[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 148 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6053-S6054]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING SHELDON S. COHEN

 Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to my 
constituent and dear friend, Sheldon S. Cohen, who passed away earlier 
this week. Sheldon Cohen left an extraordinary legacy of accomplishment 
and service to our country.
  A proud native Washingtonian and graduate of DC public schools, 
Sheldon was a World War II Navy veteran. One of the world's leading tax 
attorneys, he served as chief counsel and then Commissioner of the IRS 
under President Lyndon B. Johnson, becoming the youngest person to hold 
that position. Among his countless other accomplishments was his 
creation of the first Presidential blind trust. Significantly, the 1978 
Ethics in Government Act made blind trusts the preferred vehicle for 
public officials who do not want to dispose of holdings that raise 
potential conflicts. In addition, he was instrumental in helping to 
computerize the IRS and in drafting an overhaul of the Federal income 
Tax Code. Following his government service, he had an extensive career 
in private practice, including founding the law firm of Cohen & Uretz. 
He served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee and 
helped settle a civil case stemming from the break-in of DNC offices at 
the Watergate office complex by Nixon campaign operatives.
  Sheldon Cohen's work was influential internationally as well. He 
advised many countries on their tax systems, was a founder of the 
Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations, and was a senior fellow 
of the National Academy of Public Administration. He participated on UN 
Special Missions to advise developing countries on tax systems, 
including meeting with Nelson Mandela. He vetted the tax returns of 
numerous Democratic Presidential and

[[Page S6054]]

Vice Presidential candidates, set up the Presidential Commission on 
Debates as a nonprofit organization, was a frequent author and speaker 
on tax policy and ethics, and often testified on Capitol Hill. He 
taught at his alma mater, George Washington University Law School, from 
which he had graduated first in his class, and at Howard and Miami law 
schools.
  Sheldon Cohen was deeply involved in the community and held numerous 
leadership roles. These included serving as president of the Jewish 
Social Service Agency, president of the Order of the Leaf of Camp Airy, 
chair of the American Jewish Historical Society, trustee and chair of 
the GW board of trustees, founder and trustee of the United Jewish 
Endowment Fund, founding member and treasurer of the Supreme Court 
Historical Society, and trustee of the Jewish Theological Seminary and 
Adas Israel Congregation.
  Sheldon Cohen was a decent, compassionate man, known for his high 
standards of integrity, his brilliant mind, his concern for those in 
need, and his devotion to his family and friends. I knew Sheldon Cohen 
well and will miss his friendship and wise counsel, as I do that of his 
wonderful and beloved wife Faye, who left us earlier this year. Their 
partnership and warm hospitality were known throughout our community 
and will always be remembered by the many friends and activists with 
whom they teamed up in support of important civic causes.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this fine man and 
in sending condolences to his family, including his children Melinda 
and her husband Alberto Goetzl, Laura and her husband Perry Apelbaum, 
Jonathan and his wife Joanne, and Sharon and her husband Michael 
Liebman; his 10 grandchildren; his brother Gerald Cohen and his wife 
Joanne; and his sister Barbara and her husband Dick Wolf.

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