[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 125 (Tuesday, August 5, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TRIBUTE TO ROBERT PERCIASEPE

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I want to take a moment today to 
honor Robert ``Bob'' Perciasepe, the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency EPA. Bob is a true public servant and 
dear friend who will be departing government service shortly. He has 
spent the past several decades protecting our environment and his work 
in this regard has been exemplary. The air we and our children and 
grandchildren breathe and the water we drink are cleaner because of Bob 
Perciasepe.
  Bob graduated in 1974 from Cornell University with a bachelor of 
science degree in natural resources and then received his master's 
degree in planning and public administration from the Maxwell School of 
Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. After Bob 
graduated from Syracuse, he began his career in public service with the 
Baltimore City Planning Department in 1976, eventually becoming the 
city's assistant director for planning in 1986. Later, he served as the 
Maryland secretary of the environment. It was during his service in my 
home State of Maryland that I first had the opportunity to know and 
work with Bob, particularly as he worked on an issue near and dear to 
me--protecting the Chesapeake Bay.
  Following Bob's service in Maryland, he served President Bill Clinton 
in two different capacities at the EPA, first as the Assistant 
Administrator for Water and then as the Assistant Administrator for the 
Office of Air and Radiation. In these positions, he continued his 
tireless work to improve the air we breathe and protect our drinking 
and recreational waters.
  Bob was instrumental in working with us in Congress to pass the 1996 
Safe Drinking Water Act--a law that provided critical protection 
standards for drinking water. When he led the Office of Air and 
Radiation, he signed the first official finding that mercury pollution 
from our Nation's power plants should be controlled.
  Bob left government service but he didn't stop working to protect 
human health and the environment. He went to work for the National 
Audubon Society, where he continued to champion conservation and 
environmental progress. When Barack Obama became President in 2009, Bob 
returned to Federal service as the EPA's Deputy Administrator and 
served as Acting Administrator between the tenures of Lisa Jackson and 
Gina McCarthy.
  Bob's dedication to public service and his practical approach to 
problemsolving were evident from my first interactions with him. His 
fun-loving nature, intellectual capacity, and devotion to duty make him 
an exemplary public servant. We all breathe easier--literally--because 
of Bob Perciasepe, so I wanted to take this opportunity to express my 
appreciation for his service and congratulate him on his countless 
contributions to protecting our Nation's environment during his long 
tenure at EPA. I have no doubt that Bob will maintain his untiring 
commitment to the betterment of the environment in his next venture, 
and I wish him all the best.

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