[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 17, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S645-S646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF TED TOTMAN

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I rise to pay tribute to a staff 
person, Ted Totman, who will retire this week after 23 years of public 
service as a professional staff member in the U.S. Senate. I didn't 
know it back then, but when Ted took a job for me in 1983 on the 
Subcommittee on Aging of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, I 
had hired someone who would be one of my closest, most trusted, and 
longest serving advisers.
  Ted was a professional staff member for the Subcommittee on Aging 
from May 1983 to February 1985. He was staff director during my 
chairmanship of that subcommittee from April 1985 to January 1987. Ted 
played a major role in developing and passing the 1984 Older Americans 
Act amendments and was a forward-looking, successful advocate for more 
attention to Alzheimer's disease, including expanding the number of 
Alzheimer's disease research centers, increasing funding for 
Alzheimer's disease research, and increasing funding for the care of 
people with Alzheimer's disease. Ted also worked to help obtain funding 
for two statistical centers on aging in the Census Bureau.
  For the next 10 years, from January 1987 to January 1997, Ted served 
as a legislative assistant in my office, where he was responsible for 
Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security retirement and disability policy, 
private pensions, and veterans issues. He was the leading staff member 
in the Congress for rural health initiatives. He worked to call 
attention to regional disparities in Medicare provider reimbursement 
which disadvantage rural providers, requested and achieved a major 
Office of Technology Assessment study on the problems of delivering 
health care in rural areas, and supported the Medicare Dependent 
Hospital Program and the EACH/RPCH hospital program. Ted's staff 
leadership helped to secure landmark amendments in the 1995 Finance 
Committee reconciliation bill to ensure geographic equity in Medicare 
managed care and to reform Medicare's reimbursement for nonphysician 
primary care providers. In addition, Ted spent countless hours helping 
Iowans navigate the Federal health care programs.
  In January 1997, I became, because of seniority, chairman of the 
Senate Special Committee on Aging. I asked Ted to be staff director. 
For the next 3 years, Ted led the committee's work that focused on 
preparing for the retirement of the baby boom generation and rural 
health issues. The committee staff developed legislation on aging 
policy issues, including Medicare, Social Security retirement, and 
private pensions, most of which was referred to the Committee on 
Finance, where I was also a member. Legislative initiatives included 
bills on Medicare dependent hospitals, consumer protections for 
participants in Medicare managed-care plans, and the program of all-
inclusive care for the elderly, and that comes under the acronym we all 
recognize as the PACE Program. Staff developed and helped enact the 
Balanced Budget Act in 1997, provisions that provided greater 
reimbursement equity to managed-care plans that operated in rural 
communities. As staff director, Ted also led the pursuit of an active 
oversight and investigative agenda, including a pivotal review of the 
quality of care in nursing homes and the management of the oversight of 
quality of care in the nursing homes by the Health Care Financing 
Administration. Let me say for the distinguished Presiding Officer, the 
previous administration helped us very much get that through so that we 
now are adequately enforcing overview of nursing homes, as one example.
  Ted helped to raise the profile of many issues of importance not only 
to older Americans but to our society as a whole.
  In January of 2001, I became chairman of the Senate Committee on 
Finance, and Ted was there again to provide valuable leadership. When I 
asked him to stay on, at a time he was thinking of retiring, as deputy 
staff director, he was an integral part of the success of the 
committee's work during the next 6 years and oversaw staff work on 
major initiatives, including the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, 
the health provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act, the PRIDE Act, and 
the authorization of the Safe and Stable Families legislation.
  Once again, Ted helped to ensure an active oversight program that 
focused on fraud and abuse in the health care system, problems in the 
process by which the Food and Drug Administration approves medications 
and devices, the quality of care in nursing homes, and the management 
by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the survey and 
certification system for nursing homes. That was an ongoing issue back, 
as I referred to, when I was chairman of the Committee on Aging.

[[Page S646]]

  Ted's work on the staff of the Finance Committee is so highly 
respected that the members signed a resolution expressing gratitude and 
respect for Ted's service and dedication.
  In addition to his 23 years of service in the U.S. Senate, Ted worked 
for 5 years for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and 
served 2 years in the military.
  In the Senate, Ted's policy acumen and understanding of the 
complexities of the legislative process, insight into the executive 
branch of Government, political wit, as well as his strong work ethic 
and intellectual honesty and his evenhandedness and personal generosity 
have made him remarkably effective and universally regarded.
  Ted is a true public servant who was committed in his work to the 
people of Iowa and of this great country. I am grateful for his loyalty 
and applaud his legacy of accomplishment. Ted has made a positive 
difference in the lives of so many Grassley staff members, and his 
daily presence will be greatly missed by all of us. We wish Ted well 
and look forward to continuing our friendship with him.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont is recognized.
  Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, I see my neighbor from across beautiful 
Lake Champlain, the State of New York, here. If the managers of the 
bill have no objection, I will speak for 4 or 5 minutes about a matter 
that has just come up. There has been a lot of interest in it.
  I ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 7 minutes as in morning 
business.
  Mr. BENNETT. I have no objection if we can add to that that following 
the presentation of the Senator from Vermont, I will be recognized.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Klobuchar). Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

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