[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15286]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO MARK KOSTER

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, today I wish to honor and recognize Mark 
Koster. This month, the Senate will bid farewell to one of the unsung 
heroes of this body. Mark, an associate counsel in the Office of Senate 
Legislative Counsel, is retiring and concluding his career on Capitol 
Hill.
  Over the last two decades, there is hardly a major Federal education 
law that doesnt have Marks imprint. Marks areas of focus have included 
higher education, special education, career and technical education, 
literacy, elementary and secondary education, and a number of early 
education programs. Mark has more bipartisan legislative 
accomplishments than many Members of Congress.
  Mark has made certain our ideas are drafted into legislation with 
technical precision, and his dedication to his work over the past two 
decades exemplifies true professionalism. Mark has treated every 
legislative initiative equally, no matter if he was drafting a 
relatively small amendment or a major reauthorization proposal for the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, or 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Senators and their 
staffs all knew that when one saw Marks legislative signature, ``KOS,'' 
atop a document that the draft that had emerged from legislative 
counsel was in perfect technical shape and it was now up to us, as 
Members of the Senate, only to argue the draft's merits and relevance, 
not the format.
  As a member of the Senate HELP Committee, I am proud and honored to 
say that we, both present and former committee members, have considered 
Mark our staff, even though he has never been on the HELP Committee's 
payroll. Mark has been one of our cornerstones because he has always 
treated every HELP member and staffer with the greatest respect. 
Additionally, Mark has demonstrated a rather large dose of patience in 
dealing with time constraints, deadlines, and all the various 
personalities that traverse the Halls of the Senate.
  Although those of us who are members of the HELP Committee have 
consumed most of Marks time during his years as legislative counsel, 
Mark has always been of great assistance to every other Senate office 
that has needed aid in drafting education-related issues. All of us, 
Republican, Democrat, and Independent, have been lucky to have had Mark 
Koster on our side.
  Mark, we thank you for your service and dedication. The HELP 
Committee will always consider you both an honorary member and a part 
of our family. We and the entire Federal education lawmaking process 
will miss you. May your next chapter in life be even more successful 
and more rewarding than the one that is coming to a conclusion. We wish 
you, your lovely wife, Kathy, and your two children the very best.

                          ____________________