[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 14, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2155-S2156]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE MATTHEW O'NEILL

  Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I do not know if I am going to be able to 
have time to get into this. For the last several months this year, I 
have been taking time 1 day a month to talk a bit about an employee in 
the Department of Homeland Security. Of all the Departments in the 
Federal Government--the largest Department--it has the lowest morale. 
We have been working hard with them to do something about that.
  We are doing small things that nonetheless is to remind everybody 
that folks in the Department of Homeland Security, in some cases, risk 
their lives, invest their lives in trying to make sure we have a life 
and a good life and a safe life. They are worthy of our praise. What I 
am going to do tonight--unless I get run off the floor because of other 
business--I want to talk about one of them.
  As the Presiding Officer knows, the Department was recently the 
center of a budget battle on Capitol Hill. For weeks, it was unclear if 
the Department was going to face a shutdown, another short-term 
continuing resolution or receive the full-year funding they needed. 
Fortunately, Congress did its job and sent a clean funding bill for the 
rest of the fiscal year to the President's desk.
  The employees are grateful for that and certainly I am as well. While 
the Department's employees and leadership can now return to their focus 
on keeping America safe from threats our country faces, we should not 
ignore the harm the latest debate inflicted on the already low morale 
of employees at the Department.
  More than 200,000 men and women work for the Department of Homeland 
Security, really just to do one mission; that is, to create a safe, 
secure, and resilient place where the American way of life can thrive. 
Many of those employees, again as I said earlier, put their lives on 
the line every single day.
  Whether these employees are securing our borders, securing our skies, 
responding to natural disasters or bolstering our defenses in the cyber 
world, few other Federal agencies and employees touch the lives of so 
many Americans on a daily basis more than do the employees of the 
Department of Homeland Security. There is no question that they deserve 
to be treated better than the way Congress has been treating them 
lately.
  That is one of the reasons why over the past few months I have been 
coming to the floor to recognize the work of at least a few of the many 
exemplary Department of Homeland Security employees.
  In February, I spoke about Ramiro Garza, Jr., a Border Patrol agent 
at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. I had the opportunity to meet 
Mr. Garza early in February in McAllen, TX, while on a visit to the 
Mexican border in South Texas with Senators Ron Johnson and Ben Sasse. 
In the past summer, Mr. Garza played an instrumental role in quickly 
setting up an emergency operations center and processing facility, 
which he now runs, to help Customs and Border Protection better manage 
unaccompanied minors and families apprehended along the southern 
border.
  Today, I rise to speak about another dedicated and outstanding 
employee of the Department of Homeland Security. His name is Matthew 
O'Neill. Matthew is employed as a special agent within the U.S. Secret 
Service.
  Over the past several months, there have been incidents, including 
some as recently as this month, that have again raised serious 
questions about the Agency and its ability to fulfill its 
responsibilities. The Agency's leadership is still addressing these 
incidents and taking steps to implement reforms to improve the Agency 
from the inside out.
  So while it is important for us to usher in a new chapter for the 
U.S. Secret Service, it is important also that we shine some light on 
some brave men and women at the Agency who continue to serve our 
country and carry out their missions with distinction. Special Agent 
Matthew O'Neill is one of the many hard-working public servants whose 
day-to-day work deserves special recognition.
  We live in a world that has become increasingly digitized. Nearly all 
Americans, including Members of this Chamber and me, are spending more 
and more of our time online, whether it is to do our banking, our 
shopping, communicating with loved ones or simply getting our work done 
on a day-to-day basis.
  Americans' ability to go online in a safe and secure environment is 
at the core of Special Agent O'Neill's work. You see, agents in the 
U.S. Secret Service are not only responsible for protecting the 
President, the First Family, and other dignitaries as well, some 
agents, such as Special Agent O'Neill, do their work in cyber space--
not outer space but cyber space. And there in that cyber space are 
criminals who are elusive, and the threats they pose to us are 
sophisticated and many.
  Put simply, Agent O'Neill's job is to target cyber criminals taking 
aim at the American consumer, businesses, and our national community 
online.
  Financial crime has evolved dramatically in the nearly 20 years since 
Special Agent O'Neill began his career with the Secret Service. Not 
that long ago, criminals would go to a bank, perhaps maybe a jewelry 
store or a convenience store, to steal money and maybe some other 
valuables.
  Today, they don't even need to go outside to steal items of great 
value from businesses, from the Federal Government or from the rest of 
us consumers and regular citizens. Criminals just need access to the 
Internet. These data breaches are disruptive to our economy. They cause 
worry and confusion for millions of American consumers and for 
businesses. But thanks to his dedication and expertise, Special Agent 
O'Neill has helped the Federal Government to try to stay ahead of the 
curve and keep our most sensitive information and our property secure.
  Special Agent O'Neill is originally from Dumfries, VA. He graduated 
from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA--that makes him a 
Duke--before joining his career with the Secret Service in 1998 in the 
New Haven, CT, office. From 2003 to 2007, he served in the Vice 
Presidential and Special Services Division in Washington, DC.
  However, it is while serving in his current role, one primarily 
performed in cyber space, that Special Agent O'Neill has become one of 
the top cyber warriors defending our security online. In this position, 
he has helped to lead a number of complex transnational cyber crime 
investigations. These investigations have focused on crimes ranging 
from hacks into check-out lanes at brick-and-mortar stores to the 
online sale of stolen, personally identifiable information, such as 
Social Security numbers.
  In one investigation, Special Agent O'Neill identified Web site 
portals that sold the personal information of approximately 30 million 
Americans to other cyber criminals, potentially putting victims at risk 
for identity theft or credit card fraud or worse.
  To uncover the criminals running and participating in this scheme, 
Special Agent O'Neill sought and executed

[[Page S2156]]

over a dozen Federal search warrants, made numerous undercover 
purchases, and painstakingly examined nearly 40,000 emails.
  As a result of an extensive investigation, Special Agent O'Neill was 
able to trace the source of the stolen data to an individual in South 
Vietnam. In 2013, the culprit was arrested for his crimes. Since the 
investigation, Special Agent O'Neill has been able to identify and 
arrest over 20 other criminals who worked in conjunction with the 
culprit by illicitly purchasing the stolen data.
  In addition to breaking up that complex network, Special Agent 
O'Neill's work has also thwarted attacks involving everyday 
transactions, saving businesses and saving consumers from financial 
harm. For example, he played a critical role in identifying, tracking, 
and identifying three Romanian nationals who were planning to hack into 
the computer system of a major fast food franchise with more than 
25,000 restaurants in the United States.
  Time and again, Special Agent O'Neill's supervisors and colleagues 
have noted his commitment and dedication to duty, including his 
willingness to work at all hours of the day and night to track 
criminals who use the Internet with malicious intent.
  In 2012, he was recognized as the Investigator of the Year by the 
International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators. In 2013, 
he was honored by the Secret Service as its Special Agent of the Year 
for his efforts, and in 2014, he received the Department of Homeland 
Security Secretary's Meritorious Service Award.
  But Special Agent O'Neill's service doesn't end with his work at the 
Department of Homeland Security. When he is not combatting cyber crime, 
he is serving his neighbors and community by volunteering for a local 
charity that provides financial assistance to families dealing with 
cancer. The charity also provides scholarship money for the continuing 
education of oncology nurses.
  I thank Special Agent O'Neill's family for sharing him with his 
community and his Nation. We are a safer country because of him.
  In closing, the actions taken by Special Agent Matthew O'Neill attest 
to this critically important work done by thousands of individuals 
across the Department of Homeland Security every single day. These men 
and women are courageous, dedicated, and exemplary Federal employees 
who selflessly serve our country year in and year out.
  Like Special Agent Matthew O'Neill, these unsung heroes and heroines 
walk among us every day, protecting us from the unknown or from the 
unexpected. And more often than not, the good work they do goes 
unnoticed--but not today.
  Special Agent O'Neill, thank you. Thank you for your dedication to 
this country. Thank you for your tireless service to all of us.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Daines). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that at 7:10 p.m., the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of H.R. 2, which was received from the 
House, and that the only amendments in order be the following: Cornyn 
amendment No. 1114, repeal individual mandate; Democratic amendment No. 
1115, extend SCHIP; Lee amendment No. 1116, motion to strike; 
Democratic amendment No. 1117, women's health; Cotton amendment No. 
1118, fee schedule; Democratic amendment No. 1119, therapy; that 
following the use or yielding back of time, the Senate vote in relation 
to the amendments in the order listed, that all amendments except the 
Cotton and Lee amendments be subject to a 60-vote affirmative threshold 
for adoption, the bill then be read a third time and the Senate vote on 
passage of the bill, as amended, if amended; further, that there be 2 
minutes equally divided between the votes and that the votes after the 
first be 10 minutes in length.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, the reason we 
are not moving forward more quickly is we first had to get some of the 
holds lifted, and we were able to do that on both sides, and we wanted 
to make sure there would be no cuts in the physicians payments.
  We thought if we finished this by early sometime tomorrow, noon or 
thereabouts, that the payments would not be cut but we don't have that 
assurance yet. So we are going to have to go ahead. If something comes 
from the Office of Management and Budget or the White House that that 
would not happen, we can allow people to go to the events they have 
around town.
  In the meantime, I agree with the Republican leader, we should go 
forward. If something happens during some of these votes so we can 
finish them tomorrow, fine. But in the meantime, to protect not only 
the physicians but their patients, we should move forward on this 
legislation now.
  I have no objection.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, just briefly, the point to remember 
here is that at midnight, roughly 5 hours from now, CMS will begin to 
cut payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients. If we do not act 
tonight, these cuts of 21 percent will be real.
  I yield the floor.

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