[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                              JIM BARNETTE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. FRED UPTON

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 31, 2012

  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, today I bid farewell and best wishes to Jim 
Barnette, the incomparable Energy and Commerce Committee General 
Counsel.
  When I became Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, everyone 
told me I needed someone like Jim Barnette to serve as General Counsel. 
He served under three Chairmen before me and, though he was no longer 
in government service, his legacy of jurisdictional tenacity and 
seemingly limitless institutional knowledge remained.
  Not content with a mere likeness, I informed Jim I was revoking his 
leave of absence and he was to report for duty promptly. Much to my 
delight, like any true public servant, he obliged.
  As a veteran of the procedural, political, and policy battlefield, 
there was no one better suited to take the reins as General Counsel for 
the Committee when I began my tenure as Chairman at the outset of the 
112th Congress.
  Jim styles himself a country lawyer, but he brings a level of 
experience and wisdom to our Committee that is quite simply unmatched 
on Capitol Hill. He helped assemble and mentor the strongest team on 
Capitol Hill, building a backbone for our Committee staff that will 
stand the test of time.
  He is a General Counsel in the fullest sense of the title: a faithful 
counselor to Members and staff and a forceful advocate for the issues 
before the Committee.
  He has been a trusted partner, an expert negotiator, a skilled 
tactician, and a true friend. I wish Jim and his wife Chelo well, 
extending my sincere thanks for the year they set aside that allowed me 
to bring Jim back to the Committee. As we say at the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, Jim is the best.

                          ____________________