[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 22851]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        RECOGNIZING ROGER MADSEN

 Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I would like to recognize an Idahoan 
who since 1995 has served four Idaho Governors as director of the Idaho 
Department of Labor and twice served as interim executive director of 
the Idaho Commission on the Arts. He also served as an Idaho assistant 
attorney general and as an Idaho State senator for 4 years. After 12 
years, Roger Madsen is among the longest-serving State employment 
agency directors in the Nation, and he is my friend.
  Roger has been a tireless volunteer for the betterment of his 
community and State. The list of his activities and leadership is long 
and prestigious. Roger has served as: delegate to the White House 
Conference on Families; chair of the Governor's task force on 
unemployment insurance; vice chair of the Multiple Sclerosis Society; 
chair of the mayor's citizen's advisory panel on public housing; chair 
of the Governor's advisory council on worker's compensation; member of 
the job training and workforce development councils; member of the 
TechHelp science advisory board and the Governor's rural economic 
development committee; chair of the Idaho State Employee's United Way 
Campaign; cochair of Idaho Rural Partnership; and, cochair of the 
``Katrina Evacuee Resettlement'' effort in Idaho.
  Without hesitation and despite his weighty workload, Roger twice 
agreed to guide the Idaho Commission on the Arts through difficult 
periods and did so in an inimitable manner, with much gratitude on 
behalf of the staff and arts community. Additionally, he served as the 
interim director of the Idaho Disability Determination Services.
  In 2005, the Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor received the 
William J. Harris Equal Opportunity Award for its ``commitment to 
intensifying assistance to minorities and ensuring those new to the 
State receive the same quality service as longtime Idaho residents.'' 
The annual award honors a work force agency administrator and the 
agency's equal opportunity officer for outstanding accomplishments. 
Under Madsen's leadership, the department increased its bilingual 
staff, doubled the number of female managers in local offices, 
increased the number of employees with disabilities and launched new 
programs such as special job search workshops in Spanish.
  In June 2007, the International Association of Workforce 
Professionals named Director Roger Madsen as its Administrator of the 
Year for his leadership in economic and work force development in 2006, 
when average wages rose 5.6 percent and Idaho's growth in real gross 
state product led the Nation.
  I recognize and commend Roger for his continued efforts and 
accomplishments on behalf of all of the citizens of Idaho. He is a 
great advocate for Idaho and I look forward to continuing to work with 
him on issues important to Idahoans.

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