[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF TOM PARROTT

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 23, 2015

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to commemorate the public 
service of Tom Parrott. Tom is retiring from the Social Security 
Administration after more than four decades of service to the millions 
of Americans who rely on Social Security. I serve as the Ranking 
Democrat on the Committee on Ways and Means, and over the years my 
colleagues and I and our staff have relied heavily on Tom's thoughtful 
and accurate advice as we crafted Social Security and Supplemental 
Security Income legislation. We and our constituents owe Tom our thanks 
for his careful stewardship of their contributions and the benefits 
they rely on to live.
  Tom's roots at Social Security are deep, as his father of the same 
name and his mother served at SSA before him. In fact, Tom says he can 
remember polishing the family car so his parents could go to the movies 
with Mr. and Mrs. Bob Ball.
  In January 1975, Tom began his service at Social Security as a claims 
representative in the Midtown Manhattan district office, before being 
assigned to the Rochester, New York and, subsequently, Redding, 
California district offices. In 1980, he was welcomed back to his home 
town of Baltimore as a policy analyst in the predecessor office of the 
current Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs. He then 
devoted himself for the last 35 years to working on federal 
legislation, providing impartial and knowledgeable counsel. He has been 
Acting Deputy Commissioner for Legislation and Congressional Affairs, 
and currently serves as Assistant Deputy Commissioner.
  Tom's commitment to public service runs deeply. Prior to coming to 
Social Security, Tom was a VISTA volunteer and later a field health 
inspector working for the State with migrant farm workers in the potato 
and apple growing regions of western New York. Tom is a 1972 graduate 
of Denison University, and completed the Federal Executive Institute's 
Leadership for a Democratic Society program in 2005. He became a member 
of the Senior Executive Service in 2008.
  As evidenced by his long and successful service in SSA's legislative 
affairs office, Tom has a keen eye for public policy, understanding the 
need to balance competing objectives in a politically and operationally 
workable fashion, and always with the Americans who rely on Social 
Security firmly in mind. We and our staffs have enjoyed working with 
Tom--one of his gifts is the ability to retain a calm demeanor and a 
sense of humor no matter what the situation. We have relied greatly on 
Tom's assistance and wise counsel over the years. We thank him for his 
service, and we wish him a well-earned retirement.

                          ____________________