[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15230-15231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO ROBERT B. MEHNERT

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I would like to pay tribute to 
Robert B. Mehnert, who is retiring after 48 years of dedicated service 
to the Government and people of the United States of America.
  Mr. Mehnert began his public service in 1958 with the U.S. Army, 
continuing in uniform until 1962. In 1963 he reentered Federal service, 
this time as a management intern with the then-Department of Health, 
Education and Welfare. He rose quickly through the ranks and, in 1971, 
Mr. Mehnert became Chief of the Office of Public Information at the 
National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health. 
Since 1998 he has directed the Office of Communications and Public 
Liaison at the library. For more than a quarter century, Mr. Mehnert's 
keen editorial and literary talents have helped library's director, 
Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., and his predecessor, Martin M. Cummings, 
M.D., to communicate the most current and reliable medical and consumer 
health information to medical professionals, researchers, patients, 
families, and the public.
  During his tenure at the National Library of Medicine, Mr. Mehnert 
has been in the vanguard of a revolution in health information. The 
introduction of the Internet and the Web environment vastly increased 
the number and extent of NLM services and audiences. In 1997, after 
more than a century of serving the library and medical communities 
exclusively, the National Library of Medicine launched Medline freely 
on the Web and declared that it would seek to serve the general public 
as well. With Mr. Mehnert's help, other NLM services for the consumer 
public quickly followed. In 1998, MedlinePlus.gov, a source of 
authoritative full-text health information written for the consumer was 
unveiled. In 2000, ClinicalTrials.gov--an NLM Web site that provides 
consumers with information on medical research studies that are 
recruiting patients--was launched. Other NLM consumer-oriented 
databases were introduced in the last decade as bandwidth and the power 
of personal computers increased. They have included 
NIHSeniorHealth.gov, a talking Web site with topics and formats 
tailored to the needs of older persons; Genetics Home Reference, a Web 
site that makes genetics and its relationship to disease more 
understandable to the public; the Household Products database that 
provides easy-to-understand information on the potential health effects 
of ingredients contained in common household products; and many others.
  One of Mr. Mehnert's most tangible legacies has been his recent 
service on the editorial team responsible for producing a new quarterly 
NIH magazine, NIHMedlinePlus, which is sent to doctors' offices 
nationwide for their patients to read. The production of this consumer-
oriented magazine fulfills Congress's call to publicize the fruits of 
NIH-sponsored research to patients, their families, and the public at 
large.
  Mr. Mehnert has been recognized by the National Library of Medicine 
and the National Institutes of Health for his exceptional leadership 
and achievements. Aside from numerous merit awards, his honors have 
also included being the recipient of both the NLM Director's Award and 
the NIH Director's Award on several occasions.
  As someone who has worked for many years to support medical research, 
I am especially grateful to people who have dedicated their lives to 
this crucial public health mission. Bob Mehnert has done that and is a 
great testament to what public service is all about. Bob and his wife, 
Helene, have

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three daughters, seven grandchildren, and 1.5 great grandchildren--that 
is, one is on the way. I thank Bob for his distinguished career in 
service to the American people, and I wish him many well-deserved years 
of happiness in retirement.

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