[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 15657]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JAMES HEALY

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I to pay tribute to a fine New 
Jerseyan and a great friend of my State, James Healy. News of Jim's 
untimely passing this past Friday at the age of 48 saddened all of us 
in the New Jersey delegation. His great personality and tremendous work 
ethic truly made him a pleasure to work with and an asset to his 
organization, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, NJDOT.
  For nearly 20 years, Jim held several important posts within the 
department. Most recently, he served as the NJDOT's Federal liaison. 
Jim was an expert on Federal legislative, regulatory, and finance 
issues. He provided my office with valuable expertise and advice 
concerning subjects of great importance to New Jersey.
  New Jersey is the most densely populated State in the Union, and the 
movement of people and goods through its travel corridors is of utmost 
importance, not just to New Jerseyans, but for the entire regional 
economy.
  Jim guided the New Jersey delegation through Federal highway bill 
authorizations, which took years to accomplish. The most recent one, 
SAFETEA-LU, took 2 years to complete. Jim also worked closely with New 
Jersey members on aviation reauthorization bills, including the VISION-
100 legislation passed in 2003.
  He advocated for the State's priorities, including legislation to 
help preserve open spaces in New Jersey. My staff and I had the 
pleasure of working with him many times on these bills and he was 
always a consummate professional: well-informed, thorough in his work, 
and always extraordinarily helpful.
  When a former NJDOT commissioner served as president of the American 
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, AASHTO, Jim 
served as liaison to AASHTO staff, where he helped coordinate and set 
national transportation policy goals.
  Jim was an assistant professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University and 
was a 1979 graduate of William Paterson University, where he earned a 
Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He received his law 
degree in 1983 from Rutgers University in Newark, NJ.
  Jim is survived by his parents, Philip and Hannah Healy of Wayne, NJ, 
and his brothers and sisters, Joseph Healy, Mary Jo Ridge, Kathleen 
Bianco, Teresa Hoey, and Joan Wielenta. My heart goes out to Jim's 
family during this difficult time.
  I salute the life and memory of this great son of New Jersey, Jim 
Healy. May he rest in peace.

                          ____________________