[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 170 (Tuesday, November 17, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11424-S11425]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        IN PRAISE OF ANN AZEVEDO

  Mr. KAUFMAN. Mr. President, I rise once more to honor an outstanding 
Federal employee.
  Next week, American families will gather around dinner tables in 
celebration of Thanksgiving.
  Thanksgiving is a time for coming together. In earlier ages, members 
of an extended family usually resided in close proximity to one 
another. Today, however, the typical American family is spread across 
the country, with members far in distance even if close in spirit.
  Americans of all backgrounds and from all walks of life will be 
travelling long distances to be with their loved ones. It is no wonder 
that Thanksgiving weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the 
year.
  Tens of millions of us will be driving, flying, and taking trains or 
ferries next week. For some it will be stressful, for others exciting. 
Most, though, will do it without even realizing how much work goes into 
keeping American travelers safe.
  The Department of Transportation employee whose story I will share 
today has been instrumental in ensuring the safety of those who travel. 
But before I tell you about this outstanding public servant, I want to 
reflect on how important transportation is for America.
  From its humble beginnings, ours has been a Nation on the move. In 
George Washington's day, their mercantile spirit drove our founding 
generation to dig canals and clear roads across the Appalachians. 
Steamships and railroads fueled the expansion across the West and 
helped close the frontier. Air travel in the last century brought every 
corner of our 50 States ever closer and opened new opportunities for 
the growth of business and tourism.
  This march of progress in transportation technology has not been a 
smooth ride. When the railroads were new, train wrecks were fairly 
common. In fact, President-Elect Franklin Pierce was en route to 
Washington for his inauguration when his train derailed, tragically 
killing his 11-year-old son.
  Travel by ferry or steamship on our rivers and lakes was far from 
safe in those days. For pioneer families, roads were often impassible 
during wintertime, and many lost their lives just trying to get to the 
West. While air travel is the safest form of transportation in our day, 
it was not always the case.
  Making sure that our Nation's ``planes, trains, and automobiles'' are 
safe remains one of our highest priorities. My home State of Delaware, 
like every other State--like Montana--depends on a top-notch 
transportation infrastructure to facilitate economic activity, moving 
people and goods across markets.
  Travel can and should be a safe and fun experience. No one should 
ever have to worry that the vehicles on our roads, rails, rivers, or in 
our skies are unsafe. That is where the hardworking men and women of 
the Department of

[[Page S11425]]

Transportation excel. They set and enforce regulations upholding the 
strictest standards in transportation safety.
  The great Federal employee I have chosen to recognize this week has 
been a leader on safety issues at the Transportation Department's 
Federal Aviation Administration for 12 years.
  Ann Azevedo came to the department in 1997 with nearly two decades of 
experience in the private sector. Working from the FAA facility in 
Burlington, MA, when she first started at the FAA, Ann served as the 
risk analysis specialist for the Engine and Propeller Directorate.
  In her current role as chief scientific and technical adviser for 
aircraft safety analysis, Ann focuses on safety, risk management, and 
analyzing accidents. From the data she gathers, Ann is able to develop 
solutions to help prevent future incidents.
  Regularly representing the FAA at national and international air 
safety round-tables, Ann has become a respected voice among those 
engaged in risk management analysis. She helped write the training 
manuals for turbofan and turboprop aircraft used across the industry, 
and she continues to teach risk analysis at the FAA Academy.
  Ann holds a bachelor's degree in systems planning and management in 
applied mathematics and a master's of science in mechanical 
engineering. When she was once asked how she ended up in her chosen 
career field, Ann cited her love of math and an influential physics 
teacher in high school.
  Ann was awarded the Arthur S. Flemming Award for public service in 
2002 for developing safety solutions that resulted in a 64 percent 
decrease in the commercial aviation fatality rate between 1998 and 
2002. She also was honored as Distinguished Engineer of the Year by the 
American Society of Mechanical Engineering in 1996.
  Her work, and that of all her colleagues at the FAA and other 
Transportation Department agencies, helps ensure that travel in our 
country continues to be as safe as possible.
  Most importantly, they facilitate the smiles of those arriving safely 
at a journey's end and seeing their loved ones for the first time after 
weeks, months, or even years apart.
  That remains a central element of Thanksgiving, and I hope all 
Americans will join me in thanking Ann Azevedo and all the men and 
women of the Department of Transportation for their hard work keeping 
American travelers safe.
  They keep us, whether on the road, on the rails, at sea, or in the 
sky, moving ever forward.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. MURRAY. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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