[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         IN HONOR OF MIKE HURST

                                 ______
                                 

                   HON. CHARLES W. ``CHIP'' PICKERING

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 28, 2006

  Mr. PICKERING. Mr. Speaker, as we near the end of this session of 
Congress, I see the end of the loyal service of my legislative director 
and counsel, Mike Hurst. He leaves my office in October to become an 
Assistant United States Attorney in Mississippi. Today I make these 
remarks to honor Mike's service and to recognize the challenges we 
faced together as he now embarks on this new opportunity.
  It was August 2003 when Mike Hurst first joined my team. After 
graduating from Newton County Academy as the valedictorian in 1993, he 
attended East Central Community College on a basketball scholarship 
where he earned an Associates of Arts degree. He was the student body 
association president and ``Mr. ECCC.'' He went on to earn a Bachelor 
of Arts degree in political science at Millsaps College in 1997 here he 
was recognized for his academic achievements and earned a law degree 
from George Washington University Law School in 2000. After working in 
the private sector for a few years at Troutman Sanders, Mike turned to 
public service as majority staff counsel for the House Judiciary 
Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution.
  Mike joined my staff as legislative director and counsel and led my 
staff and committee work on telecommunications, transportation, and 
energy issues including the House-passed Communications Opportunity, 
Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 and Mississippi specific 
language in the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act 
of 2004. He served as my representative on the conference committees 
for the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users. Following 
Hurricane Katrina, he assisted me in drafting and passing into law--in 
less than a month--the Local Community Recovery Act of 2006. He also 
played an integral part in drafting the Housing Opportunities and 
Mitigating Emergencies Act of 2005, which served as the model for 
Mississippi's post-Katrina housing initiative implemented through 
community development block grants.
  Mike is a son of Newton County who grew up in what we affectionately 
call Hurstville, a ``suburb'' of the town of Hickory, population 512. 
His father Mike operates Mike Hurst Trucking and his mother Lucy is an 
assistant district engineer for the Mississippi Department of 
Transportation. I know they, along with his sister Aime'e Hurst Lang, 
are proud of Mike.
  Now Mike, his wife Celeste and their children Anna Reagan, Amelia, 
Asa with another on the way, have returned home to Mississippi. Our 
office will miss his experience, knowledge, and skills, but Mississippi 
and our Nation will continue to benefit from his service as an 
assistant United States attorney.
  Mike Hurst leaves a formative mark on the shape and operation of my 
office. We will miss his good nature, humor, and dedication to his 
work. But I thank him for his service to this office and to 
Mississippi.

                          ____________________