Congratulating Rebecca Leggieri on Her Retirement

Floor Speech

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Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rebecca Leggieri, Clerk of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, who will be retiring at the end of this year after more than 24 years of service to our country. Becky was born in Schenectady, New York, and went to St. Lawrence University on a ROTC scholarship. She joined the Army as a Quartermaster officer and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Ms. Leggieri first came to the House as an Army Fellow for Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick of Michigan in 2009. Rep. Kilpatrick was a member of the Subcommittee, and during her fellowship Becky met the committee staff and learned the mechanics of the appropriations process. The Committee, recognizing her talent, hired Rebecca in 2010.

She began serving on the Defense Subcommittee in the minority. In that capacity, she needed to be versed on every facet of a vast and complex bill that encompasses hundreds of thousands of people and every issue ranging from day care to the delivery systems for nuclear weapons. This year's bill amounts to nearly $700 billion and it impacts our nation's security and that of our planet. Becky's skills and her life experiences were all she needed to make the right decisions. In 2015, Becky Leggieri became the Subcommittee's Minority Staff Director and has worked by my side for the past five years to ensure oversight of the Department of Defense and numerous intelligence agencies. She balanced competing priorities from administrations, Members of Congress, labor. industry, state and local governments, and citizen interest groups. Her honesty, knowledge of the issues, and willingness to listen allowed her to develop legislation in which the many parties involved felt a sense of shared ownership in its enactment.

Becky Leggieri is a person of scrupulous ethics and is possessed of a sterling intellect and nimble mind, an innate political shrewdness, and poise under pressure. Most importantly, she used these talents in the service of her country and this institution to ensure that the Committee and House's constitutional prerogatives were respected and protected. Her steady hand will be sorely missed.

I know Ms. Leggieri's husband, John, and her children, Olivia and Gabriel, are so very proud of her, as are we all. I wish Becky every happiness and success in her future endeavors.

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