[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 18885-18886]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        IN RECOGNITION OF DEDICATED SERVICE BY MR. ROBERT TOBIAS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 1999

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, and colleagues, I rise today to salute a 
great American, Mr. Robert Tobias, the retiring president of the 
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).
  Mr. Tobias' career at NTEU spans thirty busy years including the last 
sixteen as the union's president. As he led the fight on behalf of 
federal employees, he became a leading authority on these issues. In 
doing so he vastly expanded NTEU's influence in the halls of Congress 
and in the White House.

[[Page 18886]]

  His accomplishments and memberships are an impressive collection of 
who's who and where's where. His memberships include President 
Clinton's National Partnership Council, the Executive Committee of the 
Internal Revenue Service, the American Arbitration Association board of 
directors and the Federal Salary Council that advises the President of 
the United States. He is the co-founder of the Federal Employee 
Education and Assistance fund and in 1996 was appointed by the 
President to the Federal Salary Council.
  While this is an impressive listing of Mr. Tobias' commitments and 
involvements, I believe his lasting legacy will be the great 
contributions he helped achieve on behalf of America's federal 
employees.
  Developing the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), 
restructuring the IRS, protecting the Federal Employee Health Benefits 
Plan, advocating the closure of the pay gap for federal employees, 
reforming the Hatch Act, securing the right to initiate midterm 
bargaining and to engage in informational picketing are all significant 
achievements with long lasting effects.
  These actions will continue to directly impact America's working 
people and their families and the people they serve for years and years 
to come. The impact of these actions cannot be overstated.
  Like many of his friends, I will miss Mr. Tobias' visionary 
leadership, his strong support and his hard work at NTEU. The union, 
its membership, the vast federal workforce and indeed this Congress are 
all the better for his stewardship at NTEU.
  I thank Robert Tobias for his dedication and his efforts on behalf of 
America's federal employees and wish him the very best of luck.

                          ____________________