[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 30, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E510]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING DR. EDMUND SCHWEITZER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 30, 2019

  Mrs. RODGERS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III. On May 2, 2019, he will be inducted into 
the National Inventors Hall of Fame for inventing the world's first 
practical microprocessor digital relay for the power grid.
  Before his breakthrough invention, utilities relied on bulky relays 
made of springs, magnets, and coils. Dr. Schweitzer turned these 
cumbersome and old systems into precise and reliable ones with a 
digital relay that is one-eighth the size, one-tenth the weight, and 
best yet, one-third the price! His multifunctional digital relay not 
only protects power systems, it also records data and identifies 
faults. As a result, he's inspired even more inventions that have 
become the standard features for protective data relays around the 
globe.
  In short, Dr. Schweitzer revolutionized our power grid with computer-
based protection and control equipment. Of course, what I'm most proud 
of is that Pullman, Washington, is home to his great success story. 
It's where he earned his doctorate at Washington State University in 
1977.
  It's also in Pullman where Dr. Schweitzer built his company, 
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), which has created thousands 
and thousands of jobs in rural Eastern Washington since 1982 and is now 
a 100 percent employee-owned ESOP.
  Madam Speaker, Dr. Schweitzer's professional work is electrical 
engineering, but his greatest invention is truly in human resources. 
He's led to create a culture of innovation, opportunity, and respect 
that has empowered people in my district to have an opportunity for a 
better life. Right now, SEL employs 5,200 people who develop and 
manufacture a suite of products that make electric power safer, more 
reliable, and more affordable for utility companies, mines, factories, 
hospitals, universities and data centers in 164 countries around the 
world.
  I'm proud to call Dr. Schweitzer a friend and a mentor. It's not an 
exaggeration to say that his work is the fulfillment of the American 
Dream. He's a living example of the wonderful accomplishments that are 
made possible when the seeds of invention are able to grow freely 
without federal regulations holding them back.
  This week, Dr. Schweitzer will have the amazing honor of joining 
Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, Nikola Tesla, and Hedy Lamarr in 
the National Inventors Hall of Fame. On behalf of the 116th United 
States Congress and Washington's Fifth Congressional District, I'm 
proud to congratulate him and thank him for his ingenuity that will 
inspire many Americans for decades to come.

                          ____________________