[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11568]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO RAY UHALDE

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to pay a special tribute 
to a great public servant who is retiring later this month after nearly 
25 years of tireless and effective service. Raymond J. Uhalde has 
served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and 
Training for the past 8 years. As the senior career professional in the 
Employment and Training Administration (ETA), he provided executive 
direction for its $11 billion annual budget and 1300 employees. Ray 
also served as acting Assistant Secretary from 1996 to 1998, and held 
other key policy positions during his tenure at the Department of 
Labor. As Deputy Assistant Secretary, he led important initiatives that 
improved the nationwide systems of job training, job placement, and 
income support that are administered by ETA. These public investments 
help millions of Americans increase their job skills, make smoother 
transitions between jobs, and improve their wage levels. They also help 
employers find the skilled workers they need. As a result, family 
incomes and our nation's prosperity have both improved.
  Ray has received many accolades for his leadership over his years of 
service, including recognition by President Clinton in awarding him 
with the rank of Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service, 
as well as the Department of Labor's most prestigious career award, the 
Philip Arnow Award for excellence. But what stands above even these 
awards is Ray's unquestionable integrity and professionalism on a 
bipartisan basis. Ray enjoys a great deal of respect for his leadership 
and skill in shaping employment policy from Members of Congress and 
their staffs on both sides of the aisle, enabling him to be an 
effective representative for the Department of Labor through several 
different Administrations.
  His work has made a real difference in the lives of millions of 
Americans. His legislative and administrative skills have played 
critical roles in the enactment and implementation of many important 
bills including the Workforce Investment Act, a 5-year effort which 
fundamentally reformed the Nation's job training system; the Welfare to 
Work program, which has helped transition welfare recipients to gainful 
employment; and the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act, which 
assists low income seniors earn a paycheck while providing important 
community services. The passage and administration of each of these 
acts was due in large part to Ray's personal skills and dedicated 
efforts to assist in the development of consensus bills that would 
reflect the Administration's priorities and help Americans in need.
  I am also grateful for his help and advice over the years on a range 
of immigration issues facing the Department of Labor. Ray embraced our 
immigrant heritage, but also understood the importance of strengthening 
our immigration laws to ensure they would not be misused by those who 
sought to bring in immigrants to abuse them with substandard wages and 
working conditions, and to displace U.S. workers.
  These efforts represent only a small fraction of the most recent 
accomplishments that mark Ray's career at the Department of Labor. His 
fellow workers in the Department of Labor and throughout the 
administration will sorely miss his wisdom and guidance, as will State 
and local workforce development leaders in every corner of the Nation. 
While I am sad to see Ray leave the civil service, I am happy to know 
that he is going to become Co-Director of the Workforce Program at the 
National Center on Education and the Economy, where I look forward to 
continuing to work with him in the years to come on issues involving 
workforce development--a crucial social policy area in helping all 
Americans to become full participants in the economic, social and 
political life of this great country.

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