[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E250-E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING JENNIFER JOY WILSON'S SELECTION AS AGGREGATES MANAGER OF THE 
                                  YEAR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a remarkable 
American, a woman who has previously served this Nation and the 
citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia with honor and distinction--
Jennifer Joy Wilson, who has worked at the White House Office of 
Communications for President Gerald Ford, as Assistant Administrator 
for External Affairs at the Environmental Protection Agency, as 
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as staff policy 
liaison and senior executive assistant for Virginia Governor John 
Dalton, and as legislative director and executive assistant for U.S. 
Senator John Warner. 
   For the past decade, Ms. Wilson has served first as the head of the 
National Stone Association, and then, after the merger of two similar 
groups, as the president and CEO of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel 
Association, NSSGA. NSSGA is the world's largest mining association by 
product volume. Its member companies represent more than 90 percent of 
the crushed stone and 70 percent of the sand and gravel produced 
annually in the United States and approximately 118,000 working men and 
women in the aggregates industry. During 2006, a total of about 2.95 
billion metric tons of crushed stone, sand and gravel, valued at $21 
billion, was produced and sold in the United States.
   This year, Ms. Wilson has been given the distinguished honor of 
being selected as AggMan of the Year by Aggregates Manager magazine, 
one of the construction aggregates industry's leading trade 
publications.
  During her tenure, the NSSGA led an effort to improve employee safety 
in the aggregate industry by developing new safety procedures, called 
Part 46, for the U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration, MSHA. The 
joint industry-labor effort produced a proposal ``that would apply 
better to our industry and provide managers and workers with effective 
means to prevent accidents and fatalities.'' By all accounts, Part 46 
has shown remarkable success in reducing employee injuries.
  On February 11, 2003, an alliance between NSSGA and MSHA was 
announced. Signed at the NSSGA's centennial convention in Orlando, 
Florida, the agreement calls for the two organizations to work closely 
together on the promotion of safe working conditions, the development 
of effective miner training programs, and the expansion of mine safety 
and health outreach and communication. ``For the first time ever, MSHA 
and an industry association have jointly agreed to adopt safety and 
health performance goals with objective measures,'' then MSHA 
Administrator Dave Lauriski said during that meeting. ``This alone is 
unprecedented . . . NSSGA is again showing its leadership.''
   On the environmental front, Ms. Wilson led the industry in investing 
in a study ``righting an

[[Page E251]]

assumption we just didn't believe was right.'' Through the efforts of 
the association and its members, it was determined that the aggregates 
industry is not a major emitter of PM-10--a particular type of air 
pollutant. The final regulations reflected the investment by the 
industry in recognizing that aggregate operations are not a major 
source of coarse particulate matter.''
  Considering almost half of all crushed stone, sand and gravel 
produced in the United States is used for building the Nation's 
transportation infrastructure, Ms. Wilson has led her members in 
establishing a strong grassroots presence connecting the industry's 
workforce with their elected officials while increasing their activity 
on Capitol Hill. Leveraging the association's resources, Ms. Wilson has 
also worked closely with industry coalitions to advocate for sound and 
sensible transportation policies.
  While there are many ``hard as rock'' examples of her leadership, Ms. 
Wilson also has a passion for the industry and the people she 
represents. Referring to it as ``romancing the stone,'' Ms. Wilson 
wants to raise awareness of the public, legislators, and of regulators 
at all levels to the immeasurably important role aggregates play in 
maintaining America's high quality of life. This includes her 
leadership in establishing the Rocks Gallery at the Smithsonian's 
National Museum of Natural History and creating a permanent endowment 
to support the gallery, all totaling more than $3.1 million.
   Many people have been able to take credit for industry 
accomplishments, but selection as AggMan of the Year denotes something 
not everyone can lay claim to--respect of one's peers, including the 
irony of designating the first woman to win the honor of ``AggMan of 
the Year.'' For this reason I stand here today to take a moment and 
congratulate a woman who has done so much for the good people in the 
aggregates industry.

                          ____________________