[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 29, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5477]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES F. JOHNSON

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Dr. James F. Johnson, an outstanding public servant, who is retiring 
from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers after an exemplary career 
spanning more than three decades. I want to extend my personal 
congratulations and thanks for his many years of service and 
contributions to improving both the water resources of our Nation and 
the quality of Federal Government services.
  Throughout his 32-year career with the Federal Government, Dr. 
Johnson has distinguished himself for his leadership, commitment, and 
dedication to public service, to making government work better, and to 
addressing some of our Nation's most critical water resource problems. 
Beginning in Corps of Engineers Headquarters as a program manager, he 
quickly advanced through the ranks to positions in senior management, 
including service as Chief of the Eastern Planning Management Branch, 
Special Assistant to the Chief of Planning, and Acting Assistant 
Director of Civil Works for the Upper Mississippi and Great Lakes 
region.
  I first came to know Jim when he was selected as Chief of the 
Planning and Policy Division at the Baltimore District in 1985. During 
his 13-year tenure in Baltimore, I had the opportunity to work closely 
with him and his planning team on a number of water resource 
initiatives in the State of Maryland and the broader Chesapeake Bay 
Region, including the restoration of the north end of Assateague 
Island, the Coastal Bays of Maryland, and the Anacostia River. I know 
first hand the extraordinary leadership, vision and expertise Jim 
brought not only to projects in this region, but equally important, to 
building and encouraging one of the finest, most responsive and 
innovative planning teams in the Nation.
  Among his accomplishments, perhaps the one that stands out most and 
underscores Jim's professionalism and creativity is the role he played 
in the planning, design and policy development process of one of the 
Corps' greatest success stories--the restoration of Poplar Island. This 
project, which is taking clean dredged materials from the channels 
leading to the Port of Baltimore and using it to restore a chain of 
environmentally sensitive islands in the Chesapeake Bay, has become a 
national model for habitat restoration and the beneficial use of 
dredged material. But developing and winning approval of the project 
was no easy task. The size and scale of the project were unprecedented. 
Federal policies at the time greatly limited the funding and contained 
other disincentives to making this a viable option. Jim and his 
planning staff put in countless hours helping to resolve these problems 
and develop innovative solutions that ultimately led to the 
construction of the project, relief for Maryland's dredged material 
disposal problem and development of the largest environmentally 
restoration initiative ever undertaken in the Chesapeake Bay.
  Jim Johnson's contributions and accomplishments over the years have 
been recognized through many prestigious awards including the Army 
Decoration for Meritorious Civilian Service and the Secretary of Army 
Award for Publications Improvement, but perhaps no more so than by his 
selection in 1998 to return to Headquarters as Chief of the Planning 
and Policy Division of the Directorate of Civil Works. In this 
prestigious position, he has been responsible for managing some $200 
million annually in water resource investments for navigation, 
ecosystem restoration, and flood and storm protection. He also 
developed and implemented a new program to expand planner training and 
leadership skills.
  Dr. Johnson has served the Nation with distinction. His efforts, work 
ethic, and abiding sense of responsibility and commitment have earned 
him the admiration of everyone with whom he has worked. I have enormous 
respect for the professionalism, ingenuity, and integrity which he 
brought to the positions in which he has served and greatly value the 
assistance he has provided to me and my staff over the years.
  It is my firm conviction that public service is one of the most 
honorable callings, one that demands the very best, most dedicated 
efforts of those who have the opportunity to serve their fellow 
citizens and country. Throughout his career Jim Johnson has exemplified 
a steadfast commitment to meeting this demand. I want to extend my 
personal congratulations and thanks for his many years of hard work and 
dedication and wish him well in the years ahead.

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