[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 142 (Tuesday, November 1, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THANKS TO THOMAS DILENGE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETER T. KING

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 1, 2005

  Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to give thanks to 
Thomas DiLenge, Chief Counsel DiLenge, Chief Counsel and Policy 
Director of the Committee on Homeland Security.
  Tom has been a dedicated and accomplished public servant throughout 
his 9 years on Capitol Hill--2 years in his current position, and 7 
years before that on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Tom has 
had a truly impressive career of government service. Most recently, he 
managed the successful House passage of major legislation to reform our 
system of homeland security grants--the Faster and Smarter Funding for 
First Responders Act of 2005--and the first-ever Department of Homeland 
Security Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006. He also was actively 
involved in drafting and negotiating the Intelligence Reform and 
Terrorism Prevention Act last year, the bill that codified into law 
many of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
  Perhaps most important, however, Tom worked to establish a permanent 
Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives. He joined 
the fledgling Select Committee on Homeland Security 2 years ago, and 
worked tirelessly to ensure the transition of the Select Committee to 
the now permanent Committee on Homeland Security in the 109th Congress. 
During his tour with the Select Committee, Tom's keen mind, legislative 
expertise, and dogged determination helped to firmly establish the 
Committee as a force on Capitol Hill, and contributed greatly to the 
establishment of the permanent Committee on Homeland Security. Tom was 
always the first to arrive and the last to leave. As the Select 
Committee's primary interface with other Congressional committees and 
the House Leadership, and in the face of significant resistance, he 
helped craft the jurisdiction of the new Committee to ensure that it 
could provide meaningful authorization and guidance to, and oversight 
of, the critical new Department of Homeland Security. As the largest 
reorganization of the Congressional branch in over 50 years, and as the 
first creation of a permanent congressional committee in over 30 years, 
this is an accomplishment of major significance--with real and lasting 
impact on the future of this House and the citizens of this great 
Nation.
  It is appropriate that Tom should end this phase of his Hill career 
on such a high note with the youngest committee in the House of 
Representatives, but I would be remiss if I did not note some of Tom's 
other major accomplishments over the years. As the Deputy Chief Counsel 
for Oversight and Investigations, and a principal national security 
policy advisor, for the oldest standing committee in the House, the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, Tom led numerous successful 
investigations and helped pass important consumer protection and 
homeland security legislation, including the Homeland Security Act of 
2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security.
  Tom was an invaluable and talented member of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee's oversight and investigations staff, and played a key role 
in landmark Congressional investigations. In 2000, Bridgestone/
Firestone announced a voluntary recall of 14.4 million tires following 
an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA), spurred on by reports and complaints of tread separation of 
certain tire models, mostly on Ford Explorers. Approximately 271 
fatalities and more than 800 injuries were linked to tread separation 
and rollover incidents involving under-inflated Firestone tires and 
Ford vehicles. Tom's tireless work during this Congressional 
investigation, and the nationally-recognized hearings he organized on 
this topic, uncovered the extent to which Firestone and Ford knew of 
these safety problems and kept them hidden from the public and from 
Federal regulators. This investigation also highlighted serious 
deficiencies in NHTSA's ability to adequately detect and investigate 
safety-related defects in motor vehicles and related equipment.

  The Ford-Firestone investigation led to swift Congressional 
legislative action to protect American motorists. The Transportation 
Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act 
became law in the Fall of 2000. The legislation required that auto and 
tire makers promptly report serious safety concerns with their 
products, and gave NHTSA new authority to require improvements in auto 
and tire safety, including the tire pressure monitoring systems that 
many new vehicles now have. Tom's work on this investigation that 
resulted in the TREAD Act undoubtedly improved public safety on our 
roads and highways.
  Tom also played a lead part in the Committee's vital investigation of 
the Enron and Arthur Andersen corporate fraud and accounting scandal, 
including the controversy surrounding the accounting firm's shredding 
of relevant documents just as government investigations got underway. 
Through a comprehensive investigation and series of public hearings, 
the Committee revealed a web of corporate fraud aided and abetted by 
auditors too willing to look the other way. The astonishing discoveries 
contributed to Andersen's indictment on federal felony charges, and led 
to Congressional passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act--the single most 
important piece of legislation affecting corporate governance, 
financial disclosure, and the practice of public accounting since the 
U.S. securities laws of the early 1930s. The Act helps to protect 
average investors and shareholders, and ensure the independence of 
auditors on which they rely.
  Even before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Tom took a 
keen interest in homeland security issues. In 1999, he led an 
investigation into the lack of security controls on the possession and 
use of deadly biological agents such as anthrax by private and academic 
laboratories and research facilities all across the country. After the 
anthrax mail attacks of October 2001, Tom's knowledge of the issue led 
to his involvement as a key drafter of the Public Health Security and 
Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002--which, among other 
things, imposed registration and security requirements on those 
obtaining and using deadly biological agents in legitimate research.
  Shortly thereafter, Tom was called upon again to lead the effort to 
draft and enact President Bush's signature initiative to combat 
bioterrorism, the Project BioShield Act. This Act, which passed in 
2004, aims to spur the development and availability of next generation 
countermeasures against biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological 
weapons. As the President noted at the bill's Rose Garden signing 
ceremony, ``America is stronger and better as a result of the BioShield 
law.''
  No man stands alone, and Tom would be the first to acknowledge that 
his amazing success is the result of the teamwork of many people. Ask 
anyone on the Hill about Tom, however, and you will hear a unanimous 
opinion attesting to Tom's intellect, photographic memory, leadership, 
and ability to build strong teams and find consensus.
  On behalf of the Committee, I want to thank Tom's wife of 12 years, 
Linda, and his three children, Madison (7), Maguire (5), and Donovan 
(2), for all the hours Tom spent away from them. Clearly, they are 
Tom's inspiration, and his success is their success. Finally, I want to 
thank Tom for his hard work, tireless service, and steadfast 
determination. We will miss Tom. He helped to build the Committee on 
Homeland Security. He now leaves it a stronger and better place than 
when he arrived. And his efforts have helped make America a more safe 
and secure place for us all.

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