[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18853]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF TRAVIS ROBEY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 11, 2014

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Travis Robey for his 
many contributions to the House of Representatives and specifically to 
my office. At the end of this year, Travis will be leaving my office to 
pursue opportunities away from Capitol Hill.
  Travis first came to Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant for 
Congresswoman Darlene Hooley, focusing on health policy. He joined the 
staff of Congressman Mike Thompson in April of 2008 as a Legislative 
Assistant. In 2009, he joined my staff as Legislative Director. From 
day one in my office, Travis worked tirelessly on health care reform. 
Through tough negotiations, he helped me lead the Quality Care 
Coalition and was successful in getting the Value Modifier for 
Physician payments included in health care reform. That provision 
incorporated quality and cost metrics as a factor in physician 
reimbursements for the first time. Additionally, he helped me 
successfully advocate for the small business exchanges and small 
business tax credits in the ACA, which were modeled after legislation 
that he had worked on.
  Apart from his successes during health care reform, Travis was 
integral on the staff level in negotiating the successful adoption of 
the SMART Act Secondary Payer Reform into law. Being in the Minority 
can make legislative successes fleeting, but Travis had the talent to 
work with the Majority to get meaningful things done in one of the most 
dysfunctional congresses of all time.
  As my Legislative Director, Travis effectively cultivated junior 
staff into successful Legislative Assistants who continue to be an 
asset to my team. Over the past year, Travis has served as my Chief of 
Staff in Washington, D.C. Under his tenure, my office was legislatively 
successful, despite being in the Minority in a very polarized Congress. 
I am proud that he has helped my staff to remain legislatively 
productive despite great challenges.
  Next year, Travis will join the staff of the American Hospital 
Association, where he will continue to work on important health policy 
challenges. While I am sorry to see him leave my staff after almost 6 
years, I wish him the best of luck in his new role. Travis embodies the 
term public service and has worked tirelessly to make our nation a 
better place, which has not been easy given the current toxic 
environment. It is unfortunate that we are losing such a competent and 
dedicated public servant.
  Mr. Speaker, on my behalf, thank you to Travis for his service and 
dedication to not only the constituents of the Third District of 
Wisconsin, but to all Americans.

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