[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2423]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       SALUTE TO ROBERT L. WALKER

  (Mr. HEFLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Robert L. 
Walker, who, after 4 years of outstanding service as chief counsel and 
staff director of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, is 
leaving to become chief counsel and staff director for the Senate 
Select Committee on Ethics.
  Rob served the committee under two different chairmen, myself and my 
colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith). I speak for the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), the ranking minority member, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), and all of my colleagues on the 
committee, past and present, in thanking Rob for his nonpartisan 
dedication to the committee and to the House. We express gratitude to 
Rob for his tireless work, his sense of fairness, his judiciousness 
and, most importantly, his impartiality.
  Mr. Speaker, Rob Walker is the epitome of the nonpartisan 
professional staff required by the House and by the Committee on the 
Standards of Official Conduct for the important position he held. Rob 
advised the members of the committee and guided the staff in an 
impartial and absolutely fair manner.
  As our counsel, in all aspects of his work Rob brought a profound 
sense of wisdom and respect for the history and precedents of the 
committee, the House and the American tradition of equal justice under 
the law. He carefully and faithfully balanced the rights of the 
committee and the House with the important due process rights of 
respondents and witnesses.
  Mr. Speaker, Rob came to the committee from the Senate Ethics 
Committee, where he previously served as counsel. Prior to coming to 
Capitol Hill, he was a prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the 
District of Columbia and at the public integrity section of the 
Department of Justice. He has both a bachelor's degree and a law degree 
from the University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from Stanford 
University. Rob is married to Dr. Alice Weiss and they have three 
children: Aaron, Daniel, and Madeleine. Devotion to his family and his 
distinguished professional record have earned Rob the personal and 
professional respect and friendship of the members of the committee and 
his colleagues on the staff.
  Mr. Speaker, we wish Rob Walker and his family well in his new 
position. Although this House and the Committee will miss him, we will 
long remember his distinguished service to the House of 
Representatives.

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