[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 632]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



               A TRIBUTE TO U.S. ATTORNEY MICHAEL SKINNER

 Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I wish to note the departure from 
public life of one of our state's most gifted public servants. Michael 
Skinner, who has served for the past six years as U.S. Attorney for the 
Western District of Louisiana, the largest geographical district in my 
home state, left office on January 15 and has returned to the private 
practice of law in Lafayette.
  It is no exaggeration to say that Michael Skinner will be remembered 
as the most effective and successful U.S. Attorney in the history of 
the Western District of Louisiana. From almost his first day in office, 
he set about to make it clear to the people of his district that the 
U.S. Attorney's office was their office, administering justice on their 
behalf and for their benefit. In short order, he threw open the doors 
of his office, demystified the work of the U.S. Attorney and instilled 
a renewed sense of confidence and enthusiasm for the administration of 
justice in the Western District of Louisiana. Judges, attorneys, 
citizens and scores of public officials from Lafayette to Lake Charles 
to Alexandria to Shreveport to Monroe agreed that Michael Skinner's 
appointment was a true breath of fresh air.
  Mr. Skinner's record as U.S. Attorney is an impressive one. He 
successfully prosecuted scores of cases involving public corruption, 
violent crime, drugs, health care and other types of program fraud, 
environmental crime and civil rights violations. Some of his most 
successful cases included: Food stamp and Medicaid/Medicare indictments 
and convictions that uncovered millions in fraud; a child pornography 
investigation that broke a child prostitution ring in South Louisiana; 
an environmental investigation that resulted in the cleanups of several 
south Louisiana toxic waste dumps; and the prosecution of literally 
hundreds of drug dealers who admitted or were convicted of selling 
drugs in Louisiana.
  Mr. President, I am proud to have recommended Michael Skinner's 
nomination to President Clinton in 1993. In the years since his 
confirmation by this body, I have watched with a mixture of pride and 
admiration as he performed the duties of his office with a rare 
combination of skill, integrity, compassion and determination. Mike 
Skinner represents the best that our country has to offer in its public 
servants and I believe that he will serve as the model for every person 
who follows him in that office. I know that I speak for the citizens of 
Louisiana and for every member of this body in thanking him for a job 
well done and in wishing he and his family all the best in this new 
phase of their lives.

                          ____________________