The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING DANIELA COOPER
______
HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a member of our team who was instrumental in the safe evacuation of Afghan allies and partners alike, Ms. Daniela Cooper.
Service is ingrained in Ms. Cooper's DNA--she has honorably served our country as a Marine and as a Foreign Service Officer. True to her relentless grit and instinctive nature for problem-solving, she worked with a group of others to assist with the requests that were flooding in as Afghanistan started to fall. No one asked her to do this, no one tasked her to do this, but she was part of a team that knew that skills and resources needed to be combined to help vulnerable allies in their time of need.
When we added Ms. Cooper to our ragtag band of individuals working to get Afghans out, it was the first time that I felt optimistic that we could find some success in the midst of a chaotic evacuation. When we got our group of buses in a caravan through the airport gates, Daniela worked through an entire night and countless obstacles to ensure that our group was able to get on a flight.
Without her assistance planning the flight, our mission could not have worked out in the way that it did. Thanks to her efforts throughout a gauntlet of several days in late August, over 100 Afghans have a new lease on life and can now look towards the future with their families and feel hope. I will always believe we were fated to meet over breakfast two years ago so that we could do the work we did.
Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Ms. Daniela Cooper for her willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in our effort to evacuate Afghan allies from Kabul and support them in their new life. For her work ethic, which earned the profound respect and admiration of our team, and for her refusal to give up until every last person in our group was on a flight to safety, I submit these words--may they stand as a tribute to her dedicated service when the moment called for it most.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 211(1), Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 211(2)
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