[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.

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