[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 5709-5710]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           MICHAEL A. HUGHES

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, today, I express my gratitude to a 
member of my staff, Michael A. Hughes, who will be returning to his 
regular job as a senior inspector in the U.S. Marshals Service after 
tomorrow. Mike has worked in my office for the past 15 months as a 
legislative fellow, and my staff and I have been extremely fortunate to 
have Mike's help. We will miss him.
  Mike is a New Jersey native who was born in Jersey City. He graduated 
from Montclair University with a degree in political science and 
criminal justice in 1990. After college, he joined the U.S. Marshals 
Service--America's oldest federal law enforcement agency--as a deputy 
marshal and quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding law 
enforcement official. For instance, Mike was tasked with the 
responsibility of accompanying crime boss John Gotti to and from his 
1992 trial, and then escorting Gotti to the maximum security facility 
for federal prisoners in Marion, Illinois, after his conviction and 
sentencing. Mike was also responsible for protecting high-ranking 
foreign dignitaries who visited the United Nations headquarters in 
Manhattan.
  Mike conducted several criminal and civil investigations and soon 
became an inspector in the U.S. Marshals Service's Witness Security 
Program. Later, he became a senior inspector. Never in the 30-year 
history of the Witness Security Program has a cooperative participant 
or his or her family been discovered or harmed. We can attribute much 
of that recent success to Mike's dedication and professionalism.
  It has been helpful to me over the past 15 months to have someone 
with Mike's extensive personal knowledge of guns and law enforcement 
issues. Since Mike has been a member of my staff, he has worked on S. 
1805, the gun immunity bill; S. 1431, my bill to extend the assault 
weapons ban, and other 2nd Amendment issues. He has also made 
significant contributions on a number of criminal justice and homeland 
security matters. Mike is committed to promoting public policies that, 
if we were to adopt them, would make our country demonstrably safer.
  On many occasions, I have remarked that when I moved to the public 
sector after 30 years in the private sector, I was struck by the 
dedication, professionalism, and competence of federal employees. I am 
tired of hearing public sector employees belittled and denigrated in 
some quarters. I have been impressed by the public servants I have

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met over the years, and Mike is no exception. He has performed his 
difficult--and often dangerous--duties with distinction. I think Mike 
is an outstanding role model for young adults interested in working in 
our government.
  Mr. President, as I thank Mike for his tremendous service and wish 
him the best of luck in his new endeavors, I would also like to take 
this opportunity to thank John ``Jay'' McNulty, who serves as chief of 
the Marshals Service's Office of Congressional Affairs. Jay made it 
possible for Mike to come and work for me, and I am grateful for that. 
I have been fortunate to have Mike on my staff; the Nation is fortunate 
to have him in the U.S. Marshals Service.

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