[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S11489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      RETIREMENT OF SAM WHITEHORN

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a member of my 
staff who will be leaving the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation after more than 15 years working for this 
institution and more than 25 years of service to the American public. 
Sam Whitehorn has been my deputy staff director and general counsel on 
the Commerce Committee during the 109th Congress, but he has worked 
diligently for the committee's membership and many of our predecessors 
during more than a decade as senior counsel on the Aviation 
Subcommittee. I know Senators Jay Rockefeller, Fritz Hollings, and 
Wendell Ford hold Sam in the highest regard for his commitment to this 
institution and his efforts to pass legislation that established the 
United States as a world leader in aviation and transportation policy.
  Sam's reputation as an expert and dogged proponent of aviation 
security, safety, and economic viability is known to everyone in the 
aviation community. His ability to negotiate and work in a bipartisan 
fashion has served the committee honorably, allowing aviation 
legislation to consistently move responsibly and timely. His 
accomplishments speak well of him: he has been involved in the passage 
of six Federal Aviation Administration Authorization, FAA, 
reauthorization bills during his tenure. While Sam has more recently 
expanded his reach to other major aspects of the Commerce Committee's 
agenda, aviation continues to have a special place in his heart.
  This country and the aviation industry also have benefited from Sam's 
commitment to public service and his expertise on the issues during one 
of our most difficult times in modern history. After the horrible 
attacks of September 11, 2001, he helped lead the passage of the 
Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which established the 
Transportation Security Administration, TSA. That legislation was 
instrumental in restoring public confidence in our aviation system.
  He also played a central role in the development of legislation that 
currently funds the aviation system, efforts to advance the 
modernization of the National Airspace System, NAS, and promoted 
workplace reforms at the FAA which have helped place the agency on a 
more economically viable path. To put it simply, Sam Whitehorn's name 
is synonymous with aviation safety, security, and viability.
  Prior to working for the Senate Commerce Committee, Sam worked at the 
U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT, as a senior attorney in the 
Office of the General Counsel for Regulations and Enforcement where he 
represented the DOT on a host of aviation issues. Before that he was a 
staff attorney in the antitrust section of the Civil Aeronautics Board, 
CAB, the precursor to the FAA.
  While Sam has a passion for aviation and has been truly devoted to 
the Senate Commerce Committee, nothing has been more important to him 
than his family. From his upbringing in New Hyde Park, NY, to the many 
years he has spent in his adopted hometown of Washington, DC, his 
close-knit family has been vital to his success. We have seen his 
dedication to his wife Carol, who has been extremely patient at times, 
and more recently saw him watch proudly as his son Michael and daughter 
Zoe went off to college. We greatly appreciate their willingness to 
share Sam with us for these many years.
  As Sam retires from the Senate, we wish him nothing but the best. He 
will be missed, but his legacy will remain strong as we continue to 
tackle aviation issues in the future. I and this institution will miss 
him.

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