congressional_record: CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2124-3
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| CREC-2002-11-22-pt1-PgE2124-3 | 2002-11-22 | 107 | 2 | THANKING MY CONGRESSIONAL STAFF | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | ALLOTHER | E2124 | E2125 | [{"name": "George W. Gekas", "role": "speaking"}] | 148 Cong. Rec. E2124 | Congressional Record, Volume 148 Issue 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002) [Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 152 (Friday, November 22, 2002)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E2124-E2125] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] THANKING MY CONGRESSIONAL STAFF ______ HON. GEORGE W. GEKAS of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Friday, November 22, 2002 Mr. GEKAS. Mr. Speaker, the end of a congressional career brings about many emotions. Over the last twenty years I have happily spent representing the fine people of the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania I have had the pleasure of working with thousands of constituents, local, state and federal officials, and many former and current distinguished members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. To all of them I say, thanks for working with me towards a better America. And, of course, every Member of Congress works with many, many competent staff, from the staff in their own personal offices to the Committee and Subcommittee staff and the leadership and floor staff. It has often been said that without staff where would this institution be? And I concur with that statement, for without the many fine staff with whom I have had good fortune to work, I and other Members of Congress of the United States would be far worse off. While I cannot mention all the fine staff who have worked with me over the years, let me at least mention the current personal and subcommittee staffers who have endeavored to achieve our common goals and to whom I give my hearty thanks and wish them well in their future careers. In my Harrisburg district office, Arlene Eckels, my long-time personal secretary who has worked for me since the early days in the Pennsylvania State Senate and to whom I wish a happy and much deserved retirement; Tom Templeton, my hardworking district director, who so ably kept my entire district staff working smoothly; Suzanne Stoll, and old friend and superb caseworker; Paul Giannaris, whose ability to handle INS problems has made him invaluable; and Tim Vollrath, a recently returned former employee whose military and veterans help has been superb. In our Lebanon Office, Reg Nyman has been the voice of Lehbanon for these many years, and his excellent knowledge and service will be missed. And in our Elizabethtown office, Susan Melendez has kept out Lancaster County constituents well served by her kind and efficient manner. Over the last twenty years my district office staff has handled hundreds of thousands of phone calls and constituent casework requests. A superb record by a superb staff. My Washington office staff have proven themselves time and time again, regularly going beyond the call of duty. (The tally of my hundreds of legislative measures, nearly 30 Public Laws, thousands of office meetings and countless committee and other initiatives over [[Page E2125]] the years speaks truth to that assertion.) First, on my personal staff, Patrick Sheehan, my Counsel and Legislative Director, has been a dynamic and intelligent thinker and leader, who offered sage advice on immigration, military and veterans affairs; Greg Helman, my Senior Legislative Counsel kept pace with my many Judiciary and legislative demands, especially bankruptcy reform and appropriations (as I would expect from a Palmyra, PA native); Becky Smith, my office manager and health legislative assistant, kept my schedule and personal affairs humming along smoothly and ably managed my most favorite of projects, the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus of which I was founder and Co-Chairman; David Greineder, who did a multitude of duties as my talented systems manager, legislative correspondent and Legislative Assistant covering education and labor issues; Bill Tighe, another LC and Legislative Assistant whose insights into the Agriculture and Natural Resources needs of Pennsylvania and the district were more than invaluable, they were accurate; Mike Shields, my recent press secretary extraordinaire, who did an excellent job under difficult situations; and, of course, Allan Cagnoli, my long time Chief of Staff from Hershey, PA, a superb leader of the office and jack-of-all-trades who kept the office running and productive no mater what the crisis. My Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, of which I was Chairman, was ably staffed by George Fishman, Lora Ries, Art Arthur, Cynthia Blackston and Emily Sanders, as well as Brian Zimmer of the full Committee staff. They handled the extremely important legislation necessitated by the new domestic and international threats we now face. Their assistance to me during the challenges of this year is impossible to measure. The House of Representatives has much to look forward to with their continued work. And last but not least, is the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, of which I was a member this last Congress but on which I served as Chairman from 1994-2000. On this subcommittee we dealt with the hundreds of regulator reform issues developed by the Republican Majority through the Contract With America and following initiatives. My major Bankruptcy Reform measure began with me in this subcommittee; Administrative Law Judges; Legal Services Reform; the Federal Agency Compliance Act; The Regulatory Fair Warning Act; Executive Orders; Internet Tax reform; the Federal Arbitration Act; Interstate Compacts; the Independent Counsel Act; and many, many other topics. While bankruptcy reform took center stage, there was no end to the amount of topics and work my staff and I pursued. For this I thank them, the current and former staffers of the subcommittee, for all their exceptional work: Chief Counsel Ray Smietanka, who has worked with me as my chief committee counsel since I came to the 98th Congress in 1983; Susan-Jensen Conklin, whose superb work on bankruptcy reform got us where we are today; Rob Tracci, formerly of the Subcommittee, was an invaluable source of assistance; and all the other members of the CAL staff who have helped this Member of Congress over the many productive years. I thank them all for their work to the Nation and me. To all I have mentioned, and those who I have regrettably not, please accept my sincere thanks for making my tenure in the United States House of Representatives a productive and pleasant one. Any current Member of Congress or Committee would be well served by the high- quality staff with whom it has been my pleasure to work over these many years. ____________________ |