[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 36 (Thursday, March 6, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING JAMES T. O'TOOLE

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my thanks to James 
``Jim'' O'Toole for all of his hard work and efforts with the Parks and 
Historic Preservation Subcommittee which I chair.
  Born and raised in San Francisco, Jim O'Toole is a graduate of St. 
Ignatius College Prep and the University of San Francisco. After a 23-
year career with the National Park Service, he came to Washington, D.C. 
in 1987 as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Management 
Development Program where he also served on a professional fellowship 
to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. After the 
completion of his fellowship, Mr. O'Toole resigned from the Park 
Service and assumed the roles as professional staff member for the 
committee. During his tenure in the Senate, he served as professional 
staff for the minority for the Subcommittee on Public Lands, National 
Parks and Forests from 1987 to 1994, and with the majority for the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation 
from 1994 until now.
  Mr. O'Toole's primary issue responsibilities encompassed all work 
relating to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation 
and Recreation, including: oversight of the National Park Service and 
Park Police; Wild and Scenic Rivers; National Trails and Recreation 
Areas; Historic Sites and Preservation; Military Parks and 
Battlefields; Land and Water Conservation Fund; outdoor recreation 
resources; preservation of prehistoric ruins and objects of interests 
on the public domain; concessions programs affecting federal land 
management agencies; and various public land management issues. Over 
the past fourteen years, the bulk of the Senate Energy Committee 
legislation has been reported from the National Parks Subcommittee 
which Jim staffed. Mr. O'Toole was also the primary Senate staffer for 
H.R. 3248, the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Act of 1997, (P.L. 104-
333). This law contains the precedent setting San Francisco Presidio 
legislation which has been used as a template for similar private 
sector initiatives including the Oklahoma City Memorial and the Baca 
Ranch in New Mexico.
  More recently, Jim was instrumental in the passage of the Vision 2020 
Parks Restoration Act, P.L. 105-391. Vision 2020 represents the 
culmination of a three-year effort and the first major reform of the 
National Park Service in more than 30 years, including an 11 year 
effort to reform the Agency's Concession Management Program.
  After 14 dedicated years working for the Senate Energy Committee, and 
more than 23 years with the National Park Service, it is with gratitude 
and great enthusiasm that I convey my personal thanks and appreciation 
to Jim O'Toole. I also announce that Jim is officially retired from his 
life of public service as of today, and he will be joining the private 
sector.
  Again, I express my appreciation to Mr. O'Toole and I wish him well 
with all of his new ventures and future challenges.

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