    [Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 10, 2018)]
    [Extensions of Remarks]
    [Page E23]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       RECOGNIZING GREG KOSTKA IN HONOR OF HIS RETIREMENT FROM THE HOUSE
                       OFFICE OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL

                                     ______

                                HON. ADAM SMITH

                                 of washington

                        in the house of representatives

                          Wednesday, January 10, 2018

      Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, each year for the past 57 years
    the Congress has passed annual legislation to authorize the policies,
    programs, and activities of the Department of Defense. Today, we refer
    to this important legislation as the National Defense Authorization
    Act. Crafting this bill is no easy task, and it couldn't be done
    without the countless hours of work put in by the House Armed Services
    Committee staff and the attorneys at the House Office of Legislative
    Counsel. Today, I rise to honor a member of the legislative counsel
    team to thank him for his 31 years of service to the House of
    Representatives, and especially to the House Armed Services Committee.
      A graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, Greg Kostka
    joined the House Office of Legislative Counsel in 1986 and has had a
    hand in the drafting of each National Defense Authorization Act since
    the Fiscal Year 1989 bill. While Greg's focus areas have been in
    military personnel, military justice, military construction, and
    readiness, he is known by his colleagues as someone capable of drafting
    in virtually any area of defense law if called upon. And from 2016 to
    2017, Greg served as the defense team lead in the Office of Legislative
    Counsel.
      Greg's expertise and interest in the military extended beyond his
    time drafting legislation in his office. As an amateur historian of the
    Civil War, Greg wrote an unofficial history of the role of the Third
    U.S. Regular Infantry during the American Civil War. I understand that
    he also participated in Civil War reenactments.
      Greg was a regular participant in annual legislative update programs
    for the military's Judge Advocate Generals and accompanied committee
    staff on visits to several military installations. Greg brought his
    expertise and interest with him every day, and his work showed that he
    cared deeply about the men and women who serve in uniform.
      Greg's professionalism and institutional knowledge have been greatly
    appreciated by his colleagues in the Office of Legislative Counsel as
    well as by Members and staff who have had the pleasure of working with
    him over the years. After 31 years of dedicated service to the House of
    Representatives, Greg announced his retirement from the Office of
    Legislative Counsel on December 31, 2017.
      On behalf of all the Members and staff of the House Armed Services
    Committee, I offer my sincere gratitude to Greg for his expertise and
    wise counsel over the years and wish him, and his wife Jeanine, all the
    best in his retirement.

                              ____________________