[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 27 (Thursday, February 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO LETTY L. CARPENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2003

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the exemplary career of 
Letty L. Carpenter of Jefferson, Maryland, on the occasion of her 
retirement from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services (CMS) 
after 30 years of Federal service. At a time when the need for 
dedicated public service to our nation is more critical than ever, it 
gives me great pleasure to honor the commitment Letty has demonstrated 
to such service, particularly for the low-income and vulnerable 
populations served by the Medicaid program. Her commitment is even more 
impressive when you realize that Letty regularly has arisen at 4:00 am 
to make the long commute from her home in lovely, rural western 
Maryland to her position with CMS in Washington, DC.
  Letty was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She received a B.A. 
in Political Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana, 
Illinois, and a Masters of Arts in Geography, as well as a Masters of 
Public Health from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Letty entered 
Federal service as a volunteer and later a recruiter for the Peace 
Corps, serving from July 1965 to May 1968. As a volunteer in Senegal, 
she introduced aural-oral techniques of language instruction to local 
schools to replace traditional rote teaching methods, wrote 
instructional materials, and also participated in laying the groundwork 
for a maternal and child health outreach program through the local 
hospital. As a recruiter in the United States, she conducted 
advertising and advance work for the Peace Corps recruitment drives at 
40 midwestern universities and colleges. From 1970 to 1974, she worked 
for the University of Michigan, first as a Community Coordinator then 
later as a Research Assistant.
  Letty continued her Federal career in Washington, DC, in 1974 when 
she was selected for the Management Intern Program with the Department 
of Health and Human Services (then HEW). Through this program, she had 
several rotational assignments to different agencies throughout the 
Department. From 1977 to 1979, she was a program analyst in the Medical 
Services Administration of the Social and Rehabilitation Services 
agency in HEW.
  Letty started in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
(formerly the Health Care Financing Administration) in the Medicaid 
Bureau in January 1979 and has worked for CMS until the present time. 
She has worked in the Office of Legislation for the last 23 years, 
where she has played a critical role in the passage of legislation 
through her assistance to senior managers in HHS, OMB and the White 
House, as well as Members and staff of Congress and their support 
agencies.
  During her tenure in CMS, Letty has served nine agency Administrators 
and ten Department Secretaries all of whom have recognized her 
contributions with numerous awards, including Administrator's 
Achievement Awards and the Secretary's Award for Distinguished Service.
  Letty is recognized nationally, within and outside the government, as 
a renowned expert in the intricacies of Medicaid law, regulations and 
policies, particularly those related to the extremely complex area of 
Medicaid eligibility requirements. She possesses exceptional abilities 
to skillfully analyze complex situations, focus attention on the key 
issues, develop practical options to address them, and explain it all 
in clear, concise and understandable language.
  Letty has also skillfully trained numerous current and former 
colleagues in the complexities of Medicaid policy and part of her 
legacy in CMS will continue through the knowledge she has imparted to 
the current employees of the Office of Legislation and other parts of 
the Agency. Many people call her from around the country, from Federal, 
State, and local government agencies, as well as the private sector, 
for assistance because of her expertise in the Medicaid program.
  All of Letty's colleagues in CMS and HHS will sorely miss her 
knowledge, insight, and can-do attitude, as well as her encouragement 
and lively sense of humor. Letty always has taken her responsibilities 
to the low-income and other vulnerable beneficiaries of the Medicaid 
program very seriously, but not herself. I join her colleagues and 
friends in congratulating her on her impressive achievements and 
wishing her well as she retires from Federal service. We expect that 
she will continue to be a valued participant in many important issues, 
as well as an even more active member of the Jefferson, Maryland, 
community, where she and her husband, Jim, have long resided.

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