[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 111 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H6682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RESIGNATION AS LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL AND APPOINTMENT AS LEGISLATIVE 
                COUNSEL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The Speaker laid before the House the following resignation as 
Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives:
                                    U.S. House of Representatives,


                            Office of the Legislative Counsel,

                                     Washington, DC, July 8, 1997.
     Hon. Newt Gingrich,
     Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Capitol, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Speaker: I would like to resign from my position 
     as the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives 
     effective July 31, 1997. I would like to continue my service 
     in the Office of the Legislative Counsel as a Senior Counsel.
       I will leave my position knowing that my Office is finally 
     fully enabled to provide needed services to the House.
       As you know the primary function of the Office is to draft 
     legislation (including amendments and conference reports) 
     which will carry out the policy of the Members involved. 
     Ideally, there would be time for conferences to develop the 
     policy and the persons responsible for the policy would be 
     available. If that can be done it is very satisfactory work 
     to participate in the process. I have taken a real interest 
     in seeing that the Office is able to effectively do its work.
       When I joined the Office in 1962 it had 11 attorneys and 
     did not provide services to all the Committees. A good 
     working relationship had been established with only the Ways 
     and Means Committee and the Committee on Commerce. However, 
     through time and the changes in the Committees, the Office 
     has been able to establish good working relationships with 
     all the Committees. Without a doubt, your actions and those 
     taken by your leadership have facilitated the Office in 
     providing services to the Committees and the Leadership. I 
     think it can be said that the House does not act on 
     significant legislation which has not been a responsibility 
     of an attorney in the Office.
       The morale in the Office is quite high because of the 
     action you took on the pay comparability with the Senate and 
     also on account of the Committee responsibilities.
       The tutorial process the Office follows with new attorneys 
     allows the new attorney to begin Committee work with a fellow 
     attorney in about a year. When the new attorney graduates to 
     Committee work they feel they have been given a special 
     responsibility.
       Now an attorney doing Committee work can readily feel that 
     he or she is making a significant contribution to a public 
     measure.
       I am encouraged about continuing in the Office. The Office 
     undertook an extensive audit of its work and the problems 
     presented to it in carrying out its work. As a result of the 
     audit some very interesting work has been developed in 
     communicating our services to the Members. The Office has a 
     web site which provides information about the Office and the 
     services it provides. In addition, we will soon have the 
     capacity to fax material directly from our personal 
     computers. That will relieve us of the time needed to make 
     copies and deliver the work. In addition, the Office has 
     developed a team to mediate differences in the Office. 
     Finally, work has been done in improving the working 
     conditions of the clerical/administrative staff. 
     Consequently, I think we are doing well and we know what our 
     difficulties are and we are prepared to deal with them.
       I have particularly enjoyed serving as the Legislative 
     Counsel under your Speakership.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                   David E. Meade,
                                              Legislative Counsel.

  The SPEAKER. Pursuant to the provisions of section 521 of the 
Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 (2 U.S.C. 282), the Chair 
appoints Mr. M. Pope Barrow as Legislative Counsel of the United States 
House of Representatives, effective August 1, 1997.
  The Chair would also like to thank Mr. Meade for his service to the 
House, and to remind all Members that the work done by the legislative 
counsels is absolutely essential to the job we do, and without the 
dedication and hard work and long hours of the legislative counsels, it 
would be literally impossible to have the legislative process that we 
now engage in.

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