“I am honoring my staff member Cietta Kiandoli, who is leaving after about ten years. She helped bring our party's coalition together and earned the trust of unions and other groups. I am thanking her for her work and wishing her well.”
“Mr. President, and finally, on a much happier note. Nearly a decade ago, I made one of the greatest decisions anyone in this line of work can make: I hired a top-notch, first-rate person who was so talented in every way. I hired Cietta Kiandoli. That was a time with a lot of change. Our party was still finding its footing after a stinging election loss. I had just become Democratic leader. My staff was expanding. We were determined to rally our coalition and make it bigger and stronger than ever before. Everyone my team and I talked to, we said we needed someone to create that coalition, help glue it together-- mentioned the same person. They said: Hire Cietta. Cietta joined my leadership staff as director of external affairs, but the title doesn’t adequately capture all that Cietta has done and does for this country. I am not sure any title could. Cietta has always had the same star to connect people, policy, and politics, and to do it in such an exquisite and effective way. That is what she did before joining my team, that is what she did for the past decade on my team, and that is what she will continue to do as she starts her next chapter. Name any group in our big tent--any labor union, advocacy organization, caucus--the chances are they have not only met Cietta but have known her for years, and they most likely adore her. Cietta’s job isn’t easy. She gets a lot of telephone calls from various members of our coalition. Sometimes, they call her about a hard vote. Sometimes they call her about a fire that needs to be put out. Sometimes--actually, many times--they call her begging for her to get me to switch up the jokes that I repeat at the events, year after year after year. She has had moderate, marginal success in that regard. If they only knew how many times she has heard my jokes. And I see her eyes roll when I laugh at my own joke that I have told for the hundredth time. I am sure she will miss hearing me talk about the can of peas, the barber bookie, and all of my other greatest hits. On a more serious note, there are plenty of people who know how to command respect, but there are fewer who can match Cietta’s ability to command the trust of any room she walks into. She is a truth-teller, and she tells the truth all the time. So they know, when she says something, it is the real deal. I have seen that hundreds--hundreds--of times to the benefit of all of us, myself, and the coalitions that we bring together. It doesn’t matter who she is meeting. They can tell from the jump that her heart is in the right place. They can see how much she cares about serving New Yorkers and Americans from one end of the country to the other. So just as others have come to trust Cietta, so have I. She is among the people I trust most. She is a truth-teller. My staff knows that I move a mile a minute. When I get riled up, Cietta knows how to get me to slow down, to think about the bigger picture. Just having her in the room during a meeting or on the line during an important call helps put me at ease. I imagine Cietta won’t miss the long days and late-night calls from yours truly, but I hope she knows how much we are going to miss her, her good humor, her calm, her willingness to share her wisdom with whoever happens to need it. Cietta, I look forward to seeing what you will do next, but I know what it will be. It will keep bringing people together for the good of the country. You will continue making everyone around you better--and she will always fight. You will always fight to connect people, policy, and politics. Cietta, thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your loyalty. Thank you for caring so much about this country and the people you have fought so hard for. You will always be a member of the Schumer family, and we wish you Godspeed. I yield the floor.”
Mr. President, and finally, on a much happier note. Nearly a decade ago, I made one of the greatest decisions anyone in this line of work can make: I hired a top-notch, first-rate person who was so talented in every way. I hired Cietta Kiandoli. That was a time with a lot of change. Our party was still finding its footing after a stinging election loss. I had just become Democratic leader. My staff was expanding. We were determined to rally our coalition and make it bigger and stronger than ever before. Everyone my team and I talked to, we said we needed someone to create that coalition, help glue it together-- mentioned the same person. They said: Hire Cietta. Cietta joined my leadership staff as director of external affairs, but the title doesn’t adequately capture all that Cietta has done and does for this country. I am not sure any title could. Cietta has always had the same star to connect people, policy, and politics, and to do it in such an exquisite and effective way. That is what she did before joining my team, that is what she did for the past decade on my team, and that is what she will continue to do as she starts her next chapter. Name any group in our big tent--any labor union, advocacy organization, caucus--the chances are they have not only met Cietta but have known her for years, and they most likely adore her. Cietta’s job isn’t easy. She gets a lot of telephone calls from various members of our coalition. Sometimes, they call her about a hard vote. Sometimes they call her about a fire that needs to be put out. Sometimes--actually, many times--they call her begging for her to get me to switch up the jokes that I repeat at the events, year after year after year. She has had moderate, marginal success in that regard. If they only knew how many times she has heard my jokes. And I see her eyes roll when I laugh at my own joke that I have told for the hundredth time. I am sure she will miss hearing me talk about the can of peas, the barber bookie, and all of my other greatest hits. On a more serious note, there are plenty of people who know how to command respect, but there are fewer who can match Cietta’s ability to command the trust of any room she walks into. She is a truth-teller, and she tells the truth all the time. So they know, when she says something, it is the real deal. I have seen that hundreds--hundreds--of times to the benefit of all of us, myself, and the coalitions that we bring together. It doesn’t matter who she is meeting. They can tell from the jump that her heart is in the right place. They can see how much she cares about serving New Yorkers and Americans from one end of the country to the other. So just as others have come to trust Cietta, so have I. She is among the people I trust most. She is a truth-teller. My staff knows that I move a mile a minute. When I get riled up, Cietta knows how to get me to slow down, to think about the bigger picture. Just having her in the room during a meeting or on the line during an important call helps put me at ease. I imagine Cietta won’t miss the long days and late-night calls from yours truly, but I hope she knows how much we are going to miss her, her good humor, her calm, her willingness to share her wisdom with whoever happens to need it. Cietta, I look forward to seeing what you will do next, but I know what it will be. It will keep bringing people together for the good of the country. You will continue making everyone around you better--and she will always fight. You will always fight to connect people, policy, and politics. Cietta, thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your loyalty. Thank you for caring so much about this country and the people you have fought so hard for. You will always be a member of the Schumer family, and we wish you Godspeed. I yield the floor.