[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 138 (Tuesday, August 22, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E785-E786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           COMMEMORATING THE PUBLIC SERVICE OF NEIL McKIERNAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 22, 2023

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Neil McKiernan, 
an outstanding, diligent public servant who just passed the milestone 
of 20 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Second 
District of Connecticut, which I have the privilege to represent, is 
the office where Neil worked for 17 of those years, the last 7 as Chief 
of Staff. Neil recently announced that at the end of September 2023, he 
is going to begin a new chapter of his life in the private sector and 
depart this institution where he has done so much good, for so many 
people, for so many years.
  A native of Connecticut, Neil began his journey on Capitol Hill at a 
young age. Immediately upon earning his college degree from Roger 
Williams University in Rhode Island in 2003, he moved to Washington, 
D.C., and joined the Office of Representative Linda Sanchez of 
California, a new member in the House, and immediately demonstrated an 
aptitude for the complexity of policy work in the Legislative Branch. 
In 2004, he took a legislative assistant position in the Office of 
Congressman John Larson of the First District of Connecticut. 
Congressman Larson was a member of the House Armed Services Committee 
at the time and Neil was given that portfolio, which, given the strong 
presence of defense contractors in the State of Connecticut, was a huge 
responsibility. Even at that young age, Neil's work ethic impressed 
stakeholders in both Washington and back home, showing that he 
understood the issues and the process of John's committee work. He 
performed that job for Congressman Larson for 3 years before taking a 
leave of absence in 2006, from the office to head back to Connecticut 
to help me in my own journey to the U.S. House.
  It was in that summer of 2006, I first crossed paths with Neil when I 
hired him to be 1 of my field organizers during my 2006 House campaign 
as a challenger for the Second District. He took the risk of leaving 
Washington, D.C., to support the effort to flip this seat which was 
recognized by both major political parties as a ``toss-up'' race. He 
again continued to prove himself, successfully managing 1 of the most 
contested precincts in this very contested district. His efforts, along 
with an army of grass roots supporters from across Eastern Connecticut, 
delivered a razor-thin victory margin of 83 votes out of 241,000 cast. 
It was the closest House race by far in 2006, and Neil's efforts, along 
with countless other staff and volunteers, made the difference between 
victory and defeat.
  After being elected to represent the Second District of Connecticut, 
I brought Neil onto my congressional staff. As a freshman, I secured a 
seat on the House Armed Services Committee and the Seapower and 
Projection Forces subcommittee. When Neil accepted my offer of 
employment, he returned to his passion for the extensive portfolio of 
defense issues of Connecticut as my Military Legislative Assistant, 
this time with a particular focus on the navy and its submarine fleet.
  Mr. Speaker, there are still a few members who remerber that in 2007, 
when I took office, our Navy's submarine program was limping along at a 
1 submarine-per-year build rate that was slowly but surely starving our 
submarine industrial base and the size of the fleet. In 2007, the Navy, 
for the first time in 50 years, had zero plans underway to advance the 
next class of submarines. In my first year on Armed Services, the 
budget from the Bush Administration continued this death spiral, 
proposing neither an increase in the build rate nor new design work. It 
was clear to Neil and me that reversing this trend would be hard--
particularly as a freshman member of the Committee. But for the sake of 
our Nation's industrial base and the Navy, we had to use every effort 
to achieve that change.
  So, in my first year on the Armed Services Committee, we boosted 
Virginia-class submarine production funding through the annual National 
Defense Authorization Act. The following year, we secured an initial 
pot of funding to begin design on the next generation of submarines--
the Columbia class. Now, more than 15 years later, we have completely 
reversed the downward course. We are sustaining a 2-per-year build rate 
of Virginia-class submarines and are now well underway with the 
construction of the Nation's first Columbia-class submarines.
  Of course, much of this national security sustainment centers out of 
the Second District of Connecticut in the submarine capital of the 
world, Groton. There, General Dynamics Electric Boat alone has grown to 
a regional workforce of 21,000--14,400 in Connecticut and 6,600 in 
Rhode Island--and is projected to hire tens of thousands more over the 
next decade. That doesn't even take into account the vibrant ecosystem 
of workforce development pipelines and submarine construction suppliers 
that have arisen throughout the state. The change in priority in 2023 
versus 2007 is astonishing. Submarine construction is now half of the 
Navy's overall shipbuilding budget compared to less than a quarter 15 
years ago. Just in this year's budget alone, $18.2 billion is allocated 
for subs--a bigger number than the entire Navy shipbuilding account 5 
years ago. Again, Neil has been a central actor in this entire effort. 
Neil's leadership has helped change the course of U.S.

[[Page E786]]

submarine construction programs and provided a vital long-term pillar 
of economic development for our region. He is a true friend of 
Connecticut. Now, we have set our sights on evolving the global 
security net by meeting the pillars envisioned through the AUKUS 
alliance. That work continues to this day.
  Neil has also shepherded endless other projects from idea to reality 
throughout his tenure in my office--from essential infrastructure work 
to build a new train station in Enfield, to dredging in the Long Island 
Sound, to being instrumental in the development of an off shore wind 
facility at the Port of New London. Lastly, Neil, as Chief of Staff, 
has been a great leader of my office's team, both in Washington and 
Connecticut. He is a good listener. He has kept every person feeling 
respected and engaged, particularly during challenging events for the 
Hill's workforce, including the pandemic and the insurrection on 
January 6. The high retention rate of staff in my office is a true 
compliment to Neil's intelligent, empathetic engagement with a 
talented, hardworking group that is always focused on a wonderful part 
of Connecticut.
  Mr. Speaker, Neil has been a force for good in the House of 
Representatives over these past 20 years. His institutional knowledge 
of Congress, his legislative skills, and his tenacity to serve the 
people of our district are things I hold closely. I am proud to have 
watched him grow several generations of our team into the self-
sustaining institution that it is today. We owe a great deal of 
gratitude to the staff who dedicate themselves and put in the legwork 
to advance our district and national priorities, particularly those who 
have remained in service to the House for decades like Neil and 
contribute to the brain power of this body's critical work.
  We specifically owe thanks to Neil and his family for their sacrifice 
to better our country, namely his wife Kristen, whom he met through his 
career on the Hill, and their children, Caroline and Ellie. Mr. 
Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in recognizing 
Neil McKiernan's storied service and contributions.

                          ____________________