[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10636-10637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    CONGRATULATING DENNIS VAN ROEKEL

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and recognize the 
career of Dennis Van Roekel, whose term is ending as president of one 
of the Nation's largest labor unions, the National Education 
Association. Mr. Van Roekel is also a member of the U.S. Department of 
Education's Equity and Excellence Commission, which studies how 
students are affected by inequitable school finance systems. His 
leadership knows no borders, as he has also served as vice president of 
Education International for North America and the Caribbean to pursue 
means to raise student achievement and provide adequate funding in a 
way that could serve as a model worldwide.
  Mr. Van Roekel has long been an honorable and fervent supporter of 
the rights of teachers and public education. Before becoming president 
of the NEA, he served two terms as NEA vice president and secretary-
treasurer, and he has held key positions in all levels of the 
association, including Arizona Education Association president and 
Paradise Valley Education Association president. He established the 
Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching to examine the teaching 
profession on a national scale. As a recognized

[[Page 10637]]

leader on education issues, he has testified before Congress, served on 
leading boards, such as the National Board for Professional Teaching 
Standards Executive Committee and the National Council for the 
Accreditation of Teacher Education Executive Board.
  His excellence is unmistakable and has been recognized at numerous 
forums and national summits sponsored by the Coalition for Community 
Schools, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, Council of Chief 
State School Officers, and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. He 
has been a leader in discussing education issues with leading 
publications and networks, including C-SPAN, MSNBC, the New York Times, 
Wall Street Journal, Education Week, and TIME.
  Mr. President, on behalf of the Senate, I commend Dennis Van Roekel 
on a lifetime of public service, and I wish him the best in all his 
future endeavors.

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