[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17892]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 17892]]

    TRIBUTE TO FIELDING BRADFORD ROBINSON, JR., SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE 
               ASSISTANT AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PROJECTS

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to recognize 
and say farewell to my longtime staff member, Fielding Bradford 
Robinson, Jr., who is departing my personal office staff and returning 
to the State of Mississippi, after more than ten years of outstanding 
service here in Washington. Throughout his career, Brad Robinson has 
served with great distinction, and it is my privilege to recognize his 
many accomplishments and to commend him for the superb service he has 
provided to me and to my home state of Mississippi.
  A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Brad graduated from the University 
of Mississippi in 1982, with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public 
Administration. At Ole Miss, Brad was an officer of the Associated 
Student Body and a member of the Delta Psi Fraternity, St. Anthony 
Hall. He began his association with politics as Page Captain in the 
Mississippi House of Representatives. After logging countless miles as 
a pollster associated with CBS News, Brad went to work as a staff 
assistant to the legendary United States Senator John C. Stennis of 
Mississippi. At that time, Senator Stennis was President Pro-Tempore of 
the Senate and Chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Following the 
retirement of Senator Stennis, Brad signed on as a staff member for 
freshman Congressman Larkin Smith, my friend and successor in the U.S. 
House of Representatives. Tragically, Congressman Smith died in a plane 
crash only months after taking office.
  In 1989, Brad returned to the United States Senate and began work as 
a member of my personal staff. On Thursday, August 5th, 1999, Brad will 
conclude over ten years of faithful service in my office. During these 
years, Brad has proven to be one of my most loyal and dedicated staff 
members. As a special legislative assistant and as my deputy director 
of projects, Brad has tirelessly worked for the best interests of our 
Nation and the State of Mississippi. Over the years, working on 
Mississippi project interests has brought Brad into contact with 
virtually every city, county, and state agency in Mississippi; every 
federal agency and department; and every committee of the Senate and 
the House of Representatives as well.
  Brad has pursued virtually every type of public infrastructure 
project conceivable, helping Mississippians build and improve utility 
systems, industrial parks, highways, bridges, railroads, airports and 
water ports. Using formal training from Ole Miss as a public planner, 
Brad labored closely with local engineers, and with the Army Corps of 
Engineers, to champion life saving flood control projects in the 
Mississippi Delta Region, the Jackson Metropolitan Area of Central 
Mississippi, and in the Forrest and Harrison County areas of South 
Mississippi. From the Director of the Mississippi Rural Water 
Association to water system operators throughout Mississippi, Brad is 
known as a dependable source of information and positive government 
action. Port directors along the Mississippi River, the Tennessee-
Tombigbee Waterway, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, have come to rely 
on Brad's expertise and network of contacts, on everything from 
dredging projects, to trade and empowerment zone designations.
  Working behind the scenes to encourage top flight companies such as 
Southwest Airlines to expand into Mississippi, has also been a talent 
in which Brad has excelled. He is known by airport directors throughout 
our state as a man they know personally, who seemingly always is there 
to help with extending or repairing a runway, or improving navigation 
and weather instrument capability. Railroads, too, came to know Brad as 
an honest broker who stood for economic progress that also safeguarded 
and improved public safety. His multi-modal expertise, made Brad a 
natural asset to my staff during the legislative process that 
culminated in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act 
(ISTEA), as well as later during the legislative development of the 
Transportation Efficiency Act of the Twenty-first Century (TEA-21).
  Among his many successes, Brad played a key role in encouraging the 
establishment of an environmentally friendly power generating facility 
in our state, which will efficiently and cleanly make use of vast 
alternative fuel supplies of lignite or low-grade coal. Combining a 
broad general knowledge with a keen appreciation for business, science, 
and technical development, and a deep respect for conservation and 
history, Brad has become a favorite of both business and development 
concerns, as well as leaders in historic and natural preservation. Brad 
was instrumental in historic preservation efforts for the Natchez Trace 
and the Natchez National Historic Park, as well as efforts to establish 
a Campaign of Vicksburg National Historic Trail, and a new visitors 
center for the Corinth, Mississippi Battlefield and Cemetery. Working 
both with community activists and public officials, Brad helped further 
these causes as well as many other historic and environmental projects 
such as rebuilding the Fort Massachusetts lighthouse on Ship Island, 
and restoring natural levels of water flow along the Lower Pearl River.
  Like many effective staff members on Capitol Hill, Brad is the kind 
of person who never meets a stranger. A true southern gentleman, his 
Christian values and honest work ethic have endeared Brad to his 
colleagues and constituents in addition to earning their respect and 
trust. His flexible yet focused demeanor enables him to handle numerous 
projects without losing sight of the people with whom he works. For all 
of the many public projects Brad assisted over the years, he always 
made time to help individual citizens with their problems. On one 
occasion, while assisting a constituent with her tax problem, Brad 
learned of an unintended result that affected similarly situated 
citizens across our Nation. Brad got to work, helped form a bipartisan 
coalition, and succeeded in helping amend the tax code to reflect the 
original intent of Congress.
  Brad also has contributed to the quality of life here on Capitol Hill 
through volunteering his time and leadership for such non-profit 
organizations as the Mississippi Society, the Ole Miss Alumni 
Association, and the Taste of the South annual charity ball. He even 
met his lovely wife, Mary Ellen, while she served on the staff of 
Senator Strom Thurmond. Brad and Mary Ellen will make their new home in 
Gulfport, Mississippi, and are expecting their first child in October.
  Upon leaving my staff, Brad will serve as Executive Director of the 
Southern Rapid Rail Transit Commission where he will play a significant 
role in helping to establish high speed rail passenger service from 
Houston, Texas, to Jacksonville, Florida, and from the Gulf Coast to 
Atlanta. On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I wish 
Brad all of the best in his new career. I wish for Brad, and his 
growing family, that they experience all of the opportunity, excitement 
and adventure of the American Dream as they enter this new chapter of 
their lives and in all of their future endeavors. Brad, my most sincere 
congratulations on a job well done.

                          ____________________