[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6759-6760]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING CARL PIKE

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise today to once again touch on a 
subject that is important to me. I know it is very important to the 
Presiding Officer because the Commonwealth of Virginia and the great 
State of Maryland have a large number of Federal employees. As the 
Presiding Officer knows, this week we celebrate Public Service 
Recognition Week to honor public servants at all levels of government 
for their admirable patriotism and contributions to our country.
  I wish to begin by commending our military intelligence professionals 
for the coordinated and painstaking work that was responsible for 
tracking down Osama bin Laden. There are a number of nameless, faceless 
Federal workers who have been investigating his whereabouts for more 
than a decade. I was proud to be in this Chamber with the Presiding 
Officer and colleagues from both sides of the aisle when, on Tuesday 
afternoon, this body recognized their work.
  Our military and intelligence professionals are not the only ones on 
the front lines of keeping our country safe. Today, I rise to honor a 
resident of Reston, VA, Carl Pike, the Assistant

[[Page 6760]]

Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations Division at the Drug 
Enforcement Administration, DEA. This is a photo of Carl and his whole 
team.
  We have all seen reports in recent years detailing the violent and 
inhumane acts of the Mexican drug cartels that terrorize cities and 
control a significant percentage of the narcotics flowing into the 
United States. Mr. Pike is the head of a complex multiagency task force 
set up to catch many of these violent criminals and disrupt the flow of 
drugs. Last year, he and his team led the largest strike ever against 
La Familia, one of the most ruthless Mexican drug cartels and a major 
trafficker of methamphetamine in the United States. The strike, dubbed 
``Project Coronado,'' was an operation that spanned 20 States, 50 
cities, 2 countries, and multiple Federal agencies. Attorney General 
Eric Holder said the ``unprecedented, coordinated U.S. law enforcement 
action'' was a ``significant blow to La Familia's supply chain of 
illegal drugs, weapons and cash flowing between Mexico and the United 
States.''
  The strike would not have been possible without Mr. Pike, as so many 
of his colleagues attest. One DEA Special Assistant Agent in Charge 
said:

       He oversaw the broad interests of the law enforcement 
     community, displayed phenomenal negotiating and planning 
     skills, and facilitated collaboration between agencies and 
     international partners that often had competing interests.

  In the end, Project Coronado led to the arrest of 1,200 associates of 
La Familia and the seizure of 1\1/2\ tons of methamphetamine, $32 
million in cash, and 400 weapons. It truly was a significant 
achievement.
  Carl Pike and his team should be recognized for removing dangerous 
drugs and criminals off our streets--something for which we can all be 
grateful.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring Mr. Pike and his team 
as well as all those at the DEA for their excellence and service to our 
Nation.
  I was also proud to be part of a group earlier today recognizing a 
number of Federal employees--nine from the Commonwealth of Virginia and 
many from the State of Maryland--who were part of a national 
competition that recognizes quality work of government workers.
  As we see this week in broad display those military intelligence 
professionals in this most dramatic action against Osama bin Laden, as 
we see Mr. Pike and his team taking on drug cartels, and as we see the 
hundreds of thousands of other Federal workers who day-in and day-out, 
often without recognition, do the job of keeping our government 
operating and in many ways keeping our country safe, I hope my 
colleagues will join in saluting those efforts and recognize that this 
week, Public Service Recognition Week, is to honor all of our public 
servants.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, do I understand correctly that we are 
continuing in morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes.

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