[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 JOSEPH PATRICK McKEOWN--PUBLIC SERVANT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY J. HYDE

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2000

  Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow Mr. Joseph P. McKeown of Beltsville, 
MD will retire after spending thirty years, well over half his life, in 
the role of public servant. Son of Joseph and Claire McKeown of Toms 
River, NJ, he served in the United States Navy from 1967-1971. A good 
deal of his Navy service was aboard ship in various locales throughout 
the world. After the conclusion of his service time and then his 
graduation from Stonehill College, Joe began a 26-year career with the 
United States Postal Service.
  For the last two decades, Mr. McKeown has served as a Postal 
Inspector. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service very seldom gets the 
credit they deserve for the exceptional law enforcement duties they 
perform. Postal Inspectors have a well-deserved reputation for tough, 
relentless, professional investigation resulting in a 98 percent 
conviction rate. Seldom is there a major crime solved in this nation, 
at any governmental level, without the involvement of the Inspection 
Service at some level. Yet, you usually never see them ``out front'' at 
the successful conclusion of a case--thus their famous nickname--the 
``Silent Service.'' One of our Nation's oldest law enforcement 
agencies, there are now 2,200 Inspectors, 350 of whom are females.
  Joe McKeown in the last 20 years has been both a model and extremely 
accomplished Postal Inspector. Especially knowledgeable, he has not 
been detailed to merely one specific investigative area. Inspector 
McKeown has been critical to investigations involving both external and 
internal crime, audits, and a variety of criminal frauds both domestic 
and international. For the better part of his career he has been 
detailed to the Newark, Baltimore, and Washington, DC regions.
  Mr. Speaker, each and every day across this great country 
distinguished civil servants are retiring. This Congress, and the 
public as well, owe such exemplary citizens more than we readily 
recognize. I take this opportunity to publicly thank Joseph Patrick 
McKeown for three decades of exceptional devotion and service to our 
nation. May I wish Joe and his wife Ruth nothing but the best in the 
years ahead.

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