[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 185 (Friday, December 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8878-S8879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          TRIBUTE TO AIKO LANE

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I would like my colleagues to join me in 
thanking Aiko Lane, a Brookings fellow from the Department of Defense, 
for her service to the Senate and to wish her well as she returns to 
the Pentagon.
  Before Aiko joined my office she was a policy adviser in the office 
of the Secretary of Defense focusing on countering weapons of mass 
destruction. She has also served as the Japan country director where 
she represented the Department of Defense on issues related to the 
U.S.-Japan alliance, including coordinating the U.S. response to 
Japan's 2011 devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
  Prior to her work on Japan, Aiko was the Afghanistan country director 
where she was responsible for engaging with international partners and 
allies on military support for the U.S. and NATO-led efforts in 
Afghanistan.
  Aiko, who received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern and a 
master's degree from Columbia, has been an important member of my 
foreign policy team over the last year, focusing much of her time and 
energy on my work as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations 
Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity 
Policy. Aiko's expertise in matters pertaining to East Asia and the 
Pacific and her solid advice and thoughtful analysis of all regional 
matters have been critical to me. Moreover, Aiko's hard work enabled 
the subcommittee to hold five hearings this year on matters ranging 
from democratic transitions in Southeast Asia to the North Korean 
nuclear threat.
  There is no question that the United States is fortunate to have 
people like Aiko representing Americans both at

[[Page S8879]]

home and abroad. We here in the Senate will miss Aiko's extensive 
knowledge and extraordinary work ethic as she returns to the Department 
of Defense. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Aiko's 
husband, Haru, and their children, Callea and Kent, for sharing her 
with us this past year. The Senate schedule isn't always the most 
``family friendly'' but Aiko has been able to juggle the competing 
demands masterfully. I urge my colleagues to join me in thanking Aiko 
Lane for her outstanding service to our Nation.

                          ____________________