[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 137 (Friday, September 25, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9867-S9868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                2009 SERVICE TO AMERICA MEDAL RECIPIENTS

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I honor and congratulate 
three outstanding Federal employees from Maryland--Thomas Alexander 
Waldmann, Patricia Guerry and Deborah Jin--who have recently been 
awarded Service to America medals in recognition for their great work.
  Our Federal employees are on the front lines every day, working hard 
for America. Their commitment to public service makes life better for 
us all. I am proud to honor these three terrific Federal employees from 
Maryland today.
  For the past five decades, Dr. Thomas Alexander Waldmann has devoted 
himself to performing cutting-edge

[[Page S9868]]

science at the National Institutes of Health. His work has resulted in 
great advances in treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis, 
various types of cancer and AIDS. Dr. Waldmann's commitment to 
transforming scientific research to save and improve lives has earned 
him the nickname ``renaissance scientist'' by his peers. His seminal 
research extends from the study of the immune system to clinical trials 
of immunotherapeutic agents, which help your immune system perform 
better. His innovative use of clinical trials has helped transform the 
way trials are used to treat patients, and has led to the development 
of treatments for fatal forms of leukemia and lymphoma and for multiple 
sclerosis.
  Dr. Patricia Guerry of the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center is an 
innovator in combating food-borne illnesses throughout the world. After 
the discovery of the most common cause of food-borne illnesses, the 
Campylobacter microbe, in the late 1970s, researchers struggled to 
understand it and develop vaccines to combat it. But Dr. Guerry was 
unwavering in her quest to study the Campylobacter microbe, overcoming 
many barriers and working with limited resources to develop a promising 
new vaccine that may be only a couple years away from human trials. 
Over the past 3 years, Dr. Guerry and her group have had impressive 
success in advancing a vaccine, working at a breakneck pace. Dr. 
Guerry's success is especially promising for American troops abroad, 
who are particularly vulnerable to food poisoning.
  Dr. Deborah Jin is another pioneering researcher. A research team 
leader at the JILA-National Institute of Standards and Technology joint 
institute in Boulder, CO, Deborah and her team have made great advances 
in the field of physics, including the creation of a new form of 
matter, a major discovery in the race toward superconductivity. 
Superconductivity--using extremely low temperatures to move electrons 
through a magnetic field--can potentially lead to breakthroughs in 
energy efficiency and computing. Deborah's team raced against six other 
teams worldwide to be the first to make this discovery.
  These three Marylanders exemplify the very best that our Federal 
employees have to offer. But don't think that there aren't thousands of 
stories like this across the country, from Atlanta to Silver Spring. 
They work hard so that the American people have a government they can 
count on. I will continue to stand sentry so that Federal employees get 
the pay and benefits they have earned and the job security they 
deserve.

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