[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 70 (Friday, May 14, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E960]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           TRIBUTE TO AL MANN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 13, 1999

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute my dear friend, Al 
Mann, who is being honored this year at a gala event hosted by the San 
Fernando Economic Alliance. Al is, to put it succinctly, one of the 
most extraordinary men I know. The story of his life and business 
ventures is one that epitomizes not only the spirit of a true 
entrepreneur, but a true humanitarian.
  Al is a veritable one-man industry in the field of medical devices. 
His numerous and highly successful companies have included Siemens-
Pacesetter, Inc., which manufactures cardiac pacemakers; Advanced 
Bionics Corporation, which is developing cochlear stimulation systems 
to restore hearing for the profoundly deaf; and MiniMed Inc., which 
develops, manufactures, and markets drug delivery devices including 
microinfusion pumps for treatment for various medical conditions.
  Literally millions of people around the world lead lives that have 
been immeasurably improved by one of Al's products. He never, however, 
rests on his laurels. He is always thinking ahead, striving for another 
breakthrough in the ever-changing field of medical devices, combining 
his amazing creativity with his keen business acumen. Al is very much 
at home in a field filled with brilliant entrepreneurs.
  Al's business career spans more than four decades. Long before anyone 
coined the term ``high-tech'', Al was involved with companies that fit 
that definition. In 1956, he started Spectrolab, an electro-optical and 
aerospace systems company, and four years later he launched Heliotek, a 
semiconductor and electro-optical components manufacturer. In 1972, he 
started Siemens-Pacesetter, which was his first foray into the medical 
device industry. In addition to the aforementioned companies, Al is 
Chairman of Second Sight LLC, which is in the process of developing a 
visual prosthesis for the blind.
  Al is the quintessential civic-minded businessman, whose efforts to 
strengthen the biomedical industry in Southern California have received 
widespread praise. A few years ago Al made an extraordinarily generous 
donation from his personal funds to both USC and UCLA for the 
establishment of a Biomedical Engineering Institute at each of those 
universities. The institutes are part of the Al Mann Foundation, which 
was founded in 1986, and is devoted to the development of advanced 
medical devices in a variety of fields.
  In yet another compartment of his remarkable life, Al has built three 
large projects under federal program supplying rent subsidized housing 
for the poor. His developments, in Granada Hills, Tustin and Huntington 
Beach, are model examples of low income housing. He has also developed 
tracts of ultra-expensive lots and built custom homes worth millions.
  Al Mann is a true Renaissance Man. He is an engineer, an accomplished 
musician and a learned religious scholar conversant in art, music, 
literature, philosophy and almost any other topic. He is a tenacious 
and perfectionist workaholic, who pursues his business and humanitarian 
quests with boundless energy.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Al Mann. The 
dedication, integrity, hard work and commitment that he brings to every 
endeavor and his impressive record of service to mankind embody the 
ideals of excellence. I am very proud to be his friend.

                          ____________________