[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 33 (Thursday, February 27, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1230]


                   TRIBUTE TO VIRGINIA RENEE SIMPSON

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to recognize the 
dedicated career and service to the Congress and the Nation of Renee 
Simpson, who is retiring at the end of this month after over 30 years 
of service in both the Executive and Legislative branches of our 
government. She has dedicated her life to public service helping keep 
our Nation and its citizens secure, and we honor her for her 
longstanding dedication.
  Renee is leaving the Senate as a staff member for Audits and 
Oversight of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. During her 3 
years on the Committee, Renee has been integral to the committee's 
oversight of the 16 intelligence agencies. She led reviews of the 
intelligence community's information technology modernization and 
classification processes, and served as a committee liaison with the 
inspectors general of the intelligence community. Her knowledge and 
insight helped both identify items of concern and proposals for 
improvement.
  In addition to her service with the Senate Select Committee on 
Intelligence and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on 
Appropriations, Renee has served as a Legislative Affairs Officer in 
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and as the Special 
Senate Liaison for the United States Marine Corps Office of Legislative 
Affairs. But perhaps her most significant assignments and 
accomplishments came during her 24 years of service with the U.S. Naval 
Reserves.
  Ms. Simpson's distinguished military career began as an Operations 
and Readiness Officer for Desert Shield/Desert Storm and her unwavering 
commitment to service led her to posts around the world, including to 
NATO's Allied Forces Southern Headquarters Command, the U.S. Embassy in 
Rome, Italy, the Joint Task Force in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. Joint 
Forces Command, and the Office of the Director of Naval Intelligence in 
Washington, DC.
  Renee has received numerous awards for her military service including 
the Defense Superior Service Medal as well as many Navy and Marine 
Corps Commendation and Achievement Medals.
  Renee is especially close to her family and her priorities and heart 
lie with them in Sanford, NC. Her father, Lester Ray Simpson, is a 
proud Navy veteran of the Korean War who has an appreciation of fine 
attire with just the right bow tie. Her mom, Vivian, remains Renee's 
unending inspiration and role model. And according to Renee, her 
sister, Jane Rae Fawcett, is ``a superstar and the smartest, funniest 
person I know.'' Finally, her family simply would not be complete 
without her anchor of a brother-in-law, Deputy Sheriff Ed Fawcett. 
Renee lives, breathes and loves her family above all else.
  I am pleased to have the opportunity to publicly thank Renee and to 
note my appreciation for her dedicated and dignified efforts. We will 
miss your insight and experience, and your commitment to pursuing the 
right policies to protect our Nation.

                          ____________________