The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO LYNNE TERRY PHIFER” mentioning Christopher A. Coons was published in the Senate section on pages S4750-S4751 on June 24.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Senators' salaries are historically higher than the median US income.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO LYNNE TERRY PHIFER
Mr. COONS. Madam President, I rise today in this Chamber to pay tribute to a dedicated Delawarean, a friend who is wrapping up 36 years of public service to our State and our Nation.
Lynne Terry Phifer of Newark, DE, a valued member of my Senate staff, is retiring at the end of this month. She has been a high-spirited, pure-hearted presence for us as long as I have known her, and I am deeply grateful to Lynne for her service and grateful for her significant contributions.
Before I say farewell, though, it is only fitting to highlight her long career and offer up some thanks and some thoughts from her friends, family, coworkers, and well-wishers.
Her story didn't start and doesn't end with her more than 8 years serving in my offices for the Senate and for Wilmington, DE. She grew up in a community along the banks of Naamans Creek, where it empties into the Delaware River. It is known as Claymont, DE, an area that has become better known, perhaps, because of Claymont's favorite son, our President, Joe Biden.
Lynne graduated from Claymont High School in 1972, the same year Biden was first elected to this Chamber. It was at Claymont High School where, some members of my staff report, in good humor, Lynne made a name for herself ``playing a mean clarinet.'' I didn't know clarinets could be mean.
Lynne's public service career began shortly thereafter. She started a 10-year run with Delaware's Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Social Services, and the Division of Personnel. After that, her career continued across city, county, State, and Federal governments.
From 1988 to 1992, she worked for well-known Mayor Dan Frawley of Wilmington. She later took on similar responsibilities for our Lieutenant Governor and now-Governor, John Carney, and later for Paul Clark, my successor as county executive in New Castle County. Paul said it was his good fortune to have hired Lynne.
She was a shining light in the field of government service--
County Executive Clark said--
and an absolute joy to work with. I am privileged to call Lynne my friend and wish her the best in retirement.
Governor Carney offered similar sentiments, saying:
When I was Lieutenant Governor, Lynne helped make our office run smoothly and always offered a helping hand to constituents. She is a compassionate, hardworking colleague and a good friend, and I am personally grateful for Lynne's many years of dedicated service. . . . I wish her and her family all the best in retirement.
For more than 8 years in my office in Wilmington, Lynne has seamlessly managed my front office and my college internship program. And I can't tell you how hard a job it is to be the person who answers the phone, day in and day out, particularly when serving a Senator like me who seems to draw all sorts of attention and angry phone calls.
So Lynne, thank you in particular for handling all the calls and complaints and concerns of Delawareans who call in day in and day out.
Lynne has remained our beloved gatekeeper, the first person to greet visitors, the familiar voice on the main telephone line, someone who has handled sometimes literally hundreds of calls a day. She is known for being reliable and trustworthy. She is highly regarded by my whole team and recognized for her breadth of knowledge of our State, who is who, which call needs to be answered first, who are the movers and shakers.
She is known for always staying calm and professional when helping constituents. And, trust me, some of these calls can be incredibly emotional and difficult, whether assisting someone needing a vaccination appointment or dealing with a veterans benefit question.
She has run my internship program flawlessly, and that is a true testament to Lynne. During her more than 8 years of running that, she has interviewed, hired, trained, mentored, and supported more than 150 college interns--a good number of whom have gone on to join our full-
time professional staff.
She is, as Brendan Mackie would say, a true force multiplier. Several of our interns, as I have mentioned, have gone on to be staff, both in Wilmington and in Washington, and many others have gone on to executive branch Agencies or to be activists, attorneys, nonprofit leaders, mentors, and volunteers.
It is a profound understatement to say that my team and I, and my wife Annie and I, will deeply miss Lynne. Annie and I have known Lynne going all the way back to their time together in the Women's Democratic Club of Delaware, when we were young couples and looking forward to someday both being parents of twins.
On my current staff, Marcus Wright, who is my outreach coordinator, added:
Lynne is always at the top of her game. As her counterpart in DC, I [learned to] lean on her knowledge and followed her example. She helped me be a better staffer, and I owe her an enormous debt of gratitude.
Desiree Burritt, one of my most seasoned and capable caseworkers, said:
Lynne is ever-present and incredibly dependable.
Jessica Glass, my deputy scheduler said:
Lynne not only helped me through the intern program . . . but I'm learning so much . . . sitting on the other side
[now] and getting to interview interns with her! She . . .
[has] watched me go full circle during the past four years.
Brian Cunningham, a beloved former staffer, said:
I always appreciated Lynne's warm greetings to the littlest guests in the office--
He means his kids--
when [my] kids came to visit, or sit with their parent to help finish out the workday, it was Lynne who . . . had a stash of snacks [and always a kind word].
Among her coworkers, she has earned a lot of good-natured nicknames: Lynney, Lynney-Boo, Lynne-yrd Skynyrd, and others I won't repeat, but she is clearly omnipresent in the hearts and minds of those who served alongside her in Delaware.
Her dedication goes far beyond government service. She has volunteered her time with so many groups. I mentioned the Women's Democratic Club. She has also served as chair of the 22nd Representative District Committee, serving Hockessin, Pike Creek, North Star, and Newark for many, many years.
And she was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the New Castle County Democrats in 2008 for her tireless service.
On the homefront, her pride and joy include Dennis Phifer, her husband, and their twin sons, Matthew and Christopher.
We can't forget the beloved family canine, Elle. In her retirement, Lynne will have more time to spend with Dennis, Matt, and Chris, and her network of friends, going all the way back to her Claymont days. She looks forward to spending her mornings with Dennis, she says, making him coffee, reading the paper together, and staying up late, as Dennis dozes off, trying to finish the daily crossword.
She surely will have more time with Elle, walking her around the neighborhood and spoiling her with treats. Dennis said of Lynne, who absolutely loves animals, that she wants to use her newfound time to volunteer to help service dogs and other support animals.
Alice Paul, the famous suffragette, in speaking about the fight for women's rights, said: ``I always feel the movement is a . . . mosaic. Each of us puts in [our own] little stone, and then'' at the end, you see a beautiful mosaic.
When looking back at Lynne's years of public service--36 years--this analogy seems apt. Lynne has been a hard-working and headstrong person, someone who has done incredible things, often behind the scenes, and helped create her own great mosaic through her decades of dedication and service to our community, our city, our county, our State, and this Senate.
Whether it was throwing her support behind Joe Biden amid a Senate reelection run or helping constituents in my office or the hundreds of folks she has trained and recruited and mentored, Lynne's mosaic will last long and reach far, leaving her mark on Delaware for many, many years to come.
Lynne will undoubtedly continue to accomplish good and meaningful things, finding those moments in small pieces of colored stone or glass or ceramic and putting those in place, adding to her ongoing mosaic of life.
In closing, through her career, her volunteerism, and her civic activism, Lynne has made a real difference. I can't thank her enough for her first-class dedication and her friendship. Lynne will be deeply missed in the Senate, and filling her shoes will be near impossible.
Lynne, thank you. Best of luck in all your future endeavors. You are treasured, and we will cheer you on your way as you celebrate this next chapter of your life.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
____________________
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