[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11015-S11016]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO STANLEY ISRAELITE

  Mr. DODD. First, I want to pay tribute to a man that has literally 
been like a father, brother, and uncle to me, and a close confidant for 
a quarter of a century. I affectionately call him ``the coach.'' 
Stanley Israelite has been with me in my office from the very first day 
in January of 1975 when I was sworn into the House of Representatives, 
until just months ago when, at age 75, he retired from the service of 
the U.S. Senate and service to me as a Member of the House and the 
Senate.
  There are many words to describe Stanley Israelite and the many roles 
in my life and the lives of countless others in Connecticut and the 
country that he has served as a friend, counselor, trusted advisor, and 
faithful public servant. While these words can describe what he has 
been, there are really no words to describe what he has meant, 
particularly to me and to literally hundreds of others who have been 
blessed to know him and have been affected by the work he has performed 
on their behalf. It is equally the case that there are no words to 
express my true feelings of deep gratitude for Stanley's service and my 
personal sadness that he is retiring from the U.S. Senate.
  Mr. President, in a recent edition of the New London Day, a local 
paper in Connecticut, the headline read ``Israelite Enjoys Retirement 
for Day, Then Joins NCDC''--the Norwich Community Development 
Corporation. That one headline fairly well sums up Stanley's remarkable 
life of service. For almost 75 years, he has led a life of tireless 
devotion to the things that endure in this life: faith, family, 
compassion for the less fortunate, integrity, and great humility.
  While many think of him as a quintessential public servant, Stanley 
Israelite's roots actually lie in the world of small business. His 
first occupation, after serving in the U.S. military, was helping to 
run his father's jewelry store in Norwich, Connecticut. He would later 
serve as an officer of the Norwich Chamber of Commerce and then became 
director of it. In fact, he was director when he joined me as a 
freshman member of the House. Subsequently, he was elected as a member 
of the City Council in his beloved hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, 
and was chosen to serve as commissioner to the Norwich Department of 
Public Utilities.
  In his ``spare time,'' he was corporator of the William W. Backus 
Hospital in Norwich, the former Norwich Savings Society, and the 
Norwich Free Academy, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, public high 
schools in America.
  In the 1970s, he served as head of the Norwich Community Development 
Corporation. In that role, he oversaw the establishment of the Norwich 
Industrial Park. I know a lot of industrial parks built today are 
rather commonplace, but this was one of the first and one of the most 
unique in the State of Connecticut and across the country. This 
facility embodies Stanley's vision of a thriving economic community in 
southeastern Connecticut, and he created it while maintaining the 
wonderful topography and environmental integrity of that part of the 
city of Norwich.
  It represents, in many ways--in stone, metal, glass, and the 
environment that surrounds it--the deep commitment of this remarkable 
man to make life better for those around him. As one former State 
Senator recently said of Stanley's work on the Norwich Industrial Park, 
``It's high time we name the park after him.'' I second that thought.
  For the past 25 years, I have had the great privilege of knowing 
Stanley as a member of my staff. He served as my State director and 
senior advisor for a quarter century. But what truly distinguished 
Stanley was not the title that he held in my office, but his rock-solid 
sense of purpose. Stanley was with me on the very first day that I was 
sworn in as a new Member of Congress. Every single day, 7 days a week, 
I had at least one conversation with Stanley Israelite. I never made an 
important decision--very few decisions at all--without discussing them 
with Stanley and getting his solid advice as to how we ought to 
proceed. Early in my very first term, I remember being out with Stanley 
for dinner one night. In talking about the job and how the job ought to 
be done, he listened to me patiently, as he oftentimes did, go on at 
some length about the work and the projects we wanted to be involved 
in, the major issues affecting Electric Boat and all these important 
institutions in my congressional district. After I went on for some 
time, I turned to Stanley and asked him what he thought. I can almost 
hear him exactly. He said, ``I am going to tell you one thing about 
this job.'' He paused and he just said, ``Never forget the people.''
  With those words, Stanley Israelite embarked on a 25-year career with 
me, on a path and a journey that has been a joy every single day. I am 
constantly reminded by Stanley and by his words and deeds that our job 
is to never forget the people. For 25 years, he has been a champion of 
those who too often are ignored, the underdogs, the ill, the elderly, 
the frail--those who didn't have anybody to speak for them. For 
Stanley, every person does count. No matter is too small for his 
attention. For him, a constituent's problem became his problem. Words 
like ``I can't help you,'' ``try another office,'' ``later,'' or 
``no,'' simply were not in Stanley's vocabulary.
  In November of 1995, U.S. News and World Report published what they 
call their ``Portraits of 12 Indispensable Americans.'' I am proud to 
tell you today that one of those 12 indispensable Americans was the man 
I speak about this evening, Stanley Israelite.
  I ask unanimous consent that that profile of Stanley Israelite 
contained in the publication of U.S. News and World Report be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              The Senator's Aide--Hounding the Bureaucrats

                           (By James Popkin)

       Lots of people's problems with their government aren't 
     ideological, they're logistical. That's why many rely on the 
     congressional aides like Stanley Israelite to help them fight 
     their battles with government agencies.
       At 70, Stanley Israelite is fighting a crusade to prove the 
     cynics wrong. Since 1975, when the gravely voiced former 
     Brooklynite first went to work for then Rep. Christopher Dodd 
     (now a senator), Israelite has helped thousands of 
     Connecticut citizens replace lost passports, track down late 
     tax refunds, ship dearly departeds to grieving families 
     overseas and even bail the occasional misbehaving Connecticut 
     teenager out of Mexican jails.
       All successful members of Congress have staffers like 
     Israelite who can goose reluctant bureaucrats into action. 
     Although Dodd happens to be a Democrat, effective constituent 
     service is a congressional specialty that cuts across 
     political lines. It's first and foremost a matter of good 
     politics: Good service results in happy voters. But what 
     distinguishes Israelite is his gusto for the job. And his 
     not-so-artful technique. ``When I call an agency because 
     somebody is waiting for her Social Security check or a guy is 
     waiting for an FHA loan and the agency gives me some song and 
     dance, I try to let them know I'm not gonna take any of their 
     crap,'' he

[[Page S11016]]

     says. ``At times, I tell them I've discussed this problem 
     with the senator. Sometimes, it isn't true.''
       A former jewelry store owner and Chamber of Commerce honcho 
     from Norwich, Conn., Israelite is Dodd's pipeline to many of 
     the state's small-business owners. Harry Jackson, a life-long 
     Republican who is the City Council president in Norwich, 
     recalls how difficult it was to get a meeting with officials 
     from the Environmental Protection Agency when the city wanted 
     to build a new firehouse on federal land. ``Stan got us in 
     there after just one phone call,'' says Jackson, who 
     ultimately built the firehouse.
       ``Things happened.'' Don Daren says Israelite was a life-
     saver in 1981, when a state-based paper distributor was 
     trying to secure a $900,000 umbrella loan from the 
     Connecticut Development Authority. Daren, who owns the Arrow 
     Paper Supply & Food Co., says it was going to take forever 
     for the CDA to process his loan papers so he could buy a new 
     warehouse. ``Stanley told them [CDA officials] my problem, 
     and things happened right away,'' says Daren, whose business 
     has grown from 36 workers then to nearly 200 today. ``He has 
     his own constituency. People like Stanley.''
       Ideally, says veteran Hartford Courant political columnist 
     Don Noel, senators like Dodd would use their clout on Capitol 
     Hill to fix bureaucracies and make them more consumer 
     friendly--eliminating the need for taxpayer-financed 
     ombudsmen like Israelite. But since that goal seems 
     unattainable, Noel figures that Israelite plays a vital role. 
     ``If you have something you need the senator to do for you, 
     if anyone can do it, Stanley can,'' he says.
       Israelite admits that he is motivated by a desire to help 
     re-elect Dodd. But he adds: ``Part of what drives me is 
     knowing that there's someplace where somebody can go when 
     they are not getting anyplace.''

  One of the great honors of my life has been to have Stanley by my 
side during very important moments--almost every important moment in 
the past 25 years. Many times when I received the applause as the 
elected official, the Congressman or the Senator, I knew the person who 
truly deserved the applause was Stan Israelite.
  No tribute to Stanley would be complete without mentioning his 
wonderful family: his beloved and recently departed wife Pauline, who 
was as great and close a friend as Stanley; his son Michael and 
daughter-in-law Donna; his son John; his daughter Abby and son-in-law 
Bill Dolliver; his daughter Mindy and son-in-law Bill Wilkie; his 
siblings; and, not least, six wonderful grandchildren. To them I extend 
my heartfelt gratitude for sharing this remarkable man with me and so 
many others for a quarter century.
  There are few words to describe Stanley that would adequately 
describe what he has done. No words will describe what he meant to 
countless individuals. For me, there is sadness that he has retired 
from my office in the Senate, but there is great comfort in knowing he 
will continue to work on behalf of the people of our State and his 
community, and will continue to be a close friend and incredibly 
important part of my life. So today, there is no need for goodbyes but 
only these words: Thank you, Coach.
  When he departed, he said, ``I am leaving the Senate, but not Chris 
Dodd.'' I can say this to Stanley: You may have left my office, but you 
will never be very far away when I need you for that sound counsel and 
good advice you gave me for a quarter century. I thank this wonderful 
man for his service to me, to our State, and to the country.

                          ____________________