[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16956-16957]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING JEH JOHNSON, GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

  (Mr. SMITH of Washington asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Washington. I rise today to recognize the outstanding 
service of Jeh Johnson, general counsel of the Department of Defense.
  In navigating a wide range of important legal issues, Jeh has been an 
invaluable partner to the House Armed Services Committee over the last 
4 years, and he is respected by Members on both sides of the aisle. 
Over the last

[[Page 16957]]

4 years, Jeh has advised the committee on numerous national security 
challenges, including cyberwarfare, counterterrorism operations, the 
legal boundaries of the conflict against al Qaeda and its affiliates, 
sensitive intelligence matters, and detainee operations worldwide. Jeh 
was integral to our efforts to reform military commissions--where those 
accused of planning and executing 9/11 attacks will be prosecuted. He 
has regularly testified before Congress and provided briefings on the 
Don't Ask, Don't Tell law and policy, efforts to combat sexual assault 
in the military, changes to the combat exclusion policy, the membership 
of the Joint Chiefs, and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
  There has been no shortage of very difficult and very controversial 
issues. Jeh has always approached them intelligently and professionally 
and served this country, the President and Congress well.
  The one thing I always noticed about Jeh is he liked coming over and 
talking to Congress, which is not always the case in the executive 
branch. He recognized the importance of the relationship between the 
legislative branch and the executive branch. He has served our country 
very well.
  I wish him well in private practice and thank him for his service.

                          ____________________