[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 1763-1764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEE ANTHONY REGALBUTO

  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I come to the floor to continue a 
tradition that was begun by my esteemed former colleague, the former 
Senator from Delaware, Ted Kaufman. Senator Kaufman would come to this 
floor from time to time to celebrate members of the Federal workforce 
who exemplify excellence in public service. In that tradition I want to 
honor a great Federal employee: CAPT Anthony Regalbuto.
  Captain Regalbuto is a constituent of mine from Burke, VA. He 
currently serves as the Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard's Office of 
International and Domestic Port Security. But, in fact, Captain 
Regalbuto has spent his entire adult life in service to the Coast 
Guard, with 31 years on active duty and more than 12 years as a 
civilian--a total of 43 years of service. In this role he has been 
responsible for addressing the security weaknesses facing our Nation's 
ports. He has also assisted other countries with improving the safety 
of their own ports.
  More than 90 percent of the imported goods of the United States go 
through our ports. The security risks facing the ports are many, and 
workers such as Captain Regalbuto help ensure they remain safe and 
secure from threats. For our Nation's ports to remain safe, we must 
ensure our foreign shipping partners follow established international 
port security requirements. So part of Captain Regalbuto's job is to 
make sure foreign countries that want to conduct business using U.S. 
ports adhere to these requirements.
  Captain Regalbuto has developed a solution--a model code that 
countries could use as a guide to strengthen their own laws to improve 
the security of their ports. He also oversaw the creation of the 
Maritime Security Risk

[[Page 1764]]

Analysis Model. It helps the Coast Guard analyze and address major port 
security weaknesses by measuring a variety of factors. This risk 
analysis model has helped the Coast Guard evaluate more than 30,000 
potential targets and 100,000 attack scenarios across the country.
  Furthermore, this data has helped to efficiently allocate more than 
$2.7 billion in grants where they can best help improve port security 
and get the best bang for the taxpayer dollars.
  CAPT Anthony Regalbuto is just one of many Federal employees. He also 
happens to be a Federal employee who would potentially be affected by 
Department of Homeland Security funding, which is the current issue on 
the floor of the Senate.
  One of the challenges, even as we move past this particular debate, 
is to make sure in these tight budget times--going back to the comments 
of the Senator from Indiana--that we husband our resources. We are 
going to have to do more with less. One of the things that is terribly 
important--as someone who has spent more time in business than I have 
in politics--if you want your workforce to do more, you find ways both 
psychically, monetarily, and through appropriate review to reward them.
  Too often Members come to this floor and sometimes tend to demonize 
our Federal workforce. Too often over the past few years the Federal 
workforce is the first to receive the cuts in funding. If we are going 
to make sure our country remains strong, we want to make sure folks 
such as Captain Regalbuto keep our ports and keep our homeland safe. We 
need to recognize their service and, by all means, make sure we don't 
put in particular the DHS through another ill-fated, politically driven 
government shutdown.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
  (The remarks of Mr. Hatch pertaining to the introduction of S.J. Res. 
6 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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