[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E12-E13]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY EMPLOYEES FOR WORK IN CLEANING UP ROCKY 
                                 FLATS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 31, 2006

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and 
praise the extraordinary efforts of so many Department of Energy, DOE, 
employees in the successful cleanup and closure of the Rocky Flats 
Nuclear Weapons Facility in Colorado.
  Last year, the DOE began the process of certifying the completion of 
Kaiser-Hill Corporation's cleanup of the Rocky Flats facility. This 
certification marks the end of an era in our Nation's history. The 
story of Rocky Flats includes two different chapters that describe 
human achievement and technological prowess--not only the buildup of 
our nuclear arsenal during the tense days of the Cold War but also the 
completion of a remarkably complicated environmental restoration 
program that is a model for the world.
  I believe that the men and women who worked to write both of these 
chapters in the Rocky Flats story deserve our admiration and 
appreciation. All involved deserve recognition as heroes of the Cold 
War era and also heroes in the new era of environmental protection. 
That includes Federal officials and employees of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and DOE, 
as well as officials and employees of Colorado's Department of Health 
and Environmental Protection and the private-sector employees of DOE's 
contractors.
  In December 2005, Kaiser-Hill rightly sponsored a community event 
that celebrated these achievements. Invitations went to employees of 
DOE as well as others, but the DOE Office of General Counsel insisted 
that DOE employees be charged more than other Federal employees to 
attend this celebration. I objected to this decision because it did not 
apply to high-ranking DOE officials who had speaking roles at the 
event, and struck me as an unduly restrictive interpretation of Federal 
ethical guidelines that sounded a sour note in an otherwise happy 
occasion. I felt so strongly about it that I decided against attending 
the event as a message of solidarity with DOE employees.
  In part to reinforce my admiration and respect for the hard work of 
so many DOE employees at Rocky Flats, and to ensure that this

[[Page E13]]

body fully acknowledges their contributions to our national security 
and our environment, I will place in the Record the names of DOE 
employees who deserve our thanks and an acknowledgement of the service 
they gave in turning Rocky Flats into a success story:
  Jeff Allison, Charlie Anderson, Mariane Anderson, Tod Anderson, 
Robert Birk, Robert Bistline, Ron Bostic, Gerald Boyd, Ken Brakken, 
Lisa Bressler, Patti Bubar, Roger Butler, George Cannode, Kathleen 
Carlson, William Casey, Norma Castaneda, Jack Craig, Hank Dalton, 
Charlie Dan, Gina Dan, Ann Davis, Paul Detwiler, Glenn Doyle, Patrick 
Etchart, Jim Fiore, Cliff Franklin, Mark Frei, David Garman, Christine 
Gelles, Dave George, Fred Gerdeman, Mark Gilbertson, Paul Golan, Robert 
Goldsmith, Dave Grosek, Kent Grover, Tom Grumbley, James Hartman, Art 
Haugh, Larry Helmerick, Dave Hicks, Richard Hopf, Rod Hoffman, Gary 
Huffman, Carolyn Huntoon, Brent Johansen, Elizabeth Jordan, Jeremy 
Karpatkin, Keith Klein, Joe Legare, Gary Lietz, Ellen Livingston, 
Frazer Lockhart, Paul Longsworth, Tom Lukow, Karen Lutz, Mary Lynch, 
Larry Maghrak, Barbara Male, Barbara Mazurowski, Matt McCormick, Steve 
McCracken, Deanna McCranie, Anna Martinez-Barnish, Greg Moore, Gary 
Morgan, John Mullarkey, Theresa Nash, Robert Nelson, Ricky Newton, 
Dennis Oba, Shirley Olinger, Mike Owen, Jim Owendoff, Jeff Parkin, Ray 
Plieness, Lloyd Piper, Jane Powell, Barbara Powers-Hargreaves, Michael 
Hargreaves, Richard B. Provencher, William Prymak, Don Rack, John 
Rampe, William C. Rask, Brad Ring, Jessie Roberson, Mell Roy, Norm 
Sandlin, Dero Sargent, Rich Schassburger, Roy Schepens, Lance Schlag, 
Gene Schmitt, John Schneider, Gary Schuetz, Clay Sell, Beth Sellers, 
Warren Seyfert, Frank Sheppard, Mark Silverman, Dave Simonson, Steve 
Sohinki, Joe Springer, Jim Steward, John Stover, Scott Surovchak, 
Maryanne Tinney, Ines Triay, Reginald Tyler, Phil VanLoan, David 
Vaughn, Patty Wagner, Bruce Wallin, Bob Warther, Kerry Watson, Mike 
Weis, Ed Westbrook, Dotti Whitt, Elizabeth Wilson and Lam Xuan.

                          ____________________