[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27756-27757]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF GENE SKOROPOWSKI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2009

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my esteemed colleagues 
from California, Mike Thompson, Zoe Lofgren, Pete Stark, Mike Honda, 
Barbara Lee, Jerry McNerney and John Garamendi as we honor Eugene 
Skoropowski, who has served the public and private sector of the 
passenger rail business for more than 40 years. He is retiring this 
week as the Managing Director of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers 
Authority, CCJPA. As his colleagues, friends and family gather together 
to celebrate the next chapter of his life, we ask all of our colleagues 
to join us in saluting this outstanding public servant and supporter of 
passenger rail.
  Not long after receiving his degree in architecture, from the 
Catholic University in Washington, DC, Gene became an active rail 
advocate in the late 1960s. His passion and desire to improve the 
passenger rail business has led him to be not only a national leader, 
but also a forward thinking innovator. Throughout his career he also 
has been an inspiration to foreign nations looking to enhance passenger 
rail service.
  Before serving as Manager Director of the Capitol Corridor, Gene 
managed rail projects with Fluor Corporation for ten years in Los 
Angeles. During his tenure at Fluor, Gene worked closely with both the 
French National Railways and SYSTRA. He also served with the 
Philadelphia Regional Transit System and was Chief Railroad Services 
Officer for Boston's intercity rail system.
  When Gene joined Capitol Corridor in 1999, the CCJPA serviced only 
eight daily trains. In less than a decade the CCJPA service grew to 32 
daily trains on weekdays and 22 trains on weekends. As the number of 
trains grew, so did the ridership and revenue. He has given commuters 
across Northern California a convenient transportation alternative. 
Many train stations have benefitted from Gene's assistance. Such 
projects include the Richmond Intermodal Station, the Berkeley Station 
Platform Improvements, New Martinez Intermodal Depot and many more. In 
recent months, he has been intimately involved in the design of a new 
station in Sacramento.
  Gene's efforts to improve the passenger rail business have not gone 
unnoticed. Since his arrival, Gene's leadership has led the CCJPA to a 
number of awards. These awards include, but are not limited to: the 
Regional Award--Project of the year in 2001, presented by Sacramento 
Area Council of Governments, SACOG, the Graham Clayton, Jr. Award for 
Distinguished Service to Passenger Transportation, the Partner of the 
Year, presented by Solano Transportation Authority, STA, and the 2007 
President's Service and Safety Award, presented by Amtrak.
  Madam Speaker, we are truly honored to pay tribute to our friend and 
dedicated public

[[Page 27757]]

servant. We ask all of our colleagues to join with us in wishing Gene, 
his wife Joann, daughters June, Julie and Jeannette and grandchildren 
Nicholas and Samantha continued success and happiness in all of their 
future endeavors.

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