[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11701-S11703]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FAREWELL TO BRUCE ARTIM

 Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as this session draws to a close, I 
would be remiss if I did not take a moment, or perhaps more than a 
moment, to share with my colleagues my deep appreciation to a staffer 
who has recently left the Senate and Federal service. I speak of Bruce 
Artim.
  Bruce came to us over a decade ago, first as a legislative fellow, 
then moving through the ranks of the Senate as a detailee, and finally 
as the top Judiciary Committee staffer.
  What a long, strange trip it has been.
  Bruce's work has spanned stem cells to trade treaties to the criminal 
code. In fact, I can't think of an issue that Bruce has not worked on--
nuclear waste with the Department of Homeland Security to international 
AIDS with Bono--although it is an open secret Bruce much prefers the 
Stones--to juvenile diabetes with Mary Tyler Moore.
  At times, Bruce has provided legislative drafting services to the 
Utah legislature and medical advice to Members of Congress. He has 
plotted strategy to enact the Child Health Insurance Program, flipped 
charts at Labor Committee hearings, and written floor statements so 
long the podium sagged.
  Bruce is equally competent and equally happy explaining the 
complexities of molecular biology or the intricacies of intelligence 
law. His range of expertise spans the subchapters of food and drug law 
to the nuances of trade treaties. He is a man who really knows his 
Zantac. He works equally well inside the bureaucracy, outside the 
bureaucracy, and around the bureaucracy. He has advised me on the 
esoterics of the totipotent oocyte, the best escape route from the Hart 
in times of emergency, and which dishes were best at the Dirksen 
buffet. Never was there a better proofreader of international law.
  I have valued his work, both as a trusted aide in whom I have total 
and absolute confidence, but also as a family member, who has been with 
me through thick and thin.
  So it is with great sadness that I rise to express my heartfelt 
thanks, appreciation and best wishes to Bruce and his family as he 
retires from 25 years of Federal service and assumes a wonderful 
opportunity in the private sector.
  Bruce has exemplified the best of Capitol Hill staffers. He is known 
and loved by all--from the cafeteria workers to the chairmen of the 
major committees. All recognize what we have come to appreciate about 
Bruce--his affable manner, his keen intellect, quick wit, and his 
readiness to help any and all.
  Bruce is truly one of a kind. His departure from my office has 
certainly left a void that will be very difficult to fill.
  Bruce, his loving wife, Brenda, and his precious 12-year-old son Jon, 
have been a part of the extended Hatch family for many years. In fact, 
Jon has had such a frequent presence in our office that I think we have 
even put him to work more than once.
  Another frequent guest to our office was Bruce's wonderful mother 
Irma, who turned 80 years old this May. Bruce father's Ed, a World War 
II combat veteran, passed away many years ago and I will always regret 
that I never had the chance to meet him.
  I remember so well the time Bruce told me one of the most important 
things that his father taught him was to always try to make time to 
give career counseling and opportunities to the talented individuals 
you meet at work, particularly the young people.
  I agree with this advice wholeheartedly because as I look at my 30-
year career in the Senate, one of the aspects I most cherish is the 
successes that so many of my friends and constituents in Utah and 
former staffers and other associates have accomplished in part because 
of the help that our office has provided.
  Bruce is one of the brightest, hardworking, and loyal staffers who 
have ever served on my staff.
  And there is one unique and endearing quality about him--he always 
put his family first. His love for his family is inspiring. Even though 
he worked endless hours for me, he always made it a priority to attend 
his son's baseball games and swimming meets.
  After completing his undergraduate education, Bruce started his 
career in

[[Page S11702]]

government as a member of the Volunteers in Service to America--as a 
VISTA Volunteer. Stationed in Columbus, IN, Bruce helped organize six 
local housing authorities and helped train them to operate housing 
rehabilitation and community development programs to benefit low-income 
families.
  After returning to school and graduating from law school in 1983, 
Bruce joined the Office of Management and Budget where he was assigned 
to review the regulatory and legislative programs of the Food and Drug 
Administration. In 1986, Bruce moved to the Department of Health and 
Human Services as the executive assistant to the Assistant Secretary 
for Health, Dr. Robert Windom. In 1989, Bruce became the assistant 
director for policy at the National AIDS Program Office of the U.S. 
Public Health Service.
  Bruce first joined my office as a legislative fellow assigned to the 
Senate Labor Committee, on which I served as ranking Republican member. 
It was during this time that Bruce was my lead counsel on the original 
Prescription Drug User Fee legislation, which will again be up for 
reauthorization next year.
  Between late 1992 and mid-1995, Bruce served as the Assistant 
Director for Policy at the National Institutes of Health's, NIH, Office 
of Technology Transfer. During that time, he played a key role in 
formulating NIH policy on gene patenting, sponsored research 
agreements, and pricing clauses in Federal Licenses and research 
agreements.
  When Bruce returned to my staff in 1995 on loan from the NIH, I was 
chairman of the Judiciary Committee. I assigned him to a wide range of 
high-priority, complex and sometimes contentious issues. For example, 
Bruce became an expert in the manner in which the historic 1995 General 
Agreement on Trade and Tariffs--the GATT Treaty--intersected with FDA 
regulatory requirements and U.S. and international intellectual 
property laws, including the special rules related to pharmaceutical 
patents.
  In 1997, my friend from Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy and I decided 
to collaborate together on legislation that would increase health 
insurance coverage to children of low-income families to be financed by 
increased tobacco taxes. At the beginning of the effort to enact what 
would become the very popular and very successful CHIP program that 
provides millions of children with health insurance, there was a 
bipartisan team of six staffers.
  Representing me were Bruce, my longstanding, loyal, and very talented 
aide and current chief of staff, Trish Knight, and Rob Foreman, who 
went on to run the legislative office of the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services during the busy and challenging time period when the 
Medicare Modernization Act and the new prescription drug benefit was 
being written and implemented.
  Senator Kennedy was also represented by a team of energetic experts: 
Lauren Ewers, who was a key player in the Kassebaum-Kennedy Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as the HIPAA 
law, David Nexon, a leading Congressional staff authority of health 
issues who was the nemesis to many a Republican Member and staffer 
alike on a plethora of issues, and, last, but certainly not least, Nick 
Littlefield, a visionary and inspirational leader and master 
legislative tactician. It is my firm hope now that Nick and David are 
both in the private sector that they see the error of Senator Kennedy's 
liberal ways and allow their inner-conservative selves to come out.
  One of the things that make this institution a great place is the 
ability to battle one another politically but to do so always with 
respect and, as often as possible, with good humor. One thing you can 
say about Bruce is that he made us laugh, sometimes not even 
intentionally.
  I will never forget the time when I was testifying before the HELP 
Committee on the children's health bill. I noticed that Senator 
Kennedy's staff had made far better charts than my own crack staff 
could muster. I ordered Bruce to borrow Senator Kennedy's posters for 
me to use and was prepared to enjoy my friend from Massachusetts' 
surprise and dismay when he discovered the temporary heist. But the 
situation got even better when Bruce thoroughly distracted Senator 
Kennedy's opening statement by dropping the posters on the floor after 
getting into a verbal altercation with none other than that great 
shrinking violent of the press corps, Adam Clymer of the New York 
Times.
  Apparently, Mr. Clymer was dismayed that the charts were blocking his 
and other reporters' view and demanded that the offending charts be 
moved. Bruce explained that he was just doing his job. To which Mr. 
Clymer responded in his normal diplomatic style: But do you have to be 
so bad at it?
  Suffice it to say that years later when Vice President Cheney made 
that now famous comparison between Mr. Clymer and an unflattering part 
of the anatomy, some of us thought back to his discourse with Bruce.
  Although from time to time Bruce could drive me out of my gourd, it 
did not stop me from giving him challenging assignments. Once he wrote 
a history of how the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act treated exports of 
products for me to deliver at a major conference we were to attend in 
Salt Lake. As it was time to depart for the airport, Bruce looked up 
and said, ``But I am only up to 1938!'' But he got it done.
  In 2003, I promoted Bruce to be my right-hand man by naming him as 
the Judiciary Committee's chief counsel and staff director, where he 
advised me and other committee members on matters pertaining to 
executive branch and judicial nominations, criminal and civil justice, 
counterterrorism, immigration, intellectual property, antitrust, and 
constitutional law. During his tenure as chief counsel, Bruce helped 
devise and implement a successful strategy that resulted in the passage 
of the Justice for All Act, a key legislative priority for me, Senator 
Leahy, Chairman Sensenbrenner, and Representatives Conyers and William 
Delahunt. This law helps ensure that DNA technology will help bring to 
justice those who have eluded arrest and trial in serious crimes such 
as rape and, just as importantly, helps set free those wrongfully 
convicted and incarcerated.
  I feel compelled to add that this success was achieved despite the 
fact that during a particularly sensitive time in the often-contentious 
negotiations, Bruce did not at first completely comply with my direct 
order to refrain from speaking to anyone from the Department of 
Justice, specifically including a certain sometimes confounding 
official we all knew well.
  I am very proud that, with Bruce's help, during my last 2 years as 
Judiciary Committee Chairman, we were able to work to have the Senate 
confirm 104 Federal judges.
  I am also proud that when a few Republican staffers acted 
overzealously and improperly with regard to confidential committee 
member files concerning judicial nominations, my staff including Bruce, 
Reed O'Connor now Senator Cornyn's chief counsel, and Grace Becker--now 
a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at DOJ, helped me and the committee 
set the matter back on the right course. Regardless of whether it is 
ultimately determined that any laws were or were not violated, in this 
case the conduct of accessing another's computer files was simply wrong 
and unacceptable. With the advice and counsel of staffers like Bruce 
Artim and Bruce Cohen, Senator Leahy's Democratic Chief Counsel and 
others, I think the Judiciary Committee faced up to a serious breach of 
comity and concluded, despite those who might erroneously think that 
anything goes in political combat, anything does not, and should not, 
go in the Senate, especially not on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
  I do not shy away from political battles.
  I do not like to lose political battles.
  But when I fight a political battle, I fight straight up.
  Part of what makes our country so great and so strong is that for 
over 200 years we have agreed to disagree agreeably. Bruce understood 
that fighting fairly and ethically with our adversaries in the Senate 
today helps ensure that this body will remain strong and respectful 
tomorrow.
  In the current 109th Congress, Bruce served as the chief counsel and 
staff director of the Intellectual Property Subcommittee but still made 
time to advise me on a wide range of matters, including the 
confirmations of the Chief Justice of the United States,

[[Page S11703]]

John Roberts, and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito; 
reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT Act; the Bankruptcy Reform bill; and 
the Class Action Reform legislation.
  I frequently called upon Bruce to counsel me on difficult matters 
involving ethics. In recent years, stem cell research has required a 
careful study of complex issues relating to ethics, law, science, 
economics, intellectual property, politics and religion.
  Bruce Artim accompanied me every step in my journey to understand and 
formulate policy on stem cell research. He worked closely with key 
Senate staffers, such as David Bowen of Senator Kennedy's staff, and 
Sudip Parikh of Senator Specter's staff.
  He helped me and other Senators and House members draft the critical 
pieces of legislation that are at the center of national debate.
  I could list so many laws to which Bruce contributed--the cord blood 
bank law, modifications to FDA export law we enacted not once, but 
twice, Federal Tort Claims Act coverage for Community Health Center 
workers, the bioterrorism legislation, and of course, patent law and 
especially drug patent law.
  As Bruce leaves, there are many voids we struggle to fill. There is 
so much we will miss about Bruce. He was undoubtedly the most 
accomplished Hill expert on the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term 
Expiration Act, better known as Waxman-Hatch or Hatch-Waxman.
  We will miss his pink bicycle down in the Hart garage, the many jokes 
left on the cutting room floor, and a never-ending supply of neckties 
which supplied so many Hill gentlemen in a time of need.
  I have always appreciated Bruce's wise counsel, his deep commitment 
to the Senate and his ability to make everyone laugh even during 
extremely tense legislative negotiations. He made a tremendous 
contribution to the Senate, and I know that he will do the same for his 
new employer, Eli Lilly and Company.
  Mr. President, Bruce will be missed. He was not only a congressional 
staffer, he was a true friend. So as the 109th Congress draws to a 
close, I hope my colleagues will join me in expressing appreciation to 
Bruce Artim for his loyalty and his significant contributions he has 
made to the Senate over his record 11 years; a record Bruce would be 
pleased to note now exceeds that of Doug Guerdat.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in saluting Bruce's 25 years as a 
public servant and wishing him all of the best in the future.

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