[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4878]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 IN HONOR OF AN OUTSTANDING AMERICAN AND HIS WORK AS PRESIDENT OF THE 
         INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS ORGANIZATION: OLIVER R. SMOOT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RALPH M. HALL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 2003

  Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for myself and for 
Chairman Boehlert of the House Committee on Science to recognize Oliver 
R. Smoot, vice-president for external voluntary standards relations at 
the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), as he begins his 
term as the President of the International Standards Organization 
(ISO). It is a high honor and a major achievement to be asked to be the 
leader of the World's standards community but it is not surprising that 
Ollie Smoot is the one chosen. Mr. Smoot has long been a pillar of the 
standards community, most recently as President-elect of ISO and as 
Chairman of the American National Standards Institute, the organization 
which represents the United States in international standards matters 
and oversees the establishment of U.S. national standards. The ISO, 
which was established in 1947, serves as the world's primary entity for 
the adoption of uniform international standards that are relied by all 
of us every day. Without international agreement on how we measure, 
determine quality, and provide for health and safety life as we know it 
today would not be possible. ISO quietly, but effectively, has spent 
over 50 years helping over 140 nations reach agreement on the standards 
that underlie world trade, manufacturing, scientific research, and many 
other aspects of our lives. Since its founding only three other 
Americans have held the office of President of this worldwide 
federation.
  We are fortunate that Oliver Smoot is ready, willing, and able to 
undertake major challenges since his service comes at a pivotal time 
when the importance of international standards is rapidly increasing. 
There may never have been a time when ISO faced bigger challenges. As 
tariffs and other trade barriers wane and world trade increases, the 
pressures to harmonize standards in many fields increases. As the world 
becomes more interdependent, the importance of international standards 
grows. As challenges to ISO's one-country, one vote system of 
representation mount, having a strong leader at the head of ISO becomes 
more and more essential. Fortunately, Mr. Smoot has an extensive 
background in standardization and conformity assessment policies both 
at the national and international level; he has been a strong leader in 
numerous ANSI Board-level committees and task forces and has served as 
chairman of the Institute's Finance Committee and Patent Group. As 
chairman of the ANSI Organization Member Council, he facilitated ANSI's 
policy-setting activities affecting more than 250 standard developers, 
professional societies, trade associations and academic institutions 
interested in standards, certification and conformity assessment. 
Balancing the needs of 140 nations can't be that much harder than 
presiding over the conflicting needs of everyone in the United States 
who has an interest in standards. If anyone is prepared for the 
challenge of running the ISO, we assume Oliver Smoot is. He has come a 
long way from the establishment of the standard ``Smoot'' as an 
undergraduate at MIT.
  Mr. Smoot will be the guest of honor, on Wednesday the 26th of 
February at a House of Representatives reception to celebrate his new 
tenure as President of the ISO. I hope that many of you will take the 
opportunity at that point to congratulate Mr. Smoot personally. Oliver 
R. Smoot is a great American who has labored long for the betterment of 
Science and the global economy and I am pleased that this week he is 
getting long-deserved recognition of this service.

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