[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24326]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                              FLOYD DOMINY

  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I wanted to share a very interesting 
story with my colleagues today. It is about a very special 
Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Wyoming who has compiled a 
remarkable record and reputation as one of our most dedicated and 
hardworking public servants. His 90 plus years of life--and still going 
strong!--are the perfect showcase of Wyoming's pioneer spirit and the 
patience and persistence with which the people of the West have always 
pursued their dreams. His name is Floyd Dominy, and he has carved quite 
a niche for himself in the history of Wyoming, the West and the United 
States.
  Floyd Dominy has always been a man with a dream, a unique vision of 
how things ought to be that has helped him to set goals and develop a 
plan to achieve them. He is also a man of his word, someone who saw a 
problem and knew how to use his unique talents and abilities to find 
the best solution to fix things. He has amassed quite a record of 
achievements and I am sure he is as proud of it as we are proud of him. 
He earned his fame and reputation and it's good to know he's enjoying 
life in the Shenandoah. It isn't Wyoming, but it's still a nice spot to 
relax and take a break to do some fishing and enjoy the beauty of some 
of God's finest handiwork.
  Floyd Dominy's story begins with his graduation from the University 
of Wyoming in 1932 and his arrival in Gillette to find a home and start 
work. He found a simple home and began his employment as a County 
Agent. As a matter of fact, his home was so simple, the owner didn't 
charge Mr. Dominy and his wife any rent because he couldn't believe 
anyone would want to live there. The ``fixer upper'' Mr. Dominy and his 
wife called home was without every convenience you could imagine, both 
modern and old fashioned--even for its time.
  As an Agriculture Extension Agent, one of his responsibilities was to 
buy cattle for the Government from ranchers who were devastated by the 
Great Depression. They used to trail cattle on foot back then and Floyd 
realized there were no places to water the cattle on the way. That is 
when he began working on his idea of constructing dams to hold the 
water to make it available where it was needed. He visited with then 
Wyoming U.S. Senator John O'Mahoney about his ideas and Senator 
O'Mahoney was able to obtain Federal emergency aid to help out the 
farmers of Wyoming. As a result, Wyoming's farmers got some much needed 
work and three hundred dams were built.
  Then came his service in World War II after which he joined the 
Bureau of Reclamation. His talents, abilities and ingenuity were soon 
noticed and it wasn't long before he had landed the top job at the 
Bureau. He served for quite a while as the Bureau of Reclamation's 
Commissioner, a job he held longer than anyone else. Remarkably, he 
served under four Presidents.
  Mr. Dominy's friends would probably call him ``90 something'' years 
young--because he is still living a full life and enjoying every day as 
he always has--with an independent streak a mile long and a yard wide. 
He lives the code of the West--he says what he means, and he means what 
he says.
  In an interview for an article, he was asked about his career and his 
philosophy about his line of work. He made it clear that he was never 
afraid to stand up for what he believed in and to stand up to whomever 
he had to so that things got done. Thanks to his determination, drive 
and dedication to making a difference, a lot of things got done.
  Floyd Dominy had much to look back on with a great deal of pride and 
the satisfaction that comes from a job well done. As the Commissioner 
of the Bureau or Reclamation during the Administrations of Presidents 
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon, he left a legacy of service in 
that office that will probably never again be matched. We owe him a 
debt of gratitude for his vision and his ability to make his dreams a 
reality. Thanks to him, we in the West had our access to water--one of 
God's greatest gifts and our most prized and precious resource--greatly 
enhanced.

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