[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             TO COMMEMORATE THE RETIREMENT OF JOHN F. BETAR

                                 ______


                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a former 
Capitol Hill staffer and Federal agency employee who, throughout his 
career, exemplified the highest standards of public and private 
service. I am referred to John F. Betar of Oakton, VA, and of New 
Iberia, LA, who has recently retired from a Washington trade 
association, the Bankers Roundtable, where he served as legislative 
counsel.
  John Betar was born and raised in New Iberia, LA, where he still 
maintains close ties. He first came to Washington in the mid-1950's as 
a summer employee of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, working as 
clerk in what we now know as the Ford House Office Building. John 
attended law school at Louisiana State University and after graduation 
clerked for U.S. District Judge Edwin F. Hunter, Jr., in Lake Charles, 
LA. From 1962 to 1964, he served with the rank of captain in the Judge 
Advocate General's Corps, Department of the Army, at the Pentagon and 
during that period was detailed to the White House as a military social 
aide to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Following his 
military service, John became a trial attorney in the Civil Division of 
the Department of Justice.
  In 1966, John moved to Capitol Hill to serve as legislative assistant 
to the Hon. Edwin Willis, who at that time represented the 3d District 
of Louisiana.
  In January 1969, John joined the Legal Division of the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation. He served at the FDIC until 1985, and 
during the intervening years held progressively more senior positions, 
including administrative counsel, assistant general counsel, 
legislative counsel and liaison officer in the Office of Congressional 
Relations. It was in the latter position that John became well known to 
many of us in Congress as a helpful and knowledgeable source of 
information on banking generally and the FDIC in particular.
  Beginning in 1985, John joined the Association of Bank Holding 
Companies as legislative Counsel, a position he held until his 
retirement earlier this year from the Bankers Roundtable, the successor 
organization to the holding company association.
  Throughout his distinguished career in the public and private sector, 
John maintained the highest standards of his profession and in doing so 
earned both the respect and affection of his colleagues. I know that 
John's many friends in Congress, including especially the staffs and 
members of the two banking committees, will want to join me in saying 
``well done,'' with heartfelt best wishes for his retirement years.

                          ____________________