[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 3, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S7229]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ANDREW HARIG

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, I rise today to thank Mr. Andrew Harig for 
his hard work on the Senate Finance Committee.
  Andy was on the staff of the Finance Committee throughout most of the 
107th Congress. He was an integral part of the international trade 
policy team which, among other things, worked hard to win passage of 
the implementing legislation for the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement 
and the Trade Act of 2002.
  In my estimation, last Congress was the most productive in at least a 
decade on important international trade legislation. Last year, we 
finally built a new bipartisan consensus that ended a deadlock that had 
frozen progress on most new trade agreements for nearly a decade, 
finally made some real progress on integrating labor and environmental 
issues into trade negotiations, and revamped the U.S. programs for 
workers who lose their jobs because of trade.
  In the press, the credit for these achievements was given to Senator 
Grassley, Representative Thomas, myself, and other Members of Congress. 
But as is always the case, the achievements on trade could not have 
been made were it not for the contributions of people like Andy who 
toil behind the scenes. Without their efforts there would be no 
legislation passed.
  In Andy's case, he cheerfully undertook one of the most thankless 
tasks on the Finance Committee's list of responsibilities--passage of 
the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill. This legislation is made up of literally 
dozens of smaller bills that suspend collection of tariffs on products 
not made in the United States and address other Customs issues.
  Passage of this legislation requires a seemingly endless effort to 
analyze the hundreds of bills submitted and eliminate those that are 
controversial or have too great a budgetary impact. It requires 
coordinating with a half dozen administrative agencies, the U.S. 
International Trade Commission, the other House of Congress, and, of 
course, 100 Senate offices.
  As I said, it is a largely thankless task, but one that is critical 
to hundreds of American companies and thousands of American workers. 
Andy Harig was the lead staff person on this legislation for the 
majority and--together with his counterpart on the other side of the 
aisle, Carrie Clarke--he did the lion's share of this work.
  Unfortunately, the Senate was not able to pass this important 
legislation last year, but Senator Grassley and I continue to work on 
the bill, and I hope we can eventually win passage of it--either as a 
free standing bill or as part of other legislation.
  But whether we succeed or not, the Senate, the business community and 
I all owe Andrew Harig thanks for his efforts on the Miscellaneous 
Tariff Bill and other international trade legislation.
  Andy has decided to leave the Senate to pursue an opportunity in the 
private sector. I wish him all the best. Of course, the Senate will 
continue to work after Andy leaves, but I think it will be a bit poorer 
for the loss of another hard-working staff person. Goodbye, Andy, and 
good luck.

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