[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING THE SERVICE OF MICHAEL HAROLD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, one of my pleasures in public service is 
the opportunity to work with some extraordinarily motivated and 
talented staff. Nowhere in my career has it been more evident than here 
on Capitol Hill.
  The joy of working with smart, dedicated, committed young people, 
often under very difficult, even chaotic, situations, who are here 
because they make a difference, brightens every day I work here.
  There are inevitably bittersweet moments when it is time for some 
trusted members of your team to move on to other careers, graduate 
school, or move to follow their families. Today in my office we are 
celebrating one such moment.
  Michael Harold has been in our office for over 7 years in positions 
of increasing responsibility until ultimately becoming our Legislative 
Director.
  He is preparing to leave for graduate school. Long before he assumed 
the management of our legislative operations, Michael had made 
significant impacts far beyond my office. One specific area that he 
carved out was international water and sanitation.
  Thanks to Michael's heroic efforts on the Paul Simon Water for the 
World Act and dealing with funding for related programs, literally 
millions of lives will be saved.
  Another key achievement has been Mr. Harold's personal commitment to 
the Special Immigrant Visa Program to protect those Iraqis and Afghans 
who put their lives on the line to help American personnel as drivers, 
interpreters and guides under the most difficult of circumstances.
  Michael understood and fought for their protection to avoid leaving 
those who are relying on us to the tender mercies of the Taliban and al 
Qaeda.
  Now, one would think that that would be a relatively simple issue. 
They risked their lives to help us. We made a commitment to protect 
them. But it became hopelessly confused and complex, with frayed 
nerves, long hours, and frustration.
  Now, unlike his work on international water and sanitation, which was 
massive, long term, and dealt with millions of people he would never 
meet, this was intensely personal.
  There were a few thousand people, having been confronted with the 
most personal and searing examples, often on a one-on-one basis. But 
whether it was saving millions with water policies or saving thousands 
with Special Immigrant Visas, Michael was relentless. He managed key 
efforts on public broadcasting and started our Neuroscience Caucus. I 
could go on and on.
  He was resolute, focused, and determined. He built a network of 
partners at the staff level with legislative leadership, with the 
committee staff, and other member offices in both the House and the 
Senate.
  It was a textbook example of how progress on often overlooked sets of 
issues have profound consequences for the United States' credibility, 
our moral standing, and for future generations around the world.
  Michael and his wife Brynne are pursuing new academic and career 
opportunities in Boston that will make them more effective in the long 
run, but also enable the ability to share their attitude and experience 
and effectiveness, the results of his model, that so much of the public 
will never see that takes place behind the scenes.
  While Members are obviously essential to the process, it is 
absolutely critical that men and women like Michael Harold make it 
happen.
  It has been amazingly satisfying for me to watch Michael progress 
professionally, to marry, start a family, all the while advancing some 
of the most consequential actions in Congress.
  Everyone who works with Michael Harold knows what he has done and 
appreciates all his special efforts to make the world and Capitol Hill 
a better place.

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