[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 88 (Monday, May 11, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2343-S2344]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 569--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT, DURING
PUBLIC SERVICE RECOGNITION WEEK, PUBLIC SERVANTS SHOULD BE COMMENDED
FOR THEIR DEDICATION AND CONTINUED SERVICE TO THE UNITED STATES
Ms. SINEMA (for herself, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Peters, Mr.
Carper, Mr. Romney, Ms. Harris, Ms. Rosen, Ms. Hassan, and Mr. Cardin)
submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
S. Res. 569
Whereas the week of May 3 through May 9, 2020, has been
designated as ``Public Service Recognition Week'' to honor
employees of the Federal Government and State and local
governments and members of the uniformed services;
Whereas millions of public servants have worked and
continue to work to help the United States overcome the
challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic;
[[Page S2344]]
Whereas Public Service Recognition Week provides an
opportunity to recognize and promote the important
contributions of public servants and to honor the diverse men
and women who meet the needs of the United States through
work at all levels of government and as members of the
uniformed services;
Whereas millions of individuals work in government service
and as members of the uniformed services, in every State,
county, and city across the United States and in hundreds of
cities abroad;
Whereas public service is a noble calling involving a
variety of challenging and rewarding professions;
Whereas the ability of the Federal Government and State and
local governments to be responsive, innovative, and effective
depends on the outstanding performance of dedicated public
servants;
Whereas the United States has recently reaffirmed the
critical importance of public service employees in responding
to public health and economic challenges;
Whereas the United States is a great and prosperous
country, and public service employees contribute
significantly to that greatness and prosperity;
Whereas the United States benefits daily from the knowledge
and skills of the highly trained individuals who work in
public service;
Whereas public servants--
(1) fight disease, including COVID-19, and promote better
health;
(2) promote economic stability and growth;
(3) defend the freedom of the people of the United States
and advance the interests of the United States around the
world;
(4) provide vital strategic support functions to the Armed
Forces and serve in the reserve components of the Armed
Forces;
(5) fight crime and fires;
(6) ensure equal access to secure, efficient, and
affordable mail service;
(7) deliver benefits under the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 301 et seq.), including benefits under the Medicare
program under title XVIII of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et
seq.);
(8) protect the environment and parks in the United States;
(9) enforce laws guaranteeing equal employment opportunity
and healthy working conditions;
(10) defend and secure critical infrastructure;
(11) help the people of the United States respond to and
recover from natural disasters, pandemics, and terrorist
attacks;
(12) teach and work in schools and libraries;
(13) develop new technologies and explore the Earth, the
Moon, and space to help improve knowledge on how the world
changes;
(14) improve and secure transportation systems; and
(15) assist veterans of the Armed Forces;
Whereas members of the uniformed services and civilian
employees at all levels of government--
(1) make significant contributions to the general welfare
of the United States; and
(2) are on the front lines in the fight to defeat terrorism
and other threats to the security of the United States, and
maintain homeland security;
Whereas public servants work in a professional manner to
build relationships with other countries and cultures in
order to better represent the interests and promote the
ideals of the United States;
Whereas public servants alert Congress and the public to
government waste, fraud, and abuse, and dangers to public
health;
Whereas the individuals serving in the uniformed services,
as well as the skilled trade and craft employees of the
Federal Government who provide support to their efforts--
(1) are committed to doing their jobs regardless of the
circumstances; and
(2) contribute greatly to the security of the United States
and the world;
Whereas public servants have bravely fought in armed
conflicts in the defense of the United States and its ideals
and deserve the care and benefits they have earned through
their honorable service;
Whereas public servants--
(1) have much to offer, as demonstrated by their expertise
and innovative ideas; and
(2) serve as examples by passing on institutional knowledge
to train the next generation of public servants; and
Whereas the week of May 3 through May 9, 2020, marks the
36th anniversary of Public Service Recognition Week: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) supports the designation of the week of May 3 through
May 9, 2020, as ``Public Service Recognition Week'';
(2) commends public servants for their outstanding
contributions to the United States during Public Service
Recognition Week and throughout the year, especially in 2020
during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis;
(3) salutes government employees and members of the
uniformed services for their unyielding dedication to, and
enthusiasm for, public service;
(4) honors government employees and members of the
uniformed services who have given their lives and health in
service to their communities, States, Tribes, and the United
States;
(5) calls upon a new generation to consider a career in
public service as an honorable profession;
(6) encourages efforts to promote public service careers at
every level of government; and
(7) supports efforts to promote an efficient and effective
public service that serves the people of the United States.
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, in honor of Public Service Recognition
Week, I rise to express my gratitude and appreciation for the millions
of men and women who serve as Federal, State, county, and local
government employees across the United States of America. Since 1985,
Public Service Recognition Week has brought communities together to
give tribute to our Nation's public servants on the first week of May.
I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the annual Senate resolution marking
this occasion each year, and I thank Senators Sinema and Lankford for
their leadership in introducing this year's edition, which the Senate
will pass momentarily.
We must never take for granted that public servants are committed to
serving the public. In a time of unprecedented crisis, with millions
working from home and the real risk of falling victim to disease by
going into the workplace, public servants work for us. In more ordinary
times, with people less concerned but still dependent on essential
public goods such as clean water, schools, and a safe community, public
servants work for us. The COVID-19 pandemic only makes more apparent
what has always been true: we owe so much, from the daily operations of
our society to the rapid relief to emergencies, to the men and women
who form our public service.
Now more than ever, public servants are working on the front lines,
often times potentially putting themselves at risk, to continue those
daily operations of our society and provide critical rapid relief to
this immense national crisis. At the Federal level, they have dutifully
taken on the responsibilities charged upon them by Congress through the
CARES Act. Thousands of workers at the Department of Treasury and Small
Business Administration, making due with insufficient staff and
resources, are playing an instrumental role in responding to the
economic downturn by distributing billions of dollars in stimulus
payments to individuals and loans to small businesses. At the state
level, workers of State unemployment insurance agencies now face truly
historic demands of their abilities as the unemployment rate approaches
levels not seen since the end of the Second World War. Despite the
stress, despite the technical challenges, and indeed despite the system
infrastructure that makes it exceedingly difficult for applicants to
receive benefits in the first place, these workers are doing everything
they can to make the system work for people. And at the county and
local levels, public servants are striving to ensure compliance with
special quarantine orders and offering testing and other emergency
services.
The United States will undoubtedly overcome this pandemic. But we
must recognize that it would not happen without our public servants. We
have the example of Nancy Sullivan, resident of Bethesda, Maryland and
an employee at the National Institutes of Health, honored this year as
a finalist for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals for
developing a highly effective medical treatment for the deadly Ebola
virus that ravaged Africa between 2014 and 2016. I have no doubt that
we today enjoy the service of brave public servants who will contribute
similarly in finding a breakthrough for COVID-19. Or for that matter,
the innumerable public servants across our Nation, across countless
fields and areas of expertise, from senior executives to call center
workers, each in their own way working for the public interest of
America.
Public Service Recognition Week therefore bears a special
significance in 2020. It is my hope that amidst the pandemic, we are
able to reflect on the absolutely essential role our public servants
play, and that this does not go forgotten once we emerge from this
crisis. The men and women who make up our public service are fighting
for us every day, just as they were before the crisis, and just as they
will be afterward. Either we can take their work for granted or,
perhaps, we can remember to fight for them, too.
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