[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 14, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING ANTHONY F. COLE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. LEACH

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 14, 2001

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extol the virtues and lament 
the retirement of Anthony F. ``Tony'' Cole after more than 25 years of 
federal service.
  A scholar and a gentleman, Tony graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the 
College of William and Mary, earned a Masters in history from Rutgers, 
and his law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at William and 
Mary.
  In 1975 Tony joined the staff of the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, where he served as Deputy General Counsel of 
the Depository Institutions Deregulation Committee and later as Special 
Assistant to the Board as its liaison with Congress.
  Leaving these real jobs, Tony came to the Hill in 1986 to serve first 
as Minority Counsel and then as Minority Staff Director for the House 
Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
  During my tenure as Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and 
Financial Services, from January 1995 to the end of last year, Tony was 
the Staff Director for the Committee.
  Tony's fine hand may be seen in all of the major legislation the 
Committee considered over the past 15 years, from the reform of the 
savings and loan industry (FIRREA), to the financial modernization bill 
(Gramm-Leach-Bliley), to debt relief for the poorest countries in the 
world.
  As my colleagues know, the job of a committee staff director is one 
of the most demanding on Capitol Hill. It requires assuaging the easily 
bruised egos of the Members, administering a multimillion dollar 
budget, managing a 50-member professional and support staff, and 
coordinating with leadership. All this must be accomplished while 
having at one's finger tips an encyclopedic knowledge of both current 
statute and the legislative process.
  Nobody did it better than Tony.
  A consummate professional, Tony was respected by both sides of the 
aisle and revered by the staff he led by precept and example. A person 
of grace and good humor, he gave of himself unstintingly to this 
institution and in so doing to serving the people of the United States.
  The House needs the likes of Tony Cole and he will be sorely missed.
  It is with profound gratitude that I wish Tony all the best in a 
well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________