[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING JOHN VANDERBURGH FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 17, 2007

  Ms. BORDALLO. Madam Speaker, it is commonly said that public service 
is not the path to financial wealth. Perhaps that is true, but, as we 
know, it is an enriching experience in more valuable ways. The rewards 
for helping people can be found in successfully meeting challenges and 
in the gratitude of the people helped. Staying true to the demands of 
public service and remaining committed to the tasks at hand require a 
strong sense of duty and responsibility.
  On January 19, 2007, a faithful public servant with such virtues will 
leave his post after 35 years. Mr. John Vanderburgh, the Social 
Security Administration's Disability Programs coordinator for the Guam 
Federal Disability Office, will retire. The decision to do so was not 
easy to make. ``My job is wonderful,'' he says. ``I get to work 
directly with the public in a most personal and meaningful way. I also 
have the privilege of working and negotiating with professional and 
high-level private and public agencies, and the medical community in 
general, to try to provide a level of service comparable to that found 
anywhere stateside.''
  After serving his country in the U.S. Army, Mr. Vanderburgh launched 
his public service career with the Social Security Administration in 
1974, starting as a claims representative in San Francisco and rising 
through the ranks to operations supervisor and district manager, with a 
stint in between as staff assistant for the Civic Center. In 1988, John 
moved to the San Francisco Regional Office's Disability Quality Branch, 
to focus on the disability program. In 1995, John came to Guam to head 
the Federal Disability Office.
  The Guam Federal Disability Office, FDO, serves the Pacific 
territories--from Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas to 
American Samoa, an expansive and culturally and linguistically 
diversified area. Yet, during his tenure, John has maintained the FDO 
as a full-service Federal disability determination center, processing 
some 1,000 disability claims annually.
  Although John will be missed, we join his staff in wishing him well. 
And on behalf of the people of Guam, we commend him for his service to 
our community, we congratulate him on his retirement, and we thank him 
for a job well done.

                          ____________________