[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 60 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E852-E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PRESIDENTIAL RANK EXECUTIVES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 13, 1998

  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, on May 7, I had the distinct honor and 
privilege of attending the annual dinner to recognize the members of 
the Senior Executive Service who have earned the distinction of 
Presidential Rank. This year, the dinner, sponsored by the Senior 
Executive Association's Professional Development League, honored the 
achievements of 68 leaders of the federal government's career service 
who have played important roles in improving the performance of federal 
agencies. They reflect achievements within 11 Cabinet Departments and 
six independent agencies, and they have contributed to saving American 
taxpayers billions of dollars.
  I would like to enter into the Record capsule summaries of the 
achievements of these dedicated public servants and to express my 
appreciation as Chairman of the Civil Service Subcommittee for the 
distinguished leadership that they have provided to the federal 
workforce.

Nation's Top Civil Servants Receive Presidential Rank of Distinguished 
                               Executive

       Recipients of the nation's highest civil service award have 
     saved the federal government $67.2 billion over the course of 
     their careers. These 68 executives, who received the 
     Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive, were honored 
     for their accomplishments at a black tie dinner on May 7 at 
     the State Department, sponsored by the Senior Executives 
     Association Professional Development League (SEA PDL).
       Of the 11 departments and six agencies represented by this 
     year's winners, the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the 
     Defense Department led the way in savings, with the three 
     winners from that agency posting a cumulative savings of $16 
     billion. NASA was second with $12.7 billion in savings, and 
     the Office of Management and Budget third with $12.6 billion.
       However, savings alone do not tell the full story of these 
     winners. The accomplishments of only one-third of the winners 
     cited by SEA President Carol Bonosaro at the May 7 event 
     include:
       Serving as key author of START II, which will eliminate 
     multiple-warhead, land-based missiles and cut U.S. and 
     Russian strategic weapons by 50 percent below START I levels 
     (Franklin Carroll Miller, Principal Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary for International Security Policy, Office of the 
     Secretary of Defense).
       Leading a joint effort by government and industry using 
     NASA technology to develop smart airbags for cars to improve 
     children's safety (Dr. Daniel Mulville, Chief Engineer, 
     NASA).

[[Page E853]]

       Managing the largest single contract case in Air Force 
     history, with claims of nearly $2 billion (Anthony Perfilio, 
     Director, Air Force Materiel Command Law Center).
       Creating a multi-media workstation used by students in 
     schools around the world to make environmental observations 
     as part of global information systems (Dr. Alexander 
     MacDonald, Director, Forecast Systems Laboratory, National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
       Selected the ``Best Boss in America'' by Redbook magazine 
     (Steven Winnick, Deputy General Counsel, Program Service, 
     Department of Education).
       Perfecting the MK 48 Advanced Capability torpedo, widely 
     acknowledged as the world's best (Dr. John Sirmalis, 
     Technical Director, Naval Undersea Warfare Center).
       Creating a national campaign to stop telemarketing fraud--
     which costs American consumers over $40 billion a year--
     result in the conviction of almost 50 telemarketers (Eileen 
     Harrington, Associate Director, Marketing Practices, Federal 
     Trade Commission).
       Publishing two of the ``100 Most Cited'' papers in the life 
     sciences, one of which has become a Citation Classic (Dr. 
     Kenneth Olden, Director, National Institute of Environmental 
     Health Sciences, Department of Health and Human Services).
       Coordinating the massive mobilization of on-site relief for 
     the Oklahoma City bombing, while managing daily operations of 
     the largest industrial complex in the Defense Department 
     (Gerald Yanker, Executive Director, Oklahoma City Air 
     Logistic Center, Department of the Air Force).
       Restoring the Hubble Space Telescope to its anticipated 
     capability, on schedule and within budget, while improving 
     its observing powers beyond original specification, with 
     spectacular results (Joseph Rothenberg, Director, Goddard 
     Space Flight Center, NASA).
       Serving as both Chief Financial Officer and Chief 
     Information Officer, the only career executive in whom both 
     of those statutory functions have been placed (Stephen 
     Colgate, Assistant Attorney General for Administration, 
     Justice Management Division, Department of Justice.
       Establishing a cooperative effort with Walt Disney World to 
     share technologies, including advanced animation techniques, 
     to develop a virtual reality environment for soldiers (James 
     Skurka, Deputy to the Commander, U.S. Army Simulation, 
     Training & Instrumentation Command).
       Coordinating the government's response to a terrorist plot 
     to bomb 11 U.S. planes flying Asian-Pacific routes, resulting 
     in capture of the conspiracy's leader, the mastermind of the 
     World Trade Center bombing (James Reynolds, Chief, Terrorism 
     and Violent Crime Section, Criminal Division, Department of 
     Justice).
       Designing and presenting a departmental budget of over $350 
     billion, the fourth largest budget in the world (Dennis 
     Williams, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Budget, 
     Department of Health and Human Services).
       Serving on a 14-nation board of directors governing 
     development of a joint air command control system in Europe 
     (Spain Woodrow Hall, Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary and 
     Chief Information Officer, Information Management, Department 
     of Energy).
       Having the primary responsibility for an investigation and 
     prosecution which resulted in a fine of $100 million--nearly 
     seven times the highest fine ever previously imposed in a 
     criminal antitrust case (Gary Spratling, Deputy Assistant 
     Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice).
       Directing the co-invention of the implantable Ventricular 
     Heart Assist Device, which could eventually eliminate the 
     need for heart transplants (Leonard Nicholson, Director, 
     Engineering, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, NASA).
       Serving as Chief Operating Office of the only national mint 
     in the world that can produce its lowest denomination coin at 
     a cost below face value, and which scored an American 
     Customer Satisfaction Index rating equal to such giants in 
     customer satisfaction as Maytag, FedEx and Mercedes-Benz (Dr. 
     Andrew Cosgarea, Jr., Assistant Director and Chief Operating 
     Officer, U.S. Mint).
       Personally handling negotiations concerning disposition of 
     President Nixon's White House tape recordings (Neil Koslowe, 
     Special Litigation Counsel, Federal Programs Branch, Civil 
     Division, Department of Justice.)
       Leading the development of a program to generate the 
     technologies to design and build an environmentally 
     compatible and economically competitive supersonic airliner 
     for the 21st century (Robert Whitehead, Associate 
     Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA).
       Overseeing information processing and international voice 
     and data communications systems which provide services for 40 
     million beneficiaries, with an agency home page recognized as 
     one of the Internet's ``101 Best Bets'' by PC Magazine 
     (Martin Baer, Regional Commissioner (Seattle), Social 
     Security Administration.)
       Being recognized as an international authority on animal 
     health and foodborne diseases with discoveries on the 
     epidemiology and genetics of trichinosis (Kenneth Murrell, 
     Deputy Administrator, Agricultural Research Service, 
     Department of Agriculture).
       Serving as principal staff director for six Commanders-in-
     Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the world's largest naval 
     base, with $10 billion in operating and manpower accounts 
     (Dr. Roger Whiteway, Director, Warfare Program and Readiness, 
     U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Department of the Navy).
       Transforming an organization of 152 domestic and 26 foreign 
     locations operating with a deficit to one operating with a 
     surplus, achieving $37 million in savings and increased 
     overall performance (Waler Biondi, Former Assistant 
     Commissioner, Office of Investigations, U.S. Customs 
     Service).
       Being responsible for protecting the President and his 
     family, a President whose foreign visits have included 
     countries that presented significant terrorist threats and/or 
     hostile combat zones (Lewis Merletti, Special Agent in 
     Charge, Presidential Protection Division, U.S. Secret 
     Service).
       Directing the largest and most complex medical center 
     serving the highest concentration of veterans anywhere in the 
     United States (Kenneth Clark, Medical Center Director, West 
     Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Department of Veterans 
     Affairs).
       Providing the leadership and dedication which were 
     essential elements of the teamwork that returned the Apollo 
     13 Spacecraft and crew safely (Tommy Holloway, Manager, Space 
     Shuttle Program, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, NASA).

     

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