[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 109 (Friday, June 30, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S9513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     TRIBUTE TO ROBERT W. McCORMICK

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, I rise today with great pleasure to honor a 
dedicated public servant on the occasion of his retirement. Mr. Robert 
W. McCormick, Director of the U.S. Senate Telecommunications 
Department, has more than 38 years' experience in the field of 
telecommunications. He served 26 years active duty in the U.S. Army, 
including 13 years with the White House Communications Agency under 
four Presidents. During his more than 12 years as Director of the 
Senate Telecommunications Department, serving under seven Sergeants at 
Arms, Bob McCormick has been responsible for the planning, research, 
testing, and delivery of telecommunications equipment and services for 
all Washington, DC, Senate offices, and the approximately 400 State 
offices.
  While Bob McCormick's accomplishments are too numerous to 
specifically mention all of them, I would like to highlight a few of 
his major achievements. He directed the installation of a state-of-the-
art digital telephone switch and sets for Washington, DC, offices in 
1986-87. Soon thereafter, he oversaw installation of the FaxXchange 
system; the Senate Voice Mail System; and the Cloakroom and Sergeant at 
Arms Group Alert systems that are integrated into the telephone system. 
In 1993, he was given responsibility for the U.S. Capitol Police Radio 
System and for the Senate's data communications network. Under his 
leadership, the Capitol Police radio system has been upgraded. Senate 
data communications are being transmitted by the faster, reliable, and 
less expensive frame relay service.
  During his directorship, he has negotiated approximately a 50-percent 
reduction in Senate long-distance per-minute rates--for both 
Washington, DC, and State offices. He has also achieved substantial 
savings in the cost of data communications by converting to the frame 
relay network.
  There is a saying that when goodness and skill work together, expect 
a masterpiece. Bob McCormick is a masterpiece. Not only has he been a 
model public servant, but also he is a devoted husband, father, and 
grandfather. He is an active member of church and community 
organizations in Queen Anne's County, MD, where he and his wife, Mary 
Ann, live on a farm.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Bob McCormick for his 
years of public service and wishing him well on his retirement.


                          ____________________