[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8885]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING RAFAT R. ANSARI

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, once again, I come to the floor to 
celebrate and recognize the contribution of our Federal employees. I do 
this on a regular basis because while we debate the issues of the day 
and grapple with issues around the debt and deficit and the 
circumstances that will require us to cut back on government spending, 
I think it is important to remember the literally millions of Americans 
who work in one form or another for our Federal Government day-in and 
day-out. From our armed services, to folks who work within this Capitol 
Complex, to folks who work within Health and Human Services, to those 
who work in research, to those who make enormous contributions to our 
Nation, we should not lose sight of them as we grapple with the debt 
and deficit and a host of other issues we deal with in this body.
  So today I rise to honor another great Federal employee, Rafat 
Ansari. Mr. Ansari is a senior scientist and leading innovator at 
NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. He has been recognized for 
developing a safe, noninvasive laser device that could drastically 
improve the early detection of cataracts and improve people's lives in 
the process.
  Cataracts are the leading cause of vision loss and blindness in the 
United States and in the world. They affect over 22 million Americans 
over the age of 40, and over $6.8 billion is spent annually in the 
United States on cataract treatment.
  Mr. Ansari was motivated to help cataract patients after his father 
was diagnosed with the disease. He began researching the disease and 
realized that cataracts are caused by proteins in the lens that cluster 
abnormally, a process similar to what he was studying in his space 
experiments.
  Lacking the necessary financial resources, he began conducting 
research in his home kitchen using a light-scattering device which was 
able to identify clustered proteins in the eye lens. These kitchen 
experiments ultimately led to Mr. Ansari's invention of an innovative 
eye-scanning device and procedure that is at least two or three times 
stronger than any device on the market.
  His invention also has the potential to significantly improve the 
ability to detect early signs of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, 
and many other diseases. The procedure is currently used by NASA to 
study the long-term consequences of space travel on the vision of 
astronauts.
  Mr. Ansari's personal story is a testament to all that continues to 
make our Nation great. Born in Pakistan, Mr. Ansari always dreamed of 
working for NASA. Not only was he able to realize his dream of working 
for our government, working for NASA, but in the process he has made 
discoveries that could have a big impact on the lives of millions of 
people not only here in the United States but around the world.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in honoring Mr. Ansari and those 
other great scientists and engineers at NASA for their excellence and 
service to our Nation.
  So, again, I wish to acknowledge not only Mr. Ansari but all of our 
Federal workers. I think it is important. As somebody who has been very 
involved--and hopeful to do more--on this issue of debt and deficit, I 
know we will have to make substantial cutbacks in how government spends 
and operates. But I think we need to remember, as we talk about some of 
these cuts, that we are affecting the lives of literally millions of 
good Americans who try to keep the functions of this government working 
on an efficient, honest, and ethical basis day-in and day-out.
  With that, I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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