. As the lead staff handling the Department of Veterans Affairs,
Arlington National Cemetery, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Armed Forces
Retirement Home, Chad was charged with developing, managing, and
negotiating the policy and funding priorities for the VA. Ultimately,
it was his job to make sure that Congress kept its promise to the men,
women, and the families who have served our country.
Chad has forgotten more about the resource and management needs of
the VA than most anyone working in government will ever know, so no one
was surprised when he was promoted to be the subcommittee's clerk in
2017. As the lead Democratic staffer, Chad negotiated and helped
develop the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations
bill. He helped me in my role as the subcommittee's ranking member. He
worked with Republican staff, stewarding the interests of all
Democratic Senate offices. He managed the bill across the Senate floor
and negotiated a final conference agreement with the House.
Chad has become one of the Senate's foremost experts on budgetary
policy and appropriations law. His mastery of Senate rules and
procedure have made him a formidable legislative tactician and
negotiator. His commitment to his work--to the unique collaborative
process that fulfills the Congress's constitutional duty to appropriate
taxpayer dollars--is clear in the many weekends and holidays he missed
with family and friends to be here to negotiate appropriations bills.
It is no wonder he left an impression on many Members, including those
he served directly: Senators Byrd, Inouye, Mikulski, Leahy, Hollings,
Feinstein, Johnson, Reed, Tester, and myself.
For his professionalism and commitment to our country and the people
who have served in our military, we owe a great deal to Chad for his
service in the U.S. Senate. We thank him and wish him well as he
embarks on a new adventure, one we hope will give him more time with
his family: his wife Jessica; three daughters Abi, Bella, and Hundley;
and his son Griffin. From all of us in our Senate family, I extend a
sincere thank you to Chad and his family.
____________________
