[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATIONS OF HAROLD DAMELIN

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I speak today to ask my colleagues to 
support the nomination of Mr. Harold Damelin, whom President Bush has 
nominated to serve as the next Inspector General, IG, of the U.S. Small 
Business Administration, (SBA). Mr. Damelin's extensive experience in 
and out of government makes him very well suited to this important 
position, and I look forward to working closely with him and his 
office.
  As my colleagues are well aware, the IG post at any Federal agency is 
a critical one--assigned by Congress the duties of protecting taxpayer 
money, ensuring that laws are upheld, and investigating abuses within 
an agency. This is no less true at the SBA, which has played a vital 
role in helping to develop and foster small businesses and small 
business initiatives for the past 50 years.
  The role of the IG is unique: someone who is above the political fray 
of other appointees, and someone who may even be called upon to 
investigate them. By their very nature, IG's must function 
independently and with a distinct authority, so it is no small amount 
of trust the President and the Congress must place in any IG. 
Additionally, an IG must possess not only managerial and policy 
experience, but should possess investigative experience as well. Fining 
such a candidate can be a difficult task.
  Phyllis Fong, the former IG for the SBA, was recently confirmed as 
the IG for the Department of Agriculture, where I am sure she will 
continue to perform her official duties in a skillful, competent, and 
efficient manner. However, because of a delay in her confirmation, the 
IG position at the SBA was only recently vacated. Given this delay, 
coupled with the importance of the IG position, Senator Snowe, the 
Chair of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and I 
have agreed to seek unanimous consent that Mr. Damelin's nomination be 
discharged from the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 
and considered immediately by the full Senate.
  In my capacity as ranking member, I have thoroughly reviewed Mr. 
Damelin's employment and educational experience, his FBI background 
check and the Committee questionnaire. Mr. Damelin has fully answered 
all questions put before him. As Mr. Damelin clearly possesses the 
necessary skills and experience to serve as the next SBA IG, I support 
moving forward with his nomination at this time.
  Mr. Damelin, if confirmed by the Senate, will come to the SBA from 
the private sector, where he most recently worked as a lawyer for the 
firm of Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville in Washington, DC. Prior to 
joining the private sector, Mr. Damelin had a long and illustrious 
career as a public servant, holding such positions as the branch chief 
for the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, Fraud Section, 
Governmental Fraud Branch and the senior counsel to the majority for 
the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs' Special Investigation 
Committee. I believe these experiences and others uniquely qualify Mr. 
Damelin to serve as the SBA's IG.
  Mr. Damelin was born in Malden, in my home State of Massachusetts, 
although he now resides in Virginia. He attended Boston College and 
earned his JD from Boston College Law School, also my alma mater. Mr. 
Damelin was also a member of the Armed Forces, serving as a 2nd 
Lieutenant after college and attaining the rank of Captain in the Army 
Reserves before being honorably discharged with the rank of Captain. I 
am always pleased to see a fellow Bay Stater, and Eagle, dedicate his 
energies toward public service, and this is no exception.
  Mr. Damelin's nomination also has the support of Small Business and 
Entrepreneurship Committee Chair Olympia Snowe.
  I ask all of my colleagues to vote in favor of Mr. Damelin's 
nomination to be the next Inspector General of the U.S. Small Business 
Administration.

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