[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1310]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO COLONEL JOHN A. LEGGIERI FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE TO THE 
                  UNITED STATES ARMY AND TO OUR NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2014

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Colonel John A. 
Leggieri for his exemplary dedication to duty and his service to the 
United States Army and to the United States of America. Colonel 
Leggieri will retire from the Army in December after serving almost 
half of his 30-year career in Congressional Liaison.
  A native of Claverack, New York, Colonel John Leggieri was 
commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through Sienna College's ROTC 
program. Initially branched into Air Defense Artillery, John led 
Soldiers in demanding situations--first with the 2nd Infantry Division 
in Korea and then with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North 
Carolina. He then transitioned to the Quartermaster Corps, where he led 
Soldiers for the next decade as a logistician in New York, Nebraska, 
Virginia, and Arkansas.
  In 1999, John began the next phase of his career in Congressional 
Liaison. He initially served as an Army Congressional Fellow for a 
year, working in a Member's office on Capitol Hill. For the next 14 
years he served in positions of increasing responsibility in the 
critical, fast-paced arena of Congressional Liaison. He worked as 
Legislative Liaison Officer for the Chief of the Army Reserve and then 
as Congressional Budget Liaison Officer for the Office of Assistant 
Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller), working 
closely with the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. There are 
few who know more about the Congressional budget process and none 
respected more. After his initial work with Congress, John was selected 
as a National Security Fellow and studied for a year at Harvard 
University's prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government in 
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
  The Colonel's next role with Congress was as Chief of Congressional 
Plans and Strategy for the Army's Chief of Legislative Liaison, where 
he directed the development of long-range Army wide legislative goals 
and objectives to help clearly communicate the Army's multi-billion 
dollar annual budget requests. Finally, Colonel Leggieri served as the 
Chief of Congressional Budget Liaison, where for the last three years 
he ensured the Army's budget positions were extremely well represented 
and articulated to the Congressional Appropriations Committees. John's 
tenure as the Chief of Congressional Budget Liaison coincided with a 
particularly challenging fiscal period for the Department of the 
Defense. Under his leadership, the Army's Congressional Budget Liaison 
Office navigated dramatically declining defense budgets as operations 
in Iraq and Afghanistan drew down and sequestration was implemented. In 
spite of these challenges, John was instrumental in ensuring that 
Congress was informed of the importance of key programs for the future 
of the Army.
  In his many years in the liaison role, John helped showcase the 
Army's great accomplishments by leading countless high profile 
Congressional delegations to locations around the world, including 
Afghanistan, Bosnia, Egypt, Iraq, Kosovo, and innumerable other places 
where dedicated Americans serve our nation. These fact finding missions 
have been instrumental in improving the United States' foreign and 
defense policy.
  Colonel Leggieri's leadership throughout his career positively 
impacted his Soldiers, peers, and superiors. His integrity, his 
exceptional work, and his sense of service are leaving our world 
improved and they have always served as an example for those he has 
commanded. To quote Charles Dickens, Colonel Leggieri is, ``as good a 
friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city 
knew.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in commending 
Colonel John Leggieri for over three decades of service to his country. 
We wish John, his wife Rebecca, herself a retired Army Lieutenant 
Colonel and now Professional Staff Member on the House Defense 
Appropriations Subcommittee, and their two children, Olivia and 
Gabriel, all the best.

                          ____________________