[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 53 (Thursday, May 2, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E681-E682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. JEFFREY P. KOPLAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID R. OBEY

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 1, 2002

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Jeffrey P. 
Koplan and his 26 years of outstanding public service.
  Dr. Koplan served as the Director of the Centers of Disease Control 
and Prevention and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry, from 1998 until March of this year when he 
stepped down to continue his career in public health outside of the 
Federal government.
  We are very fortunate in this country to be able to attract some of 
the best minds and most talented professionals to public service. 
However, it is typically not their impressive educational training, 
professional experience, or list of accomplishments that distinguishes 
their public service careers. What we often remember most is the daily 
heart and soul that they devote to solving the myriad of problems and 
challenges that we as a nation expect our Federal, state and local 
governments to address.
  Despite the great responsibility we thrust upon leaders in public 
service, they toil in relative anonymity behind the agency acronyms 
that the world comes to rely upon. While Dr. Koplan is certainly well 
known and respected in the public health community and in Washington, 
there are untold millions of people in this country and throughout the 
world who he has in some way touched through his leadership at CDC who 
will never know his name--who will never know how he has given them the 
blessing of a healthier life through the often invisible efforts of 
public health programs that he has promoted and the thousands of CDC 
employees whom he has led.
  Dr. Koplan will be remembered for passion and aggressive actions he 
spurred CDC to take in addressing some of the most pressing public 
health concerns of our time. Not only has he led the CDC response to 
the tumultuous events of last Fall and our nation's first major 
bioterrorism event, but be has also called for a national response to 
an epidemic in obesity, efforts to control infectious diseases, reduce 
smoking, address chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart 
disease, expand immunization coverage, and build the capacity and 
infrastructure of CDC and state public health departments.

[[Page E682]]

  Dr. Koplan is simply an exemplary public servant who has made many 
personal sacrifices to advance public health. He is a man of great 
integrity, dedication, and humor. I, along with many Members of 
Congress, will greatly miss his leadership at CDC, and I wish he and 
his family all the best as they move on to other pursuits. In closing, 
just as Dr. Koplan received a standing ovation by CDC employees upon 
the announcement of his appointment as Director in 1998, upon his 
departure, I applaud his distinguished tenure and the honor that he has 
brought to that position.

                          ____________________