[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 93 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          ON THE RETIREMENT OF CDC OFFICIAL FRANCIE de PESYTER

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                       HON. W.J. ``BILLY'' TAUZIN

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 2003

  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness and great 
appreciation that I rise today to commemorate the retirement of someone 
who has been a treasure to the United States Congress for the last 28 
years.
  Ms. Francie de Peyster will be retiring from the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 30, 2003, after many years of 
distinguished leadership and of tireless dedication to improving our 
Nation's public health.
  Ms. de Peyster's prestigious career in public service began right 
here in the House of Representatives for what is now my committee, the 
Energy and Commerce Committee. She worked for more than five years for 
Representative Tim Lee Carter on the staff of the Committee on 
Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Following her tenure in the House, Ms. 
de Peyster went to work for the CDC in its Washington office in 1980. 
Ms. de Peyster became Deputy Director of the CDC/Washington office in 
1984. In June 2001, she received the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services' Award for Distinguished Service. And just last year, she 
worked closely with my Committee as we drafted and passed into law one 
of the most important public health and national security initiatives 
in recent history--the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism 
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.
  Ms. de Peyster's professionalism, civility, experience, and 
dedication will be greatly missed by her friends and colleagues in the 
Senate and the House, and we will remain eternally grateful for her 
outstanding contributions to this Nation. I know all my colleagues 
would want to join me in expressing our sincerest thanks and wishes of 
happiness to Francie as she enters retirement.

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