[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1381-S1382]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEREK J. VANDER SCHAAF: A MODEL PUBLIC SERVANT

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I come to the floor to today to honor a 
Federal bureaucrat.
  Now I know that Republicans, myself included, have been bashing 
bureaucrats lately--mostly with good reason.
  Most bureaucrats could care less about the taxpayers. They have 
forgotten who they serve and who owns the money.
  Well, I would like to talk about a different kind of bureaucrat. This 
one is the exception. He is unique. He is a model civil servant. He 
cares about the taxpayers.
  His name is Mr. Derek J. Vander Schaaf.
  We know him affectionately as Derek.
  Derek was born and raised in a small farm town in northwest Iowa--the 
town of Hull.
  Hull is where his Dutch parents taught him to be so thrifty, to 
skimp, to penny-pinch, to be honest and work hard.
  Mr. President, that's what Derek is all about: being honest and fair, 
working hard, and saving a penny here and a penny there. But zero 
tolerance for waste. His Motto is: There shall be no waste, period.
  This is Derek to a ``T.'' This is what made him dedicate his life to 
controlling waste at the Pentagon.
  This is what led him into the Office of the Inspector General.
  Today, Derek is the Deputy Inspector General at the Department of 
Defense (DOD). He has occupied that position since it was created in 
December 1981.
  After 33 years of dedicated service, Derek is leaving the government.
  He is retiring in March.
  Derek first earned a reputation as a junior junk yard dog back in the 
1970's as a staff member over on the House Defense Appropriations 
Subcommittee.
  He was known for doing his homework.
  But he was best known for plowing through mountains of DOD audit 
reports.
  Now, Mr. President, nobody else in the whole world paid much 
attention to those reports--even though they were produced at great 
expense and contained some beautiful little nuggets.
  DOD audit reports are hard to read. You have to read and re-read them 
10 times or more before you can begin to understand what they say.
  Well, Derek made a living reading and acting on those reports over in 
the House.
  He would turn the nuggets into savings.
  He would find a way to save a penny here and a penny there.
  Pretty soon Derek was helping to save big bucks--billions of dollars, 
I am sure.
  Derek's junk yard operation over in the House used to drive the 
Pentagon brass absolutely nuts.
  The generals and admirals used to parade in and out of his office, 
trying to ``correct his thinking.''
  Even an occasional blow with a ball-peen hammer didn't help much.
  Derek was never affected by all the high-level attention. He just 
went about his business like a real professional.
  Derek's beefs with the Pentagon always rested on firm ground.
  He would skewer the brass with their own reports.
  It was very hard for the brass to avoid getting nicked once Derek 
zeroed in on a problem.
  The only thing that saved them was a full-court press lobbying effort 
with the Committee's members.
  The end-run lobbying maneuver didn't faze Derek one bit.
  He just read more audit reports and made more cuts. He stayed way 
ahead of the DOD posse and all the tinhorn deputies.
  He just kept right on trucking--saving a penny here and a penny 
there.
  When the DOD IG opened shop in 1981, Mr. Joe Sherick was put in 
charge. Joe Sherick was the original junk yard dog. He picked Derek to 
be his deputy dog.
  Derek was the perfect choice. He had been a foot soldier in the war 
against 

[[Page S1382]]
Pentagon waste for 10 years. He had proven his mettle in combat, so to 
speak.
  Derek was ready to begin leading the war on military waste. He was 
ready to go out on the ``point.''
  As one of the ``defense reformers'' in Congress, I often turned to 
Derek for help when we uncovered problems at the Pentagon.
  We usually turned to Derek in the heat of battle.
  We usually turned to him after getting stonewalled by the big wheels 
over at the Defense Department.
  So right off the bat, we put Derek in the hot seat.
  We asked him to investigate. We asked him to document and verify.
  We asked him to tell us what really happened. We asked him for the 
truth.
  Mr. President, I wish I knew how many times Mr. Vander Schaaf's name 
has been used right here on the Senate floor to prove a very important 
point.
  I have done it myself many times.
  But my opponents have done it too. They have also used his work--in 
many instances to hammer me--and to hammer me with great success.
  That is one of the reasons I admire Derek so much.
  He does not always do what we want him to do.
  At times, we have felt anger, frustration, and even disappointment 
over his work.
  We have even accused him of whitewashing. But that is fine. That is 
the way it should be.
  He runs an independent operation.
  Derek is his own man. He lets the chips fall where they may.
  When he looks at the evidence, he first searches for the truth.
  But he also thinks about protecting the interests of the taxpayers.
  He thinks about the needs of the men and women serving in the Armed 
Forces.
  He thinks about what is right.
  And, he thinks about how to succeed without getting knocked off by 
the brass. And that is no small feat.
  Derek is a tight-rope artist.
  He does a balancing act on the high wire.
  He has made the trip across the high wire many times without 
hestitation. He never wavered and never took a fall.
  Mr. President, Derek is a model civil servant. He is honest. He is 
tough but always fair. He knows his stuff. He dedicated his life to 
protecting the taxpayer's money.
  Mr. President, if his parents were alive today, they would be proud 
of Derek's service to the people. But they would not make a big fuss 
about it.
  They would know that he was no more and no less than what they 
expected him to be.
  Mr. President, Derek has always set a good example--an example of 
excellence.
  Derek is a leader. He is a man of courage. He is a man of integrity, 
and the people will miss him.
  Mr. President, I wish him good luck and Godspeed.
  And I pray that there is someone just as good ready to take over.
  Mr. INHOFE addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.

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