[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 4 (Thursday, January 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E21]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REGARDING SAN ANTONIO INS OFFICE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 27, 2000

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great team 
of public servants in San Antonio, Texas, at the San Antonio District 
Office of the Immigration and Naturalization (INS) Service, who were 
the recipients of three separate national awards for excellence 
bestowed by INS this year.
  Each year, the Commissioner of INS confers national awards for 
excellence honoring employees for their outstanding performance.
  The employees of the Citizenship/Naturalization Unit were honored 
with the Commissioner's Challenge Award for Immigration Services for 
reducing the waiting times for all citizenship/naturalization 
applications and for demonstrating an overall commitment to quality.
  The same unit was honored with Vice President Gore's ``Hammer Award'' 
in June of last year for their innovative program to reach out to 
military applicants who often face transfer overseas or a deadline to 
reach citizenship before re-enlistment. Getting the waiting time for 
applications down is a minor miracle. The wait for those wishing to 
process documents with the INS has been 18 months or more for the past 
few years.
  Port Director Ramon T. Juarez was honored with the Commissioner's 
Challenge Award for Border Facilitation, for his outstanding efforts in 
managing the Laredo Port of Entry. The Port reduced the waiting time 
for applicants for admission to 20 minutes or less.
  San Antonio Investigative Assistant Jerome Bass was honored as 
Employee of the Year in the Administrative/Technological category. His 
peers say Bass has an ``unselfish attitude and willingness to lend a 
hand.'' His dedication to the job brought him national attention.
  These three awards are indicative of the dedication of the 432 
employees in the San Antonio office. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
commending them for providing the best in government services.

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