[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 166 (Tuesday, December 20, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S14180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               COMMENDING THE SERVICE OF PAUL H. BEA, JR.

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to thank a dedicated 
public servant for his service to the people of New Jersey. Mr. Paul H. 
Bea, Jr., has been Washington representative for the Port Authority of 
New York and New Jersey for over 25 years, serving as a voice of the 
Port Authority here in Washington, DC.
  As a former Port Authority Commissioner, I can tell you that this 
agency is the most complex regional transportation agency in the 
country. It runs three major airports that handled almost 100 million 
passengers last year. It operates the largest seaport on the east coast 
of the United States and the second largest container gateway in the 
country. It runs a bi-state mass transit system and maintains under its 
care and responsibility such landmark assets as the Lincoln Tunnel, the 
Holland Tunnel, the Bayonne Bridge, the George Washington Bridge, and 
the World Trade Center complex in lower Manhattan.
  Mr. Bea has provided lawmakers and policy makers advice and 
information on a variety of topics including the Federal budget, 
aviation, surface transportation, tax, and trade issues, but he has 
developed a particular expertise in the field of maritime, port 
security, and environmental matters. Through Paul's work with the New 
Jersey and New York congressional delegations on behalf of the Port of 
New York-New Jersey, he has contributed to the improvement of both the 
underwater infrastructure and the Hudson-Raritan estuary.
  In 2002, Paul became chairman of the Coastwise Coalition, a public-
private sector partnership that works to educate policy makers on the 
potential of domestic waterborne transportation to enhance the capacity 
of the national transportation system.
  In 2004, he was invited by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, 
Norman Y. Mineta serve on the Maritime Transportation System National 
Advisory Council. His principal efforts on that panel involve coastwise 
shipping, intermodal freight transportation, and waterway issues.
  Mr. Bea's experience in Washington dates back to 1970, when he 
arrived to work on the staff of the late Congressman Edward J. Patten 
from New Jersey. He was responsible for Federal budget, appropriations, 
energy, environment, transportation and other issue areas.
  In 1978, Mr. Bea went to work as a Washington representative for New 
Jersey Governor Brendan T. Byrne on environmental and energy concerns, 
which were a focus of President Carter's administration at the time.
  I am very grateful for Mr. Bea's service at the Port Authority. His 
capable representation has helped the Federal Government navigate 
through some very tumultuous times for our country, including the 9/11 
terror attack on the World Trade Center, and the bombings at the same 
location in 1993.
  On behalf of the people of New Jersey, I thank Mr. Bea for all he has 
done and will continue to do to make our country a safer, more secure, 
and efficient place to live and conduct business, and I wish him 
well.

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