[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MR. PAUL SCHNEIDER

  Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I would like to recognize the professional 
dedication, vision, and public service of Mr. Paul Schneider, who is 
leaving his position as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition. It is an honor for me 
to recognize the many outstanding achievements he has provided to the 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and 
Acquisition, the Navy, and our great Nation.
  Mr. Schneider has spent almost four decades ensuring our Nation and 
its naval forces are equipped with the technological supremacy to 
ensure victory over America's enemies. As our Nation enters the 21st 
century and faces new and unsettling changes, the leadership and 
technological achievements Mr. Schneider has nurtured will continue to 
ensure our strength and freedom.
  Mr. Schneider began his public service career over 37 years ago at 
the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a project engineer to the Submarine 
Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery Branch and Waterfront Design Liaison 
Office. Throughout the 1970s Mr. Schneider was a key member of the 
Navy's Trident submarine program, where he provided leadership, 
expertise, and vision in design, engineering, program management, and 
advanced technology development.
  The Navy, recognizing Mr. Schneider's leadership and engineering 
expertise, brought him to the Naval Sea Systems Command in 1981 to be a 
Deputy Director in the Engineering Directorate where he was responsible 
for design and engineering of ship and submarine mechanical and 
electrical support systems and auxiliary machinery. In his next 
assignment, Mr. Schneider became executive director of the Amphibious, 
Auxiliary, Mine and Sealift Ships Directorate.
  Throughout the 1990s, Mr. Schneider continued to be one of the Navy's 
leading engineers, becoming Executive Director of the Surface Ship 
Directorate. In October 1994, he became Executive Director and Senior 
Civilian of the Naval Sea Systems Command where he led efforts to 
revamp the Navy business process by adopting commercial cost processes 
and practices in the acquisition of major systems. He also implemented 
training and education programs to retool the Navy's acquisition 
workforce for the 21st century. In 1998, Mr. Schneider became Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and 
Acquisition.
  Mr. Schneider has earned numerous awards, including the Department of 
Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Department of the 
Navy Distinguished and Superior Civilian Service Awards, and 
Presidential Distinguished and Meritorious Executive Rank Awards.
  I could go on and on about the many significant contributions made by 
Paul Schneider throughout his long and distinguished career. There are 
almost too many to recount. Despite his many professional, technical, 
and engineering achievements, perhaps his most noteworthy trait is his 
genuine concern for those around him. He regards as his family the 
entire community of military personnel, civilian employees, 
contractors, and industry who faithfully serve the Navy throughout the 
world. His memberships in the American Society of Naval Engineers, 
Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, Association of 
Scientists and Engineers, Navy League and the Naval Institute attest to 
his dedication to be a friend, counselor, and mentor to many hundreds 
of junior personnel who have had the pleasure to serve under him during 
his tenure.
  I ask my colleagues to join me today as I wish Mr. Paul Schneider all 
the best in his future as he continues his successful career as Senior 
Acquisition Executive for the National Security Agency. On behalf of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I wish Paul and his loving wife 
Leslie fair winds and following seas.

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