[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E351-E352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO THOMAS J. GRAFF

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2008

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, tonight many of Tom 
Graff's friends and associates will be honoring his career and 
accomplishments at a dinner in California. Because I can't make it to 
Sacramento for tonight's dinner, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
the great leaders, strategists, and intellectual engines of the 
environmental movement of the last several decades.
  Tom Graff founded Environmental Defense Fund's California office in 
1971, and he has been one of the most influential, effective, and 
important voices in California environmental policy--and especially in 
the water world--ever since. Indeed, Tom has been deeply involved in 
the messy and fascinating world of water politics and policy since 
before I came to Congress. Not many people can say that.
  Over our decades of friendship, Tom has frequently been a lifesaver 
to me, to my staff, and frankly to the people of California. He always 
looks for solutions, even to the most intractable problems, and 
whenever we've needed to get the latest thinking on environmental 
policy water policy, the first call we make is to Tom.
  Now, despite his genius, he hasn't always seen the wisdom of my 
approach to every specific issue, so from time to time, I have been on 
the receiving end of his strong--even passionate--views. But every 
interaction with Tom is educational, and leaves you wiser at the end of 
the day.
  Among many other accomplishments, Tom's negotiating prowess and his 
wisdom were critical to the passage of legislation that I authored in 
1992 to protect the Bay-Delta of California: the Central Valley Project 
Improvement Act.
  The CVPIA took us many years to put together, and Tom's hard work is 
visible throughout the statute. One of Tom's great insights was in 
advocating for, and helping to

[[Page E352]]

develop, the water-marketing agreements that helped bring the business 
world and the urban water community on board. His work on water 
marketing has always been ahead of his time: he was early to the idea 
that market forces can be brought to bear on conservation and the 
protection of water and other public goods.
  This is a great example of Tom's ability to look at new ideas and 
adapt them to environmental improvements, which has always been an 
incredible strength, one matched by very few people--too few, really--
in the world of environmental policymaking.
  Nothing in California water politics is easy, as the people gathered 
in Sacramento tonight can attest, and Tom is one of the very few people 
who can broker an agreement between the north and the south, between 
State and Federal politicians, between Democrats and Republicans, and 
of course, between Democrats and other Democrats.
  Tom is a great friend, and a great ally. I have relied on his counsel 
for 30 years, and whenever a new issue crops up that requires an 
innovative strategy, I turn to him--and so do many, many others.
  Madam Speaker, on behalf of myself, my staff, and all of our 
colleagues in Congress who have benefited from his guidance and advice, 
it is my honor to recognize Tom Graff.

                          ____________________