[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 29, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E96]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO HARLAN EDWARD BOYLES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RICHARD BURR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 29, 2003

  Mr. BURR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today a proud North Carolinian, to pay 
tribute to Harlan E. Boyles, long-time State Treasurer of North 
Carolina and beacon of fiscal integrity.
  Born May 6, 1929, in Lincoln County, North Carolina to a farming 
family, Boyles learned from the Great Depression the importance of 
financial responsibility and the value of a dollar. Along with economic 
hardships, he also fought and finally overcame polio that plagued him 
from the age of fifteen. His perseverance was unshakable. He went on to 
graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 
with a degree in accounting. Wasting no time he made his way to the 
Department of Revenue and, as a junior level auditor, began his 
lifelong career in public service.
  Harlan served North Carolina for sixteen years as the Deputy State 
Treasurer under his mentor, Edwin Gill. Gill assigned Boyles the 
challenge of upgrading the State's bond rating, a daunting task with 
the economy stuck in a post-Depression state. He succeeded: in 1960 his 
work propelled North Carolina to a triple-A credit rating.
  Mr. Boyles succeeded Gill as Treasurer in 1977 and served honorably 
until his retirement in 2001. In the forty years that he served as 
Deputy and State Treasurer, he maintained the Triple-A credit rating, 
resulting in millions of dollars in savings for North Carolinians, one 
of the Treasurer's proudest accomplishments.
  He was a respected man, sought for his soft-spoken knowledge and 
economic genius. His approval was considered vital to pass bond-related 
issues that came before the Legislature. He began warning in the 1980's 
that North Carolina had a fiscal disaster looming on the horizon. He 
used the past as guide and his uncommon intuition to foreshadow the 
economic future of the State. Boyles argued that the government was 
growing faster than the State could afford, maintaining that North 
Carolina needed ``better government, not bigger government.''
  Boyles was an expert at making an organization perform at its peak, 
in part because he was constantly seeking new ideas. The level of 
efficiency that he maintained at the Department of Revenue was ahead of 
its time with the cutting-edge technology that he instituted. Computers 
were used everywhere possible to increase productivity. He did the job 
with one of the smallest staffs in North Carolina government.
  Arguably one of the most effective State Treasurers in American 
history, Harlan made profound strides in his efforts to prepare the 
State for the twenty-first century. During his tenure, the value of 
State employee pension funds rose from $7 billion to $67 billion and 
the total North Carolina workforce increased from 158,000 to 218,000. 
Without his leadership as Treasurer the security of our State employee 
retirement fund would not be the guarantee that it is today for so many 
Tar Heels. The measures that he took to ensure the economic security of 
the State have yet to be surpassed.
  Harlan's passing is not only a loss to North Carolina, but is indeed 
a loss to America. His legacy of service stands to direct the next 
generation as they embark on their journey into the new century. North 
Carolinians mourn his loss, and we keep in our prayers his loving wife 
Frankie and his children, Lynn, Phyllis and Edward. The history of 
North Carolina is marked by the work of great men and their ideas; 
Harlan Boyles is such a man and his legacy will live on to guide the 
future of sound economics and responsible leadership.

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