[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 124 (Thursday, September 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1868-E1869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF RUDY F. DE LEON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANE HARMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 27, 2006

  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Rudy F. de 
Leon, whom I have

[[Page E1869]]

known since he was a wet-behind-the-ears staff assistant on Capitol 
Hill. I have enjoyed watching Rudy serve our country in jobs ranging 
from staff assistant, senior staff, Undersecretary of Defense, Deputy 
Secretary of Defense, and senior corporate officer for one of America's 
most important corporations.
  Rudy's service to the United States Government has spanned over a 
quarter century. At 54 years, I would submit that we have not seen the 
last of him. Allow me to just cover some of what he has done for his 
country.
  After graduating in 1974 from Loyola University--now Loyola 
Marymount--in Los Angeles, Rudy came to Capitol Hill. I can still 
remember the day when that young, red-headed, fresh-faced, full-of-
enthusiasm staffer started as a staff assistant on the Senate side, 
working for a California Senator, John Tunney, whom I also served. Who 
would have guessed that he would go on to the lofty positions he 
attained?
  Rudy has accomplished a great deal, whether it was working on the 
Goldwater-Nichols legislation or legislation for the authorization for 
the use of force during the Persian Gulf war in 1991, or strategies for 
saving the C-17 Globemaster, or ways to help the families of POWs and 
MIAs.
  Rudy approached his position at Boeing with the same enthusiasm I saw 
when he showed up on the Capitol grounds. On one cold winter night 
while holding a meeting with his department heads, Rudy summoned them 
to come outside in front of Boeing's building. After a short while, and 
once everyone was sufficiently cold--they didn't take coats because 
they did not think they would be there long--he told them the Space 
Station was about to pass overhead. Sure enough, the Space Station did 
pass overhead, just as he promised it would. That bonding experience 
made the team grow tighter.
  Boeing, the Department of Defense, and Capitol Hill all had an 
opportunity to size up Rudy. All respect him and feel affection for 
him. I do not know what his next move will be, but hopefully his wife 
Anne, his daughters Elizabeth and Kerry, his father, Big Rudy, and 
brother and family in my congressional district will see more of him. 
Rudy and his family always have a home back in Torrance, CA, and on 
Capitol Hill, where it all started.

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