[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27729-27730]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                       TRIBUTE TO EDUARDO CASTELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 1, 1999

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the achievements of 
Eduardo Castell, a resident of the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, 
New York.
  ``Eddie'', as he is known amongst his colleagues and friends, has 
committed himself to a life of public service. Even as an honor student 
at Connecticut College, he served on that College's Board of Trustees 
as a Student Representative. He later joined the staff of our 
colleague, the late Congressman Ted Weiss, where he was instrumental in 
the passage of legislation that required credit reporting agencies to 
list delinquent child support payments on individuals' credit reports. 
This law, strongly supported by women and children's advocacy groups, 
has been instrumental in identifying and correcting the abusive 
practices of ``dead beat dads''.
  He joined the staff of Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez where he rose 
from the position of Legislative Director to Chief of Staff. During his 
tenure with Congresswoman Velazquez, Eddie drafted legislative 
proposals on education, housing, banking, and insurance including a 
``hate crimes'' initiative which funds organizations education and 
prevention in schools. He was also instrumental in bringing nearly $20 
million in Federal monies for economic development to Brooklyn.

[[Page 27730]]

  Currently, Eddie is Special Assistant to William C. Thompson, Jr., 
President of the New York City Board of Education, a position he has 
held since 1997. In this capacity, he advises President Thompson on 
education policy and administrative oversight of the nation's largest 
school system. Eddie has led efforts to expand minority procurement and 
contracting and to explore alternatives for building new schools. He 
was also involved in the passage of a citywide school uniform policy.
  Never one to limit his community activism, Eddie serves on the Board 
of Directors of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a Brooklyn-based not-for-
profit housing and business development organization. He is a former 
Advisory Board member of the Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation. He 
and his wife, Jennifer, have one son, Carlos.
  I salute Eddie Castell for his commitment to a career of public 
service.

                          ____________________