[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 81 (Monday, June 14, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO FRANK MULVEY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 14, 2004

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding 
contribution which Frank Mulvey has made to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure. Frank has been the Democratic Staff 
Director of our Railroad Subcommittee for the past four years. He is 
leaving to become a Member of the Surface Transportation Board.
  When Frank came to the Committee in the year 2000, he had already 
achieved great distinction as a transportation economist. We on the 
Committee first became familiar with Frank's work in the mid-1980s, 
when he served as an Assistant Director for Transportation Issues in 
the General Accounting Office. In this capacity, Frank conducted a 
number of studies for the Aviation Subcommittee, which I chaired, and 
appeared as a witness before the Committee on several occasions. The 
studies were thorough and objective, and Frank was an excellent 
witness. His studies were extremely valuable in helping us deal with 
issues of airline competition and the financial difficulties of the 
industry. Frank's work at GAO also produced similar high quality 
studies of Amtrak and the freight rail industry.
  Throughout all the years that I have known Frank Mulvey, it has been 
clear to me that his breadth of transportation knowledge would enable 
him to serve with distinction in many positions with the Transportation 
Committee. When the Railroad Subcommittee position became available in 
2000, Frank was a natural and obvious choice.
  In his four years with our Railroad Subcommittee, Frank has not only 
met, but exceeded the high expectations we had for him. He has played a 
major role in all railroad issues before the Committee, including 
Railroad Retirement Reform, the many difficult issues involving Amtrak, 
the rail loan program, and efforts to develop a federal program to 
assist the development of high-speed passenger rail.
  Frank Mulvey is a Ph.D. Economist and, during his distinguished 
career, which has included positions at the Department of 
Transportation Inspector General's Office, the GAO, the National 
Academy of Science and the American Bus Association, has frequently 
held part-time teaching positions. For the past twelve years, he has 
taught courses in managerial economics and public policy in the MBA 
program at the University of Maryland. Frank's love of teaching has led 
him to actively seek out interns for his Subcommittee, and then to 
mentor them and educate them on all aspects of the Subcommittee's work. 
Many of his interns have continued a career in public service. A 
noteworthy example is Steve Gardner, who has served in several 
important Congressional staff positions and most recently was selected 
to deal with rail issues for the Democratic Professional staff of the 
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Another of 
Frank's interns Amy Scarton, went on to become a Senior Legislative 
Assistant to Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
  Although Frank's official position with the Committee was with our 
Rail Subcommittee, we frequently took advantage of his broad knowledge 
and experience as an economist to counsel us in other disciplines. He 
was our resident expert on issues such as the economic impacts and job 
creation effects of our infrastructure programs, and the economic 
theory governing competition in the transportation industries under the 
Committee's jurisdiction.
  Frank has been a pleasure to work with. He is open and friendly, able 
to communicate difficult economic concepts in non-technical terms, and 
quick to immerse himself in the details of a complex issue. We on the 
Committee will miss him personally and professionally, but we are 
confident that he will make important contributions to the Nation's 
transportation system in his new role.

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