[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S8344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RETIREMENT OF MR. PAUL JOHNSON

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
dedicated and distinguished public servant. Paul W. Johnson, the Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and Housing, is 
retiring at the end of this month after over 50 years of government 
service.
  Paul Johnson began his career with the Federal Government serving on 
active duty with the Corps of Engineers beginning in 1949, and served 
as an engineer with the Army and the Air Force until he arrived at the 
Pentagon in 1962.
  During his nearly forty years there, Paul Johnson became an 
institution in the Army and in the Pentagon. Since 1983, Paul has been 
the senior career official in the Army responsible for military 
construction, family housing, base realignment and closure, real 
property management and disposal, and real property maintenance issues 
for the active duty Army; the Army National Guard; and the Army 
Reserve. In this capacity, Paul is responsible for the management of 
over $200 billion in assets.
  For decades, whenever there has been an Army installation or property 
issue where the Congress needed information or help, we called ``PJ'', 
because we knew we could rely on his leadership and sound judgment. And 
PJ did not hesitate to reciprocate and let us know when the Army needed 
help from the Congress to solve a problem. When you were talking to PJ, 
there was never any doubt that he was working to do what was best for 
the Army.
  We will miss him, and the Army will miss him even more. I am sure all 
members of the Senate who have worked with Paul over the years, 
especially my colleagues on the Armed Services and Appropriations 
Committees, will join me in congratulating him on his astonishing 
record of over half a century of public service and wish him and his 
family all the best as he begins a well-deserved retirement.

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