[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 125 (Friday, September 29, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10652-S10653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO FRANK IPPOLITO

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my good friend 
from Iowa, the ranking minority member of the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition and Forestry, to salute a dedicated public servant, Mr. Frank 
Ippolito, who is retiring after more than 30 years of distinguished 
service to the U.S. Government, including 24 years at the Department of 
Agriculture, USDA.
  As the Director of the Governmental Affairs Office at USDA's Food and 
Nutrition Service, FNS, Mr. Ippolito is the career civil servant 
responsible for communications between FNS and Congress and for 
coordinating logistics for hearings, briefings, and legislative policy 
for the Under Secretary of Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services and 
FNS staff.
  FNS accounts for over half of USDA's annual budget. It serves a 
monthly average of over 25.9 million people in the Food Stamp Program, 
8.22 million people in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for 
Women, Infants, and Children, WIC, and provides daily meal service to 
over 30.9 million students through the National School Lunch Program 
and 10.3 million students in the National School Breakfast Program. Mr. 
Ippolito is the bridge between this important agency and the Congress.
  Mr. Ippolito was born and raised in Birmingham, AL. He graduated from 
the Birmingham Public School System in 1965, earned a B.S. in chemistry 
from the University of Alabama in 1969 and a law degree from the 
University of Alabama School of Law in 1973.
  Mr. Ippolito first worked as general counsel of the Alabama Air 
Pollution Commission in the State capital. In 1975, he came to 
Washington to work for the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and 
Welfare, now known as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 
and worked for the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Defense 
Investigative Agency.
  In 1982, Mr. Ippolito came to FNS in the Office of Governmental 
Affairs as a legislative specialist. In 1988, he was named Director of 
Governmental Affairs, the position he has held for the past 18 years. 
As Director, he has provided invaluable guidance on FNS programs and 
activities both to the Under

[[Page S10653]]

Secretary and Secretary of Agriculture and to Members of Congress for 
five farm bills and five child nutrition and WIC reauthorizations.
  Over the course of his career, Mr. Ippolito served under six 
Presidents and eight Secretaries of Agriculture, five Chairmen of the 
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, and six 
chairmen of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  In the Senate Agriculture Committee, in exercising our jurisdiction 
over FNS we not only work in a bipartisan fashion, we also work closely 
with the administration. When writing a farm bill or child nutrition 
and WIC reauthorization, we often call upon FNS staff, including Mr. 
Ippolito, for expertise. He put in many Saturday afternoons and late 
nights past 2:00 a.m. during legislative discussions and negotiations 
because of his dedication to providing Representatives, Senators, and 
our staff access to the information we need to serve the American 
people.
  I commend Mr. Frank Ippolito for his many years of dedicated service 
to the U.S. Government and for the outstanding work he has done 
throughout his distinguished career. I congratulate him on the occasion 
of his retirement and extend my best wishes to him and his wife, Donna, 
in the years ahead.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I too wish to pay tribute to the 
accomplishments of Mr. Frank Ippolito and thank him for his many years 
of dedicated service to the American people and especially to the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, FNS. Mr. 
Ippolito has done an outstanding job as the career civil servant 
responsible for communications between FNS and Congress. During his 
long tenure, this critical agency, which benefits millions of 
Americans, has been greatly improved.
  Mr. Ippolito has crossed many a path with countless elected officials 
and staff over the years, and without regard to party affiliation, he 
has treated each and every one of us with dignity, respect, and a 
helpful attitude that allows the work of Government to be performed 
efficiently and effectively. And in addition to his professionalism and 
competence, he has always carried out his work with a generous spirit 
and a cheerful personality.
  In sum, Mr. Ippolito exemplifies the very model of a public servant. 
Frank Ippolito reminds us that, at its best, working for the Federal 
Government is ultimately about working for the people of the United 
States. At the end of a career, all of us who have worked in the 
Government or elected office should ask ourselves if, as a result of 
our careers, the people throughout America are better off as the result 
of our efforts. I am confident that Frank can enter retirement after 
three decades secure in his knowledge that the answer to that question 
is an emphatic yes.
  I thank Mr. Frank Ippolito for his years of extraordinary service and 
wish him and his wife Donna all the best on this occasion for his 
retirement.

                          ____________________