[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RETIREMENT TRIBUTE TO BOB BOYER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 20, 1998

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this election day Robert Kent Boyer will be 
retiring from government service. Bob has been a close friend and 
colleague to many members and staffers in the Congress. His career has 
been marked by a long commitment and deep dedication to America's place 
in the world.
  Bob worked his way up from hardscrabble beginnings in Arkansas 
through perseverance and elbow grease. He served our nation in the 
United States Air Force before coming to the U.S. Congress as a staffer 
in 1968. Bob served on the staffs of Senator John McClellan and 
Representatives Allard, Lowenstein, William Roth and William Mailliard 
with distinction. In 1971, Representatives Thomas (Doc) Morgan, 
Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Representative 
Mailliard, the Ranking Minority Member appointed Bob to the 
professional staff of the full Committee on Foreign Affairs, where he 
worked for more than 22 years.
  During his tenure on the Hill, Bob oversaw some of this nation's most 
important international work in combating narcotics, improving 
diplomatic security, fighting terrorism and assisting refugees who were 
the innocent victims of conflict and disaster.
  In 1993 Bob, was appointed as the Senior Deputy Assistant 
Administrator for Legislative and Public Affairs at the U.S. Agency for 
International Development, a post he still holds. Bob's sage counsel 
and abiding knowledge of international affairs has helped USAID make it 
through some of its most difficult times. I know Bob's colleagues at 
USAID will miss him every bit as much as we will.
  In closing, let me just say that Bob Boyer is genuinely one of the 
kindest, most warm-hearted and talented people I have had the pleasure 
to work with. We will miss seeing him in his cowboy boots dispensing 
advice during the authorization and appropriations process. I wish he 
and his lovely wife, Sandy, and daughter, Vanessa, the very best in his 
retirement. He has served the country well and in the best tradition of 
government servants everywhere.

                          ____________________