[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 50 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3916-S3917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMENDING THE SUPPORTERS OF THE JEFFERSON AWARDS
Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
now proceed to consideration of S. Res. 461, which was submitted
earlier today.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 461) supporting and commending the
supporters of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service for
encouraging all citizens of the United States to embark on a
life of public service and recognizing those citizens who
have already performed extraordinary deeds for their
community and country.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
resolution.
Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this week has been designated as Public
Service Recognition Week and in keeping with the spirit of this
important week I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the
important contribution that the Jefferson Awards for Public Service
have made over nearly three and a half decades.
I am pleased to be joined by Senators Durbin, Lugar, and Biden is
submitting this resolution commending the American Institute for Public
Service and the importance of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
The Jefferson Awards were established on a bipartisan basis in 1972 by
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr., and Sam Beard.
The awards honor individuals for their achievements and contributions
through public and community service.
Winners of the award for elected and appointed officials have
included former Senators Robert Dole, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and John
Glenn. Other winners include Rudoph Giuliani, Dr. Condoleezza Rice,
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and Robert Rubin. In addition, private
citizens who have won the award include Walter Annenberg, Brian Lamb,
and Oprah Winfrey.
The Jefferson Awards have honored award recipients at the national
level by placing them on a ``Who's Who'' list of outstanding citizens
of the United States and at the same time have honored at the local
level recipients as ``Unsung Heroes'' who accomplished extraordinary
deeds for the betterment of the United States.
The Senate fully supports the goals and ideals of the Jefferson
awards and during this week of Public Service Recognition, I stand on
the floor of the Senate and commend the people of this organization.
PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK
Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, this week, we celebrate Public Service
Recognition Week, a time when all Americans are asked to remember the
Nation's public workers who serve their country and the world by
delivering services essential to our daily lives.
As the ranking member of the Federal Workforce Subcommittee, I wish
to spotlight the dedication, commitment, and loyalty demonstrated every
day by public servants. That is why I introduce annually--and the
Senate passes--a resolution honoring employees at all levels of
Government. In the aftermath of 9/11 and the anthrax attacks a month
later, we gained a better appreciation of the critical work undertaken
by public employees, such as firefighters, paramedics, nurses, and U.S.
postal workers. I thank my colleagues for their quick action last week
in passing my resolution, S. Res. 412, which I introduced with the
support of the leadership of the Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee.
Despite the need to support public workers, far too often we take for
granted these men and women whose sense of duty and devotion to country
guides the work they do daily for their fellow Americans. Although our
lives are enriched by the work of Federal employees, most people are
unfamiliar with the Federal Executive Boards, FEB, which were created
by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to better coordinate the
activities of the Federal Government outside of Washington, DC.
Decisions affecting the expenditure of billions of taxpayer dollars are
made in the field which affect all Americans. Having FEBs--whose
members are senior agency personnel--saves time, money, and effort
while ensuring that these senior employees are more in touch with State
and local governments, as well as their communities.
I am especially proud of the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive
Board, HPFEB, which today celebrates its 50th Excellence in Federal
Government Awards with a ceremony at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. I am
also pleased to note that before an FEB was even established in Hawaii,
forward thinkers had already begun to honor the best in Federal service
through these awards. Today's program not only honors the 153 employees
receiving awards but provides all agencies and military commands in
Hawaii and the Pacific an opportunity to showcase their organizations
through exhibits outside the hotel's ballroom. Honoring today's
awardees are Federal agency heads, military commanders, State and local
government officials, and members of the business community.
According to the HPFEB, the Excellence in Federal Government Awards
Program recognizes outstanding Federal employees for their efforts,
leadership, and initiative. The program encourages innovation and
excellence in government, reinforces pride in Federal service, and
helps call public attention to the broad range of services provided by
Federal employees.
The HPFEB has over 90 members, senior heads of Federal agencies and
military commands, who represent the over 70,000 civilian and military
personnel in the Pacific region, including the Department of Defense,
the Government's largest civilian employer in Hawaii. Like its 27
counterparts nationwide, the HPFEB communicates with and partners with
the community, works to reduce costs and improve efficiencies,
facilitates service delivery and coordinates emergency services.
The Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board embraces its interagency
coordinating role and is proud of its five primary accomplishments:
creating and operating the Pacific Leadership Academy to ensure that
agencies within Hawaii and the Pacific area are
[[Page S3917]]
training today and tomorrow's cadre of Federal leaders; celebrating the
work of Federal employees through its Excellence in Government Awards,
which last year honored 126 employees; supporting the Combined Federal
Campaign by raising over $6.1 million in 2005; working with Federal,
State, and local governments to improve emergency planning by
participating in disaster exercises, partnering with the State of
Hawaii to purchase the $70,000 system ``Notifyer,'' and developing a
simultaneous broadcast telephone message system that updates emergency
information; and establishing councils and working groups.
Hawaii's FEB is sponsored by the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and
Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Department of the Navy, and is
headed by Ms. Gloria Uyehara, the Executive Director, who has over 30
years of career service, most recently as head of the Education and
Development Office, promoting leadership development and succession
planning at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. She is supported by Ms.
Gerry A. Reese, who has been with the HPFEB for more than 30 years as
the Executive Assistant.
Ms. Uyehara points out that today's Excellence in Federal Government
Awards provides a model of excellence for all Federal employees and
promotes ideas and concepts to encourage the use of best practices.
Those Federal and military personnel working with the HPFEB understand
the need to reach out to their community and foster cooperation among
all levels of Government. These men and women exemplify the spirit of
public service. Together they typify today's Federal and military
personnel who work tirelessly to make democracy work.
At a time when the Federal Government faces strong competition with
the public and private sector for skilled employees and the
administration is pushing for greater outsourcing, it is imperative
that we continue to support the Government's network of Federal
executive boards, associations, and councils. It would be unwise to
diminish the critical role that these entities play in identifying and
instituting efficiencies and improving Government services within the
communities they serve and to the Nation as a whole.
Again, I send my warmest congratulations and aloha to the members of
the Honolulu-Pacific Federal Executive Board which provides the
leadership, the enthusiasm, and the expertise to ensure that Government
is more responsive, innovative, and effective.
Mr. ENSIGN. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to,
the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon
the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 461) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 461
Whereas one of the defining traditions of the democracy of
the United States is that each person can make a difference;
Whereas the value of public and community service was a
founding principle of the Government of the United States;
Whereas, for generation after generation, the citizens of
the United States have desired to pass to the youth of the
Nation the tradition of neighbors helping neighbors through--
(1) local community service;
(2) volunteerism; and
(3) public service;
Whereas, to build stronger communities, the youth of the
United States should be inspired to seek career opportunities
in--
(1) the public sector;
(2) the nonprofit sector;
(3) the faith-based community; and
(4) Federal, State, and local governments;
Whereas the Jefferson Awards for Public Service are a
prestigious national recognition system that was created on a
nonpartisan basis in 1972 by--
(1) Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis;
(2) Senator Robert Taft, Jr.; and
(3) Sam Beard;
Whereas the creators of the Jefferson Awards for Public
Service sought to create an award similar to the Nobel Prize
to encourage and honor individuals for their achievements and
contributions in public and community service;
Whereas, for over 30 years, the supporters of the Jefferson
Awards for Public Service have pioneered the promotion of
civic engagement by using profiles of individual excellence,
the media, and modern technology to attract and recruit all
citizens of the United States to participate in the
democratic processes of the Nation; and
Whereas the Jefferson Awards for Public Service have
honored award recipients at--
(1) the national level, by placing the recipients on a
``Who's Who'' list of outstanding citizens of the United
States; and
(2) the local level, by naming the recipients ``Unsung
Heroes'' who accomplish extraordinary deeds for the
betterment of the United States while going largely
unnoticed: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) fully supports the goals and ideals that the creators
instilled into the civic engagement initiatives of the
Jefferson Awards for Public Service; and
(2) salutes and acknowledges the American Institute for
Public Service and the role played by the Jefferson Awards
for Public Service in promoting public service in the United
States.
____________________