[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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