[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4956-H4957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING NEIL McKIERNAN ON HIS RETIREMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COURTNEY. Madam Speaker, today, I rise to honor Neil McKiernan, 
an outstanding public servant who just recently announced his 
retirement from the House of Representatives where he has worked for 
over 20 years; 17 of those years in my office and 7 of those years as 
chief of staff.
  Neil is a native of the State of Connecticut and began his journey 
over 20 years ago on the Hill as a young assistant working in 
Congresswoman Linda Sanchez' office. He then worked for a short period 
of time for my colleague,   John Larson. Then when I was first elected 
in 2006, Neil joined my office.
  Neil worked on a variety of issues during his time there. I see my 
friend Mr. Kelly from Pennsylvania here. We worked together to repeal 
the Cadillac tax in 2019, and Neil was part of that really massive 
bipartisan effort to protect and stabilize the health benefits of union 
and nonunion workers all across the country, which passed by a margin 
of 419-6 on the floor.
  Mike and I were here that day, and Neil--actually, one of his rare 
visits to the House floor--was there to join us.
  The centerpiece of Neil's work was the fact that I have the honor of 
representing the submarine capital of the world. It is the home of the 
oldest submarine base, the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, 
where there are 16 attack submarines tied up and doing great work for 
our Nation every single day, as well as General Dynamics Electric Boat 
Shipyard, a 120-year-old company that is building submarines for the 
Navy to this day.
  This is a picture in 2014 of myself and some staff from the House 
Committee on Armed Services. Neil is the gentleman on my far right with 
the glasses and the cup of coffee. It is before dawn at the naval port 
facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. We were about to embark on the USS 
Missouri, the submarine right behind us, which was built in Groton and 
commissioned back in 2011. It is over in the Indo-Pacific region doing 
great work for our Nation.
  Again, when I first came into office, the shipyard was in a dangerous 
downward spiral. After the Cold War, procurement for submarines had 
totally collapsed. The shipyard, which once had 28,000-plus workers, 
was down to roughly 6- or 7,000.
  Beginning that year, we got a plus-up, working again with Neil's 
incredible work, Ike Skelton, and Jack Murtha, and others to turn 
around that spiral.
  Today, the shipyard employs over 21,000 workers. We now again have a 
build rate of two attack submarines and now the Columbia-class 
ballistic submarine program is beginning its work. They just laid the 
keel for the second of those vessels.
  It is a great legacy that Neil leaves behind him in terms of really 
reversing what really would have been a tragic loss of an industrial 
base with unique talents, but also making sure that our Navy has an 
undersea fleet, which today, with the threats from China and Russia, is 
still our strongest card in terms of rebutting and creating real 
deterrence to keep the world safe.
  Admiral Gary Roughead once said our submarine fleet is the queen on 
the chessboard in terms of being able to go anywhere undetected with 
stealth and

[[Page H4957]]

with the might and potency to make sure our enemies and our competitors 
abide by international rule of law.
  Again, as Neil begins the next chapter in his life, let me express my 
deep gratitude personally, but also take a moment on the floor of this 
Chamber to remind people that people like Neil are great staff people 
and are so essential in terms of doing great things that benefit our 
country.
  Neil, best wishes to you and your family and your future.

                          ____________________