Recognizing Amanda Barlow on Her Retirement

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate Amanda Barlow, for the 30 years of service she has given to the Federal Government at the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families.

Ms. Barlow has been with ACF since 1994, when she joined the agency as a presidential management intern, and then as a budget analyst. She became the Director of Budget in 2009 and has served as the Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs and Budget since 2017. Ms. Barlow has also served in an acting capacity for several of ACF's executive leadership positions, including the acting ACF Commissioner from January to November 2021, and the acting Assistant Secretary for ACF from February to May 2017.

Through her work overseeing a budget of more than $70 billion for ACF, Ms. Barlow has played a key role supporting the programs and services that provide critical assistance to vulnerable populations, including Head Start and Child Care services for millions of children and families, and the heating and cooling of millions of households through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Over the last 30 years, these programs have helped millions of children and families achieve prosperity and independence.

In addition to overseeing the 60-plus programs ACF administers, Ms. Barlow has also served as ACF's liaison to the Committees on Appropriations. She has been an indispensable resource to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Her budgetary expertise and round-the-clock responsiveness has helped the Subcommittee to draft annual appropriations bills and emergency supplementals--for which I am deeply grateful.

In 2024, Ms. Barlow earned the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service, one of the most prestigious awards in the Federal career civil service, which recognizes members of the Senior Executive Service for a sustained record of exceptional professional achievement. It was aptly awarded and richly deserved.

I thank Ms. Barlow for her tireless public service--which often included long days, evenings, and weekends--as she worked to ensure that critical economic and social services programs funded through the agency had the necessary resources to serve millions of children and families in communities across the country. Her talents and contributions will be sorely missed.

I congratulate Ms. Barlow on a distinguished career and wish her the best in her upcoming retirement. I hope her retirement gives her more time with family, including her husband and two children, and much success with her community garden plot.

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