[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15291]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO KEVIN M. SIMPSON

 Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, today I thank and congratulate 
Kevin M. Simpson, an individual who has already enjoyed a distinguished 
career as a public servant and who is preparing once again to answer 
the call to service.
  Kevin is a skilled attorney and litigator, and early in his career he 
made the decision to devote his formidable legal talents to public 
service. He defended numerous Federal agencies in a variety of matters 
during his years as a young trial attorney with the Department of 
Justice.
  In 1997, he served as minority counsel to the Senate Governmental 
Affairs Committee during its campaign finance investigation. During 
1998, Kevin was Deputy Chief Investigative Counsel to Minority Members 
of the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of President 
Clinton. In 1999, he became impeachment counsel to Senate Minority 
Leader Tom Daschle and the Minority Members of the United States 
Senate.
  Following his service in the legislative branch, Kevin returned to 
the executive branch as the Deputy General Counsel of Programs and 
Regulations at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a 
position he held until the end of the Clinton administration. It was my 
pleasure to work with Kevin Simpson at HUD. Kevin earned a reputation 
for achieving results--all while maintaining unwavering respect for his 
colleagues and a dedication to fairness and courtesy. He made a 
difference, and he turned rivals into friends in the process.
  It was this commitment to making a difference that led Kevin to join 
Max Stier, another outstanding HUD alumnus, in launching the 
nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.
  Armed with the seeds of an exciting idea and a generous financial 
commitment from the late philanthropist Samuel J. Heyman and his wife 
Ronnie, Max Stier and Kevin Simpson built the Partnership for Public 
Service to inspire a new generation to serve and transform the way 
government works. This impressive organization works with Federal 
agencies to improve their leadership and management, conducts 
groundbreaking research, and works closely with universities and job 
seekers, especially young people, to build new pipelines of talent into 
government service. In less than a decade, the Partnership has made a 
measurable, positive impact on our government and the story of the 
Partnership's success cannot be told without Kevin Simpson in a leading 
role. As the Partnership's Executive Vice President and General 
Counsel, there are few achievements in the history of the Partnership 
in which Kevin has not played a pivotal part.
  After doing so much to improve the effectiveness of the Federal 
Government and inspiring a new generation to serve, Kevin is once again 
answering the call to service--he will soon leave the Partnership for 
Public Service for his new position as Principal Deputy General Counsel 
at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These are 
extraordinary times for our Nation and our government, and we need 
extraordinary talent. Kevin Simpson will bring to HUD his intellectual 
heft, a keen strategic mind and his natural ability to build bridges; 
he is a stellar addition to an already strong leadership team led by a 
most able Secretary.
  I thank Kevin Simpson for his years of service to and on behalf of 
our government and the Federal workforce, and I congratulate him on 
this next chapter of his public service career. I know all of those who 
have worked with Kevin share my optimism that our Nation will be a 
better place thanks to his pursuit of excellence in Federal 
service.

                          ____________________