[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9068-9069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO STAN SLOSS

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, as every one of our colleagues 
will attest, the work we do in this Chamber is made possible by many 
exceptional people who do not carry an election certificate. I am 
speaking of the dedicated staffers who work on committees and in our 
personal offices.
  Many of the staff members we interact with every day go on to build 
their own careers in political life, while others use the skills they 
developed here to work in rewarding ways for the private sector. Others 
continue in public service with nonprofit organizations or other kinds 
of government service. A few will make their contribution to public 
service by staying here as employees of the House of Representatives or 
the Senate. A smaller and more distinct group will develop such broad 
expertise in the legislative branch that they might as well carry an 
election certificate of their own because of the respect, esteem, and 
high regard in which they are held. These are the men and women whom 
other congressional staffers seek for their wisdom and guidance. These 
are the wise people whom Senators and Congressmen look upon as peers, 
not only because of their good counsel and uniquely honed years of 
experience but also because they often know more about the legislative 
process than legislators themselves.
  Among this more and most distinct group of staff members, there is a 
standout, my friend Stan Sloss. I know the Presiding Officer knows Stan 
Sloss. Stan is marking his 14th year of service in my office but also 
37 total years of work in Congress.
  A native of Glenwood Springs, CO, Stan is a graduate of Amherst 
College and Harvard Law School. He came to Washington, DC, in the late 
1960s, working first in the General Counsel's Office of the Atomic 
Energy Commission.
  Stan's congressional career started in 1975 when he joined the staff 
of what

[[Page 9069]]

was then known as the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee in the 
House of Representatives.
  In 1977 Stan became a counsel to the new Subcommittee on General 
Oversight and Alaska Lands chaired by former Representative John 
Seiberling, an iconic past Member of the House of Representatives. In 
this capacity, Stan worked with both Representative Seiberling and my 
father, Morris Udall, who was chairman of the full Interior Committee.
  Stan has had many successes, but one that I am most proud of is his 
work to help draft legislation that became the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act--key legislation setting aside more than 100 
million acres of Alaska's most pristine public lands. Stan staffed 
hearings throughout the lower 48 States and Alaska and was one of the 
many key professional staff who helped shape the final legislation. The 
law was a milestone in conservation, protecting an area larger than the 
State of California and more than doubling the size of the Nation's 
system of national parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness, and wild and 
scenic rivers.
  When John Seiberling retired in 1987, Stan remained on the Interior 
Committee staff, serving under former Representative Bruce Vento, 
chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. Stan 
continued to work on many other laws and regulations affecting public 
lands and natural resources, including the Arizona Desert Wilderness 
Act sponsored by my father.
  Stan's expertise was simply indispensable. In 1995 Stan left the 
Resources Committee to become the legislative director for David 
Skaggs, a House Member from Colorado, who benefited from Stan's years 
of experience and expertise with public lands issues.
  I have a letter from Congressman Skaggs noting all of Stan's 
accomplishments and service. I ask unanimous consent to have it printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                    June 13, 2012.
     Hon. Stan Sloss,
     Congressional Staffer Extraordinaire, Office of Senator Mark 
         Udall, Washington, DC.
       Dear Stan: Yes, ``The Honorable.'' You are entitled to that 
     term of address more than most on whom it is bestowed ex 
     officio. For you, it is has been earned per labores.
       I am reluctant to contemplate your retirement--or, more 
     precisely, to think of the Congress no longer subject to your 
     knowledgeable instruction and deft oversight. No doubt the 
     superlatives will flow from those who will speak in person at 
     your party. I wish I could be there, and will count on the 
     good Senator to read this for me.
       My vocabulary is barely adequate to express my admiration, 
     respect and gratitude for your service to Article I branch 
     and to me personally. You are simply without peer in devotion 
     to duty, in insistence on the highest standards of intellect 
     and integrity, and in institutional loyalty. You have 
     educated us with your insights into law and policy, you have 
     inspired us by your courage and steadfastness, and you have 
     supported us with your friendship and wry humor.
       All who have had the privilege of working with you, even as 
     we pretended that you worked for us, feel a poignant mix of 
     deep affection and some sadness at the occasion of your 
     retirement. To say that you will be profoundly missed barely 
     suffices. I pray that you will draw enormous pride and 
     satisfaction in looking back on a career of exceptional 
     service to your country. The United States is a much better 
     place on account of Stan Sloss. The Honorable Stan Sloss.
       Godspeed, dear friend.
           With great respect and affection,
                                                  David E. Skaggs,
                                        Former Member of Congress.

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. While Stan was working with Congressman 
Skaggs, he also dealt with contentious issues related to Rocky Flats, a 
former nuclear weapons site in Colorado, and the other sites in the 
U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex.
  Stan was one of the first people I hired following my election to the 
House of Representatives in November of 1998. It was one of the best 
decisions I have ever made. I was fortunate to have someone with Stan's 
experience who also understood issues important to Colorado. While in 
my House office, Stan was instrumental in developing a number of land 
and environmental bills that were signed into law, including the Rocky 
Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act, which converted this site and a 
vast expanse of open space into a wildlife habitat asset after it was 
cleaned up and closed. He also steered into law the James Peak 
Wilderness and Protection Area Act, one of the last unprotected areas 
along Colorado's Northern Front Range mountainous backdrop. Stan has 
also been my expert on fire prevention, developing legislation on 
forest health and wildfire response and mitigation.
  But Stan's work has not just been confined to the environmental 
arena. His keen intellect, common sense, and sharp legal analysis have 
been invaluable on a wide range of issues and topics that face each and 
every one of us every day. He has been especially effective in tutoring 
many of the younger members of my staff on the inner workings of 
Congress, helping them learn the nuances of legislative drafting, and 
serving as an example of the highest standard of professionalism for 
congressional staff.
  Like any thoughtful and accomplished lawyer, Stan is often fond of 
saying that he can ``argue it flat or he can argue it round,'' and his 
objectivity is legendary in our office. Having said that, however, I 
also know that beneath his always calm demeanor and his capacity to see 
all sides of the question, there beats the heart of a man who is 
passionate about doing the right thing.
  Through many years of working on behalf of the people of Colorado in 
my House office and now my Senate office, Stan has always been a voice 
of wisdom, reason, and, above all, integrity. My colleagues in the 
Colorado congressional delegation have often looked upon Stan as their 
resource as well. I have never minded sharing him because his advice 
and guidance carry weight that inevitably makes better whatever bill or 
policy he has been asked to consider. I think I daresay the Presiding 
Officer has also had the opportunity to work with Stan and take 
advantage of his wisdom and insight.
  Stan is a person of depth and accomplishment beyond his work in 
Congress. He is one of the best read people I have ever met. He is an 
expert on gardening, on opera, on history, and the list goes on and on. 
I have to say parenthetically, as a graduate of Williams College, for 
me to say that about an Amherst graduate probably has double weight.
  Stan has an exceptional sense of humor and a dry wit, as demonstrated 
in the poems he often wrote making wry observations on current events 
which he would regularly circulate to staff. In short, he has perfected 
what seems to be the lost art of being polite and courteous to other 
people even when he disagrees with them. That, of course, is a quality 
we could always use a bit more of in Congress.
  Stan is not only a good employee, he is also a good human being. In 
the rough-and-tumble world of politics, that is perhaps the highest 
praise to which any of us can aspire. His contributions to my offices, 
the offices of other Members, the House Resources Committee, and the 
whole Congress and ultimately the people of the United States serve as 
an example of a professional life that commands both respect and 
affection.
  Just a few months ago, my staff and I celebrated Stan's 70th birthday 
with him, as we had his 60th and 65th birthdays in past years, and 
today we are honored to celebrate his retirement. My staff and I will 
miss Stan, it goes without saying, and we will miss working with him.
  As a point of personal privilege, I want to make it clear that I know 
I will continue to seek his advice even after he leaves congressional 
service. I am excited to see what the next chapter will be for Stan. It 
will no doubt involve some adventure, some noble pursuits, some deep 
thought, and some new summits to ascend.
  So please join me in thanking Stan Sloss for 37 years of exceptional 
work in the Congress and for his service to our country that he loves 
so much. We wish him well.

                          ____________________