[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PHILIP G. KIKO

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 17, 2007

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Madam Speaker, it is with mixed feelings that I 
rise before you today to say a few words about one of my longest 
serving and closest staff, Philip G. Kiko. Phil was one of the first 
people I hired on my personal staff in 1979, when I was a freshman 
Member of Congress, and in the years since, he has become a close 
friend and confidant.
  During my tenure on the House Committee on the Judiciary, a Committee 
upon which I have served throughout my tenure in this body and chaired 
from 2001 to 2006, Phil served the country and Committee ably by 
pushing through several pieces of legislation that, in my opinion, have 
made this country a better place. Just look at the reauthorization of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1982, a historic event that reaffirmed the 
promise of voting equality to millions of Americans. And then, as 
General Counsel and Chief of Staff to the Committee on the Judiciary 
last year, Phil led staff negotiations that led to near unanimous House 
and Senate passage of the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta 
Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act. His 
unique capacity to bridge partisan divisions to advance the promise of 
equality our Constitution provides to all of America's citizens best 
illustrates his unrivaled abilities as a consensus-builder and 
negotiator.
  Moreover, the skills Phil demonstrated during consideration and 
passage of this legislation were applied to advance other legislation 
whose titles are as familiar as they are historic. Phil was a driving 
staff force behind congressional passage of the Adam Walsh Child 
Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which has been hailed by child 
safety and law enforcement groups as the most comprehensive federal 
child protection legislation in a generation.
  And who can forget the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 which 
demonstrated fundamental vulnerabilities in America's law enforcement 
and intelligence communities. Phil played a central staff role in 
consideration and passage of the USA PATRIOT and USA PATRIOT 
Improvement and Reauthorization Act, laws that have provided America's 
law enforcement and intelligence agencies with the tools necessary to 
detect, disrupt and deter terrorist attacks before they occur on 
American soil. Phil has also played pivotal roles in congressional 
passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, 
the Class Action Fairness Act, REAL ID Act, and other legislation that 
will distinguish his years of service to the Committee as among the 
most productive and meaningful in our Nation's history.
  Madam Speaker, most Americans have probably never heard of Phil Kiko, 
but they have heard of the aforementioned bills he has worked on, and 
they have certainly been affected by them in some way, shape or form. 
Phil's tenacity and passion for working on ideals that he believed to 
be right and just often pushed him and those he worked with, to spend 
many a late night in the Capitol--but the benefits of his dedication 
went ultimately to Americans like you and me.
  It is never easy to say goodbye, especially to one who has been by my 
side for decades. But I also know that there comes a time when we must 
all simply move on. That time has come for Phil Kiko, and so I stand 
before you, and the rest of my colleagues, and I ask you all to join me 
in wishing Phil all the best, as he takes his next step.
  On behalf of the Committee on the Judiciary, the House of 
Representatives, and myself, I thank you Phil, for all your service to 
this Nation, and congratulate you on a job well done.

                          ____________________