[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S67-S68]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE AND THANKS TO AL ALM

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, in just a few days, the Department 
of Energy will lose one of its best, most able and selfless public 
servants. Al Alm, Assistant Secretary for the Department of Energy's 
Environmental Management program, is leaving federal service on January 
31.
  Al epitomizes the best in public service. Integrity and 
responsibility are his hallmarks. He has left those marks throughout 
the government, in academia, and in private industry. Al's government 
service has included positions in the Atomic Energy Commission, the 
Bureau of the Budget, the Council on Environmental Quality, the

[[Page S68]]

Environmental Protection Agency, and two stints in the Department of 
Energy. He has been a tireless advocate for the programs in which he 
has been involved, most notably for me, cleanup of our nation's most 
polluted former defense nuclear production sites.
  I personally found Al to be the most accessible and helpful assistant 
secretary in the administration. He worked closely with me, other 
members of the Washington congressional delegation, our staffs, and our 
constituents to ensure Hanford's most important programs received 
adequate funding and support. Al's steadfast support for Hanford, in 
the face of so many competing needs, has been outstanding. Whether it 
is safety, funding, expediting work, or employee concerns, he has been 
out in front. I will sorely miss Al.
  Al has accomplished a lot in the 20 months in which he has served as 
the leader of Environmental Management. He has led the charge in 
revitalizing management and focusing energy on getting sites--and 
programs--closed, or well on their way to closure, by 2006. The 
billions of dollars and decades of time saved are extraordinary in 
themselves, but the public health and environmental protection are the 
real, tangible results of his efforts. He has helped us develop a goal 
and start moving toward that goal.
  Mr. President, I want to say a big thank you to Al Alm on behalf of 
myself and my Senate colleagues. We will miss him and his leadership of 
a very difficult, complex and controversial program. We wish him all 
the best in whatever endeavors he undertakes and hope he leaves knowing 
how much we have appreciated his enthusiasm and hard work.

                          ____________________