[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IN TRIBUTE TO MR. THOMAS P. HOLIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. DONALD S. BEYER, JR.

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2015

  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute to an outstanding civil 
servant and constituent of mine, Thomas P. Holian, Deputy Chief Counsel 
of the Federal Highway Administration, FHWA, who is retiring after 37 
years of Federal service.
  Tom is a graduate of Fordham University and received his juris doctor 
from New York Law School. Tom joined the FHWA as an Attorney Advisor in 
the Office of the Chief Counsel in 1978. From 1978 to 1982, he worked 
in the Chief Counsel's Office of Legislation and Regulations on such 
matters as the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1978, the Motor 
Carrier Act of 1980, and the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 
1982. Tom also served as a Trial Attorney in the Chief Counsel's Motor 
Carrier and Highway Safety Law Division where he handled motor carrier 
safety enforcement cases and regulatory and litigation work associated 
with driver qualification requirements, the Americans With Disabilities 
Act, and controlled substance and alcohol testing of commercial motor 
vehicle drivers. Tom also served as the first Executive Director of the 
FHWA's National Motor Carrier Advisory Committee.
  Tom joined the Senior Executive Service in December 1999 when he was 
selected to serve as the Deputy Chief Counsel for Legislation and 
Regulations in the Office of the Chief Counsel. In this position 
through February 2008, Tom was responsible for directing a staff in 
providing legal advice and services on all aspects of the FHWA's 
legislative and regulatory programs. In this role, he greatly 
contributed to the implementation of the Transportation Equity Act for 
the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
Efficient Transportation Equity Act--A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). 
Tom also led the team responsible for drafting much of the TEA-21 
reauthorization bill that became SAFETEA-LU. Prior to this appointment, 
Tom was an Associate Chief Counsel and served as the FHWA's Regulations 
Officer responsible for leading the comprehensive review of FHWA's 
regulations in response to Presidential directives in 1992 and 1995, as 
well as FHWA's ISTEA and TEA-21 regulatory implementation.
  Tom became the Deputy Chief Counsel, the senior career attorney in 
the FHWA, in March 2008. As Deputy Chief Counsel, Tom supervises and 
coordinates the activities of a staff comprised of 60 employees, of 
whom 50 are attorneys responsible for providing legal services 
regarding all aspects of the FHWA's programs. The Office of Chief 
Counsel consists of three headquarters divisions and five field 
divisions, four of which provide services to Federal-aid Division 
Offices and the Resource Center, and one that provides services to the 
Federal Lands Highway. Tom directly advises the most senior officials 
in the FHWA and the U.S. Department of Transportation. Tom and his 
staff work with State and local government transportation attorneys and 
other customers to enhance their understanding of Federal laws and 
procedures relating to transportation.
  Tom will be retiring this month after 39 years of Federal service. 
After his long career and especially his seven and a half years as 
Deputy Chief Counsel, Tom leaves FHWA a well-respected, dedicated 
public servant, who has used his knowledge and skills throughout his 
37-year FHWA career to make significant contributions to the 
advancement of transportation law.
  I am proud to represent Tom and so many other Federal workers. We are 
fortunate to have dedicated, talented, creative, hard-working, and 
patriotic public servants like Tom. I ask my colleagues to join me in 
thanking Tom for serving the American public with such distinction and 
devotion and wishing him much success as he leaves Federal service. We 
also need to thank his wife Ginny and their three children for 
supporting him in his public career.

                          ____________________