Donald S. Beyer, Jr.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Rabbi Amy Schwartzman's distinguished service to Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia. Rabbi Schwartzman served as senior rabbi for twenty- eight years, becoming one of the first women in the nation to assume such a role and lead a large Jewish congregation.

A graduate of Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi Schwartzman received her Master of Hebrew Literature in 1988 and was ordained as a rabbi in 1990. In 2015, she was awarded Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from the Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion to mark her 25th anniversary of ordination. Throughout her rabbinate, Rabbi Schwartzman has provided leadership to the broader Reform Jewish movement. She served on the Executive Board of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and as a co-coordinator of the Women's Rabbinic Network of Reform Judaism.

Under Rabbi Schwartzman's leadership, Temple Rodef Shalom's congregation grew from 600 families to over 1,850 families, becoming one of the largest congregations in the Reform Jewish movement and a significant religious institution in Northern Virginia. More important than its growth, however, has been Rabbi Schwartzman's commitment to creating a congregation rooted in community, compassion, social responsibility, and meaningful Jewish life. Rabbi Schwanzman's work has centered on social justice, fighting antisemitism, and advocating for human dignity. She has been a strong voice for interfaith understanding and has cultivated strong relationships with religious and civic leaders throughout Northern Virginia.

For more than three decades, Rabbi Schwartzman has been not only the spiritual leader of Temple Rodef Shalom, but also an important religious and civic presence in Northern Virginia. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring her thirty-six years of commitment to one congregation and to the larger community it serves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Ms. Patricia Donohue for her extensive service across both the public and private sectors. Ms. Donohue is the Emerging Technology Program Manager within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. She is responsible for identifying meaningful technology pilot opportunities and driving resilience, sustainability, and innovation for U.S. Army building systems, energy and water infrastructure, microgrids, and energy storage. In this role, she has successfully steered Research and Development resources for critical Army strategic initiatives implementation.

With over thirty years of cradle-to-grave engineering and construction management experience, Ms. Donohue has built a career on transforming complex technical challenges into programs that safeguard our installations, secure our energy and water infrastructure, and mitigate both physical and cyber risks. She actively represents the Army on several interagency working groups, helping to develop policy and guidance, and collaborates with national laboratories on matters of national concern. Her steadfast leadership has included portfolio performance reviews, oversight of national programs, construction management of major system projects, and the inspection and operation of facilities. Her technical experience encompasses the development of vertical and horizontal construction projects, energy management, hydrogeological and geotechnical investigations, and environmental assessments. Her previous work includes establishing centers of expertise in Microgrids, Building Commissioning, and stormwater management site development during her time with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring my constituent, Ms. Donohue, for her remarkable career and contributions to the Army as a skilled engineer with a commitment to public service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my constituent, Dan Hall, as he prepares for retirement after more than 36 years of service to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Dan is the Chief Clerk of Committees for the Office of Official Reporters, who serves as the chief liaison between the Official Reporters and House committees, in the House Clerk's Office. Dan's office provides stenographic and transcription services to House committees, ensuring an accurate record of everything said and done during hearings and legislative markups.

Dan started working with the Clerk of the House in January 1990. Dan has served as Chief Committee Clerk since 2001 and has worked under eight different Clerks of the House and eight different Speakers of the House.

Early in his career, Dan oversaw the transition from typing transcripts from stenographic notes to the computer-aided translation software that is currently used. Some of his current responsibilities include managing the committee editors' team, managing the committee transcripts workflow, and assisting in the overall scheduling of committee assignments, including the coordination and liaison with reporting and transcription contractor services.

Dan has developed unmatched committee institutional knowledge. He has frequently been called upon to answer new committee clerk questions, he has provided reporting and transcription procedures presentations at Committee Clerk Briefing Seminars, and he has appeared before other groups that the Committee on House Administration has assembled to better explain the types of services that the Official Reporters provide to House committees. Dan has also been instrumental in facilitating the Office of Official Reporters' heavy workload when supporting the House's special investigations.

Dan's operational skillsets have been a critical asset to the success of the Clerk's office. Dan is extremely organized, a great multi- tasker, and adept at solving problems. Dan can also retrieve a nuanced committee procedural email from decades ago. In sum, Dan is the Clerk's Office chief ``go-to'' person when it comes to House committee questions.

In his spare time, Dan enjoys traveling, especially to the Caribbean and North Carolina's Outer Banks. He and his wife, Carolyn, have taken many trips to Aruba, which is one of their favorite destinations. He also enjoys crosswords--his longest streak of correctly solved New York Times crosswords was 1084 consecutive days.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, I want to thank Dan Hall for his wonderful service to our great institution and to his country.