[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 31, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E25-E26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE SERVICE OF K. LARRY STORRS ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM 
                     CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 31, 2006

  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
extend my appreciation to a dedicated public servant at the 
Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. Dr. K. Larry 
Storrs is retiring from CRS after more than 30 years of service to 
Congress and the Nation. This length of public service is not only a 
credit to Dr. Storrs, but also a demonstration of the dedication that 
he and many others at the Congressional Research Service bring to 
support our work in Congress.
  Hailing from the small farm town of American Fork, Utah, Dr. Storrs 
first became interested in politics and public policy through his 
participation in debate and student government in high school and 
college. For 2\1/2\ years he was a missionary in Brazil, beginning his 
life-long involvement with Latin America. After returning from Brazil, 
he completed his undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University 
majoring in political science and won a fellowship funded by the 
National Defense Education Act to support his doctoral studies in 
government and Latin American studies at Cornell University. Newly 
married, he returned to Brazil in the mid-1960s to research his 
dissertation on Brazil's foreign policy. Before joining the Library of 
Congress, Dr. Storrs taught for 8 years at Vassar College and the 
George Washington University, focusing on Latin American politics and 
U.S.-Latin American relations. His love of teaching ensured that he 
would continue teaching part-time during his public service career, 
including at George Washington University, American University, the 
Foreign Service Institute, and National Defense University. He has 
continued to teach me and many other Members of Congress about Latin 
America.
  Dr. Storrs began work with CRS in 1975 as analyst in Latin American 
affairs and was later promoted to specialist. During his career, he has 
written almost 400 memoranda and reports for Members of Congress and 
congressional committees, organized numerous seminars, and provided 
thousands of briefings to congressional staff on Latin American policy 
issues. Until the late 1970s, Dr. Storrs worked primarily on issues in 
U.S. relations with Chile and Panama. On Chile, he helped support the 
hearings on the role of the Central Intelligence Agency in foreign 
policy. He also provided extensive support to the Senate during the 
Panama Canal Treaties debate and to both houses during consideration of 
the legislation creating the Panama Canal Commission that operated the 
Canal until the end of 1999. In the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. Storrs wrote 
extensively on several controversial issues related to Central America 
and the Caribbean: congressional conditions on military aid to El 
Salvador and Guatemala; congressional prohibitions on covert assistance 
to the contras in Nicaragua; the recommendations of the bipartisan 
Kissinger Commission on Central America; and enactment of the Caribbean 
Basin Initiative.

[[Page E26]]

  Beginning in the early 1990s, Dr. Storrs's research focused more on 
Brazil and Mexico within the context of U.S. initiatives to promote 
free trade in Latin America. On Mexico, he dealt with issues relating 
to congressional passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 
1993, congressional concerns with political stability and a guerrilla 
insurgency in 1994, and a large financial assistance package for Mexico 
in 1995. He also worked extensively on congressional initiatives to 
strengthen regional and bilateral drug control programs with Mexico. 
For well over a decade Larry has provided extensive support to the 
annual U.S.-Mexico Isnterparliamentary Group meetings, and he has 
accompanied the U.S. delegation for the past 7 years.
  Larry Storrs is a fine example of those many dedicated staff of the 
Congressional Research Service who help inform Congress as it 
deliberates important public policy issues. His gracious demeanor and 
considerable expertise on Latin America made him an invaluable asset to 
Congress for many years. On behalf of my colleagues, I extend our deep 
appreciation to Larry for his service, and wish him the very best in 
future endeavors. I doubt he will really retire from teaching. Good 
teachers never do. There will always be someone lucky enough to learn 
from Dr. Storrs. We wish you the best, Larry!

                          ____________________