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




                       RECOGNIZING LINDA LANGSTON

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today I want to recognize an exceptional 
local leader in Iowa who has used her experience and expertise to help 
communities across America to become more resilient. Back home, we know 
Linda Langston as an effective and tireless county supervisor in Linn 
County. Over the past year, however, I have enjoyed partnering with 
Supervisor Langston in her role as president of the National 
Association of Counties.
  In this capacity, Supervisor Langston served as the principal 
spokesperson for our Nation's 3,069 counties and their nearly 40,000 
elected officials. This is an important and demanding leadership post. 
Think about it: County governments employ almost 3.3 million people and 
invest nearly $500 billion each year in our local communities, 
especially in the areas of transportation and infrastructure, justice 
and public safety, and health and human services.
  As national president, Supervisor Langston has focused a tremendous 
amount of energy and attention this year on community, economic, and 
social resiliency, with a special focus on natural disaster 
preparedness and recovery. In addition, she has provided a local, 
midwestern perspective on national advisory committees with the 
National Academy of Sciences and the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency. She has also convened numerous national and regional forums 
with public, private, and nonprofit leaders to address the urgent issue 
of natural disaster preparedness and recovery.
  Every day, it seems, we encounter news reports of extraordinary 
natural disasters, everything from droughts, floods, tornadoes, and 
wildfires, to hurricanes, ice storms and extreme temperatures. Thanks 
to Supervisor Langston's thoughtful and expert leadership at the 
National Association of Counties, we can be confident that America's 
counties are better prepared for the natural disasters that inevitably 
lie ahead.

                          ____________________